rogue shifter 06 - torn apart (10 page)

"I hope you like it."

It was considered bad form among certain groups to open your presents in front of everyone else, so Charlie was expected to open them sometime in the next few days and then we'd make sure everyone got a thank-you card Last night he'd been having way too much fun playing with his friends to spend an hour opening all those gifts and Garrett and I were enjoying watching him frolic.

"I'm sure it's really cool." He wrinkled his brow and then said a phrase in Fae.

Aedus and Philladre broke out in laughter while Linn scowled at them. Still chuckling, Aedus repeated the phrase the correct way to Charlie, apologizing for laughing, but when my son realized what he'd said, he laughed too.

"I said the gift is frozen instead of cool." He giggled. "They don't really have a word for cool in Fae. You just have to say wonderful or something like that.

"My parents were rude to laugh." Linn moved closer and pouted, but Charlie touched her shoulder with the tip of one finger and shook his head.

"No, it's okay. I wanna learn the right way to talk Fae." As the two kids smiled at each other, Aedus gave Philly a look I'd come to recognize well.

The Cascade Fae saw these two children as a future couple with a good chance to bear children, something most fae had difficulties achieving. Even at this age, you could see that physically they'd be spectacular together. All fae were attractive in an exotic way, but there were some who stood out, Aedus and Philly being the two most obvious. Linn was already almost as lovely as her mother, with her father's shiny dark waves and thoughtful expression. And my son was turning into quite the little heartthrob if Linn's flirty behavior was anything to go by. If I didn't know it to be impossible, I'd have said that he'd inherited Garrett's charismatic gifts.

"Whoa." Charlie's brows shot up and his eyes turned into lavender saucers as he took a step closer to me, while continuing to stare at Linn. They seemed to be speaking mentally, but that wasn't possible was it? I turned quickly toward Aedus and he nodded, placing a finger over his lips and concentrating on what they were saying.

I
listened
, but could only hear brief whispers in Fae and the occasional out-loud giggle.

"Holy shit." Everyone turned toward me and I felt my face heat up. "Sorry." I winced in Philladre's direction, but she smiled back.

"I agree," she said.

Little Linn spoke out loud. "I am teaching him my language. He'll learn faster this way because he can see my thoughts. I give him pictures along with the words."

She'd broken their mental connection in order to talk to me, causing Charlie to stumble backward into my legs. I caught him and crouched down to hold him steady, noticing immediately that he was having trouble keeping his eyes open.

Philly spoke to her daughter in her musical language and then turned to me. "He has used much of his energy today and should rest. We will see you soon in Faerie." The three of them nodded and disappeared.

I picked up my little boy, intending to carry him back to his room, but suddenly Garrett was there taking him from me with the loving smile of a proud father. After he laid him down on his bed, I took off Charlie's sneakers and tucked him in for a nap, both of us kissing his forehead and taking in his sweet scent. Then we sat side by side on the small couch in the corner of his room holding hands and watching him sleep, spending a few silent minutes observing his breathing and hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't wake up ill. We'd done this so many times over the last five years that it had become a ritual of sorts, a time for us to reconnect and feel grateful for each other's strength and support.

I filled Garrett in on today's exhausting events.

When I'd finished, Garrett kissed me sweetly and flashed us back to our room, where he insisted that I lie down and rest. He was probably surprised that I didn't put up much of a fight, only insisting that he drink from my wrist so he didn't have to leave me to go out and feed.

He sighed like a martyr. "It's such a hardship to drink from you."

"Poor baby." I watched him lick my wrist sending serious tingles around my body. Before long, I wasn't feeling all that tired. I scooted a little closer and kissed his jaw and then the corner of his mouth.

He pulled is mouth from my wrist and withdrew his fangs. "Insatiable," he teased.

"C'mon, you love it." I crawled into his lap.

"You need to sleep."

"I've needed to cuddle all day." I kissed him, then hugged him close.

Enjoying our affectionate banter, he kissed my nose playfully. "Talking doesn't appear to be what you have in mind at the moment. But I still think you need rest."

"I always sleep well
after
..." I pushed him back against the pillows and straddled his legs, then started unbuttoning his shirt.

