Betrothed (15 page)

‘The more sun your body absorbs, the stronger you are. But it will be easier for you when you are in Faera. The sun is more easily absorbed there.’

‘There really is a Faera?’

‘Of course,’ he said, and went on to tell me that all I had seen of Faera, all I’d heard, every experience I’d had was real, that the places he’d shown me were places he knew well. It was hard to believe they actually existed—the rivers full of gemstones,
the lush forest, the gorgeous fragrances and colours. We spoke at length about this, it was just so impossible to get my head around—another world, completely outside of this, and it was my true home.

‘So have I actually been there, Leif? Did you really fly with me through the forest to that waterfall? Did I go with you into that little cave?’

‘Not in a physical way, Marla, but in our minds we did those things together, certainly.’

I smiled. ‘You were going to teach me to fly.’

He returned the smile and ran a finger down my nose. ‘Yes, I still owe you that flying lesson.’

I snuggled into him. ‘You do, Leif, and I’ll definitely take you up on it, but I’m too cosy right now. We can do it another time.’ I felt no embarrassment at the idea but there was no way I was leaving his arms.

He kissed the top of my head. ‘I should take you back. It’s late and I only came tonight to reassure you.’

‘Don’t take me back yet.’ I gripped his arms and held them close to my body.

‘We’ll stay a while longer then.’

‘Tonight at the dance . . . ’ I started, but stopped as I recalled how he’d found me. I looked up into his face. Even in the darkness I could see . . . was it tension in his eyes? I hoped it wasn’t anger. ‘I’m sorry, Leif.’

‘What does that human mean to you, Marla?’

‘He means nothing. I was only with him to try to forget you. I thought you were just a dream.’ I shook my head. My reasons for being with Jason were suddenly absurd. As if
he
could have made me forget Leif. ‘Sometimes I thought I heard your voice and it made me think I was going crazy. I thought if I could make myself like Jason, I might stop having delusions about you.’
I felt horribly guilty, but relieved too. If Leif had come sooner, he would have found me with Jack and my explanation would have had to be a much more complicated one. I shuddered at the thought, then pushed it out of my mind. I couldn’t think about Jack right now. It was way too confusing.

Leif lay his fingers against my cheek, his thumb brushing my lips as I turned into him. Immediately I was overcome with that bizarre urge to kiss his hand and was just about to reach up and press his palm to my mouth when he said, ‘I wish I could have come to you sooner. I hate that you were worried.’

I gazed into his eyes. They were dark and glittering and drawing me in. All my worries were slipping away. I was slipping away—falling, relaxed and tingling into him. I closed my eyes and sighed. ‘What are you doing to me?’ I whispered.

He trailed his fingers down my face and around my throat, burrowing into the hair at the nape of my neck. Then he brought his mouth to mine. His kiss was tender and tasted of summer—sweet and warm and spice—so delicious, and as my lips opened, I had no control over the moan that slid from my mouth into his. Leif became a forest fire, his breath coming into me and pouring heat all the way to my toes. I wound my arms around his neck, twisted my fingers into his hair and pressed my body close. Closer. Not close enough. I wanted to consume him or for him to consume me, I didn’t know. But soon he was pulling away from me. He looked overwhelmed and was breathing much faster than before.

‘I need to take you home.’ His voice got caught in his throat and came out all deep and rough.

‘I want to stay longer,’ I whispered. My heart was crashing behind my ribs. I wanted more. I lifted my lips to him again.

‘I don’t trust myself to stay. I don’t know what might happen.’

‘I don’t care.’

The apprehension in Leif’s face turned to amusement. ‘I think you may have been with humans for too lengthy a period. We are but betrothed, my love, not married.’

‘Details,’ I said with a sigh. He stood and lifted me into his arms.

‘Such details are important in Faera, Marla.’

‘We’re not in Faera, Leif.’

He smiled and shook his head, then, with a whoosh that shifted the cool night air around us, his wings appeared, lighting the night, before we rose and flew off into the darkness.

