Nik’s lashes flickered. He glanced at Bryan and then back at Ganessa. Inclining his head ever-so slightly, he said, “Understood.”
Ganessa shook her head. “No, old friend, I don’t think it is. You’ve crossed quite a few bridges of late, Nikolai. Don’t go burning them in haste.” Without another word, she left them.
Nik waited until the door closed behind Ganessa and then he moved to crouch by the bedside, taking Holly’s free hand in his.
“Will you allow me to be with my daughter now, Rhys?” he asked, his voice icy, thick with sarcasm.
Rhys kept quiet, rubbing his thumb back and forth over the inside of Holly’s wrist, reassured by the slow, steady beat of her pulse. Earlier, it had been frantic, erratic and far too fast. “Her pain is gone, then, Bryan?”
“Ganessa knows how to deal with pain a lot better than I do,” Bryan said, shrugging his shoulders. He squinted, staring at Holly. Slowly, tension drained away and when he looked back at Rhys, he said, “Yeah. The pain’s gone. She’s going to be sluggish for a while yet and weak. But as her power refuels itself, that will get better.” In a slow, deliberate voice, he added, “It’s an ugly thing, stripping an elf’s power away. Even though Ganessa eased the pain and even though Bourdelain only had time to tap her energy before you showed up, what he did was painful and it will leave a scar.”
From the corner of his eye, Rhys saw Nik flinch.
“You would have done this same thing to her,” Rhys said, his voice harsh, shaking with fury.
“Whatever I would have done would have been to protect her,” Nik replied, his voice stilted.
“Everything you’ve done has been to protect her but look at her now, Nik. This is where your idea of protection has landed her. Is that what you wanted?” Rhys demanded.
On the bed, Holly’s body twitched. A line appeared between her brows.
“Now isn’t the time,” Bryan said quietly.
But Nik ignored him. “I never would have wished harm on her, Rhys. Never.”
“But you would have permanently done this same thing to her. Perhaps it wouldn’t have been so invasive, so painful but nonetheless, it would have scarred her,” Rhys snarled, keeping his voice just above a whisper. The rage boiling inside him threatened to spill out. “What would you be without your magic? Bryan? Ganessa?”
Shoving to his feet, he rose and stalked around the bed. Nik rose to meet him, a black brow lifting, his cool blue eyes emotionless. Rhys had the urge to knock that arrogant bastard back on his ass…a few dozen times.
Bryan forced his way between the two men, planting his hands on their chests and shoving them back. “Not now,” he reiterated. “Holly doesn’t need this right now. She needs rest.”
Turning on his heel, Nik said over his shoulder, “You may go now, Rhys. I’ll see to my daughter.”
“I’ll go when she tells me to. Not a second sooner.” He settled back down beside Holly, watching as Nik did the same on the opposite side of the bed.
In her sleep, she sighed and whispered out a name. As her hand came up seeking his, Rhys caught it and entwined their fingers. Staring at Nik, he repeated, “When she tells me to leave.”
* * * * *
It was a father’s nightmare, Nik decided, watching from the shadows as Holly slept on restlessly. It had been nearly twelve hours since Bryan and Rhys had brought her back to the safety of the Reach and for much of the past eleven hours, she’d slept a deep, healing sleep.
But the past hour or so, she had gotten restless. From time to time, she’d muttered Rhys’ name under her breath and that bastard would bend over her, kiss her brow and murmur to her until she calmed.
All with a tenderness and care that Nik really did not appreciate. He didn’t want to see a man looking at his daughter that way. Not even a friend. Perhaps especially not a friend.
“Perhaps I am wrong,” he muttered under his breath, turning away to stare out the window. The window overlooked the courtyard and he found himself staring at the grass and remembering Holly when she’d been but a babe, toddling along that grass and squealing as it tickled her little feet. It seemed just yesterday.
Closing his eyes, he heaved out a heavy breath.
It was not yesterday. Yesterday was more than twenty years ago. A blink to him, but not to her and that pretty, precocious babe had grown up. Become a woman, and if the scene behind him was any indication, she was a woman in love.
