Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
She’s beautiful.
“No, sweetheart.” A very familiar voice corrects her. Dante. My cousin showed up last night, riding that flying vehicle of his. I used to love to ride on the back of it. Dante threw a fit when I tried to take it apart, though. “That’s not Beck.”
“Leave me alone,” I say, trying to take my eyes off the lovely woman in front of me. There’s nothing cold about this one. Her hazel eyes look up with great concern. Those eyes pull at me. Still, I hear myself talking to my cousin. “Go away, Dante. I have to go to bed. I’m tired.”
Dante’s sigh tells of his weariness of the subject. “Not again.”
The woman reaches out and puts her hand to my chest. Her skin is warm after the chill of the pond. “No, Cian. You need to get dry, and I need to brush out your hair. It’s a mess. It hasn’t been brushed in weeks, it looks like.”
Her small hands suddenly fuss in my hair. She plays gently with it, and I like it. Her hands feel like the flutter of pixie wings against my skin. How long has it been since I was touched by soft hands?
“What is your name?” I look down on her in wonder. She’s so beautiful. She’s a lovely siren, calling me away from duty. I have something to do, but I would rather stay here with her.
She smiles and all the light and warmth in the world is in her face. “I’m Meggie.”
A rush of emotion hits me at the sound of her name. Meggie. I pull her into my arms and hug her with all the strength I have left. After a moment, she winds her arms around my chest and holds me close. I don’t know why I feel this way, but I know she saved me from something. A word to describe her leaps to my addled brain. It’s the only clear thing in my head.
“Wife,” I whisper in her ear.
It’s a prayer.
Chapter Fifteen
Meg
I carefully draw the comb through Cian’s long, midnight-black hair. There are places where it’s tangled and matted. “Tell me if I hurt you.”
“It’s all right. It’s nice to be warm,” Cian murmurs, a long sigh making his chest move. “It’s a cold winter.”
It isn’t winter at all.
I glance back at Dante, who gives me a shrug.
“He doesn’t always know where he is or what year it is,” Dante says softly.
Dante sits on a sofa that has seen better days. Everything about the small cottage is threadbare and worn. Still, it’s warm and cozy. It has far more character than my apartment in Fort Worth.
I’m so far from that place now. I can’t even comprehend how far away I am. I’m worlds away from that life I led.
How long will it be before that is the life that seems like a dream?
Cian feels real. His hair is silky smooth and beautiful. Well, it will be silky smooth when I’m done.
“This is the calmest I’ve seen him in a long time.” Dante sits back. “Just being near you is already helping.”
“I like her, Dante,” Cian says. He turns his head slightly, and I can see a vibrant smile on his face.
Oh, that smile can light up a room. My heart does this weird fluttery thing, but I have to remember that he has issues.
It’s odd to be in the room with a man who looks exactly like Beck yet he’s completely different. Beck is solid, and Cian seems frighteningly fluid. It took time to get him into the house. He wanted to show me things. First, it was the garden. Apparently he thought he planted strawberries and he wanted to share them with me. When he couldn’t find any strawberries, he tried to take me to the palace so I could meet his mother and sister.
He’s so lost, and I’m not sure he can be found again.
“How are you feeling?” Dante asks.
Scared. Hopeful. Scared again. The fact that I haven’t seen Beck in a while is definitely part of the scare factor. “I’m in between fooling myself that this is still some weird dream I’m going to wake up from and feeling like I oddly belong here.”
It’s nothing more than the truth. After the initial shock, I slowed down and carefully studied the place. There’s a softness to the light here that calls to me. I’m not sure how to explain it, but there’s warmth and peace to be had here if I want it, if I open myself to the experience.
There might be love here if I’m brave enough.
To be honest, I’m not sure about the whole two men thing. Especially now that I’ve met Beck’s brother. Cian seems more childlike than anything. Perhaps I don’t understand the situation fully. Perhaps Cian is merely a family member to take care of. The “marriage” thing might be just a label when it comes to Cian.