Chapter 53
53
T he cookies were ready in no time, and Pari helped decorate the tree in between batches. She made chocolate chip, as that’s what she had ingredients for, and swore Dallan ate the entire first batch by himself. The man practically snarled when Kwaku tried to sneak one from him.
“Okay, are we ready?” Melvale called happily. He plugged the lights in and lit up the tree.
Pari sighed in satisfaction. “Wow, that’s beautiful.” And was it ever! It looked like something out of a magazine!
He turned to her, a huge smile on his face. “It is, isn’t it?” His smile quickly faded. “And still straight, right?”
She laughed. “It looks straight to me.”
“Wonderful.” He came to the love seat and sat next to her. “Are there any more cookies?”
“Coming up.”
He leaned toward her. “Do not tell the Scot.”
She giggled. “So, I’ve seen.” Pari grew quiet, still unsure of how to act or what to do around him. Her life had been turned upside down, and nothing seemed real anymore.
“What’s the matter, Kitten?”
She glanced at Melvale and back, realizing she needed a little space. “I… I have to go downstairs and speak with Uncle Al.”
“Fine, I’ll go with you.”
“No, please. I… need a few moments with him. He wants my opinion on something.” He did have that new piece he acquired and wanted to show her, whatever it was.
Melvale studied her as his eyebrows slowly rose. He wasn’t sniffing out her emotions again, was he? “Very well, Kitten. But I’ll be waiting for you in the hall.”
She sighed. “Okay.” There was no use arguing with him. “Let me take the last batch of cookies out of the oven.” Pari retreated to the kitchen just as the timer went off. She quickly took the cookies out, grabbed some that were already cooled and put them into a small bag for her uncles. That done she headed for the front door. Everyone was chit chatting about the party and the sorts of gifts they might get for each other. Kwaku kept insisting someone should get him an army tank.
Pari wasn’t sure if he was teasing or not and didn’t want to find out. She bounded down the stairs, trying to be as light-footed as possible. Once again, she noted how little sound came from Melvale’s footfalls, despite the fact he was wearing boots.
She knocked on Uncle Al’s door and turned to Melvale. “You’ll wait here?”
He sat on the stairs. “Of course. Go spend time with your uncle.” He gave her a tender look, one full of admiration, and a tingle went up her spine. She wanted to give in to her growing feelings, but didn’t dare. She’d seen enough movies about extraterrestrials coming to Earth and leaving a broken-hearted human behind that she didn’t want to subject herself to what could and probably would happen to her.
“Pariwink,” Uncle Al said when he opened the door. He spied Melvale on the stairs and gave him a little wave. “Come in.”
Pari stepped inside and let out a long breath.
“Your boyfriend’s not coming in?” Uncle Al asked.
“He’s not…” she let out another breath. “My boyfriend.”
“Could’ve fooled me, sweetie. Especially the way he carried you up to your apartment last night.”
She flushed red. “Yeah, well, I’m not sure what’s going to happen. None of them are from around here.”
“Do tell?” Uncle Al crossed his arms.
She ignored his stance. “That piece you told me about. What is it?”
“Oh, yeah.” He let his arms drop. “Wait for me in the dining room. I’ll get it.”
She did and was surprised when Uncle Al re-joined her with a sheathed sword in his hand. “What is that?”
“What does it look like?” He set it on the dining room table.
“It’s a sword, obviously, but is it ceremonial or something else?”
Uncle Al smiled. “I think it’s something else.” He picked it up with both hands. “It’s heavy, for one.” He unsheathed it and held it up, again with both hands. “I don’t think I could wield this in a fight.”
She laughed. “I don’t see you having too many sword fights in the near future.” Pari noticed a lion’s head on the hilt. “Wow, that’s cool.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Uncle Al admired the piece. “Pure silver.”
“Wow,” she breathed. “And the blade?”
“Other than long?” He chuckled. “Like I said. Heavy. Here, hold it.” He handed it to her.
She took the sword by the hilt and almost dropped it. The thing weighed a ton. “Holy moly, I see what you mean.”
“Yeah. I was told it was used in battle but haven’t had it appraised yet. I’m pretty sure it’s from Great Britain. Maybe even Germany.”
Pari glanced toward the front door. “Uncle Al, can I buy it?”
“What? You? What are you going to do with it? Hang it over your mantle?”
“I… want to give it as a gift.”
Her uncle glanced toward the front door too. “Oh, I see. You want to give it to your boyfriend? ”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” Pari swallowed hard. “But I do want to give it as…” she was about to say, “parting gift” but changed it to “… a Christmas present.”
“Oh, that’s right. Your little party.” He sighed and drummed his fingers on the dining table a few times. “It could be worth thousands.”
“Or not,” she pointed out. “After all, what did you pay for it?”
“Five hundred.”
“I’ll give you eight.”
He laughed. “You haven’t got eight-hundred dollars.”
“No, but I have four in my savings, and I could work off the rest.” She gave him a pleading look. She wanted to give Melvale something special, and this sword would be perfect. Who knows if she’d ever see him again? Part of her mourned the fact, the other part, the practical one, told her it was all for the best. Who did she think she was running around with beings from another world? She needed to keep her feet on the ground and stop fooling herself.
Uncle Al paced back and forth a few times. “I guess that is the sort of gift you might give a boyfriend .”
She opened her mouth then she snapped it shut. “We had one date.”
