“Do you think she’ll understand?”
“Why not ask her?” Rafael chuckled and pressed his palm to her cheek, his fingers curving around her jaw. “You’re as good an actress as you mother ever was, Eva.”
That jerked her upright, out of their arms, outraged. “What the hell do you know about my mother?”
Rafael’s face remained perfectly calm. “What your father told me.”
“My father is dead.”
He lifted his head slightly, as if the words gave him pain, looked down his long nose at her and then slowly nodded. “He is. Now. But only six months ago. He found out where you were and tried to reach you himself. He—he failed.”
She shuddered, hardly daring to believe them, unable to deny the knowledge that this was true. She knew. She just knew. She’d trained all her life to detect falsehood and she could discern not a trace of it in either man.
The news that her father was dead probably should have shaken her, but she’d gone all her life thinking that. There was no pain, no grief. There was nothing. She took her time looking around, trying to formulate some kind of reply. They were travelling in a civilian transport, comfortable enough in the rear and, though not to the standards of Guild transports, definitely a step up from Security’s or the ’rail. “So you came instead. To—to what? Save me from my life?”
They stared at her—Rafael’s ragged features, Aidan’s chiselled good looks. Prisoner and Security officer, albeit both fakes. Chalk and cheese, day and night, both of them willing her to understand, wanting her to believe them.
Anger burst over her in a great wave. “How dare you!” She balled her fists, fought against the tears stinging her eyes with the acid of self-recrimination. “It might be a shitty life, but it’s my life. How dare you, both of you! You’ve kidnapped me, do you understand that? A Guild psychic. They’ll hunt you both down. They’ll crucify you.” She rounded on Rafael. “Didn’t they do enough to you already?”
He smiled at her, actually smiled, although the expression was so very far from joyful it made her heart ache for him, even if she wanted to be angry. “Perhaps.”
“I saw what they did, felt it. I saw…”
The full enormity of all she had seen and felt returned to her. Heat flushed through her body, and the ache of need wrung out her heart. She reached out her hand and touched Rafael’s neck, her fingertips resting where they had in the cell. Electricity tingled along the length of her arm, but she saw no images this time. He was controlling it, dampening his thoughts or her abilities.
“I saw us. The three of us. Together.”
“I know,” Rafael rumbled and she looked at Aidan.
“And myself with you, when you bumped into me in the corridor.”
“It’s the future,” he assured her and her confusion must have shown on her face. He smiled too, his smile much brighter than Rafael’s self-deprecating one. His was like the sun coming out.
“I read people’s minds,” she whispered hesitantly. “I don’t see the future.”
“But I do,” Rafael cut in. “I told him. Showed him.”
“You’re…you’re lovers?”
Aidan’s hand closed on her hand, the one not touching Rafael. She couldn’t have torn that one away from him had he been on fire. But her free hand belonged to Aidan. He lifted it to his lips and pressed a kiss into the centre of her palm. “I’ve dreamed about you for so long, Eva. Rafael helped me find you.”
His breath on her skin undid her. Her own breath quickened and just as she was about to turn her head towards him, Rafael caught her free hand in his strong grip and kissed it, mimicking Aidan. His lips brushed the tender skin, his teeth grazing a moment later. Aidan worked his way back to her wrist, where he did the same thing.
Her heart hammered beneath her breast. Her nipples tightened painfully. The images returned to her mind, of the three of them together, of their skin, their bodies, pressed to hers. So much pleasure.
Her mind rebelled. It was dangerous, so dangerous. If she lost control, she might…
“Stop,” she gasped. “Please.”
It was too much. Such contact and so many sensations after so many years of sterile and clinical living. The Guild frowned upon physical contact. It was barbaric, antiquated, animal. She knew all this. But she’d never felt such an urge seize her before today. She wanted these two men. But how? Why? She’d been trained to be above such urges and base instincts.
The transport jerked to a halt.
“Afraid?” Rafael asked.
