“We can go there for lunch if you’d like,” he answered, chuckling a bit.
“That would be fantastic!” Grace exclaimed, always taking any excuse to indulge at Quincy.
“We’ll head that way when we are done here,” he said. “You still have one more sense to go though. Tell me what you feel. Go ahead and move around a little, touching the objects near you.”
“There’s the area rug under my feet, my clothes against my skin, the ring on my finger, and the gentle tug of my ponytail on my hair.” Grace began to feel around her, taking a few steps as she reached out her hands. “I feel the leather of the couch, the worn ridges on the end table, and the cool brass of the lamp.” She paused. “You cracked the window – there’s a breeze coming in.”
She took one more step and her hands landed on the hard plains of his chest.
“I feel…you,” she said, her voice lowering to a mere whisper.
“Oh?” was his only reply. Suddenly, his fingertips slid up her arms to grasp her elbows. When she sensed him lean in, her heart began pounding so hard she was sure he could hear it. “What else?” he whispered in her ear; his warm breath sent shivers down her spine. Was this really happening? Had anything this sexy ever happened to her in her entire life? Did he even know what he was doing to her?
“Your breath on my ear… your hair brushing my temple… your hands …” she didn’t get to finish. At that moment, the heat of his lips was against her own, at first pressing softly and then with more urgency. She kissed him back with fervent passion. He sucked in her lower lip, tugging gently at it with his teeth before delving his tongue into her mouth. She matched him, stroke for stroke, each kiss stoking the blazing inferno.
Grace clung to him, drowning in a sea of desire, he the only flotsam to grab onto in the raging tempest. She threw her inhibitions, her hang-ups, her fears all to the wayside – she would no longer hold herself back from this man. She could die at any time; she deserved to enjoy herself. She was going to take whatever he was willing to give and relish it.
She ran her hands up under the back of his shirt, savoring the sensations of his obliques, back muscles and shoulder blades. His hands roved beneath her clothing to caress her own skin, his touch setting it ablaze. Their kiss deepened, their tongues swirling in a rhythmic dance of sensuality. It was possessive and rough, two things which she had never thought she’d want but now she was eager to have more of.
She gasped in surprise and then shivered in pleasure as his thumb brushed her nipple. He teased it between his fingers, rolling the firm, tight bud until she was panting for air. All she wanted was to remove the clothes separating them and feel all his powerful masculinity, hot against her bare flesh. She gripped his shirt in her hands, tugging him towards the couch behind her. When the leather touched the back of her legs, she made to lift his shirt over his head.
Ring, ring, ring, ring. It took her a moment to register the obnoxious, foreign noise as her cellphone. The cold wash of reality rushed over her as she comprehended what she had been about to do. Had they not been interrupted, she would have had sex with him right there on her couch. She was shocked with herself, but she couldn’t, she wouldn’t, be ashamed. She still wanted him, and she’d make the same choice again.
She took off the blindfold and looked up at Caleb. He too was standing there, breathing heavily, with a genuine look of astonishment. She wasn’t so sure that he would make the same choice.
“Should I answer that?” she said, her voice still laden with longing. He seemed to wage an internal battle. When he heaved a sigh, she knew his answer before he said it.
“Yes.”
Chapter 10
They’d ended up going to Quincy Market for lunch, but Grace’s bubbly attitude had diminished after he’d told her to take the phone call. He hadn’t wanted to; his whole body had been screaming at him to ignore the phone, take Grace back into his arms, and make love to her right there on her leather couch. Or the bed. Or the floor. Or wherever, as long as he could have her. His skin had been so sensitive to her touch each caress had seemed to brand him as hers. He’d wanted to lavish kisses all over her body, to taste every succulent morsel of her.
His brain had finally regained control over the rest of him, and he’d told her to answer the phone. Thank the Lord for that phone. He wanted her. He was starting to think he wanted her more than any promotion he could ever receive, but in the end where would that leave either of them? Their existences were incompatible. She’d grow old and die; he would stay as he was. She’d want to go out with other couples, settle down, have kids, none of which he was capable of. The closer they became, the more painful their inevitable separation would become. By drawing the line now, he was saving her from future heartache. If only he could trust himself to remember that when she was so close to him.
The rest of the day, they’d coexisted, as it were, but didn’t talk much. They had watched some TV, and Grace had made dinner. So far, Kalev had managed to skirt eating anything else. At Quincy he’d pretended to eat when her eyes were closed while he’d presented her with various samples to try. At dinner time, Grace had taken her meal to her room. She’d asked Annalise to email her some documents to review so as not to be so behind at work tomorrow.
He’d thought that maybe a good night’s sleep would have set her mood to rights, but she’d been distantly cordial this morning as he’d accompanied her to work. She’d informed him that afterwards she was going to a class at a gym without him and that, if he wanted, he could pick her up there instead. He’d insisted he should escort her from work to the gym also. The way she’d subtly emphasized the ‘without him’ part had irked him more than it probably should have. He should’ve been grateful that she was taking matters into her own hands, trying to improve herself and not leave all her conditioning training up to him, but he wanted to be with her when her heart was pounding, her chest heaving from exertion, her skin glistening… He really couldn’t let his mind go there.
