by Viola Grace
She looked at him. “I am fine. Thank you so much for your help.”
“Petal. Please, do something for me.”
She blinked. “What?”
“Remove your dress and let me see if you are lying.” He sat back on his heels.
“I don’t want to.” She hugged her left side.
“Petal?” He beckoned to her, and she leaned in. “If you aren’t in pain, you will think much more clearly, and we will be able to enjoy the rest of our evening. Please. Let me help.”
She leaned back, stood up, and pulled the tunic over her head.
He sat back, and his eyes bugged out. “How were you moving around earlier today?”
“Practice. I have a streak of bad luck a mile wide. I bruise, I break, I attract people who are creepy as fuck. Being me isn’t for the weak at heart.”
He patted the couch. “Lie down, so I can get at the worst of it.”
She lay down in her underwear, and he returned to her side and used his mouth on her arm.
He started asking her questions. “When did the run of bad luck start?”
“I was fourteen. My parents died in an accident, I was put into my aunt’s home, but she didn’t have money for an extra mouth. I started working, and then, there was an emergency, and I helped her out with the funds, and then, it happened again and again until I was working and going to school and working and going to school. There was a guy with dark hair who started flirting with me at school, and he showed up wherever I was working. I cleaned a dance studio in the early days, and I was given dance lessons in the evenings after classes. He found out and started looking in windows.”
He pushed her arm back and took care of the damage along her ribs. “He still follows you.”
“Yeah. He keeps popping up when I perform, and my friends keep an eye out for him.”
He nodded. “Do you remember how we met?”
She frowned. “I was limping.”
“You had been injured, very badly, and I used the healing pool to take care of the damage to you, but it sent a ripple through those around you as no one could remember how you actually came by the damage.”
She looked at his golden head and fought the urge to stroke his hair. “What happened?”
“Halloween of last year, you were dancing at a concert, and the man you have described ran up and beat you with a pipe. He broke your leg in two places. Ten weeks later, you still had not healed properly.” He finished with her ribs and moved down to her butt and hip.
She swallowed. “That explains the ache, but I remember it as a fall.”
“Puck jumped in and had to change things so that your miraculous healing would not point to the fey. He’s fussy about continuity.”
“So...” She let out a soft moan as he bit gently after the licking of her hip and butt. He shifted her underwear around, and the tugging brought her attention to how wet she was getting. “So, why is what you are doing now so different?”
“We are in the same timeline, and no one else is aware of the injuries.” He smoothed his hand over her skin. “Now, sit up and kneel with your arms over the back of the couch.”
“Why?”
“Your shoulders are still black and blue, as well as the side of your neck.”
She sighed and got up on her knees with her arms over the edge of the couch. “This is not first-date behaviour.”
He laughed. “We are technically on our second date, as any agreed-upon meal can be considered a date.”
He ran his tongue along her neck, and she arched her back, and her hands clenched into fists. “Oh, that’s fine then.”
He chuckled and sucked at the divide between neck and shoulder. She moaned again, and he worked his way down her shoulder.
For the other side, he pressed his hands next to hers on the couch back, and his chest rubbed against her back while he removed the last of her bruising with his mouth.
“There. How does that feel?”
She swallowed and exhaled slowly. “Better. Much better. Thank you very much.”
He nuzzled at her neck. She felt his lips and the slow suction against her skin. “Um, what are you doing?”
He licked her skin slowly. “Signing my work.”
“Oh.”
He kissed her shoulder and whispered, “You get dressed; I will make dinner.”
Petal didn’t want to admit it, but she nearly came at the sound of those words.
She was back in her clothing, and she walked over to watch him cook. “What are you making?”
“A frittata. I thought it would be nice to chat while it went together.”
“Okay, when did you learn to cook?”
He chuckled. “I decided that I needed to become a slightly better partner. I have collected a vast array of interests to make myself more acceptable to you. I also really enjoy it.”
“You are trying to make yourself more acceptable to me?” She stared at him.
“Sure. I am very pretty, but that is about where it has ended until you were returned here. I have taken business courses, worked out an extended plan for the greenhouse, bought up the properties on either side for further expansion. Learned to cook, took a therapeutic massage course, and I can do light home repair.”
She stared at him and burst out laughing. “You are kidding.”
“I am not. I have chosen an exceptional woman; I want to be an exceptional man.”
She blushed. “You didn’t have to do that.”
He turned to her and took her hands, leaning toward her over the counter. “I was content to live in my little world and remember fonder days of luxury and excess... but that was no life at all. I woke, walked, and returned to my castle with only the occasional stop to run with the deer or play checkers with a jackalope. It wasn’t life; it was an existence. Puck threw a rock into my boring puddle by mentioning that modern women were exceptional, and then, I started to learn how to use the internet, and after that, you popped into my life. My existence had faded to green and gold, and you brought pink, purple, and all the colours of spring back again. Then, you were gone, and I wanted you back. I tried to kill Puck for taking you, but when that little bugger slipped from my grasp, I put on some clothing and went off to start learning with the kings of autumn, winter, and the king of storm.”
