Just before he passed out, he felt her hand on his brow, and she whispered, “Almost there. Rest now; the worst is over.”
***Darby***
Darby gathered up her dirty instruments, wrapped them in towel, then with one more glance at her patient, carried them to the kitchen. She slid them one by one into the sink full of hot soapy water, then plunged her hands in after them. With a hard-bristled brush, she scrubbed the blood off her hands, out from under her fingernails and around her cuticles, then dried them on a soft towel, aware that they were shaking.
She sat down at the table, laid her forehead on the cold hard surface, and closed her eyes, exhausted. Between a nearly sleepless night, and the toll the spell had taken on her, she felt like she never wanted to move again, but she had to check on the man. When she’d left him still out cold, his wound had already begun to heal again, but this time hadn’t been as angry looking.
She’d used as strong a spell as she dared, but it might not have been enough, so she got to her feet and stumbled back to the bedroom. To her relief, the wound looked normal, and the man was sleeping peacefully, so she fell into a chair by the bed. Curling her feet under her, she closed her eyes and was asleep almost immediately.
When she woke a few hours later, it was to find a pair of very green eyes watching her from across the room. She sat up in the chair and smiled. “You look like you feel better,” she said.
“Yes, and I have you to thank for that, but right now I would give anything for some water,” he said, his voice raspy.
Darby walked over to the bed, all too aware that the man looking at her was much healthier than the one she’d faced earlier that day. He still didn’t look dangerous, but she knew nothing about him; it would be wise to be on her guard at least for now.
“Can you sit up?” she asked, picking up the glass of water from next to the bed.
“I think so,” the man said, sliding himself into a sitting position.
She handed him the glass, then retreated a few steps, watching him carefully. He drained the glass, then held it out to her. “That’s better,” he said, smiling at her. “I won’t hurt you; I promise. You saved my life.”
Darby reached out and took the glass from him. “Who are you?” she asked, stepping back again, trying to not look at his naked chest.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he said, shaking his head. “No one else has.”
“Try me,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
The man sighed. “My name is Colin, and I’m Prince of the Seelie. My parents kicked me out of the castle, I had all of my money stolen, and somehow, I ended up in your shed.”
“Very funny,” she said, backing away from him. “If you can’t tell me the truth, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“I told you that you wouldn’t believe me,” he said. “But I promise you that I’m telling the truth. I really am Colin, Prince of the Seelie.”
Darby could only stare at him open-mouthed, trying to process what he’d said. “But you can’t be, I mean, it’s not possible...” her words trailed off.
Colin shrugged. “It is, and I am, but I’ll get out of your hair if that’s what you want,” he said, throwing back the covers and getting to his feet.
Darby didn’t believe him, but he was standing there naked, making her body do things it had never done before. “What are you doing? Get back in bed until I can find you some clothes,” she said, looking down at the floor.
“You told me to leave,” he said.
“Not like that,” she said, risking a peek at him.
He was grinning at her, clearly amused by her discomfort. “Are you embarrassed?” he asked.
“No,” she lied, but the blush she felt rising to her cheeks said differently, and she knew it, so she turned away.
“You are embarrassed. That’s cute,” he said. “I’ve never met a Fae who was embarrassed by nakedness.”
Pushing aside her discomfort, she turned back to him. “I’m not embarrassed,” she said, then opened her mouth to say more, but Colin’s legs buckled before she could speak.
She rushed over to him and caught him just as he was about to tumble to the floor and pushed him toward the bed. As he fell, he grabbed her, and together they fell back onto the bed. Darby landed on his chest, her face just inches from his, and her body went wild with desire. Sucking in a deep breath, she tried to get away, but Colin’s arms were locked tightly around her.
“Let me up,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Why? This is kind of nice,” he said with a wicked grin on his face.
She stared at him with what she hoped was a stern look, then pushed against his chest and tried to wiggle out of his arms. He laughed. “That’s not going to help,” he said. “Unless you see this ending differently.”
Darby froze when she felt him stiffen against her leg. Pleasure raced through her body, and her breath caught in her throat, but she managed to find her voice. “I don’t see this ending any way but you letting me go,” she said. “Let me up.”
Colin studied her for a moment, his eyes darting to her lips, and then back to her eyes. “I’ll let you up for a kiss,” he said, then rolled her over on her back.
Before she could stop him, his mouth came down on hers, her body exploded with pleasure, and she melted in his arms. When his tongue slipped into her mouth, the world around them melted away, and for a second, she was completely lost to the passion between them. But then the sound of the front door opening and closing penetrated the fog of her pleasure, and she found just enough strength to wiggle out from under Colin.
She stood staring at him, her chest heaving with passion, then turned and fled the room, too confused by her body’s response to find any words. Eli was just coming down the hallway, but she brushed past him, desperate for a few minutes to collect herself. But he turned and followed her, a suspicious look on his face.
Chapter Seven
***Colin***
Colin watched Darby leave the room, a huge smile on his face, then climbed back under the covers and leaned back against the pillows. In the last twenty-four hours, his life had gone from perfect to horrible, but kissing Darby just then had almost made it all worth it. He shouldn’t have kissed her, that much was clear, but the feel of her body against his had woken a desire in him that made clear thought impossible.
He’d never seen a Fae blush like she had when she saw him naked, and it had done something to him deep inside, stirred an instinct he’d never felt before and couldn’t describe in words. There was something different about Darby, an innocence that was rarely found in the Fae, and he found it refreshing, tantalizing. Putting his hands behind his head, he closed his eyes and thought about the kiss and decided that he had to kiss her again.
He was just about to drift off to sleep when the sound of a man’s voice startled him awake again. It was impossible to hear what he was saying, but he was suddenly filled with another emotion he couldn’t name. Jumping out of bed, he looked around for his clothes, feeling an intense need to be out of the bedroom and wherever Darby was. Quickly rifling through the dresser, he finally found a pair of pajama pants and slipped them on.