Page 13 of Shattered Magic
“Hm. Can I borrow a hundred bucks so I can get something to wear?”
His chuckle was wicked. “While I despise the circumstances, I am revelling in the chance to dress you. It is an interesting instinct. It is battling with the compulsion to have you naked.”
There was a gasp, and Hari saw a nurse coming in with folded fabric, standing inside the door.
“Is it because I am sitting on him? Trust me, he’s into it.” Hari coughed softly.
“Your skin, Miss Anhara.” The nurse stared.
Hari looked at her arm, and she was pink fading to white-blue. “Faster than normal. Excellent. I can get out of here and try to figure the next few days out.”
“Stay with me. We will get your paperwork settled and get your wardrobe refilled.”
“I don’t have a wardrobe. I have a charred husk of a room. And my favourite place to spend my mornings is gone.”
“It will be fixed. The gym was evacuated when the fire started. You were the only serious casualty.” Zerul murmured in her ear, “As soon as you are comfortable and resting, I will see to getting reconstruction mages to work. I don’t want your attention off me, so your friends and favourite places are safe.”
“That sounds a little narcissistic.”
“I am concerned with your pleasure because it will determine mine. Whether you know it or not, you have been feeding me for the last five years without the benefit of a contract, so I could not reward you properly.” He bent and kissed her neck. “Don’t worry. I have acted in good faith.”
“How?”
“You will see at the party. Oh, you will need a dress.” The chuckle against her skin was wicked.
She sighed. “Are you going to continue to try to get your way?”
“Yes. It’s fun. I expect you to do the same whenever the opportunity arises.” He licked her neck. “You taste like a toasted marshmallow.”
She snorted and looked down at her scorched clothes. There were quite a few holes, and the leggings were only slightly more intact than the shirt.
She relaxed in his arms. “Fine. You can dress me. Once.”
He chuckled. “I will take it. Now, we will just get the doctor’s authorization, and my car will pick us up.”
“Fine. Let’s go.”
Chapter Three
Hari sent messages to her friends on the new phone that Zerul had provided. The trunk was loaded with bags. Zerul had simply ordered a bunch of clothing from different designers and had the driver pick them up while Hari picked out a new sweatsuit and some underwear.
“Have you notified everyone?”
“Yup. Even my lawyer. Serel was served at lunch just an hour before my place exploded in flames.”
“I see. Prolen will be mildly inconvenienced, but he will get over it.”
“He needs a new mistress that he can chew on? I know some ladies at the club who wouldn’t mind the gig.”
Zerul chuckled. “I will mention it to him.”
She stared as they drove through the gates of the governor’s mansion, and her stomach churned.
Zerul took her hand. “It’s all right, my treasure. Your last time here was horror. I intend for the rest of your life here to be a fantasy.”
“You know my kind of manifestation will be around for a really long time.” She looked at him. “You don’t know what you are in for. I will last a really, really long time.”
He laughed. “You are the first everborn that I have ever seen. I was delighted to have found you.”