There was no doubt that Jonas lived there. His presence permeated every room. There was masculine strength throughout. The flagstone flooring was cut from giant pieces, while the floor-to-ceiling fireplace was made of smaller pieces of flagstone. Huge windows everywhere provided breathtaking views of the mountains and forests, bringing the outside indoors. The bathrooms were modern, and everything was very clean. Given Jonas’s constant effort to stay calm and in control, the immaculate, well-ordered tidiness of his home didn’t surprise her.
After showering, washing her hair and pulling on fresh clothes from her backpack, Camellia wandered outside to the huge verandah. It was covered by a thick roof that would shade occupants from the morning sun. A very large lounge—big enough to be a bed—sprawled invitingly along the wall.
“I’m sleeping here, Kyle. Just tell him that.”
Kyle gave her a salute and stepped off the porch.
“Thank you,” she called after him. She honestly didn’t know if he was going to stick around until Jonas came back, but it didn’t matter. She was tired. Kyle could do whatever he needed to do.
Camellia curled up on the wide lounge, listening to the sound of the wind in the trees, her feet bare. If necessary, she could leap over the banister to bury the soles of her feet into the soil and hear what the land had to tell her. Gray and Blue were close by, each perched on top of a broken snag just inside the interior of the forest. It gave her comfort to know they were close.
Several small shrubs near the entrance to the house spread their branches invitingly toward her. She recognized those leaves. There were no blooms on them yet, but she recognized the shrubs instantly. Jonas hadn’t planted her, but Middlemist Red was close to him, watching over him. He just didn’t know it yet. She drifted off, smiling at the thought that there were so many things that Jonas didn’t know yet. And they were good things.
She woke sometime later to find him smiling down at her. He looked tired, the lines in his face cut deep. As a rule, Red was antiaging, and in spite of the many types of animals and reptiles Jonas had to deal with, the plant kept him looking on the younger side. Camellia cupped the side of his face gently.
“It was a hard night for you, wasn’t it?”
He shrugged and sat on the lounge, nudging her over as he bent to remove his boots. “Just another night. I could use some sleep. Why aren’t you inside?”
“I like the night.” She turned so she was sitting and waited for him to lie down and put his head in her lap. She could feel the raging headache pounding in his skull. She massaged his temples. “How much time do we have before we have to leave?”
“How did you know?”
She gave him a faint smile. “I knew we only had a couple of days anyway before the conglomerate sent their army. They aren’t going to be happy we eliminated their scouts, so they’ll probably move up their timeline. Of course we’ll have to go back out.”
He closed his eyes. “You don’t have to go, Camellia. It might be safer if you stay here. Or if you go to the garden and weave your illusions.”
“Maybe,” she mused. “And maybe we already had these discussions, Jonas. Go to sleep. If we’re going back on the trail soon, you need to be fresh.”
He caught her hand and brought her palm to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the center. “We have a day or so, more time than I originally thought we’d have, but Ryland wants us to take out their leaders, who are apparently the only enhanced members of their army.”
“That makes sense, but you can’t do it tonight. Just rest for now. You need it.”
“You do realize I’m falling in love with you.”
“You haven’t seen my bad side yet.”
He opened his eyes and looked at her. “You have a bad side?”
Camellia bit her lower lip and nodded slowly. “I do, Jonas. I’m very, very sorry, but I do. I wish I was that sweet, compassionate woman you envision in your head, but I’m not.”
He didn’t laugh at her, and she was grateful. She wanted him to know the truth of her. Yes, she could be very compassionate and empathetic, but she had other traits in her as well. Just as Whitney had enhanced Jonas, he had enhanced her. She was already a fighter.
“When I heard about Marigold and her illness, I thought the same thing you did—that the healer in me needed to help her—but I was reacting to Kaden’s illness, not hers.”
She made the confession in a little rush. She wanted to get it out so he could go to sleep. Her fingers continued to massage his scalp through his thick hair. His eyes closed again, giving her a good view of his long, thick lashes, lashes no man should have without them making him look somewhat feminine. That just didn’t happen with Jonas. He had an unrelenting harshness about his face that kept him looking far too rough to be anything but what he was—a dangerous predator.
“How does this make you think you have a bad side?”
That soft drowsy note coupled with his rough growl kicked her heart rate into overdrive and sent feminine hormones raging. She did her best to counter. Both of them were exhausted, and she knew if she committed to him physically, she would try to keep their relationship focused on sex so she wouldn’t have to let him in any deeper. Or maybe it would be just the opposite. She didn’t know. She only knew that Jonas was already getting past her many defenses, and the idea of becoming completely vulnerable to him was frightening if she thought too much about it.
With a little sigh, she leaned her head against the back of the lounge and closed her eyes as she continued to massage his scalp. His hair was thick and soft, almost like the pelt of an animal. She knew his hair probably grew wild due to the enhancements Whitney had done on him.
The lounge was comfortable, built for a large man and wider than most couches. The sound of the wind blowing through the trees coupled with the scent of Jonas surrounding her made Camellia feel secure in a way she hadn’t for a long time. Not that she hadn’t felt safe with Middlemist Red and the underground mycelium network, as well as her sentries, the owls and wolves. It was the camaraderie of having another human close to her—connected to her. She had missed being touched. She’d forgotten what that felt like, the tactile experience. She couldn’t get enough of just having her fingers in Jonas’s thick hair. Rubbing his scalp. Easing the ache she knew was there. She liked being able to do that for him.
* * *
Jonas reached up and ran his finger down Camellia’s bare arm. He didn’t think he’d ever get over how soft her skin was. He’d never get enough of touching her. He didn’t open his eyes, just inhaled her and took her into his lungs. He loved the way she smelled. So subtle. To him, that faint fragrance was an aphrodisiac. But more than that, she smelled like home.