"We put a time limit on it," I said, voice level and utterly controlled. I liked this new decisive Casey.
"A time limit? How quaint," he husked, suddenly appearing right in front of my face. "Sweet, sweet, Cassandra." He leaned in, his hot breath washing over the sensitive skin of my earlobe. "You won't want it to end once you are mine. You will beg me to keep you. You will be unable to imagine a life without me in it. You will do everything in your power to keep me happy, so I will not tire and throw you away. You will be mine in every sense of the word."
He pulled away, leaving me shaking and suddenly bereft of his warmth, and returned to his side of the hall. He was supremely amused at his effect over my body right then.
Oh, I think I truly hated him. I really freaking did.
But I wanted him even more.
"However," he said, pulling at the cuffs of one of his sleeves, then straightening his tie, "you need not fear. No doubt the Rigas will put a time limit on this little arrangement for us. He was never one to let me enjoy the spoils for very long."
Just what the hell did that mean?
"Who's the Rigas?" I asked, grabbing the first question that didn't show how out of my depth I actually was.
"The King of the Pyrkagia of course. You really don't know this, do you?" he asked sounding stunned. He was looking at me strangely, as though he'd suddenly seen the truth in my words on my face. I'm not sure what did it, but I was relieved he was seeing something that led him to believe I wasn't lying about all of this. How much good it would do me, remained to be seen.
"I've told you, Theo. Two days in a pit of dirt and I woke to this." I spread my arms out around me and made the house shudder by commanding the earth beneath its foundations to stir. It lasted a mere second, but Theo's delicately raised eyebrow let me know he was impressed.
"You have unreasonable control of your gifts," he admitted. "Why were you not born Pyrkagia?" he said, as though to himself. He shook his head and straightened from the wall.
Then proceeded to walk around my body. His gaze taking in every inch of me. From the skin tight yoga pants that hugged my thighs and rear, to the fitted hoodie which curved over my breasts. I suddenly wished I'd worn something else. I don't think Theo was of the same opinion.
But then again, maybe he was.
"This will not do, Oraia," he said shaking his head from side to side. "You cannot be presented to the Rigas in such an outfit. It would be a show of disrespect." Great, not only did I feel like I'd been ogled at, but now I felt woefully inadequate.
"But," Theo continued, still pacing around my body, "I have an idea." I bet he did.
I sighed, his eyes finally rose to my face, having been target locked on my rear, chest, hell, everywhere but there.
"Do we have an agreement, Gi?" he asked suddenly. "I stand between you and my King, for however long he allows it, in order for you to stay in the city unharmed."
Tense silence hung between us. I chewed on my bottom lip.
Stay. Go.
Stand up to the bullies. Leave with my tail between my legs.
Let Theo own me. Keep my independence but be utterly alone.
Find out what has happened to me. Stay in the dark and never know.
Trust that Theo would protect me. Never know what more with Theo Peters actually felt like.
It should have been an easy decision, but it was the hardest I'd made in my entire life. So many unknown variables, but the alternative was to always wonder, to live in fear due to my ignorance. And I couldn't deny I was inexplicably drawn to Theo. Always had been. From the moment he walked into my store, I had been lost.
It had crossed my mind that he'd influenced me this entire time, but never once had I seen that gold in his eyes until he'd seen my green.
God damn it, what did I do?
I wanted to know. About what I had become. About what this strange new world was that Theo lived in. About what I could do, who I could trust.
About what it would be like to belong to Theo Peters.
Dangerous, dangerous longings. It would be my downfall, I was sure. But there was a part of me that already knew, I couldn't imagine my life without this man in it. I didn't belong to him yet. But then a part of me already did.
"OK," I said. It sounded so small.
"Don't seem so unsure, Oraia. I treat my possessions well." Oh, and didn't that just make me rethink my decision.
"If you call me a possession again, I will tie you up with vines and do some serious damage."
Theo chuckled, a deep and delicious sound that went directly from his chest to my stomach, making butterflies scatter inside.
"Oh, Cassandra. You do please."
I bit back another retort. He'd only twist it to his perversions.
I watched as he pulled a slim cellphone from his jacket pocket. He swiped the screen, tapped out an instruction, and then held the phone to his ear.
"Nico!" he said when the call was answered. "I have a favour to ask. I need your tailor to come to my house with a selection of dresses suitable for an audience with the Rigas. Size," his eyes trailed over my my body, "four."
"Six," I muttered, reluctantly.
"Four," he repeated, giving me a purposeful look. Great, I was going to look like a hooker.
