The Enchanted Crossroads

by Dora Blume

  “Oh, so this attraction I have for you means you’re my intended love?” I splayed my hand over the hard muscles of his chest. He sucked in a breath when I slipped my finger beneath his collar and touched the skin beneath his shirt.

  “Yes,” he said in a breathy voice. I could tell he was having a hard time keeping his distance from me. I continued to feel his muscles as I thought about what he’d said. I was certainly attracted to him, but I didn’t know enough about him to make the kind of commitment bonding entailed. “You don’t have to make this decision now,” he said. His gaze held mine and I could see the understanding as well as desire.

  The doorbell cut through the silence. I reluctantly backed off his lap and sat back on the couch. He closed his eyes a moment before standing. When he returned, he held a pizza box in his hand. “Come on, let’s go into the kitchen to get some beer to go with the pizza.” I nodded and stood up to follow him into the kitchen.

  He set down the pizza and turned to the fridge. He pulled out two bottles and slid one over to me. My mind drifted to everything he’d said. It was good to know why I’d felt so attracted to him. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I’d taken in so much new information over the last two days, this felt like the easiest to take. I wanted to feel his lips on mine again. I watched him take a drink of his beer and thought back to our kiss from a moment ago. My cheeks felt hot and I noticed Leif raise an eyebrow at me. Licking my bottom lip slowly, I gazed at him.

  “Want to share?” he asked in a husky voice.

  “Not really,” I shrugged. Shaking his head, he handed me a plate.

  “I’m going to go find Haskell.” Leif announced as he walked out of the room. In a minute, he was back with Haskell in tow. I noticed the reluctant look on his face. Leif rolled his eyes as he walked back to pick up his plate. He placed a few slices of pizza on it and walked over to take the seat next to me. I bit into my slice of pizza and tried hard not to look at Leif.

  Haskell stopped in front of the pizza. “Hell, I should probably apologize.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Kaira, I’m sorry. I know this isn’t your fault. These asshats are after you for something you couldn’t exactly help.” My eyes widened at his apology and I swallowed hard. I wasn’t expecting him to apologize to me.

  “Thank you.” I said. I took another bite of my pizza. Maybe he thought I was going to apologize for what I said, but I wasn’t. What I told Haskell was the truth.

  He grabbed down a plate and slid a few slices on it. “I haven’t found anything on your siblings, yet. I’ve been searching cities where she used her credit cards. There are a few places she traveled to periodically. Your mother was pretty good at covering her tracks. Although, I’m not sure a morrigan would have the sense to look at something like credit card transactions.” He shrugged. I watched as he ate half a slice of pizza in one bite.

  “Can we start with the cities she visited? If you have a few towns where she went often, we could always go there and see what we can find out.” I looked to Leif. It was a lead and I perked up at the possibility.

  “Don’t you have a deposition tomorrow?” Leif’s voice was playful. He must’ve seen the excitement and just had to remind me of my responsibilities. He also knew I wouldn’t leave as long as I had work to do.

  “Maybe I’ll cash in some of those vacation days I haven’t used over the last five years. After the deposition tomorrow, I don’t have any pressing cases for at least a week.” My voice was eager as I spoke.

  “Don’t get too excited, love. I don’t have enough to go on, yet. You’ll be the first to know when I do.” He flicked a glance to Leif. “Well, the second.”

  “Okay, we have to go talk to Caroline tomorrow afternoon anyway.” I glanced over at Leif, surprised he hadn’t said much. I was curious as to what he was thinking about. I studied his face, stopping on his lips. I licked my lips thinking about our last encounter. Now I understood the pull I felt toward him. I was curious if he was willing to bond with me. It was such a big decision. But if we were meant to be together as he suggested, did we really have a choice in the matter? Would the pull get stronger? Would the desire I felt for him now, increase? Oh God, I couldn’t imagine feeling more than I already did. His mouth quirked up when he noticed me staring at him out of the corner of his eye.

  Haskell suddenly burst through my reverie. “Shit, did you tell her?” Haskell asked, pointing a finger at Leif.

