Page 54 of Blood Bearon
It wasn’t the first time Rachel had experienced such a reaction just after a brush with death, though it was definitely the strongest. She managed to ignore most of it, concentrating on the here and now, telling herself that she didn’t need sex to confirm she was alive.
Khove poured them both a finger of something amber and smooth, and tossed his back in one go. Then he poured another and took his glass, disappearing into the bathroom. Shortly after, she heard water running.
For a split second, she contemplated going after him. Stripping down, joining him in the shower. He could probably use her help to get himself clean. Those cuts had to hurt, and she could help bathe him without irritating them more than necessary.
Stop it. You aren’t going to sleep with him.
Her brain rebelled, flashing images of how hot and tense things had gotten the last time they were in the same room. And Khove had been clothed then. She hadn’t seen just how nice he looked naked.
The water shut off before her willpower to resist gave out, though it was close, and shortly afterward, Khove came out, towel wrapped around his waist, empty glass in one hand.
“Okay,” he said, acting like everything was normal. “You have questions. Ask.”
“Faeries attacked us,” she said. “How did we walk through air? What thehellam I involved in?”
“It’s not that difficult,” he said, holding back a smile at her glare. “The biggest thing you need to do is accept and understand that magic isreal. Once you can get past that barrier, everything else will sort of fall into place.”
“You once told me it was,” she said. “But I didn’t really believe you.”
“I know. It’s one of those things that has to be seen to be believed, right? I mean, not until you walk through a rift and are instantly transported forty miles, do youreallybelieve in it.” Khove spoke quietly, intensely. The earlier joking was gone. It was like he recognized that convincing her wasn’t going to be easy.
“So, Fae. Faeries.”
“They are summoned from another plane to ours,” Khove said. “Our target is a magic user of extreme power. It’s why we’re really only tasked with finding him. We’re unlikely to be able to defeat him on our own. Though I intend to try,” he added.
“Okay, so this Korred, a former Ursa family member, he commands all of those creatures?” she asked, trying to get a handle on it all. Her mind was having a hard time, however, and it was starting to reject what she’d seen, calling herself crazy. Insane.
“Yes,” Khove said quietly. “We don’t understand how it’s possible. He shouldn’t have that knowledge, it’s been lost for centuries. Somehow, he does. It suggests some unpleasant conclusions, but for now we need to focus on stopping him once and for all.”
Rachel sat back into the couch, staring straight ahead, finishing her drink. “And the portal we went through?” she asked quietly, shuddering at the memory.
It was eerie. One moment they’d been on the deserted country road, surrounded by snow. The next, they’d been in the roaring warmth of the Manor itself. One step. Her stomach roiled uncertainly at the thought. She’d notfeltanything in that one step either, which was perhaps the worst of all. There was no sensation telling her she was walking through somewhere.
“I need to know if you can handle all this,” Khove said, pushing gently against her swirling thoughts. “If you can’t, then we’ll wipe your memory and send you back to the precinct.”
“No!” she hissed furiously. “I will adapt. I am not going to bail out on you, or the people of Plymouth Falls. We need to bring this bad guy to justice before anyone else gets hurt. If that means I need to readjust my perception of reality, then so be it. I will handle that, and together we will stop Korred.”
Khove grinned. “I hoped you would say that,” he said softly, taking her drink and filling it generously. “Cheers.”
She touched glasses and downed some more of the amber alcohol, feeling it slowly burn down her throat. It wasn’t her preferred drink, but right now, the sensation helped ground her, assuring Rachel she was still in her own world.
“Thanks for having my back out there,” she said quietly. “You fought like a maniac. I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”
Khove scoffed. “You had every right to after that first night.”
He tried to act like her words were unnecessary, but whatever Khove did have in the way of facial control, his poker face didn’t make its way to his eyes. They glittered with relief.
“Maybe,” she agreed getting up to stretch her legs, the adrenaline making it hard to sit still. “But you’ve more than proven yourself since, and I want you to know I trust you now. Not just because of the trust you’ve put in me with your secret, but with the actions.”
She stopped, staring ahead at the wall, looking into a particular painting of some building she didn’t recognize. “I can see now that you would make an excellent partner, Khove. In many ways.”
He didn’t respond.
Rachel turned to find him on his feet, less than six inches behind her, head tilted down, gray eyes wide. Unguarded.
“Khove,” she said unsteadily, words failing. “I…”
He bent forward to kiss her, and she didn’t resist, arching her back and lifting her face to meet his lips.