Unable to take the silence of the room any longer, unable to see one of his oldest friends caring for his only daughter, he abruptly left the room. Sensing Bryan behind him, he snapped over his shoulder, “I wish to be alone, boy.”
“It’s a bitch not getting what you want, huh?” Bryan asked cheerfully.
Nik spun to face him.
“What is between them? And do not tell you do not understand what I ask.”
Bryan’s cocky smile softened. “I think you already know the answer to that, Da.”
“How long?” he demanded through clenched teeth.
Bryan shrugged. “Now that, you’d have to ask them. He loves her, though. He’ll make her happy. Isn’t that what you and Mom always wanted? For us to be happy?”
That statement, so simply given, deflated Nik like a balloon. The strength drained out of his legs and he dropped to the floor, flat on his ass. Drawing his knees up, he looped his arms around them and lowered his head. “I’m not ready to give her up, Bryan. It was hard enough letting go of you but how can I let go of her? Your mother and I, we wanted more children. Many more. But you and Holly were all we had. How can I let her go so soon?”
“You had more than some people, Da.” Bryan shrugged restlessly. “I don’t have an answer for you, other than to say, you don’t have much choice. You’re finally getting a clue of just how much damage you did. Trying to change this, hell, it won’t do anything but make you even more wrong. It might even cost you more than you’ve already lost—and I mean, permanently. You can’t control her life, Da. You should have stopped trying ages ago.”
Shooting Bryan a dour look, he muttered, “And when did you become the wise one?” Then he sighed. The aching and the worrying in his heart had eased a bit but now it was replaced by a different sort of a pain. A bittersweet sorrow. It was time he let her go. All these years, he’d been fighting this moment but look at what that had done.
It had placed Holly in danger. It had driven a wedge between Nik and his wife. Closing his eyes, he summoned up a picture of Chelly’s face. “I need my wife, Bryan. Tell me where to find her.”
When silence was his only answer, he opened his eyes, wondered if he’d have to break down and grovel for some scrap of information from his son. But when he looked at Bryan’s face, all the young man did was grin and hold out a hand.
Within seconds, Nik stood by himself in an artistically rendered version of a rustic log cabin. Alone. Or so he thought. From the corner of his eye, he saw something move. Turning his head, he looked through the pane of glass and saw his wife.
She sat out on a balcony, wrapped in a blanket and staring off into snow-covered mountains. Need, love and misery moved through him and for a moment he couldn’t even move. Wouldn’t have been able to speak.
But then, somehow sensing him, Chelly turned her head and met his stare through the glass windowpane. Slowly, she rose from the bench, watching him with guarded eyes as he crossed the floor and opened the door. Cool mountain air wrapped around him as he took one slow step across the threshold.
“Can you forgive me?” he asked quietly.
“For what?” she demanded, pulling the blanket more tightly around herself.
“For being an ass. For making you feel unimportant as a parent. For hurting our daughter as I have. All of it.”
Chelly hunched her shoulders and tucked her chin, almost as if she was afraid to look at him. “I can forgive you but are you going to keep doing the same things over and over? Things have to change, Nik. Not a little. Not to appease me, either. They have to ch
ange, or you’ll lose her and maybe you’re okay with that. But I’m not.”
Grimacing, Nik muttered, “I can see that…now.” He lowered his head, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose where a huge headache had taken up residence. The ache inside his skull though was nothing compared to the ache within his heart. Pride burned inside him, all but choked him, but he’d be damned if he let his damn pride or anything else keep him from his wife another moment.
Dropping his head, he stared at her through his lashes. “I’m still not ready to let her go, Chelly. But I will not risk losing her…or you. Not again. I’m sorry for the hurt I’ve caused you, for the hurt I’ve caused Holly. Please…come home.” Silently, he begged, Look at me.
Then she did, lifting her head and staring at him as a slow smile bloomed on her lips and her eyes gleamed damp with tears. The blanket fell into a puddle on the wooden planks of the porch floor as she dropped it and launched herself at him.
As her arms came around him, Nik closed his eyes against the burn of tears.
