by Eden Ashe
She still glared at him. “If you’re trying to make me feel better, you’re still failing, Nathan.”
He chuckled quietly. “No, I’m being realistic. I can help you, but you’re going to have to be a little less stubborn and let me, until we get you on your feet.”
She had the adorable look on her face she got whenever she thought he wasn’t making sense. Her eyes narrowed at him, her brow and nose screwed up. She stood up and plopped her hands on her curvy hips. “I’m on my feet.”
He coughed to cover his laugh. She was so damn cute. “It’s a figure of speech,” he finally managed to get out without his amusement showing. “It means being able to support yourself completely.”
“Oh.” She blew out a breath and sat down on the edge of the bed. Her teeth caught at her bottom lip as she played with the edge of the t-shirt she wore. It took everything he had to keep his eyes on her face, and not the sinful body barely hiding behind the fabric, or the way it showed off the tops of her thighs. “So what are you suggesting?” She peeked up at him.
Nathan prayed for self-control. The second he opened his mouth and said the next words, he was going to be a walking hard-on for the foreseeable future, and he doubted she would want him all over her every time she breathed.
Dragging a hand over his face, he braced his arms against his legs again. “Stay here. We’ll get you some clothes, I’ll teach you how to navigate the city without getting yourself killed and we’ll start looking for a way for you to support yourself, so you can find your own place.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Live here, Nathan? With you?” She was on her feet, the too-fast movement making her sway. He shot up, grasping her around the waist before she could face-plant onto his hardwood floor. She gaped up at him. “You mean, live with you?”
“I’m not a goddamn ogre, Katenia. I’m not going to ravish you while you sleep.”
She poked him in the shoulder. “You stubborn beast. I like you. I like you so much that it would be too easy to depend on you and let you fix everything for me. I’m a healer, Nathan. I take care of things, and I really, really want to take care of you. But I’m not human, and you’re not a fairy, and even if it does feel like you’re my forever mate, you can’t be, because again, you are human. I can’t get attached to you anymore than I am.”
His temper eased, though the ache in his chest intensified. He didn’t like hearing that, even if they wanted it, there could be no future between them. But he nodded and pretended like the thought didn’t make him miserable. “Okay, then.” He winked as he set her back and leaned down to kiss her lightly. “There is one rule. Not to fall in love with each other.”
Her head canted as she considered it. “What about sex?”
He grasped her hips and yanked her toward him again, his mouth skimming along her throat. “Sex is still on the table. We just keep the yucky love stuff out of it.” He licked at her pulse point while his hands slid under her shirt to knead her backside. “Deal?”
“Deal.” She grinned. When he hitched her up, she wrapped her legs around his waist and tangled her fists in his hair, her mouth hot and demanding as she nipped at his bottom lip, her eyes dancing. “Now where is this table you speak of to have sex on? You should take me there. Now.”
Chapter 13
They didn’t make it to any table. In the hallway, he backed her into the wall and slid into her. He was a slow burn, maddening on her senses, his hands scorching and possessive as they roamed over her skin. All she could do was hold on while the storm that was Nathan built around her, through her, devastating her all the way to her core. He didn’t let up on his assault until the pleasure burst inside of her, sending her body skyrocketing into the heavens as every color of the rainbow burst in front her eyes, his violent shout of climax mixing with her screams.
Katenia didn’t know how long it took before she was able to see anything besides stars spinning, and she had no idea how or when they’d made it to the floor, or how she’d gotten on top of him.
Suddenly feeling like a contented kitten, she stretched out on his chest, too exhausted to open her eyes. His heart was a frantic pounding beneath her ear, and while she loved knowing he felt the explosion of lust between them the way she did, there was a part of her needing to soothe him. She brushed her lips over his chest, then rested her fingers directly over his heart.
It was an odd sensation to literally feel your world spinning out of control. In her valley, everything was predictable. You knew the rules, and every day that went by was the same as the day before. Everything that was today, everything that would be tomorrow, it was as it had been through the centuries. But with Nathan, every moment was different, and it was as thrilling as it was terrifying. Because no matter how hard Katenia tried, she couldn’t get a handle on anything. Not her emotions, not the world, and certainly not Nathan. Every time she thought she had him figured out, he’d spin everything out into orbit on her again.
She didn’t know how to stay steady. She didn’t know how to get her bearings. Everything about her life had changed within the last twenty-four hours, and without Nathan…
A rumble from deep inside him nearly vibrated her off her comfy spot on top of him. “Hey.” He slid his fingers into her hair and kissed the top of her head. “Stop.”
She didn’t open her eyes, afraid of what she’d see if she looked at him. Any emotion at all would send her tumbling off the edge, and while she loved being with him and the sex was earth-shattering, she couldn’t afford anything more. “Stop what?”
“Stop falling in love with me,” he murmured, as if reading her mind. One huge arm banded around her waist. He stretched his long, muscular frame, then he rolled easily to his feet, bringing her up with him. He set her down, braced his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face the kitchen. He gave her a little push. “I can’t help you if you’re going to fall in love with me.”
Katenia tossed her hair over her shoulder and snorted as she started in the direction he’d pointed. “You are an arrogant beast, Nathan, do you know that?”
