Blood of Destiny (Witch Fairy #6) (8 page)

Chapter 8

Before Patrick left, he set out some clean sheets for the old cot in the cluttered backroom.  It’s pushed up against the far wall, away from the empty boxes and cleaning supplies.  The cot kind of reminds me of the one Kallen and I slept on when we were at the ranger station in the mountains.  That seems like forever ago now.  When the sheets and blanket are in place, I slide in first with my back to the wall.  Kallen joins me and lies on his side so we’re face to face.

He puts his hand in my hair, pulling me to him, and gives me a long, slow kiss.  Mm, I’m liking this place more and more.  As his hands roam my body, I push everything out of my mind.  Except for one thought that just won’t go no matter how hard I try.  Rolling away from Kallen with a loud groan, I say to his surprised face, “How are we going to get home tomorrow?”

He props himself up on his elbow.  “What do you mean?”

I sigh.  “If I open a gateway, someone might see it.  This island isn’t that big.  And I don’t think I’m supposed to let any of the other Angels know that I can teleport without my wings.  Adriel was really freaked out about it.”

He looks thoughtful.  “That does create a conundrum.” 

I giggle.  “You use the most old-fashioned words sometimes.”

I get a raised brow.  “This is the time you choose to critique my vocabulary?”

He does have a point.  The quicker we figure this out, the quicker we can get back to what we were doing.  “Fine, I’m sorry.  So, any ideas?”

“You truly have no idea what Ambriel is up to?  Think back to your conversations.  Did he say anything that would be a clue?”

Well, he insulted my intelligence.  He thinks I’m self-centered, impertinent and vulgar.  And, he tried to choke me.  I’m pretty sure there was nothing in all of that that gave away his plan.  I shake my head.  “No, he didn’t.”

“Then, we will need to expose one of your abilities.  Let Ray find a spot he believes is secluded enough to open a gateway, or show him that you can teleport.”

I definitely don’t like the latter.  “I really don’t want to show him that.  Besides, I don’t know if I can teleport between realms.”

He nods.  “Then, gateway it is.  There has to be somewhere on this island that would be suitable.”

I smile in what I hope is a sexy way.  “I guess we have a plan, then.  Now, if you don’t mind, I was very happily trying to seduce you.”

He gets the sexiest grin on his face.  “Seduce away.”

I do not need to be asked twice.  I pull him to me and lock my lips with his in a kiss that is all passion.  Within minutes, the only clothing separating us are my panties.  And I seriously want them gone.  Kallen is pressed against me, separated from me by this tiny shield of cotton, leaving me breathless and eager.  I want to make love to him so badly.  Make love to him and have him remember how wonderful it is.  With a focused thought and a tiny bit of magic, the shield is gone.  I arch myself into him, ready to be joined as one.

With a loud, frustrated growl, Kallen gets up.  As in, off the cot.  Even in my confusion, I can’t help but admire his six pack abs along with the rest of his gorgeous body as he begins to pace.  But, I have no idea what made him leave me at such a crucial moment.  “You don’t want to make love to me?” I ask.  Rejection rings clear in each word.

He growls again.  His fingers dig into his hair, pushing it back.  I bite my lip and try to wait patiently until he’s ready to talk.  I am so bad at that.  “Kallen?”

With a sigh that I believe started in the cellar, he is suddenly wearing a pair of pajama pants.  His chest is still deliciously bare, though.  I want so badly to reach out and touch him when he sits down on the edge of the cot, but I don’t. 

Laying his hand on my cheek, he brushes away a tear that I didn’t even realize had jumped ship.  “That is a stupid question.”

Not the answer I was hoping for.  My mind races with a million reasons why that could be a stupid question.  It’s amazing how the brain always seems to prioritize the worst possible reasons first.  For instance, no, he doesn’t want to make love to me.  I close my eyes against the coming rejection.

“Xandra, open your eyes and look at me.” 

“No, you can say whatever you have to say while my eyes are closed.”

Using his thumb and index finger, he pries one of my eyes open.  “I would like to have a conversation with you.  Those usually go better with eye contact.”

In lieu of him forcing my other eye open, I give in and open them both.  He smiles and shakes his head.  “If we are to be married, we both need to rid ourselves of our insecurities.  I want nothing more in the world than to make love to you, which you should know by now.”

“Then what’s the problem?  We’re alone.  We’re planning to get married as soon as possible.”  And the clincher, “We’ve done it before.  It won’t even hurt me.”

Bringing that last little bit up hurts him, though.  I can see it in his eyes but he doesn’t acknowledge it.  “Yes, we have.  And for some reason – I believe the blame lies within the magic of the Apsaras – we did so without any thought in the world about birth control.  Have you not thought about the fact that you could be pregnant right now?  And if you are not, do you want to become that way?  I love you, more than anything, but I would like to spend some years just the two of us before we start a family.  If you are already pregnant, then so be it.  We will still be happy.  If you are not, then we need to figure out what to do to prevent you from becoming so.”

