Beneath my Skin

by Brea Viragh

  “Take the apology and let’s move on, shall we?”

  “I didn’t hear an apology.”

  “I came to return this.” Lynn fished in her bag and removed the blood-and-guts video game I’d gotten for Luke. “It is entirely inappropriate, Mariella, and I think you knew that when you bought it.”

  “You’re right, and I’m sorry. But can we do this another time? Any other time?”

  “I think you owe me an apology for bringing such filth into my house.”

  “I owe you an apology?” I asked in surprise. “You have to be kidding me.”

  Her eyes narrowed. She’d never liked when I talked back. Luckily, she hadn’t tried to beat the habit out of me. “I don’t appreciate your tone.”

  “My tone is the least of my worries at the moment.”

  Dax swaggered around the corner to save me. Yes, swaggered. I’d never seen that in real life and I have to say the effect was something magnificent. He was naked to the waist but had slung a kitchen towel casually over his shoulder to craftily hide the fresh wound. He was positively oozing virility. “Is there something wrong, sweetheart?”

  This time I wasn’t concerned about his use of the affectionate term. Caught between rock-hard abs and chemically-stiff hair, I felt like I was out of options for escape. “I told you to stay where you were.” I worried the hem of my shirt.

  “Sorry. I’m not good at taking orders.” He winked. “Hello, I’m Dax Parker.” He strode forward and the hand he held out was steady if pale. “I’m going to assume you’re Mariella’s Aunt Lynn.”

  Just as I’d never seen a swagger until now, this was the first time I’d heard a woman titter. Lynn tittered and used the ends of her fingertips to fluff her hair. Or rather jab at it. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware you had guests.”

  I supposed she was speaking to me. It was hard to tell, though, because her eyes became glued to my male friend.

  Dax took her hand and raised it to his lips for a kiss, stopping centimeters from her skin. “You’re just as Mariella described you.”

  “Oh?” The response was a mere breath and Lynn’s cheeks flushed.

  “Yes, a dwarfish middle-aged woman with prune-like skin and a bad attitude.”

  Her mouth dropped open and I hastily covered a snort that was half embarrassment and half pleasure. I hadn’t said anything of the sort, but damn, it was great to see her reaction.

  “I beg your pardon!” she finally spat out.

  “Aunt Lynn, I…I—”

  “I beg your pardon, Lynn, because as Mariella said, this is not a good time. We were just getting started when you barged in and interrupted us. I’m sure you understand.” Through it all he kept his voice friendly and pitched low, but he rubbed his free hand across his bare chest in a very masculine gesture, leaving no doubt as to what he was inferring. His gaze was cavalier, his posture almost provocative.

  Lynn let him shuttle her out the door, completely speechless and with only a bemused expression on her face. From the window I saw Lynn standing in the driveway for a moment looking like we’d just told her the sky was green instead of blue. Then she turned and slowly walked away as if in a daze.

  “What was all that about?” I asked Dax breathlessly. He’d shut the door and removed the towel from his wound, and I could see fresh blood seeping from it. I grabbed his arm and forced him back to the dining table so I could apply a bandage.

  “That was me doing something you’ve wanted to do for far too long. You shouldn’t let her talk to you in such a manner.”

  “She’s my family.”

  “Family is what you make of it. Family stands by you. They care for you. They certainly don’t treat you with disrespect.”

  I managed to get a bandage on his shoulder wound, then fetched an oversized T-shirt from my closet. It was something I sometimes slept in, but it was clean and would work for now. “Here, put this on.” I helped him maneuver into it.

  “Smells pretty. Like you.” He flashed me a grin.

  “And it sounds like you’re feeling better. Please tell me you’re well enough to think about our next move.”

  “Our next move is to get you far away from Jacqueline,” he said.

  “Can’t she just call you back?”

  “She thinks I’m out cold for the next…however long. I’m sure once she realizes I’m fine she’ll summon me. She knows she can’t kill me without a magical backlash on her. However, she’ll be expecting you to come to her.”

