Authors: Leia Shaw
Marcelo took the opportunity to assess her for injuries.
She had some dirt on her forehead, and her hair was a rumpled mess. A nasty
looking strip of road rash covered her left leg. Her other knee was bruising
already. He winced, more upset by the injuries than she seemed to be. Other
than that, she appeared to be unharmed. He, on the other hand, had dislocated
his shoulder on the fall. Gripping it with his good arm, he pushed it back in
place with a soft grunt.
Aila finally snapped. She sunk down to her knees, crying
out when she landed on the bruised one. He took a step towards her, wanting so
badly to kiss away her pain.
“Aila,” he called softly.
If she heard him, she didn’t show it. Her mouth hung wide
open and her hands trembled at her sides. She was in shock. Marcelo could see
the reflection of the blaze in her wide eyes. He had the urge to lift her into
his arms, cuddle her head to his chest, and whisper sweet words in her ear.
Instinct told him to hold her, rock her, assure her that she was safe. But
something told him she needed space until the shock wore off. It took a lot of
effort for him to hold back. Instead he offered her a hand but she only looked
through it. He could see the depth of her sorrow on her delicate features. It
broke his heart.
“Don’t worry about the supplies, Aila,” he told her when
a tear slid down her rosy cheek. “I’m vampire and you’re fae. We’ve survived
centuries without sleeping bags and packaged food.”
“That’s not what I’m upset about,” she sobbed.
He stepped closer. “Then what is it,
cosita
?”
She stared down at her hands as her small shoulders shook
with emotion. “M-my boots.”
Her what?
“Gods, woman,”
he whispered, running a hand through his straggly hair. “You need to get your
priorities straight.” He paced for a moment then stepped in front of her,
placing his hand closer. “Come, Aila. We have to keep moving. You can mourn for
your boots later.”
She dried her tears with the back of her hand then
gracefully untangled her hair, pleating them in two braids. She took his
outstretched hand and rose to her feet.
“Good girl,” he praised, unable to refrain from
encouraging her strength. He pulled her into his body for a brief hug, fighting
back the compulsion to kiss the top of her head, her lips, her nose, her ears –
“Marcelo.” Her voice was muffled against his shirt.
“You’re kinda suffocating me.”
Immediately he released her. He ran his gaze over her body
once more, looking for any injury he may have missed. “Flex then straighten
your arms,” he ordered.
She gave him a quizzical glare but did it.
“Now roll your shoulders.”
“What are you –”
“Just do it. Please.”
She did.
“Anything hurt?”
“No. I’m fine.”
He knelt on the ground and looked at her swollen knee.
“I said I’m fine.” She sounded irritated but she held
still while he inspected it.
“How badly does it hurt?” He touched her gently, feeling
for a fracture.
She shrugged. “I’ve had worse.”
He gave her a look then pushed on it harder. She winced
and hissed in a breath.
He arched a brow. “You were saying?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m fae. Don’t I heal fast or
something?”
“Not as fast as most immortals, but yes, faster than a
human.”
“Then what are you worried about? I’ll be fine.”
When he stood and tried to lift her shirt to check her
ribs she jumped back. “Hey! Hands to yourself!” She swatted at his advancing
hands.
Humans were ridiculously modest. Ignoring her protest, he
spun her around and lifted her shirt to inspect her back. No bruises marked her
sun-kissed skin. Perfect skin. He couldn’t resist running his fingers down her
spine just to feel its softness. He stopped himself just short of kissing it.
She shuddered and he smiled inside.
Her body responds to
me even if her mind does not.
Turning her back around, he told her, “It doesn’t pay to
be the tough guy, Aila. If at any time something hurts, you must tell me. While
we’re out here in the woods, away from civilization and medical care, a simple
injury could become serious very quickly.”
Her brow furrowed as she smoothed her shirt. “Something
is hurting me right now.”
“What?”
“You! Your lecturing is making my ears bleed.” She
gestured deeper into the woods. “Can we go?”
Marcelo chuckled. Her fae temper was back.
She’s going to be fine.
Stepping towards the
wilderness, he forced himself to give a curt nod. What he really wanted to do
was kiss that disrespectful little mouth.
