Bitter Sweet Love

Chapter Ten

We ended up not leaving the city until the following afternoon and the trip south, toward the nation’s capital, was quiet. It had been that way since last night. Dez hadn’t treated me any differently. Quite the opposite. He talked, he prodded at me and tried to coax me into conversation as we left New York and crossed into New Jersey, but I was too caught up in my own thoughts.

I lay back in the seat, head tilted toward the passenger window. Buildings and houses blurred in a steady stream. A bitter taste lingered in the back of my mouth, a cocktail of guilt, shame and confusion, and no amount of drink or food would wash it away.

I kept telling myself that I had nothing to feel guilty about. I hadn’t abandoned Dez. He’d been the one to leave me and I hadn’t made him any promises, but the reassurance rang hollow.

Even my sister couldn’t truly understand why I was so resistant to the idea of mating with Dez, especially considering how much I’d cared for him. But when he left and when I finally accepted, after the many months had turned into a year, that he wasn’t coming home, I had mourned him. Grieved him as I had my mother. I could recognize the blessing of him returning, but three years of mourning was a long time to let go of and I didn’t even understand why he’d left. He claimed it had nothing to do with my father’s offer and it was obvious that he wanted me, but I needed more. Answers for one thing, and I wanted what my parents had had in their life together—love and trust.

Part of me recognized that I was still in love with Dez, that I never stopped loving him, but I didn’t believe he felt that way for me. Not in the way I needed him to, and as for trust? What’s to say that a year from now he wouldn’t just up and disappear again?

I shifted in my seat, restless.

Maybe more than our past was keeping me wary. Perhaps it had to do with me. After all, the whole mating business was serious. I’d be pledging myself to someone for my entire life. The very moment I mated, I would be thrust into adulthood, facing very adult demands. I wouldn’t be the only eighteen-year-old to do so, but it was a lot to even think about. Maybe I wasn’t ready and my excuses were really just that—excuses. A crutch.

We’d crossed into Pennsylvania hours ago and as the SUV eased into an exit lane for a town called West Chester, I straightened in my seat and glanced at Dez. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

And that was all he said as we drove through the town and then beyond, onto a narrow winding road that was crowded by thick trees. He turned onto a road I hadn’t noticed. About five minutes later, he parked along the shoulder. Dust filled the air as we climbed out.

I looked at Dez expectantly. “You going to tell me what you’re up to?”

He reached down, took my hand and started walking down a worn patch of dirt that formed a trail. Twigs snapped under our feet. “After I left the clan and before I made my way to the West Coast, I did a lot of traveling and I stumbled across this place.”

My heart jumped in my chest. A lake! He’d mentioned before that he’d found a perfect place for the skinny-dipping condition. This had to be it. Oh, God, why had I suggested this?

“The place is off the beaten track, very peaceful.” He held a low-hanging branch out of the way so I could dip under it. “Anyway, I think you’ll like the lake.”

Yep. There. He’d confirmed we were fulfilling another condition. My palms felt sweaty, and I slipped my hand free, wiping both of them on my jeans. Dez didn’t say anything, but slid around me, clearing the branches. “Did you... come here a lot?”

“Twice. I stopped on the way back to the clan. I needed to clear my head. It was a good place to do so.”

I stared at his back, watching his muscles play under his thin cotton shirt. I wanted to make some joke or clever comment but nerves had a hold on me.

The heavy foliage and undergrowth thinned out into a small stretch of land that butted up to an outcropping of large, smooth boulders surrounding a lake.

“Careful,” Dez murmured. “These rocks get kind of slippery.”

I smiled absently. His concern was really sweet, but I wasn’t in any danger of falling and cracking my skull open.

Fading sunlight glinted over the gently rippling water. I wandered closer to the shimmering surface and knelt, dipping my fingers into the cool water. With the exception of the soft calls of birds and the rustling of leaves, it was quiet here.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, standing.

“I think so.” There was a pause. “I know why you think I brought you here, but I really don’t expect you to skinny-dip.”

Turning around, I smiled at him. “I thought that was what you were most looking forward to.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. The mere thought of you swimming with nothing but the water...” He trailed off, cleared his throat, and I flushed to the roots of my hair. “Anyway, all of this is for you.” He spread his arms wide, indicating the lake, and beyond that, the entire trip. “You’re supposed to be having fun, not feeling uncomfortable.”

