Chapter Nine
Chapter 9
F or some reason, Kelyn had paid for two first-class tickets across the world, a helicopter, rappel gear rental and a private limo. But he’d only put out for one hotel room with a king-size bed.
Valor wasn’t averse to sharing a bed with a male friend. She’d done it before. Well, she’d shared the couch with Trouble because they’d both fallen asleep full of pizza and watching Bruce Willis. Yippee-ki-yay!
Setting her backpack on the end of the bed, she reasoned with herself. Sex wasn’t always on the table for situations like this. She was a grown-up and the men she hung with were grown-ups, as well. They could share a bed without getting all squicky about it.
Except.
She felt a little weird about sleeping next to the guy she was kind of, sort of, starting to have feelings for. But she didn’t want to tell him that. And she didn’t expect he felt the same way. Only, okay, he had confessed to liking her until he’d thought she and Trouble had gotten it on. Which they had not.
And he had kissed her. Like, totally kissed her in the pink lake. That had been one for the books.
And now? Kelyn walked around the room, stripping off his shirt and announcing he was going to take a shower first, if she didn’t mind. Despite the sensation of dried algae having worked its way into strange places on her body, Valor eagerly nodded and gestured for him to go for it.
Now that the bathroom door was closed, she collapsed onto the chair and put her bare feet up on the end of the bed. Then she took them down. There was something on her big toe. Dried algae? Beach sand? Some kind of crustacean from the pink lake? She didn’t want to know. She needed a shower and to crash. It had been a long day and night, and the flight from the United States and her anxiety had only compounded her exhaustion. She could almost allow herself to fall asleep right here on the chair—not in the same bed as Kelyn—but she’d noticed a distinct smell in her hair and knew she wouldn’t rest until she was clean.
The four vials of lake water sat on the table, looking barely pink under the awful yellow lamplight.
On to the next ingredient. Which, according to the research Valor had done during the cab ride to this hotel, could only be located in Wales. And Kelyn probably wasn’t going to like that adventure. She’d tell him about it when it was too late to back out. And if she had to, she’d seduce him with another kiss.
She could totally work the seduction when she put her mind to it.
Smiling to herself, she tilted her head back, but sat upright when the bathroom door opened and out strolled a steaming man with slicked-back hair and abs that glistened with water droplets.
Of all the television doctors’ names she had ever spoken in oath, she could not remember a single name now.
“All yours,” he said, one hand propped casually over the twist in the towel at his hip. The towel rode low, exposing the cut muscles that V’d toward—oh, so many fantasies visited Valor’s lusty thoughts. Most of them involved licking the water droplets from Kelyn’s skin and...
“Yep.” Despite her waning energy, she hopped up and slipped past him to quickly close the bathroom door. Only when she stood alone in the steamy little room did she dare to let out a breath and shake her head. “Man, those abs. Whoever thought faeries were scrawny, delicate creatures?”
How she’d managed not to drag her fingers across those spectacular ridged abs was beyond her. Would she survive this trip if they continued to share a room? Because she wasn’t beyond having sex with a friend for the sake of it. To feed a desire. To get off. To have some fun.
But, for some reason, it felt dangerous to consider having sex with Kelyn. Emotionally risky. And maybe even like a commitment.
Valor shook her head. “Don’t be a fool.”
She’d never been one for long-term relationships. Until recently.
Because now? She craved something more than the flirtations or few short months she’d shared with men most of her life.
But she hadn’t had that in her life because she simply wasn’t the kind of woman men considered for relationships. She knew that for a fact. Someone had told her so. In the most abrupt and heart-wrenching manner possible.
And besides, Kelyn would never see her as a woman who could satisfy his lust for the sexy and sensual. That man needed a real woman and not one who could only fake it when at her best.
She drew a sigil in the steam on the mirror. It was the same one she’d drawn in the moss with the angel dust that night in the Darkwood.
“You missed your chance to be loved, witch.”
* * *
Kelyn pulled on a pair of clean jeans and grimaced. He normally slept naked. But that wouldn’t work with Valor lying on the bed next to him. Well, it could.
He considered it a few seconds, then shook his head and zipped up the fly. “Nope.”
