Page 12 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
“He can’t hurt you anymore,” my hallucination promised.
“He didn’t. . .” I whispered.
But I was tired, so very tired. Rather than explaining how the man hadn’t hurt me, I leaned against the gorgeous stranger. When he rested his chin on the top of my head and hugged me close to him, I didn’t care if I was crazy or dying.
At that moment, I felt a peacefulness I’d never felt before—a sense of being exactly where I was supposed to be. Of being loved and cared for beyond all reason.
It was almost funny. Leave it to me to fall for a figment of my imagination.
Chapter
Four
ELIAS
Seconds unraveled into infinite moments.I could almost see it—a lifetime with her. This perfect female, whose name I still didn’t know. It was all I could think about when her small body pressed against my hard chest.
I pressed my nose to her hair, which was more like wine than the color of blood. Intoxicating and addictive.
When she peered up at me, I felt trapped in her gaze. Her pretty blue eyes rounded with curiosity. Something foreign shifted inside me as a shock burned through my veins.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again,” I told her in the traditional language she understood.
“I know,” she whispered, her brows drawing together in confusion. “It doesn’t make sense, but I trust you.”
Although I knew it was our mate bond making her trust me rather than something I’d earned, I swelled with pride.
I wanted to know more about her beyond this extreme attraction. Anything she’d be willing to tell me, but I started off small.
“What’s your name?” I rasped out.
I coughed to clear my throat.
She licked her lips, and Guardians help me, I wanted to taste her.
“Theodora,” she said, her voice just as raw as mine.
In my arms, she turned to face me. Unable to resist touching her, I put a tentative hand on her waist. When she didn’t protest, I let my other hand fall to the other side of her waist, where I grazed my thumb over the fabric of her shirt.
My blood heated. I wasn’t sure what I’d find when I tore through the veil with my friends, only that she was scared and in pain. My own terror roared at the sight of her trapped, with that male keeping her captive as she screamed and cried for him to stop. I tore him off her, leaving George to deal with the male I had every right to kill. He’d hurt my mate and had tried to kill her while she lay defenseless beneath him.
Knowing he’d never harm her again wasn’t enough when my soul screamed for vengeance.
But my female didn’t need my anger. She needed me to be calm and in control so I could prove to her that I could care for her. Love her.
I let George kill the male while I soothed and healed her, tending to her various wounds with care.
Touching her. . . had sent a shot of fire through me, where I knew a simple graze would’ve never been enough.
“Theodora.” I repeated her name reverently.
Guardians’ gift.It wasn’t just the meaning of her name, but what she was. A gift from the Guardians themselves.
“Teddy,” she said, her eyes roaming over my face. “Call me Teddy.”
When she narrowed those pretty eyes, she tilted her head to the side again. It was a cute gesture that made her look sweet and innocent. She dug her teeth into her bottom lip andreached a hand up to my face. I closed my eyes, no longer having to picture her with my mind’s eye, and waited for her to touch me.
A thrill ran up my spine in anticipation.
