Page 32 of Dark Rover’s Luck (The Children Of The Gods #95)
32
FENELLA
W hen Fenella woke up again, she immediately became aware of the solid warmth pressed against her back, the heavy arm draped over her waist, and the steady rhythm of breath against her neck.
Din .
She relaxed into the embrace, the events of the previous night flooding back, bringing with them a complex mix of emotions she was still too sleepy to untangle.
She shifted, and the arm around her waist tightened reflexively.
"Good morning," Din murmured, his voice rough with sleep. His lips brushed the nape of her neck, sending a pleasant shiver down her spine.
"Morning." She smiled, surprised by how comfortable she felt. Usually, she'd be halfway out the door by now, avoiding awkward morning-after conversations.
But Din was different.
Her instinct to flee was nowhere to be found.
She turned in his arms to face him. His dark hair was mussed and his blue eyes, though sleepy, were suffused with warmth that was directed at her.
"You're still here."
Fenella raised an eyebrow. "Did you expect me to bolt in the middle of the night?"
"I thought I was dreaming and that when I woke up, you wouldn't be here." The wry tone and the crooked smile betrayed his words as a lie.
She kissed him lightly. "You lie so beautifully."
He chuckled. "Okay, you caught me. I half expected you to sneak out during the night."
"I considered it, but I decided the bed was too comfortable to abandon."
That was a complete lie. She'd been out like a light and hadn't woken up until now. She had no time to consider it.
The dimple in his cheek appeared as he smiled. "I'll have to thank Ingrid for ordering quality mattresses for the village homes."
"The company wasn't half bad, either." Fenella kissed his jaw.
It felt strange to be this open with someone, but also nice.
Din reached up to brush a strand of hair from her face. "Just 'not half bad'? I think I need to work on my technique."
Fenella rolled her eyes, but the teasing was comfortable, familiar ground. "Your technique is fine, professor. Top marks, even."
"High praise indeed."
"Don't let it go to your head." She poked his chest.
Din caught her hand, bringing it to his lips. "I won't. I'm your humble servant, my lady." He started kissing the tips of her fingers.
"You're quite charming in the morning," she said, trying to regain her footing. "Is this how you are with all your lovers?"
"I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you."
The directness of his statement caught her off guard. There was no coy flirtation, no games—just honest emotions laid bare for her to see. It was terrifying and exhilarating in equal measure.
"We've just met," she reminded him. "Fifty years of fantasy about someone isn't the same as knowing them."
"True," Din acknowledged. "But these days with you have only confirmed what I suspected all those years ago—that there's something between us worth exploring."
Fenella wanted to deflect with a joke, to maintain the emotional distance, but the sincerity in his eyes made it difficult.
"I'm not the same girl you knew in Scotland," she said.
"And I'm not the same man I was then. We've both changed, evolved. I'd like the chance to know who you are now, and I hope you'll like who I am."
Before Fenella could respond that yes, she wanted that, her phone buzzed on the nightstand.
"It's probably Shira, wondering where I am." She reached for the device and frowned. "It's from Amanda."
"What does it say?" Din asked.
"Good morning, Fenella," she read out loud. "I hope I'm not disturbing you too early but given the fabulous news of you being related to Jasmine and Kyra, I thought the three of you should get tested together. Would eleven-thirty work? If yes, I will have someone pick you up and drive you to the university campus. Let me know as soon as you can." Fenella frowned at the screen. "What the bloody hell is she talking about? What testing?"
"Amanda is a neuroscientist, and she runs a research laboratory that is equipped to test paranormal abilities. She must believe that you have some latent abilities worth exploring."
Fenella scoffed. "The only 'ability' I have is staying alive and a decent poker face."
"Don't be so quick to dismiss it," Din said. "Intuition is often underestimated, but it can be a powerful tool and even a sign of some psychic ability."
"Don't you think I would have noticed if I had magical powers?"
He chuckled. "It's not magic, love. It's genetics. Many immortals and Dormants have enhanced abilities—precognition, telepathy, far-seeing, and other talents. Amanda has the proper tools to test you for most of them."
