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  I expected him to kiss me. I wanted him to kiss me…no, needed him to. I had an insatiable thirst and Severin was the only thing that could quench it. But he didn’t. Instead, he did another sweep of his thumb over my lip, then dropping his hand, he took a step away.

  “Good night, Nina.” With that, he pushed open the restaurant door and disappeared through it. In a daze, I stood in the restaurant lobby. Not until the hostess came over to ask me if I was okay did I realize I hadn’t moved in the past ten minutes. I thanked her for her concern and left the restaurant.

  By the time the attendant returned with my bike, my body had stopped shaking, my knees almost felt like they could support me again. My reaction seemed like I was going through withdrawals and Severin was my heroin. The crazy thing was we hadn’t even kissed yet.

  If this was what he could do to me now with only the slightest touch and hint of sex, I didn’t think I would survive a more intimate encounter. Having sex with Severin would most definitely kill me.

  ***

  Chapter 8

  As I drove home, I realized my body was just as revved as my bike. The vibrations of the seat between my legs didn’t help matters any. By the time I got home, I knew I’d need a cold shower to purge the desire that Severin had mounted inside me.

  I made a right turn and, glancing down at my gas gauge, realized I needed to top off the tank in order to make it home. I spied the Petro on the corner, pulled into the lot and up to a pump. As I filled my tank, I glanced around the station.

  There was only one other person pumping gas. A heavy set woman quickly screwed the cap back on her tank as she eyed me. Her gaze was intense and I had to lower mine. She was making me a bit nervous.

  Once my tank was full, I hung up the nozzle and sensed movement. I heard the scuff of boots on concrete. I glanced up to see the woman walking toward me, her face set in an angry scowl.

  “I can see you, you know,” she said, her hands resting on her hips and standing about three feet away.

  I finished putting the cap on the tank, and went to grab my helmet. “Well, I am standing in front of you.”

  She frowned, and the expression set deep ridges in her high forehead. “I can’t believe you’re under his protection. It’s not right.”

  “I’m sorry?” I fiddled with the strap on my helmet. “I don’t think I know what you’re talking about. Do you need some help? I’m a nurse.”

  This offer had her spitting on the ground. “Don’t need anything from the likes of you.”

  I smirked. “I really think you have me confused with someone else.”

  “I know exactly who you are. And the time will come when he can’t protect you, Ubel einer.” She turned on her heel and returned to her vehicle. She opened her door but before she got in, she cried, “When the war comes, I’ll be waiting for you.”

  With that, she got into her car, turned the engine over and peeled out of the station.

  I watched her go, completely flabbergasted into silence. What does a person say to all that? I hadn’t a clue what she was talking about. I was sure she had me confused with someone else. But with the way she regarded me, as if she could truly see through me, to my deepest part, I shivered, thinking maybe not.

  And who was he? God? Maybe she’d been a religious fanatic and didn’t like my looks.

  I slid on my helmet, and got back on the bike. I needed a drink when I got home. It had been one hell of a night.

  Tired and stressed, another headache brewing behind my eyeballs, I parked the bike after twenty minutes on the road, in the garage then trudged to the side door. House keys in hand, I yawned, thoughts of my comfy bed in my mind. Inserting the key, I was about to turn it when I heard a rustling noise behind me. I swiveled around—keys positioned between my fingers as a makeshift set of brass knuckles, and scanned the surrounding bushes and shadows.

  I sensed somebody or something watched me. Goose bumps rose on my arms and on the back of my neck. “Is someone there?”

  Severin stepped out of the shadows, a long-stemmed red rose in one hand and a white Styrofoam box in the other. He smiled. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “Yeah, I think you did.” I didn’t lower my hand.

  His grin faded. “Something’s changed.” He tilted his head to look at me, his gaze roaming my stance. “I smell fear. Are you afraid of me?”

  I shook my head, but I knew it was pointless, he could smell my emotions. He already confessed to that fact.

  “I brought you some dessert. I thought I owed you at least that much.” He offered the Styrofoam box.

