Fierce Enchantment by Carrie Ann Ryan

the same time, help himself. He was forever tied to her, and now, he wanted to know her.
    He just plain wanted her.
    She ran a hand through her hair and cursed. “You know what? Fine. I left because I don’t feel like I belong there anymore.”
    He knew it was something like that, so he nodded, not wanting to interrupt.
    “I hate the fact that I feel this way. I hate that I can’t be happy to just be alive. To just be. But how can I? How can I when I missed so much? They let me go, Levi. They moved on. I know it’s not rational, but I don’t know them anymore. And I feel like shit for even thinking that. You saved me. Saved me. And yet, all I can feel is that I’m a selfish bitch for wanting that year back.” She closed her eyes tight, her hands fisted at her sides. “I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this. I don’t know why I’m feeling all of this. I hate it.”
    He took a deep breath, forcing himself not to touch her. “You have a right to all those feelings, Faith.”
    She opened her eyes and her mouth dropped open.
    He continued. “You can’t hold yourself back. You shouldn’t have to.”
    She licked her lips, looking so lost that all he wanted to do was make it better for her, but he knew this was something she would have to do for herself.
    “But what am I going to do, huh? I don’t know if I can just slide into my place because that place doesn’t exist anymore. I lost it all, and now I don’t know where I stand.”
    “Then stand with me,” he blurted out.
    Her eyes widened. “What?”
    He let out a breath. There was no backing down now. “Then stand with me. I know it’s crazy, but you didn’t know me beforehand, so you don’t have to find your old place. You can find a new place.”
    “I...I have no idea what to say to that.”
    “Then don’t think. Not yet. Just be. Like you said. You and I can’t ignore what happened on the battlefield, and you can’t ignore what happened when you weren’t there to live it. So get to know me and let me get to know you. One thing at a time, and when you feel like you’re ready, you know your friends will be there for you. They understand, Faith, even if it hurts them to let you go. They understand.” That much he knew was true. “They want you to be whole and safe again.”
    “What if I can’t be whole again?” she whispered, and he knew she’d just told him the truth behind her pain and the front she put on.
    He took a risk and gripped her chin, gently forcing her gaze to his. “Then be who you are now. They’ll always be there for you, Faith.” As will I.
    He didn’t say that last part, didn’t know why he even thought it.
    “What if I say yes? What if I say I want to get to know you?”
    “Then get to know me.”
    Faith tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. “Okay then.”
    Okay then.
    Not the most romantic way to start a new life, a new mating, but he’d take it. Levi would have accepted just about anything right then.
    He just prayed she didn’t run away from him once she knew everything about him.

 

Chapter Five
     
     
    Faith honestly had no idea what the heck she was doing. One minute she was pouting over her life like some teenage girl, and the next, she was gazing into a wizard’s eyes, his fingers gripping her chin.
    What the hell?
    “Okay then,” he said, repeating her words back to her. He cleared his throat and pulled away from her.
    She felt annoyed at the cold from the loss of his touch. It must have been that damn mating bond because Faith Sanders did not want a man in her life, despite what she’d just agreed to not two minutes ago.
    “So, what do you want to do?” she asked, trying to push back the doubts creeping in. She’d said she’d find out more about him and try to figure out what she wanted in life now that she, once again, had one to live. She couldn’t turn back on her word, even if it scared the hell out of her to think about what she could be getting herself into.
    Levi brushed her