by Holly Kelly
Avira had a mug just below his grasping fingers and said, “I need you to let go for a moment.”
“Forget it,” Nick snapped. “She’s going to bleed to death.”
“She’s not going to bleed to death. She barely nicked the artery,” Avira said as she caught the stream of blood pouring from between his fingers.
“Hope,” Nick shouted. “We need you to stitch it up.”
“As soon as the cup is full,” Hope said calmly, a needle and thread in her hand.
Nick bellowed a curse in frustration.
“I would ask you not to use profanity in front of my wife,” Conall said.
“It’s okay, dear,” Hope said. “I can see how upset he is.”
“I almost have enough,” Avira said.
Hope stepped forward. “Just tell me when.”
Avira nodded. Half a minute later, Avira said, “Okay, that’s enough.” She pulled the cup away, and Hope moved in.
“Mr. Chase,” Hope said. “I need you to move your hand.”
Nick hesitated, afraid to let go.
“I work fast,” Hope said. “You needn’t worry so.”
“Nick.” Conall took him by the shoulders. “She really is great with a needle. Come on. Just step back.”
Nick took a hesitant step away and held his breath as he let go.
The bleeding had slowed to an ooze. “Fae’s a remarkable healer,” Hope said, her eyes wide. “I don’t think we’ll need to stitch it after all.” She turned to Nick. “Just put pressure on it, and we’ll check it again in a few minutes.
“Too bad,” Thomas said to Conall. “I’d like to have seen your wife in action. I’ve heard she’s quite impressive.”
Conall nodded in appreciation. “That she is. After two hundred and thirty years, she still amazes me.”
Hope smiled back, her countenance bright. “Why, thank you, husband.” She turned to Nick. “Although the bleeding was kept to a minimum, Fae did lose over a pint of blood. I think it best we provide some nourishment and she stays to rest until she recovers her strength.”
“I’m not leaving her,” Nick said.
“Of course not,” Hope said.
Avira stepped forward, the cup of blood in her hand. “Fae risked a lot to get you this.”
Nick looked down. His stomach took a turn at the sight of the thick, dark liquid. “I can’t guarantee it won’t come back up.”
“It won’t,” Avira said. “Just drink it, and then we can concentrate on getting Fae cared for.”
Nick looked at Fae. Her face paled even as her eyes reassured him.
He closed his eyes and pressed the cup to his lips as he tipped it back. The warm fluid filled his mouth. He’d thought he would be gagging at this point, but the taste filled him with inexplicable joy. She was near him. He could sense her…feel her. Fae’s presence was like…it was hard to organize his thoughts and feelings into something he could explain. It was like coming home to the smells of Christmas dinner after being away at college a full semester.
To him, Fae was home.
“How do you feel?” Avira asked. “Any different?”
He nodded, locking eyes with Fae. She looked down, her pale face tinged with red. She was so beautiful when she blushed.
Concern filtered in when he could feel her exhaustion. She still hadn’t fully recovered from the horror Lafayette inflicted on her. And then they drained another pint of blood?
What were they thinking?
“So,” Avira continued, “do you think you can find her anywhere?”
“Yes,” Nick answered. Before Avira could ask any of the other questions that were brimming in her curious eyes, he turned to Hope and said, “You mentioned Fae could rest.”
“Yes,” Hope said, “but I think she should eat something first.” She turned to the others. “You are all welcome to stay for dinner.” Her eyes landed on her husband’s. “Conall, why don’t you get the place settings?”
Minutes later they sat down to pot roast, sourdough bread, and a leafy-green salad. Nick watched Fae closely. Hope poured her a glass of fresh apple juice. Fae took a long drink and began to nibble at the food. Nick ate but didn’t even taste it; his thoughts were completely on Fae.
Her eyes met his for a moment, and then she cast them down. Nervousness radiated from her. She was worried about what he felt about her now that he’d drunk her blood.