  “What is it?” I asked, still not moving from my spot.

  “Rum chocolate cheesecake.”

  My resolve softened a little. I loved cheesecake—it was my favorite dessert. But I really hoped he guessed and that he truly didn’t know that fact about me. The knowledge would push him into the obsessive, stalker type of man. I didn’t really want to push him there. I wanted to like him. I wanted liking him to be safe and sane. Not dangerous and foolish.

  I took the offered box, and relaxed a little, letting the keys dangle loosely from my fingers. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  I glanced at my watch. Only an hour had passed since we parted ways at the restaurant. “You finished your business pretty quickly.”

  He shrugged. “Couldn’t concentrate. I had other things on my mind.” He lifted one eyebrow.

  His look was one of pure hard hot lust. “Did you really come all this way to give me dessert? Seems a little creepy.”

  He smiled again. “Yeah, you got me there.” He moved toward me, a slow easy step. “I didn’t really come to give you dessert.”

  The sexy smile put me more at ease. I could feel his presence as he took another step forward. Only three feet away and already I felt the heat of his body caressing mine. I shivered but not because I was cold. “Why then?”

  “To give you this.”

  I froze when he breached the distance between us and cupped my right cheek. With my three-inch heels on, I was eye-level with him. His eyes looked black in the shadows. But I swore, as he gazed at me, they deepened even more.

  Only seconds ticked by but they stretched into an eternity before he moved in to brush his lips against mine. Only the barest of touches but it sent a jolt of pleasure zinging through me. All the way down to the tips of my toes. My legs wobbled and if I hadn’t had valued my dignity, I would’ve dropped right there and then in front of him.

  As it was, I used all the reserve I had not to moan.

  He leaned back, and then stroked his thumb over my trembling lips.

  “Is that it?” I hadn’t meant to say it quite like that, but my mind was in a bit of a fog from his brief kiss.

  He chuckled. “Hell no, that’s not it.” His head lowered.

  This time, the kiss wasn’t soft or brief. It was a long, thorough sweep of his tongue and lips. I did moan this time, as he nipped at my bottom lip, then traced the tip of his tongue over mine.

  He tasted how he looked. Wild. Sexy. Dangerous. Delicious. I could’ve kissed him forever and not ever tire of his flavor.

  I dropped both my keys and the dessert and fisted my hands into the fabric of his shirt to hang on as he deepened the kiss. Lips brushed. Tongues lashed. Moans exchanged. The sensation was hot and wet and wonderful. I could’ve feasted on his full mouth all night.

  But then something happened.

  My skin began to glow. Not a light radiance caught in the rays of the cascading pale moonlight. Nothing romantic like that. No, it was a full-on, from-the-inside-out shine.

  Thankfully, I kissed with my eyes open. If I hadn’t, I would’ve missed it when my hands, fisted in the fabric of Severin’s shirt, started to radiate a bright white color. I suppose it wasn’t so much white, as an extremely pale blue-gray. Either way, I knew it was a problem. My chest clenched.

  Breaking the kiss, I pushed Severin away and hid my hands behind my back. I prayed under m
y breath that the rest of my body wasn’t glowing.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry. I feel sick.”

  He looked amused. “I’ve never had that reaction before.”

  I shook my head. “It’s not you. It must’ve been something I ate earlier.” Bending down, I snatched my keys from the ground and turned toward the door, making damn sure he couldn’t see my hands well.

  He moved toward me, stopping to pick up the Styrofoam box. “Here. Let me help you.”

  “No,” I blurted. “I can do it. Thanks.” As I struggled to unlock my door, a sudden jolt of pain zigzagged down my spine. The ache was so intense, I gasped.

  Severin reached toward me. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. I just need to get inside.” I managed to push open the door, and then stumbled in after it. Severin was right behind me, my dessert and my purse—I hadn’t realized I had dropped it—in his hands.