  “Of course I told her. She has a right to know.” His eyes were level on Haskell’s.

  “Oh perfect, now you two are going to be all over each other. Bloody hell.” He spat. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be with my computers.” He stalked out of the room and down the hall.

  Leif was smiling as he watched Haskell stalk out of the room. “God, he can be a pain sometimes.” Leif shook his head and took another bite of his pizza.

  “Why does he think we’ll be all over each other?” I asked. I was genuinely curious as to what he would say. Did he want us to be all over each other?

  “The pull to be together will only get stronger. If we bond, it’s like the honeymoon stage of a marriage, but forever. It doesn’t let up or go away like say, new love would. It’s hard to explain.” His eyes avoided mine. I was focused on one world he’d mentioned. “If” had me curious. He made it seem like we didn’t have much of a choice. Maybe we did have a choice. Maybe if we rejected each other it would go away.

  CHAPTER 12

  I felt the gentle touch of lips on my temple before I lifted my heavy eyelids. “Wha..What time is it?” I asked. When I looked up, I realized my head was in Leif’s lap. I jerked upright. “Sorry, I must’ve fallen asleep.” I said, wiping my hand over my mouth. I hoped I hadn’t drooled on him. Oh, how embarrassing.

  “It’s okay, you’re tired. It’s been a long couple of days. If you want I can help you back to your room.” Leif said. His eyes were kind as he looked at me. I licked my lips at what I wanted him to do to me in in that room. Then, I shook my head realizing he’d said my room.

  “My room?” I questioned. “My room is across town. Are you going to take me home?”

  “Well, no, your house isn’t safe.” Leif gave me a stern look.

  “So, I have to stay here?” I asked.

  “I’d like it if you stayed here, with me, yes.” He ran his hand down my hair. His look was a mixture of concern and longing. I still felt the pull toward him. Everytime he looked into my eyes I wanted to melt.

  “Okay, I will stay, for now. I need to be able to get my stuff for tomorrow.”

  “We can go in the morning before you have court. You should probably grab a few things in case you need to stay here longer.” He looked to the floor.

  “Is that what you want? Me to stay here longer?” I asked. I slid my fingers down his face and over the stubble growing on his chin.

  “I don’t want anything to happen to you.” There was a fierce protectiveness in his eyes.

  I felt the intensity growing between us. I needed space. I didn’t know where this was going or how serious we were going to get. I needed time to think, away from Leif. “I need to get some sleep before tomorrow.” I stood up from the couch. “Can we leave by six so I can go to my house before court. It’s not until nine but I like to be there early.”

  Leif stood. “Of course, I’ll have breakfast ready.” I felt his eyes on me. I turned and walked down to the room that was becoming all too familiar.

  I sat on the bed. I wasn’t sure how to broach the subject with Leif. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go there. We met two days ago. I feel attacked to him, that’s obvious, but I don’t know him. Bonded for life sounds like a pretty big deal. What if he never put the cap on the toothpaste? What if he snored in his sleep? I would want to know these things before making any life altering decisions. I had to get my mind on something else. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. I needed to be well rested for it. I looked back toward the pillows and a pair of shorts and a cami were folded on the bed. How did I no
t notice them? My eyes narrowed and I felt him before I heard him. My eyes drifted to the figure leaning against the door with his arms folded over his chest. He cleared his throat when my eyes met his.

  “I actually had your things brought over earlier.” He bit his lip and looked to the ground. “I hope you don’t mind. I knew what we were working on yesterday, so I sent a friend to grab your stuff while we were at your aunt’s house.” His eyes moved from the floor to meet my eyes. His posture seemed relaxed, as he leaned against the doorjamb, but the fire in his eyes was anything but calm. I felt a tingle down my body as he looked at me. “I know you need some space. Everything over the last few days, well I know it’s all new to you. I wanted you to know that I’m all in if you are. I didn’t want you going to sleep without me telling you how I felt. I’ve been looking for you my entire life. I’ve known about the bonding my entire life. You haven’t. I know you need space to figure out how you feel. I will give you all the space you need. But I’m ready when you are.” His eyes smoldered as he looked at me. He licked his lips and I wanted to jump him right there. We were already in the bedroom. I watched his lip quirk up as if he knew what I was thinking.