Chapter Nine
Holly recognized the scent and the feel of the air even before she opened her eyes.
We’re not in Kansas anymore, she thought morosely. Her time in New Orleans had come to an end and she was back at the Reach, once more.
Bitterness choked her. Even as Rhys’ words echoed in her mind—I’ll see you happy— she heaved out a sigh and tried to mentally brace herself for whatever lay ahead.
A wedding? She should be happy. Rhys wanted to spend his life with her and she should be ecstatic. She probably would be, once she got past the shock of being back in the Manor and under her father’s control. Even if she still couldn’t figure out how they’d manage it.
He might scare boys away but he can’t scare me.
Have a little faith.
She needed to do just that. Mentally squaring her shoulders, she took another slow, deep breath and then opened her eyes, expecting to find herself in her old room, cameras and all.
But this wasn’t her room. It was a rarely used guestroom close to the solarium. Her father wasn’t standing watch at her bedside and from what she could see, there was no guard stationed at the door.
A bit startled, she blinked. A soft snore caught her attention and frowning, she pushed up in bed, searching for the source of the sound. There was a huge wing chair just off to the side and she blinked, found herself staring at Rhys, his chin resting on his chest, his long hair drawn back into a queue and his face almost gray with exhaustion. “Rhys…”
At the sound of his name, his eyes flew open and he stared at her.
For a moment, neither of them moved. Neither of them spoke. And then, moving with that blurring, incredible speed, Rhys left the chair and came for her, slipping into the bed with her and pulling her against him.
“Holly,” he muttered, burying his face in her neck. “Holly…”
Sighing, she snuggled into him. One large hand stroked up and down her back, the other cradled the back of her head, holding her close to him. Through the cotton weave of his shirt, she could feel his heartbeat and the sound of it soothed her. At the same time, the feel of his body—so hard and muscled and strong—pressed against her own started making her nerves sing and buzz with delight.
“Damn it, girl, you had me so damn scared.” He drew back, staring down at her with dark, troubled eyes. “God, Holly. I swore to protect you and then you damn near got killed. I failed you. Can you forgive me?”
Reaching up, she laid a hand on his cheek and smiled. “If you’d failed me, I wouldn’t be standing here, now would I?”
His mouth twisted in a bitter smile. “I’m not the one who hauled your pretty ass back here, precious. That was your big brother. I was too busy trying to kill Lain for daring to touch you.”
She fluttered her lashes at him. “Oh really? Man, you’re my hero.” Then, her smile fading, she snuggled in closer. “You came for me, Rhys. I knew you would.”
“Of course I came,” he murmured, pressing his lips to the top of her head. “I love you.”
“Ahem.”
Holly jerked her head up. Her instinctive response was to pull away from Rhys as she saw her parents standing in the doorway, especially when Nik’s gaze slid away from her face to linger on Rhys’, his dark blue eyes narrowing ever-so slightly.
But Rhys tightened his arms, making it clear that even if she gave into her initial instinct, her wouldn’t have let her pull too far.
“Hello, Da,” she said quietly, keeping her voice flat. Squeezing Rhys gently, she shifted in the bed, not content to face him laying down.
Rhys quickly solved the problem, sitting up and drawing her with him. She hated how exhausting that simple action was, but she wasn’t about to deny that that simply having his solid form behind her steadied her.
Rhys wrapped one arm around her and she met her father’s eyes.
His lashes twitched. A muscle in his jaw jerked. Then he glanced at Rhys. Long moments of silence passed and then finally, to Holly’s amazement, he gave a slight nod. Looking back at Holly, he said, his voice tight, “Does he make you happy, Holly?”
With wonder, she stared at her father. Then a faint smile curled her lips and she looked up at Rhys. “Yeah, he does.”
“So be it,” Nik muttered, his voice low and hoarse. Lowering his gaze, he said, “I believe we’ve many things to talk about, Holly. A great many things and it is all way past time. But you’ve been ill. You are still weary, I can tell. So our talk can wait.” That said, he nodded stiffly at Rhys and turned on his heel, leaving the room with his head held high and his back as rigid as a piece of steel. At the door, though, he paused and looked back. “I love you, Holly. All I ever wanted was to see you safe and happy. I hope you can forgive the mistakes I’ve made.”
