Healing Fire (12 page)

"Do not apologize, my lady. It
was thoughtless of me to take advantage of you before seeing to your needs first."

She propped her chin on his chest,
admiring the handsome face, gazing into his dark sexy eyes.

"I thought you just did see to my
needs." She flashed him her best seductive grin. She pressed her lips
against his upper abdomen, smiling in delight when she felt his muscles
contract under her lips.

She shifted a little higher splaying
her fingers over his, exploring every dip and hollow as she flicked her tongue
over his dark flat masculine nipple. A thrill ran through her when he groaned,
running his hand up through her ruffled hair. Knowing she could affect him as
much as he did her.

"Have care, my lady, or I may not
be able to control what happens next."

She smiled. A new sense of freedom and
belonging settled around her. Lying in Melor's arms felt wonderful; it felt
right.

No guilt lingered over their night and
morning of lovemaking. She got the sense that Tyler would want her to be happy
and move on with her life. Right here and now, for the first time in three
years, she actually felt content.

The sharp twinge pain shot through her
right leg making her gasp. If not for her constant pain, and the fact Melor
still thought himself an alien, life would be pretty darn perfect.

He shifted, gently moving her aside.
She turned over as Melor shoved away the sheets, rolling out of bed. His gaze
searched the room.

"Your potions?"

"In my side drawer."

She took in the delicious view of
Melor's naked body as he bent to yank open the drawer and pull out a little
orange bottle, handing it to her.

She unscrewed the cap and fished out
two pills, accepting the glass of water. The bed dipped under his weight as he
sat down, leaning across to grip her shoulder and lift her higher. He placed a
few pillows behind her back. She smiled gratefully before threw back her meds
and swallowed down the water.

He took the empty glass, setting it
aside. He frowned in concern, reaching out to brush a stray strand of hair from
her face.

"Thank you. The painkillers will
start working in a short while."

"You have no need to thank me. It
is my duty to care for you now."

"Your duty?"

His lips twitched up in a smile,
showcasing his dimples. He lifted her right hand, the gold and gems set into
the bracelet gleamed and sparkled in the sunlight.

"When you accepted this, you
promised to be mine. I take my duty seriously, which is why I must insist on
you coming to L.A city. It makes my heart ache to see your suffering when I
know I can help you."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then I will care for you the
best I can here. I'll not leave you, nor Blossom. I will be here for you both,
always."

The leap from sex to always was a
little unsettling.

"Melor, don't you think this is
moving a little too fast. Maybe we should…"

A soft knock sounded at the door. "Mom,
Melor?"

"Oh cripes, it's Blossom. Quick,
put some pants on!"

"Aye, my lady." He snatched
the pants off the floor, giving her a view of the most perfect ass she'd seen
on a man. Was there anything of Melor's body that wasn't perfect? She sincerely
doubted it.

Summer gripped the sheet, tugging it
up over her breasts. "Come in, baby."

Blossom swung open the door, a big
smile on her face as she bounded into the room and straight up to Melor. He
caught her as she jumped into his arms.

"Good morning, Melor." She
kissed his cheek.

"Good morning, little Blossom."
He grinned, planting a kiss on her cheek.

Summer
smiled at the pair.

He turned Blossom round to sit her on
the bed. She threw her arms around her mother.

"Now Melor is sleeping in your room,
does that mean he's gonna be my new daddy?"

Summer inwardly winced. "Baby,
just because two grown-ups sleep in the same room doesn't mean…"

"Yes, I am honored to be your new
father."

Summer glared at Melor, not only for
cutting her off but for assuming she would simply accept him as a permanent
fixture. Yes, they had great sex, but a full on relationship was a big step.

"Melor, I think we should talk
about this…" She smiled, trying not to show her annoyance at his
assumption in front of Blossom.

"Why tell lies?" Melor
leaned over and took Blossom out of her arms. "I am here to stay. I told
you that, and I am always a man of my word. Now, Blossom, I do believe we have
new boxes of Fruit Loops."

Summer groaned as he carried Blossom
out of the bedroom. What the hell was she going to do now? She shook her head.
She didn't want him to leave, but at the same time she wanted to know who he
really was. She sighed, resting back on her pillows, knowing what she had to
do.

~ * ~

"There are two weeks left of
summer holidays, perhaps we can take a road trip," Summer announced as she
finished her toast.

