Page 15 of Naughty Elf: Merry
I offered him a cookie and he took two, eating both at the same time. “You’re a great cook.”
I sighed. “I’m not. I can hardly boil water, but many of my colleagues can whip up delicious concoctions of cream, icing, and spun sugar.”
“Okay. I don’t know what spun sugar is, but it sounds intriguing.”
He put his hands on his hips and wandered around the room, sticking his head into the bathroom and workshop.
“It’s spotless. Did you use magic?”
Holding up both hands, I explained I couldn’t perform magic. “Just determination and time.”
“But you shouldn’t have. You’re a guest, not a servant. I didn’t expect you to clean up my place. That’s not your job.”
“I’m between jobs at the moment.”
“That’s not what I meant.” He waved a hand in front of his face. “Doesn’t matter. I should be looking after you, not the other way around.”
Leaning over the sink, I brushed crumbs off my chest and washed the dishes, wishing Hernan would come behind me and press his body against mine. Or make a declaration of love!
“Don’t need looking after.” Tears spilled into the sink, and I wiped them away with the back of my hand. I wasn’t a charity case. Perhaps I should leave, because being in the presence of this shifter who gave no indication he sensed we were fated was more painful than being alone.
“What am I?” I turned around, hoping he wouldn’t pick up on my distress.
“You’re an elf who turned up unexpectedly and we have to figure out your purpose.”
That was a death knell to our mating. He thought I’d just popped by for a visit.
I gulped and hugged myself since no one else was going to embrace me.
“I need to leave.”
Chapter 12
Hernan
“No.”
He froze.
“I mean… don’t leave, please.”
Silence. How had I managed to mess this up so spectacularly in such a short period of time? Not that I knew what this even was. The entire situation was so confusing, but the one thing I was sure of was that the second he mentioned leaving, my stomach dropped, my dragon got pissed at me, and I went into panic mode.
“I’m messing this up.” That was saying it lightly.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to relieve some of the pressure that was building up there. My beast was so close—he wanted to just take his wings, grab Merry, and bring him someplace far away. As if that would do any good. Even if it wasn’t wrong on so many levels, it was definitely impractical. He’d magically appeared in the first place. For all I knew, he could magically disappear the same way.
“I don’t want to,” he confessed.
My beast rumbled in agreement with Merry. He didn’t want him to either. But just because Merry didn’t want to, that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to. He’d been careful when choosing his words.
“Listen, I’m not going to pretend to understand what’s going on. All I know is that this is confusing. All I can think about doing is holding you, hugging you, kissing you, and—my beast—he just, he wants you here.”
I’d never been drawn to someone this way before and that was scary and exhilarating all mixed together. If only I knew what to do with it all. At least I was finally talking it out. Already I was saying things out loud that I hadn’t allowed myself to process.
“For a little while, I thought... maybe you were mine.” I closed my eyes, unsure I’d be able to get it all out if I was watching his face. “But I’d always heard that I’d know. Like it would be a flashing neon sign and our beasts would communicate, and like, there’d be no doubt. The second I saw my mate, I would know. Only you aren’t a shifter, and I don’t know the rules now.”
If only I did. Then all of this would make so much more sense. Or any sense, for that matter.