  “And are we going to? Come to her, I mean?” I asked.

  “It depends on you and whether you think you’re ready.”

  “Hell no, I’m not ready. Are you kidding me? I’m just a girl from Connecticut.”

  “You have no idea what you’re capable of. I highly doubt you’re just a girl.” His tone was mocking. But there was something else there besides humor. Respect?

  “Are you kidding? I’m as white-bread-picket-fence-milk-and-cookies as they come,” I protested. With the exception of a few abnormalities. “You have to have realized that by now. I think we’ve spent enough time together that you know me.”

  “Have you ever heard of hidden depths?” Dax replied. He held out his hand to take mine in a steady grip. “Think about it, Mariella.”

  I didn’t want to think about it because it was life-altering. Bigger than realizing you had a demon inside of you at age six. Some things you learn to live with. Some things bend the fabric of your reality. I felt like this was one of them.

  “But until you’re ready, we need to keep moving,” he said and stood. “No reason to make ourselves sitting ducks for Jacqueline.”

  I couldn’t argue with that. But where would we go? What would we do? I grabbed the first aid kit, because that wound would need more attention before long. “How’s your shoulder?”

  “It hurts enough to warrant drugs. Got any pain-killers?”

  “I thought genies didn’t need aspirin,” I said with a smirk as I rummaged through the cabinet next to the sink for something appropriate. Ibuprofen would have to do. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and handed both to him.

  Then I let out the breath I’d barely been aware of holding. So much mattered now, I realized. So much it was too much. And the fear of that had held me back.

  This was it, I thought, wringing my hands as I watched him down a few pills and water. This was the end of the line for my particular brand of ordinary. Whatever Dax and I decided to do to take down Jacqueline after this point, it was a road I couldn’t reverse out of. It was straight ahead and barrel through or…dead end. Full stop.

  It was enough to make a girl think.

  What did I want? Where was I going? I was twenty-six years old without a serious relationship to my name. Sure, having a boyfriend wasn’t the meaning of life. But I’d like to at least experience what I could before I died tomorrow.

  If I died, I tried to correct myself. For some reason, it didn’t quite stick.

  But I could do nothing by myself. I needed his help. “Dax,” I put in hesitantly, staring at my feet. “How long does it really take for a djinn to heal?”

  He looked at me for a long moment before taking another gulp of water. “Faster than a normal human. But when the wound is almost clean through and caused by magic, not fast enough. Why?”

  “I thought you said she didn’t hurt you that badly!”

  His machismo was back. “I’m a big boy. I can handle it. I was just trying to help you out so you didn’t feel squeamish.”

  “For my benefit, eh?” Hands went to my hips. “There goes my idea of spending alone time with you. I mean, I wouldn’t want to hurt you.”

  I started to turn away but was unsurprised when he reached out to grab my arm and halt my progress. “What? What is this about alone time?”

  “No, forget it. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you before you have a chance to heal. Or before the aspirin kicks in.” I tried to play innocent but it wasn’t my forte. My flirting was rustier than a
sack of nails left out in the rain for a year. The finer points of the art of seduction escaped me.

  He stood and faced me. “Why are you blinking like that? Did you get something in your eye?”

  I broke his hold on me, lips pursed. “I guess I’m not being very clear.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “I just…” I lowered my gaze to the floor “We might die when we confront Jacqueline. She gave me until tomorrow to come to her.” And tomorrow was coming fast. The sky darkening. The twilight cold. “And I…I kind of like you.”

  Liked him enough to want to jump his bones. Staring at him now, green eyes taking in my face, dusky skin golden in the muted light, my mouth went dry.

  This might be my last day on Earth. I didn’t want to spend it regretting how I hadn’t really lived. “Why not take the chance to be together while we have the chance? I don’t want to go to my grave without taking this risk.”

  “Mariella,” he said slowly. Shifting closer. “Are you saying you want to sleep with me?”