She blinked. “What are they learning?”
“How to live and thrive in the modern world. Winter worked on becoming a writer. Autumn is excellent at working with horses, and he had begun to work on his art skills. Storm was figuring out his possible avenues of education and how to grow trees instead of bringing them down.”
“And you went to learn to cook.”
He grinned and returned to his oven. “Autumn taught us. He is a master of the harvest. He already knew how to cook.”
“So, they already had their uh...”
“Brides?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
He chuckled and slid the pan into the oven. “They had them, they worked on bringing their skills up to speed, and one by one, they left to join them in this realm. They each watched their brides, and when the time was right, they stepped into the mortal world and started their lives on a collision course with their brides.”
“Wait, so the other women knew?”
“No, they had the same memory issue that you had. They knew, but the memories were inaccessible. They would remember when something triggered the memory. I suppose by now, they have already bonded to their brides and are trying to figure out a time for a proper wedding.”
“Weddings?”
Darius poured two glasses of wine and set them down. He nodded grimly. “Weddings.” He slid a glass toward her.
She shook her head. “No, thank you. Is that why you are working on a venue?”
He chuckled. “One of the reasons. It is a popular thing to have a venue with blooming flowers and plenty of photo opportunities. So, plants are one thing I can do and do very w
ell.”
He got her a glass of iced tea, and she sipped at it. “Thank you.”
“You don’t drink?”
She shook her head. “My parents died in a drunk driving accident, and I don’t take a chance with it.”
He set his wine aside and went to get iced tea for himself.
Petal blushed. “I didn’t mean to stop you. I just don’t drink if I have to go out again.”
“It is no issue. I would much rather cuddle up with you on the couch after dinner than drink wine.”
She smiled. “There is going to be cuddling?”
“Well, this is a date, after all.” Darius smiled. “There has to be some contact, or it will not conclude, according to my research.”
Petal looked at the scholarly expression on his face. “Are you going to just say that anytime you want to make a move?”
He grinned. “Maybe. According to my research, it will only take a handful of dates before you surrender to my charms.”
Petal leaned back and settled on the chair near the counter. “A handful, huh?”
“I am willing to put the time in. You are definitely worth it.”
“Did you look up all the right things to say?”
He winked and leaned over the counter to kiss her quickly. “According to my research...”
By the time he leaned back, she was on her feet with her hands braced against the counter and her body tuned to every caress of his lips. She sat down with a thud. “That was sneaky.”
He chuckled and got the pan out of the oven, put a cutting board on top of it, and flipped the whole thing over. He set it down and said, “Ta-da!”
She laughed and applauded for the spirals of potatoes arranged into delicate flowers and spirals.
“It looks lovely.”
He smiled. “Thank you. It is my second time trying this recipe. The first time was not successful.”
She shrugged. “Well, it looks amazing.”
Darius grinned and sliced two servings, plated them with some sliced chives and a small spoon of sour cream in a festive dollop.
He picked up both plates and walked to the dining room table. He set the plates on the table, and she brought their glasses with her, setting his in front of his plate and hers in front of hers. He held her chair for her, and she sat, putting her napkin across her lap and looking at the wedge with the enticing scent.
Her stomach rumbled.
“Try it. Let me know what you think.”
She nodded and picked up her fork, going to take her first bite and glancing at Darius. She closed her mouth. “Stop staring.”
He looked down at the table. “Sorry.”
She took the first bite and exhaled behind her hand. “Hot.”
He chuckled.
She started chewing, and she covered her mouth again. “It’s good.”
“You can swallow before you speak.”
She chuckled and swallowed. “It’s still good.”
He grinned, and they sat and had dinner with occasional questions and comments about the food.
She finished her meal serving, and when he finished his, she got to her feet to clear the table. He gripped her wrist. “Sit. You are not required to clean up.”
Petal flexed her fingers. “I am used to it. My aunt insisted on it. She cooked. I cleaned and then went to work.”
“So, you have worked to eat your whole life.”
“The last fifteen years. Yes.” She thudded back to her chair.
“Where is your aunt now?”
“She died five years ago.”
“So, why are you scrambling around for any job you can get?”
“Ah, she remortgaged the house right before she died. If I want to keep a roof over my head, I have to bust my ass.”
He frowned. “There was no insurance?”
“There was. My cousin inherited and took what was hers. I got the house, and that is my life. I work, I go home, I rest. I go back to work again. This...” She waved her hands around at the table and at him. “This is definitely outside my area of expertise.”
“You didn’t date?”