  Another flash of pain rushed down my back. My vertebrae felt like they were snapping off my spinal cord like Lego pieces. Snap. Snap. Snap. Squeezing my eyes shut, I had to gain my balance by grasping the table in the entranceway. God, it hurt like hell. Searing dark pain that made sweat pop out on my upper lip.

  Severin rested his hand on my shoulder. “You’re in pain. I can feel it.”

  “Please, Severin, just go. I’ll be fine.”

  He set the box and my purse on the entrance table. “Nina, I can help you. I come from a very old race, probably older than you realize. We have healing powers.”

  I glanced at him then, and saw the concern and honesty in his face. I appreciated it. But this was something no one could help me with. This was from something deeper inside me. My fae side. My mother had warned me years ago that this would happen.

  Gritting my teeth from another slash of agony ripping through me, I managed to say, “I appreciate the concern. I really do. But I’m fine.”

  He knew I was lying, but decided not to press me. He ran a hand over my head, stroking me.

  God, how I wanted to lean into his touch, to experience his caress on other parts of my body. But I remained stoic. I needed him to leave and quickly.

  “You can trust me.”

  I didn’t respond, just kept his gaze, breathing heavily through my mouth. I wasn’t ready to trust him. I wasn’t ready to trust anyone. Not with this.

  After a final searching look, he turned and went out the door, shutting it behind him. The second he was gone, I sunk to my hands and knees and took in several ragged breaths. I thought I might throw up from the pain surging through me.

  The skin on my hands still glowed, but it was starting to dim. I watched as it faded and softened until the color was back to my regular alabaster pale.

  As the color ebbed, the pain also started to fade. When it had subsided enough that I could stand, I climbed the stairs to the bathroom as quick as I could go. I clutched the railing, afraid my shaking legs would fail to support me.

  Once in the bathroom, I tore at my dress, pulling it off in a quick tug. I turned and tried to look at my back in the mirror. From the pain that had rippled through me, I swore my skin had cracked open to expose the muscle and tissue beneath.

  But as far as I could see the skin was still intact. Still smooth and pale. Nothing had split open my back.

  Sighing with relief, I splashed cold water on my face, and then pulled my dress back on. I went into the hallway intent on going back downstairs to eat the cheesecake Severin had brought me. Suddenly, I was ravenous. My stomach growled in agreement.

  But as I took two steps toward the stairs, I stopped. Something on the wall gave me pause.

  I stared at one of the many paintings my father had created. One of his watercolors. About the only one I allowed him to put up on the walls--because it didn’t remind me of my mother.

  No, this one sort of reminded me of me.

  A woman stood in a meadow of wildflowers in a long flowing dress. Her long black hair blew from an unseen wind. Birds nested in the tree next to her. The sky was a brilliant blue with fat puffs of white clouds floating nearby. The picture was beautiful.

  But my stomach clenched at what had been painted behind the young woman. A blanket of shadows hovered behind her and above her head. Shadows that had a distinct shape. A sweeping whimsical shape.

  That of wings jutting from her back.

  And just like that I lost my appetite.

  ***

  Chapter 9

  Darkness surrounded me. The sensation was thick and oppressive, and I subconsciously wiped at my arms, hoping to slough off its weight. I was in a forest; the trees pressed together, twisted limbs intertwining and reaching for me. Moonlight barely passed through the heavy canopy overhead. I could see my hands and my feet as I walked, but not much else.

  But I could hear and smell everything around me.

  Branches snapped underneath my feet. The popping echoed, bouncing off trees and scraggily bushes, sounding much louder than it should have been. The strong odor of wet moss and leaves wafted upward on a puff of cool night air—and underneath that was the smell of rot and decay mingled, making my nose twitch.

  Other noises and scents swirled around me. Things I couldn’t discern or identify. Fear crept over me like a bunch of baby spiders scurrying along my skin, and I wrapped my arms around my body, shivering. I didn’t know where I was or when I was but somehow the sights all seemed familiar. Like I’d run through these woods before.

  A groaning sound from my right gave me pause. I turned toward the noise, not sure of what I’d see. Then came another and another, as if someone old and stiff was pushing out of a rocking chair to stand and having a difficult time.

