Remedy Maker

by Sheri Fredricks

Warm, sated, and more relaxed than he’d been in two centuries, Rhycious pulled his water-pruned, weak limbed heartmate to his chest and lay back in the tub.

  Thoughts of obligations to his queen filtered through his mind, and he squashed it like a tick under hoof. Today was about healing Patience. If she weren’t at her physical best, she wouldn’t perform topnotch in mediating with the Wood Nymphs when the time came.

  At least, that’s what he told himself.

  In the kitchen, squeaky-clean, bare-chested, and wearing his running shorts, Rhy flipped buckwheat pancakes onto two platters. He shifted his attention when Patience strolled in. She’d helped herself to one of his t-shirts. Her brilliant smile brought sunshine into his kitchen and made his heart turn over and dance the jitterbug.

  “Looks deliciamagous.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  Homemade syrup, courtesy of Samuel’s sister, and two cups of hot green tea joined Patience and the flapjacks at the table. She’d pulled her hair back, away from her face, leaving the long sweep of her neck uncovered. Her soft skin called to him in whispered undertones aided by his memory. Earthy scents wafted up to tease his nose and his nibbling lips found the erotic spot just below her ear.

  “Smells good too,” he murmured, his lips traveling the juncture between her shoulder and neck. Tattoo-like markings stood contrary to her coloring. He held his breath, waiting for the expected sense of war-inflicted hatred to erupt. Instead, a pressure bloomed in his chest, his heart swelling. Unfamiliar with the new chemistry mixing in his body, he sat back and absorbed the sensation, content to just be for once.

  While she chatted about Pan knows what, Rhy ate without tasting his food, mesmerized by the movement of her erotic mouth. Her lips and tongue moved in perfect synchronicity, dancing in and out over her teeth.

  Oh. My. Gods.

  A vortex of insanity threatened to reach up and pull him in. Incredibly, his arousal inflated to raise a tented gable in his shorts. Never in his life had he wanted a female more. One night with Patience, one week, a whole lifetime—and it would never be enough.

  Her nipples were hard under his shirt that read Blood ‘n Guts. Without realizing what he was doing, he stacked his mug on top of his empty plate, and moved to stand next to Patience.

  “Wazzup?” Then her eyes drifted down. “Oh . . . my.”

  “I want seconds on breakfast. How about you?” His hands on her arms, sex on the brain, Rhycious lifted her out of the chair. Sticky with wild raspberry syrup, her lips tasted sweeter than any sugary treat.

  Voracious for her, he shoved their plates to the side, knocking a mug to the floor, and laid her across the table.

  “Rhycious, the cup.”

  “Fuck the cup.”

  He wasn’t concerned. Everything he cared about laid in alluring splendor on the table before him.

  Lips locked, tongues wrestling, Patience worked her buttons free while Rhy pushed his hands under the fabric and massaged what he found. When the last button slid free, she flung the edges apart and caressed his forearms, inviting him to slide against her, skin to skin.

  “You said you were hungry?” A teasing smile pulled the corners of her mouth.

  He licked his lips. “Starved.”

  After staring at her perky nipples throughout breakfast, he needed face time with his tormenters.

  “But first . . . .” Rhy dined on her delicious mouth again as his hand slid up her ribcage, and full breast filled his palm. “It’s payback time for teasing me.” He lifted his lips from her gasping mouth and covered her nipple, drawing in as much of her peaked tip as he could take. Demands made against his erection with her gyrating hips stole his breath until his eyes crossed.

  His lips sucked and his tongue caressed.

  Her core dampened the front of his nylon shorts.

  Rhycious sat his ass hard in Patience’s chair. Scents of female arousal cut through the lingering aromas of breakfast and guided his mouth like a beacon to the source. Pretty pink petals, flushed and engorged, bloomed when he positioned her heels to brace against the chair on either side of him. He grasped her hips and slid her toward him, lining up her butt with the edge.

  He closed his eyes and said grace, giving silent praise to the gods for blessing him with such a feast.

  With his mouth, Rhycious made love to Patience on the kitchen table. Succulent and sweet, her taste deserved to be unrushed, savored.

