Free Completely Smitten by Kristine Grayson Page B

than anyone how real spells could feel.
    And how much they could hurt.
    Six
    Ariel awoke to the sound of someone clearing his throat, and not in the polite way that folks had when they were trying to get a person’s attention, but in that obnoxious way they had when they were trying to clear phlegm.
    She opened her eyes, saw the log beams run across the ceiling, and smelled the crisp air of the mountains. She hadn’t dreamed the day before. She was here, injured, in Darius’s house.
    And he had kissed her.
    The throat-clearer—and it couldn’t be Darius, because this didn’t sound like him—continued for another moment, then stopped abruptly. There was a faint curse—and this time, she could have sworn that was Darius—followed by whistling.
    The tune was familiar, and almost as annoying as the throat-clearing. It was “Whistle While You Work.”
    After one verse, the whistling ended, and more throat-clearing followed. Then a nasal male voice said, “Testing, one, two, three.” She heard a deep sigh followed by a faint “Dammit,” and the whine of a radio.
    The voice started to recite call letters.
    She sat up and wiped the sleep from her eyes. If anything, she was even more sore than she had been the day before. That made sense. Muscle aches got worse the second day, peaked on the third, and then started to recede.
    She should have been used to aches by now—although these were excessive.
    “Variance to Emerald Aviation,” the nasal voice said. “Come in, Emerald.”
    Outside, the birds chirruped. Rose-tinted sunlight fell across the antique desk. Ariel glanced at the clock beside the bed. It wasn’t even 7 A.M. yet.
    A crackle of static with a voice buried in it made its way to her. She frowned. What was this? Who was this? It certainly wasn’t Darius.
    “Have an injured hiker at Variance,” the voice said. “Need a plane today.”
    She felt her heart sink. She wanted to stay longer. Although Darius had been worried about getting her out quickly. He was afraid that she might have internal injuries—at least, that was the impression she got.
    He’d been somewhat worried. Ariel put her fingers to her lips. A man didn’t kiss a woman like that when he was completely worried.
    “If I were a doctor, then that’d be a different matter.” The nasal voice sounded belligerent. “But I’m not.”
    Static.
    “What do you expect, me to grow wings and fly her out of here?”
    Ariel smiled. Maybe she wouldn’t fly out of here today after all. Maybe she would be able to stay a little longer.
    More static followed. She could barely make out another voice raised in agitation. She wondered where the radio was and why she could hear it so clearly.
    “No, buddy. I think you’re the one who misunderstands. Once I’ve notified you, she becomes your responsibility, not mine …”
    Ariel eased her legs over the side of the bed. She wondered why Darius wasn’t making the radio call. Maybe it wasn’t his radio. Maybe that was a friend he’d contacted, which was why the radio sounded so close.
    “… she’s clearly an experienced hiker. Which means she knows about search and rescue. Well, you don’t have to do the search, but the rescue is important…”
    She grabbed her crutches and tucked them under her arms, easing herself off the bed. Her injured ankle felt like a large, puffy, painful basketball. She was grateful for the splint, which made the effort of holding her leg off the floor easier.
    “… don’t really care about your schedule. The sooner you get here the better …”
    Ariel made it to the bathroom. She couldn’t take a shower—not with the splint—but she wanted to dress her scrapes and to clean up as best she could. Even though she had cleaned up some yesterday, she still probably smelled like she’d spent the last few days in the wilderness which, of course, she had.
    And she wanted Darius to get close to her again.
    In the bathroom, she couldn’t hear the strange voice. The more she