  I took a step to my right, frightened but curious at what might spring out in the dark. I kept walking until I came to an enormous oak tree. Even in the gloom, I could see how huge it was, both tall and wide. I didn’t think I could wrap my arms around the trunk.

  Something about the tree called to me. I leaned closer, inspecting the patterns the rough bark made along the base, questioning what I’d see. Splaying my hand wide, I pressed it to the wood. Unexpected warmth radiated from it.

  Startled, I snatched back my hand. My palm was still warm and tingly. I peered down at it to see if I’d accidentally touched something toxic. But the skin was clear and pale like it always was. Nothing visible was burning me.

  Another groan sounded. It was much louder and seemed come directly from the tree itself. I took a step back and glanced up the towering length of the massive oak. Thick leafy branches were moving, slowly sure, but they were moving, and I didn’t feel a wind strong enough to do that. They swayed on their own.

  I took another distancing step back from the tree. Heart hammering and whole body shaking, I watched transfixed as the tree trunk split open like a peapod. The tearing sound was like a crack of lightning had struck nearby. A sizzle of something electric in the air skimmed over my skin, causing the little hairs to stir.

  Sap ran down in rivulets along the bark—like blood running from an open wound. I had an urge to reach out and press my palms to the opening to stop the tree from bleeding, thinking somehow that my gesture would save it from what was about to happen.

  Pieces of bark moved and twisted, forming some kind of pattern. At first, I couldn’t discern the shape. It was foreign and alien to me. But after another minute of turning and forming and molding together, I knew what I was staring at.

  A face.

  The surface of the tree stopping moving and I leaned closer to get a good look at the face formed in the wood. Two horizontal slits that had been formed in the shape cracked open. And they blinked. “Nina…”

  The voice came from the tree, from the mouth forming in the face. Astounded, I stumbled backwards, tripping over a large rock and landing on my ass on the hard dirt ground.

  “Nina…”

  The tree face burst from the tree and with it came a wooden body, twisted and malformed. A limb reached towar
d me, its fingers like spears.

  I scrambled on the ground, trying to get away. Terror seized me and I could barely breathe.

  The body stumbled closer, moving faster than I thought possible. I tried to turn to gain my feet and run, but its hard warped fingers grasped my arm. I swatted at it, not wanting to touch it but knowing I had to. But as I did, I made the mistake of looking up into that malformed face and saw my father’s beloved features.

  “No!” I screamed, blind with panic, swiping at my arm to get it away.

  “Nina. Nina, it’s all right. I’m here.”

  My father’s voice sounded so clear, so normal. But it was a trick. The tree creature was trying to trick me. “Get away!” I flailed my arms and kicked out with my legs.

  “Nina. Stop!”

  The voice’s adamant tone gave me pause and I risked a peek at the wooden golem, afraid to gaze at it again but knowing I had to.

  My father gazed back down at me. He was holding my arm and sitting on my legs.

  Confused, I looked down at myself. I wasn’t on the ground of the woods but in my bed, twisted and wrapped up in my sheets. Turning my head, I saw that I was in my room, maybe at dusk by the slight gloom outside the window.

  “Da?”

  He nodded, his face pale, his eyes sunken and dark. He looked like he hadn’t slept in a few days. “You’re safe, Nina. I got you, my girl. I got you.”

  Relief spread through me like a rush of furnace heat. Closing my eyes, I collapsed back into my bed and took in a huge breath of air. I relaxed my arms and legs and stretched them out. Already, I could feel the ache in my muscles that would come from all my thrashing about.

  “Bad dreams, darling?”

  I opened my eyes and blinked up at my father. “The worst.”

  He patted my leg. “You’re okay now.”

  “Am I sick, Da?”

  He nodded. “I heard you getting sick the other night. You could hardly walk, so I brought you to your bed. You’ve been feverish for over twenty four hours now.”

  I ran a hand over my face. My skin was sweat slicked and warm. “Is there water?”