Page 21 of Must Love Moss and Moonshine
As I lay in his bed, enveloped in his smell, I wanted nothing more than to have him here with me.I listened as he shifted in his chair.He could not possibly be comfortable.There was just one bed in the house.I would not have the man looking after me be in so much discomfort.There was plenty of room in his bed for two—and one squirrel.
Gently moving Marvelle, I rose and padded across the cabin to Kellen, who was not asleep.
I set my hand on his shoulder.“Kellen?’
“Sylvie?What is it?Are you?—”
“I’m all right.I just can’t sleep knowing you’re so uncomfortable here while I am in your bed.There is plenty of room for both of us.”
He stared up at me.“I would not invade your space.”
“It’s your space that I’m invading.I’m inviting you.”
His eyes searched my face as he considered.I could see the war raging inside him.I understood it.I felt it in me as well.How was it possible to know someone briefly, but feel like you knew them so well.Something odd was happening here.And while I didn’t understand it, I knew I didn’t want Kellen to feel any kind of discomfort—ever again.That included a stiff neck from sleeping in a chair.Maybe he was taking care of me, but I wanted to return the favor.
“I’m inviting you,” I said again, but this time, softening my voice.“It is a long walk tomorrow.You said so yourself.You will be more rested in your bed.”I reached out for his hand.
After a moment of hesitation, he took it.While his grip was much larger than mine, his hand was warm.I led him back to his bed and slid under the covers, adjusting the sleeping squirrel.The creature groused at me.
Kellen chuckled.“Marvelle seems much less worried about the comfort of my neck and back.”
I grinned, then slid aside, moving one of the two pillows on the bed so Kellen, who was much bigger than me, could get comfortable.
“My horns,” he said shyly.“I will try to be cautious.”
“I’ll be fine,” I reassured him, then pulled the cover up and turned on my side, facing away from him.Then, thinking better of presenting him with my rear all night, I turned toward him.
Marvelle, annoyed with all our antics, rose and scampered across me, finding a spot between us.Nestling between our pillows, he made himself comfortable.
Kellen and I both chuckled.
Lying on his back, Kellen turned and looked at me.“Are you… Do you have enough space?”
“I do,” I said, then reached out, slipped my hand into his, and closed my eyes.“Thank you for taking care of me,” I whispered.
“It is my pleasure,” he replied, gently squeezing my hand.
Maybe it was the drink, the healing tonic, or the warmth of the bed… I don’t know what it was, but moments later, feeling the safest and most comfortable I’d felt for as long as I could remember, I began to drift off to sleep.
“Glimmer,” I whispered, my word barely audible as I drifted off to dreams.
Sounding like he was far away, his voice echoing, Kellen whispered, “Yes.”
CHAPTER12
KELLEN
It was rare for me to sleep much beyond sunrise.Regularly waking with hues of pink and gold trimming the horizon, I was disoriented by the bright light streaming in through my window.But I was even more disoriented when I realized my arms were wrapped around the Sylvan woman snuggled in my bed.
She was still asleep.Her breath was low and deep.At some point in the night, she had curled beside me, my larger frame perfectly encapsulating hers.She lay her head on my arm, my other arm wrapped around her, holding her close.
Closing my eyes, I relished the moment.I caught the subtle scent of lilac that perfumed her hair.I felt her warmth.She fit perfectly.My heart swelled with emotion.She was not mine.She might even belong to another, but how I wanted this—her—so much.She was like a light in the darkness, her joking manner so at odds with what I thought were my reserved, stoic ways.But around her, I found myself smiling more.Laughing more.Maybe… Maybe I didn’t really even know myself.Around her, I was the person I wanted to be.She brought the joy out in me.
I lay there for a long time, relishing our closeness, until I started to worry.What if I had pulled her close in my sleep?Would she be horrified to wake up like this?What if her memories returned and she woke to tell me of her lover, her children, a life waiting for her?She already told me she felt there was somewhere she needed to be.What if someone she loved was ill and waiting for her?There might have been more than romance at stake here.She was alone on horseback in the forest, trying to get somewhere.She felt the urgency herself, and the evidence suggested the same.It did neither of us good to linger in fantasy.
Moving carefully, I began to slowly pull my arm from under her.
She stirred in her sleep, then whispered, “Kellen?”
