“I think it was a smart move. I think you’ll like it, even with a tough boss,” she told him with a smile, sipping her tea some more.
“What about you, were you always here?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Not always. I was actually born in Missouri and so was my sister. We moved when I started junior high for my father’s work, and we all just fell in love with it. The weather, the people, I think it’s great.”
“Well, I am glad it comes so highly recommended.”
There was an unspoken tension in the room as it fell silent, the small talk drying up like an old well. Evette had not noticed anything between them before; not true attraction or connection. He had just been a good-looking man who happened to work for her. But now that they were alone in her house, something felt different. It was almost like a pressure for something to happen between them. Evette hated that feeling after her two failed marriages because it was like she was being forced to dive in head first into a pool of heartbreak. This time, though, his heart would be broken too because she was fading away in front of him. Yet, she still couldn't control what question came out of her mouth next.
“So, why are you being so nice and helping me?” Evette knew it was a dumb question and she could easily lose him as a friend over it. You didn't ask people why they helped you, you just let them be good citizens and help, even if the guilt of some kind was the underlying cause.
“I guess I just feel like you both need and deserve it. There is something about you and the work you do that makes me feel like you are an extraordinary human being, and I hate to see that you are struggling with something, even if I do not understand what it is or how you are treating it.”
Evette pursed her lips. She didn't know if he meant it as an insult or a curiosity. So much opposition was coming to her from all sides at the fact that she didn't want to accept meds for her condition. But it sounded as if he didn't even understand what MS was, and maybe he didn't. She had hardly heard of it before her diagnosis since she had been so healthy. She barely even got sick before that. “I just don’t trust the chemicals in modern medicine. Sometimes it can just end up running your life and killing you faster like that chemo patient we saw. Now, with cancer, there is no choice, but it is awful. What I have is MS, an issue with my immune system. Only natural things can fix that.” She didn't know whether to leave out the next part or not, but it came out without her explicit permission. “The only problem is nothing seems to be working for me at all. I could end up crippled within months if I do nothing, but I just don't see any meds making this better.”
He put his hands up as if in surrender, and she knew she had read him wrong. “I am sorry. I didn't mean to criticize you in any way. I can tell you are getting a lot of crap for choosing what you are. I just don't understand it either way. I don't have a lot of family, and the family members I have had lived a very long time with few health problems. I have been a little sheltered when it comes to these things.”
Evette now felt really bad about her behavior. “No, it’s okay. I have been getting testy because I do get so much crap about it. MS stands for multiple sclerosis. Honestly, I am a little too tired and foggy to explain it all right now, but that should give you something to Google if you are really curious. And thank you for all of this by the way. You really do not owe me anything. All I have done for you is give you a hard, part-time job.”
“Hey, it may be hard, but it’s a good one. I like what I do. I told you, I want to heal people just like you do.”
“Maybe you are apprentice material after all,” Evette complimented, finishing up her tea. “How about a movie or something now?” she asked, getting up and shuffling over to her little shelf next to her television. She didn't keep too many around since she had Hulu and Netflix, but a few of her favorites were there.
“Sure, but I will let you pick. Your house and all,” Valen mentioned.
Evette turned her attention to the titles on the shelf and tried to think of something they could both enjoy. Then, she ran across the newest version of The Three Musketeers. It had action and romance, so how could she go wrong there? Popping it in, she settled back down in her chair, waiting for the movie to start. Vale smiled at her across the table, and she smiled back. But she soon found herself feeling sleepy, dozing off before the first half of the movie had passed.
Before she knew it, she was waking up to the end credits, feeling really low. She needed to get to bed, but she knew that Valen would need to watch her for seizure in her sleep even though she had taken a dose of the CBD oil. “Valen, I think I need to go to bed, but should I do it out here so you can keep an eye on me?” Her voice came out raspy and unrecognizable. This was taking a toll on her.
“Wherever you are comfortable. I could always sleep on the bedroom floor if you’d like,” he offered like a gentleman.
“No, I think I will go grab my things and use the couch, if you are okay with the recliner. It’s really comfortable, but I just like laying flatter.” Evette got up as she said it and almost fell down. But Valen was immediately by her side, catching her and taking her by the hand. Evette looked up at him, feeling grateful, and couldn't help but notice that their faces were practically touching. She could smell his tangy, warm breath as it blew out towards her nostrils. She was frozen for a moment, looking into his dark eyes as he cleared his throat at her.
“Why don't we get you to the couch, and I will get whatever it is you need from your bedroom, pillows and a blanket, whatever,” Valen said, leading her across the wood floor to the couch he had been sitting on. Where he had been, the spot was warm, so warm that Evette felt her body relax into the feeling.
“Yes, thanks,” she rasped out. She had been through so much in one night, she was just giving out. Listening to the doctor's orders on this one occasion was proving to be smart. She may not have made it through without him there, and she was still afraid, though she wouldn't voice it, about having a seizure, especially while conscious. Those were scary, and when she was first diagnosed, she had made the mistake of looking up videos. It was how she was, gaining all that info at once, but that had given her nightmares for a week.