“It’s been said.” He sighed as someone knocked on the front door. “Hang on.”
“Nathan.”
“Yes?”
She smiled when he turned to look at her. He didn’t just glance at her over his shoulder, he turned all the way around to face her, giving her all of his attention. It was so sweet, her heart stuttered. Moving into him, she slipped her arms around his waist. “You’re naked.”
He tilted her head back and kissed her, a slow, mind-melting kiss that shifted her world a little farther off its axis. When he finally pulled away, he arched one dark brow at her, though the heat in his eyes told her he was more affected than he seemed. “I thought you liked me naked.”
“I do.” To prove it, she slipped her hand between them, wrapping her fingers around his hard shaft. She grinned, slowly moved her hand over him. “See?”
“Goddamn it, woman,” he groaned, his voice a harsh rasp. He grabbed her wrist and leaned down to rest his head against hers while he dragged in a deep breath. “Are you trying to kill me?”
She tried to hide her delight in the reaction she had on his body. “You’re the one who said humans wear clothes.”
He glared down at her as the pounding on the door started again. He pointed a finger at her in warning, then jogged to the end of the hallway where he’d shed his pants, slipped them on and stalked to the door. He flung it open to reveal a tall, elegant woman tapping long red fingernails on the door trim. Her dress was the same color red, and clung to her slim curves like a second skin. The shoes she wore raised her a good five inches, putting her at nearly six-foot.
Katenia frowned when all the easiness and humor in Nathan disappeared. His body stiffened, and his warm, amazing voice completely deadened. “Rhiannon.”
“You bastard! You stood me up!” Rhiannon screamed as her open hand swung toward his face. He caught it a heartbeat before it connected. He flung it away from him.
&
nbsp; “We’ve talked about this,” he said calmly, deliberately taking a step toward the woman, crowding her space and backing her through the doorway. “Don’t ever raise a hand to me.”
“Or what?” She sneered. “It’s not like you’ll do anything about it. You and your high standards.”
Nathan’s large body tightened, and rage flooded Katenia’s system to nearly bursting. She moved around Nathan, planting herself between him and the seething woman.
“Leave.” She said it quietly, and crossed her arms over her chest to emphasize it. “If I make you, I promise you won’t like it.”
“Slut!” Fury flashed in Rhiannon’s hazel eyes, and Katenia only had a heartbeat to realize what was happening. The woman’s fingers curled into talons and swiped toward her face.
Katenia didn’t think. She grabbed Nathan’s hand and ducked, covering her head with her arms as her magic pulsed out, slamming the woman backward and into the metal door of the elevator. The steel creaked with the impact, but Katenia wasn’t going to wait around for the next attack. She slammed his door shut with a swipe of her hand, then turned to stare at Nathan with wide eyes, her entire body trembling violently.
His face was stunned as he lifted his body into a sitting position. “How the hell did you do that?” he asked, rubbing at the back of his head. “For someone as tiny as you, you pack a wallop, Katen.”
She winced. She hadn’t meant to throw him to the ground along with herself, but that woman… Katenia shook her head. “Who was that witch?”
He snorted out a laugh and got to his feet, then reached down to help her up. “I think the word you’re looking for is bitch.”
Her brow furrowed in confusion. “I thought the term was witch. One who practices witchcraft.”
He stared down at her as if she’d started speaking a different language. “I’m sorry.” He shook his head again, still looking dazed. “What the hell are you talking about? She’s not a witch. She’s my ex-fiancé.”
She threw her hands in the air. “I don’t know what that means, but I am telling you, that woman is evil and she wants you in a bad way.”
He nodded once. “Alright.” He moved in before she could protest and lifted her by the waist. Without a word, he carried her to the kitchen counter, set her on it, then took two deliberate steps back. He was about to speak when his gaze dropped to her breasts. He took two more steps away from her, crossed his arms over his chest and planted his feet. “First, you’re going to explain to me what the hell you are talking about, and then we’re going to talk about your habit of putting yourself in front of me whenever someone raises their voice to me.”
“Then they need to stop raising their voice to you,” she snapped, “or you need to just stop angering them.”
He blinked at her. He just stood there, blinking at her, as if she was the one who was not right in the head. Finally, he dragged a hand down his face. “Fair enough, but believe it or not, baby, I can handle myself.”
Katenia bit her lip. She really didn’t want to argue with him when he already looked close to strangling her, but she didn’t have a choice. She shook her head, pleading with him to understand. “Not against magic, Nathan.”
“You keep saying that,” he ground out through gritted teeth, “but why do you think Rhiannon is a witch?”
“I could feel her magic.” Because that apparently didn’t make him feel any better, she blew out a breath. “Magic has a feel. White magic, good magic, is warming, enlightening. She felt wrong.”
He stared at her for a heartbeat, before he dragged a chair away from the table and dropped into it. “So you’re saying that when she cursed me for breaking off our engagement, she meant it literally?”
