The Willow

by Stacey Kennedy

  “You shouldn’t be alone,” Kyden said, his tone husky as he ran his fingers lightly down my arms. “Too many vamps.” He placed his hands around the curve of my hip and began urging me to follow his movements.

  “Are you going to protect me?” I managed.

  He applied pressure with his hands as he guided me. “I will.”

  I leaned against him and closed the distance between us, forgetting everyone else in the room. He reached up sweeping my hair across my shoulder, and lowered his lips to my neck to lay sweet soft butterfly kisses.

  My knees went weak as I finally felt his dampened soft lips against my skin.

  “Did I tell you how incredible you look?” His breath tickled the sensitive skin on the nape of my neck.

  I gulped deeply. “No, I don’t think you mentioned it.”

  “Hmmm…” he purred. “Well then, I must have just thought it.”

  With the softest touch, he lightly ran his tongue along the length of my neck.

  I shivered and moaned.

  His lips curved into a smile against my skin. He approved of my reaction. “Like that, do you?”

  My arousal grew. I needed to see him—needed to kiss him. I spun around and the second I did, I wished I hadn’t. The room spun so quickly it knocked me off balance. I dug in my heels and ignored the annoying spins. I wasn’t going to let this moment pass. I needed him badly.

  I leaned up to kiss him only to meet loud laughter. “Wha…t…so…fu…n…ny?” I slurred. The second my words were out, it was obvious what was so funny. I was smashed.

  That’s the thing with martinis—they creep up on you. One second you feel fine and the next you’re slurring like an idiot, which was me presently.

  The room spun again and I dug into his arms trying to steady myself. “Ooohh.”

  He chuckled deeply. “Álainn, you’re done. Let’s get you home.”

  Chapter Four

  The whole time I got ready, I wished I could go back to bed. I felt as if I’d been starved, run over, and beaten to a pulp. Basically, I felt like complete and total shit.

  I dragged my feet along the floor dreading tonight. I glanced toward the kitchen and stopped. Food?

  Bad idea. Kyden was in for a special treat as it was with training tonight. I really didn’t want to add fuel to the fact that it was very likely I could vomit on him.

  I stumbled to the door, flung it open, and ran straight into a chest. It was like hitting a brick wall, and being that I was already off balance, I went flying back to land flat on my ass—hard. “Oww,” I groaned and grasped my head tightly.

  Kyden laughed loudly. “Alright?”

  I couldn’t even answer. The pain forced my eyes shut while everything faded away to deep throbs.

  “Is she okay?” Zia asked, off in the distance.

  “She’s fine,” Kyden answered. “Just had a little too much fun last night.”

  Zia’s voice came closer. “I thought you might need me and by the looks of you, I was right.”

  I snapped my head up and hissed as the throbbing worsened. This was mortifying! I hadn’t experienced this kind of hangover since my first drunk night, and that’s when I experimented with whiskey. After that, I knew my limits. Obviously, I needed to learn that lesson again.

  “Here,” she said, kneeling down and reaching out her hand.

  The second we connected, my skin began to tingle with pins and needles. I closed my eyes, relishing the moment of sweet heavenly bliss. When it stopped, I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t a trace of my horrible hangover.

  My eyes snapped open to Zia’s smiling face. “Your magic heals?”

  She stood, straightening out her skirt. “It does.” She laughed, and began to walk away. “Just think of me as a bottle of extra strength Tylenol.”

  “Thanks, Zia,” I called after her.

  She looked over her shoulder and smiled in a grand-scale. “You’re welcome.”

  When I glanced back at Kyden, he looked exuberant. What’s he up to?

  “We’re not training tonight,” he said, looking at my clothes. “Do you want to change?”

  “Well…” I glanced down. Now being in a better state, I wished I’d put a little more effort in. Gray sweats and a big white t-shirt is far from sexy. “What are we doing?”

  He smirked, and shook his head quickly.

  Great! More surprises!

  I flew to my room, throwing on a pair of jeans and a pretty pink blouse. The jeans made it casual. The blouse made it dressy—just in case.

  When I came back out, Kyden was leaning against the door and his exuberance hadn’t faded. If anything, it had grown.

  I stopped, thoroughly annoyed. “One thing you should know about me is that I hate surprises. Hate. Not just dislike, but hate.” I accentuated the word so he got my point. “You need to tell me something or I’m not going anywhere.”

  He arched a brow. “You’re impatient?”

  I nodded firmly.

  He snorted a laugh. “I’m taking you out.”

  “Out, as in a date?”

  “That’s right.”

  I smiled big. “Well then, let’s go.” It was about time he was finally getting down to business.