“Oh. No. No time and less inclination.” She shrugged.
He blinked. “So, Puck was right again.”
“About what?”
“About your social activities. I was a little blind to what you were actually telling me, and it was only when he came to taunt me after you left that I understood the colossal mess that I had made of things.”
She turned her hand and took his fingers with hers. “It’s fine. It is probably better this way. You would have just overwhelmed me and stomped me flat. Emotionally, that is.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I am a people pleaser. I will do whatever folks say to stop them from yelling at me or from looking at me with a frown. This means that folks easily take advantage of me. I know it, and I am working on it. I try and stick to people who don’t take advantage of me, like Audra.”
He exhaled slowly. “That is quite a bit of responsibility for those around you.”
“Not as many as you would think.” She squeezed his hand. “When I was calling around yesterday looking for a new job, I got a lot of interested takers. They know they can work me nearly to death, and I will just show up the next day.”
He froze. “New job?”
“Oh. Shit. Uh. I panicked when I saw you yesterday, and I looked for a way out and a new job. I even had a resignation letter with me at lunch today.”
He looked at her, and she could see him wrestling with a bit of irritation, but it didn’t emerge in his grip on her hand. He exhaled and lifted her hand to his lips. “Thank you for not quitting on me, yet.”
“Wow. I could almost see the gears grinding in your skull. I feel bad about that.”
He bent his head and pressed her knuckles to his forehead. “See? Didn’t overheat.”
She giggled and blinked because that noise did not emerge on a daily basis.
He kissed her knuckles and put her hand down. “Can I interest you in dessert?”
She sighed as he released her hand. “That sounds safer than anything in my head.”
His bright grin nearly blinded her.
He got up, cleared the dishes, and tidied the kitchen before he returned with two parfaits and long spoons.
It was an excellent first date... or, did lunch count as the first?
Chapter Seven
She smiled as the spoon hit the bottom of the long, narrow vessel. She giggled again and covered her mouth.
Darius took the empty glass, and he chuckled as he put them in the washer. “Why do you cover your mouth when you laugh?”
“It isn’t when I laugh, just when I giggle. It catches me by surprise.” She tucked her hair back behind her ear. It didn’t like being confined by the braid.
“It is a nice sound. Would you like to watch a movie?”
She smiled. “That sounds like fun. Let me just check my phone to see if the station contacted me with an estimate.”
Petal picked up her phone, and she saw the number from the shop. She leaned back against the couch and exhaled. She sent back let me think it over.
Darius brought out a popcorn popper, and he set it up. “Based on your pallor, it isn’t good?”
“It is more than the car is worth when it’s running. This is going to take some figuring.” She rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know if I will be good company tonight.”
“You are the best company. Someone who only wants to be around you when you are having a good day isn’t someone you want to trust.”
He started up the popcorn machine, and five minutes later, they were on the couch sharing the popcorn and watching a cartoon with musical numbers. She breathed deep and relaxed, curling up against him, and he wrapped his arm around her.
* * * *
Damek felt the exact moment that she fell asleep. It wasn’t because he had exha
usted her; it was because she trusted him. The responsibility was heavy.
He closed his eyes as he absorbed all that he had learned that night. His parents had been with him for hundreds of years, and they were still alive with the high king and queen. Petal had lost her family when she needed them most and had been given to someone who turned her into a financial asset and left her with nothing. Her awareness of her flaws was endearing, and her trust in folks like Audra was a source of hope. She had been hurt, but she kept reaching out. He hoped that her willingness to trust continued to extend to him.
The car was another issue. He had heard it groaning and wheezing. Its death was not surprising. The solution was simple to him. She should move in with him and allow him to take care of her. That, however, was the opposite of what she wanted, so he needed to find a way to propose it without destroying her autonomy.
Puck was right. Modern women were extremely complicated, but at this point, Damek wanted to unravel this problem and move on to the next one. He was sure there would be other issues, and he looked forward to eventually standing next to Petal and not behind her.
Remembering the moment when he healed her earlier, he smiled. Well, the view from behind her wasn’t bad. He could spend a few centuries enjoying that view. He just had to get her agreement.
* * * *
She was warm, but there was a crick in her neck. She shifted, and to her horror, her support inhaled slowly.
Petal sat up and looked at Darius and kept seeing Damek behind his glamour. He was sitting up, but his eyes were closed. She picked up her phone and checked the taxi app. She could have one in ten minutes.
It was nearly midnight, and she had to figure out a way to return to work the following day.
“Don’t bother with a taxi. You can either stay here tonight and I can create some clothing for you in the morning, or I can make a portal back to your home. You won’t have to worry about your keys.”
Her eyes widened. She had forgotten that she was locked out. “Oh. How detailed is the process of making a portal?”
“It is already done. I just have to be in a space once, and I can link to it.”