  “I know we haven’t known each other long. It’s been, like, the blink of an eye. But contemplating one’s mortality kind of makes one realize time is precious. Don’t you think?” It came out in a rush.

  Instead of answering, Dax took me into his arms. Afraid I was getting the chauvinistic charmer version of him I’d met that first day, I kept my eyes on the floor. He was going to let me down gently. To tell me it was a horrible idea for X and Y and Z reasons.

  “I’ve been thinking about getting you in bed from the moment you hit me with your car.”

  It wasn’t the best pickup line in the world. But it warmed my heart. “You hit my car.”

  “Demon and all,” he continued, “would you like to accompany me back to my bottle?”

  “The medallion around Jacqueline’s neck? Are you sure it’s safe?”

  “It’s the only place we are truly safe,” he replied.

  “Can your shoulder handle the trip?” I asked with only the smallest kernel of sarcasm.

  “You let me worry about my shoulder. Suddenly I’m finding it’s not quite the worst wound in the world. Besides, I had a terrific seamstress sew me up. Practically good as new.”

  “Sure, if your seamstress was Leatherface.”

  “Come.” He reached down and took my hand, pulling me in close to him. “Take a deep breath.”

  “I know the drill. Let’s go.”

  I closed my eyes and inhaled.

  CHAPTER 8

  It was over in seconds, the terrible vacuum where nothing existed. We popped into reality inside the medallion and I stumbled to my knees.

  “It doesn’t get any easier,” I gasped.

  “I know, and if there was anything I could do to help you, I would.” Dax shuffled over and used his good arm to help me to my feet.

  The bottle wasn’t any bigger the second time around. It felt like we hadn’t been here in years, when in reality it was hours.

  “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.” I came right out with it. “I’m afraid.”

  “Hey, come here.” Dax held out his hand. I just stared at it until my eyes stopped seeing double from the transition. “Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts.”

  No, in fact. I wasn’t having second thoughts about him. Him I looked at and knew I wanted. I was too wrapped up in the idea of my own death at Jacqueline’s hands. It wasn’t the best material to get in the mood.

  “I’m not.” I bit my lip and stared at the pale walls, the mirrors. Thinking about how much had changed in the last twenty-four hours. For a second, I was nothing but a woman, a human woman with standard human fears. “She frightens me. I’m not an animal to be bought and traded. I’m scared,” I said again.

  “I don’t blame you.”

  Dax tugged me close and I pressed my face against his chest. “What the hell am I going to do?”

  “She’s not going to get you. I won’t let her touch you again.” His arms tightened and brought me close. “I’m going to protect you the best I can. I promise. Our last plan was to attack her head-on. This time, I want you to get far away and hide somewhere she’ll never find you.” His lips brushed against my hair. Down to my temple. Across my cheek, until they found mine. “Mariella,” he murmured. “Damn it.”

  I melted against him. Yielded like he was made of fire and I was wax. Confusion, doubt, and fear swam in an endless circle inside my brain like sharks smelling blood in the water. “I want to trust you.”

  “Then do it. You’re the only woman I’ve ever fallen for. Take my word.”

  “I don’t know you.”

  “Funny. I know you.” His hands fisted in the ropes of my hair and pulled my head back for a kiss.

  I let him.

  Whatever had brought me here we would need to face together. And however much I wanted to continue to deny my attraction for him, there was no denying this. Sometimes, I thought hazily, the need was stronger than logic.

  A hum rose in my throat. A plea for him to continue, to never stop. My heart hammered hard and fast against my chest and my body shuddered. Dax broke the kiss to nip at my lips. Urge me on. I heard his name slip out of my mouth on a moan.

  “Mariella,” he repeated. “My sweetheart. I wish things were simple.” When he kissed me again, it tasted like desperation and punishment.

  Those same fears stung my throat and I pushed them down and offered no struggle. I took the heat coming off of him, off of me. I let his rough hands travel down my arms.

  He leaned back to stare at me with stormy eyes.

