I chuckled quietly, and then lifted my arm, clearly showing the bruise was only fading a bit, the area appearing like a black splotch against my otherworldly skin.
“That’s a no.” He sat up, his brows puckering, moving a hand toward me, slowly reaching. “It really is an amazing power to behold even if you’re more vulnerable in other ways.” He shook his head, placing his hand in mine. “You’re not using very much power right now, I can tell that much, but it’s still heady.”
I grinned, and decided to throw him for one more loop. “Don’t freak on me.” Since he had touched me, I floated through the cosmos briefly, concentrating on his hand, our connection, and through the abyss of the stunning nether I found his shimmering black tether, and pulled it to my lips. A bit curious, I altered my choice, whispering, “Show me the first time you respected me.”
His heart rate sped further as she became even more, watching as she walked through the hotel living room like a trained killer, like a tiger, her steps gliding and graceful, silent and deadly. So tiny, so frail, confusing him further at his attraction. She wasn’t his kind, a blistering rage burning him, making his hands tremble so he crossed them just in case she looked back. His wolf bashed inside him, snarling, wanting to chase her, pounding deep within, but he pushed the wolf back as to not frighten her. Watching as she moved, anger and respect riding him hard—
I cut it off, not about to intrude further, coming back to myself to blink at him, his grip brutal on mine, and I wasn’t sure if it was from anger, or trying to hold on as his chest heaved, eyes wide open.
“My memories,” he said with admiration…and a little anxiety. “You can see my memories.” I squeezed his hand hard, placing my other hand on his chest, and he nodded slowly, watching my movements. “You can see them if you’re touching me.” My nose crinkled, and taking my hand off his chest I teetered it. “Okay, when I touch you.” I rolled my glowing finger, edging him on. “When I touch you.” I nodded, smiling happily. “It’s,” he sounded confused, “good?” I quickly nodded, then touched his chest again, scowling at him. “And when you touch me, you can still see them, but it’s,” his eyes flicked between mine, and I let go of his other hand, pointing one finger out straight while brushing my other over the top of it repeatedly, shaking my head slowly, and his lips quirked, “it’s naughty to do so.”
Again, I beamed as he summed it up quickly, getting it right.
And this was how the next hour went before I had to go to work, and he missed his next meeting, as he learned many secrets of the spirits slowly and methodically, unrelenting in his pursuit to know more, or possibly, me, when I was unable to voice anything, his intelligence so keen and insightful, in was truly something to behold. And on that day, so quickly it stunned me as I realized it, I wasn’t just in hot water as we laughed and worked together, but I was in the all-consuming kind, the kind you wanted to dip into, even knowing it will burn you.
Knocking at the door woke me close to two o’clock that Friday morning. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I quickly rolled out of bed, grabbing my robe from the floor and pulling it on, hurriedly walking to the front door before whomever it was knocked again and woke Cain, since we’d only fallen asleep an hour before. It was saying something about this day and age I was living in that I didn’t grab a weapon before peeking through the peephole, believing my home safe, even if I didn’t think the streets were. I blinked, rubbed at my eyes, and then peered through it again, seeing in fact, who I thought I was seeing.
“What the hell?” I muttered quietly, and then, indeed, ran to the kitchen, grabbing my gun from a drawer, hiding it behind my back before I opened my front door to the Mage standing outside. “Mr. Stellar…what are you doing here?”
The illegal gaming owner took in my rumpled appearance with a slow, sensual perusal. “Did I wake you, Ms. Farrow?”
“Yes,” I murmured, brushing hair out of my face with my free hand, the tangled mess it was. “Again, I’ll have to ask what you are doing here.” And honestly, I had damn near forgotten about him, and my plot to take him down, wrapped up in…happiness…all-in-all in life.
I didn’t turn—to show my weapon—when I heard Cain exiting my bedroom, asking quietly, and sleepily, “Sadie, are you on the pho—” His voice cut off abruptly, and Mr. Stellar’s eyes slammed behind me, widening a bit, before blanking at whatever he saw. There were a few beats of silence, then Elder Merrick, not Cain’s voice, turned utterly attentive, but very cool, asking, “Ms. Farrow, to what do you owe this pleasure,” The sound of a sheet whipping sounded as he moved toward us, “in the middle of the night?”
Golden eyebrows rose the barest bit as Elder Merrick came to stand by me, tying the bed sheet more tightly about his waist…wisely standing on the side where my weapon wasn’t, so I could use it easily if needed, but also out of view of any watchers outside, and Mr. Stellar’s lips curved the barest bit. “Ms. Farrow was just asking me that same question.”
“And the answer would be?” Elder Merrick asked unruffled, but his eyes were hard on the Mage.
Mr. Stellar peered back to me, eyebrows lifting further in silent question, even as he lifted an envelope slowly, and carefully, from the inside of his suit jacket, holding it out to me. “I came to give Ms. Farrow back the cash she had under a marker since it’s been well over a month.” His lips twitched a bit, eyes darting to Elder Merrick, then back to me. “I see now why you haven’t returned.”
I took the envelope from him steadily. “You have the wrong impression, Mr. Stellar. He and I were having a discussion when he had too much to drink to drive. I offered my bed. He accepted, so I took the couch.” I dipped my head to him. “Thank you, by the way, for bringing my cash back. It was overly generous of you.”
His eyes glowed a bit, head cocking oddly, before their glow died, and he grinned outright, already walking backward. “Sometimes, Ms. Farrow, generosity is not what it seems in the most unique of environments.” He winked at me before smiling at Elder Merrick. “And sometimes…others surprise us.” Then, he was hopping down the stairs quickly, the wind ruffling his golden hair as he went.
We both watched him, Elder Merrick moving to the glass sliding patio door to do so, peeking around the side of the wall and through a blind as Mr. Stellar started walking through the parking lot…to disappear, not even needing to flare golden to do so.