Out of the Mountain (34 page)

“Thanks.” I was wary of his quick change of subject, but I guess his explanation did make sense.

“Oh, Vivi, this is a matted mess back here,” he complained.

“Well, I haven’t really brushed my hair in a few days. I’ve just been washing it and pulling it right back up with all the things that have been happening,” I admitted, embarrassed.

“It will be OK, but I’m going to have to cut a piece from the underneath to get it without ripping more of your hair out,” he said.

“Do what you must, and I’ll tell you about my vision.”

“A fair exchange. Now talk, but do not move,” he threatened as he conjured a pair of scissors and began carefully snipping.

“First I have to ask . . . who is Ambrosine?” I heard a snip and a hiss that made me wince.

“Oh no, Vivi! Look what you made me do!” Farran cried, and I twisted and saw that about ten inches of my hair on the floor. I reach my hand back and felt that it laid just at my shoulders. It wasn’t a wide piece, but it was enough to warrant an entire haircut.

Rowan burst back through the door and frowned leaning against the counter. I could tell by his posture that this time he was staying. I rolled my eyes and turned back to Farran.

“It’s OK, I was actually thinking about cutting it anyway. It mostly just gets in the way now.”

“I can fix it up. It will look great, but you have to hold still.”

“While you do that, why don’t you just go ahead and tell me who Ambrosine is, then?”

“Who spoke to you of Ambrosine?” Rowan growled low in his throat. I turned to look at him and saw his eyes were glowing bright and angry. It was clear that he knew her too.

“No one. I saw it.”

“What did you see?” He crossed the room and knelt down in front of me. I could feel his power crackling in the air.

“Calm down,” I whispered softly as the sparks of his power brushed against my bare legs. He blinked a few times before nodding, and I felt the anger recede.

“I am sorry. Could you please tell me what you saw?” he asked, and I did as Farran began cutting my hair. When I finished my retelling, they didn’t speak for a solid minute.

“So he thinks he is going to be able to steal the amulet from Ambrosine? That is insanity.”

“Not only that, it seems like there is something else he is going after as well,” Rowan grumbled.

“Yes, I agree. Whoever Ambrosine is, wherever she is . . . she’s hiding something of theirs too. Anyone want to hop in and clarify who this woman is?” I said, and they ignored me.

“What could it be? It must be of significant importance for them to deal with Ambrosine.” Farran puzzled as I felt my hair get lighter and lighter.

“We must focus on what is to come first. This battle will happen and we must win. When we succeed in that, we will find a way to deal with the amulet and how to retrieve it from Ambrosine.”

“So who is this woman?” I asked again as Farran shook his fingers through my hair. It felt amazing already. So light and airy.

“It is a complicated story I would like to tell you, but after this battle. Will you promise to allow me to tell it to you?” Rowan reached a hand out and laid his palm to my cheek. I could see that he truly wanted to be the one I learned this from. It meant something to him, and if it was important to him, it was important to me.

“Promise you will tell me everything?” I pulled his hand into both of mine, and he smiled sadly.

“I promise to tell you all you wish to know,” he agreed as Farran moved to the front of my face to finish the haircut.

“All right, check it out!” he said excitedly, and I stood and a smile split my face. My hair fell just above my shoulders tapered into an angle that left the front a little longer than the back. He had added a few layers to give it some body, and it looked amazing. I ran my hands through it.

“Farran! I love it!” I squealed, pulling him into a hug.

“I think I’ll cut mine soon too,” he said, pulling his long braid forward, and I smiled.

“Change is good,” I said happily.

“Yes, it is,” he agreed.

I changed into my pajamas and cleaned up the hair mess as Rowan and Farran talked in hushed tones in the other room. When Rowan came back in without him, I assumed he had left for the night. I tried to fight the excited feelings I got just from being near Rowan and act normal.

“So what do you think?” I asked when I was finished cleaning. I twirled for effect and he chuckled.

“It is only hair, Vinnie,” he said, and I frowned.

“You don’t like it.”

“I said no such thing.” He returned my frown with interest.

“Well, I like it.” I shrugged, looking at myself in the mirror and playing with it a little. It felt so much better.