Valen came back into the room with a pillow and a blanket, putting the pillow under her head and tucking her in. It was interesting and yet sexy to see such a strong man being so nurturing and caring. Maybe she needed to rethink this whole not getting involved with him thing. That was, if he was even interested.
Evette felt her heart flutter as he bent down, so close to her face. Then, his lips landed softly on her forehead before he walked over to the lamps and turned them off, one at a time so that the only light came from the moon, stars, and street lamps glowing through the blinds of the windows. Evette watched stealthily as Valen made himself comfortable in the recliner, but then her cheeks blushed, red hot, as his eyes caught hers. “Goodnight,” he said before closing them, her curiosity turning back to her tired state.
“Goodnight,” she responded back, snuggling into herself for the night. She quickly fell into a deep, calm sleep again, hopefully to rejuvenate for the next day because she hated being so helpless. Even if it got her a nice and hot man in her house. She just wanted to be free, and in her dreams, at least she always was.
*****
Valen shifted in his spot, feeling restless when his body hit something, or someone, that was in the recliner with him. He turned over to see that Evette was there, looking more like her usual self, cuddled up to him in her pajamas. Valen began to feel uncomfortable, no, that was not the right word. He felt nervous. She was in her pajamas, just a tee shirt and a pair of shorts. Her curvy body was pressed against his, causing a warmth to come over him. This was an attraction, and it was absolutely forbidden for him to act on it. At least that was what had been ingrained in him from a long time ago from his childhood with his family. Dragons did not mate with or fall for humans. They just didn't. It was wrong. But then why did being wrong, just the idea of it, entice him even more?
Valen turned over, his breathing going shallow as he looked her over in the dark glow that came through the windows; the only light in the house. He could not guess how long it had been since he shut the movie down and they both settled down for bed, but Evette had made a sudden miraculous recovery. Maybe that oil she had taken from the shop really did its job.
Valen breathed a question. “What are you doing?” he knew it was a dumb one. He was a dragon, a royal one at that, who could overpower any human on the planet right now. He was supposed to be tough and an alpha male. Usually, he was. Every woman he had come across he dominated, but this one, this one was reaching into his very soul and exposing it. It was not the easiest wound to hold up to.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” she said in a sultry voice right into his ear. Was this really happening? Was his human boss, the intelligent, funny, caring blonde with a killer ass, really trying to get with him in her house when he was supposed to be making sure she was alright? He needed to run and get out of there before it was too late, but his body and his mind were having quite the disagreement with each other. Instead of getting up he pressed himself against her, his lips planting themselves on hers like she was carrying life-saving essence inside of her. And as he tasted her, drinking her down, he thought that maybe that was the case because it certainly felt like she was saving him from everything he had been running from.
Evette sighed against his lips, and he felt himself harden against her. Surely, she could feel it through the thin layers of clothing separating them, and he groaned as he pulled her bottom lip into his mouth. His body was not going to let him leave her now, not even if the entirety of his kingdom came bursting through her front door to stop them from committing the ultimate crime.
Evette’s hands snaked up and down his body until she tugged at his collar playfully. That made him take her hair up in his hands, balling it up with his fist and pulled her face back from him. He saw nothing but lust there, looking right back at him from her dangerously gorgeous eyes. He wanted to rip her clothes off and taste every inch of her skin.
But then, in a cold sweat, everything dissipated, and he sat up straight on the recliner, finding the glow of first morning light coming in through the windows and Evette sleeping soundly on the couch still. Valen breathed heavily but tried to calm himself, not wanting to wake her and have to explain himself. He didn't even know if he could. What kind of a dream was that? It had seemed so real, but Evette was clearly still feeling too ill to have climbed up there with him. Not to mention the fact that he doubted she felt anything towards him, even just a passing attraction. Though something was scratching at the back of his brain now that he could not get rid of – the want to find out not just if she could have feelings for him but what it would actually be like to taste her pink lips.
Valen tried to lay back down and go to sleep, but he found that he could not, not with thoughts of Evette’s body against his when she was laying right in front of him. So, instead, he took the liberty of heading into the kitchen to find some food that he might be able to cook for them both to have for breakfast. She might appreciate the gesture, and then, just maybe he could do this thing right. He knew he shouldn't be trying to have a relationship with a human woman, but he was living as a human anyway. He never meant to go back home and deal with all that was waiting there for him. So why did it matter if he followed any of the rules anymore, unless it was the one about keeping what he was a secret? That was the only rule that was still important to keep.
Searching through the fridge he found a few eggs and some sausage and a few vegetables. He thought he could make a breakfast scramble. There was enough meat for the both of them, even with his large appetite, and as the grease began to heart up and he placed the sausage in first it smelled delicious. Valen hadn’t eaten at all the night before, having been more worried about Evette than himself. He didn't realize how hungry he was until now.
