Praise The Great One, she was full of herself. He’d been gentle with her for years, opting for a soft end to their short relationship to avoid any bratty outbursts—not to mention keeping her highly affluent and politically minded family at bay. Now he had to think of Lexi. The last thing he needed was Serena trotting around the castle wreaking havoc.
He snatched her elbow and spun her around.
Her gasp cracked through the room.
“It’s time you and I had a candid chat.” He pulled her into the kitchen and two of Orla’s cooks scampered out of his path.
Serena tried to subtly tug herself free without tripping in her attempts to match his long strides. She lowered her voice. “Praise the Great One, Eryx. What’s gotten into you? You’re making a scene in front of the help.”
Eryx kept moving through the long dining room. “The help. That’s rich.”
Now free of an audience, she leaned against his momentum and jerked harder. “Let me go.”
He clamped tighter and plowed ahead.
“Damn you. Let. Me. Go.” Serena’s wild shriek rebounded off the stone walls.
The foyer in sight, he flung the main doors wide with a burst of energy and spun Serena to face him. “I need for you to fully grasp what I’m about to say once and for all.”
“I will not.” The late afternoon sun spilled through the doors to surround her in a majestic halo. “You’ll apologize for your treatment of me, particularly in front of servants, before we have any conversations.”
He grabbed both her shoulders and poured every ounce of frustration and anger from the last few days into his glare. “We. Are. Done. There is no us. There never really was and there most certainly will not be in the future.”
Serena flinched and then froze.
Shit. Maybe that had been too much, but damn it he was tired of tiptoeing around the topic. “I’ve tried to be decent and let you down easy, but you’ve refused to listen. From now on you will exercise the decorum appropriate to one of my acquaintance and nothing more.”
Beneath his grip, she tensed, and a mottled redness crept along her neck to her temples.
No remorse. Directness was his best bet with Serena if he wanted this done once and for all. “Are we clear?”
She edged closer, fearless as a cobra. “You dare to talk to me that way? Treat me this way in front of subordinates? I waited for you. Made myself a laughingstock. And you think you can speak to me like this?” She eased back and straightened, a demented gleam settling in her otherwise pretty gaze. “I’ll find a way to make you pay for what you’ve done to me. One way or another, you’ll hurt as you’ve hurt me.” With the regal bearing of a long-standing queen, she glided out the door.
Yeah, definitely right to be direct. The woman was insane. Pretty, but a nut job all the same.
He set out in search of Ludan. Full disclosure with Lexi and a three-man security detail might not be a bad idea for the foreseeable future.
Chapter 8
A hint of sun bled through the bedroom skylights to lift away night’s shadows. Funny how Lexi’s heart felt the same way. The last twenty-four hours had been a roller coaster of discovery and emotion, but she’d never been more alive. Like the first twenty-five years of her life were insignificant.
She nestled closer to Eryx and savored the quiet morning. His unique sandalwood and leather scent wrapped around her. Eryx seemed to think of everything. Even going so far as to take her to visit Ian the day before on the pretense of planning for an impromptu getaway to explain her absence. It was kind of nice having someone look out for her. Anticipating her needs before they even crossed her mind.
No matter how she might want to stick her head in the sand, she couldn’t ignore the niggling thought in her head anymore. He had to be the presence from her dreams. She’d never seen a face, but she always woke with the same feeling she had right now. Content. Protected. He’d said dreams were what led him to her, so it only made sense her dreams would reciprocate.
“I can’t read your thoughts, but I like where your emotions are headed.” Eryx’s husky voice teetered on decadent. He shifted until he lay half on, half off her, lips skating down her neck.
Hold up. She wiggled and shoved at his chest until she could see his face. “You can read my emotions?”
Eryx hung his head and sighed, not that he let her gain much distance. “Yes, I can read them.” He leveraged himself so he rested on his elbows at either side of her head and his hair fell around them in a dark curtain. “It’s one of my gifts. I turn it off and on at will, though when I’m asleep it’s not so simple.”
