Killian

by E. A. Weston

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

  He stays motionless and my heart sinks. I asked him to come up here and now I have ruined a nice break. “If you can hear me, I am sorry, Killian. I didn’t mean to freak out and I don’t really care if you are an old dude. You wear it well.”

  He releases a heavy sigh, wrapping his free arm around my waist and pulling me closer to him.

  “I know it’s a lot to take in, Reagan. I didn’t mean to spring it upon you in this way.” His melodic voice is low and husky. Leaning over, I press my lips to his again and this time, my kiss is reciprocated. We stay kissing for a while, just slowly enjoying the feeling of our lips telling a story. His hand on the small of my back holds me close—the other tangled in my hair. My lips feel swollen when I pull back from him. Killian does that staring thing again, making me frown.

  “Why do you do that?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.

  “Do what?”

  “Stare into my eyes like that. It’s pretty intense.”

  With a shrug, he traces his thumb along my swollen bottom lip. “I was just trying something.” I arch my eyebrow in question, but he shakes his head no and pulls a face at me. We both laugh and roll around the tent together.

  “I think it’s dinner time,” I whisper once we stop kissing. He agrees and both of us climb out of the tent and stretch our bodies. It is already sundown and the evening air is getting colder. I quickly remake the fire. Adding twigs and larger logs, I get it blazing enough to heat me up.

  “You like fire?” Killian asks, quizzically.

  “I suppose. I’ve never really thought about it, but there is something beautiful about it.” I give an honest answer. He smiles at me while stirring the soup. “Our last night out in the open,” I say, looking up at the stars.

  “For this week. We can always come back,” he tells me. “I like being here with you. It reminds me of Avalon.” Turning to look down at him, I smile.

  “Are your parents still there?”

  “No, they are not.” He stares into the fire for a few minutes, lost in thought.

  “Will you tell me about them?” I ask, taking a seat beside him. His fist clenches the spoon.

  “Not today, princess.” He shakes his head, giving me an apologetic smile.

  “It’s okay. I get it. Sometimes it’s hard for me to talk about mine, too.” He kisses my cheek and we eat our dinner.

  “If you ever want to talk, I am available to listen.” He grins at me.

  “Available? Huh, is that just for listening or are other things included?” I tease, winking at him.

  He laughs at me. “I am available to you for anything you wish of me.”

  I smile at him. Wow, available for anything I want. That is serious. Maybe I can get his help with looking for my parents. Turning, I open my mouth to speak but he is already smiling and nodding.

  “Can you hear my thoughts?” I ask slowly, cautiously.

  “That all depends. Would you want me to hear your thoughts?” he asks, observing my face.

  “I don’t know … maybe. I’m sure it could be useful in certain situations. Although it can be kind of creepy, you know, if you can hear what I’m saying now.” I smile and think, “I think you’re beautiful and I want to kiss you.” Leaning over, he brushes his lips on mine.

  “I don’t see how that was creepy.” He smiles. My eyes grow large as I look at him.

  “Why can’t I hear you?” I whisper. He shrugs his shoulders and sighs.

  “I don’t know if you will be able to. My father couldn’t with my mother but my sister and I were able to communicate with her and each other.”

  “You have a sister? Where is she? Is she still back in fairyland?” The questions rapid fire from my mouth one after another.

  “Fairyland?” he asks, looking amused. “Avalon, Reagan. And yes, I had a sister, but she too is dead, along with my parents.” His voice cracks a bit and he looks away from me. “Ari,” he says quietly. Ari. Weird name for a girl; sounds like a boys name. Killian turns back to me.

  “Aurelia. Her name was Aurelia.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s a beautiful name.” Rolling my eyes at myself, I groan. Why did I say that—er, think that? Couldn’t I have thought something more meaningful, something somewhat intelligent? Killian shakes his head at me.

  “You think the strangest thoughts, princess.” He laughs at me, throwing his arm around my waist. He pushes me to the ground gently, kissing me again. All I want to do is wrap myself around him for the rest of the night.