  As we walked along the hall, my mind swirled, flipped through ideas of what he had planned. Where would we be going? Dinner? The movies? The options were endless. Of course, Kyden’s expression said nothing, but there was a slight twinkle of excitement in his eyes, which only caused my impatience to multiply.

  Once out in the foyer, he took my hand as he opened the door. The light hit my eyes and I closed them quickly. When I opened them again, my breath gasped out in utter disbelief. I hadn’t even considered this a possibility. “How did—who—what—”

  Kyden smiled sweetly. “Look familiar?”

  It sure did. How the heck did Kyden know about my willow? It looked as beautiful as ever—a tall, fat tree with leaves dangling close to the ground. A rocky creek sat directly behind, plush green grass encircled it with wild flowers, adding just the right amount of color. Walking forward, stepping beneath it, I twirled around allowing its loving leaves to tickle my skin. It was like coming home to an old friend, and one that I’d missed deeply.

  “Did you come here often?” Kyden’s voice startled me.

  I’d been so lost in my tree I had forgotten he was here. I glanced at him and he wore an incredibly sweet expression on his face. Apparently, he was enjoying my interaction with the tree. “I came here every chance I had.”

  He pulled me down in front of him, reaching out to touch a leaf, then looked at me inquisitively. “Why?”

  “The beauty alone would bring me back, but there was always something more.” I shrugged. “I don’t really know, to be honest.”

  He glanced around at the thick bush, then back at me. “How did you find it?”

  It wasn’t an odd question—this tree always was a little out of place in this forest. It wasn’t meant to support a willow and it was in the middle of nowhere. “I spent most of my time in this forest. My parent’s home is just over there.” I pointed west. “One day I was being adventurous and stumbled upon it. After that, I never stayed away for long.”

  “You feel a connection to this tree then?”

  “I do—a very deep connection. Maybe it’s because I felt similar to it. It doesn’t belong here in this thick bush, and I didn’t belong where I lived, either.”

  He chuckled softly. “I think there’s more to it than that.”

  “There is?”

  “A willow is a scared tree. You are half witch. Your connection might lie there.”

  Guess that made sense. Could he be right? Was I drawn to this tree because of its magical elements?

  We sat quiet a moment, then something he said turned a light bulb on in my head. “Why am I a half breed?”

  He arched a brow. “Come again?”

  So I did. “I’m ha
lf Witch and half Guardian. Why haven’t I seen anyone else like that?”

  “Because there isn’t any.”

  That was unexpected. I was expecting him to tell me something like they lived in the Earthworld or you just haven’t met any yet. Not there isn’t any.

  I waved him on, demanding he tell me more.

  Apparently, my impatience amused him since he chuckled before he answered. “A youngling born from intermixed supes will be one or the other. Never both.”

  Figures, just when I think I belong I find out I’m different. I glanced down at my hands and ran them through the grass. “Why? I mean, why did it happen with me?”

  “Some questions have no answers, Álainn.”

  The deepness in his voice made me look back at him, and when I did, a wave of desire hit me like a ton of bricks. He was going to kiss me that was a definite. I’d been waiting so long for this kiss the anticipation was rattling my nerves.

  Trying to settle them I asked, “What language is that? I don’t recognize it.”

  He smiled his devilish grin and began to lean in.

  Jesus, this was taking forever. He wasn’t rushing, diving in to steal my lips, he was drawing it out, making me suffer, and boy-oh-boy was I suffering.

  He stopped just an inch away from my face. His gaze very focused on my lips. “It’s Gaelic.”

  “You speak Gaelic?” My voice came out soft and wispy.

  He moved in even closer, but didn’t reach for my lips. He trailed his nose along my jaw and inhaled deeply. “Mmm hmm.”

  Sweet Jesus! Okay, I’ve always been a bit sensitive, but never like this. Trying to keep it together was becoming a challenge. “What does it mean?”

  He backed away and took my chin in his grip. “It means beautiful, which is exactly what you are.” Then, he arched a brow. “If you do not want me to kiss you, say it now.”

  I knew when to keep my mouth shut.

  He pulled my chin toward him and took my lips tenderly. His mouth was full of talent, and if I had been standing, it wouldn’t have been for long. I leaned in closer as he angled my head and glided his hand up to grip my hair to deepen the kiss. He parted my lips, gently, lightly teasing my tongue with his. I nearly melted beneath him.

  With a final soft caress of his lips, he backed away and I slowly opened my eyes. “Yum,” I exhaled.

  He appeared equally ravished. “Indeed.”

  “So, tell me about your life?” I asked. “Did you grow up in the Otherworld? What are your parents like? Do you have any sisters or brothers?”

  He laughed, raising a brow. “Which one of those do you want me to answer first?”