Fenella thought about all the times she'd had a feeling about a place or a person that had later proved accurate—the inexplicable urges to leave town just before trouble found her, the sense of unease about Din's travel mishaps.
Could there be something to it?
The times she'd gotten in trouble were when she'd decided to ignore her intuition because listening to it meant giving up on something she'd wanted.
"There is no harm in giving it a try," she finally agreed.
Din smiled. "It's also an opportunity to get out of the village. You were complaining about feeling cooped up. The university campus is over an hour's drive from here, and there is a lot to see on the way. The campus itself is also a nice place to visit."
That caught Fenella's attention. The prospect of seeing something beyond the village borders was enticing.
"I suppose it's worth the trouble if just for that." She typed a quick reply to Amanda, confirming the time and asking where exactly they should meet.
The response came almost immediately: Excellent! Be at the underground garage at 10 AM. Transportation will be provided. Kyra, Jasmine, and Morelle will be joining you. Din can come if he wants.
"Well, that's settled," Fenella said, setting the phone aside. "It seems I have a date with the boss's sister. Do you want to come along?"
The truth was that she was nervous about someone with the title of neuroscientist poking around her head.
"If you want me to, of course."
"I do." She looked at the timer on her phone. "It's just a little past eight." A slow smile spread across her face as she moved closer to Din. "It seems we have some time to kill before we need to get ready."
"I can think of a few ways to occupy that time," he murmured, his hand sliding along her waist.
"I was hoping you'd say that." Fenella closed the distance between them.
* * *
Two hours later, freshly showered and dressed in a simple blouse and jeans that somehow managed to look designer despite their casual cut, Fenella walked with Din toward the underground garage that served as the village's transportation hub.
"Tell me more about Morelle. I know that she's Ell-rom's sister, but not much other than that."
"I don't know much about her or Ell-rom, but I can tell you what I've learned so far. They are twins, and they are the Clan Mother's half-sister and brother. Their shared father had a dalliance with the Kra-ell queen before he was exiled to Earth and married Annani's mother. He didn't even know that the Kra-ell queen was carrying his children. She sent them to him with a large number of Kra-ell settlers bound for Earth, but there was a malfunction, and the ship arrived seven thousand years later than scheduled. The twins almost died because their stasis pods malfunctioned, and Jasmine found them in the nick of time. Morelle is mated to Brandon, who is the village council member in charge of media."
"Ell-rom is nice. Is Morelle like him?"
"I don't know." Din smiled apologetically. "As I said, I've never met her."
When they made it to the underground garage, Kyra and Jasmine were already there, along with two others Fenella didn't recognize—a strikingly beautiful woman with short dark hair who was nearly as tall as the guy standing next to her.
"Fenella." He offered her his hand, flashing a smile that could light up the entire space. "I'm Brandon, and this is my better half, Morelle."
"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Fenella said.
As Brandon introduced Din to Morelle, a sleek cream-colored SUV pulled up, driven by Okidu.
The butler stepped out of the vehicle with a broad smile plastered across his face and opened the passenger door with a flourish. "Please take your seats, mistresses and masters."
The interior of the SUV was luxuriously appointed, with buttery leather seats and more legroom than seemed possible from the vehicle's exterior dimensions. Fenella settled in between Din and Kyra, while Jasmine, Morelle, and Brandon took the row behind them.
"How far is the university?" Fenella asked as Okidu started the vehicle.
"The drive will take about ninety minutes, depending on traffic," Brandon said. "It shouldn't be too bad now, but we will crawl on the way back."
As they emerged from the tunnel and the windows cleared, Fenella pressed closer to the window, drinking in the sight of the outside world. After the pristine beauty of the village, the urban landscape should have seemed ugly, polluted, but to Fenella, it represented freedom, possibility, and the familiar rhythm of human life.
"I've always preferred cities to the countryside," she said. "There's an energy to them, a vitality."
"And plenty of places to disappear," Kyra added shrewdly.
Fenella glanced at her. "That too."