She nodded, breathless, but he waited. “Yes,” she managed at last.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Eva.” Aidan lifted her hand to his mouth again but a hiss from Rafael stopped him. “Well, there isn’t.”
“And how would she know that? As she said, we’ve kidnapped her. But perhaps she likes that. Do you, Eva? Do you have a fantasy of being carried off?”
The mocking tone in Rafael’s voice sent iron into her spine. How dare he? “I suppose you’ve done it before then,” she snapped. It was a cheap shot, but, oh, it felt good to see anger darken those eyes even further.
He let her go, using his hand to rake through his hair, scratching at his scalp. “This is neither the time nor the place. Let’s get inside. I need some rest. Then, Ms. Lee—” he grinned at her wolfishly, “—you’ll have your own interrogation. You’ve already had a preview. It’s only fair you get the full show.”
Chapter Three
Between them they bundled Eva out of the vehicle. Not roughly, but firmly, as if it was more a joke than anything else. She looked up at the sky, high overhead, so clear a blue. The buildings here were low, a warren of single and double stories only, rather than the vast towers of the Guild compound, her home. One central building rose in front of a cobbled courtyard. The façade looked like some kind of old three-story house from before the crash. Its affluence had fallen into shabbiness, but it was well cared for in a basic, utilitarian way. Low buildings surrounded it, some stone-built and as old as the house, some of the type of squat prefabs which had doubled as medical units during the pandemics of the past.
In surroundings unlike anything she had ever seen, she felt exposed and off-kilter. To her left, a group of workers knelt in a patch of earth where green and growing things spilled out of the ground. They grew their food here, she realised. They didn’t have to rely on processed, factory-produced irradiated food packages. Theirs was a luxury Guild members only dreamed of and paid through the nose to obtain. And here they were, the reviled Hedonists, drawing forth such treasures from the earth.
“What is it?” Aidan frowned.
Eva almost tripped over her feet but he caught her. The brush of his hand on her skin, pushing back her sleeve, made her shudder and she sucked in a breath.
Aidan knelt at her feet, his wicked blue eyes twinkling up at her. Seated on the edge of a bed, Eva could do nothing to withdraw or protect herself. Moving slowly, as if afraid he would spook her, Aidan parted her knees, pushing them wide, and bowed his head to her vagina. His tongue flicked out, opening her to him, making her cry out beyond her ability to control.
“Oh God! Please!” She tore herself away from him. “Stop touching me!”
“You’ve got to be more careful, Aidan.” Rafael chuckled. The sound rippled through her, coiling deep in the pit of her stomach and then unfurling with a steady, maddening beat. “She can’t help but pick up your thoughts. She’s more than a little sensitive, remember? Now that, Eva, was his fantasy.”
Remembering the images of them both making love to her, she couldn’t help but shudder. Was it anticipation? Or fear? She’d never been that intimate with one man, let alone two. She pulled herself away from them both, forcing herself to calm, to put her mind and body back under her control. It took more of her iron will than she had ever needed before.
“Take her to her room,” Rafael said. “Maybe show her around a little, let her see that she’s in no danger here, okay?”
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, focusing on him and letting her disbelief strike his mental shields.
Rafael’s smile twitched the corners of his mouth and he sent something back, regret, comfort, remorse. “It was never the plan to kidnap you, sweetheart. We came to help you.”
“So you said. But you still shot me.” Well, Burgess did. She flinched as she remembered the shock of seeing his face there, of the weapon trained on her, of the flare of light as he fired and she fell back, helpless.
“It wasn’t meant to go down that way.” Aidan’s hand closed gently on her arm, pressing the material of her sleeve against her skin, the soft coolness of the cream silk, the smooth weave of her jacket and the warmth of his skin. Then he released her. “I swear to you. We’d never do anything to hurt you, Eva. You must be hungry at least? What about some food?”
The thought of the fresh fruit and vegetables grown here gave her a different thrill of excitement and Rafael grinned again, seeing through her at once.
Maddening man. Maddening, appealing, terrifying man.
