The Thing about Elves Read online

  Angie sat there for a moment. She thought back to all the doctors she loved and all those that she hated. The woman was right. The ones that she had the most respect for were those who not only loved what they did but loved their patients as well. “I—I can see what you mean. Doctors must be empathetic as well as sympathetic. They occasionally need to let those emotions in that they seem to keep at bay. And I know that doesn’t mean all the time. If that were the case, they would go crazy within a month.”

  “I knew you’d understand. You are a smart young woman. So… the million dollar question…just what are your intentions for my son?”

  Chapter 4

  Angie had been saved by Ardan and Jedrick entering the room but still she knew that Janice would want an answer and soon. And that soon seemed to be a scheduled dinner sometime in the future. Somehow, she managed to get through the day even though the question weighed heavily on her mind. Sighing, while she really didn’t want to broach the subject just yet, she needed to…after all, would loving Ardan be enough for her if he didn’t love her in return?

  Slowly she shut her locker. Ardan hadn’t mentioned anything about the evening to her at all. Maybe he had already tired of her and didn’t want her to come home with him. Closing her eyes, she refused to think about it. She was already completely and utterly in love with the man. And there was nothing that was ever going to change the fact.

  Angie heard the door open behind her. She tried her hardest not to feel his presence, to no avail. He was close…so close…it took everything she had in her not to turn around and throw herself in his arms. His scent wafted around her and embraced her like a physical entity. The sexual tension was thick with unrepentant desire as it hovered around them.

  “Angie,” he whispered, close enough that she could feel his warm breath on her skin. “Turn around.”

  Leisurely, as if she had all the time in the world, she turned. Smiling tentatively, she knew she saw unrestrained passion in his eyes. “Yes?”

  “Do you realize that it has taken every bit of my restraint to keep my hands off of you today?”

  Her low laughter resounded in the room. “Really? I had no idea.”

  “You should.” He slipped his large hand around her neck and placed his thumb under her jaw. Gently, he pushed her face up to gaze into his eyes. “You need to realize just what you do to me.”

  “And what is that?” she whispered.

  “Damn, woman, you have a hold on me, a hold I can’t deny, a hold that I don’t want to deny.”

  Angie could barely breathe; her heart was beating so fast. “And this is a problem?”

  “Not at the moment…but it could be,” he answered and leaned forward to caress her lips with his, teasing her with his tongue. “You should really tell me what you want, what you expect.”

  Angie tempered her answer. She could not yet truly tell him what she wanted. She wanted it all and it almost made her angry that he couldn’t see it. “What on earth for?”

  “So I can fulfill your every fantasy and then some.”

  She melted. Wrapping her arms around his middle, she pulled herself as close as she could to him. She fit so nice and neat with him. There was no awkwardness in their bodies, just a blending as if they were part of the same person. Soon their kisses became more urgent.

  “Stop…we’ve got to stop.” Angie pulled away. “I—I—what’s happening here? Am I going home with you?”

  Ardan allowed himself to be pushed away slightly. “Of course you’re going home with me. Where else would you go?”

  “You’re right in stating that I don’t really have anywhere to go. But if you don’t really want me there, I’ll find someplace else.”

  “Not want you? Good god, woman, how could a man not want you?” He frowned down at her. “I may never be able to work you out of my system.”

  Not quite the romantic endearment she had hoped to hear, but one that gave her true hope at least. Angie stood on tiptoes and kissed him gently.

  "Remember… you’re an elf-man… something that you continually remind me of constantly. I suppose that gives you an edge on getting me out of your system.”

  “Alright, you win. Still…I want you…will you please come home with me?”

  She jerked her eyes to his. His voice had sounded so vulnerable, so unlike the elf-man she had come to know. Gazing at him, she realized that his defenses had slammed down the moment he grasped his mistake. Breathing deeply, no matter what her decision, one of them might get hurt. True, she wanted him more than anything she had ever wanted in her life. She just wasn’t sure how long it would take to make him want more than just her body.

