Consumed (6 page)

“We were at a camp in Maine, and I thought the water was deeper than it was when I jumped off the dock. Turned out it wasn’t very deep at all, and I landed on a huge rock.”

Thaddeus walked in as she was speaking. When she finished, he said, “A dare devil klutz—quite the combination.”

Keegan threw a biscuit at him, but Thaddeus just caught it and took a bite.

Rourk had stayed quiet during the exchange, watching them interact. “You guys have a great family. My house is always so quiet.”

“Well, get used to it. You’re part of the family now. Lucky you.” Thaddeus smirked.

Rourk looked over at Thad with a serious expression on his face. “Thanks to you. I will forever be in your debt for bringing back our bond.”

Thaddeus gave him an impish grin. “You might take that back after dealing with the drama queen for a while.”

Rourk grinned and shook his head. “Somehow I doubt that.” He paused, his eyes on Thaddeus’s. “Seriously, thank you.”

Thaddeus shrugged. “No problem.”

Emerald set her mug down on the table. “What are you guys going to do today?”

Keegan looked over at Rourk. “Not sure. I guess just hang out around the house. Maybe we’ll go for a hike. I also want to look online at the schools.” Keegan turned towards Rourk. “Speaking of online, we need to set up your computer and make sure you know how to use it for our chatting. Come on, let’s go to my room.”

Emerald raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.

Rourk glanced around her room, taking it all in. He noticed a picture of Keegan with the shapeshifter on her nightstand. Keegan caught his gaze. “Sorry.” She leaned over and took the photo down.

Rourk took it from her hands and stared at. “You looked happy.”

Keegan shrugged. “He’s very funny, and we had been friends for years.”

“That’s what worries me. I’m not exactly fun, Keegan. I’m not known for my sense of humor. What if you grow bored of me?”

Keegan smiled and met his eyes. “I think you are the sexiest, most exciting man I have ever met. Just the thought of getting bored of you is laughable. You are an elfin warrior. How could you possibly be boring?”

Keegan loved the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled.

“I love you Rourk. I’ve never loved anyone else,” she said softly.

Rourk needed to hear her say that. “Every day for the rest of my life, I am going to try to show you how much you mean to me.”

Keegan walked over to where he was sitting on the edge of her bed. She bit her lip, reached over, and put her hand behind his head. Electricity shot through her when their lips met. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensations that rushed through her body. When they finally pulled apart. Keegan grinned. “Yeah, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Definitely not boring.”

Rourk shook his head and laughed. “Let’s get this computer set up.”

Keegan pulled the new laptop out of the bag and plugged it into the wall.

It didn’t take too long to get the account set up, and Keegan showed him the basics of Skype. He didn’t even have an email account, so she set that up as well. Who didn’t have an email account these days? He did have a military account, but that didn’t really count since they couldn’t correspond that way.

“All done. We still have some time. What do you want to do?”

“We could go for a walk? We’ve been inside all day.”

“Sure, want to go to my favorite spot? I’ll bring my camera.”

“I’d love to. Although I have been there many times already.”

Keegan looked surprised. “Oh really?”

“Yes, when you used to think of me it would mentally beckon me. Many times I watched you taking photos or sitting on the rocks, thinking.”

Keegan gave him a funny look. “You know that’s pretty creepy.”

“I know.” His smile was chagrined. “I couldn’t help it. I tried, I really did. I just couldn’t stay away from you.”

“Anyone else I would call the cops on.” She held her hand out for him to grab. “However, since it’s my fault for always thinking about you, I guess it’s ok. I hope I didn’t do anything embarrassing.”

“Just make a few spills once in a while, which only made me crazier about you. You would always grin when you tripped.”

“I’ve actually gotten much better with my balance since I started training with Thaddeus and my mother.”

“Well, now you can train with me.”

“I can impress you with my ninja skills.” Keegan gave him a sly smile.

“Everything about you impresses me.”

“See, that’s why I love you so much.” Keegan led him out of the room and down the stairs.

“Do you think we should pack a lunch?”

Rourk involuntarily flinched and tensed up as he recalled the memory of Keegan eating lunch in the woods with the shapeshifter. He needed to push all of that behind him and just look forward. The was no sense holding onto all of the jealousy he felt. “Sure, lunch sounds great. Do you need some help?”

“I got it.” Keegan packed up their lunch and they went out for a couple of hours. Already the sadness was starting to set in at the thought of leaving Rourk so soon.

Keegan stopped to pick up a rock and Rourk continued on ahead. She tossed the rock back and forth between her hands as she watched him walk. His shoulders were so strong and broad… Grinning, she dropped the rock and ran up behind him and jumped on his back, latching on to him. Rourk laughed and spun her around.

Keegan kicked her legs. “Put me down.”

“Nope, I’m carrying you the rest of the way. You don’t weigh much more than a ruck-sack.”

Keegan laughed. “Ok, but don’t blame me when your back hurts.”

They reached the creek and Rourk let her down.

The woods stretched around them and the creek twisted before them. Some of the trees were already bare, but many were still crowned by red and orange that lit like fire in the sunshine.

They walked to the edge of the crystal clear water, their shoes crunching on dried leaves. Keegan looked around, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “This is my favorite spot on earth.” She grasped Rourk’s hand, smiling. “Now I get to share it with you.”

“Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

“Do you have a favorite spot?” Keegan asked.

Rourk shrugged. “No, I just love being outdoors; it really doesn’t matter where it is. I don’t have a particular spot. Although, there is something about the Tennessee woods that makes me feel at home.”

“Do you want to move back here when you are out of the Army?”

Rourk tilted his head and looked at her closely. “I figured we would move back here since your family is here. Is that what you want?”

