Warmth.

She didn’t want to open her eyes and extinguish it.

It took Madeline only moments to realize she wasn’t in her own bed. The plush pillow-top cradled her body and its king-size allowed her to sprawl out endlessly compared to the small twin bed she was used to at home. Soft sheets draped between her and the thick, but lightweight, duvet. Truth be told, she felt like a child who’d just been tucked into bed, back in the days when everything was right with the world.

But that wasn’t real.

Bolting upright, her eyes adjusted to the light and she began to take in her surroundings. At first, she couldn’t tell if it was a bedroom or a hotel room, everything was all so clean and the decor was perfectly coordinated in a warm palette of wood browns and wine reds. She glanced at the door. It was a plain, white wooden door with a common brushed nickel interior knob. Definitely a bedroom door. The soft light filtering in through the gauzy beige curtain announced it was daytime, perhaps midday.

Meooooow…

Startled by the sudden noise, Madeline yanked the covers up to her neck with both hands. It was at that point she realized she was naked under the sheets.

Gone was the dirt and grease from the floor of the shipping container, and her whole body smelled of floral soap. Her long, paprika-red hair had been carefully brushed, and there were even a few meticulously placed band-aids on her sore feet.

Did he do this?

She began to feel very violated, and very angry. Cheeks burning red, she wondered how she’d managed to remain unconscious throughout the whole thing, blaming it on her exhaustion. What kind of a man does something like that?

Instinctively, she reached up and wrapped her fingers around the oval pendant that hung from a silver chain around her neck. Given to her by her late grandmother, it used to belong to her mother. Madeline didn’t remember too much about her mother, who passed away when she was only four years old, but the pendant was her only memento. It was a harlequin black opal, and she only took it off to shower. She let out a sigh of relief, knowing she would have been devastated to find it missing. After a few moments of silent reflection, Madeline drew the courage to find out if she was alone or not.

“Hello..?” Madeline called out timidly.

The only response was the purring of the cat curled up next to her, and the sound of a shower running in the distance.

“Hello…?!” She repeated, this time a bit louder and more confident.

The cat stood, its paws sinking into the deep duvet, and leaned its body against her waist, eyes closed as it pushed its head demandingly against her to be petted.

“You’re a friendly one,” she responded, raking her fingertips through the soft, black fur.

Suddenly, Madeline’s stomach growled. So hungry. She glanced around the room again and noticed a simple, yet pretty, floral-patterned sundress draped over a clothes valet in the corner near the window.

Her sundress.

From her apartment.

Apprehensively at first, she slipped off the king-size bed and then rushed towards the dress. Folded neatly underneath it was a bra and panties. Also taken from her apartment.

She wasn’t sure whether or not she should be grateful or furious at this point.

Getting dressed as quickly as possible, she walked to the bedroom door and placed her ear against it. The carpet was fluffy and thick, but even that didn’t ease the tenderness of her feet as she stood silently. Listening, she could still only hear the sound of running water. Hand lightly on the doorknob, she looked down at the cat who was now seated on the floor to her left, flicking its tail and looking up at her as if she was crazy. Holding her breath, she cautiously turned the knob and opened the door toward her. Outside the bedroom, as to be expected, was a hallway. With every mindful step she took forward, she could feel the dull pain on the bottoms of her feet. Between the floor of the shipping container, and running over who knows what on the asphalt last night, she couldn’t say she was surprised.

The black cat darted past her down the hallway, taking a sharp right. Following it, Madeline ended up in the kitchen.

It was modern and spotless, with rich oak cabinets and stainless steel appliances. The hardwood floor further reminded her of her hurting feet, but she bared with it and pressed on. She felt a bit intrusive opening the refrigerator to look for something to eat, but she really was starving. Besides, whoever was here must have realized she would be famished. To her surprise, she found the refrigerator just about barren. There was a half a dozen eggs, a carton of orange juice, some ham, and a carton of half & half. Going through the cabinets and drawers, she found those pretty much empty as well. Luckily, she found some white dinnerware, a trio of glasses, a skillet, and some flatware. She managed to crack a few eggs into the skillet and cooked them along with some of the meat she diced up.