  She’d fallen apart as his teeth grazed her crux. Screamed when he’d brought her to peak yet again, twirling his tongue, two fingers inserted. When he’d eaten his fill, she lay sprawled out, thoroughly sated, legs dangling over the side.

  “Get up, lazy bones.” Rhycious grinned. Her heavy lidded eyes and swollen mouth gave him satisfaction in a job well done. “The least you could do is to help clean up.”

  “Holy freaken Bacchus.” Wiped out, lips parted, her body flushed a rosy glow.

  They picked up the broken cup from the floor—and kissed. They washed the dishes together and all the while caressed each other, touching intimate places.

  Halfway down the hall, on their way to the bedroom to get dressed, they made love again. Unable to keep his hands from roaming her body, he took her against the wall, her thighs wrapped around his waist. Just when he thought his legs would give out, he staggered with Patience in his arms to the floor bed, deeply embedded inside her.

  Sunlight chased shadows around the room; they giggled and talked like teenagers. She told him stories of growing up in the Nymph community and becoming weaker over the years. Choosing a profession she excelled at, one that wouldn’t tax her body, kept her mind off a terminal future.

  Rhycious tightened his arm around Patience and stroked her bangs out of her eyes, enjoying the sound and feel of her warm Nymph body. He’d watched her nap, twitch while dreaming, and stole her first breath upon waking.

  His heart no longer belonged to him.

  Aware that a painful break would soon be upon him, unlike anything he’d ever experienced before or again, he reached for her again. The need to push himself deep inside her, to feel her legs and arms wrap tightly around him, drove him closer to the edge of his emotional suicidal cliff.

  “Did you like the moonlit ride I gave you last night?”

  “Absopositootly! And did you notificate, I didn’t lay my heel into you once?”

  He laughed at her invented words and pulled her to lie on top of him. “Yes, agape mou, and thanks. But you need to learn how to post when you ride.”

  She furrowed her brows, her arms pushed at his chest to raise up. Tilting her head, Patience questioned, “How do you post?”

  How do you post, indeed. Let me show thy ways. Rhycious hoped his grin conveyed the true meaning of mischievous Centaurs.

  “Sit up, and I’ll teach you.”

  Twenty-Five

  Patience pointed her pink polished toenails toward the end of the bed and reached both arms above her, wiggling her fingers. Her lazy stretch crackled the mattress beads and pulled at the covers.

  Unbelievable.

  Two full nights and practically a whole day spent fooling around in bed with Rhycious. By Bacchus’s very breath, she should be ashamed of herself.

  Hell no!

  Sitting up, a twinge shot up one side of her back, and she grinned. Her muscles ached in places previously nonexistent. Never feeling better in her life, she rolled her shoulders and listened to the sounds of Rhycious working at his desk.

  His remedies truly worked, and she loved his personal treatment methods.

  Down the hall, Rhycious rattled jars at the apothecary table, writing a list of herbs he’d run low on. It was another workday for him and that meant herbal gathering, following up new leads on her sister, and his ever present mission for Savella.

  And all I have to do is make the bed. Man, talk about your slackers. She should be out there looking for Serenity, gathering info on her whereabouts, but Rhy explained someone should stay at home in case a new lead popped up.
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br />   “Aren’t you going to kiss me good-bye?” he called out.

  “Hold your hooves, stud muffin.” She pushed her worrisome thoughts aside and twisted out of the bed sheets. Glancing around the stallroom, she found a large bandana, folded it in a triangular half, and tied the fabric edges together behind her back. After rummaging through Rhy’s dresser, she slid on a pair of comfy cotton shorts, folding the waist band several times. The elastic slid perilously low over her hips. Perfect fit.

  Whether he sported his appendage or not, she loved cranking Rhy’s tail and spinning him out of control. The wicked-bad look on his face when he wanted her boiled Patience’s blood into a volcanic eruption. Heady with the knowledge of his desire for her, she threw an extra bouncy swing to her hips.

  Muted cockcrow light streaked across the containers and plastic baggies Rhycious tediously worked over. He looked over his shoulder and flashed a sexy grin that wobbled her knees. A low growl rumbled in his throat.

  Patience sashayed her best Nymph slink, fluttering her eyelashes. His hot gaze branded her body as it traveled over her, taking in her flirty clothes.

