Rich Girl

by Mary E. Twomey

  “I’m w-w-with Demi,” I protested, uncertain what the rules were in cases of hypothermia.

  Bastien swallowed down the bitter pill with a nod. “I know. But I think Demi would like it if I returned you to him with all your fingers and toes intact.”

  I was too turned around to object further. My damp towel twisted away when I wrapped my arms and legs around him, locking into position with my rigid limbs. I sobbed, my breasts moving with shame as they pressed against his chest. “I don’t like this!”

  Bastien kissed my forehead and molded his arms around me, pulling Mad in so my bare back and butt were warmed by his BFF. I hated how naked I was, but knew this was standard procedure for frostbite. “My b-b-bird!” I wailed, calming to mere weeping when Madigan rested the dead bird on my shoulder without a word.

  I snatched at the creature, my limbs as stiff as his, and tucked him under my chin. “Keep him warm,” I begged, thinking that if maybe I could save the one crow, all wouldn’t be lost. I nuzzled him between my chest and Bastien’s.

  Bastien was kind, and didn’t call me out on my crazy. He took turns stroking the crow’s feathers, and then running his knuckles over my cheekbone to soothe me. “What’s his name?” he asked quietly.

  My eyes swept shut as a new pain hit me. “I didn’t even know it! They tried to attack Kerdik when he turned on me, and he waved his hand like it was nothing and killed them all! I’m so sorry!” I sobbed, ashamed that I hadn’t been able to save them – that they’d given their lives up for me. “Go ahead. Say ‘I told you so.’ You warned me Kerdik was dangerous,” I sniffled. It wasn’t the assault that stung, it was the betrayal. I had so few friends here, and I’d counted on Kerdik being one of the good ones.

  Bastien shushed me, touching his forehead to mine so he could look at the bird I was clutching like it was my lifeline. “I think we should name him. A good bird who defends my lady deserves to be buried with honor.”

  “Ah, jays,” Madigan grumbled, his patience only going so far.

  My lower lip quivered at the sweetness Bastien doled out like it was nothing. “Adam?” I said like it was a question.

  Bastien nodded, moving my head with his through the prolonged marriage of our foreheads. “Adam is a good name.”

  I closed my eyes and willed all the magic in my Fae bones to finally do something. I didn’t know how to cast charms or perform healings, but there was no time like the present to learn. “How do I heal him? Like, with my magic.”

  Bastien’s eyebrows pushed together, reminding me just how much I loved his scarred brow. “You can’t, honey. He’s already dead.”

  Tears cascaded over my face and buried themselves in my pillow, no doubt to taint whatever dreams would haunt me tonight. “No! It can’t go down like this. I’m not a useless princess. I can wake him up! If I’m really Fae, then I have magic inside of me. I can heal him!”

  Link rubbed his jaw, taking it upon himself to select the short straw and clue me in on the harder truths. “It takes years of schooling to be able to heal even the smallest cut. Even if wee Adam were only mildly hurt, ye wouldn’t be able to bring him back.”

  “I’m not stupid!” I shouted, more at all the kids who’d ever taunted me than at Link. “I can do this.” I squinched my eyes shut and willed with everything in me for Adam to move on his own. I summoned up every hopeful thought and spread it over his stiff body like lotion meant for only the best kind of recovery. I even checked in with my gut, asking my Compass to show me the way to heal Adam, who had only ever been good to me. I held my breath, but when that didn’t work, I tried deep yoga breathing.

  I’m not sure how long it was before I finally conceded the fight to the Grim Reaper. I utterly wept in Bastien’s arms, confronted with every single shortcoming that had led me to this moment. I was the gullible girl who played with monsters, and were shocked when they bit me. I was Remedial Rosie, powerless to save one small bird whose worst crime had been trusting me.

  Bastien kissed my forehead and ran his hand lightly over my bird. “Rest in peace, Adam. Thank you for everything. Thank you for trying to save my girl.”

  I don’t know how long Link had been watching us, but his wary voice broke our hushed moment. “So someone snatched Bastien’s brains out of his head and replaced them with roses and sweets, aye? Is tha the size of it?”