Just as he was putting the plates together, Valen heard some sounds of stirring and looked back to see that Evette was sitting up on the couch in the living room, getting her bearings slowly. She did look like some of the colors were back in her skin, though she still appeared slightly weak as she tried to stand and walk over to the kitchen table. “So, first you save me twice, and then you cook me breakfast? I’m just your boss. I can’t imagine what you do for your girlfriend,” she joked with a cute little laugh, but Valen thought about what she said. This was exactly what he would do with a girlfriend, a real one. Though, it was a concept he was barely familiar with. Dragons played the field for pleasure, or they courted a person set aside for them for marriage; that was it. Nothing more.
“You might be surprised to know that I don't have one. I am, as they say, between girlfriends right now,” he told her, setting the plates down on the table for them to eat. He sat down right across from her with a sly smile on his face, ready to turn on the charm. He knew how to get women, he had been getting them for years. He never had a problem with that. Though, he often ended up in bed with the crazies, like the woman who had made him the collar. But those women tended to be the best in bed, at least in his experience. Not that it mattered since he could have never had anything long-term with any of them, not until he decided to leave. And then he had to run and think of himself, get out of there before he got caught and dragged back into a life that never felt like his own.
“Oh, wow, I thought someone like you would have a bunch on standby, just waiting for you to break up with the last one,” she joked, chortling a little. It was good to see that she was doing a little better.
“Maybe I do, and maybe I just don’t like any of those women. Oh, and good morning to you too,” Valen teased, digging into his food after that. As much as he wanted to flirt with Evette, his stomach told him he needed to worry about it first or an awkward growling was going to be coming through in their conversation.
“Yes, good morning, and thanks for the food. I am left a little hungry after all that happened yesterday. I need the best nutrition right now, and I am honestly surprised you found anything decent to make in there. I need to go shopping, but between making all the tinctures and training you and then my appointments, I have not gotten a chance to yet.”
“Are you asking me if I will go grocery shopping for you? Because that one is a little too far there. I think that one will cost you a date,” Valen told her. She started to laugh, but then she looked him dead on in the eyes, and Valen made sure he looked entirely serious. He meant it. He wanted a date with her.
“Oh, I see why you have been so nice this whole time, because you wanted to go out with me, because you want into my pants or something. Just because I am sick, it doesn't make me easy.” Evette got up to walk away from her food, but Valen stood up quickly beating her to the chase and pulling her back by her arm, making their bodies connect.
Before Evette could stop him, he planted his lips on hers, tasting them for real this time, his hand caressing the side of her face. It was better than anything he could have imagined in his dream, especially as he felt the weakness in her knees in response as she gave into him. Evette felt it too. That was all the confirmation and encouragement he needed. “So,” he said pulling away. “how about that date?”
Evette raised an eyebrow at him. “Well played. I am not sure how I feel about the ethics of dating an employee, but one date in exchange for a grocery run couldn't hurt too much. When and where?”
Valen had to think about that. He had been living in the moment and had half expected her to say no and kick him out after the kiss, but his boldness had paid off in this instance. “How about this Friday? There is this rock band, just a local band, having an outdoor concert. I don’t know if it’s your scene, but it is certainly a lot of fun and a way to loosen up and forget about all the stress. And if you don't like the music, the scenery is beautiful for some hiking and camping.”
Evette gave him a strange look. “You so don’t look like the nature guy type, but if I can trust you to save
me twice, then I can trust you to keep me safe out there. I’ll have to make sure I take all of my meds with me, the ones that won’t kill me,” she specified. Valen nodded. He knew that she was sick, and something could easily happen, but he was confident that being out there would make her feel better. Everyone, even humans, had that natural connection to the mountains and the sky and the trees that their bodies pulled for even if they didn't recognize the feeling.
“I’ll keep you safe, and we won't stay out too late, just long enough to enjoy ourselves. Then, I’ll bring you home. Now, why don't you get to writing that grocery list?” he told her, crossing his arms at her. She rolled her eyes, but she also smiled, unable to hide her amusement with him.
“Alright, but I am not going easy on you. I am looking to stock up my kitchen with some healthy stuff. You’ll have to go to a couple of different stores to find it all. Think you can handle that?” Evette asked, sitting down with a notepad and pen.
Valen nodded towards her, walking up to her and leaning over her shoulder. “I can handle anything you throw at me.”
Chapter Six
Evette watched the clock tick away the minutes, oh so slowly. She had thought Friday would never arrive. Now that it had, the day just wouldn’t end. She was feeling better today. Whether it was because she had something to look forward to, or simply that her symptoms were less, she couldn’t decide. It didn’t really matter, as long as she had the energy she required. A rock concert was something she hadn’t been to since she was a teenager, and one held outdoors was entirely new to her. Stadiums didn’t count. You still had seats. For this one, Valen had told her, they would be bringing blankets to sit on and a picnic of sorts.
The door jingled as a customer arrived. Evette didn’t usually get annoyed when someone came in at the last minute, but today she had been hoping to lock the door a few minutes early. The apothecary had been slow all day, and now, just because she was anxious to leave in came a customer.
The Wolf's Temptation (Alpha Wolves of Myre Falls Book 2) Page 21