She was so focused on frying, stirring, and the delicious aroma rising up from the pan, that she didn’t notice the figure that had sat casually on the onyx countertop at the other end of the kitchen.

“You cook? Nice.”

She nearly knocked the pan off the stovetop with her startled convulsion.

The man who had rescued her last night sat with one leg propped up on the counter as he leaned against the backsplash, sipping from a nearly empty bottled water. He was wearing grey sweatpants and a white sleeveless t-shirt, and his black hair was still wet from being freshly shampooed. Madeline was surprised that his eyes were still the same shade of green as the night before. As odd as it seemed, perhaps they weren’t contact lenses after all. He appeared to be in his late 20’s, although there was something about the way he looked at her which made him seem older.

“I’m sorry,” she managed to form the words after gathering her composure, “I was just really hungry. I didn’t mean to…”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure they didn’t feed you well,” he said taking a final gulp from the plastic bottle. “And you’ve been out for almost two days.”

Two days? She had thought it was just last night. Which meant that over the past week or so she’d been given maybe a dozen cold cheeseburgers. Some partially eaten.

“Th...thank you.”

She looked down at the pan once more, making a few final stirs before guiding it out onto the plate she had set on the counter next to the stove. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him hop off the countertop, toss the empty bottle into a recycling bin in the corner, and then slink over to the drawer right next to her. He had this very fluid way of moving that was both agile and a touch feminine. Her heart began pounding as he pulled the drawer open and took out a couple of forks. Handing one to her, he helped himself to a few bites of what she had just prepared.

“You’re pretty good at whipping up stuff up, huh?” He asked after savoring the warm flavor of the eggs.

“You don’t cook?” Madeline responded, trying to make conversation to steady her nerves.

“Not at all.”

“But you have food in the fridge. Things that can expire.”

“Sometimes I have guests over,” he said, lowering his voice seductively, “They cook.”

She began to tremble and found herself suddenly backing away. She knew she was still emotionally fragile from her captivity, and this was...

A deep chuckle rumbled in his throat.

“Sorry, I’ve started this off all wrong, haven’t I?” He apologized with a disarming smile as he set his fork down on the counter and offered a simple bow. “My name is Leviticus, but you can call me Levi. I was generously hired to rescue you, Miss Madeline McCaffrey, from those fae.”

“Fae?” She asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. He couldn’t be serious. “As in fairies?”

“Exactly that,” he replied, measuring her reaction. “Surely you noticed they couldn’t have possibly been normal people?”

She nodded slowly. So that confirmed it. It wasn’t hallucinogens or anything of that nature. What she saw was real.

He took a step forward, putting himself back into close proximity, and brushed his fingertips through her long red hair as if assessing it. “Normally I don’t retrieve living things, but in this case, I’ve made an exception.”

He could feel her pulse quicken at his unwanted contact, but it was not completely driven by fear. There was a considerable amount of desire interwoven with it, and he was rather surprised at its richness, despite the fact she was fighting to hold it back. It was like a dense, nectarous syrup, and he could only imagine how satisfying it would be at full fruition.

Madeline backed away even further this time, feeling her hair tug from his grasp. He was too close. Who was this person and why was he being so forward? She took another small step backwards, stuttering through her next sentence.

“Did you..? When I was asleep, did you…?”

“Do anything inappropriate?” He responded calmly, finishing her sentence and letting his hand fall to rest casually on his hip. “No. I sponged the dirt off of you, took care of your cuts, and brushed out the knots in your hair. Couldn’t have you getting my guest bed all filthy. I also managed to bring over some of your things from your apartment, so you’d feel more at home.”

She exhaled softly, relieved.

“It takes a lot more than handling an unconscious, nude human body to get me excited.”

The last remark did not go over well. He could see her expression start to sour, and returned it with a smirk, the same amused smirk he had given in the warehouse while watching her tenacity.

