Page 7 of Obsidian Prince

Different Kind Of Shovel Speech

Liliana's slept fitfullywith strange dreams that she couldn't remember. She had the oddest feeling that the Fae prince was at the heart of much of her turmoil. He might, in many ways, be the solution as well.

A warm, tingly feeling lingered on her lips, as if Alexander had kissed her just before she opened her eyes. The faint scent of roses disoriented her for a moment until she saw the bud he gave her last night sitting in a vase on her dresser. The hints of red on the petal edges had spread overnight as the bud began to open.

Her father, Simon of Nemea, would have respected Colonel Alexander Bennet. He was the first man she desired that she could say that about, aside from her former crush on Pete.

She wished her father could meet Alexander.

The spider-kin smiled a little at the bittersweet thought. Her lion-kin father would have growled at the Fae colonel. He’d have threatened to rip him apart and eat his liver if he hurt her. Even so, he might have considered the land-bonded Sidhe prince to be one of the few men on earth good enough for his baby girl.

Ah, that would be a shovel speech!

Ben Harper, the Normal teacher Pete loved, taught her the term. Thinking of her formidable father being all growly at a man she desired made her chuckle. Now, she understood. Her father had loved her, so he would not permit any man to hurt her. A shovel speech was an expression of caring.

Her blood-fire time was coming in a few years when she must mate whether she wished to or not. She had to choose someone to father her daughter when spider-kin biology forced her hand. Alexander might be a good choice for that time, even if he wouldn’t make a good life mate since he didn’t love her.

Pete had advised her to give their relationship time and patience, though. Back when Alexander had kissed nothing but her hand, Pete said men often kissed women they didn’t love. But love could grow and develop, bloom into something far more beautiful in time, like the rosebud in the tall vase on her dresser. It was an intoxicating dream, that she might claim a man like that for life. An unlikely dream, but a heady one nonetheless.

Liliana touched her lips where the handsome Fae kissed her the night before. She wanted that to happen again, possibly she wanted it more than was safe for her heart.

There was one big complicating factor with the Fae colonel, though, even beyond the complicated prince himself. Alexander was involved with another man already. Her first suspicion had been that his relationship with the other man was the real relationship in his life and he’d kissed her only to manipulate her using seduction.

But that wasn’t true. She’d seen into his heart and soul. Alexander wanted her. He said he liked her. She believed him. He had proven before that he had the innate honesty of most Sidhe, but he also had the Fae ability to shade the truth to his best advantage. He was not pretending to want her just to gain her as an ally, but that was still a central motivation for pursuing her.

For now.

If she wanted him to be more motivated by desire and affection, she would have to give the relationship some time and have some patience. She wrinkled her nose. That course of action was no more appealing to her than it had been to Pete when she gave him the same advice regarding his relationship with Ben Harper.

She would also have to decide how she felt about the third person in their triangle. William Eliot III was handsome and charming on the surface. All she knew about the man, though, was that he owned a very big old plantation house just outside of town. He had a powerful azrai grandmother, a Sidhe water Fae who had long ago been bonded both to Elliot River in Scotland and to the Laird of the nearby town.

That and William Eliot was also involved with Pete’s friend, Sergeant Zoe Giovanni, in a way that was manipulative, not romantic and sweet. That part bothered her a lot.

Liliana pulled a long green velvet scarf from one of her drawers. When laid across her head with the ends twisted, she could make it into a turban. It would hide her fourth eyes while she checked on Sergeant Giovanni and William Eliot.

It would also look rather nice with that little green lace-up vest, and the pink chiffon bare midriff shirt under it with wide three-quarter sleeves. She matched the top with a skirt made of purple, pink, and fuscia scarves. A beaded belt embroidered with a green rose leaf pattern and pink rosebuds pulled it all together. She was delighted by her brightly-colored reflection in the mirror, twirling to let the skirt fly out. This would make a wonderful dancing outfit the next time her friends had a party.

She made breakfast, some oatmeal with cinnamon, walnuts, and blueberries paired with fragrant pear ginger tea. While she sat on her back porch swing, rocked, and ate her breakfast, Liliana opened her fourth eyes. A question would help her focus her sight.

How is William Eliot treating Sergeant Giovanni? Is he making her happy?

Sergeant Giovanni sat behind her desk on base. A fancy thin gold box full of confections sat on her desk, open. She offered Pete one of the little chocolate-covered candies inside. “They’re amazing,” Giovanni said.

Pete grabbed one at random and popped it into his mouth. Nodding, he said, “Can’t argue with the guy’s taste in chocolate. Or, women, for that matter.” He winked at his friend. “I’m happy for you, Zoe.”

“Who are you, and what have you done with Dr. Peter Teague?” Zoe said, her face scrunched suspiciously. “I know you don’t like William.”

“I said to go slower. Check the guy out a little more. He shifts from being all business with logistics and spending all his time with the Colonel to suddenly wanting to take you out. It just didn’t feel right.”

“But now, he’s okay because…chocolate.”

Pete chuckled. “Well, chocolate never hurts.” He stole another confection and popped it in his mouth, making happy sounds about the melting goodness on his tongue.

“Hey, watch it.” Giovanni swatted at his hand. “That’s a small box and it’s already half gone. The rest are mine. Tell your boyfriend to buy you your own chocolate.” Her face split in a very wide grin as she looked past Pete’s shoulder to the door of her office. “William!”

A handsome, dark-haired young man who wore sunglasses even inside leaned in the doorway, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. “Hello, there, lovely lady. Any chance I could steal you away to get some dinner?”

“I’d be delighted. Perfect timing.” She grabbed her uniform hat and strolled out of the building arm in arm with the handsome wizard.

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