“Long or bald would make no difference to me,” he murmured, and I smiled at him as I rolled my eyes and blushed at the compliment.

“Thank you,” I said as he closed the distance between us. He reached his hand tentatively toward me and ran it through my hair. I closed my eyes, enjoying the caress. When his other hand joined in, I was sure I would melt in a puddle.

“Beautiful,” he said softly, and I smiled at the deep rumbling sound of his voice. Afraid to open my eyes and find I was dreaming, I kept them closed.

When his lips touched mine softly, I gasped out a breath. The surprise sent jolts to every intimate part of my body. My eyes snapped open but closed quickly again as his kiss drew me closer to him. I placed my hands on his chest and felt the firm muscle there as his mouth slowly teased mine. I whined a small sound when his mouth left mine. The noise pulled a deep chuckle from him as he kissed a path to my neck and sent the fire that was already lit low in my belly blazing.

He continued to trail his lips all around my neck, and I was practically shaking with pleasure. My hands found the bottom of his shirt and only paused a moment before I pulled it over his head and stared in awe. His body. “Oh my,” I whispered and then smacked my hand over my mouth in mortification. I had actually just said that out loud. He smiled an almost shy smile, and I was gawking at this point, but I didn’t care anymore. I wanted to touch.

I moved in, hands quickly finding the smooth and firm skin of his chest. Muscle broad and thick was chiseled onto his frame like he was made of stone. My hands moved to his firm stomach and he stilled as I ran my fingers across every line. When my hands found his sides, I felt a thick scar and my fingers froze. I turned my attention on the scar and saw that it was about eight inches long and jagged, running across his side to his back.

“What happened?” I whispered, shocked by how thick the scar was.

“Nothing you need worry about now.”

“How am I supposed to get to know you if you won’t tell me anything about you?” I grumbled, still tracing the scar under my fingers.

“I fell from a cliff when I was young. Landed on some jagged rock that pierced my side and broke a few ribs,” he said nonchalantly.

“That is awful,” I complained going in for a better look.

“I lived.” He chuckled darkly, and I kissed the scar softly, intending for it to be an innocent gesture but it quickly became something else when my lips met the skin of his side. Entranced by the feel and taste of his skin I trailed kisses up the scar and to his chest. Enjoying every second of it. He was addicting. The more I had, the more I wanted.

He pulled my lips from his chest and planted them firmly against his, before groaning and pulling back gently, leaning his forehead against mine.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong. I am just having trouble . . . controlling myself,” he grumbled with his eyes blazing and I shivered at his words.

“Then don’t,” I suggested, and he chuckled.

“Come on to bed, then,” he declared, and I froze. Come where now?

“I . . . umm . . .” I tried to form a coherent sentence, but my mind was all over the place.

“See . . . that is why I must control myself,” he said smugly from the doorway, and I frowned.

“You think it’s amusing to play on my emotions and needs like that?” I hissed, a little disappointed and a little relieved at the same time.

“No, I do not. When you are ready, when you know all there is to know about me and have time to sort out the emotions that go along with it, then I will happily fulfill every want and need you will allow me to.” He purred, eyes darkening.

“You . . . I . . . well, OK then,” I mumbled incoherently. Say what you would about Rowan’s abrasive attitude, but he didn’t mince words.

“Now come get in your bed and go to sleep, Vinnie.” He smiled, and I followed him into the room.

***

I awoke in the middle of the night, blood was choking me, clogging my throat so that I couldn’t breathe. It was on my hands, in my hair and mouth. I tried to scream for help, but the noise came out garbled, and no one answered.

“Vinnie! Wake up! You are all right. It is only a dream.” Rowan’s voice came soothing from beside me. My eyes flew open, my chest was heaving and my body was hot and coated in sweat.

“Sorry,” I murmured, wiping the sweat with the bottom of my shirt while trying to clear from my mind the visions of blood drowning me.

“You are safe with me,” he said, and he kissed me softly. I was thankful that he had been there to awaken me, unsure of where my nightmare would have lead if I had awoken alone in the dark. I was comforted by Rowan’s steady presence at my back and focused in on him as I slowed my breathing. We sat in silence for an endless amount of time, just being together before I finally drifted back to sleep, while he sat on the bed next to me and ran his fingers through my hair.

