“Maybe one day, I’ll tell you.” He gave her a wink.
The lamp light played across the almost white highlights of his blond hair. If nothing else, her dream was filled with beautiful men. She gave a sharp laugh before looking away.
They continued their journey and she realized that Essie didn’t lie. This was so much more than a house and the layout of the rooms was strange. There weren’t any hallways. They walked through a mini theater, passed a formal living room, and family room, three studies, a library. She stopped in the door to that room, astonished to see so many books in someone’s home.
“Sebastian said you were a librarian.”
“Well, sort of. I volunteer there. I don’t get paid. So, I wouldn’t exactly call myself that.”
They continued and she grew dizzy at the size of the place. The kitchen was almost as large as her home. An indoor pool that she paled at.
“Not ready for swimming then?” Alex asked softly.
After pulling her eyes from the water, she shook her head. His thumb swept over her cheek, brushing away a tear she didn’t know had fallen. The gentleness of his action was unexpected, and she had to chalk it up to her brain wanting someone to be kind to her, non-threatening. And while it still may have been her brain’s doing, she broke, covered her face with her hands, and started sobbing.
Alex looked down at the girl before putting his arms around her. Her body shook with the force of her cries and his arms tightened around her. He could imagine how she felt, his own story not being too far off. But standing there with her, there was a warmth in his dead heart. An unforeseen warmth.
When was the last time someone took comfort from him? Relied on him? Needed him? He had been what he was since the early 1970s and in that time, he had always been the one that needed help. Help from losing himself in blood and death. Help dealing with all the changes that came about with his evolution. Help from going mad watching those he loved from a distance, watched as they grew older and passed from this life. This felt…good.
Finally, she grew silent and still. She took a deep breath and left his arms. “Thank you,” she said at last.
She looked up and he found himself falling deep into the shining green. “My pleasure.” He reached out to stroke her cheek once more before stiffening his spine. “There’s still more to see.”
“Okay.” One last look and she left the clear water behind.
They resumed their walk. This time, they passed a sauna and lounge with a full bar that had French doors that led off to a patio. Eve looked around as they stopped again. The largest atrium she had ever had the pleasure to see grew before her. “It’s beautiful,” she said.
Alex smiled and motioned for her to follow.
The curve of his lips brought an answering one to hers as they went around the corner. Feeling like a teenager sneaking out of the house, she almost tiptoed through the glass door he pointed to. It was warmer than she expected but given the almost pure tropical variety of plants and flowers, it made sense.
“This place is a like a maze,” she said. “The whole house.” She had given up on trying to keep everything straight.
He laughed. “That’s the point.”
She looked around at the shocking green in the middle of winter. Reaching up, she traced the underside of a large frond. “Is that why you are showing me around? Because I’ll never find my way out?”
“There’s a lot to the situation,” Alex said, stepping up to stand by her side. She looked up at him and the green of her eyes put to shame the foliage around her. But there was a sadness in them that touched him.
“I’m not dreaming, am I?” she asked, voice soft.
“No. You’re not.”
“I did that to him.”
A silent nod.
She looked away and stepped from him. He couldn’t deny the slight emptiness that he felt. Why?
Eve moved slowly through the life that surrounded her before stopping to look up at the twilight sky above. The glass ceiling was closed against the cold. One single star was bright enough to be seen through the glass.
“No wonder he hates me.” Supposing magic did exist, she had tied their lives together. He could die if she did. She understood that much from what he showed her last night. Was it only last night?
“I don’t think that is the case anymore.” Alex watched her as she started walking again, the flames of her hair disappearing and reappearing against a backdrop of green. She stopped and looked at him, leaning back against a small tree.
“I don’t know about that.” Remembering the feeling of his emotions as they buffeted her, she shivered. “I’m pretty sure that he wishes that you two never pulled me from the river.”
“That was before, Eve. Before he realized you didn’t know anything.
She looked at her hand. The mark was gone. But it was gone yesterday as well. It only showed up when she touched Sebastian’s mark.
“How does he know that? What makes him so sure about me?” She dropped her hand and found Alex right in front of her. “How did I do it?”
“That’s something they’re trying to figure out.” Why did she have to look at him with her emotions in her eyes? Why did he want to taste her lips? What was this insistent pull that came from her?
“Alex?” His name was a breath as she tried to understand what she was feeling from him.
He blinked and found himself a heartbeat away from pressing his mouth to hers.
What was he doing?
He stood back. “Come on. You get to meet someone else tonight.” He turned and walked away, and she hurried to follow.
#
She followed Alex through a set of open double doors, giving Gideon a slight nod as he smiled at her. The brooding man sitting beside him made her falter. Sebastian. Why did he have to be there? Even if she didn’t feel the anger, she still wasn’t sure that he wasn’t mad. She couldn’t pick up any emotion from him. His posture didn’t help either. Perhaps Alex was wrong when he said that he didn’t hate her anymore. But that would be asking for a miracle, wouldn’t it?
“You must be Eve.”