Chelly remained in the room for only a moment after Nik left. Looking at her mom, Holly saw an echo of her own surprise still lingering in Chelly’s eyes.
“He’s a proud man, Holly,” Chelly said quietly. “A stubborn one. But he does love you.”
“I know.”
With a nod, Chelly turned and headed out the door. Then she paused and glanced back at Holly, smiling faintly. “You’re not going to go and make me a grandmother any time soon, are you? I don’t know if I’m ready for that.”
Without waiting for an answer, she left, closing the door behind her.
Wonderingly, Holly looked up at Rhys. “Okay, what in hell just happened? Seriously. All of it. The last thing I remember was Bordelain doing something to me and it hurt and then I woke up here and I’d almost swear a happy zombie has switched places with Da.”
Snorting, Rhys muttered, “You call that happy, precious? He wanted my head on a platter.”
“Well, yeah.” Shrugging, Holly said, “But that’s sort of a typical Da response. Da doesn’t do typical. He does high and mighty and thou shalt obey me.” Shaking her head, she muttered, “I don’t know if I actually believe any of this.”
She groaned and leaned more completely against him. He shifted in the bed and settled back so they were half-lounging and she sighed in satisfaction.
“Maybe it’s a dream,” she suggested, sliding Rhys a glance from the corner of her eye. “Maybe I whacked my head good and hard up on that mountain and this is just some delusion.”
He slid a hand down her back. “No dream, precious. No delusion. Lain is dead, you are back at the Reach and your father apparently located his brain.” In a wry voice, he added, “Although he’s using it rather grudgingly at the moment.”
“Hmmm…but he is using it. Wow.” She squirmed a little on his lap, her body stiff from the forced inactivity. Man, how long had she been out? As she wiggled around, she grew aware of something that totally distracted her from thoughts of her father, thoughts of her aching body, thoughts of anything that didn’t include getting Rhys naked.
Like fast.
Sliding a hand down his chest, she shifted around a bit more and drew her leg over his thi
gh. That alone sent a shiver through her. “Hmmmm…I think I’ll say the wow again,” she murmured, pressing a kiss to his jaw and wiggling closer against him.
His breath leaving him in a rush, Rhys rolled and tucked her under him, holding her steady and still as he rocked against her. Then abruptly, too abruptly, he stopped—just when the hot press of his body hit exactly the right angle against hers. “You’re too weak for this, precious. Ganessa wanted you to rest for a few days, not get fucked within minutes of waking.”
Sulking, Holly leaned in and bit his earlobe. “What does she know?”
“Quite a bit.” Chuckling, Rhys managed to say, “She’s a healer, after all.” He moved too fast for her to react, shifting her around in his arms and pressing her back up against his front. “When I take you again, you’ll be ready for it.”
“I’m ready now,” Holly muttered.
“No,” Rhys said, nuzzling her neck. “You’re not but I’ll take care of you anyway.”
“Take care…” her words trailed off as he raked her neck with his teeth and slid a hand down her body, fingers trailing over her abdomen, lower, lower, sliding inside a pair of loose silky pajamas that Holly didn’t remember putting on, seeking out the heated mound of her sex.
He circled a finger around the entrance of her body and then, as she rocked up to meet him, he slid two fingers deep inside her pussy. “So soft,” he muttered. “So hot and wet.”
Rotating his thumb around the bud of her clit, he worked her body with a finesse that was almost unreal, bringing her close to the edge of climax with a few teasing touches and a few hot, sexy words. He screwed his fingers deep, withdrew slowly and then started it all over again. Back and forth, in and out, over and over, until she was moving against his hand, panting, whimpering and moaning his name, begging him. Begging him to touch her, begging him to make her come, begging him for things she couldn’t even put into words.
Pressing a gentle kiss to her temple, he muttered against her skin, “Come for me, Holly. Come.”
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