He could have flown her up above the forest canopy, but he didn’t want to. Willow was the forest and everything wild that grew and thrived on her land.
He flew slowly at first, then more quickly, taking care not to let any wayward branches slap at Willow or cut her arms or legs. His chest swelled at having her so close, this woman who shielded several wraith families.
Now that he understood her focus, he appreciated her all the more. But he wondered why she’d kept this a secret from him? Surely, she understood that he damn well knew the difference between the Invictus wraith-pairs and those innocent wraiths who had lived in the Nine Realms from the beginning?
Maybe in time, she would tell him. She’d spoken of a vow, but why had it been necessary?
As he turned his attention to her more and more, he started to feel the layers of her. His desire had so dominated his male drive that only now, as he flew toward the ridge where her treehouse had been built, could he feel the enormous responsibility she carried in protecting these wraiths.
He slowed as the trail in the oak wood opened up and her primary residence came into view. She’d built her home on the side of a small ravine, as many of the Ashleaf inhabitants did. Open pasture land was rare in his realm and most of it commandeered for the raising of goats and sheep. More than once, he’d tried to talk to her while she was at her house, but she took off from there and he gave chase. And if he had to give chase, he preferred meeting her first at the pool, bastard that he was.
The first of her five treehouses that made up her complex looked completely deceiving, since it was on the level of the path. But he knew the land dropped away sharply, at least thirty feet to the stream and small waterfall below.
But the curved walkway with a protective wood railing and a cut-out diamond on every other oiled panel, had a charm familiar to the mountain forests of Ashleaf.
As he set her on her feet, he could feel that the protective spell was stronger this close to her house.
She glanced up at him, her hazel eyes glittering as she took his hand. “I’m glad you’re here, Malik. I’ve wanted to speak with you, to be with you for such a long time.”
“And I’ve wanted to be here.” He then made his confession about having spent time on this part of her property.
“But you never went inside?” Her brows rose, but she didn’t seem upset.
“Of course not.”
At that, she smiled. “I wouldn’t have minded. Anyone else, probably, but not you. I trust you because I’ve watched how you govern your realm and I knew of the laws you instituted when you took Axton’s place.”
“That’s kind of you to say so, but until I rid Ashleaf of The Society, I’ll never be at peace.”
“One day you will. I’m confident of that.”
He stared into her hazel eyes, wondering yet again what this was between them.
He moved to the railing near the front door and looked down. The entire hillside had been planted and grown lush with ferns. Below, a mature vegetable plot in stone supported terraces, ranged in the direction of the stream. “You haul the water?”
She chuckled. “No. Do you see the far tree and the pipe? I have a small electric pump.”
Solar power had made a lot of things possible in his realm in the past few years.
“It’s very peaceful here.”
She stood beside him, also looking down at her garden and the stream, as well as a small waterfall twenty or so yards to the north. Ashleaf had thousands of similar waterfalls.
“I’ve worked hard to make my home a haven. It’s been necessary because of the work I do on behalf of the wraiths.”
He turned toward her. “I can only imagine, and I’m amazed that you’ve sacrificed so much to help them.”
At that, she smiled again. She had beautiful even teeth. “Well, I don’t do anything that you’re not doing, Mastyr.”
He shook his head. “Please call me Malik. Like you did before.”
But she placed a quick hand on his arm. “It’s my way of telling you how much I respect what you’ve done as Mastyr of Ashleaf. You inspire me.”
“I do?” He was surprised. He just didn’t think of himself in those terms.
“Of course. Your dedication of service keeps me committed to protecting my wraiths.”
The air between them shifted once more, especially since she still had her hand on his arm. Desire for her raged all over again, and he was stunned how quickly even just a touch or a word of praise could make him want her so much.