"After?" He still had hold of my wrist, so he trailed kisses up my arm to the inside of my elbow. Oh man, that felt so good.

"Après l'amour." My heart was beating much faster as my body began to heat up.

"Does my angel feel neglected?" One fang grazed my skin, sending a lovely shiver thru my body.

"No. Yes. Sometimes." I teased him by pulling on his thick hair, still damp from his shower, and then running my fingers over his lips. He captured my hand and kissed each finger, then drew in my thumb and scraped the pad along the same sharp fang. At this point I was panting.

"I can fix that." He snaked his fingers through my blonde hair and pulled my face close enough so that I was breathing in each one of his yummy breaths, yet still not touching his lips. I tried to move so our lips could meet but he held me in place and laughed when I pouted them out as far as possible.

"Frustrating male." I tried to look annoyed, but couldn't really pull it off.

"Would Madame perhaps enjoy a kiss?" His eyes sparkled with silver.

"I don't know. Are you any good at it?" I teased back.

He smiled his very sexiest smile and whispered into my ear. "You can tell me what you think later...much later."

His first kiss was sweet enough to eat, but the ones that came after had my toes curling and every inch of my skin tingling happily. Covering me with kisses, Garrett played my body like a maestro, leaving both of us feeling hot and cool and quite content.

After I'd slept for an hour in his arms, I asked. "Who taught you how to kiss like that?"

"Complaining?"

"Do I look crazy to you?"

"Never too crazy." He added wryly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, leaving me behind. "You must be a little bit crazy for choosing me."

"It's been more than five years. If I was insane, there'd be further evidence."

"Well, there's the agreement you made with Isaiah."

I sat up and glared at him in disbelief. "You're not going to ruin a perfectly beautiful afternoon by arguing with me about something that can't be changed or taken back or Magicked away or..."

"Sasha says Isaiah's at our patio door, but he won't let him inside until I say it's okay."

Garrett wasn't looking at me, which was never a good sign. It usually meant that he was hiding some feeling that he didn't want me to read. Even though we were connected emotionally, he was still a master at keeping some of his more 'negative' feelings hidden during certain key moments. In this case it was probably his anger or frustration or fear at my decision to travel to the DR. Although we'd argued this subject before, now that Isaiah was actually here, he didn't want to make things harder for me.

I put my head on his chest and hugged him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I've brought him back into our lives. At the time, I couldn't think of anything else to do. If it's a mistake, then I'll be the one paying the price, not you or Charlie."

"If he hurts you..."

"Let's talk to him together. Maybe he can ease your mind a little."

We quickly dressed and went out to the patio hand in hand. Isaiah was sitting on the edge of the fountain with Charlie sitting next to him, asking, "So where do you live?"

"In the Demon Realm—or the DR as your mom calls it."

"Is it next to Faerie?" Aislin grunted in derision. She was standing beside an oak tree with one of the demi-fey males on her shoulder. Both of them looked extremely unhappy that Isaiah was anywhere near Charlie.

"No. Nothing is next to it, yet nothing is far from it either."

"That doesn't make sense." Charlie folded his arms across his chest.

"Is Faerie next to Crescent City?" Isaiah asked.

Charlie thought about that. "It's a magic place that we go to through the lines, so it's close 'cause we get there really fast, but it's not next to us like Uncle Aaron's packland. "

"Exactly right."

"So the Demonland is a magic place too?"

"Yes." Isaiah laughed. "It's called the Demon Realm by your kind."

"My kind?" Charlie scowled.

"Everyone but those who live there."

"What do you call it?"

"Perhaps one day I'll teach you." Isaiah stood, rolling his shoulders and stretching his arms.

Charlie looked Isaiah up and down. "Is everyone there like you, cause you look like you're from Faerie."

Noticing me, Isaiah nodded then answered Charlie's question. "My people are more varied in appearance than the fairies. We also have regular dealings with the unseelie fae and they are nothing like the seelie."

When Charlie noticed us standing nearby, he ran to his dad, giving him a huge hug and then telling him about his after-party breakfast. "Linn talked to me in my head."

"She did?" Sasha looked at me curiously.

"Apparently." I answered with a frown.

"She said I was a han-some warrior, I think."

"That female is trouble." Sasha laughed.

"What's han-some?"

