“I don’t want to spend the rest of my life waiting for that to happen. It’s not fair that I be asked to throw everything away that I have ever known just to wait and see if you can get over the fact that you got stuck with a beast rather than a beauty.” Tired and disappointed beyond belief, she snapped her fingers at the tiger and waved him forward. “Find the car, Aylryd. I want to go home.”
The mighty cat rose and stretched, then huffed a grunt and shook his head as if declining to obey.
“Dinna leave,” Jeros said so softly that she felt it more than heard it.
“Why?”
“Because there is no other like ye, and I need ye, lass. Like I have never needed another.”
“That is not necessarily a good thing, and you should realize that.” She faced the direction that Jeros had said the road would be. “I’m going to find the car. You two can follow or not. It’s up to you.” It wasn’t that she reallywantedto leave him, but not only did she have loads of responsibilities back home, she couldn’t get past the look on his face whenever she caught him staring at her scars. The thought of never seeing him again made her heart hurt, even though she’d just met him, but she just couldn’t live with someone who couldn’t look past her scars and see the rest of her.
Aylryd roared and head-butted the side of her knee, nearly knocking her legs out from under her.
She thumped him on the nose. “Now, you just stop. That is rude, and you know it.”
The great cat rolled back on its haunches and stared at her in disgruntled amazement.
Jeros laughed. “What a wonderful mother ye will be, and Mrs. Shimmerhill and Nightleaf will sing yer praises to all in the Realm.”
Lexi rolled her eyes and kept walking. “Has anyone ever told you that sometimes you say things that have absolutely nothing to do with what is currently happening?”
“Any woman, mortal or Fae, who dares to thump a Fae tiger on the nose and tell it to behave will not only rear well-behaved children, but every servant at Sevenrest will also admire her. Most of them have always feared the tigers because sometimes the beasts have been known to not only be stubborn, intractable, and unrealistic but also a bit bloodthirsty.”
Lexi halted and turned to Aylryd. “You do not eat people. Understand? I know you’re a carnivore. I get that. But people are off the menu.” She pondered that for a moment longer, then couldn’t resist adding, “unless, of course, we happen to come across a baddie who deserves to be eaten.”
Jeros frowned as he fell in step beside her. “And what exactly is abaddie?”
“A cruel person. A heartless person. Someone beyond redemption.” She’d met a few of those over the years. Not many. But enough that a Fae tiger would’ve been handy at the time.
“Ahh.” He nodded. “I agree with that, then.” After a thoughtful silence, he added, “And unicorns. He should not attempt to harm a unicorn, especially since we now have wee ones in the wood.”
“Absolutely.” Lexi paused and scratched Aylryd under the chin, hitting the spot he had loved in his kitten form. She didn’t want him thinking she didn’t care about him, but he needed to follow the rules. “No unicorns on the menu, either. Okay?”
Eyes half closed in an expression of feline bliss, he purred and flicked an ear.
She took that as ayes.
They plodded along for what seemed like forever. Squinting to try to catch a glimpse of the night sky through the trees, Lexi hoped Jeros wasn’t leading her on a wild goose chase because the scenery all looked the same. “Are you sure we’re not walking in circles? Nothing is changing. I could swear we passed that particular tree at least three times.” She glanced up at him, noting that he looked extremely pleased with himself. “And why is it I can see you and everything else quite easily, even though it’s nighttime and the moonlight can’t get through the trees? It should be too dark to see, much less walk around.”
He came to a halt, took her by the hand, and gently turned her to face him. “Ye are the light in this wood, my fine, hard-headed lass. Ye are able to see because yer soul shares its glow with those near ye.”
She wanted to callbullshiton that, but the look in his eyes convinced her he was serious. “Well, then…what about my other question? Are you leading me in circles, trying to wear me down?”
“No.” Ever so gently, he tipped her face higher with a soft touch to her chin. “I am not. The woods are. The trees are as entranced with ye as I am. They wish to keep ye here.”
“The trees wish to keep me here?” She swallowed hard, remembering all the times she’d hugged trees and poured out her worries to them when she’d been a teenager struggling to find her footing. Mammaw had always said that trees were the best listeners. Them and bees. If you ever had a problem, all you needed to do was have a long talk to them while walking through the woods, and even better, tell your problems to the bees.
“Aye. The trees remember ye even though ye are not of this realm. As our souls remember each other even though ye fight it.”
He leaned in so close she couldn’t resist breathing in the deliciousness of his scent. Cinnamon rolls, hot cocoa, and spiced cookies came to mind—and sex. He smelled of warm, mouth-watering maleness that made her yearn to sink into his arms and forget everything else. She stared up at him, tipping her mouth closer to his, waiting, aching for him to close the distance between them.
But he didn’t. He pulled in a deep breath and stepped back as if he suddenly remembered he should mind his manners.
Mind his manners.She almost snorted, but instead, sucked in a deep breath of her own and shook some sense back into herself. She was not a beggar. If he didn’t want to kiss her, fine. They wouldn’t kiss. She didn’t care one way or the other. The distinct odor of a dank swamp filled her nostrils. Great. Now, he had her smelling pond muck when she lied to herself.
She shuddered off the ridiculous feeling and cleared her throat. “So, you’re telling me you don’t have to hold me prisoner because the trees are going to do it for you? Have I got that right?”
He stared at her with such disappointment that her heart hurt and made her wish she could take the words back. “I would never hold ye prisoner, lass. Ye hate me enough as it is.”
