Kelpie (Come Love a Fey) (13 page)

I
put the juice carton back in the fridge and picked up my glass.  Leith turned
to lean against the counter and my eyes traveled over him as I took a sip.  I
couldn’t help but appreciate the view.  He was still shirtless, his hair a mad
tangle of shiny waves and those gorgeous eyes deep and blue as a river.  His
wide mouth turned up at the corners in a sly smile and I blushed, caught
staring.  I turned away, embarrassed.  The juice glass slipped from my
fingers.  I fumbled for it, but it hit the ground and shattered. 

“Crap.” 
I stared at the sticky mess, thinking it resembled my state of mind right now. 
I heaved a sigh and bent to pick up the larger pieces of glass. 

Leith
chuckled.  Scooting the trashcan close, he came to squat next to me.  “You seem
distracted this morning.  What’s troubling you?”

I
hunched my shoulders defensively, and picked up a big, curved piece of glass.  “Nothing,
I’ve just been thinking...”  I couldn’t tell him what I had been thinking.  It
sounded too absurd.  I glanced at him helplessly. 

“Be
careful with that.”  He leaned close, intent on the mess at my feet, and it
felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest.  He was too close.  I
stood suddenly.  As I turned to toss the glass in the trashcan, a searing pain
lanced across my finger. 

“Shit!” 
I shook my hand while I scanned the counter for the paper towel. 

Leith
stood and took my hand, so fast I barely had time to register what was
happening.  His long fingers wrapped around my wrist as he turned my hand to
examine it.  Blood welled up from a deep slice on my middle finger and trickled
down the side.  It was going to be a pain in the ass trying to type today.

His
eyes met mine for an instant with an unreadable look.  Then Leith lifted my
hand and his warm mouth closed around my finger.  My stomach gave a little
tingling jolt at the sensation of his lips on my skin.  I froze as his eyes
settled closed and he slowly pulled back.  I stood there motionless, feeling a
warm flush creep over me.  The pain from the little cut had vanished.  I
glanced at my finger to see that the bleeding had already slowed.  The gash was
smaller than it had looked at first.  He lifted my hand again and, very
deliberately, licked the cut. 

My
eyes met his and I jerked my hand back.  He stared at me from eyes that had
gone blood red.  I watched as his pupils dilated so much that there was nothing
but the thinnest ring of color left.  I couldn’t seem to find my voice- not
that I knew what the hell I would say. 
Not human
.  Was the man I had
taken into my home really not human?

He
stooped and picked up another shard of glass.  “Let me return the favor.” 
Those strange eyes met mine.  He pressed the glass to the tip of his finger,
deliberately making a wound identical to mine.

I
backed away.  “You really are crazy,” I said, my voice wavering.  He laughed
and gave me a lopsided grin, and some of the tension left the room.

“I’m
sorry,” he said lightly.  “I didn’t mean to frighten you.  Here.”  He held out
his finger.  A single drop of dark blood hovered where he had cut it. 

I
frowned at him.  “
Eeew
.  No way.”  I turned to get the toast out of the
toaster and he stepped close again.

“Please
take it.”  His deep voice was level and serious. 

I
shook my head.  “That’s gross Leith, go wash it off.”  I nodded at the sink and
reached for the butter, trying desperately to ignore my shaking hands.

He
grasped my shoulder with his uninjured hand and turned me to face him.  He
didn’t look deranged.  In fact, he looked amused.  His eyes were blue again. 
“I wish to give you a gift.  Stop being stubborn.”

I
narrowed my eyes at him in suspicion.  “Is this a fairy thing?”  He shrugged,
not answering, and held out his hand in invitation. 

I
crossed my arms defiantly.  “Just what is supposed to happen?  Why are you
being so insistent?”

He
sighed.  “Never mind.  It’s nothing.”  He reached for the paper towel, a look
of hurt flashing over his features.  He tore off a towel and turned away.

I
rolled my eyes in exasperation, wondering if maybe I had lost my mind back
there in the woods, and this whole thing was just a mental breakdown-induced
hallucination.  “Fine.”