Uncle Al smiled. “He’s goofy, I’ll grant you. Not to mention tall, but he sort of grows on you. I’m not so sure about some of his nutty friends though.” Uncle Al sighed. “Melvale seems amiable enough.”
“Yeah, I know.” Pari thought of his Alpha side, of the way he tried to break out of his cell to get to her, and how he tried to free them by breaking down his cell door. And how Dr. Charles’ men feared him. Melvale might be goofy, as Uncle Al said, but the other part of him, Bondrah, was anything but.
“Get me the cash,” he said. “And I’ll give you half pay until you work off the rest. Sound fair?”
Pari nodded. “More than fair. Thank you.” She hefted the sword onto the table and hugged him.
Uncle Al patted her on the back. “I hope this one works out for you Pari.”
She fought against a cringe. How could it? She’d have to leave here forever, only to visit now and then. Pari wasn’t sure she believed she could come back whenever she wanted. Shona said she could so long as there wasn’t any danger, but how would they know if danger lurked nearby or not?
“I’ll sneak down here in the next day or two and wrap it,” she said.
“I can wrap it for you.” Uncle Al offered and headed for the front door. “Is he still out there?”
“Yes.” She blushed again and looked at the floor.
“He’s mighty protective of you, Pari Mae. I like that.” Uncle Al frowned. “He hasn’t tried to get to third base, has he?”
“Uncle Al!” She said mortified. “No.”
“I’m just checking. Besides, Leo was asking.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Best not keep your boyfriend waiting.”
Pari rolled her eyes at him. What she’d wanted was a few measly minutes of normal to hang on to. Seeing her uncle by herself helped ground her and pretend none of this ever happened. But… as much as she hated to admit it, she’d come to care for Melvale. How was she going to part from him with her heart intact?
“Hey, Pariwink, something wrong?”
She shook her head and forced a smile. “Nothing. Thanks for offering to wrap the sword. Oh, and I put a bag of cookies on the sideboard for you. Chocolate chip.”
His face lit up. “Thanks.” He opened the door. “Have fun with your party. Are Leo and I invited?”
Her smile was genuine this time. “Of course.” She hugged him again then left the apartment.
Melvale stood on the other side of the stairs leaning against the banister. “All done?” he asked in a soft voice.
“Yes.” She joined him. “We can go back up now.”
“Are you sure you want to?”
Pari looked at him. “Why do you ask?”
He gave her a light smile. “Your heart is weary, Pari.”
She blinked a few times. “How do you know?”
“I can… sense it.”
She gave him a tiny shake of her head. “I… I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that.”
“Give it time,” he said softly. “Give me time.”
She swallowed hard as part of heart melted at the tone of his voice. “I… I’m not sure how.”
He drew closer. “You will.” He ran the back of his finger down her cheek. “I admit I don’t fully understand why you deny yourself happiness, or why you reject the affections of others.”
She sucked in a breath. He was doing it again! “Please, don’t…”
Melvale held up a hand. “Your heart has been broken before.”
She shut her eyes tight. “Yeah, because I’m an idiot.”
He gave her a gentle look. “You’ve made some mistakes. Everyone does.”
“Now you sound like my therapist.”
He smiled. “I can be that for you if you like.”
Pari’s breath hitched, and she almost couldn’t form words. “Like… I can tell you anything?”
He nodded. “That’s what best friends do.” Melvale took another step closer. “I’d like to think of myself as your friend.” He took the last few steps and rested his arms on her shoulders. “Then perhaps, something more?”
Her eyes went wide. Something between a delicious tingle and a fear-filled chill went up her spine. “Let’s… let’s stick to friends. I mean… we only had one date…”
He lowered his face to hers. “We could have another.”
Another dratted tingle went up her spine. Did he have to be so close? And did he have to… Pari took as discreet a sniff as she could. Yep. This gorgeous hunk of man smelled like cookies. Not chocolate chip. Not any particular kind really. Just, cookies.
“My lovely Pari,” he whispered. “Will you go out with me again? Will you let me take you shopping and buy you lunch?”
Her head came up. She hadn’t realized she’d been looking at the floor while contemplating how he could make the smell of cookies sexy. “Date?”
He rubbed her nose with his. “Yes, little one. Another date.”
“Wh-when?” she stammered. Whenever he got close like this, she got more than a little flustered.
“Tomorrow. Remember, our party is in two days.”
“Oh, yeah, but…” she swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. She looked away. “I don’t have any money right now.” Yeah, because you just spent it all on him!
He tucked a finger under her chin and brought her face up to his. “I have plenty of money. I’ll give you some, and you don’t have to pay me back.”
“I can’t let you do that…”
“Yes, you can. Think of it as part of my Christmas gift to you. Besides, what’s a shopping date if I don’t take care of you?”
Her breathing had picked up. Really, if he didn’t move away from her, she was liable to hyperventilate. “But it’s not Christmas, n-not really.” Oh, for crying out loud, why was she whispering? Not to mention stuttering!
“It is for our party,” he whispered back, then ever so gently, kissed her cheek. He straightened slowly, never taking his eyes from hers, and took her hand. “Let’s get upstairs before Dallan eats all the cookies.”
Unable to stop herself, she snorted. Thank goodness she did. She needed something to break out of his spell. “The man does like his cookies.”
Melvale arched an eyebrow. “You have no idea, Kitten.”
And he had no idea how he’d just sent her growing feelings up another notch.