  “I’ve a body made for sin,” she quipped. “At least, that’s what they tell me.”

  “But what does that tell me, exactly? Can you explain it to me?”

  She pursed her lips for a moment and watched him. If she retreated now, she would lose all the ground she had gained in the past twenty-four hours. “I’ll be here as long as you want me, Ardan.” There. she had said it and meant it with all her heart. She only hoped the man noticed that it was with her heart and not any biased sense of untrustworthiness. She wanted more than just the sex…even though that was a fantastic selling point…she needed him to notice what she offered. And she offered more than just the standard one night stand. She offered him a lifetime filled with love and happiness.

  He stroked the side of her face. “You won’t be sorry.”

  She shook her head in the affirmative. She wanted to mutter that she was already sorry but she couldn’t. She had to ride this train to the end, no matter what that end might bring. “I want to say good night to Tessa and the babies. Do you mind?”

  “No. I’ll meet you at the front door.” His hand fell away and he was gone.

  Angie wanted to bury her head in her hands but she knew that wasn’t going to make her problem go away. She needed to talk to Tessa. Grabbing her bag, she slowly made her way up the hall to her friend’s room.

  “You look like something the cat dragged in,” Tessa murmured, looking up from the book she was reading. “What’s up?”

  “Tell me I haven’t made a mistake.”

  The book closed slowly and her best friend crossed her arms over her chest. “Mistake about what?”

  Swallowing hard, this was the one person she could never fool. “About being with Ardan.”

  “Oh, I see. You want me to tell you it’s going to be easy. That the wonderful sex will make up for everything.” Tessa unfolded her arms and laid her hands in her lap. “I can’t, Angie.”

  “Then I made a mistake.” She sat down hard. She had been fooling herself. This would to be one of the hardest things she had ever done in her life. And having to leave him would be even worse.

  “Angie, have you ever known anything you’ve wanted in life to be easy? Well?”

  “No.”

  “Then why did you want this to be?”

  “Well—I—I just thought…”

  “Angie…Angie…being with an elf is hard. First, you have to relocate to the North Pole, away from everything and everyone you thought you loved in the real world. Then, you’re forced to deal with a loving family who wants to know everything, and I mean everything.” She stopped and pointed looked at Angie.

  “Everything?” she croaked and shifted nervously in her seat.

  “Everything. And then you have to try and figure out just what it is about your lovemaking that keeps leaking around the shield setup. Then you get pregnant…then your best friend comes up to stay with you through the pregnancy…and before you know it, you have two wonderful children to love and to hold.”

  “Kids…wow…and I’m an aunt.”

  “Yup.” Tessa tugged at her hand. “And if you love him like I think you do, nothing I’ve said will even remotely begin to change your mind.”

  “That obvious, huh?”

  “Does Ardan know?”

  “I can’t tell him…not yet…I just fully realized i
t myself.” She lowered her head. “Actually, I’ve known for a long time. I just never really thought he would look my way. I mean, with everything you told me about him, and he’s always been so distant.”

  “Angie, you’re beautiful. And if that man doesn’t see how much you love him, he’s a fool.”

  “It feels like I’ve loved him forever. How is that possible?”

  “I know what you mean. I’d never felt so loved or comfortable with anyone else like I did with Jedrick.”

  “I still think I’ve made a mistake, Tess.”

  “He’ll notice…trust me…it’s just all so new to him. He’s never really had someone like you. You love medicine as much as he does. You seem to like it here in the North Pole or at least not mind it as much as some women would. And I don’t think he’s ever really had any long term relationship. You two have been dancing around each other for months. I’m glad you finally got together.” Tessa stared hard at her for a moment. “I just hope it will be a permanent situation.”

  “I’m not sure he has really noticed me at all. I wonder sometimes if it wasn’t an act to get sex.”

  “I’m sure.” Two sets of eyes turned toward the door.

