Bound (27 page)

He stepped back and folded his arms. “Then
you pick.”

They were in the canyon with plenty targets
at their disposal, so she searched the tree line and found a branch
void of bark and needles that hung from an old pine tree. It was
about 150 feet away. There wasn’t so much as a breeze, so she knew
her chances were pretty good. “That dead branch.” She pointed with
the tip of her arrow.

“Ha! I should wager.”

“Okay. If I hit it, you have to take me back
to the falls—and
not
on horseback.”

“And what do I get if you miss?”

Kira thought for a moment. “I
might
let you kiss me again.”

“Deal,” Octavion said without hesitation.

Kira notched the arrow on the string, drew
back the bow, aimed and let the string release from the tips of her
fingers. It hit dead on. “YES!”

Octavion just stood there, staring at where
the arrow landed. “Luck.”

“Fine—
you
pick the target.”

He searched the meadow again, this time
pointing to a large pinecone about the same distance away. It
barely dangled from a small branch. “There,” he challenged.

“Care to have another little bet?” Kira had
to admit it felt pretty good to hold her bow again. She thought it
would take some practice to get used to it, but where the sword and
knife felt awkward, this weapon was merely an extension of her
body.

He paused for a moment. “What did you have in
mind?”

Kira considered his question—she had an idea.
“I’ll take the kiss if I miss, but if I hit it, you have to wear
normal
clothes tomorrow when you take me home.” She wasn’t
sure what he had to wear, but it was worth a try.

He raised one brow and searched her eyes.
“What do you mean by ‘
normal clothes’
?”

“Well, Lydia told me when you lived in
Montana, you had a job. I assume you have something besides those.”
She motioned to his leather pants and vest. “You know, jeans,
T-shirt, and maybe even a pair of tennis shoes.”

“My sister needs to learn when to hold her
tongue.” He looked across the canyon at the lone pinecone, as if
willing it to stay in place. “Deal.” A mischievous grin crossed his
face.

Now if she could just hit the darn thing. Her
butterflies were back and they flitted wildly around in her
stomach. She pulled back, took a deep breath and, at just the right
moment, released it, sending the arrow toward her target. Never
before had an arrow seemed so slow, but when it finally reached the
pinecone it grazed the side, leaving it dangling on its branch.

“I hit it.” Kira shouted. “State Champion—two
years in a row.” She held out the bow. “Care to give it a try?”

“You missed.” He pointed to the target. “It
is still there.”

“What? Are you blind? I hit the side of
it.”

“It did not fall. I win.” A mischievous grin
crossed his face as he crooked a finger, motioning for her to come
closer.

“Oh, no you don’t. That’s cheating. You said
I had to hit it, not knock it from the branch.”

“What good does it do to graze a target? You
must hit dead on to kill your opponent. The pinecone still
lives.”

“It still lives?” Kira laughed. “Oh man,
you’re stretching for that one.” She kept her distance, but had an
idea. “Okay, how about a compromise? One kiss in exchange for blue
jeans. That’s it. You can wear anything else you want, but I get
you in jeans.”

A grin slowly crossed his face. “I can live
with that.” He came toward her, but instead of letting him kiss her
on the lips, she playfully presented him with the back of her hand.
“I didn’t say
where
you could kiss me.”

He was suddenly as gallant as she’d seen in
Lydia’s memories. “As you wish—my lady,” he teased. He brushed his
lips across the back of her hand, then continued planting tender
kisses up the length of her arm. When he reached her neck, her
heart raced and her insides felt like mush.

Threading his fingers through her hair, he
drew her closer, pressing his lips to hers. The warmth of it
swelled within her as he scooped her into his arms. He pulled his
lips away, but held there, so close she felt his warm breath rush
down her neck. Their eyes met and she could see the heat of passion
in them. She wondered if hers revealed the same feelings to
him.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered.

“Octavion, what—?”

“Kira, please. Close your eyes.”