Leith
turned back, eyebrows raised.

“This
is important to you for some reason, isn’t it?”  My voice was barely a whisper.

He
said nothing, but the answer was obvious in those dark blue pools.  I grabbed
his hand and brought it to my lips, not letting myself think about what I was
doing.  The taste of blood filled my mouth.  I closed my eyes and tried to get
a grip.  It was only one little drop, geez.  I felt him shift closer and his
other hand came to rest gently on my hip.

I
dropped his hand and stepped away, very careful not to look at his eyes.  I
didn’t want to know if they had changed again.  “It’s late.  Make your own
breakfast.”

It
was supposed to be warm that day, so I decided to walk to work, hoping to clear
my mind.  I would probably be late, but I needed a breather after
that
little scene.

I
walked quickly, my low heels chunking along on the sidewalk.  The rising sun
was brilliant.  It was going to be one of those treasured days where summer
makes one last appearance right on the brink of fall.  Little sparrows were
chattering in the branches of the saplings that lined the sidewalk, and the air
just smelled different.  I breathed the morning in.  What was up with Leith?  Better
yet- what was up with me?  I didn’t really believe in fairies… did I?

I
had reached the edge of town, surrounded by others who had decided to take
advantage of the beautiful day.  I noticed a tall blond woman up ahead.  She
was hard to miss, since she was towering over the men in business suits who
were waiting at the bus stop with her.  She was thin and svelte in a light gray
suit.  Her hair was fine and silky, hanging down to mid-back.  She also had
little brown horns peeping up from the crown of her head.

I
blinked and looked again.  The horns were gone.  I slowed as I passed her.  She
wasn’t so tall after all.  She met my eyes and gave me a shy smile.  I kept
walking.  The strain from the last couple of weeks had finally gotten to me.  I
had finally snapped.

I
passed a familiar street corner where musicians sometimes played for tips.  A
small man sat on an overturned crate, playing a guitar.  A gathering of early
risers had paused to listen, and my ears perked as I drew near.  He was more
talented than they usually were.  The beautiful music danced over my skin.  It
was like nothing I had ever heard before.  It didn’t sound like a guitar at
all.  I shook myself and reached into my purse to get some change.  The man
standing in front of me walked away and I had a clear view of the musician.  I
gaped at the gnarled little creature perched on the crate.  His features were
bumpy and distorted.  The instrument he was holding was nothing I had ever seen
before- some kind of stringed affair that looked like it was made out of a tree
branch.  I blinked and looked around me to see if anyone else had noticed. 
When I looked back, the man had returned to normal, just a smallish guy with
run-of-the-mill brown hair and plain features.  I dropped the change into his
guitar case with numb fingers.  He winked at me then returned his attention to
the others. 

I
walked faster now, my mind whirling with questions, panic fluttering in my
chest like a hummingbird’s wings.  A bird gave off an unexpectedly loud chirp
and I glanced up at the trees.  I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at the
bright purple creature perched among the sparrows.  Its talons were huge and it
had a big crest of yellow feathers on its head.  Someone bumped into me as I
stood in the middle of the sidewalk gaping.  He muttered an apology and I tore
my gaze away from the bird to nod at the balding man as he continued on his
way.  When I looked back, the tree was full of sparrows.

I
shook myself mentally.  Next thing I knew, I’d be running around the woods
naked in the middle of the night, as stark raving mad as Leith.

“Leith
,” I breathed. 
I clenched my teeth and kept walking. 
Damn him!
 This was all his
fault.

I
got to work twenty minutes late, but no one seemed to care.  I tried to keep a
low profile as I made my way to my desk.  Everyone around me looked normal, and
I breathed a deep sigh of relief.  I stowed my things in my overhead and went
to get a cup of coffee. 

On
the way back to my desk, I made a detour to drop off some paperwork with
Bethany.  I rounded the corner of her cubicle and came to a dead stop.  “Oh for
Christ’s sake!”

She
looked up at me with a smile, unaffected by my outburst.  “Good morning, Ada.”