  “See something you like?” She lifted her chest and arched her back, smiling when he fumbled a bag of herbs. Might as well send him away with warm thoughts.

  In his black front-zip sweatshirt and jeans, Rhycious could have been a human out for an easy day hike. Only his ancient eyes set him apart. Well, that and his towering six-plus feet of height.

  “Come here, woman.” Deep and low, his voice beckoned her. He took a step toward her, abandoning the metal stool to let it stand forgotten next to the worktable.

  She giggled. “Whatever you say, doctor.”

  “I like that.” He leaned down and he kissed her with soft lips. Then his right arm wrapped around and drew her tight against him. “Gods, I better go now or else I’ll never leave.” Rhy heaved a great sigh. He lifted his backpack off the table, slipped his arms through the loops, and settled the straps on his shoulder. Sunrays reached through the window and caught his glossy hair hanging loose about his shoulders, the way she liked. His warm eyes crinkled and smiled, mesmerizing her in their velvety brown depths.

  Rhy held her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Make yourself at home while I’m gone. Just keep the door locked, all right?” She nodded. “I’ll be back soon.”

  His feet must have grown roots, because he didn’t move. The anxiety in his eyes told her the depth of his concern as he gazed around the kitchen and living room.

  “Don’t frazzle about me.” She gave him a subtle push toward the door. “I’ll be cool. Go.”

  Patience held his hand tightly, loving the way her linked fingers were swallowed up by the size of his palm. He was large, safe, and as impenetrable as an old oak.

  Cuddled into his side, they strolled out the front door. Chilled morning air raised goose bumps, peaking her nipples beneath the makeshift top. Maybe he’ll lift the flap and see what’s underneath.

  Mischievous Nymph genetics pulled her shoulders back a bit more.

  Rhycious caught her eye then slid his gaze lower, staring at her response to the cold. Desire grew, beginning as a ripple in her belly, and working its way into a storm. His hair, a waterfall of honeyed silk, slipped forward, framing their faces as he bent and touch foreheads with her.

  “Be good, and try not to get into trouble.” His rough voice edged with both warning, and need. He kissed her soundly.

  Before turning away, Rhy leaned his head back and shook out his hair, reminding her of his true equine half, hidden during daylight hours. Every soft strand fell obediently into place. How the hell does he do that?

  “See ya later, babe.” Dust kicked up from his Nikes as he took off jogging down the path leading from his cabin and into the woods.

  Patience stood in the yard until he disappeared into the shadows, then went inside the cabin and closed the door.

  She slid the black deadbolt into place as he’d taught her to do. Deafened by the sudden silence, she rested her back against the door’s iron Z pattern cross braces. Without the footfalls of Rhy pacing the floor, whether on foot or hoof, the place felt hollow. He’d taken to whistling and humming lately, and she missed his toneless melodies.

  First order of business: Turn on some tunes.

  She flipped the solar radio’s switch to the on position and orchestral music floated out. Not what she had in mind, but it was better than silence.

  Second order of business: Make the bed.

  Tugging up her shorts, she scooted down the hall. Violins in the symphonic background stopped abruptly, and the tone changed. Strong beats of a bass guitar struck a hard, new rhythm. Now that’s more like it. A monotone voice rhymed evenly spaced words, jamming out a rap. Revived from the uplifting change, she shimmied down the hall with the new crackin’ attitude.

  In the stallroom, she paused near the bed, nodding with the deep thump vibrating through the wall. Chaotic blue sheets twisted in a jumbled pile before her. Their creation of love—and the hours it had taken to get it juuust right.

  A heady scent of sex lingered, floating up to perfume the air. She wanted to bottle up the fragrance for her remaining days ahead. Whenever she burned to revisit Rhycious and their passionfest time together, she’d just pull the stopper and have herself a good long whiff.

  Hell. Waiting for him to bring up their bleak future was the absodoodle shits.

  The not knowing pricked at her, irritating like a sticker in her sock. First her sister, now Rhy’s game plan.

  Before Patience tackled making the bed, she buried her nose in Rhy’s pillow. His masculine clover scent clouded her mind, wrapped her up tight, and demanded she be under him again. Invigorated, she made short work of the sheets. When the remainder of the room was straightened, she changed out of her seducing hanky-top and pulled on a clean tee from Rhy’s dresser drawer.

