The Light of Shadoewynne: Book 2 of the Shadoewynne Series Page 7

  “Travis. I really want to see what you had planned.”

  He sighed. “Oh, alright.” He leaned in to kiss me tenderly. “I’ll be right back.” I watched the well-defined muscles in his back move as he bent down to pick up his shirt and left the room.

  Now that I was alone, and not caught up in the moment, I began to feel ashamed of my behavior. I had been fooling around with two guys. They both knew about it, but that didn’t matter. What was I doing? Was I really okay with this? Were they okay with it? I knew David wasn’t. He said he was going to be, but he wasn’t yet. Which is why he left. I was a bad person for feeling the way I did about three guys. I laid back on the bed while I struggled with my feelings. Kait and Sarah both said it was a human fallacy that love is between two people only, but that was how I was raised. But, I couldn’t imagine choosing one of the guys. I put my arm over my eyes while my head and emotions battled. My heart was saying it was okay to love who I loved, while my head was calling me a slut.

  I tried to think about it logically. Why was my brain so opposed? Because of depictions of the “correct” types of families in the media. It’s not like my family ever conformed to any ideals, anyway. But I had always hoped I would grow up and have that perfect family. But, really, is having one man that loves you better than having three that love you unconditionally? When I thought about it that way, the answer was obvious.

  Travis came back in the room. I moved my arm just a little and he grinned at me. “Why are you still not dressed? Do you want to play some more?”

  “Travis, does it bother you that I love you as well as Kait and David?”

  He sat down next to me; the playful smile gone. “Not anymore. At first, it bothered me. I thought you had known David longer, so you would love him more. Kait and I have talked about it several times, honestly, even before he told you about the bonding. He pointed out to me that you bonded to all of us, and any of us missing will be like you missing a piece of your heart. It helped me. Kait and David are just as devoted to you as I am. Why?”

  “I just… I feel like I am being a slut. I mean, I haven’t actually slept with anyone yet, but being in a relationship with three people is not what I pictured for me. But, I also can’t picture my life without any of you in it. David is having a problem with the idea, and that is making me feel worse about it.” He was rubbing my back now.

  “David will come around. He just needs to work through some things in his head, like we all do. As much as I enjoyed what we just did, if you want us to cool it down a bit, we will. You are in control.”

  I laughed. “Am I?” When I saw the look on his face, I blanched. “I don’t mean that I think you will force me. What I meant was, I can’t control myself. You all are so… yummy… that it didn’t even occur to me to stop until after it all happened.”

  He turned red, even as a gorgeous smile covered his face. “I will take that as a compliment. Do you still want to go out to the woods?”

  “Ah. Yeah. I guess that means I have to get dressed, huh?” I smiled at him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. He grabbed me and deepened the kiss for a moment, then smacked my butt. I gasped. It hurt and yet didn’t at the same time. I stood frozen, until he chuckled.

  “Did you enjoy that smack?”

  I felt my face turn red. “No. It just startled me.” I bustled around the room, as he sat down to watch me put my clothes on as I found them strewn around the room. He continued to laugh as I felt my face get redder and redder. Once I was fully clothed again, he snagged my arm as I went by him to get my shoes. He pulled me into his lap and kissed me. Then he pulled back and stared into my eyes.

  “You know, it’s not something to be ashamed of if you liked the smack.”

  I looked away. I was not going to have this discussion. With my past, there was no way that was something I was going to enjoy. Even though it had sent a spark of heat directly between my legs. One that I could still feel. That I wished he would do something to make it grow and overcome me. Shit. No, that’s not what I wanted. I wanted to take a walk in the woods to learn more about his body. I mean, him. Fuck!

  I cleared my throat. “I know. It didn’t do anything for me.” I could feel the heat in my face at my flat-out lie. Good thing Kait and David weren’t there to call me on it. “Are you ready to go?”

  He kissed me again and let go. “Alright. I can take a hint. Yep, I’m ready, but don’t you still need shoes?”

  I looked down at my feet. “Yes, I guess I do. Stop distracting me!”

