Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-Three
The Lords postponed their emergency meeting for two weeks, citing an undisguised illness. Rowan got the message while we were sitting at the breakfast table the next morning.
He held my foot in his lap, stroking an idle hand over the back of my foot. “Do I want to ask what you did?”
“Mmm. Well, I didn’t do much at all. Danu gets most of the credit.”
His eyebrows lifted. “But you did do something?”
“I healed that asshole’s land which more than makes up for his broken nose,” I said primly.
Rowan blinked. “You broke Thorvin’s nose?”
I took another bite of my pancakes. “Mmm hmm. He’s lucky that’s all I did.
” Chocolate melted over my tongue. Rowan knew I didn’t like dark or semi-sweet chocolate, so he always made my pancakes with milk chocolate chips.
I don’t recall ever telling him my preference, but the guy just noticed things.
Tiny things no one ever noticed about me, he’d tucked into his heart and saved.
It made me want to jump his bones all the time. The fae bond had shown no real signs of slowing down, and I couldn’t exactly ask my mom or dad about why I was so hot for Rowan all the time.
Not that Rowan minded. Goodness. Dude had the stamina of a fleet of Navy men stepping off the ship for the first time in months.
“He deserved it.” I took another bite of pancake and watched Rowan.
His lips twitched. “I suppose he did.”
“How’s the baby?” Moira had brought me home, shoved me at Rowan and told him to feed me, then hurried home, her cheeks still crimson after seeing Ethan.
“Adorable.” Rowan dug a thumb into the arch of my foot, drawing a deep groan from my throat. He flashed a grin.
Yesterday’s magic drain hadn’t completely resolved yet, and I still had some body aches and overall soreness. I felt like sleeping another twelve hours, but Dad was due for training today, and he wouldn’t be so easily fobbed off.
Rowan had made excuses with Barrett but had a thoughtful expression on his face when he hung up the phone. “He seemed a little agitated over the cancellation.”
I lifted a shoulder. “Barrett is difficult to read. He followed me all the way here, so he seems invested in helping me learn my powers.”
“Mmm,” Rowan responded. “Is it possible he already knows about the baby?”
I blinked. “How?”
“No idea. This is only a theory. You’re supposedly the last female Chimera, which we both now know could be a lie. Barrett is the Chimera’s de facto leader.”
My mind whirled. “You think Barrett might be looking for the child and is using me to do it?”
Rowan tilted his head. “You did come out quite fantastically in Joy Springs. Most paranormals know who you are. Who better to keep their child safe than a female Chimera safe in a shifter pack?”
I wanted to wave his concerns away, but I couldn’t.
If I’d learned anything over the past several years, it was that sometimes people wouldn’t stop until they realized their goals, whether they were for good or evil.
Barrett might be on the up and up, but he did drop into my lap rather abruptly and claim I should be the one to lead our people.
Not that I’d done much of that. I preferred staying out of the limelight, first because I was still hiding my Chimera identity at that time, and second because I had issues with the Chimeras after what Finn had done to me, followed by his psycho companion, Rhona.
Barrett had helped me, no question about that, and he’d asked for nothing in return. Rowan’s words made me examine his actions under a closer microscope now. Very few people in my life, minus Rowan and my friends, had helped me without wanting something in return.
Was Barrett the exception to the rule or was the baby in danger once he found her?
“I can see the wheels turning in your mind,” Rowan murmured.
“Maybe we should test the theory,” I mused.
Rowan’s wicked fingers rubbed the knots from my calves. “Always willing to engage in some shenanigans,” he said with a quick smile. “But first, I want to talk about something else.”
My eyebrows lifted. “Oh?”
He patted his thigh, silently telling me to lift my other leg. I closed my eyes as he started working on the other leg.
“Mmm hmm. I was thinking we should get married.”
My eyes flew open. I watched him for a long moment, looking for the familiar twinkle of mischief in his eyes when he teased me, but there was nothing but a somber expression on his face.
When I said nothing, his lips twitched. “We’re mated, on my people’s side and on yours. Our laws see us as together for the rest of our lives.”
I nodded, still struck mute by his proposal.
“We don’t live in your world, and many humans claim citizenship in my territory. They do not often get to celebrate with us. Would it be such a bad idea to have a wedding here at the Keep?”
Tears swelled in my eyes. “You want to marry me.”
Rowan snorted. “If I haven’t made that painfully obvious by now, I’ve been remiss in my duties.”
He sighed when I stayed silent. Rowan leaned forward, gripping my thighs with his large hands.
“Evie, I am perfectly content to be your mate, but I’d also like to be your husband.
Legally. I want you to wear a wedding ring so everyone, human and paranormal alike, knows you are taken.
I want to introduce you as my wife and mate to anyone who asks. ”
A vision of a gold band on Rowan’s finger flashed in my mind.
“What happens if you shift?”
His eyes lit from within. “We’ll have two rings, one we wear on our finger, and one we wear around our neck. Just in case we lose the one on our finger.” Rowan shrugged. “We’ll commission ten of them if we need to. I don’t care. I just want you to be my wife.”
I slowly put my legs down. A moment later, I launched myself at him.
With a grunt of laughter, Rowan caught me, but not before he tipped over backward, the chair cracking in several pieces.
I claimed his lips in a heated kiss, my fingers already busy unbuttoning his shirt. Rowan’s fingers tangled in my hair, his lips dragging down my neck.
“That’s a yes?” he murmured against my throat.
“Yes,” I whispered. “Always, Rowan.”
And then there were no more words.