by Lydia Parks
Alicia smiled up at him, knocking the air from his lungs. She was so beautiful wrapped in a traditional shawl, her green eyes glistening with torchlight.
“This is Lorne’s heir?” Vanora asked.
“Yes,” Alicia said, pulling her arm from Cole’s grip and stepping around him. “Lorne was my father.”
Moran, the elder of the group that was leaving, moved to stand beside Alicia. “She’s a healer. If she stays, we can remain in The Valley.”
Excitement rose all around them.
Cole tried to reach Alicia, but the group gathered around her, pushing him away.
“Quiet!”
Voices fell and everyone looked up. Sloan rose, walked around the table, and stepped from the platform to stand in front of Alicia. The air shimmered with tension.
He crooked one finger under Alicia’s chin, lifted her face, and turned it to one side and then the other as if inspecting her.
Rage rose in Cole’s chest. He tried to move forward, but hands and bodies held him back.
“Do you wish to stay with us?” Sloan asked.
“Yes.” She reached up and grabbed his wrist, drawing his hand away from her face.
For a long moment, they stood face-to-face, staring at each other, with Alicia gripping Sloan’s wrist.
The man’s eyes widened. He took a step back and she released him.
Sloan nodded slowly. “You will be my mate.”
Alicia shook her head as she lowered the shawl from her left shoulder.
Light sparkled behind Cole’s eyes and he widened his stance to keep from collapsing.
“As you can see,” she said, “I already have a mate.”
At the sound of a collective gasp, Cole charged forward, pushing people out of his way. He grabbed her arm, and again she smiled up at him.
Then she turned back to Sloan. “After a lifetime of feeling like a misfit, I’ve just discovered that I’m Kimosh, that I have a home. If you’ll let me, I want to learn about my people. About the parents I never knew.” She glanced at Cole. “But if my mate leaves, so will I.”
Cole’s heart swelled with joy at the same time that fear for Alicia flooded his system. She had no idea what she was doing. He tensed, ready to grab her and fight their way out. No one was going to hurt her without going through him.
Sloan took a deep breath and straightened, speaking so that others could hear. “Your father was a great healer. I believe you carry his talents. We would be honored to have you stay in The Valley for as long as you wish.” The man turned his cold, hard gaze on Cole and it softened a little. “With your mate.” Then he touched her arm in the traditional greeting. “Welcome.”
Cole staggered a step as he watched Sloan walk from the chamber, then he turned to Alicia. Others walked by welcoming her, and she nodded.
After the last of the group left, he drew her into his arms, and she hugged him. Once again, he marveled at the way they fit together.
When she finally pushed against his chest, he looked down into her eyes. “What just happened?”
She glanced toward the doorway through which the others had left. “Sloan has some kind of illness, a growth in his lungs.”
Cole followed her gaze. “What? How do you know?”
She shrugged. “Beats me. I knew it as soon as I touched him. I’ve always had a talent for diagnosing. That’s what drew me to nursing. I think I can help him, but it’ll take me a while to figure out how to control this…whatever it is.”
“That’s why he wanted you as a mate,” Cole said. “Selfish bastard.” He started toward the door, needing urgently to take a swing at the man, no matter who he was.
“No, Cole.” Alicia’s tender grip on his arm stopped him in his tracks. “I think it’s more than that. I think he cares about all of you. All of us.” She stepped into his embrace and kissed his bare chest.
He shuddered in response to her warm lips against his skin.
“Besides,” she said, looking up at him, “I want to help.”
“Oh?” He held her tighter. “You can start by helping me.” He leaned over and kissed her shoulder, then nipped it, enjoying the way she squirmed against him.
Her fingers feathered across his shoulders as she rubbed her hips against his growing erection. “I think I know how to cure this problem.”
He laughed. “I think you do, too.”
He took her sweet mouth and kissed her as he dreamed of all the days and nights they would spend together. Only ending the kiss to gasp for air, he held her.
With her mouth near his ear, she whispered, “I love you, Cole.”
He closed his eyes and smiled at the happiness bubbling up from his soul. “I love you, too, Alicia. And I always will.”
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ISBN: 978-1-4268-5594-8
Marked
Copyright © 2010 by Lydia Parks
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