Soon
,
mi mujercita.
Soon you will be underneath me while I
possess your sweet body
.
He wouldn’t deny himself much longer.
Her time would be up and she would be his – mind, body, and soul.
The first hour of the hike into
the Rocky Mountain forest was filled with a sad sort of silence. When darkness
crept onto the land, the forest came alive around them. Aila had told Marcelo
she wasn’t an outdoorsy girl but that felt like a lifetime ago. Something
changed. The sun had set and the waning moon above called to her, energizing
her, springing life into her body. Her blood sang for the earth, like it was
part of her. Her mother, her sister, her child. It was everything. The soil
beneath her feet, the stars overhead, and the wind in her hair, it fed her
soul. She had the sudden urge to take off her hiking boots and frolic barefoot
through the soft leaves, winding in and out of the trees. Grinning, she
continued to gaze into the lively night. She’d been afraid of it most her life.
Now she could see how alive it was. Alive but with a busy serenity that
intrigued her. Animals that had been hiding during the day hunted and played
under the moon. She was one of them. A night creature. The strangest feeling
came over her. Belonging. Though she smiled, she was also confused.
What is going on with me?
She hadn’t notice she’d picked up her pace until Marcelo
cleared his throat from behind. When she looked over her shoulder, she caught an
amused twinkle in his eye.
“Can I assume you’ve changed your mind about nature?” he
asked in that husky male voice that made her shiver.
Her smile widened. She couldn’t contain her joy. “I’m
guessing this is one of the many lovely side effects of being fae?”
“Yes. The fae have always been connected to nature. How’s
your vision?”
She scanned the trees, finding it just as easy to see in
the dark as in broad daylight. “Perfect.”
He nodded in approval. “Later I’ll teach you how to
track. It will help sharpen your senses.”
“I can’t believe how at home I feel out here,” she said
skipping ahead and spinning in circles like a child. “I know it’s silly but…I
feel so alive.”
A deep chuckle came from behind her. “It’s not silly.
It’s how you’re supposed to feel. It’s a shame that humans don’t. They’ve
traded their connection to Mother Earth – the very thing that keeps them alive
– for walls and TV screens.” He shook his head as if he were disappointed in
mankind. “They don’t even know what they’re missing.”
It was true. She hadn’t known what she was missing
either. One family had brought her camping as a child, before her disorder had
taken over her life. She’d spent hours in the lake, swimming, hunting for
toads, going back to the campsite at dusk with sunburned skin and droopy
eyelids. It was one of her favorite childhood memories. She’d begged the next
family to go camping on vacation but they’d insisted on Disney World instead.
They hadn’t even taken Aila along, claiming they couldn’t afford her airfare
and ticket into the parks. She’d stayed with an older couple for that time,
stuck indoors, bored out of her mind. Though it was in their library she had
discovered her love of reading.
“Jimmy wouldn’t believe how I’ve changed,” she said
proudly.
Her smile faded. Jimmy. He didn’t fit in this world.
Maybe Marcelo was right. Maybe the difference was too obvious.
“What is it about him you are so devoted to?” Marcelo
asked, striding forward to reach her side.
She shrugged. “He takes care of me.”
“As he should. Nothing special there.”
“He’s nice.”
His eyebrows darted up. “Is that the best you can say?
He’s nice? There’s no passion in your voice when you talk about him. No
yearning for his touch. Has he even called you? If I was separated from my
lover, thoughts of her would be in my mind endlessly. In fact, I wouldn’t
survive it.”
She scowled at him. “Well, we can’t all be like you, Rico
Suave.”
“Who?”
She rolled her eyes. “Never mind.”
A bitter silence filled the air. If Aila didn’t know any
better she’d have thought Marcelo was jealous.
“He enables you, Aila.”
She gasped at his audacity. “Maybe so, but at least he
doesn’t boss me around all the time!”
Marcelo returned the scowl. And had she seen a hint of
regret on his face? “You need bossing around!” he barked. “You don’t have the
backbone to make your own decisions!”