  “That can be arranged,” he mumbles against my neck.

  “Yes, please.” I laugh. In one swift motion, I am in his arms and he is climbing into the tent. Our lips meet again while our hands explore each other, pulling off one item of clothing after another.

  Chapter 18

  Being back in Faircrest makes me depressed. I have spent all day working for Athena, and now I have to meet Jake for a drink. Walking through town, I make my way to some dingy bar he likes to hang out in. Opening the doors, I can smell the smoke—and not the legal kind, either. It takes a few minutes for my eyes to stop watering. I scan the room, finding him over in the corner nursing a bottle of beer.

  “Hey,” I choke out, sitting down beside him.

  “Hey, stranger.” He leans over, kissing my cheek. “So how was camping?”

  Oh, you know, my boyfriend is a fairy and from another realm, so yeah, it was fantastic.

  “Great, thanks.” I smile and order a drink.

  “So what are we doing this year for your birthday? Do you want to go back to Granite?” he asks, looking at me.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it, really. Why? What are you up to?” I give him my best stern look, but he laughs at me, shaking his head.

  “Yeah, not working, Reagan, but we can hang out if you want.”

  I don’t get why he is asking about my birthday. It’s a whole month away. We stay in the bar until eleven pm. I can’t take any more smoke and my eyes are burning. Standing outside, Jake wraps his arm around me.

  “Everything okay?” I ask as I text Killian.

  “Yeah, I just missed you. I hate that you don’t live at home anymore. I am sorry for getting you kicked out.”

  “I know, but I’m good now. I am staying with a friend,” I tell him, putting my phone away. Jake leans his head against mine as we stand outside the bar.

  “Who are you waiting on?” he asks, looking up and down the empty street. My eyes follow his and I am beginning to think Killian is not coming.

  “My friend. He works at Granite. Not sure if he is coming, though.”

  Jake pulls out his phone, checking the time.

  “Doubt it, babe. The club opened an hour ago.”

  Shit, I forgot he was working tonight. Now I will have to walk across town to his place. “Let’s go see this dude so I can warn him off, my friend.” Jake laughs, throwing his arm over my shoulder again and steering me towards the club.

  “No, I’m fine. I can get home okay, Jake.”

  But he refuses to let me off the hook. We arrive at Granite by eleven-thirty pm. Tiny, the doorman, gives us a dubious look but eventually lets us inside. Jake and I walk into the club. The music is vibrating the walls and the laser light show is enough to send the FAA on high alert. Jake nudges me toward the bar. My eyes scan the floor and behind the bar. I don’t see Killian at all.

  Jake and I have a drink. We both just stand around, watching people.

  “Let’s dance. I’m bored just standing here,” I shout in his ear. Downing the rest of our drinks, we push through the crowd and dance together. I am not dressed for a club. I have on jeans and a sweater and I am burning up. I pull off my sweater, tying it around my waist. I have on a tank top and I am still sweating. Tilting my head back, I look up at the top level of the club. I can see a bunch of guys leaning over the railing, checking out all the girls and trying to get their attention. After an hour of dancing, we make our way
back to the bar. I catch the eye of the barman who served me the last time and he smiles.

  “Hey! Blue drink chick,” he shouts at me. I nod back then lean over the bar.

  “Is Killian here tonight?” I ask, hopping back down. The guy points to the upstairs and shouts “VIP” at me. He laughs at my frown.

  “He will be here in a few minutes. I need my break,” he says, looking at his watch. My heart instantly picks up speed. Even though I saw him about twelve hours ago, I have butterflies in my stomach. Taking my drink, I walk back out to Jake and wait. My eyes dart all around the place looking for him. I get a tingly feeling in my back and turn around to see him walking through a set of doors, joking around with one of the waitresses.

  He pushes her away from him gently while laughing, then stops abruptly. His eyes scan the area, finding mine. In a few steps, he is standing in front of me, his hands cupping my face. “Princess, what are you doing here?”

  “Checking up on you,” I tease, pressing my lips to his. He pulls back and smiles at me.