  “Aye,” Madigan replied. “Let me introduce ye to Bastien in love. Ye have to see it to believe it.”

  “A servant will be up soon with hot water bottles and broth,” Link assured me. “It might do well not to be cozying up to a dead bird. Far be it from me to state the obvious.”

  Bastien didn’t turn his head from me as he spoke to the guys. “Can you take all the birds out while I warm Rosie up? And give this one a burial, Link. His name is Adam.”

  My heart swelled for Bastien, tears of gratitude welling to replace the tears of pain and fear I’d been crying. “Thank you, Bastien. You get it. You get how sad this is.”

  Bastien closed his eyes at the sound of his name on my lips. “I do. We’ll take care of it. I’ve got you, Daisy.”

  “Ye are serious? For a bird?” The way Link said “bird” almost sounded like “bard”, which was exactly what Adam had been, singing to me just minutes before he died. Somehow Link’s accent made the whole thing sadder. Now the world would be short one bard, which we needed now more than ever.

  “It’s for my girl. Give her whatever she wants.”

  I expected Link to argue, but he responded with a resigned, “Aye. At least your wee Rose is better than Nicholai’s lady.” Then for my benefit, he explained, “Katya only wants the finest clothes, and she don’t care who Nicholai takes them from. I guess a bird funeral is better than tha.”

  Madigan slipped out from the bed and tugged his shirt back on. He grabbed a basket from the corner and shunted the birds inside, his long fingers gathering two and three up at a time. “Just rest, Rosie. We’ll see to taking ye out of here the second we have the jewels back where they need to be, and make arrangements for waking your Da.”

  It was a promise I put too much hope in. “Thanks, Mad. I’m sorry I’m naked.” Tears rolled down my cheeks. “I know this is awful!”

  Mad leaned over the bed and cupped my shoulder. “Don’t think on it another second. If ye put it out of your mind, I promise I’ll do the same.”

  I gulped down my hiccupped tears, and then nodded, grateful to Mad for so many things.

  30

  Cold Girl, Warm Bed, Hot Guy

  Bastien waited until the guys had collected all the birds, including Adam, and vacated the room to bury their little bodies. My limbs were more pliable now, but they weren’t ready to leave Bastien for a moment longer than it took for him to slide his flannel over my arms and button me up. The single layer of clothing gave me the freedom to wrap my body around his without shame. His hand had stayed as honest as possible, but found it couldn’t resist the curve of my hips. His fingers traced from the outside of my thigh up my hip, dipping at my waist, and climbed up my ribs, guiltily thumbing the plump outer edge of my breast just to make us both shiver.

  My body shuddered against his under the covers. I didn’t even have the decency to be ashamed and pull away when a servant from the kitchen came in and tucked several hot water bottles under the many blankets. The bowl of broth was set on the nightstand, along with a jar of salve from Remy for my cuts. Then the man left without a word. I wondered where Demi was, though maybe it was best he didn’t see me like this.

  Bastien’s lips found mine with a lazy allure as soon as the door shut. I didn’t think it through, but surrendered, kissing the man I didn’t want to want, and couldn’t afford to need.

  But I did need him. My body and heart wouldn’t deny me the man who would come for me time and time again.

  He kept the kisses light and languid, tasting and sucking at his leisure, as if we had all day and night to indulge in each other. The rain still poured outside, adding to the heat that tha
wed the ice between us. He rolled on top of me, rocking his body against mine and holding my arms above my head. There was no denying the need we had for each other. The kiss stayed measured and held back from the edge of wild passion. He knew I was fragile, and he didn’t push me too far.

  “I love you, Rosie,” he sighed between kisses, his hips pressed to mine. My knees parted, and soon he was rocking against me in waves of seduction I wanted to drown in.

  “Don’t love me,” I warned through a guttural groan. My toes curled as my body did what it wanted.

  “Don’t tell me what to do.” His lips were soft and insisted that what we had could survive the careless things we’d done with the gift we’d found in each other. He carefully rolled us so I was on top, my arms and legs caging him in. He put me in the position of total control, so whatever happened next would be my own doing. He submitted to my whims, his hands on either side of his head in complete surrender. “Stop kissing me if you don’t want me.”

