Page 20

"My offer still stands," Mark said. "I don't want you to have to worry about her anymore. If you let me cover her treatment, I'll make sure she's taken care of. I know an excellent doctor in Boston."

That doctor was actually the elven healer who developed a magical cure for cancer, but the treatment would only work if Jennifer's mom came here. And it was going to be difficult to make that happen without convincing Jennifer to accept his offer.

"Mark ... I know you mean well, but ... that's a lot of money, and I don't feel comfortable accepting it right now," she said. "It's not you, it's just ..."

He cradled her cheek with his palm, running his thumb along her face. "It's your decision. I just want you to be happy." He lowered his face to hers, kissing her again, this time slowly, savoring the taste of her lips against his. The hot flick of her tongue, the eagerness running through her body and into his. "What will make you feel more comfortable?"

She bit his lip gently, and it took all his self-restraint not to roll on top of her. He throbbed beneath the sheets, his hardness pressing into her thigh.

"I'm supposed to be your bride, aren't I?" she said. "Maybe it wouldn't feel so weird if we were married first."

A beat of excitement moved through him. Already he had staked a claim on Jennifer, but officializing their marriage would make her truly his. There was only one problem.

"Confession time," Mark said, drawing away from her and leaning against the headboard. "I haven't been to the city since this place was finished."

"So, what, like a year or two?"

He laughed, deep and amused. "No, ten years."

Her eyes widened. "So Jake wasn't kidding when he called this your hermit mansion."

"Not one bit. He's tried to drag me out to Marhan a few times, but ... not for the right reasons. And I don't like leaving unless I know there's someone in the house to watch."

"You said it yourself, though. No one lives out here for at least five miles in all directions. What are you worried about?" Jennifer said.

Mark's smile faltered. He had a lot of worries. But ultimately, it was the goblins. The last time they came sniffing around his house he hadn't been around ... But that was years ago, and before he had a dedicated security officer to watch when he was gone. Jake was home now, but it was probably a bit paranoid of Mark to assume it was going to happen again the instant he left the house without someone back to watch it. Still, he liked the peace of mind, and it wasn't like he couldn't afford the expense.

"Nothing you need to bother yourself with," Mark said. "But if you're ready to make things official ..."

She laughed. "That was the deal, Mark. Besides ..." She put two fingers on his chest, creeping them up toward his chin. "If last night was any sign of how things are going to be, I think we'll be fine."

He kissed her again. Hot and passionate, lips and tongues melding together, and then their bodies ... warmth snaked through him, and he pulled her closer. When she moaned against his mouth, that was his cue to peel away, as reluctant as he was to do so.

"Then it's settled, we'll go to town ..." Mark said.

"You sound so terrified of the idea," she joked. "Don't worry. The only ones who will know you're a strange hermit are me and you. This is as good of an excuse as any to go out and have some fun, don't you think?"

The idea of going to the city wasn't that exciting to Mark, but going withJenniferwas a different story. She would be the first to convince him to go since he made his mansion his prison and locked himself away.

"You don't have to convince me," he said. "Let's go."

***

"So what is there to do in Marhan?" Mark asked as they drove from the forest path and onto the highway leading into the city.

"I feel like I should be the one asking that question," Jennifer said, but she pulled out her phone and started scrolling. "Let's see ... there's a museum of classical arts, an arcade, movie theater. Mmm, no."

Going to a museum didn't sound like the worst idea, but Mark didn't think a movie or the arcade were good ideas. They couldn't talk if they went to the movies, and an arcade would probably have too many people for his taste. He knew there were far more things to do if they considered the magical options, but it was far too soon to introduce Jennifer to that side of his life.

After being away from the city for so long, he wasn't sure he could call himself too acquainted with that side of the world anymore. Who knew what could happen? Better just to remove it from the equation altogether for now and just not worry about it turning things upside down.

They drove into the city, cars, people, and buildings whizzing by. The noise was the first thing that struck Mark as foreign compared to the forests. Lacking was the sound of trees and animals, replaced by the cacophony of machines. They werethe sounds that Mark grew up with, but it'd been so long that all of it seemed so strange.

Jennifer stopped looking at her phone as they entered the city, as focused on taking in as much of her surroundings as he was. They were unified in their curiosity for the buildings that went past, both the short and tall, old and new. More people than Mark had seen in years.

"What's that sound?" Jennifer said.

He didn't hear it at first, but when he pricked his wolf senses, he figured it out. "Music, sounds like," he said.