We arrived back at my bedroom too soon. Leif deposited me through the window and hovered outside, leaning through to drop a kiss on my lips.

‘Aren’t you going to tuck me in?’

‘Is that a good idea?’

‘Why wouldn’t it be?’ I opened my eyes wide, blinked a couple of times.

His clever dark eyes became narrow and knowing.

I reached through the window, caught his arm and tugged gently. ‘Come on, Leif.’

‘We’ll wake your sister.’

‘We can be quiet,’ I said, pulling a little harder.

He flew through the window and landed soundlessly on the floor beside me. ‘You’re too irresistible.’

I climbed into bed and moved to the edge, pressing my back against the wall. Then I looked at him and smiled as I patted the empty space.

He stood watching me—silent.

‘Don’t you
want
to lie down next to me, Leif?’

‘You know well I do,’ he said, but didn’t move.

‘Come on then.’

He watched me for a moment longer, deciding and, then giving in, slid into bed beside me.

I brought myself close, wrapped an arm around him and went exploring—trailing my fingers across warm skin, over the hard curves of his shoulder blades and the lovely bumps of his muscles. I ran one finger up and down the place where his wings had been. The skin there was smooth, like the inside of a shell. Then with a long sigh, I pressed my face into his heavenly chest and inhaled.

‘You’re so beautiful,’ I whispered, looking up to him. ‘Everything about you. But I don’t get why I feel this—I barely know you.’

He brushed the hair back from my face, let his fingers linger on my cheekbone. Quietly he said, ‘Marla, you have known me your whole life. You have known me since before you were conceived. We chose each other.’

I wasn’t dreaming. It was all true—everything he’d told me. And I
had
known him forever, I could feel it. Leif
was
my betrothed and I
was
of that other place called Faera. ‘I really am a faery.’

He smiled. ‘How could you doubt it with these sweet little ears?’ He propped himself on one elbow and leaned close to kiss the tip before gently tracing the outline of my ear with his lips. Hot shivers zinged across my skin. And when he covered the back of my neck with his hand and brought his lips to mine I thought I might burst with wanting him. He kissed me slowly, tenderly, with more control than before, as he ran his fingertips down the length of my arm, leaving a trail of tingles that made me moan and grab and want him to hurry up. But he wouldn’t hurry and after a moment he stopped altogether and moved away from me.

‘I should go.’ His voice was low and soft and he had one foot on the floor already.

‘Please don’t.’ I clutched at his shoulder. ‘Stay with me, Leif.’

‘You need to sleep.’

‘But if you go I won’t believe you’ve been.’

He smiled and said, ‘Oh, I think you will.’ But he came back to me anyway, snuggled me into that nook between his arm and chest. I draped an arm across him, slid my toes into the arch of his foot and closed my eyes. It was utter bliss.

When I woke early the next morning he was gone. There was a moment of panic when I looked wildly around my room in search of evidence of his visit. And then I found it and laughed out loud. Stuck to my wall was an almost life-sized poster of my very own prince in flight, his wings open in all of their radiant glory. He gazed down at me with a dazzling smile, his beautiful eyes laughing and his gorgeous dark hair blowing wild in the wind.

After staring long and hard at the poster, I jumped out of bed and danced my way to the living room, a cheek-numbing grin plastered to my face. Ashleigh was sitting on the lounge watching television and eating peanut butter toast—so ordinary that it was confusing.

‘Morning, Ash,’ I sang, on the way to the phone.

‘Are you on happy pills or something?’

‘Where’s Mum and Dad?’ I asked, ignoring the sarcasm.

‘Steph’s, remember? They won’t be back till tonight.’ Steph was Mum’s sister. She lived with her husband and three sons down the coast. ‘I saw that poster on your wall by the way—what’s that about?’

‘Leif left it there,’ I said, picking up the phone and punching in Jack’s number.

‘Who is it?’

‘Leif of course.’

‘Righto,’ she said with a smirk.

