Page 35 of Temptation Unleashed (Talaenian Fae #3)
“Because he has no right telling you about my past, the bits and pieces he knows. He’s privy to what he does know because he was here to help me out of a bad situation.
Him and Brandon and Cassy. They saved me.
Haven’t you realized I’m ruined? Can’t you smell it off me?
The damage done to this little human?” she said, her words sharp.
She chuckled coldly. “No one can help me, Thaddeus.”
“So soon you forget what I am.”
The razor edge to his hushed voice struck her deep. The threat within those words was not for her, but for the threat to her. The same tone he’d taken when he dragged her out of the bar before she kissed Brandon. It both shook her and soothed her.
“The only one who believes you’re ruined is you, Rori. Not I. I smell naught but undisguised fear for a mortal, and the metallic energy you’re wasting erecting barriers between you and the wrong person.”
He leaned closer. His scent cut through the briny ocean breeze, slipping into her lungs and suffusing through her blood. The sensation of his breath against her lips brightened the intertwining threads that attached her to an unseen point within Thaddeus, binding them tighter .
“Why do you care? We don’t like each other, remember?
I’m the vermin you want to rid your brother of, right?
I don’t have the energy for this game. I don’t have time to fawn over a kiss.
You’re too superficial, thinking you’re better than anyone and anything that isn’t Fae.
You lack the ability to comprehend there are depths to those around you that you will never reach.
I will never fall for you, Thaddeus.” Rori lifted her chin from his fingers and climbed to her feet.
He left her heart racing, her lips burning, and her entire body simmering.
She stumbled trying to dust the sand from her shorts.
“Regardless, I did want to thank you for protecting and healing me last night, whatever your motivation may have been. I’m grateful for the chance to wake up this morning, alive and well, though I’m sure I was caught up amid some Fae grudge. ”
“They came for you, Rori. Not I.”
“What?” A chill stole through her as she paused mid-turn. Her breath caught in her throat. “Why?”
“Your association to me.”
The chill cooled further, webbing through her veins. Despite the warm morning, a shiver shook her and cast a different type of gooseflesh straight down to her ankles.
“You can tell them there’s no association. That should be enough.”
She made it a few feet before he asked, “How did you sleep yestereve?”
She gritted her teeth, shoulders stiffening. He’d never let her leave without trying to get in a jab, not that she was innocent of jabs and low blows over the last few minutes. But his even-toned question piqued realization. Had he been responsible for her soundless sleep, one of her best nights?
“Terrible. ”
“Sweet Goddess, the scent of a lie is nearly as foul as fear.”
She refused to take his bait, despite the humor in his voice. He could smell all the lies he wanted. She’d never ask if he was responsible. It would be one more tally on her tab owed to a Fae.
By the time she reached where she’d left her sneakers, the tension had drained from her shoulders.
The fight lost. The ache became all-consuming, the pit in her soul yawning as the distance grew.
She picked up her sneakers with all the intention of beelining back to Cael’s condo, but something locked her knees and nudged her to turn around. No magic. No power.
Instinct.
For a moment, she wasn’t sure what she expected to see. What would call to her in such a demanding way.
Her lips parted in wonder. Her brows furrowed.
Thaddeus hadn’t vanished from his seat in the sand as she had expected.
Instead, he had removed his boots, rolled his pants midway up his calves, and mimicked her earlier motion of covering his bare feet with sand to allow it to sift through his toes.
It struck her true in her chest, witnessing the mighty Thaddeus performing such a human action.
“If you need dating advice, all you need to do is ask.”
Thaddeus scowled. With a wave of his fingers, he cleaned the sand from his feet, replaced his boots, and straightened his pants.
Cael laughed as he sat down beside him, stretching his legs out and crossing his ankles, lounging back on his elbows.
Thaddeus draped his arms loosely around his knees.
His stomach tightened into what felt like a hundred knots while his chest burned as if his heart had been torn from within then sewn back in place with fire.
It took every bit of concentration and willpower not to run after Rori.
Alas, he let her go.
