Beyond that, the world could walk into a septic tank and stay there forever.
He pulled up his leathers and tucked his satisfied cock well behind the open zipper.
That’s when he froze.
A wind rushed through his head as a specific awareness of the state of his gut became clear.
No.
It couldn’t be.
It wasn’t possible.
By all the elf-lords damned to hell.
He slowly zipped as he glanced at Holly. She had her bra already on and was stepping into her jeans. She was also frowning. Something was bothering her. Whatever it was, though, her life was about to be thrown up into the air.
He shrugged on his boots and zipped them up as well. She’d set his well-used tank on the ground. When she was busy putting on her red sweater, he grabbed up the tank and her torn thong then turned to stare at her. She levitated as she put on her shoes.
What the hell was happening here and why didn’t he get it sooner?
“Holly, we need to talk.”
“Forget it, Rez. You don’t owe me anything. Trust me. I’m fine.” She slid into her heels and adjusted the straps.
She turned toward the deep red mist she’d made. He watched her focus, then wave an arm. Slowly, the mist dissipated until nothing remained.
Mist. Of course. Now it made sense. She was a woman of extraordinary power. All the women he’d heard about who had Holly’s peculiar capacity were women of tremendous power.
He knew one other thing as well. Holly had no idea what she was.
“Holly, we definitely need to talk.”
She lifted her chin and met his gaze. “I’m not going to date you, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
She was so sure of herself, that some of his compassion for her vanished like the mist she’d just dispelled.
“Really, Mistress McCrae? What? Am I not good enough for you? Is that it?”
She folded her hands in front of her and once more lifted her chin, this time with an angled tilt to her head. “It’s not about being good enough. I’m sure you have many fine qualities …”
“Sounds like code from the prim and proper daughter of a famous professor.”
Her hand went to her throat. “I am not prim and proper. At least, not the way you’re saying it.”
“Very prim. Very proper. And there’s nothing wrong with that.” He chuckled. “You are so not going to like what I have to say because you and me, we’ve got a monster, hairy-ass problem between us.”
She threw her hands wide. “There’s no problem here. We had sex, great sex, something I confess I needed. But we both know we don’t suit. You’re a … well … you’re a drop out and I can’t live with that.”
“That may be true, but we’ve still got a problem.”
“No, Rez, we don’t. The next time you need a healer, you can contact someone else.” She drew her cell from the pocket of her jeans and began scrolling through it. “What’s your number? I’ll text you the contact info of a couple of excellent healers I know.”
He decided there was no harm in giving her his details. She might need it someday. Probably sooner than later. She tapped in the digits.
He added, “Don’t text the info yet. Wait until we talk this through.”
She released an exasperated sigh. “Fine. But I won’t be available next time. Just to be clear. I don’t mean you any ill-will. Truly.”