Theo chuckled. "Oh, you will meet her, my friend. I plan to have her on display as soon as possible." A pause, I couldn't make out what this Nico chap was saying, then Theo said, "She is delicious." The call disconnected.
"That sounded really creepy," I pointed out.
"I need them to believe I am so captivated with you, they will not doubt why I entertain a Gi." Oh, it was all an act. Creepy though it was, I had kind of liked it. Now I just felt flat.
I had to keep reminding myself that this was an arrangement. Theo had called it such. I needed to make sure I didn't forget that little fact. I needed something from him, for some reason he wanted to keep me around. But it should not be confused with anything more than curiosity and a passing desire on his part. I knew he found me intriguing, I knew he wanted me, but whether that meant anything to Theo Peters, or his kind, I had no way of knowing.
But my gut told me otherwise. Whatever Theo was, he could instil lust in his conquests. How one sided and disappointing that chase must be? How mundane and routine were his liaisons? But it proved I was nothing more than a plaything, no different from any he'd acquired in the past.
I would not forget that.
The house shook once, as though the earth beneath it agreed with that final conclusion.
"If you do that in the presence of the Rigas," Theo said reasonably, "he will be the one to take your head. Behave, Gi. Or you shall not see this night out."
"Are there rules, or etiquette, that I need to know about?" I said, suddenly feeling extremely nervous about meeting this King.
"The standard," Theo replied, starting to walk away. I stood still, unsure if I should follow him or not, but then he kept talking, so I scrambled to catch up and listen. "Curtsey on being announced. Do not speak unless spoken to. Call him, 'Your Majesty'. Never offer him your back. Be polite and show respect. You can surely manage that for a five minute audience."
"I've never been in the presence of a King," I admitted, as we began climbing the curved stairs in the centre of his house. My eyes darted from one beautiful piece of artwork to another. Sculptures, marble statues, fine paintings. It was too much for my mind to take in. I think the handrail was gold. I didn't want to tarnish it, so walked up the middle of the treads, my hands firmly at my sides.
"You have not met your own Rigas?" Theo asked, surprised. And then he huffed out a breath. "Of course, the two days in the pit thing. How could I forget?"
"You still don't believe me," I said quietly, as we entered what had to be the master bedroom. Oh, and here was that nervous feeling again.
I glanced around the room, to hide my ridiculous embarrassment from Theo. Luckily he was too busy pulling a new suit off a rack in an attached walk-in wardrobe
. I scanned the little objets d'art, dotted here and there. The artwork in his most private space looked Greek. Paintings of white colonnaded structures. Gods in white flowing robes. It was beautiful and serene, the perfect accompaniment to restful slumber.
My eyes landed on his bed. I tried not to think it, but my nerves were well and truly in charge right now. How many women had he entertained in that bed? I shook my head, disgusted at myself. Get a freaking grip!
"It is an unbelievable story, Cassandra," Theo said, answering my statement of before. He was stripping his clothes off in the walk-in room, perfectly at ease to undress with me present. I turned my back and stared at the far wall, and heard him chuckle. Cursing my stupid inexperience I concentrated on one of the paintings, taking the few steps needed to bring me close enough to see the artist's name. I couldn't read it, the letters were from the Greek alphabet and made no sense at all.
"It's the truth, nonetheless," I said over my shoulder, catching a tantalising glimpse of a tanned muscular chest.
Torture. This was a slow kind of torture.
My attention returned swiftly to the picture. It was again a white colonnaded structure, but many people lounged over a wide set of sweeping steps. They were all dressed in white robes, but a mixture of men, women and children. The children were playing under the watchful eyes of the mothers. The fathers were deep in conversation, talking politics or war, who knew?
I turned around and came face to face with a fully clothed Theo.
"The Temple of Aetheros," Theo said, eyes on the painting, not on me. "It is a ruin now, but still sacred. Often our kind make pilgrimages there."
"Our kind?" Did he mean me as well, or just the Pyrkagia?
"Athanatos," he said, his eyes shifting to me. "It is the only place where disputes are ignored and peace reigns between us all."
"What is..." I didn't get to finish my question, just then the doorbell rang.
"Your dresses," Theo said, offering me his arm, like some old world gentleman.
I hesitantly took it. I may be inexperienced in this sort of thing, but I was betting most women would have looked twice at the gesture too. Sometimes Theo seemed very old indeed.
We walked down the stairs and found the tailor had let himself in. He was not alone. Two other men were with him. One about Theo's age, same dark looks, same tanned skin, same stunning hazel coloured eyes. The other had all the hallmarks of a Peters as well, but was much older and seemed more frail. He also wore what had to be a butler's uniform.
