Page 53 of Touched

“You look absolutely breathtaking, Aeris,” I confess, stalking toward her, wrapping my left arm around her waist, and slipping my right hand along the nape of her neck. I pull her against my body. Her arms instinctually come up and wrap around my waist as she tilts her head back to peer up at me with those amazing golden eyes. “I don’t know why you came into my life, but I’m so happy that you did.”

I’m captivated as her bottom lip slips between her teeth, and she bites down on it.They’re the perfect shade of rosy pink.Her lust-filled eyes seem to glimmer as they practically peer straight into my soul. A low growl escapes me as my hand slips from her back, down to her ass, cupping it. I press her against my cock, which is growing increasingly hard again. My voice is gravelly with passion as I say, “Don’t look at me like that, Aeris, unless you want me to tear your dress off and spend another hour devouring your delectable body.”

The sexiest moan I’ve ever heard leaves her lips as her nails dig into my back, almost breaking the skin through my destroyed shirt. She giggles breathlessly. “As fun as that sounds, and as much as I want that, I don’t have much time before my family is going to notice I’m gone.” She bites her lip again, this time with anxiety clearly displayed on her face. “I need to return homesoon… but I don’t want to leave you, Callum. Especially now with the Trahan brothers after you. I just found you. I’m terrified that if I leave, I’ll never see you again.”

“Shhh.” I shush her, laying a finger over her trembling lips. Leaning down, I softly press my lips to hers. A light wind swirls around us as her lips cling to mine, her soft, lush body pressing harder into me. Knowing that if I don’t stop now, we won’t be able to, I reluctantly pull my lips away from hers. An adorable moan of frustration comes from deep within her throat as I do. “You don’t have to worry about me, Aeris. I’ll be okay. Promise.” I press a chaste kiss to her forehead before continuing, “Let’s talk to Grams. I’ll figure out what I have to do about the Trahan brothers… and wherewego from here. Now that we’ve found each other, therehasto be a way we can be together. Fate can’t be so cruel as to take you from me now that I’ve got you.”

Sadness fills her beautiful, honey-colored eyes, “My parents have forbidden me from being with you, Callum. They say you’re human and it’s forbidden. I found a way to come see you tonight and I’m so relieved I did. Because I don’t want to think about what could’ve happened had I not found you when I did. But… I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it again. Laric is basically on lockdown. I’m being kept under careful watch. I had to break into the Archives to find a way to escape tonight… And though, I got out undetected, I’m not so certain I can get back in the same way.”

She sighs. “Oh, Callum, the thought of never seeing you again… it feels as if someone is tearing my heart straight out of my chest.” Tears fill her eyes, causing them to glow golden in the moonlight.

Oh, Aeris.

They won’t keep me from you. I promise.

Wrapping my arms tightly around her, I hold her against my rapidly beating heart. The thought of her hurting shreds me. All I want is to see her beautiful smile and have her in my arms forever.

I love her.

She’s mine. And I’m hers.

“We will be together, Aeris. I promise you right here, right now. I will not let anyone, or anything, keep you away from me. Now, let’s go talk to Grams and figure out what our next move will be.”

* * *

Grams is in the living room in front of the television sipping from her dainty cup of herbal tea, when we enter the room. Her eyes light up as she watches Aeris and me walk hand-in-hand and make our way toward the moss-covered loveseat adjacent to her. “Why such a long face, dear?” she asks, her attention on Aeris.

Aeris follows me down, perching quietly beside me with her fingers laced tightly with mine, our hands resting on my left thigh. “I must return to Laric before anyone notices I’m gone. I snuck out to see Callum. I’m worried once I return home… I’ll never see him again.” Her voice cracks as she says the last words.

Bullshit. That will never happen.

Grams lets out a light chuckle. I tilt my head at her, confusion filling my features as my brows furrow. “Sweet, sweet girl. That cannot happen. You and my grandson are Kindred. You Zinged! The fates have spoken. Theycannotkeep you apart.” She laughs boisterously, the joyous sound filling the room. “It is physically impossible. You are linked. Separating you is futile, for you will always be able to find each other. And together is what you shall be. You need not fret.”

“You will see him again… you are tied to each other now. Your souls have connected and become one. I know your parents, your colony, will not be happy about this… a Fae and a Sylph Zinging…” Her eyes, the same color as mine, lock on us. She sighs. “We haveno controlover who we Zing with. It is not up to us. You arehisas he isyours. Your family, your people, will have to accept it. For it is already done. The Kindred bond is completely out of our hands.”

Zinging, entwining souls, this is all so foreign to me. I have no clue what any of this means.

So, does this mean that I am not in love with her?

She’s just who the Universe, God, or whatever… decided I’m supposed to be with? I don’t have a choice?

I’m a realist. I’ve spent my entire adult life dedicated to my job.

Now, I learn I have Sylph blood running through my veins. I’m in love with a fairy because someone else decided it, and the men I’ve been trying to bust for years are some weird werewolf creatures.

My life is now embroiled with fantasy that is legitimate fucking reality!

If anyone had said these things to me a week ago, I’d think they were completely mental and call a 5150 on them to have them committed.

Life as I knew it has been completely flipped upside down.

Where the hell do I go from here?

I blurt out, “What about freewill? I’m just supposed to love her according to some plan and I do? Is this real? I feel as I’ve never felt before, but is this me? Her? Us? Or just fate?”

This is too much.

Gram calmly says, “It’s all of the above. It’s possible to fight fate, Callum. But listen to your heart.” Her eyes lock on mine, staring at me with love and understanding. “Do you want to?”

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