Rafael and Aidan exchanged a glance which she could not interpret. She couldn’t even pick up their peripheral thoughts, something that should have been easy.
Rafael, she realised. He was shielding their thoughts from her. Perhaps even communicating with Aidan as he did so.
“Go with him, Eva.” Rafael didn’t send the words directly into her mind, though she had not doubt that he could. A courtesy to Aidan perhaps, or a reluctance to engage in intimate contact with her just yet. “Later.” He laughed and she saw mischief in his dark features as well. “I’ll debrief you myself.”
He laughed again and Aidan joined him. They seemed to expect her to join in too, but Eva withdrew into herself, into the safe inner shell that protected her in the Guild, and had done all her life.
“Come,” said Aidan more softly now, realising perhaps the fear that stirred in her. This time he did not touch her. When she glanced around for Rafael, he was gone, the door to the building banging shut in his wake. His abrupt departure almost left her bereft, but then Aidan spoke and the feeling passed. “He went through hell to get to you, Eva. It was only with Burgess’s cooperation we were ever able to find you.”
“But why? Why would you?”
Aidan shook his head as if struggling for an answer he wasn’t sure how to give. “A promise,” he said at last. “A promise and a dream.”
“Tell me,” she insisted, but again he shook his head, firmly this time.
“That’s for Rafe to do. And he will. He owes you that. Now please, Eva. Come with me. Let me at least make you comfortable here.”
Comfortable. Yes, she’d seen his idea of comfort. And yet, she had to admit she was intrigued by it, by the intimacy, by the way her body reacted to him, to both of them. But Aidan didn’t touch her again and he kept his thoughts to himself. Handsome as summer, a gentle warrior, all the elements that could coax her to relax and could work on her addled senses to make her succumb to his charms. But this time, he didn’t use them.
“Are you hungry? We should be able to rustle up something out of the kitchen. What do you like? Chicken? Beef?”
She couldn’t help herself. Her mouth watered at the thought of food and her stomach decided to conspire, growling loudly. “Salad?”
Aidan’s face twisted in disbelief and disgust. He barked out a laugh and caught her gloved hand in his, pulling her along after him. “Salad,” he scoffed. “Right.”
The building they entered was not as sleek and polished as the Guild compound buildings she was used to. Instead of industrial artwork and monotone décor, this place displayed a riot of colour and life. Nothing was uniform. From murals, to chalk drawings, woven rugs and handcrafted furniture, everything was an eclectic mix which spoke of creativity and imagination. Every item caught her eye, though she tried to keep up with Aidan and hide her interest.
She doubted he was fooled, but she could pretend. And she was grateful now it was not Rafael who accompanied her. He’d see through her and make her know it. She could imagine the mocking smile, the twist of his mouth, that glint in his dark eyes that told her he would never let her get away with it either.
Then Eva heard it, a different type of laughter—bright and young, and filled with joy that had never seen the disappointments or fears she knew so well. With a series of squeals and shouts, three children tumbled from a room to the right and tore past them, careening off the walls as they went, calling out a greeting to Aidan before they crashed out the doorway and into the sunlight.
“Children,” she whispered, reeling from the surge of energy left behind them. “You have children.”
“Well, not personally.”
“Here, I mean. You…your people have their children here, with them.”
Aidan’s face quirked in an appealing grin. “Of course we do. Where else would we have them?”
Eva’s face flared red. “A…a nursery, an education centre and dorms. Not here with you. Not…”
His smile saddened. “Is that how you grew up? Locked away like that?” Pain filled his eyes, compassion, and she sensed he wanted only to embrace her.
This was no skilled psychic like Rafael. Just a man. And a man whose passions controlled his life. That should have made him wild and dangerous but she didn’t sense that at all. Aidan cared so deeply about people. About all people, not just his own, not just the hedonists here. He loved with all his heart.
Eva jerked away the moment she realised her hand was about to reach for him. He hadn’t seen, had he? She folded her arms and dropped her gaze to the floor.
