Cole found Lexi in the library again the next day and settled into the chair beside her. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling at her as she lowered her book and beamed at him. That smile warmed his heart and could light up all the realms. He basked in its radiance.
“How is Brokk?” she asked as she set her book down. “I poked my head in to check on him, but you were both sleeping.”
“He woke in the middle of the night,” Cole said as he rubbed his beard. “He was up long enough to drink some blood before passing out again, but he was talking, and he’s getting stronger.”
“That’s great news.”
It was certainly a relief to him. He’d never been so happy to hear his brother call him an asshole for leaving Becca’s establishment.
“I hope you don’t mind if we stay,” he said. “I think it will be a few days before he’s strong enough to travel.”
“Stay for as long as you need.”
He picked up the book he’d been reading yesterday, but his gaze continuously shifted to her as she sat with her legs dangling over the side of the chair. Her feet kicked leisurely back and forth as she turned the pages of her book.
He’d dreamt about her last night, and it was the first time since the war ended that he hadn’t had a nightmare.
Instead of blood and death, his dreams were filled with her smile and the warmth of her body. In those dreams, he stripped her bare and tasted every inch of her before taking her. Instead of waking with a scream trapped in his throat, he awoke aching for more.
He’d been about to rise and pad down the hall to knock on her door, but as he was contemplating going to her, Brokk woke up.
After that, he couldn’t leave his brother’s side.
However, his hunger for her was growing, and he didn’t know how much longer he could deny himself. He didn’t understand why he was restraining himself. The only reason he could come up with was that he believed her to be innocent. If he moved too fast, he might scare her away.
He’d never done slow before, but he could if it meant getting her in his bed, where she belonged.
He read for a bit, but he watched her more. Finally, he gave up and lowered his book. “What’s your favorite music, Lexi?”
He’d learned a lot about her yesterday, but he was eager to learn more.
She set her book down as she met his gaze. “I love the songs the pixies create and rock music like Five Finger Death Punch and Disturbed. What about you?”
“I enjoy pixie songs and Creedence Clearwater Revival.”
“Oh, they are good,” she agreed.
He spent the rest of the morning alternating between checking on Brokk and learning more about her. The clock was striking twelve when she rose from her chair and stretched.
“I have some work I have to do in the gardens. Is there anything I can get you before I go?” she asked.
He buried his disappointment; if he had his way, she’d never do menial labor again, but it was not his place to get involved in her life. Unless it resulted in getting her in his bed. An image of Del rose in his mind, but he pushed it away. His friend was dead, and his daughter was an adult who could make her own decisions.
“No, and I know where the kitchen is if I do need something,” he said.
She smiled at him before leaving the room. It felt emptier without her, and he didn’t like it. Rising from the chair, he took his book upstairs and returned to Brokk.
• • •
The next morning, Lexi found herself staring at the clock more than her book as she waited for Cole. When the clock struck nine and he still didn’t arrive, she began to fear he wouldn’t come today.
She squelched her disappointment and kept reading, but she couldn’t concentrate on the words. At nine thirty, she almost shouted with joy when he strode into the room and smiled at her.
And then she cursed herself for being an idiot. He’s a dark fae!
The reminder should have doused some of her excitement; it didn’t. It was difficult to keep her distance when she was growing to like him more and more with every passing day.
Freshly showered, his hair was still damp and tousled as he ran his fingers through it. She’d found a few more articles of clothing for him and had given them to him last night, but none fit him properly. The shirt was far too tight through his shoulders and chest, and the pants stopped a couple of inches above his ankles.
On anyone else, the clothes would have looked ridiculous, but he somehow managed to wear them with a sexy confidence that was entirely too tempting. Her mouth went dry as he plopped into the other chair and sprawled out his tall, powerful form.
“Good morning,” he greeted.
“Good morning,” she replied. “How’s Brokk?”
“Better. Sahira came in a little bit ago to put a new salve on him, and he stayed awake throughout it. He’s talking, he’s fed more, and he’s healing. I think he’ll be back to normal in a couple of days.”
“That’s good.”
She was glad to hear that, but she dreaded the day he left. She enjoyed talking to him, and he brought a bit of excitement to an otherwise dull and, she was beginning to realize, rather lonely life.
She glanced at the book in his hand, but she already knew he was now on book three when she discovered it missing from the shelf this morning. He must have come down sometime last night to get the book. Deciding to leave him to Harry Potter, she opted for a little bit of horror and chose a book of short stories instead.
“You’re enjoying the books,” she said and waved at the book in his hand.
Cole glanced at it. “Far more than I thought I would.”
“Good.”
“That Snape guy is an asshole.”
Lexi laughed. “Oh, just wait.”
He smiled as he settled into the chair, and when they lapsed into a comfortable silence, she returned to her book. When he got up to check on Brokk an hour later, she finished her book and rose from the chair.
She returned the book to its place on the shelves and clasped her hands behind her back as she circled the room in search of her next read. She scanned the numerous spines until they landed on Jaws.
She’d read it a couple of times, but it had been a few years, and she was in the mood to revisit an old favorite. Standing on tiptoe, she stretched for the book. Her fingers had just brushed the spine when she felt Cole against her back.