Keegan thought about it for a minute. “Yes, I would like to come back here. As long as we can still travel.”

Rourk turned to face her, cupping her face in his warm hands. “I would love to see the world with you.”

Keegan just smiled, a flush covered her cheeks. She took the blanket from him and spread it over the ground, before pulling out the sandwiches and drinks.

“Sit down so we can eat.” She gestured for him to sit next to her.

Rourk complied. He popped open a can of soda and leaned back on his hand. “Keegan, I have not felt this at peace in a very long time. It’s almost too good to be true.”

“Don’t jinx us. This is wonderful, but I will be leaving in a couple of hours.” She stared at him intently, memorizing the expression on his face. “I don’t want to be away from you, Rourk.”

Rourk leaned forward “I know. Just remember—I will be thinking of you every minute and counting them down until I can visit you.”

They spent two hours relaxing by the creek and learning more about each other. Finally, it was time to pack up and head out to the airport.

Keegan felt a lump in her throat thinking about it.

Chapter 7

K
eegan took a last look around her room, saddened to leave it again. It hadn’t been that long since graduation, really. Not very long since she’d moved to Alaska. But it
felt
like ages. She hurt to leave her room behind. So many things had changed…

“Come on, Keegan, we can’t miss the flight.” Her mother yelled from downstairs.

“I’m coming!” she yelled back, exasperated. She grabbed her bag from the bed and hurried back down the stairs.

Rourk took the bag from her hand and threw it over his shoulder. Keegan smiled as she stared after him—she loved how broad his back was. He turned slightly and reached his hand out for her. She grabbed it and squeezed, feeling the connection from his body to hers.

Keegan jumped in his truck and scooted into the middle so she could be as close to him as possible. Her mother and Warrick were settled in the backseat. Warrick was already screaming because he didn’t want to be buckled into the car seat.

Keegan laid her head on Rourk’s shoulder and didn’t speak for most of the ride. She was afraid if she talked about it, she would cry. There was no sense in making it harder on Rourk than it already was.

Keegan peeked up at Rourk and noticed his jaw was tense. She reached up and ran her finger along his jaw and smiled when he relaxed. They exchanged a quick glance, but neither of them spoke.

When they arrived at the airport, Rourk pulled into the garage and found a spot. While her mother wrestled with Warrick, Keegan and Rourk got their bags out of the truck.

The walk inside was just as silent as the drive. Keegan held Rourk’s hand, her own palm sweaty and her heart aching at the thought of leaving him. Her mother was subdued as well.

Outside the security line, Rourk turned to Keegan with sad eyes. Emerald stepped away from them, making a show of fussing over Warrick so that they could say goodbye.

“I’ll stay here till the plane leaves,” Rourk said, touching his forehead to hers. “I wish I could go back and wait with you.”

“Me too. I don’t want to say goodbye.” Keegan closed the space between them and flung her arms around his neck. She couldn’t hold back the tears any longer.

“I will be there in a few days. It will go quickly.” Rourk tilted her chin up so she could meet his eyes. His grey eyes looked pained.

Keegan rubbed her face with the sleeve of her jacket and tried to give him a smile. “I’m sorry. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry. I’m such a baby sometimes.”

Rourk gave her a sad smile. “Just a few days.”

Keegan turned and walked towards the security line. She glanced back to find Rourk staring intently at her. He was breathtaking to look at. He stood as still as a statue, his eyes only on her.

She grabbed her phone from her coat pocket.
Miss you already xoxos

She grinned when she saw him reach into his jeans and pull out his flip phone. A wide smile broke across his face. He looked so cute pecking away at the keyboard.

Miss you more. I love you Keegan don’t forget that

Never. I love you 2 I’ll text you when we land.

Thank you. I guess texting isn’t so bad after all.
Rourk replied.

They finally boarded the plane. Keegan felt a strong urge to run off the plane and back into Rourk’s arms. Instead, she plopped into the seat and folded her arms across her chest. “This sucks.”

“I know, honey. Here put this on before we take off.” Her mother pulled a gaudy pink crystal necklace from her bag and held it out.

“Couldn’t you have picked a better color? You know I don’t look good in pink. And it’s so clunky.” Keegan grabbed it from her mom and smiled when she felt the energy radiating of it. “Wow, Mom, that’s powerful.”

“I had to use rose quartz. It’s the love stone. I’m hoping that on top of the healing energies will keep the pain at bay. Here let me put it on you.”

Emerald reached over to clasp the necklace around Keegan’s neck. Warrick kept trying to pull it off.
This is going to be a long flight
, Keegan thought with a sigh. At least they were in first class so they had plenty of room.

She grabbed a magazine and started flipping through it. When she realized she wasn’t even looking at the pages, she shoved it back in the pocket of the seat. She wondered if Rourk had left yet. Probably not. He would wait until the plane was in the air.

About thirty minutes later, they finally took off. Her mother kept glancing over at her, worry lines on her brow.

Keegan rolled her eyes. “I’m fine, Mom. I’ll let you know if I feel any pain.”

Her mother nodded and started quietly reading a book to Warrick. After a couple moments, he grabbed it from her hands and threw it across the seat. Her mom sighed and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

Warrick started crying and pulling on his ears. Keegan watched as her mom placed her hands over his ears and the crying stopped instantly. Keegan secretly wished she had been born a healer. Her power of invisibility was cool and all, but she rarely got to use it.

The further they got in the air, the tighter Keegan’s chest felt. She grabbed her mom’s hand and squeezed it, gasping.

“How bad is it?” Her mom reached over, placing a hand on Keegan’s forehead.

“It’s just in my chest. Feels funny, like a tightening.”

“Not in your stomach?”