His eyes finally made their way back to her and she was still drinking in the tall glass of elf chardonnay.

“Show me what the humans see,” she said suddenly very curious as to what his human guise was. He tilted his head to the side, obviously surprised by her request, but then suddenly standing before her was a guy who appeared to be around twenty with short blond hair and light blue eyes, which weren’t glowing as they had previously been. His clothes altered just a tad, the vest becoming a shirt and the boots no longer laced over the outside of the pants. Then the image was gone.

Her first thought was she liked the short hair but then another thought occurred to her as his elfin form reemerged. “Why was Syndra able to keep her form hidden from me if I’m half elf?”

“Syndra is royalty,” he told her simply as if that answered all her questions.

“Must be nice,” Elora mumbled as she continued to stare at the masculine perfection that was so out of place in her room.

“You never answered me,” she told him. “What did you mean ‘what’s my price?’”

Cush stared at her and she began to wonder if he was going to answer. When he finally did, it was not what she expected.

“I never thought I’d find you,” he said through gritted teeth and she could tell he was holding back emotion that threatened to boil over. “I thought I could be happy without you, that my life had plenty of meaning and purpose without you. But now I….” He shook his head in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Elora crossed her arms in front of her and looked at him with a single brow raised. “But now you see how freaking amazing I am and you just can’t see yourself without me?” she asked sarcastically, wishing that she didn’t really want him to feel that exact way.

“You’re my Chosen, Elora.” Cush’s voice was so low that she had to strain just to hear him. His body was rigid with control as he stood proud before her in her bedroom. “Of all the places you could be, you’re here—best friend to the Chosen of the king.” He let out a huff of laughter that sounded anything but humored. “A Chosen.” He took two quick steps and was suddenly standing right in front of her. His eyes glowed as they bore into hers and her breath caught at the unbridled passion she saw there and she wondered how they didn’t both go up in flames. “My Chosen, right here in front of me. A Chosen I can’t have,” he murmured as he reached out and caressed her cheek. Elora tried not to press into his hand but the temptation was too great, like a moth seeking out the warmth of the flame she gave in and leaned into him. For a moment, she felt his heat, felt the comfort that would come from him, felt his soul reaching for hers and then it was gone. He backed away, moving so fast she nearly fell forward where his hand had been only seconds ago.

She closed her eyes and attempted to shake off the haze of desire. “So what are you telling me? First, you ask me what my price is and now you’re saying you can’t have me?” Elora asked as she opened her eyes and narrowed them dangerously at the light elf. She was trying to reconcile the seemingly angry elf with the flirty one who had walked into her bedroom moments ago. It was like he couldn’t decide from one second to the next what he wanted.

Cush pulled his shoulders back and rose to his full six foot four inches as he stared down at her. “I’m telling you that it doesn’t matter. Life goes on. I’m a warrior, my job is to protect the king, protect my people. You’re a human girl, your job is to do…,” he looked her up and down as he searched for the words, “whatever it is human girls do,” he finished.

“Lame,” Elora called out dryly as she leaned back against her wall. She felt vulnerable under his intense, angry stare but she tried to seem unaffected.

Cush growled at her.

“Did you just growl at me?” Elora laughed. “Man, I don’t know if that makes you sexy or just psychotic.”

“You don’t understand,” he snapped, ignoring her question. “I’ve never wanted this.” He motioned between them almost violently.

“Damn man, tell me how you really feel,” Elora snarled back as the hurt from his words pierced her heart. That very hurt just pricked her temper and she felt the rage rising as she looked at the too handsome for his own good light elf. “Who the hell do you think you are?” Cush’s head snapped up at the sharp tone in her voice. “I didn’t ask to be your Chosen either! I didn’t ask to feel this way about you. I didn’t ask to feel empty when you leave the room. I didn’t ask to feel the breath be ripped from my chest when you look at me. I didn’t invite the freaking fluttering butterflies with their flapping and swooning into my stomach, and I didn’t ask to want you with an intensity that—frankly—can’t be healthy. So you can take your little temper tantrum and shove it up your ass, Cush. BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT THIS EITHER!” She took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. “You come waltzing up in my room with your sexy smirk and your deep, delicious voice asking your intriguing questions, and then you go and throw a hissy fit because you can’t have your cake and eat it too. If you want me to sympathize with you, then you have come crying to the wrong chick because I don’t sympathize with lazy, or selfish, or I’m too important for everyone else type peeps. Geeze, Cush, you’re like, what, a few centuries old, and suddenly life throws you a curve ball and socks you in the nuts and you are rolling around like a freaking girl because it’s interrupted your game? Get over yourself already! If you don’t want this,” she motioned between them, “then make like a rubber ball and bounce your elfin butt out of my house. But don’t come in here and chew me out because things haven’t turned out for you the way you want them to.” So much for calming down, she thought to herself as her shoulders heaved with each breath as she glared at the object of her wrath.