AUGUST

Nevada's hand felt small in mine, her skin warm in contrast to my own as minute vibrations erupted upon contact. The sensation swept up my arm and I clenched my jaw to refrain myself from pressing her against me. I could hear her delicate heart beating erratically in her chest as she allowed me to silently lead her through Ashira's cottage.

The voices of Dominic and Alana were coming from the kitchen as dishes clinked against one another while the couple argued over proper chili eating etiquette. Ashira must have been with them as her easy laughter joined the sound of their bickering. Fighting the smile that threatened to appear, I pushed through the front door and out onto the porch.

"Who eats chili with a spoon?" Nevada grumbled with a glance over her shoulder. I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped me which only earned me a glare in return. "Don't laugh at me, August. It's an honest question."

I didn't answer right away, choosing instead to lead her around the side of the cottage along a small path worn into the grass over the years. I wasn't sure how she would feel if she knew which of her parents she had sounded like just then. However, the thought of the other conversation we needed to have was painful because I had no idea where we stood anymore. Then again, I had never actually been sure of anything when it had come to her, except for the fact that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

The garden at the back of the cottage was small but cozy and intimate, the flowers lush and vibrant. A warm breeze caused the fragile petals and stems to sway lightly as if they were dancing to celebrate our arrival. I had never cared to learn the different names and uses of the plants, deciding instead to enjoy the beauty they offered to the world.

A small stone path led from the back corner of the garden and down a slight incline towards the lake that spread wide behind Ashira's home. Nova was slowly making his way towards it and I assumed he was looking for Hatter who was sitting at the edge of the small pier a ways away.

The urge to stop Nova and make him go back inside swelled in my chest but I fought it down. I had other matters to attend to and Hatter was a grown man who could take care of himself. Despite the fact that the two of us tended to frequently butt heads, I wanted to protect him from going through anymore pain than he already had.

"Where did you go just now?" Nevada ask, her voice soothing the tension coiling in my muscles.

I glanced down at her before helping her sit in a chair that accompanied a small table in the center of the small oasis. A coy pond with a little fountain was a few feet away, the gentle trickling of water adding to the relaxing atmosphere.

"I'm right here, don't worry," I reassured her before changing the subject. "Alana eats chili with a spoon."

Nevada looked at me in puzzlement for a moment before her eyes lit with realization.

"I'm not sure what I have more issue with; the fact that Dominic and I have something in common or the fact that she uses a spoon," she admitted begrudgingly while nibbling on her bottom lip, instantly drawing my eyes to them. "What about you?"

"What about me?" I asked distractedly.

"Do you eat chili with a fork or a spoon?" Nevada pressed, a hint of impatience leaking into her voice.

"I'm not sure," I replied as I struggled to focus on the conversation while my mind wanted to drift in other directions. "I can't remember the last time I had chili."

"What? You can't actually be serious."

I nodded. "I haven't really needed to eat in centuries, love, so I haven't exactly paid attention."

Nevada hummed in response, looking out across the garden while mumbling something about crackers making chili less soupy. It was an odd conversation to be having considering the circumstances we were currently in. I assumed it was because neither of us were really prepared for what needed to be discussed. Instead of saying anything more, I took a moment to look at her, my eyes trailing over every part of her face.

There were dark circles under her eyes, the normally bright emerald irises currently dulled with pain and exhaustion. Her light blonde hair was wild and hung loose around her shoulders, the strands tangled and in need of washing. I could tell she had lost some weight as her cheeks held a slightly pinched look and her frame looked even smaller beneath the oversized shirt that covered it.

The white fabric rested high on her thighs and I realized that not only was she barefoot but wore nothing but panties beneath it. I could make out the subtle outline of her small breasts, rising and falling lightly with each breath. My mind conjured up images of me ripping the shirt away from her body, tasting every inch of her creamy skin as she writhed beneath my touch.

I wanted her in every way; craved her mind, body and soul as if it were a drug I needed to survive. Nevada was made for me, there was no doubt about that. A part of me had always known it, feeling the pull the moment I had laid eyes on her all those years ago, but she had been a child and had deserved more of a life than I could have given her then. Instead, I had ignored the connection and kept my distance, always watching from afar to make sure she was safe.

Over the years, I had convinced myself it wasn't there and had never been. However, I couldn't deny it anymore as she sat before me, fragile and trusting, more beautiful than I had believed to be possible. There was one problem that wouldn't erase itself, or disappear, and that was Dominic. He would always be her father and had been my brother for centuries. There was no way he would forgive me for claiming his daughter the plans of the gods be damned.

"I don't know you very well, do I?" Nevada's soft question broke into my thoughts. Sadness swirled in the emerald depths of her eyes as she looked at me, the corners of her mouth turned down. "But you know me, don't you? I mean, you've been spying on me for years."