  Chapter 8

  I put my shoes on, then pulled out my phone to see if David had responded to my text. Nope, nothing. Shit, that’s not good, is it? He ran off, and never answered me. It worried me that I hadn’t heard from Kait either, so I sent him a quick text. He responded immediately that he had found David, and he was fine, but neither of them would be back to the cabin tonight. Travis came up behind me and put his arms around me as he read the text over my shoulder.

  “It will be okay, Babe. Kait will help David see the light.” I sighed.

  “Are you sure?”

  Travis turned me around in his arms. “Babe, David loves you with all his heart. He won’t be able to walk away from you, and he doesn’t want to hurt you. He will be back. I promise.” I rested my head on his shoulder, fighting back tears. He just held me and rubbed my back, until I took a shaky breath and pushed away from him.

  “Okay. Let’s go.” I pulled him toward the door.

  “I’ve got to grab something from the kitchen real quick. Meet me by the door?” Travis disengaged my hand from his arm before running down the hall.

  “Okay?” I was puzzled. What did he need in the kitchen if we were going to the woods? He came back with a backpack slung over his shoulder.

  “Are you ready to go?” His eyes were dancing mischievously as he waited for my answer. I stared at him suspiciously for a moment before shrugging. I guess I’ll find out when he wants me to find out.

  He took my hand and we walked out the door. He led me around the garage to a different path than the one we have always used before. The entrance was hidden behind an evergreen bush, and the trail was narrow. It was no bigger than a regular game trail. Travis caught my eye and smiled. “I’m going to take you to my special place. It’s where I go when I want to be alone.” Cassy followed us soundlessly. It was freaky how quiet she was, but after a few minutes, I forgot about her.

  As we walked, Travis told me about his family and his dreams for the future. He didn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps, but there was no one else. His older sister had renounced her claim on the throne and was living as a human with her husband. Travis hadn’t seen her in almost ten years, ever since the day she announced she would not take the throne. He had idolized her, and it seemed that he didn’t completely understand why she had turned her back on the family.

  He talked about school, and his childhood. It finally dawned on me after a while that he was deliberately giving me the background that everyone else already knew. It was more than just getting to know him. I was extremely grateful. So many times in the past couple of weeks, I have felt completely excluded because I didn’t know the history between everyone. Travis was starting to fill that in for me.

  We came to a clearing, and Travis stopped me just inside the tree line. The meadow was lit by stray sunbeams, and even though the foliage was mostly dead, it was a beautiful sight. The sun picked out the newly budding leaves on the undergrowth, highlighting it against the shadows behind them. Travis turned to me.

  “Close your eyes for a second, please.” His eyes were still dancing.

  “Okay?” There was a question in my words, because I didn’t understand why he would want me to close my eyes, but I did it anyway.

  A strong gust of wind came out of nowhere from behind us, blowing my hair forward into my face. Travis laughed from somewhere ahead of me. I frowned. He sounded far away. A second later, he rubbed my arms, and started pulling me forward. I began t
o open my eyes, but he yelled at me. “No! Wait. I’ll guide you and tell you when you can open them.”

  “Okay.” I began to giggle. This was insane. Travis had moved so he was behind me, guiding me with pressure on my arms. Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against him.

  “Okay, open your eyes.” He whispered, his breath tickling my ear. I giggled again as I followed his instruction. In front of me, in the middle of the meadow, a picnic was laid out, complete with a red and white checkered blanket. There was a bottle of wine, as well as sandwiches and chips. I gaped as he kissed my neck. “Do you like my surprise?”

  I turned in his arms and kissed him. “Yes, I do.” He smiled and took my hand again, pulling me to the blanket. As I spun, I glimpsed Cassy standing guard in the woods. It made me remember the danger we always seem to be in, as well as the fact we had an audience. My smile faded.

  Travis brought me to the blanket and gestured for me to sit down. The melancholy feeling stayed with me as we sat and ate. I could tell that Travis knew my mind was elsewhere; he kept making jokes, attempting to bring me out of it.

  Eventually, he sighed. “I give up, Babe. What’s wrong?”

