Noblesse Oblige

Chapitre vingt et un

Author stuff: It's been a busy week so far. The hockey camp is keeping us busy. But they're having a lot of food trucks brought to the hotel for their meals, so guess who's been eating out for free this week? Me. It's me.

We also had to call in someone from another hotel to come help with the hockey camp. Couple of missteps at check in, but everything seems to be going okay now.

Not much of a puppy update, but she cuddled with me as I finally finished watching the last two episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (yes, I cried watching Sam's absolutely fantastic training montage and becoming the hero the world needed in "Truth"). She was wholly unimpressed. Until we went out back and she chased after a rabbit that was in the yard. (She didn't catch it.)

Anyway! Here's the next chapter!

Chapitre vingt et un

Missing the Ones You Love

She was cocooned in a sea of warmth and pleasantness that didn't feel like it would be ripped away anytime soon. She was glad of that. She snuggled in further — the smell of green and the forest and burning wood made her hum, delighted. It had been a long time since she had fallen into Chat's hideaway.

Oh.

She cracked open her eyes, hissing as the insistant brightness of the sunlight filtering through the partially open curtains — a relatively new feature. It was early still, from what she could tell. Her mother would just be waking up.

The blankets weighed heavily on her, as if more had been added, particularly around her waist. It was perfectly comfortable. She felt like lying there forever and that would be all she needed.

It took her a moment for her senses to register the tickling of hot air across the top of her head and the extra warmth coming from behind her. Mostly out of curiosity, she turned to look over her shoulder and saw a person.

Her lips parted when she caught the face. It was devastatingly handsome — quite like the heroes of legends and faerie tales. There was no way he could be human, her mind reasoned. That jaw was too square and the cheekbones so fine and clear cut. Long lashes kissed along tanned cheeks, contrasting with hair that seemed to be spun from sunlight. He looked like a more elfin version of Felix.

She felt her body temperature rise as she scrambled away, not wanting to be near such a lovely and terrible creature and to be closer to him all at once. She must have kicked him because he startled awake, looking at her with the most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen.

And she fell off the bed.

The man quickly shot down and gathered her up, wrapping her back in the wool and animal hide blankets. He was cursedly gentle with her. His wide mouth kissed the top of her head, and she found herself unable to speak as he pulled her into a tight embrace and into his lap.

"I'm so glad you're awake," he said. "I was so worried. You were just dumped up on the cliff — a friend found you and left you there for us — and you were so cold. I thought you were going to die — that I was going to lose you. Don't scare me like that again."

"Who...?" she said, feeling her voice scratch the back of her throat.

He pulled away from her, and she felt herself flush once more.

"I..." He licked his lips, eyes dashing over to something to his right. "I'm not wearing my mask right now. It's just... You've been asleep for three days, and it got so uncomfortable, I just... I had to take it off."

Something about his voice — the uncertainty, the gentleness, the tone — was familiar to her. And his scent... He wasn't a stranger to her, oh no. She was quite familiar with this man — this terribly, horribly beautiful man.