I tucked my hair back as I sat, plopping my butt on one of the boulders. Lowering my hands to my knees, I willed them to stop shaking.

“Jas?” He inched closer, head cocked to the side.

“Why?” I asked, lifting my gaze to his. “Why are you doing this when you know I don’t plan to say yes?”

He stopped for a moment and then navigated the prickly bushes to sit beside me. Leaning forward, he propped his arms on his knees and rested his chin in his hands. “Well, there’re a lot of reasons, but mainly because I wanted to.”

Doubt crept in like a thick fog. “You really wanted to play tourist instead of being out there with the clan?”

“Yes.” He peered up through his lashes. “I wasn’t lying when I said I missed you and thought about you every day. I want to spend time with you and it’s been fun watching you experience all these firsts. I’m happy that I could do this for you. And just because you’re resigned to saying no doesn’t mean that’s what you’ll say in the end.”

I raised my brows. “Oh, really?”

He dropped his hands and straightened. “Maybe at the end of these seven days, you’ll still say no. That doesn’t mean it’s over. I’m in this for the long haul.”

Warmth bubbled up in my chest in response to his words. “What if I find someone else?”

His eyes narrowed. “I doubt that’s going to happen.”

“You never know.”

“Oh, I know.”

I rolled my eyes, but the grin I was fighting peeked through. “Just saying.”

“And I’m just saying that by the end of these seven days or maybe a week from then, or a month, you’ll say yes.” He cupped my cheek and leaned in, pressing his forehead to mine. “And I’ll be waiting. No matter how long it takes.”

As I closed my eyes, my breath caught at the way my stomach dipped and twisted. The question formed on the tip of my tongue. “Tell me why you really left, Dez. Please.”

He brushed my nose with his and then pulled back, sighing. “Jas, it’s not an easy—”

Bushes rattled behind us, the sound of something rustling around. We turned at the same time. A shiver of awareness snaked along my shoulders as the tiny leaves on a bush that was only a few feet tall shuddered.

Dez placed a hand on my arm and motioned for me to be quiet as we stood. We made no sound, but the spiky leaves stilled.

A thin branch, no wider than a pencil and shaped like a spear, parted the leaves. The spear swung left and then right and then stopped, pointing at where we stood.

“What the...?” I whispered.

The bushes shook as a small creature appeared between the leaves. I had no idea what the thing was. No taller than a foot, the thing’s skin was the color of aged leather, legs and arms thin and knobby. Some kind of loincloth had been fashioned out of leaves and its potbelly was covered with mud. The creature kind of resembled one of those heinous troll dolls that had been popular before my time. It didn’t have neon-pink or purple hair, but its dark brown hair did stick straight up in large clumps, twisting together at the end.

The small creature crouched down, pointing the spear at us as if daring one of us to make a move.

“Holy crap,” Dez said.

I clamped my hands together, under my chin. “What is it?”

Its big, round eyes narrowed at the sound of my voice, but it didn’t scamper off. Couldn’t picture the little guy running. Nope. It would scamper.

“It’s a pukwudgie.”

The thing’s oversize, floppy ears twitched at the sound of its name.

I looked at Dez slowly. “A what?”

“Earth demon,” he replied, brows knitted. “I’ve never seen one before. Thought they’d been eradicated years ago. Not much is known about them other than they caused a bit of mischief during their heyday. Usually they were only seen up north, near Massachusetts and places like that.”

“It’s kind of cute.” I grinned when his look turned dubious. “What? It’s so ugly it’s cute.”

Dez shook his head as the pukwudgie dropped its little spear and slunk forward, nearing the rocks. It disappeared behind them for a moment and then the tips of its ears and hair came into view. Finally, those big eyes and bulbous nose appeared as it peeked over a rock at us.

I giggled softly, and its mouth opened wide, revealing quite of bit of teeth in what I guessed was a smile in return.

“I think it likes me,” I said.

Dez’s hand grazed my back as he stepped away from the rocks. “Everything likes you, Jas.”

With surprising agility, the little guy hopped onto the farthest rock. It crouched again, watching us, and when neither of us moved, it inched closer, hopping the rocks until it was near the one we’d been sitting on.

I glanced at Dez, who shrugged and then started around the rocks, as if he planned to sneak up on it from behind. “What are you doing?”

He sent me a look. “What do you think?”

