by Karen Lynch
I waited until I heard the toilet flush to return to the bathroom. She was standing with a hand against the wall for support and looking a little lost. My original plan had been to hand her the clothes and let her take care of it. One look at her and I knew that wasn’t happening.
“Turn around,” I said briskly, intending to keep this as impersonal as possible.
I expected her to argue. She surprised me by obeying the order. When I grasped the hem of her top and pulled it up, she automatically raised her arms so I could remove it.
I kept my eyes trained on the back of her head until her long hair lifted with the top, giving me a view of her bare shoulders and back, which tapered to a small waist. Most of the women I’d seen naked had been all soft curves and tanned or dark skin. Jesse was toned from rigorous training, and her skin was flawless porcelain except for a sprinkle of freckles on her shoulders. I wanted nothing more than to trace the trail of freckles with my fingers and to touch that soft skin.
Jesse chose that moment to turn slightly, presenting me with a generous glimpse of a creamy, rounded breast. I swallowed as my body responded, and I hurriedly finished removing her top. Her arms dropped back to her sides, and her hair fell down to cover most of her back.
I clenched my jaw as I reached for the dry T-shirt I’d brought for her. Helping her change clothes had not been one of my better decisions.
Ever since the morning I’d carried Jesse off the island and held her on the boat, I’d felt something shift between us. At first, I had told myself it was gratitude for her alerting us to the planned attempt on my life. But then a few days later, she’d walked in on me in my towel, and a bolt of lust had gone through me when her eyes slid down my body. If she had waited another second to turn her back on me, she would have seen how much she affected me with just a look.
I held the dry top above her head. “Hands up.”
She laughed, and the sound went straight to my groin. “Are you arresting me?”
I gave her a pained smile she couldn’t see. “No, but I’m starting to think you’re more dangerous than you look.”
I lifted her arms and helped her into the T-shirt, making sure to keep my eyes fixed on the shower curtain over her head. Thankfully, she took over from there and pulled the top down over her torso.
There was no way I could help her change her shorts after that. I reached around her to shove the dry pair into her hands. “I’ll turn around so you can change your bottoms.”
I faced the door, trying not to listen to the swish of the wet material sliding down her legs to hit the tile floor with a soft plop. There wasn’t much room in here, and imagining her so close behind me in only her panties was not helping my current situation.
“The last time I was in a bathroom with a boy, he tried to cop a feel,” she said airily.
“Why did you go to the bathroom with a boy?” My gut hardened at the thought of her in close quarters like this with a hormonal teenage boy.
She scoffed. “I didn’t go to the bathroom with him. I was at a party, and he followed me in.”
A new image filled my mind of some boy forcing himself on her, and my hands curled into fists. “Did he hurt you?”
There was a short pause, followed by a sigh. “No. But I might have overreacted a little. I blame it on my dad. He’s the one who drilled all those self-defense lessons into me.”
My respect for Patrick James doubled in that instant. The tension drained from me, and I chuckled at the new image of Jesse treating the boy to a taste of the beating she’d given her two attackers. “What did you do?”
“Let’s just say poor Felix walked funny for a week,” she answered lightly.
I grinned at the door. “Sounds like he deserved it.”
“He did.” She let out another sigh. “But after that, no boy at school would come near me, except Trey Fowler.”
My smile slipped. “Trey is your boyfriend?”
“God, no. I’m not desperate,” she blurted. “I’m done.”
I turned to find her holding a hand against the wall to steady herself. She gave me a tired smile and didn’t protest when I scooped her up and carried her to her bedroom. I set her down in the chair in the corner and told her to stay put while I went to run a fresh cloth under warm water.
I should have given the cloth to her to wipe her face and neck, but the need to take care of her outweighed the reasons why I shouldn’t touch her. Even pale and tired after her fever, she was so lovely that I felt a tug at my chest. Or maybe it was due to the absolute trust in her eyes as she watched me. No one had ever looked at me like this, and it made me long for things I couldn’t have.
“Are we friends?” she asked suddenly, pulling me from my thoughts.
Friendship was not a word I’d use to describe what I felt right now. I placed my hands on either side of her and met her searching gaze. “Do you want us to be friends, Jesse?”
“Yes.” She nodded eagerly. “But don’t tell Violet.”
“You don’t want her to know we are friends?” Violet was her best friend and confidante. Why would Jesse not want her to know about our friendship?
