Page 13 of Light and Shadow
Once she’s under the covers, I turn off the lights, lie beside her, and hold her.
“Why don’t you ever get under the blankets, Aaran?”
The question seems to hold within it more than my geography. My cock is more than interested in my reasons. “I’ve already asked too much of you, Harper. My needs are not important.”
“What if I needed you?” Her voice is small and shaky.
I kiss her soft hair and breathe in the floral fragrance of shampoo. “When you say that with confidence and certainty, I’ll be more than happy to make love with you.”
“Okay.” The soft word is almost lost in her yawn.
The sun will rise soon, and I’ve checked outside the window a dozen times during the night. After studying the instructions on the phone, I called the front desk and learned that breakfast would begin at six o’clock.
After a quick shower, I crouch next to the bed and brush Harper’s hair from her eyes. “We need to get up and fed so we can get on the road again. The daylight should keep those wolves away for a while.” I hope that’s true, but I had no idea that the witch queen could manipulate beasts in this world. The idea that she’s unlocked new magic sends a shiver through me.
With a soft sigh and a long stretch, Harper opens her eyes. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” I step away.
She cannot possibly know how her breasts pushing against the thin white material of her top drives me wild with desire. If she did, she’d hide under the covers. Or maybe she wouldn’t. Within that hope rests so much danger. I can’t protect her if she’s a distraction. I need to stay focused.
“I’m going to shower and dress.” She stumbles to the bathroom.
“Gods preserve me,” I mumble to the empty room and wish I could jump in a cold lake before she returns.
In my bag, I check the knives I bought with money my parents kept from their time in this world. I also have several types of protein bars, a canteen, and some flares. I’m not sure why I would need them, but the man in the store seemed very keen on my having them in case I need to call for help. I told him I was going on a long hike in Canada, so he was trying to be helpful. Once I’m sure everything is in place, I pull out the small notebook I placed in the front pouch and write down my thoughts about all I’ve seen and done in the last day. Before I put it away, I pray that one day I’ll be able to reflect on this time, or that someone in the light will.
The water stops, and a few moments later, the hair dryer comes on. I know the sound from the one Harper used at her home. I made her explain all the tools and devices in her everyday life that were foreign to me.
Something crashes, and Harper screams.
I’m in the bathroom in an instant. Expecting to find blood, I’m relieved when she’s alive and well and wrapped in a white towel. “What’s wrong?”
She points to the mirror, her face as white as the towel.
Trying to ignore how little of her is covered, I turn toward the mirror, and it takes everything in me not to gasp at her reflection glowing in a rainbow of colors.
“What is happening to me?” Skin rosy from the hot shower, she glows anyway. This aura visible in the glass is something else. She’s something else. The colors and light move and shift over her skin in soft waves of yellow, blue, green, red, and purple. A shift to white for a moment leads to the room brightening before the colors return.
I touch her shoulder, and my hand is enfolded in the warmth of both Harper and magic, unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. “I don’t know, but it feels…”
“Feels what?” She jerks her elbow into my ribs.
With anoof, I close my mouth. “Amazing. Full of light. I guess this has never happened before?”
“No. I don’t generally glow when I dry my hair.” The fire is back in her voice, and it makes me smile.
“If it’s any help, it’s only your reflection. I didn’t see anything different when I first walked in. Well, except that you’re nearly naked.”
She grabs the knot at the top of her breasts. “I’m not sick or evil?”
“No.” I back toward the door. “Can I ask what you were thinking about when this started?” Sometimes magic is triggered by an intense thought. At least with elves, that’s sometimes how it works.
“I prayed that I wouldn’t be turned into a shadow.” She blushes, which is beautiful beyond words.
I have to continue to back away or I’ll drag her into my arms. “I won’t ever let that happen, Harper. Maybe your aura is an answer to your prayer.”
She cocks her head. “What the hell does that mean?”
