The Bride of the Immortal by Auriane Bell Page A

she finally gave in and dozed off.
     

 
    Never had a bride been this much work. Adrijan sighed and swallowed two of the pills. Maybe it would help to reduce the pain that had gotten noticeably worse over the past hour. When he had forced his arm back into the sleeve of his coat he had noticed the blood stain on the bandage and had decided to ignore it. If everything went well he would be at the immortal’s humble home as he had called it in less than two hours. Adrijan had to admit that searching for clothes hadn’t helped his condition. Besides a considerable amount of items he didn’t want to remember in detail, the only somewhat useable clothes he had found were a wine-red silken pyjama and a warm down coat. Clearly that wasn’t the best choice for riding a motorcycle but it was preferable to wearing a torn dress. With a bit of luck he would at least be able to find two motorcycle helmets in the garage. Still, the most difficult part would be to convince the girl to change into the clothes he had found. If the medicine hadn’t worked wonders she would most likely need his help. Another sigh escaped him. He wished Viv was here to handle the situation. Under his influence women gave up their clothes all too easily. Adrijan emptied his bottle of water before he went over to the bed. Good Lord, was this day never going to end?
     

 
    At first she had thought that she was still dreaming and having to admit that she wasn’t, Mairin desperately tried to convince herself that she was delirious with fever. Due to Adrijan’s request she had automatically hidden further under the blanket – a reaction that had earned her a frustrated sigh. Obviously the situation was as unpleasant for him as it was for her. Even though – and much to her regret – her temperature had gone down enough for her brain to function almost normally, her body was still afflicted by the illness. Mairin sighed as she realised that the best option was to try not to make the task that was lying before them even more difficult.
    “So… to get to the immortal’s house we’re going to use a special kind of vehicle, a ‘metal mule’ as you called it?”
    “That’s right.”
    “And there is no side-saddle?” Mairin disliked hearing her own hoarse voice.
    “Mm.”
    “And these-“ Mairin barely managed to lift the clothes he had handed her. “You want me to wear these?”
    “Correct.”
    Despite having told herself to trust the alleged priest she ended up wavering. What he had asked of her was more than difficult, but if their pursuers were anything like the lovely acquaintance she had made not long ago in her room there was no time to lose.
    “Help me then,” she requested quietly but determined and tried in vain to push away the blanket. Adrijan stared at her unbelievingly for a moment before he cleared his throat and mumbled an apology. It was apparent that he had not foreseen this kind of reaction. Promptly he knelt down on the bed to help her sit up. With his arm supporting her back Mairin managed to move into a position she was able to stay in on her own, even though it took some effort and caused her head to spin again.
    She was glad that against her expectations he had let her keep the blanket. The gentle pressure of Adrijan’s hands against her arms made her turn her body to the side. Then it vanished and she could feel his touch again as he removed a few loose strands of hair from her back. Mairin quivered. Was he already about to undo her dress? She squeezed her eyes together, preparing herself for his touch. The last thing she wanted was to flinch the moment she felt his fingers on the fabric.
    “Ready?” Apparently he was able to sense her tension. The fact that his voice didn’t sound as confident as before, strangely helped her to relax a little. Mairin nodded and caused some of the strands of hair to slip back over her shoulder.
    “Oh, I’m sorry,” she mumbled shyly.
    “It’s alright.”
    Mairin heard him take a