Page 36 of Prayers for the Prickly

“Yosh is the most unreasonable man I’ve ever met,” Storm growled as she slapped the cards town on the table a bit harder than necessary.

“You got any specifics for me, or should I assume we’re talking a constant stream of unreasonable that never stops?” I asked.

“Constant, oh my goddess, he’s always trying to anticipate how I’ll respond to something and rushing to solve problems that don’t even exist. If I hadn’t witnessed him shift to his honey badger form right before my eyes I’d have sworn he was a hummingbird with the way he’s constantly flittering around messing with something. It gets on my nerves sometimes. We’ll just be sitting there in each other’s arms trying to watch a movie when he’ll think of something he forgot to do. The next thing I know, he’s rushing around doing that and the other three tasks that memory triggered, while I sit there and finish watching the movie alone.”

Ahh, now we were getting to the heart of the matter.

“Have you tried telling him how it makes you feel when he skips out on cuddle time together to work on some project?” I asked.

A few weeks ago I’d just have called itbullshit, only August had shown me that there was real value in spending one-on-one time together doing something you enjoyed. For August and me it was enjoying a movie and a tray of snacks while curled up together on the sofa of the den on the second level. The in-home theater and snack bar had delighted him, and he’d taken to bringing home treats from the bakery to stock the mini fridge with. Whenever we had any leftover meat, I made kababs and stashed them in the mini fridge with a cold yogurt dipping sauce that was tangy and rather refreshing. My mom had taught me the recipes after one of her cooking classes, they were some of the only recipes that I didn’t have to refer back to a page or a website for.

She shot me a look like she wanted to bite a few of my fingers off for asking that question, so I decided that it might be a good idea to turn the topic of conversation in a new direction.

“Hey, did you see that Aurora’s Blood and Aces of Chaos were playing at Striker’s Friday night?” I asked. “I picked up tickets for August and I this morning on my way in to work. If they are as good as the last time we saw them, we’ll have one hell of a show to look forward to.”

“I saw them, but the last thing I’m in the mood for is a night on the town with Yoshi,” she replied. “The color is red now, not tan.”

I looked to where she pointed and realized that I had indeed missed a color change.

“Try to focus above deck tomorrow,” she grumbled as she drew a card and immediately tossed it in the discard pile.

Yes!

That was the exact card I needed to bridge the gap in my straight and let me go out all at the same time. As she groaned and dropped her cards on the table, I thought about August and how much I’d hate it if we started fighting like that. I might be new to this whole mated thing, but I’d already learned what I considered to be one of the premier rules. Never let your mate go to bed pissed off at you. Once the crack was there, it seemed to be far easier to widen it than it was to repair it. I knew there would be fights somewhere down the line, all couples fought, but I made a vow, right then and there, to never let those fights create fissures or gaps between me and the hedgehog I loved.

Chapter 14

August

How much longer was I going to have to pace in front of this window before he started talking to me again? When he did, he’d better have one hell of an explanation for the flash of pain and terror that jumpstarted the mental link between us.

In brief but vivid images, I saw the sky from beneath the water, saw clouds and rain and then my vision had been obscured by water again. My throat had grown tight, and for a moment I’d felt like I was choking and had to grip the rail of the counter while I struggled to make my lungs work again.

That’s when I’d decided to head home, still confused about what the hell was going on in my head and why I was picking up on such terrifying images. As soon as I was inside, I called my mom and told her what I’d seen and felt. Her gasp scared me, as did her calm, controlled voice telling me to hang up with her and focus on my connection with him.

“That’s what it is, sweetheart,” she said. “The link that joins you with him no matter where either of you might be. Something happened to kick it into overdrive so fast. In most instances it takes years to establish a long-range connection, let alone hold one long enough to hold a conversation.

After I did what she said and hung up, the first thing he did when I did establish contact was tell me that he couldn’t talk to me or explain what was going on at the moment. He hadn’t even been able to assure me that he was safe at first. He’d just hit me back with some lame ass bullshit about how he’d be safe soon. How was I supposed to know how long to assume soon was going to take? My shoulders ached and the back of my neck felt stiff, but every time I tried to sit down, I just found myself squirming in my seat, unable to focus on the television and too restless to stay still.

Pacing at least left me with a constantly changing view as I paused before each window to peer out at the ocean, looking to see any of the boats on the horizon. That’s what they’d do if anyone was seriously hurt, right, they’d rush back to port and get them to the hospital as soon as possible to give them the best chance at recovery?

I hoped that was right.

But I hoped even harder that if someone was hurt that it wasn’t Gregor. There were no lights anywhere on the horizon line, though. Just the occasional flash of lightning in the distance as the storm moved away.

Gregor?I thought, prodding at the link.

I’m here.

Are you free to talk yet?

Just about.

Let me know when you’re ready.

Two seconds, and I will be.

It took a little longer than two seconds but was still under a minute when I felt him inside my head, his rough voice rolling through my mind like he was right there whispering to me as we fell asleep.

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