  My lips betrayed me, seeking out his against my better judgment. “Shut up.”

  Bastien’s hand moved under the covers to deliver a light slap to my left butt cheek. I yelped and jumped, pulling my head back to scowl at him. “Tell me the truth, Daisy. Tell me that you love me.”

  When I hesitated, he gave my butt another slap, the sting reminding me that I was keeping him waiting, and Bastien didn’t do patience. The rain pounded the earth just outside my window, and try as I might, I couldn’t tear myself from Bastien’s warmth. I sucked on his lower lip before whispering a guilty, “You know I love you, even when you don’t deserve it.”

  “See? Was that really so hard?” He leaned his chin up and kissed me, long and deep, making me swoon until my weary limbs decided they couldn’t support me any longer. I collapsed atop him, too shaky to enjoy any more sexy moments. I knew I’d exhausted myself from the long day, the drama, the constant shivering, and the overuse of magic. Bastien kissed my cheeks lightly, and then rolled me off of him so I was laying on the mattress, my chin to the ceiling. He got out and pressed the small jar of salve into my palm. “Please tell me you need my help rubbing this into your cuts.”

  I managed a wan smile. “Maybe the ones on my back, if you don’t mind.” Under the covers, I rubbed the salve into my cleavage and around my chest and torso, finding more cuts than could be healthy.

  Bastien waited until I turned myself over and slid the borrowed flannel off my shoulders, the dim light from the setting sun struggling to shine in through the rain to highlight the small slices peppering my back. Bastien straddled my butt and rubbed the oily cream into my skin, his calloused fingers letting me know just how capable he could be with a naked woman. Then he got up and rummaged through my drawers, coming back to slide a nightgown over my head, and underwear up my limp legs so he could have his shirt back. It seemed we’d come full circle from him ordering me to remove my clothes, to now him dressing me when I needed someone to be gentle, and take care of my body when I was too exhausted for the task.

  He was careful with my fragile state, and didn’t leave me while I slept. He kept his warm body pressed to mine, making sure his hands stayed honest while I dreamt.

  The hard knock on the door came in the middle of the night, the rain still falling outside. I roused with a drowsy jolt, unhappy that I was being woken only a couple hours into my sleep cycle. When he made to get up, I gripped his shoulder, grateful he allowed my clumsy hands to pull him back down next to me. “Don’t leave,” I whispered, groggy and uncertain of everything I wished I had an answer for.

  “Never,” he promised me. I could tell in his voice that he was moved by my plea. “I’m just going to answer the door. I won’t step a toe outside this room unless you’re with me.” He kissed my swollen lips, slid on his pants and shirt, and then kissed me again, as if he needed a hit of the oxygen I was to him every few seconds so he could breathe. He opened the door with a tightness to his shoulders. “The princess is unavailable.”

  “Her majesty most high demands the princess come to her chambers.”

  “Her majesty most high can bite me. I’m Rosie’s Guardien, and I say she’s sleeping.”

  I recognized Rigby’s voice, humble but authoritative. “If you do not bring down the princess, her majesty most high will come up here in a most unfortunate disposition. Either way, there is no time for sleep right now.”

  Bastien swore and shut the door in Rigby’s face. He came back to the bed and sat on the side, leaning down for another hit from my confused and guilty lips. “I think we should go down there and get this over with. The guys are in the parlor, catching up and making a mess of your mom’s house.”

  I sat up against the headboard, pulling the covers up over the strappy nightgown. “Bastien, I don’t know what got into me last night. I shouldn’t have… I’m with Demi, if he’ll still have me.”

  Bastien’s face hardened, but to his credit, he didn’t turn cold on me. “Demi’s job is to make you happy. You don’t owe him some kind of loyalty. It wasn’t a real relationship.”

  My mouth drew in a tight line. “I’m sure there won’t be any relationship at all after I tell him everything we’ve done. If you could give me a minute, I need to get dressed.”