He should be thankful to have some time apart from her. He could clear his head, refocus on his long-term goals and not be so damn aroused for a little while. He also needed to pay the Council a visit. Without a doubt, they would be very interested to learn that Loray was moving his pawns.
Kalev also hoped that the Council might have a clue as to what Loray’s true end game was. Was it really about getting his hands on Grace’s ring or was it something subtler? Kalev’s foray the previous night had been worthless. He’d gone back to the conservation area to search for clues but had found nothing. Then he’d visited each of his contacts in Newton, Brighton, Allston, Backbay, and Southie, but they either were as clueless as he or they weren’t talking. Dezzi was still in a useless stupor and wouldn’t be worth visiting for another few days. He hadn’t had time to reach every neighborhood of the Boston area, but he would visit every single one if he had to. Maybe one of the Council’s own informants had passed on some information instead. He didn’t like to hit up his contacts often or all at the same time. A quick trip to the Council would help enlighten him, and he could convey his knowledge and concerns regarding Loray.
✽✽✽
She couldn’t concentrate. She must have reread the same file at least 3 times but had no idea what it was about. She just kept staring at the words and drifting off into her own thoughts. Of course he’d told her to answer her phone, as well he should have. What had she been thinking? He’d suddenly change his mind and decide that he was open to a relationship with her? Maybe that was the problem. He probably thought that if he slept with her, she’d expect something more. She hadn’t made it clear that she was fine with just having fun.
Although, she hadn’t really made that clear to herself either. She knew she was falling for him, hard, whether she wanted to or not. He was handsome, caring, fierce and vibrant. She’d never met someone so driven and whose life held so much purpose. She wanted to be a part of it; she wanted to swirl around the light of his life like a moth to a flame. Better st
ill, she wanted to be a twin flame to his own, another fire bringing brightness to the world.
Sighing in frustration, Grace gave up all pretense of working and checked her personal email. Various store ads for 25 percent off her next purchase, new bold spring looks, and must-have items cluttered her inbox, but there was an older email she had starred. It was the potential link in her family tree she’d received last week before all the craziness had started.
Had it only been a week? Her life without demons, without Caleb, seemed like a lifetime ago. And for as terrifying as the prospect of demons chasing her was, she was certain that if faced with the choice to return to not knowing, she wouldn’t take it.
Grace clicked the MyHistory email and scanned its contents. The page offered a potential connection to the family tree she had compiled already. She’d traced her mother’s side of the family back hundreds of years, mostly in northern Quebec, but this email showed that a recently unarchived birth notice had been scanned and posted. It stated the birthplace and parents of her many-times-great grandmother, Helene. Grace had known that Helene Arnaut nee LeCompte had married her husband, Jean Arnaut in Tadoussac, Quebec in 1613. What she hadn’t known was the year or place of birth for either Jean or Helene. The birth record in the email stated that Helene had been born in 1594 in Nancy, France.
Forgetting where she was, Grace did a little happy dance in her chair. It was never easy, and often impossible, to ‘make the leap over the pond’ when researching genealogy. She had assumed that her family had, at one point, come from France, but to finally find the person who had made the journey was a small thrill. It only seemed to lead to more questions as she imagined what that might have been like. Did she come over with her family as a child? Did she leave them behind in hopes of finding a future here? If she did, did she ever see them again? Regardless, she and her family must have been very brave or very desperate to make such a life altering journey.
The birth certificate also stated Helene’s parents’ names: Anne de Troismonts and Robert LeCompte. Other users had already begun making connections to those two individuals from their own trees, so Grace would be able to add many more names to her own. Even though these relatives of hers were long gone, Grace enjoyed the connection and belonging that knowing about her roots brought her. For, although the ties were tenuous and ancient, she did have living ‘relatives’ somewhere in the world.
At the end of the workday, Grace peered out the window and was surprised that Caleb wasn’t standing outside. It was unlike him to be late. She tried to quell the image of Caleb in the midst of a life or death struggle with a horde of demons that had immediately came to mind. She would gather her belongings and head outside. He’d probably already be there by the time she left the building.
When he wasn’t, she tried not to panic. She looked at her watch; although he was only five minutes late, Grace couldn’t wait for him. She had her first private lesson at HealthWorks Fitness tonight with Jonathan, and she didn’t want to be late. Caleb would have to catch up or wait until her lesson was over. If there was really trouble, she was sure he’d find a way to let her know. She sent him a quick text and took off.
Jonathan was waiting for her, a brilliant white smile spread across his face.
“Hey there. You ready to rumble?” he asked and winked at her. He practically sparkled with confidence. He was truly the Ken-doll type that would make many women swoon. For Grace, he surprisingly held no appeal. While she found him charming, she didn’t have any interest in him physically. What she did have an interest in was improving her skills and hopefully landing this guy on the mat a few times for personal satisfaction.
“Oh, I’m ready,” she said, matching his confidence. “I do have some experience, but I know that I have a lot more to learn.”
“Well, let’s do a little sparing then so I can take a quick assessment of where you are, and then we’ll build from there, okay?” he offered.