  “Then I think you need to check up on me every weekend,” he says against my lips. He kisses me again then pulls me over to the bar. Jake follows us and wraps an arm around my shoulders while Killian works.

  “So what’s the deal here?” He nods at Killian, who appears to be floating. His smile stretches across his face and he glances at me every few minutes.

  “I’m seeing him,” I announce, my own smile stretching.

  “Him? Wasn’t he the creep who tried to grab you a few weeks ago?” Jake pulls me away from the bar so we can talk.

  “No, he didn’t try to grab me. He was saying hello.”

  I defend Killian because that’s all he was doing that night—just trying to say hello to me. Jake looks frustrated and shakes his head at me, grabbing my hand.

  “Reagan, he looks dangerous. Do you even know anything about him?”

  All I can do is look at Jake with my mouth open. I don’t know why all of a sudden he is interested in who I am friends with or what I do with those friends. We stand staring at each other for a few minutes.

  “You know I’m only looking out for you.”

  “Yeah, I know you are, but Killian is different. He’s special,” I tell him. He just shakes his head at me.

  “Yeah. I’m gonna go home, Reagan.”

  Jake looks annoyed as he leaves the club. Walking back around to the bar, I don’t see Killian, but there is another guy.

  “Hey, where is Killian?” I ask. He points up. “Can I get up there?” The guy laughs at me.

  “No. I don’t know how you even got in the door,” he shouts back, looking me up and down. What a fucking asshole. Walking over to the stairs, I take a step up when a hand lands on my arm. Another doorman asks for my VIP armband. I don’t have one so I explain to him I need to get the car keys from Killian so I can go home. At first he nods, then I tell him I am dating Killian. He bursts out laughing at me.

  Now I know why I don’t like these places. A bunch of assholes work in them. Leaving the club, I walk around to the parking lot at the back. It’s just after one am, so I don’t have much longer to wait. I sit myself on the hood of his car. After a while, I decide to lie down and watch the stars. Jake was acting weird tonight—I hope he is okay. I think we need to talk without being in a bar.

  By two-thirty am, I am freezing and tired. Pulling out my phone, I call Killian. The club closed at two am, so I hope he is done.

  No answer.

  Sliding off the hood, I walk back around to the door and pull on it. Surprising me, it opens, nearly knocking me on my ass. I can hear laughter from inside, so I walk through the hallway and into the club. The place is disgusting. The floor is full of crap and people are milling around. One of the doormen shouts at me from across the room.

  “Hey! You need to get out. The club is closed.”

  Ignoring him, I stop some guy and ask about Killian.

  “Oh, he just left out the back way,” he tells me. Turning, I run back around to the parking lot and, sure enough, his car is gone.

  “Shit! Shit! Shit!” I shout. Leaving, I start walking away from the club and through town. The streets are deserted and freakishly quiet. The only place that’s open is the diner and by the looks of it, half the nightclub is in there. I hate drunk people. Walking on, I notice Killian’s car parked on the side street. Doubling back, I push through the door of the diner, looking around.

  Finally, I find him, his black hair standing out against the white of the walls. Walking through the tables, I reach the booth. He is with some of the waitresses and two guys. I recognize them as the barmen.

  “Hey, blue drink girl.” The first one grins at me. Killian turns, noticing me. He stands up, taking my hand in his.

  “Princess, what are you doing here? I thought you left already.”

  I take a quick glance around the booth. All eyes are on us. The girls try to pretend they are doing other things, but the two guys clearly have never heard of subtlety.

  “No, I couldn’t get upstairs in the club.” Killian shakes his head then pulls me closer to him, whispering in my ear.

  “Want to get out of here?” I decide to test his mind communication theory.

  “Why? Ashamed of me, Fairy Boy?” He frowns at me, tilting his head to the side a little.

  “No, princess, I am not ashamed of you. I have waited a long time to find you. If you want to stay, we can or we can go home.”

  I am just about to answer when one of the guys interrupts.