My mouth dropped open. “Come on. It’s not doing anything.”

Dez stopped, arching a brow. “Yet.”

My gaze fell back to the little guy. He was staring up at me with a toothy smile. He raised his knees, hobbling back and forth in a strange little jig when our eyes met.

“Jasmine...” Dez sighed, folding his arms. “It’s a demon. It might be a cute-ugly demon, but it’s still the enemy.”

“I know, but...”

But it wasn’t doing anything other than dancing and preening about. As sacrilegious as it sounded, I didn’t think it was right to kill it.

Dez shot me a look. “We can’t just let it go.”

The pukwudgie glanced at Dez and stuck out its tongue, making a very human raspberry sound.

I laughed. “Oh, I like this little guy. If we can’t let him go, can I keep him?”

“Uh, no.”

“I shall name him Herbert,” I announced, ignoring Dez. “Do you like the name, little puke-wedgie?”

“Pukwudgie,” Dez corrected, lips curving upward reluctantly. “Jas, we need to take care of this.”

The earth demon twirled around, hiking its legs up on either side.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” I slowly sat down, careful not to startle it. “Herbert is a good name for him.”

Dez choked, rolling his eyes. “Really? That’s the best name you can come up with?”

I flipped him off.

His eyes narrowed on me.

Herbert hopped onto my boulder, and I held my hand out. He bent at the waist, sniffing the air around my fingers.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Dez suggested darkly, stepping toward me. “God knows what kind of messed-up diseases that thing carries.”

Herbert spun around, doing another dance, and then brought his hand down on mine, as if he were giving me a high five. Then he raised his hand, formed a fist and shook it at Dez.

“Huh,” I said, eyeing it. “I really don’t think Herbert likes you.”

“That’s tragic,” he replied dryly. “I want you to move back from it.”

Ignoring him again, I chuckled as Herbert climbed to my side of the rock and wrapped his hand around my pointer finger. His skin was cool and soft. He jumped once and then again, moving my hand.

“I think he’s shaking my—ouch!”

Herbert had his mouth on my finger, his teeth clamped down! Sharp pain blasted across my hand, and I jerked back. Scrambling to my feet, I lost my balance and landed on my butt, clutching my throbbing hand to my chest.

“Herbert bit me! The little bastard bit me!”

The pukwudgie made a chattering noise that sounded perilously like a laugh, spun around and darted over the boulders. It jumped onto the ground and raced off, stopping only long enough to pick up its spear. Bushes rattled as it disappeared into the growth.

Dez was at my side in a second, kneeling down. He opened his mouth.

“Don’t you dare say I told you so,” I warned, glancing down at my finger. Blood welled up from three little indentations. “I can’t believe he bit me. I thought he liked me.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything. Let me see it.” He reached for my hand. “He broke the skin, didn’t he? Christ,” he muttered. “You’re bleeding. Come on, let’s wash it off and get out of here before more of them show up and decide to take a bite out of you.”

“You think there’re more?” I let him pull me to my feet and guide me to the edge of the lake.

“If there’s one, there’s probably a hundred.” He dipped my hand under the cool water, washing away the blood.

“You should’ve killed it,” I grumbled crossly.

Dez cast me a long look. “I tried, but someone—no names mentioned—thought Herbert was so ugly it was cute.”

I sighed. True. “He doesn’t deserve the name Herbert.”

He relented enough to snicker as he lifted my hand from the water. “Does it hurt?”

“Actually...” It did hurt. The sting from the pukwudgie’s bite radiated over my hand and down my arm. “Not really,” I finished. Dez already thought I was a big enough idiot. No reason to add to it.

We were halfway back to the SUV when a fine sheen of sweat broke out across my forehead. Heat traveled across my skin like a fever. I felt flushed, sticky. Stomach roiling, I glanced down at my finger and sucked in a shaky breath. The skin around the bite was blood red, and angry-looking streaks spread out from the otherwise-minor wound.

Uh-oh.

I stopped walking, but the trees kept moving. Odd. “Dez...?”

He turned to me, but something was wrong with his face. All his features blurred together. “Jasmine?”

His voice sounded way, way far away. “I don’t... feel so good.”

I took a step or at least I thought I had, but suddenly the ground was in the sky and the sky was no more. Somewhere, off in the distance, I thought I heard Dez calling my name, and then there was nothing.