“Yeah, that sounds good,” she replied and removed her shoes to join him on the mat.
✽✽✽
Kalev was furious with himself for thinking that any trip to the Council would be quick, no less useful. He’d waited in that stupid antechamber for hours while the Council did God-knows-what only to be called in for less than ten minutes. They’d discovered even less information than Kalev had, at least that’s how they’d played it anyway, and Azriel had not so subtly implied that it was Kalev’s job to inform the Council, not the other way around. With Grace’s life at stake, Kalev had little tolerance for Azriel’s schemes and had had to bite his tongue before he told him so.
When he finally arrived at the DCF, Grace hadn’t been waiting for him. It had nearly blown the lid off his frayed patience until he’d finally checked his phone and read her text. She couldn’t have waited a few more minutes? He grumbled and headed for the gym. Although he’d spent years in Boston, he’d never seen this facility. It was modern and well-kept on the outside. The large, 12-foot-high windows let in plenty of natural light and gave passersby a clear view of the main workout space.
Right now, there was an intensive grappling session going on between two people on a mat just to the left of center. He was too far to see the participants clearly, but the contest was impressive. Hopefully, Grace was watching from wherever she was in the gym. She could learn from this. Wanting to be able to discuss it with her, he got closer.
The smaller opponent, a woman, reached back and ducked while yanking the man over her shoulder. He landed with a thud on the mat, and the woman quickly straddled him and placed one hand firmly on his chest.
Her other hand clenched and pumped into the air while letting out a cry of victory. It only took a microsecond for that voice to register. Grace. He wanted to burst with pride, but instead was filled with jealously. She was still sitting on whoever the hell she’d just trained with, and she was beaming down at him. Blood drummed in his ears as she wiped a sweaty stray hair back and finally got up. She put her hand down to the guy still lying on the mat, and he took it, grinning. They seemed deeply involved in conversation, and then, as she parted, Grace waved and smiled at him once more before, presumably, heading to the locker room.
He had no right to be jealous. She wasn’t his. She couldn’t be his. He should be happy that she’d found someone to train with, that she was joyful, that she was experiencing some normalcy. A part of his mind even registered that she was more talented at fighting than he’d given her credit for, considering she’d never her tried her stuff against a ‘normal’ opponent.
Actually, she was improving at an alarmingly unnatural rate. The ring. Maybe that had something to do with it. Joan had been an extraordinarily gifted fighter for a young woman. He had only been assigned to her midcampaign, and he’d assumed she’d picked up her skills through hard work and training before he’d met her. Now he had strong suspicions that she had received divine aid in that regard as well. The Council might be able to confirm it, but he was in no hurry to return there any time soon.
The thought only made his mood darken. He tried telling himself that when she came out of the gym, he’d be happy for her, supportive, encouraging, but his emotions had other ideas. They were sweeping through him like a tidal wave that he wasn’t sure he could control. They were strong, tangled, confusing — an impossible web of subtleties that he didn’t have words for. No wonder people acted like lunatics sometimes; this emotional cocktail was driving him mad.
Feeling triumphant, Grace was practically bouncing when she exited the gym. She couldn’t believe how far she had come in her training in so little time. Jonathan had asked if she’d lied about her experience level so that she could trounce him. When she tried to explain that she’d just started, he’d laughed and said he’d ‘play along’. He could think what he wanted, but she knew the truth. She must have finally found something she had a real talent for! She couldn’t wait to tell Caleb – he was going to be so proud of her.
When she left the building, he was standing ri
ght outside. Excited, she blurted, “I pinned the instructor! You should have seen it!”
“I did,” he responded, a glower on his face. She abruptly halted a few paces from him. His short reply surprised her.
“And?” she said expectantly. He took a few moments to answer. He opened his mouth at one point to say something but appeared to change his mind. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting but it wasn’t his sudden pronouncement, “You won’t be training with him anymore.”
Her anger flared, “What do you mean ‘I won’t be’? Why not?” she started striding forward. “And who are you to tell me what I can and can’t do anyway?” The edge to her voice only seemed to entice him.
“It’s not safe. You’re improving too quickly. People are going to ask questions.” He paused briefly. “And what about coming here alone? What if something had happened while I wasn’t here? I was only a few minutes late. Why didn’t you wait?”
“You’re being overprotective. I’m fine. Demons won’t attack me in broad daylight in a public place, at least that’s what you’ve led me to believe anyway. I told you I was coming here. Next time be on time.” She quickly sucked in a breath. “And I’ll train with whomever I want. So what if people ask questions? It’s not like I’m going to tell them the truth. Who would believe me anyway? If I start dithering away about demons, people will write me off as a crazy person.”
“It’s too risky! You will not return here!” he shouted.
“I’ll do whatever I damn well please,” she hissed. She did not want to get sucked into his anger, but if she stayed any longer, she wouldn’t be able to prevent it. Instead, she turned and started walking back to the apartment.
He’d followed her the whole way back, but they hadn’t said another word to each other. She’d shut herself up in her room as soon as they’d returned, not wanting to lay eyes on him she was so aggravated. He was lucky she’d let him into the apartment at all.
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