“I always thought you were better with women, but you disappoint me. Here we are again, the ocean our witness. That pout on you gets deeper every time you and Rori interact.”
“I do not pout.”
Cael leaned over, staring up into his face.
“Huh. Sure looks like a pout. Or the scowl of a kid who got scolded. Whatever you want to call that pull of your lips, it worsens every time she leaves you in a huff.” He chuckled as he leaned back and released an exaggerated sigh.
“Thaddeus, why are you holding back? Giving her mixed signals?”
“If you find entertainment eavesdropping on private conversations, I’ll be certain to strike you unconscious next time you’re within hearing range.”
“I didn’t eavesdrop. I have more sense than that. But the air around a ruffled Rori tells a story with clarity words fail.” He motioned to Thaddeus’s boots. “So does watching my brother perform such a mundane task as playing with sand.”
Thaddeus’s shoulders dropped. “I’ve told you before, I’ve naught to offer her.
Naught but heartache. Why would I build something with a woman when it’s doomed from the start?
Wouldn’t that be unforgivable?” He held up his hand, sensing Cael’s argument.
“Do me this small favor. Trust my words and ask no more. I killed many Fae yestereve. If I had no target on my back before, I have one now. Because of me, so does Rori. I shan’t leave her unprotected.
I’ll remain, but understand, should I sacrifice myself for her or for you, ’tis an unspoken blessing for everyone. ”
“That’s a bunch of bloody bullshit if I’ve heard any come from your mouth,” Cael hissed.
He jerked upright, punching the sand between them.
“Listen, I’m about ready to torture you into telling me what has you so scared as to forego the very opportunity all of us Fae beg to experience.
Having our anam cara . Having that blessing from the Goddess.
She doesn’t form pairs haphazardly, Thad. She knows what She’s doing.”
“Mayhap this is a lesson to be learned for all.”
“Goddess damn it, Thad! What the fuck’s gotten into you?
You return to me after decades of silence to threaten my life with your blood-forged blade and now?
Now ?” Cael shoved to his feet, jabbing a finger toward Thaddeus.
“You’ve turned into a sulky fucking coward, hiding behind obscurity, excuses and magic, casting a line to reel her in a little, only to cut the line and hide. ”
Thaddeus’s jaw clenched. Slowly, he stood, twisting to face Cael. Stepping into his brother until Cael shuffled back, the fury in his silver eyes dimming.
“Consider yourself fortunate, brother, you know so little about me and from whence I come. Consider yourself fortunate that rumors are filtered and only a chosen few reach curious ears.” He stepped into Cael again, forcing his brother back until he hit a tree.
Thaddeus bared his teeth. “All of your hopes for me, for Rori, are founded in naught. One day, Cael, you may be unfortunate enough to learn the truth of this brother of yours, but for your sake, and the sake of the woman who will receive my dying breath if it means she lives, I pray to the Goddess ’tis long after I cease to exist.”
“You act as if there’s a bounty on your head.”
Thaddeus tilted his head. “I know my situation far better than you, brother.”
“What’s your situation with your heart, then? Do you own it any longer?”
Thaddeus stared at Cael. His heart. The cold, dead rock in his chest that thawed and beamed with life when Rori was near. Never before had he experienced the fluttering beats or the joy and pain one organ could emit. Only she filled him with renewed breath, and with that breath, his deepest regret.
Cael lifted his chin. “I didn’t think so.
She stole it out from under you and you’re only now realizing it.
It’s no longer just about you. It’s about Rori, too.
She deserves for you to care for her heart with the utmost tenderness and adoration.
So what I’d suggest is you figure out a way to change your situation before this cat-and-mouse game causes more wounds than even the Goddess can heal.
You can’t fight the calling for your soul mate long, brother. It’ll drive you both mad.”
Thaddeus stepped back, the wild thumping in his chest setting him off-kilter. “She will never fall for me. You’ve naught to worry about.”
“First rule in life: never say never.” Cael crossed his arms over his chest. “After all, I’ve witnessed what I believed impossible. The heartless Thaddeus falling hard for his human anam cara .”