I grimaced at the implications of her words, sounding like some creepy stalker outside her bedroom window. Nevada giggled nervously, most likely catching on to my sudden discomfort.

"Okay, maybe that sounded a little bad," she said sheepishly while she continued to giggle.

I gave her a flat look. "A little bad?"

"Mommy, there's an ancient vampire staring at me while I eat," Nevada teased, her voice mimicking a small child's. "Mommy, I think he wants my sandwich."

My eyes narrowed as I fought back a smile. "You're on dangerous grounds, little princess."

Nevada laughed. Her eyes, that reminded me of moss in the forest on a warm spring day, crinkled at the edges as the sound of her laughter wrapped around me like a velvet cloak. I could listen to it all day, like the notes of a favorite song. Allowing myself a hint of a smile, feeling as if this moment was fragile, I looked down at our still clasped hands.

There was so much I wanted to say, that I needed to say, but where to begin? If only I could stop the world around us, for only a little while, and just be in this moment without the worries of tomorrow tugging on our sleeves. Nevada deserved a moment of peace, a slice of a normal life, a second to breathe without worry or fear. However, she wouldn't have that with me because I couldn't give her those things.

"I need to clear something up," I began, growing serious once more as I rubbed my thumb gently across her knuckles. "When I left that day, I didn't leave because of what happened between us. My actions had nothing to do with you."

"Then why did you leave?" she asked, no anger or resentment to be found in her voice. I looked up at her and only saw mild curiosity as she waited to hear my reply.

I opened my mouth to answer but closed it again, mulling over the truth in my head. It wasn't as black and white as Dominic called so I dropped everything, that was just the simplified version. Nevada was right in saying she didn't know me. Hell, sometimes I wondered if I truly knew myself anymore. The person who I had been as a fae was not the same as who I had become.

"To fully answer that question, I would have to start from the beginning," I finally responded while looking out across the garden and to the lake beyond, "and I'm not entirely sure we have enough time for that today."

"I don't have any plans, but you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to," she told me softly. "I'm not going to force you to do anything."

The irony of that statement didn't go unnoticed for me, but I knew what she had meant. Much like Alana, Nevada had a tendency to be kind and understanding even when someone didn't deserve it. I certainly didn't deserve the kindness that she had shown me, the willingness to put her life in my hands. Nevada had trusted me and I had done nothing but repay her with pain.

"As I've told you before, I owe Dominic my life because if it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't be sitting here with you right now." I looked back at her, silver meeting green. "When I left your room, Dominic called me minutes later. They had been attacked and were stranded on foot, surrounded by enemies that were out for blood."

Nevada drew in a sharp breath, her eyes wide as saucers but she remained quiet, her attention focused solely on me.

"They needed my help, Nevada," I explained, almost pleading. "I couldn't leave them there."

"You couldn't have warned me that my birth parents that had abandoned me were coming back with you?" she asked, the first signs of irritation showing in her voice. "You don't think Nova deserved to know his absentee father was suddenly going to just show up out of the blue?"

Her voice caught and her eyes shone with unshed tears. When she spoke again, it was a broken whisper, "You couldn't have said goodbye to me?"

I felt a twinge in my heart, an organ I believed to have died centuries ago, at the hurt I had inflicted upon her. If I could wrap my arms around her and take it all away, there would be no hesitation. Life didn't work like that, however, and all I could do was be honest while hoping it made a difference.

"If I had come to you before I left, seen your face, there would have been no leaving for me," I confessed, my chest growing tight. "I knew I wouldn't be able to walk away and your parents, my best friend, would have paid the price.... I couldn't do it."

Nevada looked away from me, her brows scrunched together as if deep in thought. I waited with bated breath for her to say something, unsure if I had picked my word properly. Just as I was about to blurt out the next thing that came to mind, the tense silent grating on my already anxious nerves, she faced me once more. Her face was serious and her eyes guarded as she spoke.

"I'm glad you didn't let them die, but I wish you would have told me, or at least let Hatter warn us."

"Hatter has enough to deal with and he didn't need to be dragged into the middle of... all of this," I gestured between the two of us and towards Ashira's house, encompassing Dominic and Alana as well. "I wouldn't let him say anything while I was gone because everyone needed to have their heads as clear as possible. Robbie was the only one there with you two and the less upset everyone was..."

I untangled my hand from hers and rubbed them across my face in frustration towards myself. It seemed as if every decision I had made with her, since meeting her that day at that little deli, had been wrong. What a mess I had made of it all and I somehow had to find my way out again.

"At the time, I believed it was the best and safest decision for everyone," I told her honestly with my head in my hands and my elbows braced on my knees. "I'm sorry, Princess, for everything you've been through, whether it was my fault or not."

