Kelpie (Come Love a Fey) (20 page)

The
sound of the water rippling at the shore, and the breeze shushing through the
trees soothed me.  Leith’s warm hands slid up from my hips to my waist to draw
me close.  Those dark eyes were compelling, and I wondered if my mind was my
own.  His soft lips covered mine and I felt completely lost, awash in doubt.  I
didn’t love him.  I couldn’t love a monster who contemplated the annihilation
of all the humans on the planet as if we were talking about the weather.  I
tensed, resisting the pull he exerted over me.   

His
touch was gentle, comforting.  “Don’t fear me, Ada,” he pleaded, his deep
whisper sending ripples of pleasure over my skin.  “Never fear me.”

W
e lay on the
blanket in the sunshine.  Wait, I had been here before.  I wondered if this was
going to become a pattern from now on.  Not that I was complaining.  A breeze
kicked up and I shivered as a few steely gray clouds blocked the sun’s warmth.  I
sat up and gathered my scattered clothing. 

Leith’s
intense, dark blue gaze followed me while I dressed, and I began to feel
self-conscious under his stare.  I put my pants on, pausing to brush a hand
over the knee that had been scraped and bleeding not long before.  There was
only a faint red mark now, and no pain.  I finished pulling up my jeans.  Leith
was silent, but I knew my thoughts must be easy to read.  I was probably
blushing harder than I had in my entire life.

“Uh….Leith,”
  I cleared my throat and focused on doing up my fly.  “Is what that man said
true?  Do you really…what’s with the blood?”

He
sighed and began gathering his own clothes.  I tossed him his crumpled t-shirt,
which I had been sitting on, and he gave me a nod of thanks.  “You heard what
the rabbit said?  He was merely baiting you, trying to cause trouble.”

I
watched him pull his clothes on.  “You didn’t answer my question.”

He
tilted his head and gave me a sly smile.  “I eat fish and water plants.”  I
narrowed my eyes.  I wasn’t playing around. 

He
grew serious.  “Fey can be as different from one another as humans are.”  He came
to sit by me again.  “I’ve told you that fey and humans are closely bound to
each other.  Some types of fey can draw power from humans.  Many feed off human
emotion or energy simply by being in the presence of humans.  That’s where you
get your house fey, and those that choose to live and work alongside you,
brownies and the like.”  His eyes met mine, and I knew I wasn’t going to like
the rest.  “Some fey grow powerful when they devour human flesh and blood- there
are some of these in the Unseelie court.”

 He
gestured around us.  “Others don’t need humans at all.  They are able to draw
power and life from the earth, the trees, and the living, growing things around
them.  Elves, like Adhene, are especially connected to the earth.  You can
understand why he might be just a bit peeved about its pollution and
destruction.”

The
evil nature of some of the fey wasn’t a surprise, but hearing it as truth from
one of them was different than reading it in a storybook.  Leith watched my
face.  He reached to tuck my hair behind my ear and I closed my eyes briefly,
reveling in the joy that sprang from his touch.

I
opened my eyes again.  He had moved closer and I checked the urge to lean toward
him.  “What about you?  What kind of fey are you?”  I remembered those bright
red eyes staring up at me as he licked my wound.

He
pulled back slightly, dropping his gaze.  His long, graceful finger traced a
fluttering path over my skin, drawing a line from behind my ear down the side
of my neck.  I knew he was tracing the vein that ran there.  Something
fluttered in my chest.  I couldn’t decide if it was anticipation or panic.

His
sharp eyes met mine again, direct and frightening.  “Ask me.”  His deep voice
was barely a whisper.  “Say the things that are troubling your mind.  I have no
secrets that I won’t share with you.”

I
shook my head and closed my eyes.  “I can’t.  Maybe I don’t want to know. 
Can’t we just go back to pretending you’re a crazy homeless guy?”

He
chuckled and drew his hand away from my neck.  I opened my eyes to find that he
had put some distance between us.  The glimpse of frightening other was gone. 
He was just Leith, sitting in the sunshine at my side.  I focused hard, making
his glamour fade until I could see the tips of his pointed ears peeking past
his dark hair.

