The Almost One Night Stand

Chapter 36

Sean's POV

When I stepped out on the porch, I watched her for a few moments. She had her arms hugged around herself, tendrils of her hair floating in the breeze. She really was beautiful, and strong. I can't imagine dealing with everything she does on the daily, and still maintaining my sanity.

"Did you draw the short straw to deal with the crazy pregnant lady, Sean?" she asked, not even turning around.

I laughed, "No straws were drawn, sugar. Owen thought with my medical background I might be able to relate to your stress about work." She hummed in response as she turned toward me. "How did you know I was behind you?" I asked, genuinely curious. Sang had always talked about smelling us, but Nimue seemed to have her own tricks.

"The floorboards creaked, so I knew someone was there. Those who have been marked would have instantly touched me or our connection would have alerted me. Beyond that, it was a process of elimination." I was in awe of how her mind worked. I motioned to the old wooden swing, and she sat with me. "Raven is a touch person, so that eliminated him. Corey is still unsure about me, as well as Nate, Brandon, and Marc. Owen doesn't really care much for me. Silas won't let North out of his sight right now, and Kota wouldn't have been as quiet. He's too fanboy over the whole Avalon thing," she giggled. "So that, dear doctor, leaves you."

I made a mental note to discuss her thoughts with Owen. He really needed to apologize soon. I ran my hand along her face, tucking the flyaway strands of hair. "You really are amazing, you know? I'm not sure even Owen could have worked all that out in less than a minute." She flinched a bit when I mentioned his name. Oh, yeah, he and I were going to talk.

"I'm sure in your own way, you do the same thing," she said and I raised my eyebrows. "When you're in a medical emergency, you make split-second decisions based on the situation and immediate information. It's not really that different, just in this case if I was wrong no one died."

I let out a loud laugh and then leaned forward and kissed her. She squeaked in surprise but didn't pull away. She tasted so sweet and I had to force myself to stop, my forehead resting against hers. Her eyes were wide, heart racing. "Sorry. I just couldn't help myself. Fuck," I rolled my eyes and steadied my own breathing, "Sugar, you are addictive. I'm in awe of your mind, your determination, and spirit. Then add in that you are mind-bogglingly beautiful, and well, I fully admit I'm team Nimue all the way, love."

She blinked rapidly as if processing what I'd just said, then let out an adorable series of giggles. She gasped for air, "M..mind...ahhh, mind-bogglingly, oh my goddess, that has to be at least a twenty euro word!"

I was confused. "A what kind of word?"

She brushed the tears from her cheeks from laughing so hard and took a breath, "Oh my, when I was little, my father used to encourage me to learn big words. He would rate them by money value. The more difficult, complex, or sophisticated the word, the more it was worth." She put her hand on my knee and squeezed, "I really appreciate the compliment and the kiss, I just had a moment where that word made me laugh. It made me think of my father and that is more of a gift than any compliment will ever be, Sean. Thank you," she finished softly and pressed a chaste kiss to my cheek.

I wanted more, but I knew it was an intimate thing even only being on the cheek. She was being so open and sincere. It was one of the things that drew me to her. Sang, even in her naivety, had always been guarded and unsure, but not Nimue. She embraced life arms wide open. Beyond hiding her heritage, which I completely understood, she never tried to make us guess what she felt or wanted. I watched her giggling and smiling and felt a warmth spread inside of me. Here I had been sent out to make sure she was okay, but instead, she was healing the little cracks and fissures inside of my soul without even trying.