A new voice came from behind her and she spun, looking up into dark green eyes. Of all the people she had met, he was the easily the tallest.
“Sebastian and Gideon were just telling me about you. My name is Micah.” He gave her a slight bow by way of greeting before taking one of the chairs.
She could only imagine what they said about her. By the fact that he didn’t try to shake her hand, she assumed that he knew what she did to Sebastian. “It’s a pleasure,” she said, and her smile took her by surprise. There was a feeling of calm in the room. Even with the branded man at her back, she found that she could breathe.
“I’m going to… go do something,” Alex said. He didn’t sound as confident as he did when she first met him. Was it because of that moment in the atrium? Before he could walk off, she reached out and touched his arm.
“Thanks for the tour.”
He smiled before touching her coat. “I owe you a new one.”
“You helped save me. I think we’re even.”
He dipped his head then left the room.
Gideon put his hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze. “Won’t you please sit?” He gestured at an overstuffed leather high-back chair. The one beside him.
Sebastian didn’t look at her. Instead, he kept his eyes on what looked like a glass of whiskey. She glanced back at the chair, bottom lip in her teeth.
“I won’t bite,” he said, raising his head.
The bit of humor in his eyes stunned her. It was so different from the night before. This time, there was nothing sinister about his face. Nothing sinister, but oh so sensual.
Gideon helped pulled the ruined coat from her shoulders and her heart raced as she sat on the edge of the seat. Was this always going to be her reaction to him? Either fear or lust? Couldn’t she just see him as a person?
A soft laugh came from Gideon and she looked up, thinking she h
ad done something stupid, but he was looking at Sebastian.
“Would you like a drink?” he asked, turning his gaze back to her. Without waiting for an answer, he crossed the room to hang her coat on the tree. It was only then that she noticed the small bar.
She didn’t drink often, not anymore, but something that would help calm her nerves would be appreciated.
Clearing her throat, she said, “Whiskey, please. Neat.”
He poured two fingers into a small glass and brought it to her. She flushed as he held it out to her. His finger placement made it evident that he was avoiding even slight contact. But then, she couldn’t blame him, could she.
She glanced at Sebastian and found him watching her with an arched brow. He raised his glass in a slight toast and she did the same before taking a sip of the burning liquid.
Pulling her eyes away from him, she looked back at Micah. Why were all these men so handsome? Shaggy russet hair fell into dark green eyes. She already knew he was tall, but the way his legs stretched out in front of him emphasized that fact. He was thinner than Sebastian and Gideon, but that didn’t take away from a feeling of power. Even reclining, she could sense a tight coiling of strength.
Why was everyone silent? Her fingers shook as she lifted her glass back to her lips. The calm was still there, but beneath it, there was an energy growing. One that she didn’t understand. Were these men ‘other’ as well?
“Relax Eve. You’re safe here,” Sebastian’s voice startled her.
“What makes you think I’m nervous?” she asked.
His eyes looked to her shaking hands. “Take another drink. It’ll help.”
Why did he care? Didn’t he go out of his way to be a bastard to her? Or was that really him and he was just pretending at civility now? She drained the glass and Gideon and Micah both laughed. She took a deep breath, intending to speak, but Micah beat her to it.
“So, Eve. I hear you ran into a bit of trouble a few nights ago.”
“Nice choice of words.” She tried to smile at him, but it felt… off.
“I’m not trying to upset you.”
His voice was kind and she wanted to sink through the floor. Was it just the night before that she freaked out by remembering what happened? Just an hour ago that she broke down in front of Alex?
“They saved me. Don’t worry about how I feel. If anyone should be upset, it’s him,” she said, looking to the silent branded man.
Sebastian couldn’t find it in him to be angry with her. She didn’t know what she did. Well, she did now, after his demonstration, but bonding him to her wasn’t purposeful. There was no malice on her part. Once again, there was the barest hint of shame. How long had it been since he let himself feel anything? Years? Decades? Centuries?
“Not anymore,” he said, looking up and she met his gaze.
She searched the warm brown and something inside her relaxed. Her eyes watered with unexpected tears and she tried to blink them away. “I’m so sorry,” her voice had to fight its way through the lump in her throat. Why was she crying again? Twice in one day?
“Eve, it—.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Don’t tell me it’s okay.” She took a shuddery breath. “I’m not dreaming. I know that now. And I don’t believe in magic. But somehow, I did something to you. You take the pain that I’m supposed to feel. If I die, do you go in my place? Do we die together?” She shoved a trembling hand through her hair, pushing it out of her eyes. “You saved me. How could I do that to you?”
“We’re going to figure that out,” Gideon finally spoke. “We don’t know how it happened, but we’ll fix it. However, in order to prevent… accidents, we ask that you stay here with us. We can keep you, and in turn Sebastian, safe.”
“You say ‘ask’, but it sounds almost like an order. What would happen if I were to decline?” Of course, she would stay. She owed them too much to put the man in danger.