He studied her, breath slow and steady. “Things are different here, Lexi. You’ll have to learn to accept new truths. New ideas. Who I am.”
Yeah, but apparently on his schedule.
“Still doling out information as you see fit?” She tried to shove out from beneath him, done with the powerless chokehold he held on her.
“Stop it.” Eryx held her in place, the lines of his face sharper than she’d ever seen them. “You’re not the only one with fears. Not the only one afraid of how they’ll be judged. You think it’s easy for me? For any of us knowing how much or how little we should share without pushing too far?”
Lexi closed her eyes and swallowed around a swell of remorse. He’d been good to her. They all had. And here she was acting like a shrew. “You’re right.”
His triceps flexed beneath her palms. So strong. Solid. Like Eryx.
Everything she’d always wanted. “I keep waiting for everything to get ripped away. To find out what the catch in all this is.”
Eryx dragged his thumb along her jawbone. “No catch. Just the life you were meant to have. Assuming you choose to accept it.”
There it was. The question dancing in her head with the grace of an elephant. Death was a heck of a lot more than an inconvenient side effect if Eryx was wrong and she wasn’t Myren. The need to squirm and pace writhed beneath her skin. Room to move while her brain jackhammered at the consequences of her decision.
“You said Myrens can’t divulge their existence to humans. Does that mean I can’t have contact with Ian anymore?” It was the one consideration preventing her decision. The one, aside from death, with any potential to make her walk.
“You can’t break the laws, Lexi. I’ve already pretzeled them bringing you here without proof. You can still be around him, but you can never tell him who or what we are.”
She traced the curve of his shoulder. “But I can visit him.”
Eryx nodded. “You’ll have to be careful though. You’ll move differently afterward. Contain more power. And you’ll never be able to stay for longer than a few weeks. The environment drains you. It’s why you felt so fatigued.”
Lines of worry marked his brow. He commanded the people around him, whether he realized it or not, and had serious control issues, but she’d yet to sense even a flicker of true deceit in his soul. Her heart kicked up a notch. Tell him. “I want the ritual.”
Eryx froze. Even the steady push and pull of his chest ground to a halt. “You’re sure?” He held her tight, cradled between the steel beams of his arms.
The pounding in her chest strengthened and a swell of emotion pooled at the hollow of her throat. “I’m sure.”
He exhaled, slow and ragged, one corner of his mouth lifted in an unsteady grin. “I’ll ask Orla to arrange the celebration. Give you a few days to get—”
“No.” She wriggled up a bit, needing a more confident angle to make her case. “I want it now. Today.”
“Lexi, there’s no rush.”
“I talked to Graylin while you were gone yesterday.”
Eryx stilled, his head tilted to one side.
“According to him, it’s better for me to hurry.”
No physical flames ignited, but Eryx’s anger licked hot along her skin. “G
raylin needs to mind his own business.”
“But it’s true, right? The longer I’m human, the longer you’re exposed and I’m more vulnerable. Is that wrong?”
Eryx’s jawbone looked as though it might snap at any moment, his muscles ripcord tight. “No, he’s not wrong.”
“Is there any reason not to do it today?”
He shook his head.
“Then this is what I want.”
The tumult in his gaze would have flattened her had she not already been horizontal, eyes flooded with both hope and terror.
He lowered his head and brushed a reverent kiss across her lips. “Your wish. My command.”
* * * *
Eryx skipped another pebble across the lake’s surface, tiny ripples echoing out along the surface from the twenty or so others he’d thrown before it. Still a lot more peaceful than the chaos rattling around in his head. A perfect Eden day. Sunshine, spring weather, an easy lakeside picnic…ideal for Lexi’s celebration day. He should be excited.
Still doling out information as you see fit?
Lexi’s comment still stung. He could only imagine the words she’d sling at him when the day was over—assuming she lived that long.
