Blood of Destiny (Witch Fairy #6) (14 page)

Chapter 13

When I bring my head back up above water, Kallen is walking into the bath.  I can’t help but admire his naked muscular frame.  The way he moves is so graceful and sexy.  Okay, so these thoughts are just proving his point.  It’s probably not safe to bathe with each other.

I expect him to stay on his side of the tub, but he doesn’t.  He comes to me and pulls me close, our bodies meeting as he claims my lips with his.  I moan softly as I slide my arms up and around his neck.  Suddenly, I don’t mind being back in the water again.  As long as his lips are on mine, I don’t care where I am at the moment.

After several long, delicious minutes, Kallen pulls his lips away and leans his forehead on mine.  “You are killing me.”

I smile.  “I could say the same about you.”

Stepping back, he sinks down into the water and comes back up, dripping water down his smooth, tan skin.  “How fast can you wash your hair?” he asks.

I give him a suspicious look.  “Why?”

He moves closer to me again and puts his hands on each of my cheeks.  There’s an inferno of passion in his eyes that sets my body on fire.  “Because I am going to make love to you for the next several hours.”

My heart has started beating so fast I can feel it pounding against my chest wall.  “Give me a minute and a half.”

He growls.  “Faster.”

And we do make it faster.  In a minute flat, both of us have clean hair and skin.  Pulling me from the water, Kallen leads me out of the bathing room and to the bed.  Crawling in first, I pull him to me and finally, his lips are back on mine.  Our hands are going crazy trying to feel every inch of each other. 

Rolling him onto his back, I move my body against his causing him to groan deep in his throat.  “Are we really doing this?” I ask as I move my body so that we are as close as possible.  If I move any lower, we will be joined as one.

Pulling me to him, he captures my lips as he murmurs, “God, yes.”

Those are the words I want to hear.  The words I don’t want to hear?  “Xandra, your mother told me you were back.  I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”  Do dads automatically come with a kill the mood switch, or do you have to pay extra for that?

Simultaneously moaning in frustration, I roll off of Kallen and onto my back while Kallen makes us both pajamas.  The long flannel kind.  As much as I don’t want to, I say, “Come on in, Dad.”

If he realizes he interrupted anything, he doesn’t let on when he floats through the door.  “Sorry if I woke you, I just had to make sure that you’re okay.”

I smile.  It is sweet if incredibly bad timing.  “We’re both fine.”

Relief washes over him.  “You won’t be disappearing again tonight, will you?”

Since the Angel rock is safely on the bathing room floor, not a chance.  I shake my head.  “No.  All we’re going to do tonight is sleep.”  Now.  Three minutes ago that wasn’t the case.

“Alright, I’ll let you get some rest.  Good night.”  I can tell that he wants to say something dad-like about our sleeping arrangements, but he refrains.  Impressive restraint on his part, actually.  I didn’t think he had it in him.

“Good night, Dad.”  He and Kallen nod at each other like guys do.

After he’s gone, I look over at Kallen.  “Any chance of picking up where we left off?”

“Nope.”

“Afraid my Dad’s coming back to check on us.”

“Yup.”

“Yeah, me too.”  With a sigh, I roll over so I’m curled up against him and he tightens his arm around me.  “I love you.”

“I love you more than you can imagine.”

I smile because I can definitely imagine it.

Chapter 14

“See, you are always in bed with the Fairy.”

I peel my eyelids apart just far enough to confirm I don’t want to see who’s standing next to the bed.  “Go away.  I’m too tired to talk to you.”

“Sorry, little one, there’s no time for your petty mortal needs.”

I ponder the wisdom of telling an Angel what he can do with his petty mortal needs comment.  Probably not wise.  With a sigh, I open my eyes.  “What do you want?”

“I want to know why you are lounging around in bed when you have one more Fallen Angel to find.”

“Are you even doing your job right now, or are you spending all your time watching me?  Am I really that exciting?” I grumble as I force myself to sit up.  I rub my eyes with the heels of my palms, trying to get the sleep out of them.

He snorts.  “I get no more pleasure from these conversations than you do.  You are merely a means to an end.”

Yeah, what kind of end?  Am I bringing together old friends or putting together an arsenal.  It hasn’t escaped my attention that the two Fallen Angels I have retrieved so far are quite persuasive when they want to be.  Ray helped quiet down the fight in the bar and every time Zoe spoke to Undine, the Mermaid became much more agreeable no matter how pissed she was a second before that.  What kind of damage could they wreak as a team?

