“Or frustration and disappointment,” Keeva whispered. “Failure.”
“And now the Hermit. Reversed,” Mairwen said as the last card flipped over of its own accord. “Forced isolation. A struggle with loneliness.” Praying the cards were not referring to Lexi and Jeros, she rested her fingers on the deck of remaining cards. “Is this reading for the Fae prince and his mate?” She revealed the next card, and her heart fell. “The Page of Cups. A positive affirmation.”
“But they are bonded now. United for this lifetime.” Keeva pointed a shaking finger at the spread. “Only something grave and powerful could rip that joining asunder.”
“Death,” Mairwen said. “Or worse.”
“What is worse than death?”
“Regret.”
* * *
Lexi’s eyesflew open to suffocating darkness until she realized where she was. She struggled to calm her pounding heart and breathing, remaining still to keep from waking Jeros. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and forced herself to calm the hell down. It was just a dream. It meant nothing.
Bullshit.Lexi knew better. Her subconscious had a major case of buyer’s remorse. Apparently, her inner self had decided that the price she had paid for a life with Jeros was too freaking high. The dream had started innocently enough. She had been back in Kentucky, sitting in her office, signing payroll checks. And then a horse owner’s worst nightmare had hit. The barns were on fire. All three of them. Blazing like they had just risen from the seventh level of hell. Every fire department in the area showed up, neighbors poured in to help, but they couldn’t get to the poor horses that were screaming to be saved.
It was just a nightmare.Maggie, Sam, and everyone else would never let that happen, and they had just installed that state-of-the-art sprinkler system and computer-monitored automatic stall doors that flew open for the horses to escape if fire should ever break out.
She pulled in a deep, cleansing breath and let it ease out, still shaken over how real everything had seemed. But that was the way of nightmares. That was why they were always so frightening. Easing out of the bed without disturbing Jeros, she tiptoed over to the window and gulped in deep breaths of cool night air. She leaned on the sill, hanging partially out the window, even though she was still naked. Hopefully, no one would see her since Jeros’s bedchamber overlooked a grassy meadow, a glen dotted with Highland cows. She lowered herself to the bench, folded her arms on the sill, and propped her chin atop them. That spot where she kept her emotions boxed up tightened into an unrelenting knot.
She scrubbed her eyes, determined not to cry. Staying here was the right choice. Of course, currently, it was the only choice, but she wouldn’t regret choosing Jeros over Kentucky. A lump of homesickness lodged in her throat and almost choked her. The peace, the contentment she had felt a few hours ago, was gone. She missed home. Maggie. Sam. The barns. The clutter of dust collectors that Mammaw had left her to sort through and toss out, even though Mammaw knew Lexi was just as big a hoarder as she was. Neither of them ever threw anything away. But now, all she had left of Mammaw was the embroidered denim jacket that didn’t even belong in this time or place.
“Lexi?”
She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, then swallowed hard and did her best to sound as if everything was okay. “Go back to sleep. I just needed some air.”
“The room is filled with air.”
“I needed window air. It’s cooler and less scented with what we did for the past few hours.” Not that she wasn’t getting accustomed to theearthierside of 1811 in this version of Scotland, but right now she would give her right arm for a set of cotton sheets that had been washed and dried with one of her favorite fabric softeners that smelled like lavender and lilacs.
“I can ring for the maids to change the bed,” he said, pushing himself upright to lean back against the headboard. “What is wrong? Ye dinna lie well. And I can smell it. Remember?”
No, she had never been a good liar. He had her dead to rights there. “I had a bad dream.”
“Earlier, ye spoke of trainers, spreadsheets, banks, and payroll.” Even in the darkness, his gaze looked right into her and saw everything. “Are those things frightening, then?”
“They can be.” She cradled her head in her hands. “I dreamt the barns burned down, and all my horses died. Everyone blamed me. They pointed fingers. Shook their heads. Wouldn’t even speak to me.” She squinted her eyes tightly shut. “I could hear the poor horses screaming. It was awful.”
The warm weight of his hand on her shoulder helped her breathe easier, made her feel safe.See?she told herself.We made the right choice.But uncertainty stirred within her, making her stomach churn. “I know it was just a dream, but it was so…real.”
He scooped her up into his arms, seated himself on the bench, and settled her onto his lap. “Losing yer old life attacked ye the only way it could. It came to ye in a dream. Lied to ye about all that would happen since ye chose to stay here.”
Resting her head on his shoulder, she breathed him in and found comfort in his solid warmth. “I know homesickness is natural, but I never thought I would torture myself this way.”
“Do ye regret our joining?”
“No.” The answer came quickly, rolled right off her tongue, and for that reason, she was glad because the worry in his voice was unmistakable. “I have never felt this…connected…to anyone. I know in my heart if I went back, I would regret it.” She drew in a shuddering breath and released it. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t still miss what I once had and worry about adjusting to this place.”
“Look how much ye have already adjusted,” he said. “Ye bear the alpha unicorn’s mark, can speak to them with yer mind, and yer maid is so devoted to ye, she deals with yer Fae tiger when she knows ye are otherwise engaged.”
That was true and made her feel a little better. She noticed a distinct hardness nudging her. Immediate yearning and a surge of heat shoved her nightmare to the back of her mind. She rose and straddled him, impaling herself as she settled down for another ride. “And there is this.”
He grinned as he squeezed her buttocks. “Aye, love. There is this.”
“Maybe whenever I have a bad dream, I should just let you know we need to do this to get my mind off it.”
“I would happily oblige ye, my own. Happily.”