  “I really need to bring some of my own clothes here.”

  Before frustration set in, she caught her train of thought and threw it out. Rhycious trusted her here, in his home. He trusted her there, mediating the future of their people. He just didn’t trust her in his life. She kicked a sock into the laundry pile. Too late, aggrevane’s already here.

  No sense commuting on a one-way path to heartache and depression. Time ticked excessively fast, crossing their numbered days off a solstice calendar neither of them would address.

  Patience retied the bandana around her hips to keep Rhy’s shorts from dropping every few minutes like a hiccup. Through the white metal slats of the stallroom’s blinds, a thin layer of fog blanketed the heavens. Dark and light patches of gray checkered the sky in billowed celestial bumps.

  Back in her windowless tree home, weather was never in question. Precipitation was taken in through her taproot’s branches and leaves, absorbed into her life force dwelling, supplying her with innate outdoor information.

  Serenity, with her supercharged sensitivities, felt the fluxes in barometric pressure. Many a time she’d predicted the weather before the changes ever occurred.

  “Where are you?” Patience must have asked that question a hundred times. Caught between the hope that Serenity spaced-out on letting anyone know where she went, Patience also feared the worst. She prayed for the opportunity to scream at her sister for disrupting everyone’s lives.

  Kept in a constant chaotic spin from her health and emotional upheavals, she worried. And worry turds sucked. Waiting for leads sucked, too. To keep her mind busy, she cleaned the bathroom.

  Third order of business: Another cup of tea.

  Hot water poured over the metal tea strainer, steam wafted from the kettle spout. After steeping for a few minutes, she laid the drippy bobber aside and walked the I Hate Mondays mug into the living room.

  Snuggled in the corner armchair with her bare feet tucked under, she gazed out the windows. Patches of blue broke through fog and peeked from behind the steely murk. The sun tried valiantly to burn its way through.

  Pati
ence blew on her tea and took a sip; warmth coated her throat in bursts of orange pekoe flavor.

  Where was their relationship going? Her head sunk back into the overstuffed chair, the mind was pointing out what her heart didn’t want to hear. The inevitable parting from Rhycious loomed darker than a specter, and she pulled back, afraid to go near it.

  Through the living room window, she regarded the serene view of the nurturing forest surrounding the back of Rhy’s cabin. A breeze had picked up, shivering leaves and bouncing branches. She uncurled one leg to drape in front and took another long sip, shifting her view to the kitchen window.

  And fucking froze.

  Any sudden movement would attract his attention. A mouthful of hot tea burned her tongue before she forcibly swallowed it down. In incremental inches, Patience lowered her arm and set the mug on the side table, not daring to look away from the horror beyond the glass pane.

  Her cup touched the lamp table’s flat surface. To calm her mind, she counted the seconds for the human peering in the window to turn away. Patience moved faster than a forest fire on a windy day for the room nearest her. Her mug fell on the floor, splashing tea everywhere. She prayed whoever was outside hadn’t heard the clatter over the drumming of a woodpecker.

  Keeping low, she ducked through and she closed the bedroom door. Heavy footfalls walked the length of Rhy’s porch. Patience’s fisted hands shook. A knock rapped the front door and she flinched out of her skin.

  Oh gods! Rhycious, come home. Come home, come home.

  Multiple muffled voices. More humans meant more trouble, and that was never good. Outside the cabin, she could hide amongst the trees. The front door—the only exterior door—wasn’t an exit option. If she hid in the closet, it’d be her luck they would break in and find her.

  Before she could flashback to her recent holiday with the hunters, a loud thumb from outside jumped her out of a brain freeze with a heart-pounding jolt.

  No. Her only choice was to get her ass outside.

  Taking a deep breath, she tried to chillax her freaked-out mind. She gripped the bedpost and thought hard, staring at the tranquility loop pattern in the quilt. Not long ago, she had blinked herself awake in this bed, meeting Rhycious for the first time. She felt no fear then, and she’d be damned if she’d feel it now. She had faced down humans before. If it came down to it, she’d do it again.