Sabelle soothes me. Even if I think the gorgeous blonde is full of rubbish, I appreciate the kind lie. Perhaps she isn’t so bad after all—as long as she keeps her hands off Caden.
“He’s all yours, I promise.” She winks.
I hiccup, a little smile appearing between my tears. “You’re not intimidated by me, surely?”
“Caden and Bram both said you’re tough, but no. My attentions are…engaged elsewhere.”
“Anything I can do?” a voice growls from the door.
I turn, as does Sabelle. Ice stands in the portal. His behemoth shoulders bulge from a black tank. An expressive mouth and the dark stubble dusting his otherwise sleek head, along with the faded fatigues, make him an intimidating figure. The desperate hunger in his expression, directed purely at Sabelle, blasts the room like a heat wave.
The blonde blushes and sends Ice a nervous smile. “Actually, you might be able to help.”
He frowns as he glances at Aquarius. “You sure? Don’t know sod all about what’s ailing her, do I?”
“Zain cooked her from the inside out,” I blurt.
“I’m clueless as a lamb about being a healer.” His craggy face gentles with apology.
Sabelle edges around me and approaches him, drawing in a bracing breath. “Your nickname, does it imply ability? Maybe…”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Olivia says as she edges into the room.
At his scowl, Sabelle steps back.
My thoughts race. Is she asking if Ice has some ability to cool down Aquarius’s insides?
He swallows, then nods. “But I’m proper stumped about how to help her. Sorry.”
Ice turns away.
He’s giving up, just like that? Aquarius may not mean a bloody thing to him, but my friend means loads to me.
I chase him down, anger fueling my righteous tongue.
Before I can lash him with it, Sabelle pulls me back with a shake of her head and shuttles me to Aquarius’s bedside. Then she wraps her delicate hand around Ice’s huge biceps and blinks up at him with wide, beseeching eyes. “Please.”
Renewed hunger storms his face. Well, well. The wizard wants her. Badly. He’s tearing off his polite mask and showing her burning lust. Why?
Sabelle grips him tighter, despite the fact she seems a bit flummoxed. Still, she holds her ground for Aquarius’s sake, a human she doesn’t know.
Initial impressions be damned. Sabelle just earned herself a new friend.
Ice huffs. “I’ll try. No promises, mind you. But I’ll need a conduit. I can create objects made of ice, but transferring that to something living is beyond me, innit.”
“I can do it,” Sabelle assures.
“How?”
“Well, I’m part siren. I can influence people’s feelings with a touch. If you can pass the sensation to me…”
Part siren? There’s such a thing? And she can change other’s feelings? Wow, if Aquarius pulls through, the material I’ll have for my next article will positively dazzle Holly and the rest of my readers.
Ice retreats. “Your brother will object.”
“Bram can’t always have his way.”
He clenches his jaw. “To use you as a conduit, Sabelle, I’ll bloody have totouchyou.”