  “Jedrick.” Tessa sat up straighter and beamed.

  Angie could tell by the way her friend looked at her husband just how much she loved him. “How much did you hear?”

  Jedrick took off his coat and laid it on the back of the chair closest to the bed. “Most of it. Angie, my brother can be an arrogant jerk a lot of times. But when it comes to you, I do think he’ll come around. I know that he has definitely noticed you. Just don’t push him.”

  “I’m trying hard not to but after the conversation we had with your mother today, I guess I’m just curious as to where I stand.”

  “If it’s any consolation, Ardan has never taken anyone to his home. He’s never brought anyone to the North Pole, not even for a joy ride when he was in college.”

  “I didn’t know you did that.” Tessa peered at her husband.

  “I didn’t but Cuinn did and boy, did that cause a ruckus. I don’t know who was madder…my Mom…or Santa.”

  Angie laughed. “That must have been good.”

  “If you weren’t Cuinn, it was.”

  “Poor Cuinn. I hope that’s not the cause of him thinking he’s a nerd.”

  Jedrick frowned toward his wife. “I really don’t think so.” He turned back to Angie and scrutinized her for a moment. “Just don’t let Ardan bully you. He always thinks he’s right. And for some reason he doesn’t think elves and humans can mix. He even tried to talk Tessa out of being with me.”

  Her eyes flew to her friend. “I remember you saying something like that but I just can’t fathom why he thinks humans and elves don’t mix.”

  “I know but he did and for a moment I almost believed him. Then a very wise woman made me touch a piece of jewelry and my life changed forever.”

  “I don’t think you have any regrets.”

  “And you won’t either.”

  “Hey…let’s get a move on…I want to get home before the weather gets any worse.” A voice boomed outside the room and then Ardan stuck his head in the door. “Jedrick, I didn’t see you come in.”

  “I came in through the back.”

  “Oh. Hope I didn’t interrupt anything.” He looked first at Angie then his brother. “We need to go. The weather seems to be getting worse.”

  “Worse? Is that going to be a problem later? I mean…we will be able to get back here tomorrow…right?” Angie turned concerned eyes toward Tessa. “I just don’t think you’re quite ready to go home yet.”

  Ardan came fully into the room. “Don’t worry…even if we can’t get here…they’ll be fine for a short time, just like right after the delivery. There are other people working at this clinic, you know. Besides, the reindeer can get through anything.”

  Tessa cocked her head slightly. “Ardan, you have to remember that Angie is used to relatively mild winters. It is totally different here. It’s amazing that she hasn’t turned tail and run, in all honesty.”

  “That isn’t true.” She pouted only for a second before continuing. “I love snow.”

  “Sure you do…as long as you’re inside…and it’s out.”

  Angie really began to frown. What was Tessa doing? This surely wouldn’t endear her to Ardan in any way, shape or form. “Okay…so I’m a weenie for the cold…I still love snow and everything winter brings.”

  Tessa chuckled. “Alright. I’ll give you that much. Our house was always beautiful at Christmas and during the winter months. It was as if you went into overdrive to make it more homey. The decorations were absolutely gorgeous.”

  “Homey is good…especially if you have hot chocolate…and a roaring fire.” Angie beamed, remembering the little house they had shared in Reno. Squeezing Tessa’s hand once more, she winked. She knew what she was going to do. She’d be the one thing he couldn’t do without in or out of the clinic. “I’m ready.” Ardan looked at her skeptically but said nothing. She only wished she knew what was happening inside that head of his.

  He remained quite for almost the whole ride home which made Angie know that something was wrong. “Do you really hate snow so much?” he finally asked quietly.

  She had to lean in to hear him, his breath warm upon her ear. “No…I really don’t…I am a weenie for the cold but I’ve always been that way. My favorite thing is to wrap up in a blanket on a cold day with a book in front of a fireplace. What do you like to do on a cold winter day?”

