“I am fine.” Maira sat up, grateful the earth did not tip on its axis thanks to her healed body. She gasped as her eyes opened and showed her the man before her.
Angels were beautiful creatures, often able to change their appearance to what the mind sought. This man could do no such magic, and Maria was certain she’d never seen a man as pleasing to look at.
Dark hair matted against his face with sweat and served to show off the stunning ice blue of his eyes. Eyes that stared into hers as his hand continued to rest over the arrow’s tip where it struck in her forearm. Chiseled cheekbones that rivaled any angels gave his face a stark harshness that contrasted the concern in his voice.
You could touch him, and he wouldn’t think twice. Maira shook off the thought, hating her gift of compulsion, and sent her ice-white hair shifting over her shoulders now that was back in her humanoid form.
“Let me help you get this out, and then you can tell me what you were doing among the trees.” His gaze traveled down her body, bringing a searing heat to her cheeks. “Especially dressed as such.” The muscles in his arms seemed to dance as he flexed for no apparent reason other than to show off his body.
Don’t be ridiculous. Maira knew she needed a decent lie if she were to convince the human she was not about to seduce or kill him.
“On the count of three.” A second warm hand laid over her arm. “One, Two…”
A sharp sting sliced over her arm, and Maira hissed. “Where was three?”
The sound of tearing fabric filled her ears, and a second later, the gruff cloth covered her arm, followed by the tips of his fingers. “Never go all the way, a person’s shock is lessened if they don’t know it’s coming.” He lifted his lips into a genuine smile. A gesture Maira couldn’t remember ever seeing on any other than her parents.
“So, you make it a habit to shoot women in the arm?” Maira kept her voice light, and her attention focused on not healing the throbbing pain in her arm.
“Do you make it a habit to perch in trees in hunting territory?”
Of course, the area between the castles would be deadly enough to trap anyone he didn’t want leaving.
“Hello?” Gloved hands waved too close her eyes. “Did you hit your head?” His lips turned down in a frown.
Think. Quickly. “I was hiding. I found myself too close to the palace and in danger of the ruler’s power. My parents thought it a plausible union.” Angels didn’t wed humans, but they did wed half-human half-angel Nephilim.
Concern shifted to fury as his ice-blue eyes narrowed, and the muscles in his neck tensed as he clenched his jaw. “I know the angel by legend alone.” He extended a hand. “Can I help you get home?”
Maira’s heart thudded against her chest hard enough to snap a rib. He was handsome, but it was his responses drawing her to want to remain with him. You want to remain with him. The thought shocked her, but she held the emotion at bay. “Show me how to hunt?” The request spilled over her lips, surprising even her.
“Excuse me?”
“Tell me your name and show me how to hunt. Help me not have to hide in a tree.”
Most angels were fiercely trained in battle. Maira was not.
“Xander of Yeld. My father is the palace blacksmith.” He lifted a bow off the ground. “Do you believe you can learn to hunt in one afternoon?” A playfulness flitted on his lips.
“Maira. And I do.” She reached for the bow.
“Not telling me where you are from?”
She shook her head. “It is not needed information. You will never see me again.” The words nearly upset her. The man before her seemed to ensnare her with his personality. Maira pushed off the leaves, ignoring the way they crunched under her palm “I assure you, my virtue is not in danger. Show me how to hunt, and I will get myself home.”
Xander paused for a brief moment before his right hand snaked over his shoulder and grabbed an arrow from the queue over his shoulder. “It would be my honor to teach you how to protect yourself. A tree is no place for a lady to hide, nor is it her place to hold a bow, but you should learn if your parents think to do this again.”
“Good,” Maira did not hunt, but she’d seen more than enough men hold a bow in her presence. She lifted it with ease, the weight not a problem for her angelic strength. “Arrow?”
“Running before you can walk,” Xander let out a low chuckle just as he stepped behind her. It was sensual, wrapping around her ear as gently as if he’d kissed her there. “May I?”
She gasped sharply, ignoring the hitch of her heart as he let his right hand cover over hers. Maira couldn’t be sure what the permission was for, but she would let him do anything if it meant a continuation of the warmth sliding over her from his proximity.
“Are you cold from your injury?” Concern laced the words, but he did not pull away.
“I believe so.” Maira wondered if he, too, underwent the slight buzz through his body as he touched her.
“Now, the pointed side goes out.”
She snorted.
“Too much instruction? My apologies, fair lady, it is not often I meet a woman hiding in a tree who asks to learn to hunt.”
“I’m a quick study.” She meant the words. Angels often found things easy, but Maira always learned new skills with ease. Something she attributed to years spent learning and not warring.
“Very well, the sooner I show you, the sooner I can return to hunting my family’s dinner.”
A pang of guilt crashed into her.
“You must hunt to eat?”
Nimble fingers held onto hers and lined up the blunt end of the arrow on the string. “Not all of us have our meals brought to us. It seems you missed I am in not in the same fine garb as you.”
She flinched. All she’d noticed was how handsome his face was. Do not think about it now. Focus. Firing at arrow at Niall wouldn’t stop him, but it would shock him that she knew how. She didn’t doubt he’d realized she was gone and find her.
Learn and let the human go free to save him.
“I’m sorry.”
“Par for the course. I did shoot you and cause you to fall from a tree.” He shifted his body closer to her. “A tip I recommend is as you hold steady, focus on something in the distance, but only after you’ve cocked your head to the side ever so slightly.” His free hand gently nudged her head closer to her ear.
“And then what?”
“Then, you let it fly.” He pulled his hand from hers without warning.
The arrow snapped the line and fell uselessly to the forest ground.
“Damn,” Xander snarled, stepping away from her.
“I’m sorry.” Angels didn’t run, but Maira did at that moment. Her heart raced in her chest, thumping as she tried to overcome the angelic response to desire – control. She didn’t want to control the human male through magic.
Her feet moved clumsily over the ground, slamming into a tree root before sliding on some leaves.
“Wait! I’m not angry with you.” Xander called after her.
He couldn’t catch up with her. Maira focused on her feet connecting with the earth with every footfall. Her speed grew as the focus gave her connection to her magic.
Xander continued to shout after her, but his voice became dull in the distance. He might wonder how she ran so quickly, but it was unlikely he’d dare to believe an angel stood before him and did not take his life.