Katenia nodded, and hoped to the gods he couldn’t tell how nauseous she was. If Rhiannon was as strong as she’d felt, chances were whatever curse she’d put on Nathan was a doozy, and Katenia didn’t have the kind of magic to undo it. But she blew out a breath and nodded, because he already looked ready to kill something, and witch or not, she knew he’d never forgive himself for killing a woman. “Probably.”
Chapter 14
Nathan nodded slowly before he got to his feet. He grabbed her off the counter, wrapped his hand around her upper arm and dragged her with him to the bedroom.
“Nathan.”
His head started to pound. Whenever she said his name and whatever came out of her mouth next was guaranteed to confuse the hell out of him, or make him want to kill something. He shook his head as he snagged her borrowed clothes off the dresser and shoved them at her. “Get dressed. We’re going out.”
Her teeth caught at her plump lower lip. She took the clothes from him, and continued to stare up at him with wide eyes. “Nathan.”
“No. I don’t want to hear it. Just get dressed.”
To his surprise, she didn’t argue with him. She dropped the jeans and shirt onto his bed, then pulled off the borrowed shirt she wore, leaving her standing there in front of him, gloriously naked.
He groaned as he felt his willpower literally drain out of his brain and straight into his cock. Fucking hell, the woman was gorgeous. Her white-blonde hair fell in loose waves all the way to her lower back, framing a body that was all soft curves. Full breasts, softly rounded hips, slender legs, small, delicate feet. She didn’t seem to have a shy bone in her body as she crossed to him and went up on her toes. He didn’t realize he’d bent until she wrapped her arms around his neck and skimmed her lips over his throat.
She rested her head against his heart. “You’re afraid.”
“No.” He lied, wrapping his hands around her slim waist with the intention of pushing her away. Instead, he let out a low groan and pulled her to him. She was so small his arms could have wrapped around her twice, and instead of making him feel like a careless giant around her, all he felt was a desperate, rising need to protect her. She was too vulnerable, too good for his world. He nibbled at the sensitive spot behind her ear. “You’re using your body to distract me.”
She laid her head against his shoulder and nodded. “A little. You had the look Chaela gets whenever she’s scared someone is getting too close. She usually finds a way to ruin it.” She lifted her gaze to his. “I don’t want you to ruin this.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, and then he did what he’d meant to do all along. He set her away from him and forced himself to shutter his emotions. “The deal was that I protected you until you were steady enough to be safe on your own. I can no longer protect you. If Rhiannon is a witch, then you’re not safe with me.”
Her eyes narrowed on him, and to his surprise, instead of hurt it was temper flashing in their bright green depths. “What, exactly, was the curse?”
“No one I love will ever live long enough to love me back.”
She studied him for a moment, long enough to make him feel like a bug under a microscope. Finally, she turned and sauntered to the bed. He forced himself to roll his tongue back in his mouth as she bent to pull on the skinny jeans she’d borrowed from Hope, but when she started to shimmy into them, it was too much for the little control he possessed.
He grabbed a pair of jeans and a plaid flannel from his dresser and went into the bathroom to change. When he came out, she was dressed and sitting on the edge of his bed, bouncing. He cleared his throat to cover the chuckle wanting to escape, because despite the childish movements, she looked serious.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“This bed. I like it.” She smiled up at him. “It’s almost as comfortable as my plant. When I have my own new home, will I have a bed like this?”
Nathan managed not to snort. He’d paid an astronomical amount for it, but if it made her happy, he’d buy her one as a housewarming gift. “Sure.”
He was rewarded with a smile that lit up her face. She got to her feet and moved over to hug him. “Good, then this human thing might not be so bad.” She pulled back and grabbed his hand, leading him to the doorway. “Where are we going?”
“You need clothes and food, first, then we can work on finding you a job.” The words were barely out of his mouth when her stomach rumbled, and he cursed himself for not thinking about feeding her sooner. He hooked his arm around her neck and led her out the front door. “Food first it is.”
* * * *
An hour later, Katenia was near tears. Again. For about the tenth time that day. Because of her incident with the witch, they hadn’t been able to use Nathan’s private metal box to carry them down to the street, and though he’d tried the same distraction technique he’d used on her the night before—which meant kissing her senseless—the constant barrage of people coming and going was too much. While Nathan was big and scary enough to keep people at a distance, there had been too many people in the small box at once, all talking loudly, trying to hear themselves or each other over everyone else. When the frustrated tears had burned her eyes, she’d pressed her hands to her ears and tried to make herself as small as possible, but there was too much movement and not enough air. By the time Nathan had scooped her up and pulled her out, the tears had been free falling down her face as she tried to drag in enough oxygen to keep from passing out.
He didn’t set her down until they were clear of the building, and even when he sat with her still curled up on his lap, she was too overwhelmed and afraid of what she’d see to open her eyes.
He finally shifted her on his lap until she faced him, her knees on either side of his thighs. His hands were gentle as he brushed the hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ears. “Hey.” He brought her brow down to rest against his. “No more metal boxes, alright?”
She sniffled and hated how pathetic she sounded. “I’m sorry, Nathan. I tried…”
“Stop.” He growled the word with so much force, she stiffened in shock. “We have to get you acclimated to this new world, but that wasn’t the way to start your initiation.”