As he speaks, every last red blood cell in my head has decided to swim downstream.  Even without a mirror, I can tell that my face is ghostly white.  I probably look like Mom and Dad at the moment.  Pregnant?  At seventeen?  I’m now imagining all the ways that Mom and Dad will kill me.  I can see Isla’s face turning stormy as she does the same to Kallen. 

I am not ready to be a mother.  I have a hard enough time keeping myself out of trouble, let alone a small child.  Not to mention all the people who want to kill me outside of my immediate family.  Saying ‘excuse me, could you hold off trying to kill me a moment while I change my baby’s diaper?’ is probably not going to be very effective in preventing my demise. 

A baby.  Ambriel is right.  I am self-centered, because all I can think about right now is how my life will change for the worse if I’m pregnant.  There is so much I want to see and do and learn.  I still have hopes for college, maybe, or vacations to exotic places with friends.  Places that wouldn’t be the same to visit with a baby stroller.  I want to spend time learning about my heritage, hone my magical skills.  I have selfish dreams that I want to share with Kallen.  And, right now, I want to keep most of my time with Kallen private.  I’m not ready to share his love and affection yet.  And yes, darn it, I’ll admit that I’m not mature enough to handle the responsibility of a baby.  At this point in my life, I don’t know that I could be the kind of loving, understanding and patient mother that I hope to be someday.  Sure, I’m loving towards my family and Kallen, but understanding isn’t even in my vocabulary.  Pig-headed would be a more apt description of me.  And most importantly, I haven’t seen the right side of patience since birth.  I always thought I’d have time to grow into all of these things before having a baby. 

“Xandra,” Kallen says.  I can hear the worry in his voice.  “Xandra, answer me please.”

I meet his eyes with mine.  “Pregnant?  Why didn’t you bring this up earlier?”  Yeah, like he should have been the only one thinking about the possibility.

His lips are in a grim line.  “Because I was too angry with you for making that deal with Ambriel to worry about the really important things.”

I bite my lip, trying to hold the words in my mouth, but they give my teeth a little ‘nah, nah’ and blow right by them.  “I don’t want to have a baby right now.”

The grim line on his face tries to move into a grim smile.  “Neither do I.”

“What are we going to do?”

He shrugs.  “All we can do is wait and see.  And not repeat what has already happened,” he adds pointedly.

Remember all those red blood cells that ran for cover earlier?  They’re back.  And they brought friends.  I’m pretty sure that my face has become such an intense shade of red that even nature cannot replicate it.  “Point taken.”  

He chuckles but he doesn’t sound amused.  He pushes a loose strand of hair back from my face.  “Someday, I want a daughter as beautiful as you.”

I try to smile at the compliment.  “Someday I want a son as gorgeous as you.”

Kallen bends down and kisses me lightly.  “Sometime very soon, I am going to make love to you.  I am finding it nearly impossible to resist you, even after this conversation.”

“Lie down with me again?”

He nods.  “Move over a bit.”

I start to slide over into my original position with my back to the wall.  My progress is suddenly affected by the hundred pounds of chainmail that stretches from the hood on my head to my ankles.  Kallen laughs.  “That is better,” he says.  If I could lift my arm, I’d smack him with my chainmail gloved hand.  And you know, if he was going to put me in chainmail, he could of at least given me underwear.  This stuff is really cold.

“Really?  This is how you want to play this?” I ask.

He’s getting a suspicious gleam in his eye.  “Perhaps the chainmail was a bit much.  I was simply trying to make you less desirable.”

He realizes his mistake.  I can see it in his eyes.  He knows my magic gets much easier for me to use when I’m annoyed.  “Good idea.  I’ll give it a shot, too.”  I give him a wicked smile as I work my magic.  My gorgeous boyfriend now has curlers in his hair, a mud mask on his face, and is wearing a ratty, pink bathrobe with matching slippers.

He looks down at himself and then back to me.  “This is how
you
want to play it?” he asks, and I can tell from his voice that the chainmail is about to be replaced with something ten times worse.

Yup.  I was right.  I am now wearing seaweed.  Green, fresh from the sea cold, seaweed.  It’s in my hair.  It’s in my ears.  It’s squishing between my toes. 

I can see Kallen brace himself for what I’m going to do next.  I almost laugh like he is, but not quite yet.  Now, I’ll laugh.  He’s in a cast.  A full body cast with his arms stuck straight out at his sides.  He’s completely immobile.  I did give him little eye holes and nostril holes on his face cast, though.  Good thing he’s not claustrophobic.  It’s also a good thing I didn’t make a mouth hole.  I don’t think I want to know what he’s mumbling against the casting material.  I laugh harder when he concedes with a wobble and the seaweed is replaced with a sensible pair of pajama pants and a long sleeved tee.  Now, he’s pleading with his eyes for me to set him free.  Which I do.  I let him make his own clothes, though.  Since I’m amused instead of annoyed now, who knows what could go wrong with my magic if I try to dress him.

“Much better.”  With a grin, he joins me on the cot again.  Well, first he dries the sheets and blankets that the seaweed made wet, and then he joins me.  “I love our time together.  Did I mention I want to spend the rest of my life with you?” he asks, as he pulls me closer.