Gideon stood and came to her. There was something about his stance, in his gaze, that made her heart race. Was it fear? Possibly. Was it something more… thrilling? She was afraid of answering that. He held out his hand and for a moment she was confused. He wouldn’t want to touch her. His lips quirked into a half-smile and for a split second she was certain he knew her innermost thoughts.
“Another drink?” he asked.
It was a bad idea. A horrible idea. But at the same time the promise of relaxing was simply too much to resist. “Please,” she finally got the word out.
She held out her glass and much to her surprise, his finger brushed hers. On purpose. Her mouth opened, she closed it and looked down, losing the fight to keep the blood out of her face.
“What will happen if you decline is that we ignore you and keep you here anyway,” Micah said. “We have a dungeon, and everything needed to keep one a prisoner.”
Eve looked up at him and he winked at her. Her laughter was genuine, and she finally eased all the way back into the chair. Gideon returned with her new drink, three fingers in it now. She smiled her thanks.
Sebastian shifted beside her, leaning forward. “I know you have a life. You have a job. Probably people looking for you.”
She turned, only then realizing how close he was. Close enough to touch. All she had to do was reach out.
Get it together!
“You don’t have a ring. I’m assuming you’re not married?” He turned to look at her and the intensity in his eyes stole her breath.
She shook her head before clearing her throat. “No. I’m single. But… my mother. She’ll be worried if she doesn’t hear from me soon.” With a groan, she closed her eyes. “My phone was in my purse. In the car.” Shuddering, she took a swallow and focused on the fire traveling down her throat.
“We’ll figure it out,” Sebastian said.
He put his hand over hers and she looked at it, darker than the paleness of her skin. Glancing back at him, she asked, “Not afraid?”
His brow lifted in an elegant arch that she could only dream about making. “What are you going to do? Mark me again?”
“Not on purpose.”
“I know.”
“Eve,” Micah said, sitting upright. “What can you tell us about the wreck. You say you were in Iowa.”
“Yes.” She looked at the man across the small table. “I had left work. It was about nine fifteen. I got in my car and was driving home. My house is a little way outside of town, maybe twenty minutes.” She closed her eyes, thinking back. The warmth of Sebastian’s touch helped keep her calm but was hugely distracting at the same time. “I was driving down the highway and saw, what I thought at the time, were headlights. I realize now that it was lightening. It was difficult to see for a second.” Her breath caught and his hand tightened on hers. “The road looked different, but there wasn’t time to think about it. Something hit me and then I died.” She opened her eyes. “The next thing I remember was Gideon.” She took another deep breath. “Why would the road look different? There should have been farmland beside me, not a river. How did I get here?”
Micah leaned toward her. “Was it storming? Was there anything strange about the lightening?”
She frowned. “No to the storm, though it was supposed to by morning. I figured the weather station got it wrong. And as for the lightening, it was… well… lightening.” It was then that she remembered a final thought before her car started flipping. What a beautiful color. She cleared her throat. “Actually, that’s not right. It was tinted green.”
Gideon stood and he and Micah looked at each other.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Nothing that we are sure about,” Micah said. “But it’s a clue of sorts. Something that we can research.”
Gideon glanced at Sebastian before leaving the room, Micah hot on his heels.
#
“What’s going on?” Eve asked. “Why did everyone leave?”
“They are going to check on a few things.” Sebastian let go of her hand and stood. “Would
you like another drink?” He took the empty glass from her hand.
She frowned. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you two are trying to get me drunk. Trying to distract me.”
He glanced back at her with a grin. A grin! “You don’t know better.”
A joke? Was that what that was? Who was this man?
She was speechless. And tipsy. A warm lethargy was settling into her. She should pass on the offer, but he was already back. Wordlessly, he held out the glass, a challenge in his eyes. She took it, making sure her fingers touched his hand. He chuckled before sitting back down.
“Thank you,” she said before lifting the glass to her lips.
“My pleasure.”
The sip turned into a swallow as that word reverberated in her mind.
No! No no no. Drunk Eve was not going to do this to her. She had had one-night stands before. Had gotten wasted and let herself be swept away by sexy words and sexier actions. Sometimes she had sought out the walk of shame. Loneliness sometimes got the better of her. But she was different now.
“What did the drink do to you?” Sebastian asked.
“Hmm?” she replied, looking up.
“You’re looking at your glass like you would like to throw it.”
“Just reminiscing,” she said. She swirled the amber liquid. Before she could think about her next question too hard, she blurted out, “Are you ‘other’?”
His face tightened. “Where would you get that idea?” he asked after a moment.
“That’s a yes.” She twisted in her chair, brought her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees. “But what does it mean?”
“Where did you hear it?”
“Alex. He said there were things out there that humans, like me, didn’t know about. He said he was ‘other’.”
“I’m going to murder him,” Sebastian all but growled.
“Don’t. He’s the reason I know I’m not dreaming. Did you know the average dream is eleven minutes? Even though it can feel like forever.” She took another sip. “I forgot how much I love whiskey.” She laughed.
“You’re drunk,” Sebastian said with a small smile.
Bound by Destiny Page 3