I awoke alone in my room, hearing voices just outside the door again. I sighed before hurrying quickly and quietly to eavesdrop. I mean, if they were going to talk, they should find somewhere farther away . . . right? I strained hard to hear, and suddenly I could hear them as clear as if they were standing in the room with me.

“I called in my favor from Kailen and although unhappy, he was forced to give the information I sought,” Farran said in hushed tones.

“What came of it?” Rowan replied impatiently.

“Kieran has not yet entered the realm but is expected to soon. He has placed something there for protection and some part of the deal that was struck has been broken. Ambrosine has called him to come collect but has left the object vulnerable out of spite for the broken deal. That is all I could get him to agree to tell.”

“There is hardly anything we can do about it at this point.”

“If I only I were able to return . . .”

“That is not an option.”

“I hardly think your involvement would sit well with Vivi either—that is, if she knew the truth of it all.”

“I will explain it when the time is right. She has enough to worry about at the moment. We needn’t add things to her plate.”

I leaned in to get a closer look, and a floorboard under my foot creaked. I winced and tried to hurry back to bed, but before I managed, Farran appeared in front of me. I crashed into him in a tangle of limbs and bed head.

“You could have just joined in on our conversation instead of eavesdropping. So unladylike!”

I snorted. “Yeah, sure.”

“We were finished speaking of it anyway.” Rowan leaned against the door frame, tawny hair and the scruff of his beard glowing golden in the morning light. I took a minute to appreciate the way his chest and arm muscles bulged beneath his thin white shirt. His tan skin was a beautiful contrast against it. Farran cleared his throat, and I blinked rapidly, embarrassed to be caught gawking. A grin lifted the corner of Rowan’s mouth, and I growled something unintelligently about men as I ran for the bathroom to try and straighten myself up.

“You shouldn’t look so smug. You’re supposed to be keeping your distance,” Farran hissed as I turned the sink water on. I stiffened at his tone and then even further in confusion. How could I hear him so clearly? They were speaking in low tones through a firmly closed door and water was running.

“I am trying. It is difficult with her so near. She is very . . . passionate,” Rowan grumbled.

“Rowan! I am her uncle, remember? These are not things that I want to hear!” I heard the joking tone enter Farran’s voice and washed my face quickly.

“I just mean that I am used to keeping my emotions locked up tight. Most believe I have none, and sometimes even I believe they are correct in that assumption . . . but with her, I cannot. Everything she feels, I feel. It is intoxicating. At first I thought it only the bond, but now I am not so sure.”

“It very well might be the bond,” Farran replied lightly.

“I am afraid it is far more than that, old friend.” He sighed, and I conjured my training clothes. I reach to pull my hair up and felt something odd. I turned my head to get a good look at my ear, and what I saw had me yelping. The door burst open. I slapped my hands over my ears.

“Farran only. Rowan out!” I demanded, receiving a scowl before his figure retreated and Farran closed the door behind him. He looked at me questioningly.

“What is this?” I squealed uncovering my very furry, very triangular tigerlike ears. His eyes went wide and his head fell back, laughter filling the air. I was frowning deeper by the second.

“It isn’t funny! How do I fix it?” I hissed, which only made him laugh louder.

“What is wrong?” Rowan’s voice came from the other side of the door.

“Nothing, stay out!” I growled desperately as Farran continued to laugh, tears now streaming down his face.

“Look at yourself,” he gasped out. I threw a bar of soap at him, and Rowan was through the door right after it hit the floor. I covered my ears and glowered at him.

He pried my hands from my ears, and his eyes lit up with humor. I swatted him away.

“How do I fix it?”

“This is what you get for eavesdropping!” Farran joked, finally calming down.

“Seriously? How does this even happen?”

“My guess is that you were straining to overhear our conversation and your tigress lent you some help.” Farran said.

“It’s something Shuni can learn to do, Vinnie, but usually it takes years of dedication and practice. You’re a natural.” Rowan’s smile was apologetic.