She
had horns too, cute curly ones.  She tilted her head to look at me in concern,
and the light glinted off her perfect skin, which was a delicate shade of green
with little spots.

“Are
you feeling ok?”  She asked in kindly.

I
blinked hard and she resolved back into her normal, unassuming self.  “Nope.”  I
said flatly.  “I think I might be coming down with something.” 
Or having an
aneurism
.  I handed her the papers stiffly.

She
smiled and gave me a dreamy look.  “You smell wonderful again today.  That’s
some perfume.  It’s almost like it’s
in
you now.”

I
blinked at her. 
Oh for the love of fuck
!  I turned and walked away
without comment.  I refused to leave my desk for the rest of the day.  Most of
my clients were normal.  One was covered with hair and had long black claws.  I
told her I would call the friend of the court for her and see what we could do
about reducing her community service if she entered drug rehab.  My left eyelid
started twitching and didn’t stop until I left for the day.

I
bit the bullet and shelled out the money for a taxi on the way home.  I did
not
want to take the scenic route again.  I slid into the backseat without
looking at the driver.  I kept my eyes closed the entire way home, shutting out
the carnival freak show my life had become.

I
had worked later than usual and it was beginning to get dark as I made my way
up to my apartment, anger simmering just below the surface.  I opened the door
to a heavenly smell.  Leith was standing by the stove, his back to me as he
stirred a pot of something.  He was cooking?  I tossed my bag on the floor and
kicked off my shoes, leaving them in the middle of the room.  “What the hell
did you do to me?”

Leith
laughed, his attention still on his cooking.  “Oh, hello Ada, welcome home.”  His
voice sounded even richer and more vibrant than before.

I
seethed.  “I’ve spent all day seeing things that
aren’t there!”

He
turned to me in surprise.  “Oh, that.  I gave you a gift.”

I
stared at him, mouth agape.  He was Leith, but he wasn’t.  The sharp angles of
his face were sharper.  His eyes were brighter, his limbs longer, and the tip
of the delicate pink ear that peeked past his tangled hair was, ever so
slightly, pointed.

I
opened and closed my mouth, but nothing came out.  He looked at me in question
for a moment and I finally got my voice to work.  “Not real.  It’s not real.”

He
ran a hand through his hair, at a loss.  His fingers brushed his ear and he
gave me a look of sudden understanding.  “It’s real.”  I stared at his mouth as
he spoke.  His teeth were sharper.

He
took a step toward me and I held up a hand, halting him.  “What did you do to
me?”

He
shook his head and his appearance returned to normal.  “It was a gift,” he said
calmly.

I
glared at him.  “A
gift
?  I thought I was going crazy.  I
am
going crazy!”

He
sighed and leaned against the counter.  “I wanted to expand your horizons. 
You’ve been so stubborn….  I thought maybe you needed a little push.”

Panic
fluttered in my chest.  “I thought I was going crazy!”

He
began to look angry.  “I thought you would appreciate this gift.  It is not
something that’s given to humans lightly.  Obviously, I was wrong.  It was
selfish of me.  I apologize.”

He
turned to get the bowls from the cupboard, covering his anger.  I stared at his
broad shoulders.  Had I hurt his feelings?

He
set one bowl on the counter and turned away, the lines of his body tense.  He
was fuming.  “Good night.”  He crossed the room to the balcony, leaving me to
eat dinner alone.

I
let out a shaky breath, and went to the stove to peer into the pot.  Some sort
of seafood chowder happily simmered away.  It smelled amazing.  I turned the
dial on the stove to the off position and glanced toward the balcony.

I
could just make out his tall shape as he stood by railing, staring off into the
night.  I took a deep breath.  I hadn’t believed him all this time.  Or, maybe
I had, but I’d just been in denial.  I stepped out onto the balcony, closing
the door behind me with a soft rumbling sound.  The night had turned cool and
it tasted like fall.  The little space had never felt more cramped.  “I’m
sorry.”  It sounded lame, even to my ears.  He was silent.