As she gave into his plea, his lips found
hers and Kira was in heaven. The sensation she felt flowing through
her body as he lifted them from the ground engulfed her senses, and
caressed every nerve ending that ran across the surface of her
skin. A sudden rush filled her ears as their lips parted. They were
at the falls. He lowered them both to the ground, still holding her
in his arms. When another kiss came, he slowly slid his hand under
the hem of her shirt, slipping his fingers around to the small of
her bare back and pulled her closer.

Kira’s brain suddenly caught up with her
heart as she realized what was happening. This wasn’t how she
wanted this to happen. Not here. Not now. “Octavion, I can’t,” she
breathed, as his mouth roamed the sensitive place just under her
ear. His hand slowly made its way back to her stomach, brushing her
skin with his fingertips until he found the top button on her
jeans.

“Stop!” she cried. Pushing against his
weight, she rolled out from under him and scooted across the grass
to lean against a boulder. She paused there for a moment to catch
her breath, then tried to stand, but her trembling legs refused to
hold her. Using the boulder for balance, she managed to pull
herself up enough to sit on it.

Octavion stood and went to her, obviously
shaken by her sudden withdrawal. “Kira, I’m sorry. I thought—”

“No. It’s not you.” She scooted further back
on the rock.

He straightened. “Do you not have feelings
for me? Did I misunderstand?” He let out a sigh of frustration. “In
my lair, I thought . . . and again this morning and our wager. You
asked
me to kiss you.”

“I know I did. And I
do
have feelings
for you, it’s just—” She couldn’t look at him. She didn’t want to
see the pain she’d caused him or the disappointment. “
You
can’t have feelings . . . for
me
.” Not when their future was
so uncertain. She stifled a sob as she stood and began walking
toward the crevice that led to the canyon. She had to get away, to
put some distance between them, but when she stepped up on the rock
ledge that led to the opening, her foot slipped on a piece of moss
and she fell to the ground. It only caused her tears to come more
quickly.

Octavion knelt at her side. “Are you
hurt?”

“No.”

“Kira. Please tell me what I have done to
offend you. I will make it right.”

She still couldn’t look at him. Why couldn’t
he just get mad like he always did and let her leave? It would be
so much easier if he hated her.

The rush of the falls masked the silence
between them. It wasn’t until she heard the shuffle of his feet
that she looked up. He stood a few feet away with his back to her.
A long moment passed before she finally spoke.

“Octavion, I’m sorry.” Kira pushed herself up
to stand behind him and reached out to touch his shoulder. He
relaxed the tension in his shoulders and slowly turned to face her.
Moisture gathered in his eyes.

"Do you not trust me?” he asked.

“It’s
me
I don’t trust. I can’t be
with you like this.”

“We are both adults. If you have feelings for
me—”

“Adults? I’m only seventeen. And you’re what
. . . twenty?”

“I am in my nineteenth year—old enough.”

“No, it’s not that. It has nothing to do with
our age.” Kira didn’t know what to say. She felt like a naïve
little girl, trying to make sense of something she’d promised
herself years before. She was sure he wouldn’t understand.

“Kira, are you afraid of me? I will not hurt
you, not . . . like this.” His eyes were so revealing now, pleading
for some kind of explanation.

“That’s not it. It’s just . . .” She looked
down at her hands and lowered her voice. “I’ve never been with
anyone before.” She went back to her rock and sat. Surely, he’d
think she was old fashioned and insist she grow up, or give in to
his advances and become a
real
woman. But she still felt she
owed him an explanation. She took a deep breath and let it out
slowly.

“Giving that part of myself to a guy is
something I’ve thought a lot about. For years I watched my mother
go through one man after another and I don’t want my life to be
like hers. I want my
first—and last
—to be my husband. Can
you understand that?” She looked up, expecting to see anger in his
eyes, but instead she found compassion and understanding.

His whole body sagged with relief as he
stepped closer and knelt in front of her. He took both her hands in
his. “I did not realize. I am the one who is sorry. If this is what
you want, I will honor your wishes.”

Kira searched his eyes, trying to draw
courage from the love she saw there. To finish what she had to say.
To tell him what was in her heart. They’d had so little time to get
to know each other, at least for her, but it seemed as though
they’d always been together. She didn’t understand how being with
him made time seem to slip away and nothing else matter.