Sasha answered. "Good-looking." He still seemed confused, so Sash elaborated. "A male that females want to hang out with."

"Attractive." I added. He looked thoughtful.

"Pretty?" he asked his dad.

"Yes, but for a male it's called handsome."

"Oh. So that's good?"

"Yes."

"It's not the most important thing," I added.

"Doesn't hurt." Sasha winked at Charlie.

"Isaiah." Garrett had walked closer to Isaiah. Sash followed.

"Garrett." Isaiah nodded. "Nice rest?"

"I have no desire to exchange pleasantries. You have decided to begin training my son and then continue training my mate. I appreciate the necessity of these circumstances, however I'm not comfortable with Jacqueline spending time in the DR. Could you reconsider and train her here? Charlie needs her, as do I." It took a lot for Garrett to open up that way. I didn't try to hide my smile.

Isaiah leaned back and frowned. I expected some kind of snide comment to pop out, but he surprised me. "I know you're concerned for her safety. I promise that I will keep her from harm and that I will do nothing to hurt her, other than those small injuries that occur with rigorous training.

"It's cruel to take her away from her family."

"It's necessary." Isaiah responded. I'd walked over and snaked my hand in Garrett's, so Isaiah turned his attention toward me. "You could kill someone without meaning to. With me, your demon powers will be at their peak. If you can control them in the DR you can control them here."

"I'll be fine." I kissed Garrett's cheek.

"More than me." he scowled. I giggled and started to respond.

Charlie tugged on my sleeve. "Can I open Linn's present?"

"After dinner you can open five presents, but you have to eat your vegetables too."

"Okay." He didn't argue at all. This was a first.

"Liam said he made fried chicken, just for you."

"Cool. Did he make biscuits?"

"I bet he did."

He wolfed down his chicken, biscuits, salad and baked sweet potato faster than I'd ever seen him eat. Then he waited for the rest of us to finish without squirming around too much.

I made it clear that we would write thank you cards to the person who gave him the present after each one was opened. He grumbled a little, but then agreed.

Linn's present was in a lovely hand-decorated box, but Charlie didn't look at it twice. As soon as he opened the box his face fell. "It's a shirt."

I took a look. "It's a tunic, like Uncle Liam and Uncle Aedus wear when they're in Faerie. It'll make you look like a real fae warrior." I pulled it out to see it more closely. It was the rich green and gold of his aura, made of a lovely fabric that seemed to stretch slightly. "This will fit you perfectly."

"I'm not wearing that."

"Will you wear it to her Naming Day Ceremony?"

"No." He pouted, still looking disappointed.

"Look, there's a note." Garrett smiled at me and handed it to Charlie. He read it slowly and I helped him with the few words he was unsure about.

To my friend, Charles,

Happy day of your birth. I am very much looking forward to attending your celebration.

I hope that you accept with joy the surcoat that my mother and I made for you with Faerie magic. It will form to your body and grow as you do. It will never fade or fray and when you wear it, the surcoat will help protect you from magical harm.

Perhaps you would do me the great honor of wearing it to my Naming Day Ceremony? If you choose not to, I will understand.

Until next week, your friend,

Jacqueline, (Linn), daughter of Lord Aedus and Lady Philladre

He read the note once more and then folded it up and put it in his pocket without further comment. Standing, he took the shirt and hung it with care in his closet, then sat and wrote a short thank you note. He opened the next four gifts with great enthusiasm, particularly enjoying Jay's martial arts video game that the two of them could play together. However, once or twice I caught him looking curiously at the green and gold tunic out of the corner of his eye.

Female fae mojo is powerful stuff.

CHAPTER SEVEN

I was very pleased to see that Isaiah was approaching Charlie's training with care, understanding the limits of his age and his natural inclination to "want to play now". He took everyday actions and converted them into a learning experience. Throwing a ball back and forth, he'd describe their actions and surroundings in English, Seelie Fae and Rux, which was his word for the Demon language. This way Charlie would have fun while he learned. When my son got bored, Isaiah moved on to some other activity. He didn't ask Charlie to repeat the words in his language because of the difficulty in the pronunciations, but he did expect him to learn the meanings well enough to understand what someone speaking those words in Rux was saying.