When she didn’t answer, he shrugged. “I don’t know much about how the psychics live in the Guild, but we hear the stories, you know? They’re not—not pleasant.”
Pleasant. No. Not a word that could be applied to the cold and clinical dorms, or her apartment that had replaced them. Eva’s embarrassment reached a new level of humiliation. “It’s hard to form relationships when you see inside people’s heads,” she muttered.
Aidan pushed open the door ahead of them, his manner less jovial now, and led the way into a bright and airy dining room. At the other side of the room a young woman sat with two small children. She glanced up, grinned at Aidan and nodded at Eva in greeting. Then she returned her attention to feeding the children. The youngest pursed his lips together and turned away from the spoon. The little girl stared at Eva, her face unmoving.
Clearly the room had been designed to accommodate a large number of people, but now it was crammed with mismatched tables and chairs. The delicious scents made Eva’s mouth water and her treacherous stomach rumble again.
“Hungry?” His teasing tone should have been infuriating, but it wasn’t. Rather she found it endearing and something inside her warmed in that glow. He pulled out a chair for her at the nearest table and she sat down obediently.
Her heart rebelled. But obedience came easily to anyone Guild-born and Guild-trained and she would gain nothing by fighting now. She would wait, bide her time, find her moment and seize it. She folded her hands in her lap and lowered her gaze to the tabletop.
“So what can I get you?” When she didn’t respond, she felt the trace of irritation rise in him. Good. It was better that she kept him at a distance. A good arm-length or more at least. “I’ll rustle up a selection,” he told her and marched off.
Eva sat in silence, waiting, listening to the pounding in her chest that, after a moment, she realised was her heart. She was alone, wasn’t she? She could make a break for it now.
A small, cold hand touched hers, ever so quickly, and she jerked her head up. The little girl flinched back but stood her ground. Huge grey eyes almost filled a pale, porcelain face. Her small mouth formed a rose-bud pout and she studied Eva more carefully than anyone she’d ever known. Eva blinked, tried to smile, and then her mind filled with flowers, wildflowers of every kind, in every colour. The scent swirled around her, overpowering, vibrant.
“Daisy!” The voi
ce came from far away, distorted as it reached Eva’s ears. “Daisy, leave her alone.”
Eva blinked, pushing the images back with a gentle but determined force. Her own defence mechanism—a sea of multihued butterflies—filled her mind, and she was able to focus once more on the little girl and on the woman enfolding her in defensive arms.
“Flowers?” Eva said and the woman blanched.
“She didn’t mean anything by it. She’s just a child. She doesn’t understand.”
“She’s psychic?”
“She’s…she’s special. Please…” The woman pulled Daisy behind her, never letting go of her for a moment. “Oh God, you’re Guild, aren’t you? A Guild psychic?”
Eva made to rise to her feet, but the woman scrambled backwards, heading for her son, dragging Daisy with her. “Stay away from my children,” she snarled.
“Laura?” Aidan gasped. His hands were laden with three plates, one balanced precariously between the other two. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know what you were thinking bringing her here, Aidan. Just keep her away from the kids.”
He set the dishes down with a clatter and spread his arms out wide. “Laura, you need to calm down. Eva didn’t do anything.” He glanced at her. “Did you?”
She shook her head, saying nothing, but the shame that filled her even at the accusation made her recently acquired appetite flee.
Daisy stepped around her mother, darting free of her grasping hands and ran to Aidan. No… Eva recoiled in alarm as the girl grabbed her sleeve and tugged hard.
The flowers came again. This time Eva was ready for it and able to control it before it washed over her.
“Why are you showing me this?” she asked softly.
“She doesn’t talk,” Aidan answered for her and Laura came closer, ready at any moment to tear her daughter away again.
“She doesn’t need to,” Eva replied curtly and sank down to Daisy’s height so she could look her in the eye. Those same cold little hands pressed to her cheek and Eva couldn’t help but smile. “You weren’t supposed to show me, were you? But you…you want to share…”
With a Touch: The Guild Chronicles, Book 1 Page 3
