Page 93 of Final Shift
He rolled his eyes. “Yes. He’s still hoping the mating bond between you and Rowan is fake.”
“I like him.” Pax and I had worked together to save Ben a long time ago. He’d made his intentions toward me known, but I was involved with Caelan at the time. Shifters liked Floromancers. More than liked them.
We were good for their land, and strong land meant an even stronger Lord.
“Don’t tell him that,” Ben rumbled. “He might kidnap you and take you to his lair.”
“I’m sure I can take care of myself.”
Ben gave me an appraising glance. “Far more than before, I’d imagine.” He jerked his head toward the main house. “Pax planted behind the house, and I don’t know how the asshole managed it, but the patch blooms all damn year.”
I glanced up at him in surprise. “Oh? Different flowers?”
He nodded.
“Ah. He’s just good at gardening. No magic involved. Though I am surprised he comes out in the middle of winter to tend the garden.”
“Pax is an odd duck,” Ben said. “Hell of a warrior, but a little touched in the head.”
“Ben! That’s not very nice.”
He shrugged. “I’m serious. There’s something not quite right in his shifting, and he gets oddly fixated on things. Like you.” Ben frowned. “And flowers.”
We walked around the back of the house. I sucked in a shocked breath and took a numb step forward. “Holy gods.”
One of my bucket list items was Butchart Gardens in British Columbia. I’d only seen pictures online, but the gardens blew my mind. From everything I read, a human was responsible for all its glory. I hadn’t yet approached Rowan with my ideas, but one day I wanted something to parallel those gardens.
Pax had somewhat done this in the small space Ben had given him. An explosion of color greeted me. Pinks, blues,purples, whites, and brilliant yellows bloomed in an array of different flowers. I closed my eyes and let the scent of a thousand blossoms gently filter past me. A blooming Dogwood stood in the middle, heavy white and pink blossoms hanging on heavy boughs.
“He did all this?”
“Yes.” Ben sounded disgruntled about it. “If I gave him more land, he’d turn the godsdamn thing into a fairy wonderland.”
I clicked my tongue. “Pax has a gift, Ben. One you should not squander. If I could, I’d take him back to Washington with me.”
The shifter in question stepped out from behind the Dogwood, a pair of clippers in his tanned, scarred hands. “If my Lord approved it, I would come with you.”
I froze. Would he? How would Rowan feel about me bringing home yet another shifter with the promise of Lordhood in his veins?
I turned to Ben. “He heard everything you said,” I murmured.
Ben sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Would you want to leave?”
Pax flicked his pale gaze to Ben. “To go with a beautiful, powerful woman who creates beauty with only a touch of her hands? I would be honored to serve such a creature.”
The Lord snorted softly. “A godsdamn plant loving Shakespeare over here.”
Pax grinned widely. “Do not shun what you do not understand, Lord Ben.”
I held up a hand. “Remember, Pax, I am mated. If, and this is a big if, Rowan says I can bring you home, you’d have to…” My voice trailed off as a thought occurred to me. “How do you feel about the fae?”
Pax returned his attention to me, a soft golden glow warming his iris. Not as powerful as any of the Lord’s yet, more a promiseof his potential. “I am quite fond of you, and you are fae, are you not?”
“Gods,” Ben groaned.
I held up a finger. “Hold that thought.”
Keeping both of them in my peripheral, I pulled out my cell and fired off a text to Rowan.
