Cursed by the Fountain of Youth

Chapter 26

Fae's heart raced as Nick carried her across the threshold of the door into the cabin. This place looked strangely like the cabin from her imagination—the daydream was crystal clear in her mind. Perhaps, this time she'd get to kiss Nick. Did he even want to kiss her?

She looked him in the eyes. They twinkled as he murmured, "You're so beautiful. You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now. But I'm afraid I couldn't stop at just one kiss."

She smiled. She'd obviously misread him before. But, he was probably right. Kissing would be a bad idea. At least, it wouldn't fit with her plans for waiting for marriage.

Nick coughed and then cleared his throat. "You mind turning on the light?" Nick asked, still sounding a bit hoarse. "I seem to have my hands full."

"You can put me down, you know," Fae said, slightly breathless.

He raised his eyebrow. "That's a less desirable option."

Fae chuckled. "I have to be getting heavy."

"Not at all."

She found the switch on the wall and flipped it.

Warm light spread over a quaint living area with a kitchen off to the side. Bulging logs lined the walls of the room, lit with the glow of lamps. In front of them sat a plush, brown leather couch with matching love seat. Between those stood a square, glass coffee table. The pane rested atop a stout, gnarled trunk that broke into three branches reaching up to kiss the glass. A cobblestone fireplace was the icing on the cake in this cabin. A stack of wood sat ready beside it. Fae could smell the lingering scent of burnt maple.

"Wow," Fae breathed. "This place is great."

Nick nodded appreciatively as he blew out a quick breath and looked around. His eyes lingered on the opening to a hallway. "Let's get you ready for bed."

He finally let her down to rest on her own two feet and led her into the hall. He flipped on more lights as he went. There were two bedrooms that looked nearly identical on one side of the hall, and on the other side, a bathroom, a linen closet stocked with towels and bedding, and then there was a laundry room toward the end. At the very end of the hall stood a door. It held a rectangular window through which Fae could see slashes of tree trunks in the darkness.

Nick took her arm and lifted it as he looked her over. The slash on her wrist was completely gone, but she still had smears of blood down the entire length of her arm and crimson splatters across her shirt and jeans. It looked like she'd survived a murder attempt. She looked over at him, and he looked worse than she did.

"We should probably clean up," she said.

"Yeah," he said, his voice tight. He dropped her arm and stepped away. "Why don't you go on in the bathroom and strip down? I'll get our clothes in the wash while you shower. Hopefully, this place has enough water pressure to handle it."

Fae nodded, trying not to think about them both naked in the same house. She stepped inside, carefully locked the door, and peeled off her clothes. Looking at her pink, lacy underwear, she considered a moment holding on to those. Did she really want him to see them? She truly did need them washed, though. She couldn't stand the thought of showering and then putting on used underwear. Besides, she'd be a fool if she thought Nick had never seen a women's bra and panties before. She settled on rolling them inside her shirt and jeans.

She stood, working up the nerve to hand them to Nick.

Fae jumped at a light rap on the door. "You ready to hand over your clothes?" Nick's voice filtered in. She had a sudden image of Nick standing completely in the buff outside the door.

Fae swallowed. "You're still dressed, aren't you?"

"Don't ask questions you don't want answered, Fae."

Oh, good grief!

She pressed herself behind the door as she unlocked it and squeezed her bundle through the crack. He took it and said, "Thanks." She could swear she could feel him smiling, amused by her behavior.

Moments later, she was covered in lather and standing in a hot shower. The water pressure seemed fine and the water heater worked perfectly. Fifteen minutes later, she turned off the tap and toweled off.

Smacking her lips, she wished she could brush her teeth. Perhaps...

She looked in the drawers under the sink and smiled in relief. It was stocked with everything she'd need—brand new toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, hairbrushes, and razors—everything still in their store packaging. Breaking out the new items, she commenced ridding herself of the film that covered her teeth.

Looking up at the mirror, she used her hand to clear the fog off the glass. Then she brushed out her hair, parted it, and braided it down the sides. She looked at the end-result and sighed. She didn't have a speck of makeup on her face, but she looked otherwise put together—except for clothes. Those would take a while.

It wouldn't do for him to see her in the nude, she thought as she looked herself over. She'd have to leave the bathroom clad only in a towel.

She could do this.

Maybe.

Oh, good grief. She was a twenty-two-year-old woman! She could absolutely do this.

Wrapping the towel tight around her chest, she stepped into the hallway and gasped. Nick moved toward her fast, his muscled chest at eye level to her. She looked down quickly, relieved to see he had a towel hugging his hips.

"I hope you saved me some cold water," he muttered as he brushed by her.

"Um, yeah. There's plenty of...did you say cold water?"

He didn't slow down to answer her, but entered the bathroom immediately and shut the door behind him. Before she even left the hall, she heard running water.

Stepping into the first room she came to, she eyed the bed with a deep longing. Draping the towel across a chair, she stepped to the dresser. There couldn't possibly be...

She opened the drawer and smiled. Hope thought of everything. Fae ruffled through a few nightgowns and brand new underclothes and found her size. She pulled off the tags, slipped into them, and sighed happily.

She could now go to bed.