  “I don’t know,” I said. It wasn’t what I wanted to say. I wanted to walk over and declare my love through a passionate kiss. He was right, though. I wasn’t ready to declare my love for him. I needed time and space to think. Sleep sounded pretty good right about now, too. Maybe I would get my answers in my dreams. It happened that way sometimes. I’d go to sleep worried about something. In the morning, I’d wake and know exactly what to do. I bit my lip and studied Leif. I wanted him so bad but was it enough to change the trajectory of my entire life. I sighed. I just didn’t know.

  “I’ll let you get some rest.” His eyes dropped to my mouth. He dipped his head and walked back down the hall.

  I took a deep breath. I was thankful he had thought to get my stuff. I wondered if he got anything else. I opened the closet. There were several of my suits and shirts hanging in the closet. I guess he’d thought of grabbing more than just something to sleep in. I looked over to the desk. My work bag was packed full. I walked over and glanced inside. My laptop, files, and notebooks were inside. He’d thought of everything. My heart clenched. He had thought about me needing these things before tomorrow. I couldn’t believe it. I turned and grabbed up my bedclothes. I closed the door before slipping out of my jeans and t-shirt. I got dressed and slipped into bed. I needed to be well rested for tomorrow. I had a lot to think about. My life had completely changed. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it all, yet. I liked Leif. He was surprisingly sweet and protective of me. I appreciated him taking care of the little things. But could I love him for the rest of my life? I wasn’t sure. I rested back and closed my eyes. The chaos in my mind wasn’t going to make for easy sleeping. One thought after another made itself known in my mind. I’d been practicing meditation for years so I let each thought come and go. Before long, I drifted off to sleep.

  The next morning, Leif knocked lightly on the door. I met him at the door with a bright smile. His eyes widened when he took me in at the door.

  “Oh, you’re already up,” he said.

  “Yeah, I’ve always been an early riser.” I shrugged.

  “I have breakfast ready.” He turned and walked down the hall. I couldn’t help but admire his backside as he walked. I swept my tongue along my bottom lip. A lifetime wasn’t looking too bad if I got to admire him everyday.

  When I walked into the kitchen, there were two plates sitting on the table. Haskell was leaning against the counter. “If you are going to be getting up this early, Leif is going to need to hire a cook. I don’t do mornings.” he grumbled. His eyes narrowed on me. Then he whistled. “You’re looking mighty fine this morning. You getting ready to kick some serious ass in court or what?” His scowl turned into a wide grin. I didn’t think I’d looked any different than normal. I chose a black pencil skirt and matching suit coat. A light blue button up was beneath the coat. I had clasped on my simple silver chain around my neck. I didn’t think there was anything out of the ordinary about my typical work attire. I couldn’t help but square my shoulders at the look Haskell gave me.

  “Why are you making breakfast?” I asked.

  “Leif can’t cook breakfast.” Leif shot him a glare. “What? You have good qualities, but cooking isn’t one of them.” He shrugged. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have more research to do or sleep to get back to. I haven’t decided which, yet.”

  Leif shook his head. “Research, it should be research.”

  “Bloody hell, do you know what time you woke me up?” His scowl returned.

  “Get some sleep. You can do your research when you’re fresh.” I said.

  “I like you even more now, love.” Haskell trudged out of the room.

  Leif turned to me. “Do you need to go to your apartment? I believe they grabbed everything, but we can still go if you need to.” He studied me as I contemplated.

  “No, you got everything. I don’t need to be at the courthouse until ten. I would like to go to the office, though. Are you coming with me all day? Don’t you have something better to do then follow me around all day?” I asked. There was no way he didn’t have more important things to do today.

  He cocked his head to the side and gave me a scolding look. “I’m coming with you until you’ve mastered your power. There’s no way I’m leaving you unprotected while morrigans are hunting you.” His tone matched the fierce protection in his eyes.

