He spoke, in a voice that was voice was heavy and velvet smooth.
“You may or may not have seen them with your eyes, Skye, but you know they’re real.” The golden flecks in those dark eyes danced.
“I do?” It came out as a whisper.
““You’ve felt . . . something. Anything unusual going on in that store? Pinpoints of light, unexplained sounds, whispers of something brushing your skin . . .?”
She paled. The humming, the floaters, the feel of a light pressure on her eyelids and in her hair, the high-pitched buzz of ‘helpmehelpmehelpme.’ Fairies?
The room spun and she gripped the edge of the table for stability. His hands settled on her shoulders, hot and heavy. His touch stabilized her senses like an anchor in a storm at sea.
WTF? What The Fairy? She glared at him. The little fantasy game of romance was over. Kheelan, or Kyle, or whatever his real name might be, had sought her out for information, not because he was interested in her as a person. “Who are you really?”
“I’m someone who has lived with the fairies all my life.”
Chapter 5
The Key
Kheelan inwardly cursed. He was blowing it. Skye had a temper to match the red hair and she was furious. If he had more time, he could go slower, not play his hand so quick. But Samhain, All Hallow’s Eve, was only nine days away. He’d intended to petition Queen Corrigan of the Seelie Court this year for his freedom after breaking the case on the mysterious Fae murders. If he were lucky, Corrigan, in a rare fit of kindness and gratitude, might actually agree to a release.
Then he’d walked into The Green Fairy and everything changed. He’d seen her. If he could convince Skye to help him, his chance for freedom increased substantially.
And even before he saw her rainbow-colored aura, he had been attracted to the girl, no point in denying that.
He drank in her nearness. Unlike the fairy lovers the Sidhe occasionally selected and rewarded him with, Skye was so . . . real, so earthy. The band of light freckles across her nose drove him to distraction. It was all he could do not to reach out and touch the tip of her nose. Kheelan deliberately lowered his gaze to her hands. She had beautiful, smooth skin but he was drawn to a couple of scratch marks on her right palm. Beauty in imperfection. He wondered how she got the scratches. He couldn’t help himself; he reached out and lightly traced the all-so-human mark. Her hand was warm, not the frosty perfection of the Fae.
A million times more exciting than any Fae woman. Did she feel that same electric energy he did at their contact?
Skye jerked her hand away as if she were near a coiled rattlesnake.
Disappointment doused his inner flame. No one had ever wanted him his whole life. Why should she be any different? Best to focus on his task. The whole point of meeting her was to win her trust and approval, not become enchanted with her. He had a mission to accomplish and nothing was going to stop him.
He lifted his eyes and looked into the forest-green of hers. She was so open. He could plainly read fear, confusion and mistrust.
“Who are you really?” she repeated. “I don’t get what you mean about living with them all your life.”
Good question. He didn’t even have a last name. The Fae didn’t think he was important enough to grant him that. Fine, bestowing him a last name would be another lie heaped upon the whole rotten pile of deceit.
“I told you, I’m Kheelan.” He had better get the subject off himself, quick. It was too early to reveal everything about who and what he was. First, he had to convince Skye about the existence of the Fae. No small task since as a changeling he possessed no power of his own. He couldn’t snap his fingers and demand a fairy materialize. “You’ve seen something. I can tell by your eyes.”
“I saw nothing until you started showing up,” she accused. Those green eyes flashed again in anger. “Are you playing tricks with me?”
Kheelan raised his shoulders in a shrug of innocence. “No tricks. I’ve only been in the store once, remember?”
She frowned. “Maybe you really are Kyle, maybe you’ve been fooling us all along and there’s not a thing in the world wrong with you. And now, for some reason, you’ve chosen to reveal the real you.”
“That would be an elaborate trick, and one I can easily disprove.”