  I expected Bastien to stomp out and slam the door with his signature temper, but instead he leaned in and traced my cheekbone with the pad of his thumb. “Take all the time you need, Daisy.”

  31

  Kerdik’s Protection

  Morgan was awake, and pissed as a pit bull who couldn’t reach her bone. I could hear her yelling all the way down the hall before I even reached her room. It had taken me a hot minute to make myself presentable for her, finding a dress that didn’t rub too hard on my broken skin. Demi hadn’t come back to my room. I’d hoped to find him on my way, but no such luck.

  Bastien walked me to my mom’s bedroom, and though she’d just been laid out for hours, she was dressed in a fresh ballgown, her hair redone, and nothing but vinegar in her soul. She didn’t even bother disguising the vinegar as roses anymore, which was just as well. No one bought the ruse anyway.

  “Rosalie, get in here and explain yourself!”

  I took a deep breath to answer, but Bastien moved in front of me. “Hey, Mom,” I greeted her, as if nothing was wrong at all.

  “‘Hey, Mom?’ That’s all you have to say to me?”

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m feeling like I want to tear your head off! Since when do you know Master Kerdik? Since when did you become close with him, enough that he’d show up at random to your coronation? I’ve been trying to reach him for decades, and he’s been at your beck and call this entire time?”

  I scoffed at how little she understood the enigma that was Kerdik. “The fact that you think he’s at anyone’s beck and call shows how little you know him. So I had a friend you didn’t know about. Newsflash, you know shockingly little about me. As soon as you found out my Compass abilities were gone, you shoved me away and haven’t cared to engage in a single conversation with me that wasn’t about your agenda. We’ve never even had a meal together.”

  “Like you need another meal.” She gave a pointed look at my waist, which I gotta tell you, was spot on average for my size and age.

  I was too tired to deal with her crap. “I was sleeping when you demanded I get out of bed and come down here. I know sleep isn’t all that common here, but it’s a nonnegotiable for me. When you wake me in the middle of the night, you’re stuck with looking at your fat daughter in whatever state I show up. Deal with it.”

  Bastien hissed his disapproval. “Did you have anything important to say to her? Just more posturing and throwing your power around? No one here’s impressed.”

  Morgan fumed at Bastien, and though I knew she couldn’t touch him, I didn’t want him caught in her crosshairs. My voice softened to steer the meeting in a better direction. “You scared me, fainting like that. What happened? Some people are saying that you poisoned the crown you were
supposed to give to me. Is that true?”

  “Of course it’s not true. I’m your mother. It was poisoned, though not by me.” She stood from her bed, her face still pale, but no less threatening. “Your corset is to be worn every time you step outside your room. It’s to retrain your figure, which is in serious need of help.”

  I sighed. “Fine. I’ll have Demi put it back on when I go upstairs. You’re the one who pulled me out of bed. Sheesh.”

  She picked up a rag that had been used to cool her forehead and whipped it at Rigby, who flinched at her temper, but said nothing. “Demi’s gone. I’ll send up another soumettre for you.”

  “What do you mean, gone? Like, out on an errand or something?”

  “No, I mean your Aunt Avril required his services, so I sent him with her.”

  A fresh batch of ice ran through my veins. “What? Are you serious?”

  “Of course I am. She required him, so I sent him on his way. After how things were between us when I saw her last, I figured she needed a little appeasing. Demi is good for that sort of thing. You’re to be married soon to that disrespectful Untouchable. What need have you for a specific soumettre? They’re all the same, Rosalie.”

  My voice was shriller than hers had been. “I’m leaving to go to Province 8. I’ll be back with Demi in a few days.”

  “He’ll be sent back when Avril tires of him.” An evil smile played on her painted lips. “Do you actually have an attachment to Demi? Do you think you have some claim on him?”

  “Of course I do. He’s my boyfriend!”

  Morgan tilted her head back and let out a throaty laugh. “Oh, my! How glad I am to have heard you say such foolishness in person. Demi serves you faithfully until he’s sent to placate whomever I deem needs pleasing. His allegiance is wherever I send it.”