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When he set his coffee down, she opened her arms.
He moved so fast, she hardly saw him. But she felt him as he gathered her up in a powerful embrace and kissed her.
Willow slid her hands over his shoulders, his back, the muscles of his arms that flexed and un-flexed for her. She felt the raw physical power of him again, his strength covering her the way she covered the wraith colony.
When she parted her lips, he dipped his tongue inside and she leaned into him, cooing softly. The times they’d had sex slipped through her mind and she wanted him all over again, buried inside, driving into her, making her feel so many good things all at once.
But he drew back and took a deep breath. “You prepared breakfast and I’d hate to see it go to waste.”
She looked into his eyes, searching their brown depths, wanting … what? “Right. Breakfast.”
She released him and set about draining the bacon and serving up the frittata and sliced fruit.
The small dining area had a plate glass window overlooking the stream, and Malik’s gaze went there often. Willow had a hard time not watching him as though she needed to memorize the angle of his cheekbones, how he turned his wrist when he lifted his mug to his lips, the set and breadth of his shoulders. She felt as though she was losing something infinitely precious, though she couldn’t explain why she felt that way. He was right here, right in front of her.
But he couldn’t be permanent. There just didn’t seem to be a way to blend their worlds or their responsibilities into something that made sense.
After most of the meal had been consumed, she addressed an issue that had been on her mind since she’d awakened. “I want to bring the five leaders of the Fae Guild into the colony.”
He shifted his gaze to her, his brows raised. “What? Why?”
She felt his sudden tension. “You think it would be a mistake?”
He gestured with his fork in the air. “I think the fewer the people who know about the colony, the safer we’ll keep all those citizens. But tell me what you’re thinking.”
“That I need help and that you won’t always be able to stick this close. You have the realm to think of. But as I told you last night, I’ve reached the absolute limit of my ability to serve as the Protector.
“I believe what I need is someone who can share the task with me. The five fae would probably be able to help out and they might also be able to locate another Protector. Maybe even one of them would have this ability.”
Malik frowned as he settled his elbows on the table, his mug held in both hands. “I can’t help but believe that we run a huge risk here. What if one of these fae is the woman that’s supplying charms to Axton? I mean, I trust Alexandra the Bad with my life, but I don’t know the other four as well at all.”
“Then maybe I should lay the issue before her and let her make the call. Do I have your permission to contact her and tell her about the colony? Although, as I did with you, I’d prefer she actually experienced the colony for herself.”
Malik leaned back in his chair, his gaze cast off to the side. She could feel how hard he was processing what she’d said, working through all the ramifications.
She thought she understood. He ruled Ashleaf and any decision made about the wraith colony would undoubtedly affect the realm for decades.
He glanced back at her. “Our being inside the colony changed things, didn’t it?”
She nodded. “From the time I made the decision to include you, yes, I believe it did.”
Malik rose from the table and picked up his dishes, taking them to the sink. Without a word, he started to clean-up, something that warmed her heart. Decades ago, she’d dated a few men who treated her like a scullery maid when it came to keeping the house tidy.
As she brought her dishes to the sink, he took them, saying, “Let me take care of those.” And right then she knew she was in serious trouble with this man.
“Call Alexandra,” he said, his gaze fixed out the kitchen window. “And do you know you have a colony of bats in that neighboring tree?”
“I do. I encourage them.”
He cast his gaze down into the stream below. “You also have a battle going on in your stream involving about a dozen night-sparrows?”
She chuckled. “They love to bathe there and some insist on attempting to establish territorial rights.”
At that, he smiled at her over his shoulder. “Sort of like I did with Axton.”
She drew close and planted a kiss on his lips. “Yeah. Sort of like that. And now, I’m going to make my call.”
She found her phone on the coffee table and sat down before dialing. She felt nervous calling Alexandra the Bad, who’d gained her reputation and the handle to her name several centuries ago. She’d routed a group of fae out of the Guild who’d been selling spells on the black market for all kinds of criminal and indecent activities.
