Bayou Shadow Protector. Debbie Herbert

causing the levitation,” she continued, all business. As if this were a normal conversation. “Anyway, I came over because I thought we should have a little talk. One-on-one.” And not with his friends turning him against her.

      Chulah scowled. “Of course you did. The better to influence me, right? I can’t believe a thing you say.”

      “I’m telling the truth now. You know my deep, dark secret.” One of them, anyway.

      “Yeah, right.” He stood and paced. “Bet you have a million secrets buried under that beautiful, innocent face.”

      Beautiful. He thinks I’m beautiful. That was something she could grasp and hold on to while facing his disgust.

      “I’m not considered particularly beautiful by the other Fae,” she said casually. “To them, I’m not even run-of-the-mill pretty. ‘A bit plain’ is how I’m usually described.”

      Chulah snorted. “Impossible. Harder to believe than the fact that you aren’t human.”

      “I’m half-human. On my father’s side,” she said quickly. As if this might make her appear more acceptable and less foreign.

      “Why didn’t you tell me the truth to start with? I wouldn’t have dismissed your claim right off the bat. I’m a shadow hunter. I’ve fought supernatural beings most of my life. Hell, I have my own powers.”

      “I’m well aware of your heightened senses. And your strength.” April’s eyes roved over his broad shoulders and chest, the lean, muscular biceps of his arms. Her throat went dry remembering how it felt to be wrapped in those solid arms.

      He stared at her and she sighed. “I’m sorry. Try to see it from my point of view. I was instructed to tell as little as possible.”

      “You’re doing a fine job,” he said in a clipped voice. “Try being less of a politician. You’ll get a lot further with me that way.”

      “I will. Promise.” Lies of omission didn’t count. She kept her chin up and met his stare.

      “Very well.” Chulah returned to his seat and eyed her wearily. “I tried to find you last night. Turns out I couldn’t even locate that tree where you first appeared. You know the one I’m talking about.”

      April shifted her feet on the pine floor and smoothed her hands over her flowered peasant skirt, debating how much to reveal and how much to keep secret. A balance between telling enough to gain his trust and not saying so much that he could use any knowledge against them. “Sure, I know the tree. It’s sacred to us, just as you and your people have sacred spots in the woods.”

      “Yes, but I bet you know exactly where our spots are and why they’re special to us.”

      “True.” No sense lying about something that obvious. “But we can’t let humans get too close. You were able to see me in Fae form because I had dropped my guard on my way there.” Thinking about his hot kiss.

      He didn’t need to know that either. Chulah was arrogant enough without further ammunition.

      “Why are you so protective of this tree?”

      “It’s sacred,” she said, skirting around the edge of his question. “As you discovered, we protect it mostly by moving it every night. It’s never in the exact same place twice.”

      “Fascinating.” His eyes seared her. Was he talking about her or the tree?

      The kiss was there between them as if it had happened seconds ago. Which reminded April—she still hadn’t conducted an experiment to see if all humans were electric when she touched them. Was it magical between any Fae and any human?

      She couldn’t speak, couldn’t move. Could barely breathe, for that matter. He felt the pull, too. He was still as an oak; only his eyes moved, lowering to her lips, and then lower, focused on the rise and fall of her breasts under the thin cotton shirt.

      The silence grew as thick and hot as Alabama humidity in the midst of summer. A fever of longing burned, scorching her with desire. This was not the mischievous kissing game of a fairy lad. This was sensual human desire. All-consuming. All-engulfing.

      Exactly what her mother must have felt with her human lover. The one she chose to live with over her own daughter. The dousing reminder cleared her brain. April tore her gaze from his face and stared at her hands in her lap.

      Chulah stood abruptly and paced again, bare feet padding the wooden floor, scarcely making a sound. For such a large man, he had the stealth of a bobcat stalking prey. No doubt one of his many hunting skills honed over the years.

      “You realize I looked like a fool last night in front of my friend. No tree, no fairy.”

      Ah, the male pride was injured. “But if he’s truly your friend, that shouldn’t matter.”

      He whirled around. “It matters. Where I come from, friendships and family are the foundation of who you are. We are loyal to each other. We are nothing without one another.”

      April regarded his impassioned face. Chulah was what mattered to her. Exactly as he was. Unencumbered by his needy stepmother and half siblings and his fellow shadow hunters. You are important for just being you, she wanted to say. But that would only anger him. And possibly alienate him.

      She couldn’t bear that. To lose all hope of his returning her love would break her heart. And it would destroy any chance of recruiting his assistance to the Fae cause. It was still important to her that she restore her family’s name in fairy. Not for her mother, but to prove to her kind that she was loyal and honorable. That halflings shouldn’t be viewed as inferior species. She needed to prove all that to herself as well.

      “I understand about loyalty,” she assured Chulah. “It’s huge in the Fae realm. Maybe even more important than it is for you.”