Healing Fire (6 page)

Blossom's squeal of delight sounded
through the house, making Summer's ears ring. Blossom ran forward, throwing her
arms around Summer's middle, giving her a tight, squeezing hug.

Summer laughed, hugging her daughter
back.

"Did I miss something?"

They both looked across to see Melor
standing in the doorway. The deep caramel of his skin glistened with a sheen of
sweat.

Summer's mouth went dry at the pulse
racing sight. Good lord, how was she ever going to survive such close proximity
to such a tempting man as Melor?

"Mom says you can stay!" Blossom
bounced out of her arms and over to Melor. He scooped her up easily, giving her
a gentle hug before setting her down.

His deep rich chuckle sent a shiver of
awareness down Summer's spine. Her body reacted shockingly; moisture rushed
down between her legs and her lower belly clenched in anticipation.

Summer raised her eyes to meet his
dark gaze. "I thank you, my lady. If you could show me what you need done,
I am at your service."

"Um, uh, yes…of course."
Very
glib, Summer.
"I've, um, made some lunch. I can show you after. Do
you, um, have any other shirts?"

"All that you found on me I own.
I may have to avail upon your hospitality for more suitable clothing. I need
very little."

"I think I still have some of
Tyler's old t-shirts. They may be a bit tight, but I think they'll fit."

She was giving him her husband's
clothes now?
Have you totally lost your mind!

He moved further into the kitchen,
right into her personal space, snatching up her hand. She sucked in a sharp
breath as the heat of his lips brushed the back of her hand. She bit back the
moan his simple touch evoked.

"Thank you, my lady, I am in your
debt."

Summer lost her train of thought,
inhaling his addictive scent. Her head tilted back to gaze up into his eyes.
Even though they were nearly black, she could not mistake the look of desire
burning in his dark depths.

Fear mixed with her own craving made
her lean in until they were almost touching. All she needed to do was push up
on her tip toes and press her lips against his.

"Peanut butter and jelly, Melor.
If you like Fruit Loops, you're gonna love this."

Summer jerked her hand away. The heat
rushed to her face. She glanced over at her daughter, blissfully unaware of
anything but the food in front of her.

"I doubt much could replace my
passion for your Fruit Loops, little one, but I am happy to be guided by you."

Melor moved around the bench and sat
next to Blossom, examining the plate piled high with sandwiches.

Summer gripped the counter to hide her
shaking hands as reality came rushing back. Entertaining thoughts of kissing
him? He stared back at her, his dark intense gaze on her lips, making them
tingle as if they had kissed. It seemed she wasn't the only one thinking about
it.

~ * ~

"Answer the damn phone." Summer
huffed out an annoyed breath. She'd been trying for two days to contact Rick
Rickshaw, only to have the phone ring out every time.

Her mind wandered back over the past
few days; Melor working tirelessly, transforming the property to the original state
of when she'd first moved in with her husband so many years ago. After she had
explained how to start the lawn mower, he proclaimed it a marvel. Not one blade
of grass was left taller than once inch. Thankfully, he left the flower beds to
weed out by hand.

Not once did he utter a word of
complaint but showed genuine gratefulness for everything he received. Thanks to
Blossom, he had developed a taste for Fruit Loops for breakfast. After sharing
the rest with Blossom, he appeared crestfallen when informed it was the last
box.

She'd managed to limp into the shed,
her heart in her throat as she pulled a few shirts and some looser pants of
Tyler's out of the storage boxes.

Melor took them from her trembling
hands before pulling her into his embrace. The brief hug startled her, but
after a moment she accepted the small comfort of his warm strong arms. How she'd
missed a man's arms around her.

He pulled away and gave her a
heart-stopping smile and went to his room to change.

Tyler's dark blue t-shirt stretched
across Melor's chest, outlining his beautiful muscle contour. She was torn
between tears and wanting to run her hand over the expanse of his chest. Hell,
she wanted to do it without him wearing anything.

Get a grip woman
. She couldn't keep lusting after the
crazy yet sweet man. She hardly knew him, for goodness sakes!

Bringing her thoughts back to the
present, Summer gave up and slammed the phone down. She picked up her iced tea
and limped out to the porch. Melor shot to his feet to open the door for her
and help her out.

She smiled her thanks and settled into
the comfortable chair.

"What are you two talking about?"

"I was telling Blossom about the
Kell Kingdom."

"Oh, right, your magical alien
world." Summer's tone was dry, and she rolled her eyes.

She ignored his sharp look, which she
ignored. Melor started talking again, his voice rich and hypnotic.