  I was a little excited to find out more about him. Lately, all anyone wanted to know was about me; nice to get the attention put on someone else for a while. I waved him on. “Yes, I grew up in the Otherworld with my father, and no, I have no brothers or sisters.”

  I wasn’t blind to the fact that he didn’t mention a mother, but this moment was too good to ruin with unhappy memories. “Tell me about your father. Does he live in the Otherworld?”

  “He does.”

  “Are you going to tell me about him?” I waved my hand, urging him on. Geesh, it was like pulling teeth getting information out of him.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “I don’t know, just about him. Is he nice to you? Do you have a good relationship with him? Does he work for the Council?”

  He chuckled. “Yes to all the above—he’s Talon.”

  I couldn’t hide my shock. “Talon, as in the Master of Guardians, Talon?”

  “That would be him.”

  My hand twitched to smack myself. How had I not seen it? The resemblance was uncanny—especially in the eyes. “Is he a good father?”

  “He is,” he said with a firm nod. “I can only hope to prove myself as worthy.”

  I imagined he had already done that a thousand times over. “I’m sure you already do.”

  His expression softened and he reached out, running his fingers up my arm softly. He stopped when he reached my shoulder, then moved his fingers under my chin. His lips met mine again in a soft passionate kiss that was more than lips meeting—it was love blossoming. He could be tough as nails and extremely cocky—and that side of him sent desire running through my veins—but this soft, gentle side of him was one I could get lost in.

  When he released my mouth, my gaze met his and I realized how lucky I’d become. When I thought I’d lost everything, I ended up gaining more than I could ever imagine. “It’s hard to believe how much my life has changed,” I told him. “Just a week ago, I was trying to kill myself. Now look, things are pretty damn great.”

  He smiled softly, brushing his fingers along my cheek. “You have changed things for me as well.”

  “I have?” What could have changed so much for him?

  “You have.”

  Then, he leaned in to kiss me again. I stopped his mouth with my hand. “Are you going to elaborate on that?”

  “Mmm.” He hesitated a moment, then said, “No.”

  He leaned back in, but I stopped him again. “You know, you have a real problem with sharing information.”

  He laughed. “You’re right, I do.” Then, his lips met mine and ended that conversation.

  I let it, for a little while, then I pulled away and asked, “Okay, answer me this, how old are you?” He didn’t look thirty yet, but who knew, he could be a mummy for all I knew.

  “Twenty-eight.”

  Phew! Can’t say that wasn’t a relief—would have been a bit creepy if he was a geezer. “Tell me then, how does a handsome twenty-eight year old like yourself not have a girlfriend?”

  He arched a brow. “You want me to be attached?”

  “Er…no.”

  He reached out, cupping my face. “My assumption was that you now held that role…hmm?”

  I leaned against his hand. “That’s a good assumption.” He bent toward me and laid a soft kiss on my lips when suddenly my stomach growled furiously. I grabbed my waist, embarrassed.

  He backed away, laughing. “Can’t ignore that.” He jumped to his feet and pulled me with him. “Come on. Let’s get back.”

  His words posed a question. “Exactly how do we get back?” It’s not like there was some bizarre door here.

  He arched a sexy brow. “Don’t remember, do you?”

  His sarcastic tone deserved a very dirty look, which he got. So, I’d been drunk the last time and can’t remember. It could’ve been worse. I could’ve puked on him.

  “Come here, Álainn.” He chuckled and reached his hand out.

  As soon as our skin connected there was a flash of light forcing my eyes closed, and when they opened again, I was back in the foyer.

  “Bah!” I shouted. “How did you do that?” I was beginning to accept the fact that I was going to live in a constant state of the hebejebes.

  He was holding back laughter that was obvious. “A temporary portal opens when you enter the Earthworld.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning, just go back to where you came in and think of the Otherworld. It will always bring you back to the foyer.”

  I gave myself a good shake, breaking Kyden’s hold. He burst out laughing.

  Suddenly, a rip-roaring voice blasted through. “Where the hell have you been?”

  When I glanced toward her, Haven was standing just a few feet away apparently completely pissed. “It’s the summer solace and Zia’s casting a circle. She told me to come and get you.”

  “My fault,” Kyden told her.

  She scowled. “Of course it was.”

  Without even the chance to say goodbye, she yanked me out of the foyer and outside.

  “Where were you?” she growled.

  “At my willow,” I answered, a little taken back by her aggression.

  “What, are you two together now?”

  “We are.” I went with
the truth, even though her tone and face said I shouldn’t.

  "Hrmph," she grumbled, scowling so deep her face was almost unrecognizable.

  What the hell was going on? Why was she acting this way? She appeared almost jealous. Is that what this was? Did she not want to share me? Trying to lighten the mood, I changed the subject. “What’s a circle?”