He wasn’t sure where he stood with her, and he didn’t want to freak her out or press any issue for which she might not be on board. Such as the two of them getting close and...yes, sex was definitely on the table for him. But she didn’t feel the same way about him as he did her. She couldn’t. Why had he confessed his infatuation to her? She must think him some kind of crazy after all they’d been through.
And yet he’d gone for it at the lake. That kiss had been some kind of all right. He’d thought it was a signal between them that he was okay to move forward with whatever might happen between the two of them. But she hadn’t given him that same signal, so he would have to mark the kiss off as a one-time thing.
Two times, actually. He’d not forgotten the kiss in the forest. She’d been desperate that time, thinking death was near. The lake had been completely different. Yeah, he’d blame it on the unruly lake and the enchantment that had literally glittered in the air.
Until the helicopter had swooped low and destroyed the moment.
He flung himself onto the bed, propped up two pillows behind his head and closed his eyes. Man, it felt great to get the lake smell out of his hair. And he was bone weary. Which also felt great. He wasn’t one to sleep a lot, but he sensed he’d get forty winks tonight. Which was almost morning. It had been a long day.
Now they had gained one more ingredient for the witch’s spell that would, he hoped, open a portal to Faery.
Did he believe after the portal was open they could simply take a jaunt through and his wings would be waiting there for the taking? Not at all. But the hope of having that entry—a place to start—was enough to keep him going. He wanted his strength and power back.
And he wanted to set foot in Faery. It was something he’d dreamed about all his life. Like any child who had ever dreamed of going to Disneyland, Kelyn had dreamed of going to his homeland. His mother had told him tales of the azure skies and many moons that could be seen at any time, day or night. How so many different species thrived, loved, fought and existed in Faery. Sprites, dragons, unicorns and so many breeds of sidhe they were impossible to tally.
The bathroom door opened, and Kelyn made a point of not opening his eyes. He didn’t want the tease of a wet witch in a towel to stir his desires and have him trying to hide a hard-on. If he made it through this night, he’d wake with blue balls, for sure.
“You sleeping?” Valor asked softly.
He felt the bed move when she sat on the other side.
“Almost.”
“Thanks for everything, Kelyn. It’s been a great trip. And while I know we both had business in mind with the lake, it was an adventure I’ll never forget.”
“It was awesome. I like trying new things. I’ve always considered myself an adventurous guy. Me, the one who’s never even been Up North. But today? Rappelling down a rope from a helicopter? That rocked.”
“You’re telling me.”
“You weren’t nervous about the flight, either. That surprised me.”
“Didn’t have time to freak out. And I think because it was wide-open, and I wasn’t stuffed into a tin can, I lost most of my fear. It was like...free-flying.”
“Not even close. But I’ll give you that one.”
“Thanks.” She lay down and he opened one eye. He could see her bare legs stretched over the folded-back coverlet. She smelled like the hotel’s orange shampoo, and it made him hungry. But not for food.
She turned to her side, and he knew she faced him, so he tilted his head and met her gaze in the darkness. He could still see quite well in the dark, even without his wings.
“You know that kiss?” she asked. “Not the one at the lake but the one in the Darkwood.”
“Uh...yeah?”
“In that moment, when the tree was sucking me into the ground, I thought I was going to die. And...I haven’t kissed another man since.”
That had been four months ago. Really? She hadn’t kissed another man? Kelyn mumbled a noise of assurance.
“I wanted you to know,” she said. “I haven’t felt like dating since then. I know I have no right, and I promise I’m over with the apologies, but I’ve sort of carried what happened as a heavy burden. But I think I’m ready to shuck it off my shoulders now.”
By rights? She should have carried that burden. For a little while anyway. And that was his angry, pissed-off self thinking that. But it was a real emotion, and he owned it as it tensed his muscles and chased away any thought of touching her sweet-smelling, wet hair.
Now she rolled to her back. “I’m tired,” she said. “Good night, Kelyn.”
He nodded, knowing she couldn’t hear that motion. He didn’t know what to say or how to act around her. Because he wasn’t sure what was happening between them. While he had every reason to hate the woman, every fiber of his being wanted to reach out and pull her to him and hold her close.
And while he stared at the back of her head and willed his arm to reach for her, no part of his body moved, save for his heart, sinking a little deeper into his chest.