Her plan was simple; if Melor wanted
to be a part of their lives, then it was up to her to learn all she could about
him. If he wanted to go to L.A so damn much, then maybe there she would find
the truth about who he really was.

Apart from being sweet, protective and
fantastic in bed, there had to be more to him other than his crazy stories
about a land called Kell.

Summer almost half wished his stories
to be true, especially the part of him being able to take away her pain.

"Road trip?" Melor raised a
questioning brow as he took her plate, washing it before placing it on the
draining board.

"You want to go to L.A, so let's
go. It's a long drive, but if we break it up and stop at a motel on the way, it
won't be so bad."

"You really wish to go?" His
dark gaze studied her in suspicion.

"Yes." She smiled brightly. "I
thought you wanted to show us this magical world of Kell?"

"Indeed, my lady, but I still see
doubt in your eyes."

"Let's just say this is your
chance to convince me."
Or see how really crazy you are
.

"Really, we're going to go to
Kell, to see the stags and the crystals?" Blossom's excitement was
infectious, and Summer grinned at her daughter.

"Yes, why not?"

He took the cloth out of the sink,
squeezing it before wiping down the benches. He set the cloth aside, walked
over and pulled her into his arms.

"And convince you I shall."
He claimed her mouth, kissing her until her head spun and she thought she'd
pass out.

Blossom giggled and a horn blared from
outside. Melor pulled away and Summer grinned goofily.
Damn, this man was so
easy to love.

Love?
Oh hell no
. She couldn't have
fallen for him already?

"What be it, my lady? Are you in
pain again?"

The horn blasted long and loud; only
Rick Rickshaw sounded his horn in that irritating manner.

"No, I'm fine. Rick is here. Why
can't the man answer a damn phone?" she muttered in annoyance and tugged
out of Melor's arms, limping across the living room floor.

Melor laid a hand on her shoulder
before she could reach the front door. "I will deal with this Rickshaw."

"No, it's okay, he's harmless for
the most part. I'll send him home. Why don't you help Blossom pack her suitcase
for our trip?"

"I am your protector, and I will
not leave you alone with another male. From what Blossom has told me, I do not
trust this man."

She shook her head in exasperation. "My
protector? Gee, Melor, loosen up a bit. You take all this Kell stuff way too
seriously. If you want to be my shadow, fine, but let me deal with him."

"As my lady wishes." He
bowed his head and stood aside.

Summer yanked open the front door just
as Rick was coming up the steps.

"Hey, Mrs. Rose. You go get a new
guy?"

"Rick, I've been trying to call
you for the past few days."

"Yeah, well, got shit to do, ya
know. So you want stuff done or what?"

"No. If you'd answered your phone
then you would have known not to come."

"Fuck that, I need my beer money.
I fuckin' wasted my time hauling my ass up here, at least you can compensate me
for my trouble." He leaned in on the door frame.

"No, and I don't think your
services will be required any more. Leave and don't come back."

"Not 'til I get my money."
He took a threatening step towards her.

Melor suddenly pushed her aside.

"The lady has asked you to leave.
Do so now quietly without trouble."

"Holy shit, no wonder you don't
need me. Been fucking the new hired help, eh? Shit, if I'd known you needed
your itch scratched…"

Melor grabbed Rick by the throat.
Before she could blink, Melor hurled Rick down the front steps. Summer winced
as he shoved Rick hard up against the side of his car.

Summer stared, her mouth open, gaping
at the dark dangerous aura around Melor as he let go of Rick's throat and
talked to him.

She couldn't hear what was said, but
she could see the way Rick paled and nodded. Turning around, scrambling to get
into his car, the man couldn't get away fast enough. Gunning the engine caused
gravel to spray from under his wheels. He sped out of her driveway at top
speed.

Melor had a grin of self-satisfaction
as he walked back up the steps to her.

"He will not be bothering you
ever again." He placed a kiss on her open mouth and walked past her. "Blossom,
shall I help you pack?"

Chapter
Ten

At last Blossom's head lay back
against the back seat, her eyes closed in blissful sleep. She'd worn herself
out after hours of endlessly questioning Melor about Kell.

Summer was starting to see red spots
in front of her eyes; her fingers ached from gripping the steering wheel too
tightly. She'd been simmering over the Rick incident ever since they'd started
driving towards L.A.