Free Take Me To Your Reader: An Otherworld Anthology by Amy A. Bartol, Tiffany King, Raine Thomas, Tammy Blackwell, Sarah M. Ross, Heather Hildenbrand, Amanda Havard, C.A. Kunz Page A

office. I told Fitch to keep whatever it was without even opening it, but he said he'd already seen what it was and that I might regret it. He was right. "
    " It was just a small piece from the collection I was working on. It wasn't valuable," I say, thinking of the glass sphere that I'd made. I chose the orb for its symmetry and beautiful blue coloring; it had stratospheric cloud patterns woven into it and bursts of silver—my eyes open wide as a thought occurs to me.
    " Yes," Mattie nods intuitively when he hears my deep intake of breath. "The piece of blown glass you made is the mirror image of my light."
    " It's a coincidence," I breathe in a whisper, thinking about the light that grew in his palm this evening.
    " I calculated the probability; let's just say it's not even in the universe of coincidence."
    " Is that why you started pursuing me for a date?" I ask.
    " No. It's why I skipped my meeting to find you in the building. I had to interrogate several of my employees to locate you. Everyone who played a part in transporting your gift from the front desk in the lobby was questioned thoroughly. I didn't really start stalking you until after we met on the tour."
    " You mean when you pretended to be just another person taking the tour," I state, remembering how he had struck up a conversation with me as we walked from the lobby on the tour. He was charming and intelligent and so absolutely virile that I missed a lot of what the guide was saying, distracted as I was by his provocative gaze.
    " It's a good thing I did," he smiles ruefully, "I had the hardest time talking to you after you found out who I was. It was like you swallowed broken glass."
    " Extremely powerful men aren't really my type," I murmur.
    " I know, you told me several times. I've never had to work so hard to get a date." He squeezes the back of my neck gently, triggering a carnal shiver to slip through me. I missed him so much. Him. This Mattie. Not the scary one at the lake.
    " But you're so much more than what you've shown me, aren't you?" I challenge. "You're a ruler—you own slaves!" I say with tremendous disdain because it may be the worst offense in the litany of violations I've discovered.
    " I own one slave," he corrects me. "Clyde. And I only bought him to protect him. If I hadn't, he'd be dead now. If I free him, they'll kill him without my name to protect him."
    " Why?"
    " He's the heir to another district. His family, the Parishes, were unseated. He's a threat to the new ruling family there. They want him dead. He's my friend; I'm not going to let that happen." The corner of his lip tightens with contempt for the situation.
    I raise my hand to his face, smoothing the spot near his lip with my thumb. The action is completely involuntary. When I realize it, I drop my hand. I exhale a long breath before I shake my head. "This is all so crazy. You're like—" I struggle for a word.
    " An alien," Mattie provides softly. "We prefer to be called 'Willas.'"
    I nod solemnly. "Right...you're a Willa and I'm—what do you even see in me?"
    " You're kidding, right?" he asks, like it's an insane question. When I just stare at him, he says, "You showed me how to love, Vi. I thought I was incapable of it."
    My eyes narrow perceptibly. "That's because you'd been with May."
    He shakes his head slowly, "No. It's because I hadn't met you—I wasn't with you. You're the variable in this scenario. You're everything I could want. You're creative, intelligent—you have the best sense of humor. You're extremely beautiful and brave—loyal. After I found you, I would've done anything to protect my secret from you until I was positive you'd be able to handle it."
    " What if I can't handle it?" I ask in a tormented whisper.
    His legs spread to either side of mine. Heat warms me through my t-shirt as he places his hand on the small of my back. His fingers on my nape move to entangle in my hair. Leaning down, he rests his forehead against my brow. "You'll handle it.