  “Hey, sit down take a load off. What’s your name?” He pats the seat beside him. Killian slides in first, pulling me in beside him. He introduces me to everyone. Both guys say hello. Ethan, the mouthy one, keeps grinning at me.

  “So what you do, Reagan?” His eyes travel from my face to my chest and back up again. Killian’s hand twitches in mine but his face betrays no emotion. “You don’t look the type of girl our boy Killian usually goes for.” The other guy, James, elbows him in the ribs. “Hey, I’m just saying!” he complains, rubbing his ribs. Killian looks at me and winks. I can’t help but smile back. Ethan keeps going on and on at me, asking stupid questions about my job, clothes, where I live. Killian pushes me up out of the booth, but Ethan has to get the last word.

  “Still in the friend-zone, Killian?” He laughs at his own stupidity.

  Killian looks pissed but doesn’t answer. I, on the other hand, step around Killian and lean in close to Ethan. I put my mouth right beside his ear and let out a breath. His body tenses and his own breathing speeds up, then I say in my best sultry voice.

  “If I wanted shit, I’d squeeze your head.”

  Smiling sweetly, I stand up. Ethan looks pissed and snarls at me while James laughs his ass off.

  “Let’s go home.” Grabbing Killian, I pull him out of the diner. When we get home, I just want to sleep. The night has been exhausting and a pain in my ass. Crawling into Killian’s bed, I close my eyes, starting to fall into a blissful sleep.

  “You’re beautiful, princess,” he whispers, wrapping his arm around me.

  “And you’re an asshole for not sticking up for me.”

  My tired mind responds, forgetting he can hear me. His arm tightens around me, but he says nothing else.

  The next morning, I am woken by receiving multiple kisses all over my face. My eyes sting from the smoky bar and I refuse to open them.

  “Go away,” I mumble, turning away from Killian. He laughs at me and kisses me again.

  “Wake up, Reagan, it’s time for lunch.”

  My eyes spring open, finding his onyx ones peering at me. “Good afternoon, Princess.” He smiles, planting a soft kiss on my lips.

  “Lunch! Are you joking?” I panic, pushing him off me, trying to untangle myself from the bed.

  “No. Why? You looked peaceful so I left you in bed.”

  His words make me smile for about two seconds while I root around for my phone. On my hands and knees, I reach under the chair to where I h
aphazardly threw my jeans last night. I grab my phone off the floor. I am dreading the voicemail I’m about to hear, but it’s Jake telling me he will cover my shift this morning and I can close up for him. Breathing a sigh of relief, I lie down on the floor.

  “Everything okay?” Killian’s sweet voice floats over to me and I nod to him. He joins me on the floor, brushing my hair off my face. “Are you ready to eat now? Because I want to take you out afterward.”

  He winks at me then stands, pulling me up, too. After brunch, he takes me to the woods beside his place.

  “Wow, this is so romantic,” I tease, pushing him.

  He just smiles at me and keeps walking until we reach the clearing. Then he removes his shirt. My mouth waters as I take in his physique—all hard lines and valleys.

  “Are you ready?” he asks, snapping me out of my lustful gaze. Quickly, I nod and he takes my hand. “How are you at running?” he asks. I burst out laughing at his absurd question. “Okay, princess, hold tight.”

  My mind screams no, but he takes off, almost ripping my arm from my socket. He is running so fast, I almost die. I am too shocked to scream or cry so I do my best and run. After what feels like an hour, I mentally tell him to leave me on the ground. Slowing down, we stop. My heart silently cheers and my lungs hurt.

  “Princess, you need to run for more than two minutes.” I am lying on the grass, looking up at him.

  “No way, that was more than two minutes.” I pant, rolling onto my side. He laughs at me, shaking his head.

  “No, princess. Two whole minutes.” He kisses my cheek.

  “Well, aren’t you lucky. I have never run two minutes before,” I quip back at him. He scoops me up into his arms and kisses me again before telling me to hold tight again. With that, he takes off. The only thing I see is a blur of brown and green. It actually makes my stomach woozy; I feel like I am on a roller coaster. I close my eyes, burying my head in the crook of his neck.