  “Seriously, you don't have anything you need to do?” I didn’t believe he could drop everything for me. I get he thought I was important being a descendent and all, but to stop everything just to come to a boring courthouse all day. No way.

  “Anything I have to do, I can manage from my phone. This is why I’m an uber driver. I have funding sources because I am the head of the area. I can coordinate anything from anywhere. Your safety is the most important thing right now. You are a descendent. Without Shar around, you have no protection. I’m not leaving you.” His hand rested on mine on the counter. I felt the familiar heat go through my body.

  “Thank you, I guess.” I didn’t know what else to say.

  “My pleasure,” he winked. “Shall we get to the office, then?” His mouth spread into a playful grin. I felt butterflies in my stomach as his eyes moved down the length of my body.

  “Yeah, I need to stop at the office. My paralegal, Nicole, will have everything ready for the week. Making an appearance at the office is my usual routine. I don’t think I’ve ever missed a day I hadn’t planned in advance.” I tapped my finger against my chin. I couldn’t think of a single day I’d missed going into work. A vacation was definitely in order.

  “Alright, let’s go.” He slipped his hand in mine. Together, we walked out of the house and to the car. Leif let go of my hand long enough to get into the car.

  We arrived surprisingly fast. Leif’s house wasn’t far from my office. He silently followed me into the building and stepped close beside me in the elevator. His hand lingered dangerously close to my hip as others joined us in the elevator. I worked hard to control my breathing as I felt the heat of his body next to mine. Damn, how was he having this effect on me just by being so close. His fingers skimmed the side of my skirt and my sharp intake of breath was audible in the enclosed space. I bit my lip as I felt blood rush to my cheeks as one of the other men gave me a peeved glare. Leif slipped his hand into mine and traced a small circle on the inside of my palm with his finger. I found it both thrilling and relaxing to have him comforting me.

  Finally making it to my floor, I dashed out of the elevator and to my office. Nicole was at her desk and stood as soon as we walked up. Her eyes were wide as soon as she took in all of Leif. When she recovered, she quickly grabbed the stack of papers on her desk. She looked to me, cocking her head to the side. Her mouth slid into a sly grin as she leaned next to my ear. “Who’s the handsome guy?”

  “Nicole, this
is Leif. Leif, this is the one and only, Nicole.She’s my lifesaver around here.” I watched as Nicole blushed and cracked the embarrassed smile one gets when they’re not used to flattery. Nicole had saved my ass more times than I could count. She deserved every once of flattery and praise she got.

  He extended his hand and bowed his head slightly. “It’s nice to meet you, Nicole.”

  “It's nice to meet you, too.” She blushed when he placed a light kiss on her hand. She focused her attention back on me after Leif dropped her hand. “I have everything set for today. You’re due in court at ten, floor C-18. The files are on your desk. Here are the documents for the Sanderson case for next week.” She reached her hand out to hand me the papers. “Do you need anything else?” Nicole crossed her arms and looked to me expectantly.

  “Could you reschedule my three o'clock for later in the week? I have some things I need to do today.” My voice came out a little shakier than I meant it. I needed to be firm.

  She cocked her head as she studied me, then nodded. “Okay, anything else?” She looked from me to Leif. She narrowed her eyes slightly as if she were trying to figure something out. I’m sure she was brimming with questions. I knew she’d ask all kinds of questions as soon as she got me alone. Nicole had a curious spirit, especially when it came to my love life.

  “No, Leif will be with me all day, possibly longer.” I shrugged. I didn't have a good explanation for why he was with me. So I didn’t bother trying for one. I hoped Nicole wouldn't press the issue. She respected me enough to give me space when I needed it.

  “Okay,” A question in her tone. She waited for more information, but I wasn’t giving any. She watched me as we walked into my office. Closing the door behind us, I noticed Nicole watching me, one eyebrow raised. I only ever closed my door when I was with clients.

  “So, this is where you spend all your time?” Leif walked to the wall where my plaque from the University of Minnesota hung. He touched the corner, straightening it.