Before responding to him with a smart-ass comment of her own, she reminded herself once again that she was still mentally and physically exhausted. She had just been told fairies were real, and there was still psychological damage undoubtedly making her vulnerable right now, as well as keeping her from thinking clearly.

“So you… you retrieve things?” she said, desperately trying to change the subject.

He walked over to one of the sleek, stainless steel canisters which sat on the counter and popped it open. The aroma of roasted coffee beans drifted through the kitchen.

“Yes, and there are some things I need to explain to you, so do you mind if I make us some coffee? I know it’s the middle of the day and all, but I can’t seem to have scrambled eggs without having coffee.”

“Sure,” Madeline replied. To be honest, coffee sounded perfect at the moment.

He scooped the roasted beans directly into the grinder on the coffee maker, pressed a few buttons, and the small appliance whirred into action. Taking her lightly by the elbow, he guided her out of the kitchen in the direction opposite from which she entered, past the living room and out a sliding glass door to a balcony. It was a high-rise residential building in the city, and from her best guess, they were about six floors up.

“Seven.”

“Huh?”

“We’re seven floors up,” Levi replied. “I could see you mentally counting them.”

Fearlessly, he leaned back against the railing and noticed her apprehension.

“Are you afraid of heights?” he asked her curiously, tilting his head a bit to the side.

“Nope, just gravity” she replied.

Her response brought a bright, gorgeous smile to his face.

“Well, have a seat,” he grinned, motioning with a sweep of his hand to a small cafe table and chairs made out of teakwood. “I’ll go get us that coffee.”

He went back inside through the open glass door leaving Madeline alone on the balcony. As she took a seat at the table, she gazed out at the city below and wondered just how many people out there were not what they appeared to be. And of those, how many have hurt people? How many had killed? How much of it was hidden, and for how long? Within a few minutes, Leviticus returned with two cups of hot coffee and the rest of the plated breakfast she had made. Cupping the warm mug in both hands, she took one sip. It was delicious. She could tell it had something to do with the chocolate. It definitely didn’t taste like the typical chocolate syrup used at all the corner coffee shops. It was smoother, richer, and more decadent.

“This is really good.”

Did she actually see a blush on his cheeks?

He raised a hand to the back of his head and ruffled his hair. “Thanks.”

Taking a deep breath, he weighed in his mind just how much to tell her. He had specific instructions on what to tell her but knew that if she was the curious type, she would not be satisfied with just that.

“As I was saying earlier,” he began, “I was hired to get you to safety. But before you ask, I can’t tell you by whom. It was part of the agreement, and I don’t break contracts. I retrieve property and return it to its rightful owner, working through a broker. If whomever hires me wants me to know who they are, I’m told through the broker. If not, I get the details of the job and make my own choice whether to accept it or not. I take on other types of jobs as well, as long as they don’t conflict with my personal interests, and I rarely, RARELY, work for humans.”

“I take it you’re not human then?”

“No. I’m not.”

She suspected as much. A normal guy off the street wouldn't have been able to give modern-day fae such an ass-kicking. She was tempted to ask him what he was but figured that might be a very rude question to ask, especially of someone she hardly knew.

“So if you can’t tell me who hired you, can you tell me why I was taken in the first place? I keep going over it in my head and I can’t think of one single thing that would make me important enough to kidnap.”

“Well, you’re definitely important enough to somebody that was affluent enough to hire me,” Leviticus responded casually. “I was told to get you to safety and make sure you had that necklace on you. I can tell you that if they went to the trouble of hiring me, this is probably just the beginning of your problems.”

“Great” she grumbled, removing one of her hands from the mug of coffee and absentmindedly reaching up to touch her pendant. Rolling it in her fingers, it glittered like a kaleidoscope in the afternoon sunlight.

“Those were my explicit instructions. Anything I should know about the necklace?”

“It was my mom’s,” her voice became solemn, “She passed away when I was four.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she replied, looking down at the mug of coffee.