I couldn’t be bothered to convince her. She’d find out for herself soon enough.

‘I was just about to call,’ Jack said when he answered the phone. ‘Are you feeling better?’

I vaguely recalled the miserable mood I’d been in when he brought me home the night before. It felt like another life.

‘
So
much better. What about you, still all wound up about that fire?’

‘What fire?’

‘The one at the dance of course.’

Silence for a moment and then, ‘I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.’

I was baffled but let it go. ‘Never mind, can you come round? I’ve got something amazing to tell you.’

‘Tell me now.’

‘Not on the phone. Can you come?’

‘I have to take Harry to soccer but I can be there around two.’

‘Can you pick Hilary up?’

‘Sure—are you going to give me a clue?’

‘Nope, I’ll tell you when I see you. Who knows, maybe I can even show you.’

‘How intriguing, but I don’t have time to beg. I’ll see you later.’

I hung up the phone and turned to my sister. ‘Ash, what do you remember about the dance last night?’

‘I dunno, what should I remember?’ Her eyes remained on the television as she flicked through the channels.

‘Anything stand out?’

She grinned. ‘Mel and Tori turned up fall-down drunk. Mr Jacobs hauled their butts off to the office. They’ll be suspended for sure—sucked in to them.’

‘Nice, Ash.’

‘Well, that’s what they deserve!’

‘Anything else?’

‘Jack bit me on the neck.’ Smiling, she stroked her neck where the attack had occurred. ‘Did he leave a mark?’

I glanced at her neck. ‘No.’

She sighed, disappointed.

‘Do you remember the fight?’

My sister gave me a strange look, kind of like a frown trapped inside a smirk.

‘I’ll take that as a no.’ I didn’t know what was going on but I was willing to bet it had something to do with Leif.

Jason called around a short while later. Ashleigh answered the door and showed him inside. ‘Good luck explaining that Leif dude,’ she whispered before vanishing into the kitchen to eavesdrop.

I felt sick at the predicament I was in. How could I explain Leif to Jason without upsetting him? But to my surprise, Jason just walked right in, planted a kiss on my cheek and told me what an awesome time he’d had the night before. He didn’t even mention Leif. Was he hoping if he shut up the competition would just disappear? The whole thing was unnerving.

‘Jason, what do you remember about last night?’ I asked as I sat down on the lounge, gesturing for him to do likewise.

He sat beside me and waggled his eyebrows. ‘There is one part that stands out.’

I ignored the allusion to the kiss and persevered. ‘Things were a bit wild for a while. Do you remember anything about it?’

‘That kiss you gave me was a bit wild—wanna do it again?’ He licked his lips as he leaned towards me, a broad grin spread across his sun-browned face.

‘Um, no,’ I said, cringing away from him. ‘I’ve actually been thinking things have been moving too fast for me.’

‘You’re joking, right? I’ve waited longer for you than any girl. But it’s all good,’ he assured me quickly as I opened my mouth to point out that we’d only been seeing each other for a little while. ‘I know you’re all virginal and everything. It’s just, after that kiss . . . ’ He reached out and attempted to pull me to him.

‘Jason, I just want us to be friends,’ I said, wriggling away from him again.

The smile vanished from his face. ‘What makes you think I’d want to be your friend? You make me hot, and after last night, I’m pretty sure I turn you on too.’ He ran his hand up my thigh as he said it and his face was so close that I could feel his breath on my lips.

I felt sick.
Leif, help!
I called out in silent appeal, wishing he would just appear. I made the excuse of needing a glass of water and when I returned with it, sat in one of the dining chairs.

‘Look, Jason, I was confused last night. I wasn’t myself. I really
do
just want to be friends.’

‘You dumping me, Amy?’

I couldn’t speak.

If I’d looked away or even blinked, I would have missed the change in his expression. For the briefest moment, his eyes became narrow and cold. Then just as quickly his face went blank.

‘Okay, Amy, friends . . .
if
that’s what you really want.’