My body tensed the moment her hand rested on my shoulder, the warmth of her seeping through the fabric of my shirt. Turning my head slightly, I looked at her questioningly.

"You know you don't have to protect everyone or do this alone, don't you?" she asked softly. There it was again, that kindness I would never deserve. I shook my head and began to argue but she continued before a word left my lips. "Do you know what you are to me, August?"

Even knowing this moment was going to come, I was still somehow caught off guard by her question. Instead of trying to deny or prolong the inevitable by playing ignorant, I told her the truth.

"Yes," I whispered, reaching up to tuck a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "You have been mine since the moment I laid my eyes on you. The gods made you for me, and for me alone, but you deserve so much more than I can give you."

I placed my palm on her cheek as a single tear slid down her face, gently wiping it away with my thumb. My skin sparked with energy at the contact, making my mind grow fuzzy as I watched her bottom lip tremble. Her hand wrapped around my wrist as she leaned into my touch and closed her eyes.

"Then, why don't you want me?" Nevada asked barely above a whisper but I heard it as loud as if she had shouted it in my ear. "Why don't you want to be with me?"

The agony in her voice sliced through me like a razor blade, leaving my soul to weep as each word slipped past her lips.

"Oh, but I do, Princess, more than I can say."

"Then why does it feel like a chasm is between us, one that I can't seem to find my way across? It feels as if you have already rejected me."

The mere idea of rejecting Nevada was beyond excruciating, something that I had never before considered or that I ever would. I was the reason that she felt so far away, I knew it and I was sure she knew it, too. My own selfishness and fears had kept us apart, and yet it was the depths at which I felt for her that held me back as well.

Nevada Warren was strong yet delicate, a light in the darkness of the world, a flower deserving of sunlight. She was beautiful as if she had descended from the gods themselves, Aphrodite incarnate. My soul, my body, my mind, called out to her like magnets across time. I had spent over a thousand years without her at my side, and yet now that she was within arms reach, I knew if I gave in to my desires that it would break what was left of the family she had.

"Never," I promised as I pressed my forehead against hers and both hands threaded into her hair. "You are it for me, Princess. Wherever this road may take us, you're it and there will never be anyone else."

"You say that like there won't be an 'us'," she said, sadness and confusion ringing in her voice.

Sighing, I reluctantly pulled myself away from her and leaned back on the bench. "Dominic would kill me if he knew you and I were mates. If I die and I had claimed you, the repercussions to you would, or at least could be, catastrophic."

Suddenly, Nevada began to laugh almost hysterically as if I had just told her all the clowns in the world were just pigs in a dress. Dumbfounded, I couldn't help but gape at her as she openly guffawed beside me. While I enjoyed her laughter, the joy was greatly hampered by the confusion I felt as I watched her. Clutching her stomach over her wound, Nevada took deep breaths and forced herself to calm down after several minutes of uncontrollable laughter while I could only stare.

"Oh, ouch, I shouldn't have laughed like that," she finally managed between gasps for air. "Ashira isn't going to be happy with me after that."

"Do you mind explaining to me what's so funny?" I asked, my voice more clipped than I had intended but she seemed unbothered.

"You really don't know?" Nevada seemed surprised as she looked at me.

"Know what?"

She sighed as if exhausted and ran a hand through her tangled hair. "Alright well this may get awkward but I don't really want to die without it all being out on the table."

My confusion grew even more until she started to speak and the confusion quickly morphed into concern with a hint of fear. She told me about how she had been feeling drained and out of sorts during the time that I had been gone to help Dominic and Alana and then again after her and Nova had run to the warlock's house. As she got to the point of waking up in Ashira's room, I listened closely as Nevada explained everything that Ashira had told her not long before I had come to see her. When she was finally finished, words had fled my mind entirely.

"So, I think maybe one or, uh, both of us should maybe... talk to Dominic?" Nevada babbled nervously as she twisted her fingers in her lap. "I mean, personally I don't actually give a damn if he likes 'us' or not, but I know you value his opinion and would like his approval, so-"

I cut her off from further rambling as I pressed my lips against hers, desire igniting in my groin at the taste of her. Stopping myself, before I lost what shreds of self control I had left, I pulled back enough to look into her eyes.

There was no way I could let anything happen to her. I had sworn to protect her long ago and I refused to be the one to bring her life to an end. Ashira was rarely wrong in matters of the mystical nature of things and I highly doubted she would start now. Somehow, I had to break the news to Dominic and hope that he wouldn't hate me in the end.

It was strange any previous notions that had given me pause, in regards to my feelings or desires towards Nevada, had suddenly disappeared. I guess, I only needed a reason other than just because I wanted her.

"I'm going to ruin you, Princess, you know that right?" I asked.

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A/N: Only approximately 5 MORE CHAPTERS!!!!

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