Her cheeks heated. She should have been furious. She
should have yelled “fuck you” then stomped off into the night. If she was sure
her trembling voice wouldn’t have given her true emotions away, she would have
told him off. She sucked back the tears that threatened to betray her, forcing
her dignity to remain intact.
So he thinks I’m weak
.
She wouldn’t let him see how much it hurt. Because it was true. She was weak.
“I’m sorry,” he admitted and sounded sincere. “I
shouldn’t have said that.”
They walked in awkward silence. Aila kept her eyes on the
ground though the night air still called to her. She was embarrassed, confused,
angry. She didn’t know how to make sense of this new world. If she wasn’t Erin
the Timid, who was she? Her pre-fae life certainly didn’t match up with her
post-fae life. Things had become so complicated.
“Does he keep you satisfied?” Marcelo asked breaking the
long silence.
She shrugged. “I suppose I’m content enou –” She stopped
abruptly. “Are you asking me about my sex life?” When he didn’t answer, she
said, “That’s a little personal.”
“Don’t want to talk about it? Must not be anything worth
talking about.”
Ballsy!
“For your
information, Jimmy happens to be very good in bed!”
“Just good? You deserve better than that.”
“And you think you’d be better?”
That earned her a loud scoff. “Of course I do. I’ve had
eight hundred years to perfect it.”
Her eyes widened. “And that’s supposed to be a good
thing? I’m just picturing all the women who helped you perfect it in eight
hundred years. It’s disgusting.”
He surprised her by laughing. “Maybe so. But then you
should consider it a great compliment when I say you’re the most beautiful
woman I’ve ever seen.”
She looked him over suspiciously.
He’s toying with me
.
But there was no teasing
in his eyes. Hottest male she’d ever seen calling her beautiful?
Somebody fetch me a fan, I think I might just faint!
Marcelo stopped under a random canopy of tall trees. “We’ll
stay here for the night,” he told her pointing to a large aspen tree that
looked big and thick enough to provide some cover should it rain. A bed of
leaves covered the flat ground underneath.
She dug her toe around in the leaves wishing she had her
sleeping bag. She felt so vulnerable without supplies, nothing but the clothes
on her back. And she was supposed to last for two days like this?
She gasped. “Marcelo! Your sun elixir!” It had been in
the backpack when the car exploded.
He smiled then pulled out a flask from the pocket of his
jeans.
She let out a relieved breath, which turned into an
irritated sigh. “You remembered to take your elixir but not food or water?”
“You’ll see why in a moment.” He pointed to the large
aspen they stood beneath. “Can you climb that tree?”
Normally she’d have been hesitant, but feeling confident
with her new fae-ness she reached for the first branch. It was high above her
head but when Marcelo offered a boost she refused. She wanted to push herself,
to see just how much she could do. She crouched down and sprung as high as she
could. One hand grasped onto the thick branch before the other. She laughed
when she found it easy to hold her weight with just one arm. She flexed her biceps
doing a pull-up to bring her foot over the top of the branch.
Grinning with glee, she muttered, “Bet I could kick some
gym class rope ass now.”
“Gym class rope?” Marcelo questioned from below.
“Every year in school we had to do fitness testing. One
of the tests was to climb to the top of a rope. I could barely get a few feet
off the ground. It was humiliating.”
He chuckled. “I’m not surprised. Your limbs were pitiful
little sticks before you turned fae.”
She gave him a weighted glare. “Right, and I had no
backbone either so that didn’t help.”
Regret was visible on his face. It didn’t look right on
him, but perhaps he needed some humility. He was the most arrogant person she’d
ever met. “I told you I was sorry for that.”
Ignoring him she reached for the next branch. It was
thinner and a little bouncy. Wrapping her fingers around it she swung back and
forth, giddy with strength.
“Hey, Marcelo,” she called down. “Have any fae type
people tried out for the Olympic gymnastics team?”
“No.”
“Good. Think I’ll be the first.” She swung up and onto
the next branch.
“Immoral,” he grumbled.
She snickered, springing up higher and higher in the
large aspen.
“If a vampire is to be the moral compass in this
partnership, you better start saying your Hail Mary’s now.”