“Stop fidgeting, Eryx.” Orla’s snap matched her towel’s sharp pop as she shooed an eager fly from the food.
Ramsay, Graylin and Ludan stood beneath the frius tree’s tall branches, their voices void of the strain clogging his own throat.
“It’s perfectly normal for a woman to take her time getting ready.” Orla smoothed an unseen wrinkle along the vibrant blue linen tablecloth. “Especially when her man leaves her a beautiful gift.”
A deep sapphire gown accented by a platinum belt encrusted with diamonds, and cuffs to match. Bold, like the woman. Damned if he didn’t have the drive of a horny teen backed up with the lust of a seasoned warrior. He should be patient. More balanced.
A cool spring breeze floated across the water’s surface and brushed his face, but did zero to sooth his need to pace. “What the hell’s taking them so long? I sent Galena in there to help, not add hours to the process.”
“Perhaps Galena’s adding to her Myren education. We’ve already established Lexi knows nothing of mating, let alone that you want her for your own.” Orla tossed a hand towel on the chair he’d vacated and planted her fists on her hips. “From the sounds of things, she doesn’t even know you’re the malran.”
“She knows.” A petulant answer, but he was past the point of caring.
“But does she know what a malran is?” Orla tottered closer, insistent.
The smooth surface of the lake barely rippled. Too bad his patience didn’t match. “In a manner of speaking.”
“Whose manner, may I ask?”
Something snapped. One second the lake filled his vision, the next he towered over the woman who’d all but raised him. “I told her I was our leader. We’d only just met and she knew nothing of our race. Should I have explained I was her equivalent of a king right off the bat?” He threw his hands up. “Oh wait, you’d have me also tell her I want her as my baineann right after I’d carried her through a portal and thrown fire from my palm!”
He faced the lake and fought to calm his raging breath. Heavy gazes burned into his back, the peace of the spring silence awkward. He’d never advanced on Orla like that before. Ever.
“Forgive me.” Orla’s voice floated to him, consoling. “I was only thinking of Lexi. I didn’t consider the obstacles in your path.”
A sharp ache pulsed at his jawline, his teeth clenched tight enough to smooth his molars. Shame hung heavy around his neck. “I should apologize to you.”
Closing the short distance between them, he pulled Orla to his chest and kissed the top of her gray head. If he couldn’t keep his emotions in check, he’d never make it through the night. Not with the deception ahead.
A throaty chuckle rumbled from Ramsay’s direction. The grin on his twin’s face grew to a full-on smile as he crossed his arms. “You’re a lucky man.” He jerked his head toward the garden gate. “Prepare to walk the gauntlet, brother.”
Sweet Great One on High.
Lexi strolled along the winding path, Galena beside her. The flowers, the waving grass, the muted stones on the home behind her—all background details to her focal point. Midnight-colored hair, loose about her shoulders. Tanned skin wrapped in a body-hugging blue gown. Pride tried to get him to shut his slack jaw, but the rest of him was too shell-shocked to care.
The perfect malress.
Primal instinct pounded at him. Take. Protect. Indulge.
No. Not yet. She needed him to guide and teach her. Not sling her over his shoulder and stomp off to some hidden cave.
Rounding the last curve on the path, Lexi met his rapt stare. A blush stole across her face and her fingers fluttered at her sides.
Eryx pushed open the garden gate, his movements harsh and embarrassingly gawky.
Galena slid past them, eyes diverted with a know-it-all smirk.
He cupped Lexi’s elbow, drew her closer, and slid his hand until he’d circled her wrist. It seemed so small and vulnerable, the flutter of her pulse frantic beneath his thumb. He kissed the delicate spot. “I’ve seen many beautiful things, but nothing moves me like you, Alexis.” He pulled her close, the sweet scents of rosemary and mint clinging to her skin. No matter what it took, he wouldn’t give up. She was his mate…whether she realized it yet or not.