She waved a dismissive hand. “It’s not that. Violet thinks I should hook up with you because…well, you know.”
Realization dawned. It was no secret that humans preferred faeries as sexual partners, but I wanted to hear her say it. “Know what?”
Jesse rolled her eyes. “That faeries are better lovers. I keep telling her it’s not like that, but you don’t know my best friend.” She expelled a breath. “It’s a good thing I didn’t tell her I thought about kissing you. She’d never let it go.”
My pulse quickened, and the desire I’d been fighting came roaring back. “You thought about kissing me?”
“I was curious about what it would be like,” she said matter-of-factly, as if she hadn’t just ignited a fire in the pit of my stomach. The mere idea that she’d imagined it made me crave the taste of her lips, and I could barely think of anything else.
“And you’re not curious anymore?” I asked her.
Her eyes dipped to my mouth, and the next thing I knew, she grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me toward her. I went willingly, letting her lead as she met me halfway and grazed my lips with hers. When her tongue tentatively flicked against my mouth, I suppressed a groan, but there was no stopping me from taking what she offered.
I slanted my mouth across hers as my fingers tangled in her hair and held her against me. Her lips parted, and I kissed her with a need I’d never felt before. She responded with sweet abandon that threatened to unravel me. I could take her to the bed, and she would give me anything I asked of her. And Goddess, how I ached to feel her beneath me, around me.
It was the last thought that broke through the raw need consuming me. With a strength of will I hadn’t known I possessed, I ended the kiss.
Shame swept over me like a cold wave as I touched my forehead to hers. What was I doing? Jesse was barely recovered from a dangerous fever and in no condition to think rationally, let alone give consent. One touch from her and I’d let my base desires control me like an adolescent boy. She and I were like fuel and tinder, and one spark was all it would take for us to combust.
“I was right. You are very dangerous, Jesse James.”
“Is that why you stopped?” she asked in a voice laced with frustration and uncertainty.
I met her confused gaze. “I stopped because you are not yourself. I’ve done some questionable things in my life, but taking advantage of a female is not one of them.”
“But I like the way you kiss me.” Her mouth formed an adorable pout that made me want to kiss it again. “Will you do it again when I am myself?”
She would never know how much I wanted to grant her request. A faerie and a human could have no future, and she deserved so much more than I could offer her. I touched the end of her hair, which was dull from the fever instead of its normal fiery red. The first time I’d seen it down, it had reminded
me of the calaech flower that resembled flames when it bloomed. It was a fitting name for her. It matched her passion and her spirit.
“No, mi’calaech,” I said tenderly. “But not because I don’t want to.”
My answer seemed to appease her, and she relaxed into the chair with her eyes closed and a dreamy smile on her lips. It occurred to me then that she might not even remember any of this in a few hours, which would probably be for the best. I’d remember for both of us.
Standing, I leaned down and picked her up again. “Let’s get you to bed so you can sleep this off.”
As soon as I laid her on the bed, she curled up on her side. “Thanks for taking care of me. But you never answered my question.”
“What question is that?” I asked as I pulled the covers over her.
She gave me a sleepy smile. “Are we friends?”
Friendship was the one thing I could offer her. I caressed her face, knowing it had to be the last time I touched her like this. “Yes. Now go to sleep.”
Jesse closed her eyes, and I stood at the foot of her bed, watching her until her breathing evened out. In sleep, she looked so vulnerable that I wanted nothing more than to protect her. She’d been through so much, but I knew she would be back to hunting and the search for her parents tomorrow.
“How is she?” Faolin asked in a low voice from the doorway.
“Asleep.” I didn’t look at him. My men were practiced at tuning out from my private interactions, especially with women, but something told me he knew exactly what had happened in this room between Jesse and me.
“We can leave her now, unless you want to stay longer,” he said.
Taking one more look at the girl on the bed, I committed to memory the image of her with her hair spread out on the pillow and her soft lips parted in sleep. I couldn’t allow myself the luxury of seeing her like this again because I didn’t know if I’d be able to walk away next time.
“Sleep well, Jesse,” I whispered, and then I turned and left her to her dreams.
Author Note
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Books in this series
Pawn (Book 1)
Other books by me
The Relentless Series
About the Author
When she is not writing, Karen Lynch can be found reading or baking. A native of Newfoundland, Canada, she currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her cats and her three adorable rescue dogs: Dax, Des, and Daisy.