  I glanced into his beautiful eyes, which were practically glowing again. “I was just wondering if any of this is ever going to stop, or if we will have to deal with problem after problem our entire lives. I worry that my life is never going to be normal again.”

  He was smiling widely, which struck me as weird. Here I am worried, and he looks like a kid that has just been given candy. “Why are you looking at me like that, Travis?”

  He took my hand and kissed it. “I’m sorry. It’s just that you said, ‘our entire lives’.”

  I was puzzled. “Yeah, so?”

  His smile just grew wider, but now he evaded my question by going back to my original comment. “Honestly, Evalia, my life will never be normal. As the Prince, I always have security nearby, and there are always people who are unhappy with my father’s rule, and there will be people unhappy when I rule. That’s just the way of things.”

  I sighed and looked at the ground. “So, this will never change, then. I just have to get used to it.” When I looked back up, Travis was hiding his grin behind his hand.

  Fed up, I smacked him lightly on the shoulder. “Explain the grin, Travis. Why are you taking my concerns so lightly?”

  He laughed, pulled me to him and proceeded to kiss the fight right out of me. “It’s not that I’m taking your concerns lightly. It’s that you are saying ‘our lives’, and you just agreed that my security detail is something that you have to get used to. That means you aren’t thinking about leaving us anymore.”

  My mouth fell open. He was right. I hadn’t realized it, but it was true. I wasn’t thinking about leaving anymore. In fact, I was thinking about how to make everything work. He laughed again and kissed my cheek, since my mouth was still hanging open.

  “Are you okay, Evalia?”

  “Yeah.” I said it slowly, savoring the idea. But, yeah, I was okay. I was more than okay. I laughed and threw my arms around his neck. “Yeah, I am okay.” I kissed him again. This time, he didn’t let me go, changing the kiss from a sweet peck to a deep, sensual one. We were exploring each other, both with our hands, and with the kiss. I was sitting in his lap, beginning to move my hips against him, when Cassy shrieked and bounded into the clearing.

  Travis broke the kiss to rest his forehead against mine. “Now what?”he whispered, as Cassy jumped into the air, glided past us and landed near the opposite edge of the meadow. She shrieked at the woods again.

  A cloaked being stepped out, hands in the air. “I am a friend. Travis, please call her off.”

  “Hunter, is that you?” Travis looked stunned.

  “Yes.” The man pushed his hood back, and I recognized him from the paintball war that had started this whole thing.

  “What are you doing here? How did you find us?”

  “My family has been part of the Svikari for a while. I am risking everything coming here. Listen, the King is planning an ambush. You can’t let Evalia meet with him.” Cassy shrieked loudly at him, causing him to flinch. “I’m trying to help here, you stupid griffin!”

  “Are you the one that tipped them off to Evalia in the first place?” Travis's voice was hard.

  “No. How would I have known she wasn’t registered? I don’t know who saw her. It wasn’t anyone I know. I gave you my warning. What you do with it is up to you.” He put the hood back on. “Don’t tell anyone, and I mean anyone, that I came here. Okay?” Travis nodded as Hunter backed back into the woods. After a moment, Cassy finally relaxed.

  I looked at Travis. He was staring at me, concern on his handsome face. “We need to tell Kait. Come on.”

  We gathered the picnic supplies and started to walk back. “You told Hunter that you wouldn’t tell Kait he was here.”

  Travis nodded. “I did, and I won’t. I am going to tell Kait that a source that I trust gave us this information. Hunter is a friend. I didn’t know his family was part of the Svikari, but that doesn’t make me trust him less. He can’t control the family he was born into.”

  I shrugged. I didn’t trust Hunter, but I didn’t know him, so that wasn’t completely fair. I can be a bit suspicious sometimes. I mean, I didn’t trust David for a while there, and look how that worked out. I still felt bad about that.

  Travis had pulled out his phone and was texting as he walked. A few minutes later, the phone rang. I could hear Kait’s voice. He sounded angry, and I heard him say my name along with “do something stupid”. I wrapped an arm around myself as Travis tried to assure him I had been in no danger. My other hand found my braid and began to spin it.

