Desmund finished the piece and started another, oblivious to the silent battle being fought beside him. As soon as my heart rate slowed to normal, I formed the connection between us again and siphoned more magic from him. At first, the magic flowed in a steady stream that seemed never-ending, but it eventually began to slow until it was little more than a trickle. Using so much of my power to destroy the foul magic should have exhausted me, but I felt strangely invigorated after my afternoon in the lake.
Desmund played two more pieces before I saw that he was tiring. There was definitely more color in his cheeks again, but it occurred to me he was probably beginning to feel the same lethargy that most creatures experience after a big healing. Not that he would ever admit to being tired.
I put up my hand to cover a fake yawn, and he stopped playing. “Sleepy, little one?”
“Sorry, all this training has me beat.”
“Then you should retire and get some rest. We can continue this another time.” He stood and smiled down at me. “Come. You must get plenty of rest if you are going to keep up with your new trainer.”
We parted at the landing as usual, and I took a detour to the dining hall for a blueberry muffin before heading to my room. As I passed the tall windows, I spotted Nikolas and Celine walking across the well-lit lawn. They stopped and Celine gazed up at Nikolas with a sultry smile. He said something to her and her lips parted in what I knew was a throaty laugh, making me feel like I was intruding on a private moment. Seeing them like this, I couldn’t help but notice how good they looked together, and I wasn’t surprised that Nikolas would want to be with the beautiful woman. She might be a bitch to other females, but obviously males were very attracted to her.
Celine reached up and put her hand intimately on Nikolas’s shoulder, and I felt like someone had socked me in the gut. I pulled back out of sight before either of them could see me and ran from the room, embarrassed and confused by a host of strange emotions. Why did it bother me to see them together? It wasn’t as if there was anything between me and Nikolas; he was probably the last person I could picture myself with. Yes, he was gorgeous, and okay, maybe I was a little attracted to him. Who wouldn’t be? He was good to me, but he was also arrogant and bossy and moody.
I just couldn’t stand the thought of that awful woman getting her claws into him. He can do so much better than Celine.
What do you care? my inner voice asked. You don’t even like him, remember?
I do like him, I argued back. He’s my friend, and I wouldn’t want one of my friends with someone like that.
Who the hell are you trying to kid? You have never thought of Nikolas as just a friend.
“No, you’re wrong,” I whispered as I opened my door. “I don’t care about him that way.”
Liar.
I closed the door and pressed my forehead weakly against it. “This is not happening.”
The voice did not say a word.
Chapter 13
THE NEXT MORNING when I stumbled out of bed, my head felt like it was in a vise, and I was sporting dark shadows under my eyes. I wanted nothing more than to crawl back under the covers and hide there all day, anything to avoid seeing Nikolas. How was I going to train with him, to be alone with him after realizing last night that I had feelings for him? I still didn’t know exactly what they were, but they scared the hell out of me. I honestly didn’t know if I could deal with any more complications in my life. Nikolas was my trainer and my friend, and he was nothing, if not complicated.
Despite Jordan’s assertions, I knew Nikolas wasn’t attracted to me, especially after seeing him with Celine last night. Anyway, it wasn’t like I wanted him to like me that way, did I? No, of course not. We didn’t even get along half the time. Although, I had to admit that the last few days he had been patient and understanding. He was different here, more relaxed than he’d been in Maine, and it was throwing me off. That had to be it. We were spending a lot of time together and this nicer side of him was confusing me.
Right?
I wrung my head in my hands. “God, I don’t need this right now.” My throat felt tight and my voice sounded hoarse. My sleepless night was screwing with my emotions, and I would be a total wreck if I didn’t get it together. I’d slept better than this when I’d had a psycho vampire hunting me. How messed up was that?
There was only one way to fix this. I had to act as if nothing had changed and put as much distance as possible between me and Nikolas until these stupid feelings went away. I wasn’t sure how that was going to work with him being my trainer, but I would have to make the best of it. Outside of training, I had to avoid him at all costs.