“I
have not killed a human in a very long time.  I don’t take blood lightly, but I
have found it necessary from time to time.”  He shot me a wry glance.  “If I
were injured or dying, your blood would fuel the spark inside me that makes me
different from you.  I would heal faster and my powers would be magnified.  If
I devoured your flesh, it would be as if I were never injured in the first
place.  And in times of battle…”

I
swallowed hard.  “So, it really isn’t like food to you- I mean, it’s not
something you need every day to survive.  We’re just…a snack.  A power bar?”  I
stifled the hysterical laughter.

He
shook his head and gave me a sultry look from under his dark brows.  “It isn’t
like food at all.  The taste of a human is….”  His expression was almost
dreamy.  I remembered the feelings he had sparked in me- simply by mopping up a
drop of my blood.

He
glanced at my face and laughed.  “What thoughts are brewing in that amazing
mind of yours?”  He sounded intrigued.

I
raised an eyebrow, wondering if I was really that transparent.  “The way you
sounded just now- I’ve heard that before.  You sound like an addict describing
his favorite drug.  Or an alcoholic saying that they only drink a little bit now
and then.”

He
laughed and pulled me to him.  I tipped off balance, and ended up half-falling
across his lap.  He buried his hands in my hair and kissed me deeply.  I
couldn’t help my heated response.  Pulling away, he nibbled playfully at my
shoulder and fear skittered through me, even as I instinctively wrapped my arms
around him to hold him close.

He
chuckled and pulled back to gaze down at me, his face full of mischief.  “I
don’t need the twelve-step plan to master my urges.”  He bent down and
whispered in my ear, sending shivers through my body.  “I’ve behaved myself all
this time, haven’t I?”

I
sat up and lightly swatted his hands away as I began gathering up our stuff,
pretending that I was unaffected by his words.  In reality, that statement was
like a slap in the face.  Leith had been living with me for weeks.  I knew that
bringing him home with me hadn’t been the smartest thing to do.  I even told
myself I was lucky he wasn’t a murderer or a rapist.  But, deep down inside, I
never truly believed he was capable of doing me harm.  I was a complete idiot. 
I stuffed the remains of our lunch into the picnic basket.  The reality was
even more frightening than any of the make-believe threats I could have dreamed
up.  I had been sleeping in the same house with a creature that wasn’t human. 
One that got giddy at the mere thought of eating people.

Coming
face to face with that little piece of information, I felt exposed.  I had just
been stripped of the last faint, desperate hope that what I was seeing wasn’t
real- or that Leith was different somehow.  Fey were real.  He really was a
fairy, and wings, and glitter and merriment had nothing to do with it.

Leith
stood and folded the blanket.  He sent one last longing look at the lake, then
turned to me, ruffling my hair affectionately, as if he hadn’t just revealed
that he was a monster.  “Don’t make that sad face.  Nothing has changed from
this morning.  I have always been what I am.”

I
studied him carefully.  “Sort of.”

His
smile faded and he looked concerned.  “You cannot accept me as I am?”

He
sounded like he had been mortally wounded.  His face was so forlorn that I
actually laughed.  “That’s not what I meant.” 

I
stepped close and brushed the curling tendrils of silky black hair from his
face.  I traced the sharp angles of his cheekbones and jaw.  My finger brushed
the knife-edge of his nose.  I tucked his hair behind an ear, tracing the sharp
point of it. 

“You
look different.  I could see some of it before.  But you’ve changed again.”  I
frowned.  Did he change his appearance every time he shifted?  Was this just
more magic?

His
full lips curved into a relived smile.  Catching my hand, he pressed a soft
kiss into my palm.  “You’re seeing me as I really am.  After I gave you my
blood, you could probably only see glimpses- like you were looking around the
corner of our glamour?”  He pressed my hand to his face again.  “But you’re
mine now.  You belong to me.  You share a deep bond with a fey.  Glamour will
only work on you if you let it.”