  “Well…it used to be spent working at the clinic…but I think I can find some better things to do now, don’t you?”

  She beamed. Angie only hoped that she was one of those things. “I can think of a million and one things…some you might like…and others I totally know you’d hate.”

  “That’s the difference between men and women. There are things women love and there are things men love. But most of those differences are glorious indeed.”

  She smiled. Yes, the differences between them were wonderful and magical. But would that magic help in the area of love? She could only hope for the best and give it her all in trying to convince the man that he was the one for her. Soon they were inside the door in the warm living room.

  “I’m—I’m real—ly cold, Ardan,” she stammered, shivering.

  “Let me light a fire.” He went over to the fireplace and put some logs in, turning back to her. He quickly grabbed a blanket from the couch and took it to her. Wrapping her up gently in its warm folds, he snapped his fingers and the fire blazed immediately.

  Angie’s eyes went wide. “I didn’t know you could do that,” she exclaimed and looked at him.

  “What? The fire?” Smiling down at her, he continued to rub her extremities. “We can do basic magic, you know. Just little stuff, like turn on lights and light fires. There are those of us elsewhere in the world where magic plays a big part of their daily lives. They can exert a lot of influence on the natural world. We just chose to do things differently here.”

  “It must be fascinating to be an elf. How do you do things like that?”

  * * * *

  The moment of truth had arrived. Ardan wanted to tell her everything but for some reason held back for just a second.

  “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” she whispered, the hurt evident in her voice.

  Looking down into the violet eyes, he realized that he wanted to tell this woman everything. He felt compelled to link with her in such a way that she would be his forever. He just wanted to make sure everything was as perfect as he could make it, even though he knew in the back of his mind that nothing remained perfect for long. “I’ll tell you what I think you should know. That is, until I get bored. My life is really boring, you know.”

  “Boring? You have got to be kidding. Your life seems absolutely fascinating in ways that I can only imagine.”

  “Not kidding. But why don’t you sit down in front of
the fire and I’ll go get some hot chocolate?”

  “Do you have something besides whiskey to put in the cocoa?” she questioned tentatively.

  Half frowning at her, he chuckled. “Don’t like the whiskey?”

  “I’m not so sure about it. The combination tasted funny to me. I do know I like some kinds of whiskey but definitely not what you have. And obviously not in hot cocoa but I do love peppermint schnapps with hot cocoa.” She smiled at him and the whole world brightened.

  He knew he was in trouble and for some reason, he really didn’t mind at all. She got under his skin but good. “I’ll see what I can find.”

  Placing her in front of the fireplace, he went to the kitchen and put the water on to boil. He could have heated the water immediately with just a wave of his hand but his parents had taught him that his magic was special and should only be used when absolutely necessary. He wondered what he tried to prove starting the fire the way he had. It had been one of the first things he had ever learned about…fire…and he had had a few mishaps but of all his brothers and sisters, he was the only one who could control it easily.

  Frowning to himself, he couldn’t understand just what had gotten into him. Why did he do something that as far as he could see was totally irresponsible? His parents would have given him a severe tongue lashing if they had thought he had abused his power in any way. Somehow, he felt that he tried to live up to Angie’s expectations of what an elf really was. After all, she only knew what the movies and books had told her. She had no idea what he or any elf could or couldn’t do in real life. But then again, just what was real life for him?

  He sighed heavily because he had no easy answer. He had basically been cloistered here in the North Pole for all his life except for med school. He knew it was something he had to get a grip on if he were to stay with this woman…this human woman…forever. There…he had thought the forbidden…or at least in his mind forbidden. There was nothing anywhere that said he couldn’t fall in love with a human. He sat the spoon down quickly. He had thought the “L” word…not just any “L” word…but the big one. Sitting down on the stool in the kitchen hard, he wondered if he had gone crazy. He was in love with the wacky human woman who had been driving him crazy since the moment they met. But how could that be? He couldn’t even stand her.