He might be able to find me, but how does he feel about me? He acted like sleeping with me was the last thing he wanted to do.
Nick nearly choked on a potato when her thoughts came through, crystal clear. He looked up at her. The sound of him choking stunned her, and her thoughts were no longer coherent.
Nick swallowed down the vegetable. After clearing his throat and taking a drink, he said, “Conall, can I please have a word with you? In private?”
Conall raised his eyes. “Of course.” He looked at the others. “Please excuse us.”
Conall led him to a study filled with books.
As soon as Conall closed the door, Nick blurted, “I can hear her thoughts.”
“Really?” Conall asked.
“No, I’m lying.”
Conall frowned at him.
“Of course, really!”
“It’s normal to feel impressions of what she’s feeling.”
“It’s not just impressions. I can hear exactly what she’s thinking.”
“That is unusual.” Conall raised an eyebrow.
“I’m going to have to tell her,” Nick said. “Do you know what that’s going to do to us? How it’s going to wreck our relationship?”
“I’d wager that being able to read her mind would help in your attempts to win her affections. You’ll know exactly what she likes and what annoys her.”
And when she completely misread him. She thought he didn’t want to sleep with her? Nothing had ever been less true!
“She won’t appreciate the benefits.”
“Do you really need to tell her?”
Nick huffed and shook his head in disbelief. “And what happens when she finds out I kept this from her? She’s smart. She’ll figure it out.” Nick took a step toward Conall. “Did you know that this would happen?”
“Not exactly.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Nick growled.
“Each connection is different—the stronger the bond, the more the two are fated to be together.”
“I don’t believe in fate.”
“But you do care for Fae.”
“Which is why I’m concerned.”
“You don’t need to be. You two are meant to be together.”
Nick frowned. “Like I said—”
“You don’t believe in fate,” Conall interjected. “Not believing in something has no bearing on whether or not it’s true. An hour ago, you didn’t believe in elves, yet, here I am.”
All this talk of fate made him think about Conall’s own fate. How did he end up with a human wife? “Can you hear Hope’s thoughts?”
Conall raised his eyebrows. “I wish! That woman’s mind is a mystery to me. But I do trust her. And I love her more than my life. I’d lose my head for that woman.”
“You’ve been together for over two hundred and thirty years?”
Conall nodded.
“That’s a long life for a human.”
“I’m not without power, Nick Chase, and as long as my heart continues to beat, so shall Hope’s.”
“So why do you choose to live here?”
“We live here because neither of us has to hide. In the human world, I must cloak myself from the world and take on a human appearance. And in the world of Faeries, Hope would be at risk. Other faery-kind see humans as a subspecies worthy only of passing entertainment. It isn’t unheard of for either an elf or faery to seduce a human and then shrug them off or even kill him or her once they tire of them.”
“So, I’m the product of a faerie’s romp with a human subspecies?” Nick’s brows pressed together.
Co
nall shrugged. “Most likely.”
“How did you and Hope end up falling in love?”
“It’s a long story, but I learned what it felt like to be a subspecies among the humans. Hope was the one person who treated me with dignity, and in the end, she saved my life.”
Nick suddenly felt embarrassed. He was confused for a moment before realizing it was Fae’s emotions he felt.
“I need to get back to Fae,” he said simply.
Conall nodded, and they both returned to the table.
“It’s about time you two returned,” Hope said. “Nick, you need to put Fae to bed, she nearly took a plunge in her stew when she started drifting off.”
Thomas chuckled. “I’m afraid I was boring her with tales of my early days in the Order.”
Fae rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes. “No, it was fascinating. Really. I’m just tired.” Dead tired. Her thoughts came through. Wait a minute. Nick’s supposed to put me to bed? Her heart took off in a sprint, and her emotions bordered on panic. What if he wants to kiss me goodnight? What if—
Nick experienced relief when he blocked her thoughts mid-sentence. He’d heard enough for him to think about. Her thoughts sounded like those of a woman complete innocent. A virgin. He glanced over to her. She looked away immediately, and another tinge of red stained her cheeks.