“Do you still have the locator?” Ambriel asks, pulling me from my reverie.

“Yes, it’s in the other room.”  I point towards the bathing room.

“You would leave such a valuable artifact lying about?  Have you no sense?”

“Hey, back off.  It’s a rock.  It’s not like anyone’s going to look at it and go ‘oh, cool, I can find Fallen Angels with this.’  You are such a spaz.  Relax a little bit.  It’s healthier than being so uptight all the time.”

“Your colloquialisms are lost on me.  Even if they were not, your opinion of me means nothing.”

“Really?  Then why are you getting so defensive?” I ask as I swing my legs off the bed and stand up. 

Now he’s all huffy.  “You will retrieve the artifact and be on your way.  Immediately.”

My turn to snort.  “Look, I promised to do you two favors.  Neither of us ever agreed to time limits.  I can take years to find the next Fallen Angel if I want.”

First he looks mad but then he gets a sly look on his face.  “How true, we did not discuss time limits.”  He opens his arms in a defeated sweep in front of him.  “By all means, take as long as you like.  I am more than willing to shirk my responsibilities so that I can constantly be monitoring your progress.  We can have tea every morning and discuss your plans for the day.  Better yet, I can visit you every time you wish to lie in bed with your Fairy.”

I believe he would do it, too.  Who knew Angels could be so evil?  “Fine,” I snap.  “I’ll find your stupid Angel.”

He grins and it’s dripping self-satisfaction and arrogance onto the floor.  I’m going to need a really big mop to clean all of that up.  “I knew you would see it my way.”

I cross my arms over my chest.  “The longer you stand here talking, the longer it’ll take me to find him.”  If it’s a him.  I don’t really care at this point.  I just want this guy out of my life.  With a nod and a smug smile, he’s gone.

I turn around and look at Kallen sleeping so soundly.  It seems cruel to wake him.  I guess I could go after this Fallen Angel by myself.  I purse my lips as I think about it.  What are the pros and cons?  Pro – Kallen gets to stay in bed and get the sleep we both desperately need.  Cons – I come back to an incredibly angry boyfriend, I’ll probably get myself into even more trouble than usual and I’ll miss him terribly.  Sorry Kallen, you’re getting up.

I crawl back onto the bed and snuggle up to him.  I put my hand softly on his cheek and give him a light kiss on the lips.  He must have been more awake than I thought because with a feral growl, he rolls us so I’m on my back underneath him and gives me the best good morning kiss ever.

Kissing a trail along my jaw to the spot behind my ear that drives me crazy, he says, “I want to finish what we started last night.”

Instantly, my entire body feels like it’s on fire again.  Oh, if only.  “I’m afraid we’d have an audience.”

Kallen immediately stops kissing me.  His face is flushed and he looks embarrassed.  He rolls off me and sits up, preparing to see someone else in the room.  When he finds no one else, he flops back down with a sigh and closes his eyes.  “You mean an Angel audience.”

I can’t help a small giggle.  “Yeah.  Sorry to scare you like that.”

He opens one eye and looks at me.  “No problem, I like my heart to stop beating on occasion.  It makes me appreciate it more.”

I laugh.  “One more stupid Angel and we’re done.  Then we can wake up the way we want to.” 

There is a distinct promise in my words that he picks up on.  With a grin, he rolls back to me.  “I am counting the minutes.”  His lips meet mine in a long, sultry kiss.  There is definitely a promise in this kiss.

Pulling back, he says, “If we do not rise and face the day right this minute, I am not going to care who is watching.”

A pleasant shiver runs down my spine.  Until I think of Ambriel watching us.  It’s time to get up.  With a distinct pout, I nod and we both force ourselves to get out of bed.

“I am not going anywhere without breakfast,” Kallen says as he heads to the bathroom to take a quick shower to wake himself up.

Me, either.  We’ve hardly eaten anything in the last few days.  The thought of one of Tabitha’s delicious breakfasts makes my stomach growl loudly.  Putting my hand on it, I look down and study it a moment.  Do I have a baby in there?  If so, I’m not taking very good care of it since I’m not eating right.  Oh, I am so not ready for this.

I freshen up while Kallen is in the shower and I get dressed in my own clothes instead of having him make me some.  I leave the rock right where it is and head downstairs.  Following the wonderful scent of bacon, I find Tabitha alone in the kitchen making pancakes and toast as well.  “Good morning,” I say, taking a seat at the counter.

