Free Tangled Bliss by Rebecca Airies Page B

questions about his sudden appearance and the
empty building raised her suspicions. “Have you seen my sister?”
    “Not in a little while. I’m sure she’ll be back soon. I
heard you’d started dating one of the newer men in town. Are you still with
him?” Jeremy eased a little closer.
    “Yes.” She edged a little farther down the table, but tried
to make it look like she wanted to check the roses near the end. He hadn’t done
anything overtly strange, other than appearing out of nowhere. Still, she
should stay out of his reach. “Alex. He’s a member of the police department.”
    A little guilt made her hesitate. Jeremy had always been in
the background. He hadn’t approached her before now on a personal level. Is
he the stalker?
    The nervousness and fear beginning to churn in her gut now
put the idea more firmly in her mind. If Jeremy did have something bad planned,
maybe he’d back off if she mentioned Alex’s profession.
    “What is his Aelfir ability?” Jeremy took another step
closer. His eyes locked on her.
    “Alex is a Hunter, a Protector, but his family has ties to
both gem and metal abilities.” Chelsea shrugged. His abilities as an Aelfir had
never mattered to her. The connection between them held much more value than
matching talents.
    “He’s not even an earth or plant Aelfir. You have nothing in
common.” Jeremy’s eyes narrowed.
    “What we have in common is more than Aelfir abilities. It’s
values, interests and desires for the future.” She smiled. Plus attraction and
the love. Their ability was part of them, but if their personalities clashed, a
marriage based on similar talents would still end horribly.
    His fist hit the side of the planting table. “Earth Aelfir
stay with Earth Aelfir.”
    She jumped and stared at him wide-eyed. It suddenly occurred
to her that Joy hadn’t planned to meet with her. She hadn’t sent that message.
    Where had everyone else gone? Madness glowed in
Jeremy’s eyes. Her eyes darted around searching someone, anyone, to keep him at
bay. She needed a buffer between her and this man.
    Her mouth dried. Fear ratcheted to a higher level. She eased
around the end of the table. A barrier. She had to get something solid
separating them to keep him at distance.
    Some Aelfir believed that each particular type of Aelfir
should stay with their ability set. Alden Glen was the last place she expected
to find that type of radical belief. That type of hate hadn’t touched this city
in hundreds of years.
    Chelsea didn’t understand it. People had been intermarrying
for centuries. It had no effect on the ability strength as the people with
extreme beliefs thought.
    She held up her hands. “Calm down, Jeremy. Let’s talk about
this.”
    “There’s nothing to talk about. I warned you to stay away
from him.” Jeremy’s hand swept his hand out and knocked flowers from the table.
    Her eyes locked on the plants on the ground for a moment,
but her gaze cut back to the crazy man when she saw movement. A nagging tingle
within her pulled her toward the injured plants. The call to heal them almost
turned her attention from the man in front of her.
    The danger kept her focused in the moment and on Jeremy. He
hadn’t ever been anything other than a coworker to her. She’d never have
guessed he was freaking insane. How the hell could she stop him from unleashing
that anger on her?
    “I didn’t know who sent them though.” She slid her foot
back, not wanting to trip on any hoses or tools.
    His hand closed around a pot containing a flower. He lifted
it off the table. Her eyes locked that pot.
    His hand tightened. The pot cracked. Soil trickled to the
ground. He glared at her and took an aggressive step forward. Fear tightened
her throat. She swallowed hard. She jumped back so he couldn’t grab her. He’s
going to kill me.
    “You have so many men in your life that you don’t know who’s
sending you notes?” His hand drew back and threw the pot at the last word.
    She