  I took a steadying breath and waited until I was sure to sound solid. Even when I felt the opposite. “Tell me what you want. The truth.”

  “The truth,” he repeated.

  “Yes. I wish you would tell me the truth.”

  “Another fucking wish.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “A wish for one answer. Here’s the truth. I want to touch you and take you and pretend.”

  “Pretend what?”

  “Pretend we’re both free.” Slowly he unfastened the buttons lining the front of my shirt. He kept his eyes on mine. “Pretend I can touch you where you like, take you whenever I want. Show you how it feels to love you.”

  “What if we’ll never be free? What if she kills me tomorrow and takes Cer?” Emotions swirling inside, I closed my own eyes so I didn’t have to look at the longing on his face. “Will we be forced to make do with pretend?”

  Dax shook his head. “This is you and me, Mariella. I can only offer you pretend. That doesn’t mean it isn’t real. Nothing else matters outside of this. Do you understand?” He scooped me into his arms. “Look at me. Tell me you understand.”

  It felt like he’d placed a spell on me. I focused on him and suddenly I did understand. I felt the heat rising against my skin again. I was surprised when he carried me in his arms as if I was precious, something to hold and protect and cherish.

  When he laid me back on the soft bed, stepped to the side to look at me, I felt my cheeks warm and flush. He managed to disarm me with a quick grin. “I’ve wanted to get your clothes off since the first day we met.” The man’s cellular makeup was charm. “I want to watch you undress. I want to imagine what it would be like for the two of us, outside, with the sun on your skin.”

  “And my arms free of scars?” I asked, even when I knew I should keep my mouth shut.

  “Never apologize for your scars.” His gaze hardened and for a brief second, tattoos flashed across every inch of his exposed skin from his face to his feet. “Never. It’s part of who you are.”

  “The girl with the demon in her blood,” I answered with only a little sarcasm, shrugging out of my shirt.

  “The girl who survives.”

  “Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I’m rushing.” He watched me toss my shirt aside, then the undershirt, bra. And finally my pants and underwear. Completely bare, I sat on the edge of the bed, suddenly self-conscious. When I spoke again, my voice was quiet. “
You should be afraid of me.”

  “I’m not. I don’t think I’ll ever be. Despite your rather impressive display. I guess I should be, considering the demon inside of you is more powerful than I am. But it means little when I see you smile.”

  He began to undress, removing his shirt and pants and tossing them across the room, never taking his eyes from me.

  My heart fluttered as if it were a bird trapped in my chest. “What’s real and what’s not, Dax? I know one thing.”

  “What?” Dax lowered, naked, to his knees in front of me. Kept his mouth a hairsbreadth away from mine once I leaned forward.

  “I want you to love me.”

  A panty-melting smile as wicked as sex in church during Sunday mass slid over his face. This time the kiss was slow and teasing. Sweet in a way we hadn’t managed before. I knew his mouth would fit against mine, had felt it before, but never like this. I recognized the slide of his tongue and the suggestive way his hips jerked forward when I did something he liked. In turn, he swallowed each breath catching in my throat, each sigh, and took my hands where they’d knotted on my lap.

  The scars still stood out against the skin of my forearm. A remembrance of Cer’s earlier messages that hadn’t yet disappeared. Dax ignored them. So did I. He skimmed his fingertips along my curves, along my arms and thighs until he palmed my breasts.

  “These,” he told me with a mischievous grin, “are glorious. And at last one of my own wishes has come true.” He took my nipple into his mouth and played with teeth and tongue until I was panting.

  He still knelt in front of me, and suddenly the separation was too much for me. I reached under his arms and gently but insistently tugged until he joined me on the bed, until my chest pressed against his. Then I took control.

  I ran my hands along his arms to test his muscles, tracing the lines of the still visible tattoos there. It was a warrior’s body, I thought. A man who’d been through much and survived to tell the tales. Pretty damn solid for a man who was supposedly made of smoke and wishes.