Ultimate Nyssa Glass by H. Burke (best value ebook reader .txt) 📕

she said. “I’d like to take a stroll by the water, I think. It’s so beautiful, and I’ve never walked on sand before …” She hesitated. “Can your chair move in sand?”

“Skis, remember?” He tapped the panel of switches. “I built this thing for every possible scenario.”

She smiled. He’s smart, brilliant even, and kind and handsome … what does he want with a cold fish like me?

They reached the edge of the water, and Nyssa inhaled the fresh, salty air. “It’s so beautiful.”

“Yes.” His fingers slipped around hers. “It is. Mind if we sit for a bit? I’d like to feel the sand in my toes.”

She nodded. He maneuvered out of his chair then pushed the button so it folded up into its briefcase form. She sat, cross-legged, beside him. The water rolled in and out like the breaths of a great beast.

Ellis pulled off his shoes, then his socks, and rubbed his legs. “I don’t have as much sensation in them as I used to, but sometimes it’s nice to remind myself that they’re still there. I guess that sounds odd.”

“Not odd.” She shook her head. “It’s hard to put myself in your shoes, sometimes, to understand, but that doesn’t mean it’s strange.”

“Yeah, I guess we only know what it is like to be ourselves, not anyone else.” He picked up a handful of sand and let it run through his fingers. “You know I can swim.”

“I can’t, so you’re one up on me there.”

“After my accident I had to retrain myself. I spent every day for a full summer in the garden pond, teaching myself to tread water with just my arms.” His eyes took on a faraway look, enhanced by the light of the setting sun. “It became an obsession. Things weren’t going well between me and my father. He couldn’t accept what had happened to me, that I would never walk again, and he couldn’t understand how I could move on so easily.” He sighed.

She stroked the back of his hand. He talked about his father so rarely. Perhaps the wound was still too fresh.

“It wasn’t that it was easy,” he continued. “I just knew I didn’t have any choice in whether or not my legs worked, and I refused to get pulled down by it, you know? At the same time, I think that’s why swimming became so important to me. I had to prove, to myself at least, that I was as capable without my legs as I had been with them, that I was strong enough.”

“For what it’s worth, I’ve always seen you as strong.” She leaned closer to him.

“Oh, I know.” His hand trailed down her cheek.

Something stirred within her, something that excited yet frightened her at the same time. She forced herself not to pull away.

Ellis’s mouth quirked to one side. “Are you all right? You look sad.”

“I’m not sad, exactly. It’s just … Amara and Renard, they were something else, weren’t they?”

“Oh yes.” Ellis chuckled.

“I mean, the whole eloping idiocy was … idiotic, but how they couldn’t keep their hands off each other? It was a little much, wasn’t it?”

“A little. Love, I guess?”

“I guess.” She dropped her eyes.

“There it is again. Sad. Come on, Nyss. Don’t keep things from me. What’s really bothering you?” He placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Amara was surprised that I care for you. She said I was so reserved she wouldn’t have guessed.” She worked her fingers into the warm sand. “Do you think the same? That I don’t care because we aren’t all over each other the way Renard and Amara are?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Not at all. For one thing, Amara and Renard are about to be married, and we’ve known each other, what? Four weeks?”

“You’re right. I kind of let her get to me, though. It made me feel passionless and boring, seeing how unbridled she was.”

“That’s just who she is. Honestly, if you were like Amara, I’d wear my eyes out, rolling them around. It was like she traded all her common sense for ardor.”

Nyssa snorted. “Yeah. Being in love doesn’t have to make you an idiot. I mean, I still have my brains intact.”

“Oh, are you in love?”

Her face warmed. “I … I’m … we …” Words tangled up on her tongue.

Ellis leaned closer. “I hope you are, because I don’t want to be in this state all by myself.” His hand moved to the back of her neck, leading her closer. Their lips met, and for once, Nyssa didn’t worry about the kiss going too far. She wrapped her arms around him and concentrated on the strength of his arms, the warmth of his skin, and the taste of his breath. Longing like she’d never experienced swelled within her.

He lowered her into the sand, one hand twisted in her hair, the other squeezing her spine. His lips traced over her cheek, onto her neck. Her back arched off the ground, and she gave out a staggered breath.

Ellis withdrew and gazed into her eyes. “That’s probably enough for now, huh?”

“A few more minutes?” She gave him what she hoped was a come-hither look.

He grinned. “If you insist.”

The sun-soaked sand warmed her back as Ellis’s kisses covered her skin. Nyssa closed her eyes and allowed herself to savor his touch.

“Ellis Dalhart, I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you, too, Nyssa Glass. More than you could possibly imagine.”

The End

Nyssa Glass and

The Cutpurse Kid

Copyright © 2016 H. L. Burke

 

To Tolkien … the Master World Weaver …

Though I totally blame you for my obsession with tall guys. Hey, there’s worse things to be obsessed with, right?

H. L.

Chapter One

Nyssa tapped her brush on the unopened can of paint and stared at the blank signboard. It had sat in the shop for almost a week, and while they’d managed to pull in a few customers, the store would never take off without proper signage.

A zapping sound and a flash of light filled the workshop. Nyssa’s shoulders hunched towards her ears. She wrinkled her