“Is there more?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Then you need to tell me.” He brushed a
strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “I want
to understand.”

Kira wiped the tears from her cheeks and
turned her attention to the falls. It looked just as beautiful as
the first time she’d seen it. But instead of a heavenly glow, a
vivid rainbow glistened within its mist. She tried to choose her
words carefully.

“When this is over—” She looked back at him.
“Will you take Lydia home?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation. No hint of
regret for leaving Kira behind.

The ache that had settled in her heart that
morning deepened. It wasn’t the answer she wanted. She’d hoped that
Lydia was wrong and that they wouldn’t leave her alone like her mom
had. She slowly pulled her hands away from his and leaned back. “I
don’t think we should do this anymore. I won’t ask you to hold me
or . . . kiss me again.”

“What are you saying?” He sat back on his
heels and rested his hands on his thighs.

“I’m saying—you
can’t
have feelings
for me. It’s going to be hard enough saying goodbye, Octavion. I
couldn’t bear it if . . . I don’t want you to fall in love with
me
. Your oath to protect Lydia should be the only thing on
your mind right now. I’m just a . . . a distraction.”

He threaded his fingers through her hair and
ran his thumb across her quivering lips. “You do not need to remind
me of my oath. I gave my word to protect my sister, and I will. But
as for us—it is not within me to deny what my heart has already
chosen.” He lowered his hands and looked intently into her eyes.
“That is, unless you feel nothing for me.”

Kira’s heart fluttered. She’d expected their
conversation to take a completely different direction—to end it
all—but here she was, sitting in front of someone who claimed to
love her. That, in and of itself, should have been enough.

But it wasn’t.

“I do love you. I don’t think I realized that
until this morning when I watched you sleep. But our love isn’t
enough to keep us together. Being in two different worlds wouldn’t
exactly qualify as a long distance relationship. What will you tell
your heart when you have to leave? Even the Crystor won’t have the
power to heal it.”

Octavion smiled with a mischievous glint in
his deep blue eyes. “I will not have to tell it anything—if you go
with me.” He stood and offered his hand.

“To Xantara? But I thought—can you do
that?”

He still had his hand out, but when she
didn’t take it, he reached down and took hers, pulling her into his
arms. “It would be difficult to make you my queen if I left you
behind.” He kissed her briefly, then stepped back, holding her at
arm’s length.

She gave him a sideways grin. “Are you
proposing?”

He smiled again. “No. But when the time is
right, I will.”

Kira shrugged out of his grasp and slapped
his arm. “Well you better not wait too long. I might get another
offer.” She rested her hands on her hips.

He raised one brow and folded his arms—just
as the Crystor burned cold and sent a sharp pain up Kira’s arm. She
grabbed her wrist.

“What is it?” Octavion asked.

“Didn’t you say I could tell when Lydia’s in
danger, when something’s wrong?” She reached for his arm to steady
the sudden weakness she felt in her knees and tried to focus on
Lydia’s location.

“Yes, call to her.”

Lydia. Are you okay?
No answer.

Lydia!
“She’s hurt, Octavion. I can
feel it and she’s not answering.” Kira leapt into Octavion’s arms
and closed her eyes. “She’s in the clearing.”

For the first time, traveling with him felt
violent and painful. It happened so fast she felt ripped from where
she stood and thrown to the ground. She came down with so much
force, she stumbled. The only thing breaking her fall was Lydia,
who’d been crouched by the fire. Kira slammed into her, sending
them both rolling in the dirt. Octavion knelt at Lydia’s side and
tried to help her up. By the time Kira recovered, Lydia was sitting
in the dirt holding her hands up like a surgeon who’d just scrubbed
for surgery.

“I’m fine,” Lydia said. “It’s just a little
burn.”

Kira took hold of Lydia’s wrists and pulled
them closer to have a look. Her palms were seared like she’d
pressed them onto hot coals. “This isn’t a little burn. What
happened?”