Free The Silver Thread by Emigh Cannaday

regardless of where he found himself when he woke up.
    Glancing into the adjacent bedroom, he pursed his lips. What if she didn’t feel the same as he still did? If absence typically made the heart grow fonder, it had made Talvi’s heart grow completely obsessed. For months now, all he had dreamed of was finding the girl, whatever the cost. Now he had her. Now what?
    He set down the cup, leaving the foamy brush inside of it. Leaning close to the mirror, he searched deep into a pair of blue and green eyes for some kind of affirmation that everything was going to work out perfectly.
    Oh, Talvi Marinossian, what have you gotten yourself into this time?
taunted a silent voice. He thumbed the platinum ring on his left hand and wondered if he had finally taken on more than he was capable of dealing with. It was one thing to slay insane maenads, eradicate Pazachi nut jobs, and fight off vampire attacks, but to succeed at marriage?
    You’re really in for it, you hopeless git!
the silent voice taunted once more. The striking creature in the mirror tossed his unruly mane and boldly smirked back at him.
    “Surely you jest. I’ve experienced worse…
far
worse,” he said out loud to himself and gave in to a satisfying, sinister laugh.
    There was a little gasp from the doorway, and he turned around to see Annika in her red bath robe, looking completely mortified.
    “Are you talking about last night?”
    Talvi couldn’t tell if she was trying not to cry, or just squinting in reaction to the brightness of the room.
    “Of course not, you silly girl,” he said, smiling softly. He walked over to her and pulled her close, kissing her cheeks. “Oh, you females and your damned emotions. But I suppose if you didn’t have them, I wouldn’t love you quite so much.”
    “You wouldn’t love
me
, or females in general?” she asked cautiously, still reeling from the misunderstanding. It may have seemed an insecure thing to ask, but it wasn’t completely unwarranted, considering his notorious appreciation for the opposite sex.
    “I was referring to
you
specifically,” he said, letting her go as he began to lather up his face, “but it also applies to my mother, my sisters, and my female friends back home. I adore all of you, yet as different as you are, you are still very much ruled by your hearts. It is my observation that this common bond is universal with all females, regardless if you are an elf, a wood nymph, a vampire, or a human. Your heartstrings do tend to get pulled more easily.”
    “So the guy that I just caught talking to himself in the mirror is calling me illogical?”
    An air of amusement passed across his face as he trimmed his wild sideburns with his straight razor.
    “I never said you were illogical, although a logical woman would never question my loyalty after I have traveled the lengths I have to be with her.”
    Annika couldn’t argue with his statement. She could only imagine what his travels entailed. She knew there was a lot of snow and ice to contend with. And judging by his looks, not much to eat. There were no heated leather seats in a four-wheel drive, with a cup holder for his gingerbread latte. It was probably a lot of half frozen vegetable soup and fighting off frostbite. Other than being on the thin side, he seemed unharmed. He had certainly felt alive and warm in her arms last night.
    “I’ve never seen anyone shave the old-fashioned way except in movies,” she said. “It’s fascinating.”
    “I find it downright mundane, but if it pleases you…” Talvi responded, and went back to his task. Annika stood to the side, playing with the soft rounded tip of his soap brush while he passed the blade under his hollow cheekbones with ease.
    “I know this smell,” she observed, sniffing the ceramic mug with a thick cake of soap inside. Her mind made the instant connection as she caught a whiff of honeysuckle, fruit trees and cinnamon. It was his characteristic scent.
    “My mother makes it,” he