Chapter 9
Eryx caressed Lexi’s back and a heightened, sensual awareness washed across her in a white-hot mass. He didn’t seem to give a fig for their audience. The more he touched her, the less she did either. Could he tell Galena had talked her into wearing nothing underneath?
“Your gifts are beautiful. Thank you.” Her lips trembled as she spoke, her voice whispering a need that didn’t match her proper words.
Eryx shifted and the silk of her gown teased her thighs and stomach. “I like you in Myren clothes.” His guttural words stroked her in all the right places. A wicked smile crept into place, and he tickled the hollow at her throat with rough fingers. “I like what’s missing underneath even better.”
“Praise the Great One, Eryx. Stop pawing her so we can eat.” Ramsay’s lighthearted comment cut through the sexual haze.
Orla chirped orders to the men, and Galena guided Lexi to the head of a large table beneath a mammoth shade tree.
Feathery sea foam leaves danced above her. The tree’s branches spanned the width of a small home and bathed their party in nap-worthy shade. At its furthest reach, over the edge of the still lake, one lone branch dipped to kiss the water’s surface. Ironic how similar her life had become. Drawn to something so much bigger, dipping in one tiny toe but ready to go under.
Voices chattered. Random personalities perfectly interwoven as a group. She’d never believed such bonds existed. Those were fantasies. Created in books and on the big screen. God knew she’d never experienced it in any of the homes she’d lived in. But this? They quipped and laughed with each other with a familial trust she couldn’t quite grasp.
“You’re a part of it now, you know.” Graylin leaned forward and the wooden chair groaned beneath him. His expression matched the one Ian often sported—sage, know-it-all, and fatherly. “They’re giving you space and time to adjust to their antics, but they’re your family now.”
Lexi’s heart lurched at the thought. A family of her own. People to banter with. People to love and watch out for who would do the same for her.
No. It wasn’t possible. They’d only just met her.
“Don’t try to make sense of it,” Graylin said. “Some things just are. You accept them, give thanks, and go on.”
Lexi fidgeted. “You make it sound simple.”
A smile flickered on his face. “Most things are simple until our minds complicate them. Your mind, i
n particular, appears to be a trouble maker.”
An indelicate sound lurched from Lexi—somewhere between a cough and a hiccup. She waited for her brain to serve some witty retort, but nothing came.
Galena swatted Ramsay’s hand away from a large bowl, while Eryx and Orla prepped two large platters of meat.
Maybe Graylin was right. Maybe it was as simple as jumping in. To let the current sweep her into the fray. Lexi cleared her throat. “Was your celebration like this, Eryx?”
The chatter paused.
Stares bounced back and forth between her and Eryx.
Holy shit, was that a blush on Eryx’s cheeks?
He finished carving the slab of meat in front of him. “No, it was bigger. But then my parents had time to plan. Dad loved a good celebration.”
“Celebration my ass.” Ludan stacked a pile of dishes at the end of the table, the plates clinking. “It was a damned national holiday. For both of them.”
Wow. That big of a deal? “You both went through it at the same time? I thought it was hard on the parents?”
“It is and it was.” Eryx tossed an annoyed look in Ludan’s direction. “Our parents were wiped for days which left the two of us plenty of time to explore our gifts while they recovered.”
Orla lightly cuffed the back of Eryx’s head. “You may have left your parents alone but you were holy terrors for me. I’ll swear I bandaged you boys for two days straight with your aerial antics.”
Lexi giggled as she tried to imagine either Eryx or Ramsay doing anything graceless. Somehow the image wouldn’t compute. “Were either of you scared?”
“I was scared shitless,” Ramsay said with a grin. “Eryx was too, even though he pretended not to be.”
Eryx laughed and threw the hand towel he’d been using at his brother’s head. “Try to keep my image intact for my woman.”
His woman. The words sent a loop-de-loop thrill through her belly. So possessive and dominant, which should have rubbed her the wrong way, but did exactly the opposite.
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