"Crystals are the lifeblood of
the Kell people, for since the goddess breathed life into the first Kell man,
she showed him the way of the crystals. The gatherers have the most important
job in all of Kell, for it is they who know the way of the crystals, how to
harvest them without damage and bring them back for the people to use.

"Some of our most used crystals
are the red Fire Crystals; we use them for heating and the cooking of our
meals. We have the Glow Crystals to light the way on even the darkest of
nights. The warrior cast value the Monyo Crystals we imbued into the fortress
walls and into our shields and weapons to make them a hundred times stronger.
Then there are the Healing Crystals to ensure the health of the people and heal
injuries after battle." He raised his gaze, staring at Summer.

"Healing Crystals can take away
any pain and heal injuries no matter how much time has passed."

Summer's anger grew with every word he
uttered. She clenched her fists, her body stiff in agitation. The fact Melor
believed his alien world to be true was one thing, but to impose the fanciful
tales upon her impressionable daughter was quite another!

Summer needed to put him in his place
if he wanted to continue his stay. If he refused, then she didn't care if
Blossom wanted him to stay. For Blossom's own good he would have to go. She
couldn't have him continue to fill Blossom's head with such nonsense.

"Time for bed now, baby. Go get
ready, please." Summer sat forward, easing herself out of the chair. She
reached down, snatching up her forgotten drink, spilling half the contents onto
the porch floor.

Blossom rolled her eyes. "Oh Mom,
can't I listen to one more story, please?"

"Mind your mother, little one.
There will always be time for more stories tomorrow." Melor smiled down at
her.

Blossom returned his smiled, hopped up
from her seat on the porch steps, practically skipping inside. Summer scowled
at Melor before following her daughter inside, the porch door slamming behind
her.

Chapter
Five

Even a blind man could have seen the
fury rolling from Summer. Melor knew it was directed at him by the scowl she
aimed in his direction before fleeing inside. Mentally, he went over his words,
trying to pick out what he had said which had offended her, but he was at a
loss.

Women of all species were confusing.
Why did she not simply tell him what the problem was, or what he had done wrong
so he could fix the matter?

He opened the door and went inside.
She stood in the kitchen; her small hands gripped the edge of the sink. With
jerky movement's, she grabbed the cloth which hung over the tap and began
wiping down the surfaces of the kitchen.

He hesitated as Blossom re-appeared,
waddling in, wearing bright yellow clothes with prints of little grey creatures
all over them.

"I've cleaned my teeth, Mom."

Summer stopped her cleaning for a
moment to embrace her daughter tightly. He could see the anguish and pain in
Summer's eyes. But also tender love and utter devotion for her child.

"You're a good girl, baby. Go hop
into bed, and I'll be there in a moment."

Blossom pulled out of her mother's
arms and came running up to him. He caught her as she launched herself into his
arms.

"Goodnight, Melor." She
kissed his cheek then leaned in and whispered, "Don't let Mom boss you
around. She doesn't really mean to. She's just very sad sometimes."

"Goodnight, little one." He
smiled, feeling the warmth and love towards Blossom as he set her on her feet,
watching until she disappeared into her bedroom.

Summer went back to cleaning again,
wiping and re-wiping over the same spot.

It would not do. He could not have
hostility between them. Melor was a man of action; he could not simply stand
there and do nothing.

He came in behind her and removed the
cloth from her hand. "You are angry; tell me what I have done to offend
you thus?"

She swung around on her good foot. Her
head tilted back, her stare murderous. "Give me back my cloth, and I'm not
angry."

"You are not? I greatly doubt
your words, my lady. How can I mend what I do not know?"

"You really want to know what's
wrong?" Her voice raised a pitch in clear irritation.

"Aye, my lady, I do."

"For goodness sake, will you cut
the,
my lady
crap. I wasn't born yesterday, Melor, if that really is
your name. Frankly, I don't care if you think you're from Mars. Sprout all the
claptrap you want to me, but shut your mouth in front of my daughter. She doesn't
need to be swallowing your lies!"

Aaah, so the truth comes out
. He already knew she did not believe
him. But she was worried about the innocence of her daughter's mind.

Clearly, defending himself would only
widen the already deep hole she believed he crawled out from. But he had no
choice.

"Then I shall swear not to
mention my homeland again to her, if that is your wish, but not once have I
spoken a lie. If you do not believe my words, I will have to find another way
to convince you of the truth."

She snorted in disbelief. Melor stood
transfixed by the flush in her cheeks and fire in her eyes. The close proximity
of her soft feminine touch inflamed his body and melted his mind.