Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a Faery hand in hand,
For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.
~ William Butler Yeats. The Stolen Child
Morning starts out disappointing. Gertie had an appointment so no hot breakfast. Totally spoiled now, I dig around in the fridge for something.
“You need to mind your own business.”
The voice jerks my head up and right into the shelf above it. Rubbing it, I straighten and look at the glowering Penelope. Hungry, caffeine-less, I’m not in the right frame of mind to deal with her.
“Good morning to you too, Penelope.” I’m pretty sure my teeth are clenching, but I persevere.
“If you don’t back off you’ll get your ass kicked.”
Gritting my teeth even harder, yeah, I’m gritting them now, I try to smile and fail. Fine. “By whom?” I look around the empty kitchen.
“Me.” Her hands swings out and I simply duck out of the way.
“That sucked, Penelope. Can this wait until I get my coffee?” The next swing I catch her hand in mine and squeeze just a little teeny tiny bit. This won’t hurt the baby, right? “Didn’t your parents teach you that it’s rude to hit someone who can hit harder than you can?” I release her hand when she tugs on it.
“I’m a Mage and that means that—”
“That I can hit harder than you, in case you weren’t understanding that bit.” I sigh and step back away from her. “I don’t know what you’re trying to prove right now, but all its making me do is want to throw you out of my house. Is that your goal?”
Penelope looks towards the stairs. “I think your puppy is calling you,” she spits out. With a dirty look to beat all dirty looks directed at me—no shocker there—she turns and struts off.
Ciar pops into existence in front of me, his hair still wet from the shower his skin glowing. He’s looking at me in confusion and I’m so flipping happy to see him. I throw my arms around his waist and bury my face in his shirt. He smells so flipping good.
I want to crawl all over him until I smell like him.
Leaning back enough to see the surprise on his face, I stand on my tip toes and, grabbing his face with both hands, pull him down to me. Before he can say words, because I can see the movement of his lips, I cover his mouth with mine.
For a full five seconds he’s shocked enough for me to be in charge of the kiss, for me to explore his mouth that tastes like mint. Sliding my tongue along the tip of his and then half-way down the side I repeat it on the other half. With caution for his sharp teeth, I lightly graze the points of them with my tongue.
As I pull away I suck his bottom lip into my mouth and release it, satisfied that it’s a little plumper and still shiny from being in my mouth.
“I want you to know that I love you and I am thankful that you’re such a big part of my life.” Hugging him again tightly, I slide my hands across that incredibly toned butt and then release him and step away, and head upstairs without another word.
Smiling as I slowly climb the steps, I count down in my head.
Five, four, three—as my feet leave the ground, I laugh. Turning me and tossing me over his shoulder he smacks my butt and takes the steps two at a time. He stops abruptly, and I feel the happy drain right out of him. Levering my upper body enough to be able to look around his shoulder, I see Rime standing there his blue eyes glowing white.
“Did you put your hands-on Penelope?” he demands.
Oh, heck no. Kicking my feet until Ciar releases his grip, I slide down his body to my feet and turn on Rime. Closing the distance between us I stalk toward him. Poking him in the chest, I let him see the anger on my face.
“First off, you’re a flipping idiot. A destined Triad member can’t impregnate anyone, ESPECIALLY a human, until AFTER the bonding with his/her Awakened. I suspect you already know because I heard your little argument last night. Second, she’s using magic to keep you interested in her—something I’m starting to think you suspect, as well, but haven’t fought too hard to prove. Zag told me this morning that its connected to something you keep in your pocket. Quite possibly your idiotic ding-dong.” He opens his mouth to speak but I poke him in the chest again, hard. “Being raised in an orphanage is no excuse for ignoring your instincts, Rime.”
“You’re jealous he doesn’t want you,” she taunts over his shoulder at me.
“I have yet to find anything about him I even like, let alone enough to be jealous over.” My temper rising brings forth the magic that always seems to be churning inside of me now. My eyes burn, and I know that they’re doing that weird glowy thing they do when the magic is working.
Turning towards Penelope I see her fate playing in front of me like a movie. Quick as a snake I grab the amulet around her neck and pull ignoring the stinging pain in my hand. I hold it up in the air as Zag appears out of shadows at my shoulder and blows a small stream of magical fire over it. With satisfaction I watch it catch fire and burn to nothing.
The dreamy look that was previously on Rime’s face when he looked at Penelope is completely gone now. I see the guilt in his eyes, but also his anger and although I’m a bit curious about what happened to make him feel guilt like that related to her, I don’t ask.
“There, now take your darn rose-colored glasses off and see her for who she is.” Dusting my hand off on my pajama clad thigh, I turn back to Ciar. “Where were we?”
Ciar stares at me for so long the smile on my face starts to fade. “What?”
He looks over my shoulder, I’m assuming at Rime, and says, “This is what you could have in your life, Rime.” The emotion in his words… the world distorts as tears fil. I blink them away because I refuse to let them fall in front of them.
Ciar turns those intense eyes back to me and leaning down, so softly that it feels like a brush of wind, kisses each cheek. Then, without warning, he bends and puts me over his shoulder again.
This time I smack his butt. “Yee-haw, horsie.”
Snorting, he walks around Rime who is watching me with an intensity I’ve not see on his face since he came here. So, I do what comes naturally, I wink at him.
The corner of his mouth twitches and slowly starts to lift. In a blink he’s smiling and my heart rate increases. Gods bless it, why’d he have to go and smile? The smile that is barely there falls and he turns to Penelope with thunder in his eyes.
Glad I’m not her. Ciar smacks my butt again and this time rubs the sting away. Oh, yeah, I’m totally glad I’m not her right now. Especially when Ciar’s hand dips lower to rub along my inner thigh and then to the heart of me, reminding me why I like his hands so much.