Lucky would have him create the portal to get rid of her.
All night, she’d jumped at the slightest sound. A mere whisper of the wind whistling through the cavern, and she grabbed her mace. Anything was better than sitting alone quietly with a being that shouldn’t exist and yet, she was unexplainably happy that Lucky was with her.
After his declaration that he wanted to return her to her own world, he’d become withdrawn. When her head kept dropping forward and she could no longer keep her eyes open, he urged her to sleep. When she woke, she was cradled in his lap with a blanket covering her body as he held her. For a long time, she’d watched him from beneath her lashes. His dour expression never changed. A firm line bisected his mouth as he stared at the entrance to the cave. The whip and blade were easily within reach next to his thigh.
She’d thought long and hard about returning to her life in Florida. That is, if she still had a place to go. She’d been gone for days. Her job would have easily terminated her for abandonment. Her mortgage payment and most bills were on automatic withdrawal from her bank account. They would continue to be paid until there was no money left in the accounts. The bigger question was did she want to go back? And after much soul-searching, the answer was a resounding no.
A few days ago she would have jumped at the chance to go back, spun on her heels and walked right up that damn rainbow. She rubbed her cheek against Lucky’s coat. The pendant nestled between her breasts swung forward, and she wondered when staying in this strange land had become more important than returning to a place she’d called home all her life.
Only it didn’t feel like home anymore. She wanted to stay in Tuatha De Danann. She just had to get Lucky to see her point of view. Here, she felt like she was living, not just existing and always waiting for some calamity to befall her. She sighed. Lucky had a lot to do with her wanting to stay. Just listening to him speak had a soothing effect on her. With him she was sure they could conquer anything. His sudden desire to see her gone was confusing.
“Care to talk about it, lass?” Lucky’s voice was still rough, but it was smooth, too, the words blending into each other with his Irish lilt. He looked over his shoulder.
“Where do you plan on creating this rainbow?” She lifted her face to watch his profile.
He glanced up at the sun. “As close to where I found you as I can get. That will give you the best chance of returning to the spot from where you came from.”
“What if I told you I don’t want to go back?”
Lucky was silent. He turned away and urged the unicorn a little faster. Great, now he was angry. She tightened her hold on his waist.
Landis tried again. “I truly don’t have a place to go back to, and I’m much safer here. The trolls in my world look exactly like men, and sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between them.” So what if he didn’t know what “troll” meant where she came from. She was fighting to stay, dammit.
“We should be there before the sun reaches its zenith,” he said quietly.
“Who will keep you out of trouble if you decide to take on banshees? They knew I was there last night. That’s why they didn’t bother us.” She hoped a little levity in the situation might make his mood better.
“It was more like they’d gotten more than enough men the night before and since we didn’t make much noise, they had no reason to come and investigate.” He chuckled.
He kept shooting down her arguments. Desperation gnawed at her psyche. “Do you have a woman, Lochlan?” She blurted out the question that had taken root in her mind. It would explain why he was so anxious to be rid of her suddenly. He’d had an attack of conscience.
“I do.”
Sadness blotted out all other emotions. Tears welled in her eyes. Was she just a convenient side item? Someone to keep him entertained until he could get back
All night, she’d jumped at the slightest sound. A mere whisper of the wind whistling through the cavern, and she grabbed her mace. Anything was better than sitting alone quietly with a being that shouldn’t exist and yet, she was unexplainably happy that Lucky was with her.
After his declaration that he wanted to return her to her own world, he’d become withdrawn. When her head kept dropping forward and she could no longer keep her eyes open, he urged her to sleep. When she woke, she was cradled in his lap with a blanket covering her body as he held her. For a long time, she’d watched him from beneath her lashes. His dour expression never changed. A firm line bisected his mouth as he stared at the entrance to the cave. The whip and blade were easily within reach next to his thigh.
She’d thought long and hard about returning to her life in Florida. That is, if she still had a place to go. She’d been gone for days. Her job would have easily terminated her for abandonment. Her mortgage payment and most bills were on automatic withdrawal from her bank account. They would continue to be paid until there was no money left in the accounts. The bigger question was did she want to go back? And after much soul-searching, the answer was a resounding no.
A few days ago she would have jumped at the chance to go back, spun on her heels and walked right up that damn rainbow. She rubbed her cheek against Lucky’s coat. The pendant nestled between her breasts swung forward, and she wondered when staying in this strange land had become more important than returning to a place she’d called home all her life.
Only it didn’t feel like home anymore. She wanted to stay in Tuatha De Danann. She just had to get Lucky to see her point of view. Here, she felt like she was living, not just existing and always waiting for some calamity to befall her. She sighed. Lucky had a lot to do with her wanting to stay. Just listening to him speak had a soothing effect on her. With him she was sure they could conquer anything. His sudden desire to see her gone was confusing.
“Care to talk about it, lass?” Lucky’s voice was still rough, but it was smooth, too, the words blending into each other with his Irish lilt. He looked over his shoulder.
“Where do you plan on creating this rainbow?” She lifted her face to watch his profile.
He glanced up at the sun. “As close to where I found you as I can get. That will give you the best chance of returning to the spot from where you came from.”
“What if I told you I don’t want to go back?”
Lucky was silent. He turned away and urged the unicorn a little faster. Great, now he was angry. She tightened her hold on his waist.
Landis tried again. “I truly don’t have a place to go back to, and I’m much safer here. The trolls in my world look exactly like men, and sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between them.” So what if he didn’t know what “troll” meant where she came from. She was fighting to stay, dammit.
“We should be there before the sun reaches its zenith,” he said quietly.
“Who will keep you out of trouble if you decide to take on banshees? They knew I was there last night. That’s why they didn’t bother us.” She hoped a little levity in the situation might make his mood better.
“It was more like they’d gotten more than enough men the night before and since we didn’t make much noise, they had no reason to come and investigate.” He chuckled.
He kept shooting down her arguments. Desperation gnawed at her psyche. “Do you have a woman, Lochlan?” She blurted out the question that had taken root in her mind. It would explain why he was so anxious to be rid of her suddenly. He’d had an attack of conscience.
“I do.”
Sadness blotted out all other emotions. Tears welled in her eyes. Was she just a convenient side item? Someone to keep him entertained until he could get back
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