She was a virgin. A surge of possessiveness rose in him. He would be both her first and last. He thought briefly of the idiot, Mike Pendleton. If he ever came near Fae again, he’d rip his throat out! And then the others—ninety percent of the male student body. They all had lust in their eyes when they looked at Fae—from her stunning eyes to her lush body. It would be even worse if she ever posed nude in that blasted art class. Nick had the insane urge to pound his fist into someone’s face until they were—
At the image that surfaced in his mind, Nick was shocked out of his thoughts.
What was he thinking? He was prepared to go into a homicidal rage over just the thought. He needed to get control of himself. And he needed to get more information out of Conall—find out how to control his emotions. He’d never had a problem with jealously before. But Fae? Just the thought of her with someone else had him ready to murder someone.
Yeah, Nick could seriously injure a hormonal college student if he didn’t get control of himself.
Fae leaned into his side. He could feel her tremble. His previous thoughts flew from his mind. He had no room in his head for anything other than caring for Fae in her weakened condition.
She gasped as he swept her up in his arms. She put her arms around his neck and said, “You know I can walk.”
“And I can carry you.” He smirked. “Looks like we both have things to be proud of.”
“Smart-aleck.” She grinned and lay her head on his shoulder.
Nick looked to Hope, who held back a smile.
“Where to?” he asked.
“As you walk out the door,” Hope said, “it’ll be the first cabin on your right. It’s made exclusively for guests, so feel free to make yourself at home.”
Chapter 26
Fae’s heart raced as Nick carried her across the threshold of the door into the cabin. This place looked strangely like the cabin from her imagination—the daydream was crystal clear in her mind. Perhaps, this time she’d get to kiss Nick. Did he even want to kiss her?
She looked him in the eyes. They twinkled as he murmured, “You’re so beautiful. You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now. But I’m afraid I couldn’t stop at just one kiss.”
She smiled. She’d obviously misread him before. But, he was probably right. Kissing would be a bad idea. At least, it wouldn’t fit with her plans for waiting for marriage.
Nick coughed and then cleared his throat. “You mind turning on the light?” Nick asked, still sounding a bit hoarse. “I seem to have my hands full.”
“You can put me down, you know,” Fae said, slightly breathless.
He raised his eyebrow. “That’s a less desirable option.”
Fae chuckled. “I have to be getting heavy.”
“Not at all.”
She found the switch on the wall and flipped it.
Warm light spread over a quaint living area with a kitchen off to the side. Bulging logs lined the walls of the room, lit with the glow of lamps. In front of them sat a plush, brown leather couch with matching love seat. Between those stood a square, glass coffee table. The pane rested atop a stout, gnarled trunk that broke into three branches reaching up to kiss the glass. A cobblestone fireplace was the icing on the cake in this cabin. A stack of wood sat ready beside it. Fae could smell the lingering scent of burnt maple.
“Wow,” Fae breathed. “This place is great.”
Nick nodded appreciatively as he blew out a quick breath and looked around. His eyes lingered on the opening to a hallway. “Let’s get you ready for bed.”
He finally let her down to rest on her own two feet and led her into the hall. He flipped on more lights as he went. There were two bedrooms that looked nearly identical on one side of the hall, and on the other side, a bathroom, a linen closet stocked with towels and bedding, and then there was a laundry room toward the end. At the very end of the hall stood a door. It held a rectangular window through which Fae could see slashes of tree trunks in the darkness.
Nick took her arm and lifted it as he looked her over. The slash on her wrist was completely gone, but she still had smears of blood down the entire length of her arm and crimson splatters across her shirt and jeans. It looked like she’d survived a murder attempt. She looked over at him, and he looked worse than she did.
“We should probably clean up,” she said.
“Yeah,” he said, his voice tight. He dropped her arm and stepped away. “Why don’t you go on in the bathroom and strip down? I’ll get our clothes in the wash while you shower. Hopefully, this place has enough water pressure to handle it.”
