Read Online Kelpie (Come Love a Fey) by Kaye Draper - Free Book Online

impaired.”  He grinned.  “You can choose to
believe I’m crazy, but I am not stupid.”  You came home smelling of
tears and heartache.
    I
laughed through my tears.  “I can’t breathe.”
    He
sighed.  “There is nothing wrong with you.  You’re talking to me, so you must be
breathing.” 
    I
glared at him and he relented, placing a big, warm hand on the center of my
back.  “Breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.”  I listened to
his deep, calm voice, and let my eyes settle closed.
    He
brought his other hand to the center of my chest, turning me toward him
slightly.  His rumbling voice rose and fell like ocean waves.  I could almost
see the water.
    He
chuckled slightly, a deep rumbling sound.  “The ocean?  Okay, the ocean.  Just
keep breathing.”  Had I said that aloud just now?
    I
did as he said, already feeling the attack pass.  His hand over my chest felt
hot, just shy of burning.  I opened my eyes to find that his face was inches
from mine; his eyes closed as he shared the image with me.  He opened his eyes
and I stared into wide pools of turquoise the color of the ocean I had just
envisioned. 
    “Welcome
back.”  His full lips curved up into a soft smile, just inches from my own.  I
wondered if they would be as soft as they looked.  I cleared my throat and sat
back, putting distance between us. 
    “Thanks,”
I said, embarrassment making my cheeks burn. 
    He
let out a breath.  “You do this to yourself, you know.” 
    I
shot him an irritated glance, noting that his eyes were a deep, dark blue- not
turquoise at all.  “Thanks so much.  That’s really helpful.”  I stood and made
my way awkwardly around the glass.  “Don’t come out here, you’re barefoot.”
    I
returned a moment later with the broom and dustpan.  Leith silently held the
latter while I swept up my mess.  “Why do humans put things in cages?”  He
asked finally.
    I
stared at him, caught off guard by his question.  “What?”  I said
intelligently.
    He
gestured at me with the dustpan.  “You keep that little fish in the tiny tank. 
People put tigers in big pens at the zoo.  You put yourself in a little box.  What
is the point?”
    I
raised my eyebrows.  “I do not put myself in a box.” 
    He
went to the kitchen to dump the glass and I followed, stung.  Leith took the
broom and dustpan and tucked them back into the little closet by the door. 
Then he turned to me, crossed his arms over his wide chest, and looked down his
long nose.  I swallowed hard.  He was glorious.
    “I
have watched you.  You get up each morning and change your appearance.  You go
to work.  You come home miserable.  You cast off those god-awful clothes and
it’s like you can breathe again.”  He gestured around my apartment.  “This is
not you.  This is you playing at who you think you should be… it is just not
natural.  Your entire species seems to do this.”
    I
clenched my teeth.  “What the hell would you know about me?  I’ve known you for
all of a couple days!”  I mimicked his gesture.  “ This is me.  I went to
school and worked hard to get my job.  I love my career.  It puts food on my
table and gives me independence.  I’m not in a box!”  I turned and stomped back
to my room. 
    “And
that’s why you have panic attacks?”  His voice was flat.
    I
slammed the door.  Fuck him.  Tears leaked out of my eyes and I wiped them away
angrily.  Worthless, faithless, know-it-all men.  Fuck them all. 
    *****
    I
was apprehensive about how Leith was going to handle our trip to the police
station the next day.  I thought I would toss and turn all night, worrying
about Noah and Leith, and their assorted complications in my life.  Instead, I
seemed to fall asleep the minute my head touched the pillow.  I would have
slept much longer, I think, if I hadn’t felt a presence in my room.  I sat up
in mild alarm and switched on the bedside light to find Leith kneeling