Free living covenant 03 - eternal covenant by Amanda M. Lee Page A

a memory wrapped in a dream. Whatever it was, though, it made the sickness dissipate.
    “Sorry,” I sputtered trying to take a step back and banging my head against the refrigerator.
    The chest belonged to an extremely tall man – like six-feet, three-inches tall – who took a step back to give me a chance to recover. As I regained my senses I realized – even though he’d moved back slightly – he was still a little too close for my comfort.
    “Are you all right?” The voice that came from the behemoth couldn’t possibly be human – or normal. It sounded as if it belonged to a giant or something – like Fezzik in “The Princess Bride” without that weird lisp thing he had.
    “I’m fine,” I grumbled. I didn’t like feeling penned in.
    “Here, let me see.” The guy reached his extremely large hands toward my head.
    Without thinking, I slapped them away. “I said I was fine.”
    I finally got a glimpse of the head attached to the wall of chest and sucked in a quick breath. It was pretty impressive – well, as far as heads go. No dimples and dark skin, but a full head of wavy black hair and some really intense brown eyes.
    Did Covenant grow these guys on trees or something? This is just ridiculous.
    “I’m not going to hurt you,” the giant rumbled.
    I felt a little ridiculous for overreacting – especially after I realized he was hot – so I tried to offer him a friendly smile as an apology.
    “No, you just took me by surprise,” I said quietly. Internally, I added that he also almost knocked me senseless – but I doubted that would be a good topic to open conversation.
    The wall of muscles with the great hair smiled down at me. I couldn’t help but notice that, even though he didn’t have dimples, his eyes crinkled at the corner when he smiled, making him all the more appealing. Cripes, I must be in heat or something.
    “I’m Aric, with an A,” he said, pushing his hand out to me in greeting.
    What is it with people shaking hands? That whole process annoys me. Still, I didn’t want to offend him. I placed my hand – which seemed Lilliputian by comparison – into his and couldn’t help but smile back. I felt a little goofy for some reason.
    “I’m Zoe.”
    “Nice to meet you, Zoe.”
    “What was that?” Aric bolted to a sitting position, causing me to follow suit.
    It was dark, the light filtering in through the bathroom window when I fell asleep long since dissipating. The last thing I remembered was vomiting – and then passing out on the bathroom floor. I couldn’t be sure, but the lack of light seemed to suggest that was hours ago. “I … what was what?”
    “That,” Aric said, gesturing in the muted light. I realized there was a pillow and blanket next to him on the floor, which seemed to indicate he’d been sleeping next to me. That was kind of sweet. It was also kind of weird.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, tugging a restless hand through my hair. “Were you sleeping on the floor with me?”
    Aric switched on the lights around the mirror, keeping the overhead off, and ruefully smiled. “I didn’t want you to be alone.”
    “I don’t think that counts when you’re sick, but it was a nice gesture,” I said, rubbing my stomach.
    “How do you feel?” Aric asked, concern washing over his features.
    “I’m still a little shaky,” I admitted. “I don’t think there’s anything left in my stomach to throw up, though.”
    “Here; I brought you a bottle of water,” Aric said, rummaging around on the tile floor until he found it. I took the bottle without question and carefully sipped. “What was that, Zoe?”
    “What are you talking about?” I asked, frustration taking over. “I don’t know what you’re trying to get at.”
    “Your dream,” Aric said, licking his lips. “I was in your dream.”
    I froze, surprised. “You were?”
    “You were dreaming about the day we met,” Aric said. “I dream about it all the time.