Fae nodded, trying not to think about them both naked in the same house. She stepped inside, carefully locked the door, and peeled off her clothes. Looking at her pink, lacy underwear, she considered a moment holding on to those. Did she really want him to see them? She truly did need them washed, though. She couldn’t stand the thought of showering and then putting on used underwear. Besides, she’d be a fool if she thought Nick had never seen a women’s bra and panties before. She settled on rolling them inside her shirt and jeans.
She stood, working up the nerve to hand them to Nick.
Fae jumped at a light rap on the door. “You ready to hand over your clothes?” Nick’s voice filtered in. She had a sudden image of Nick standing completely in the buff outside the door.
Fae swallowed. “You’re still dressed, aren’t you?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want answered, Fae.”
Oh, good grief!
She pressed herself behind the door as she unlocked it and squeezed her bundle through the crack. He took it and said, “Thanks.” She could swear she could feel him smiling, amused by her behavior.
Moments later, she was covered in lather and standing in a hot shower. The water pressure seemed fine and the water heater worked perfectly. Fifteen minutes later, she turned off the tap and toweled off.
Smacking her lips, she wished she could brush her teeth. Perhaps…
She looked in the drawers under the sink and smiled in relief. It was stocked with everything she’d need—brand new toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, hairbrushes, and razors—everything still in their store packaging. Breaking out the new items, she commenced ridding herself of the film that covered her teeth.
Looking up at the mirror, she used her hand to clear the fog off the glass. Then she brushed out her hair, parted it, and braided it down the sides. She looked at the end-result and sighed. She didn’t have a speck of makeup on her face, but she looked otherwise put together—except for clothes. Those would take a while.
It wouldn’t do for him to see her in the nude, she thought as she looked he
rself over. She’d have to leave the bathroom clad only in a towel.
She could do this.
Maybe.
Oh, good grief. She was a twenty-two-year-old woman! She could absolutely do this.
Wrapping the towel tight around her chest, she stepped into the hallway and gasped. Nick moved toward her fast, his muscled chest at eye level to her. She looked down quickly, relieved to see he had a towel hugging his hips.
“I hope you saved me some cold water,” he muttered as he brushed by her.
“Um, yeah. There’s plenty of…did you say cold water?”
He didn’t slow down to answer her, but entered the bathroom immediately and shut the door behind him. Before she even left the hall, she heard running water.
Stepping into the first room she came to, she eyed the bed with a deep longing. Draping the towel across a chair, she stepped to the dresser. There couldn’t possibly be…
She opened the drawer and smiled. Hope thought of everything. Fae ruffled through a few nightgowns and brand new underclothes and found her size. She pulled off the tags, slipped into them, and sighed happily.
She could now go to bed.
Chapter 27
The murmur of a voice roused Fae from her slumber. She opened her eyes to darkness. She could just make out her bedroom door—ajar. Nick must have opened it.
Her heart thumped hard in her chest when she heard again what must have awakened her. It was a voice—not so much heard by her ears, but something she felt. Someone called for her.
Should she wake up Nick?
No. There was something familiar about that voice. Something that told her she had nothing to fear.
Fae pulled the covers away and got up. Where was it coming from?
She wandered to the window and pushed it open. The voice was louder, but still, she couldn’t quite hear what it was saying.
Fae tip-toed through the cabin and opened the front door. Goosebumps rose on her arms as cool air breezed over her exposed skin. She stepped outside, closed the door carefully, and then turned to look at the forest. It glowed, lit by the unseen moon above the trees.
She turned toward the sound and began to walk down a path, her bare feet padding over the hard, cool flagstones. Perhaps she should have put on her shoes. She dismissed the possibility of returning for them. She didn’t want to chance waking Nick. She had a feeling he wouldn’t be enthusiastic about her wanting to take a midnight stroll in the woods.