*****

When
we got back home, we fried up the fresh fish that Leith had caught during his
last frolic in the lake.  When I thought of all the things he had revealed to
me today, I still felt a little overwhelmed.  I knew that I should feel wary
and disgusted by his otherness.  After all, he had pretty much acknowledged he
had killed humans.  Oh yeah- and he had a jonesin’ for human blood.  But when
my mind strayed away from that, it was easy to simply get lost in the present. 
It was as if a wall had come down.  We were no longer careful of each other- no
longer keenly aware of the other person in the room but pretending not to be. 
It was only now that I realized I wasn’t the only one who had been fighting
that battle.

Leith
came up behind me as I stood at the stove.  He slipped his arms around my waist
and drew me back against him, resting his chin on my head.  I let myself relax
and firmly pushed my worries aside.  At moments like this, being close to him
was like breathing- something natural, necessary, and pointless to deny. 
Nothing could be more right.

T
he irritating
buzz of my alarm clock heralded the return of reality.  I sleepily mashed
buttons until it went silent.  Then I turned my head to look at the beautiful
face that rested on my pillow.  Leith’s dark eyes were hooded with sleepy
contentment.  He kissed my forehead, and his eyes settled closed again, long
dark lashes resting against his alabaster skin.  I lightly traced a finger over
his smoothly defined chest.  It was all I could do to keep from taking another
sick day.  A soft smile curved his full lips, though his eyes remained closed. 
“Keep it up and I won’t let you leave.”

I
dragged myself out of bed and got dressed for work.  I stood staring into my
closet for a long time.  My stuffy suits and professional apparel had all the
appeal of donning a straightjacket.  I pulled out a skirt and a loose sweater. 
I splashed some water on my face and pinned my hair up in a loose, wavy mass. 
I left the heels abandoned in the closet and slipped on a pair of comfortable,
slouchy suede boots.  It was the first time I had ever left the house less than
polished.  It felt amazing.

I
walked to work, even though there was a chill in the air.  Una was perched on
my balcony and I waved to her as I left.  As I made my way down the sidewalk, I
realized I was humming.  I rolled my eyes at my silliness, and then laughed aloud. 
I felt so free.  However, the feeling melted with every step I took toward my
destination.

I
walked past Bethany’s desk, not shocked by her horns and her altered skin
tone.  She waved and I gave her a genuine smile in return.  I put my things
away and stood staring down at my desk.  There was a huge pile of paperwork
sitting there, left by someone while I was gone.  I usually did extra reports
and squeezed in occasional clients without an appointment because I was so
efficient.  Apparently, my co-workers hadn’t been able to pick up the surplus. 
Either that, or they hadn’t been willing to.  I tried to hold onto my sense of
freedom, but it was dwindling.

When
I started my computer, there was a meeting request and an e-mail from Noah.  He
only said that he needed to speak with me.  He didn’t specify what it was
about. 

I
plugged away at the backlog of tasks that had accumulated the previous day.  I
answered e-mails, forwarded records, listened to voice mail messages.  I still
hadn’t fully caught up by the time the meeting with Noah rolled around.

I
paused outside the conference room to smooth my skirt.  I ran a hand over my
baggy sweater and sighed.  What had I been thinking this morning?

I
opened the door and stepped inside.  Noah was waiting for me at the table.  His
boss was there too, seated at the end of the long conference table.  “Good
morning, Ada,” Mr. Stark greeted me warmly. 

I
nodded at him and went to the end of the table to get a cup of coffee and a
bagel.  I took the chair across from Noah and waited patiently for him to call
this meeting to order.  I was ravenous this morning, so I gave in and took a
bite of my bagel.  Sesame seeds scattered, and I brushed them away as I chewed.

I
glanced up to find both men watching me with odd expressions on their faces. 
Mr. Stark looked like he was trying very hard to look like nothing was
bothering him.  Noah looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh.

I
put the bagel down.  “I’m sorry.  What was this meeting about?”