She turns around with a hand on her heart.  “Good lord, you startled me.”

I wrinkle my nose.  “Sorry, I thought you heard me come in.”

She turns back to the pancake that needs flipping.  “Oh, I was just lost in thought.  What brings you down so early?  I thought you would sleep until noon.”

I snort.  “I wish.  The stupid Angel keeps waking me up.  He’s such a jerk.”  I hope he’s listening.

Putting the pancake in the warmer with the rest, Tabitha turns back around.  “Yes, you did get yourself into a pickle with him.”  Tilting her head, she studies me for a moment until I want to squirm in my seat.  Finally, she says, “Do you truly believe yourself to be pregnant?”

There goes my appetite.  “I really don’t know.”

“Would the answer to that question affect your decision to become right hand-fasted with Kallen?”

Wow, wasn’t expecting that question.  With a confused look on my face, I say, “No, why would it?  We’re getting married because we love each other.  Whether there’s a baby or not.”  With a sigh, I add, “We were just hoping to wait a while – a long while – before kids came into the picture.”

A satisfied smile grows on her face.  “Then I will let you in on a little secret.”

Now I’m really confused and my brow wrinkles more.  “Okay.”

“I did some research on the Apsaras.  A side effect of the Apsaras magic is that it denies conception.  A little trick of theirs to keep desperate people from calling on them for help with fertility issues.”

No way.  “Really?”

She nods.  “Yes, really.  They are not exactly known for their compassion.”

I feel like half the world just lifted off my shoulders.  Then I feel badly for a moment.  Should I be this happy that I’m not pregnant?  I smile to myself.  Absolutely.  Neither Kallen nor I are ready to be parents.  I jump off my stool and wrap my arms around Tabitha and give her a big, loud kiss on the cheek.  “Thank you!  I have to go tell Kallen.”

She laughs.  “No need, he’s been listening at the door.”

I put my hands on my hips and turn around.  Sure enough, he’s standing right there with a grin on his face leaning against the door frame.  I should be mad at him for eavesdropping, but I’m too happy at the moment.  Instead, I rush at him and jump up, forcing him to catch me.  Then I plant a big kiss on his lips.  “We’re not pregnant.”

He gives me another light kiss.  “So I heard.  Someday,” he says and I nod in agreement.  Someday far, far into the future.

“Sit down, you two.  You look half starved,” Tabitha says as she puts plates on the counter.

Kallen lets me down.  “We are.  We have not had a decent meal in what feels like weeks.”

“You look like it,” Kegan says, slapping Kallen hard on the back as he comes into the room.  “Soon you will be wrinkled skin on bone sticks.”

Kallen glares at him.  “Do you ever go home?”

A shadow passes over Kegan’s eyes and his joking manner drops away.  He gets a plate from the cupboard and sits down.  I haven’t known him long, but I know this isn’t normal behavior for him.  He and Kallen always talk like that to each other and neither of them take it to heart.  Finally, he looks up at Kallen who I can tell is now horrified about what he said.  We both know what’s coming when Kegan eventually says, “This is now the only home I have.”

Kallen sits across from him.  “I am sorry.  The news was not well received by your father?”  Of course he’s talking about the news of Kegan and Alita’s engagement.

“That man is dafter than a warthog,” Tabitha says, putting a pitcher of juice down on the counter hard enough for some to slosh over.  “Objecting to such a sweet girl.  I ought to wring his neck.”

“I will be taking care of that,” Isla says coldly from the doorway.  Uh oh, someone’s in trouble.  Kegan’s dad and Kallen’s dad were brothers.  Twin brothers.  And Isla’s sons.  I would
not
like to be a fly on the wall for the conversation she will be having with her son.  I’m sure there will be a lot of colorful language that might make my ears bleed and scar my psyche.

Kegan gives Isla a smile.  A weak, unconvinced smile but at least he tried.  “Thank you, Grandmother.”

She pats him on the shoulder as she moves to the stove to pour herself a cup of coffee.  “It is nice to see the two of you at a meal,” she says to me and Kallen.  I think that’s her way of saying she missed us.  Aaw.  “Even better news to hear that I will not be a great grandmother anytime soon.  I would appreciate it if you keep that way.”  And there goes the nice moment.  My cheeks flush red instantly.  At least Kallen looks just as embarrassed.