  I was getting angry. I felt helpless and I didn’t like the feeling. Once Travis hung up, I stopped walking, forcing him to stop as well.

  “What’s wrong?” Travis was searching the woods with his eyes, but when he saw that Cassy was relaxed enough that she was cleaning her feathers, he turned to me. “Why did you stop?”

  “Why doesn’t Kait trust me? I could hear some of what he said, and it feels like the security detail is as much to keep an eye on me as it is to keep me safe.” Travis grimaced a little. “Ah ha! I knew it!”

  Travis held his hands out. “Its not that he doesn’t trust you. Its … You know what? You need to ask him. I’m not going to explain his thought process.” He reached for me, but I stepped away.

  “But, you are going along with his plans, so you agree with him.” I narrowed my eyes at him as I thought that through.

  “No, that’s not true. Ugh, it’s hard to explain. He is the leader of my security detail, and very much like a father to me. It has kinda been ingrained in me to do as he says. When it makes sense, I’m not going to argue with him. Plus, I want to spend time with you. It’s not like I don’t enjoy it.”

  I turned away from him. I didn’t want to talk anymore. I couldn’t believe they didn’t trust me not to do something stupid. I stalked toward the safe house. Travis just sighed and followed me. When we got home, I went straight to my room and slammed the door. I don’t know long I laid there, staring at the wall, but eventually, I heard the front door slam. Kait’s voice called out, and Travis answered him. I ignored it all.

  Probably about fifteen minutes later, there was a tap on the door. I ignored that as well. Another tap came, this one slightly harder than the last. I put the pillow over my head. A muffled voice came through the door. I sighed.

  “What?” My voice was sharp. Apparently, Kait didn’t care because he just opened the door and came right in. I rolled over and glared at him. “Does my privacy not matter to you at all?”

  “In some cases, no, it doesn’t. For instance, when your safety is involved, or when you are pouting.”

  I sat up. “I’m pouting?” Venom dripped from my voice. “We keep having these discussions, Kait. It seems like every day. I WANT TO BE INCLUDED IN PLANS REGARDING MY SAFETY!” I screamed at him, befo
re modulating my tone to a more reasonable level. “Why don’t you trust me to keep myself safe? Why do you think I will do something stupid if someone you pick is not with me? How much of this security detail is just so you can keep an eye on me? Do you not trust me at all?” I had run out of steam, so in an effort to keep my hand from my braid, I wrapped my arms around myself as I turned and faced the wall. “I may be a hell of a lot younger than you, but I’m not a baby, and I need you to treat me like an adult. This isn’t going to work between us if you keep this up.”

  He sighed. “This is new territory for me, Evalia. I can’t just turn off the security conscious part of my brain, and I wouldn’t if I could. I trust you, but my instinct is to protect you. I will do whatever I have to in order to do that effectively. This isn’t a matter of if I think you will do something stupid, it’s a matter of preparing for every scenario.”

  “That’s not helping Kait. You just said that you don’t think I am stupid, but you have to act like I am.”

  “That’s not what I said, that’s what you heard.”

  “Same thing, Kait.” I turned back to him.

  “The boys were told to guard against everything. It’s not like I told them to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”

  I scoffed at that. “I distinctly heard you say on the phone “Make sure Evalia doesn’t do anything stupid.”

  His mouth dropped open. “I didn’t say that.”

  “What did you say then?” I arched an eyebrow at him and tapped my foot while I waited for his answer.

  He looked like he was searching his memory. “I think I said, ‘make sure Evalia is safe, and don’t do anything stupid.’ I was telling that to Travis.”

  I just stood there. I didn’t change my expression or stop my foot. Kait eventually sighed. “I’m not going to change your mind. Why don’t you come out to the living room so we can decide what to do with this new intel? David came back with me.”

  “Fine.” I stalked past him. When I entered the living room, Travis and David glanced at me, then glanced quickly away. David tried to catch Kait’s eye, but he just shook his head. We must have been arguing for a while because David’s hair was damp like he took a shower. I sat down on one of the chairs that faced the couch. I wasn’t going to let them touch me and drain my anger.