"Sir, your guests," the butler said, bowing and moving quietly from the hallway. I was stunned speechless. Theo had a servant. It seemed so unexpected, but strangely quite believable too.
"Theo, is this the lovely lady?" the man, who was not the tailor laden down with garment bags, said enthusiastically. "I can see the appeal. And the need for different attire." He beamed at me, a wide, welcoming smile, from a handsome face.
"Easy, Nico. Who said you could poke your nose in?" Theo replied, grasping the man's outstretched hand and slapping him on the shoulder familiarly. Nico did the reverse to him.
"And miss seeing your latest obsession first, I think not."
My eyebrows raised on those words. Latest obsession? I made a snorting sound, obviously incredulous in nature. Both men's eyes shifted to my face.
"She is intriguing," Theo said. "A little wild cat with claws." I gave Theo a pointed glare.
"Hmm, I can see the appeal," Nico replied, wickedly. "I'm afraid though, you may have bitten off more than you can chew with this one. She looks a little put-out."
"Nothing I can't handle, I assure you," Theo answered quickly.
"In your dreams," I muttered and watched as Nico burst out laughing, while Theo's eyebrow simply rose up his forehead.
"Oh she is amusing. I can't wait to see what your..."
"Yes, well," Theo interrupted, turning Nico and the tailor towards a side room, "we all know how he views my hobbies."
"Indeed," Nico said jovially. "By the way, are you remodelling your garden?"
Theo shifted his gaze to me, but answered Nico, "I was toying with something, it got a little out of hand."
My mouth opened to say the first thing on my mind and then Theo was in front of me, finger across my lips. He'd moved so quickly. I had no warning at all. His face leaned into my cheek, his lips rested on my ear, and he whispered one word, "Behave."
I wanted to bristle, I wanted to shove his big body back a step or two, but something in his tone made me stop. Nico seemed to know Theo well, maybe he was a good friend. But Theo was not as relaxed as he appeared. His one word warning sent a chill down my spine. I nodded, his cheek brushed mine with the movement, his body blocking our exchange from the rest of the room.
He pulled back, but not before laying one soft kiss on the corner of my mouth. It was nothing really. Just a brush of skin on skin. No different from his cheek running along my cheek as I nodded. But it felt entirely different. I could hardly breathe.
"Well, it looks bloody awful," Nico advised. "I'd fire your landscaper, if I were you."
"I intend to punish her well," Theo advised, crossing the room to the tailor. I just sucked in a timid breath of air. "What did you bring?"
The tailor went about setting the dresses on display. In all there were four. Beautiful, extravagant and nothing like I had ever worn before. The material alone would have cost a fortune, and there were swathes and swathes of the glorious stuff. But the workmanship on each dress was phenomenal; intricate stitching, hand sewn beading, crystals and gems in delightful patterns and whimsical swirls.
They were stunning.
I took an involuntary step towards them, never having been in the presence of such beauty and fine craftsmanship before. Theo watched me, an amused look on his face.
Then turned to the tailor and said, "We'll take them all."
I couldn't stop the gasp that sprang from my lips. Again every eye in the room turned to me.
"Oh, she is a delight," Nico said quietly. "We'll leave you to it, cousin. I feel we are intruding anyway."
Within moments we were alone. I heard their car start up out on the driveway, the gravel shift beneath its tyres as it pulled away. The entire time it took for that to occur, Theo just looked at me. And I was held trapped by the desire in his eyes.
It melted me.
It commanded me.
It completely and utterly undid me.
"I told you, Oraia," he whispered seductively. "I take care of what is mine."
Oh dear God, was this the most dangerous mistake I'd ever made?
Chapter Six
In A Storm Full Of Rage
I chose the green one. It called to me. It reminded me of the forest of trees out on Theo's front lawn. As soon as I slipped it on I knew I'd chosen well. It hugged my body like a second skin, the silk wrapping around my frame lovingly. I felt draped in delicate leaves right down to my ankles.
There were shoes to match. How the tailor had guessed my shoe size correctly, I don't know. But I also didn't care. I felt like a princess and for a brief moment in time, while I stared at myself in the full length mirror Theo had brought in, I forgot why I was here. I forgot what this all meant. I simply forgot.
I'm not normally a fanciful person, but I challenge anyone to don such an exquisite outfit and not lose their head. I think I lost mine a little. If it wasn't for the pale mauve Orchid in the corner of the room, waving its long stemmed head to get my attention, I may have spent longer staring at my reflection and forgetting myself.
My eyes got drawn to the plant's movement. I walked over, getting used to the heels on my feet, and reached out a hand. The flowers draped themselves across my palm. I inhaled deeply and let the scent of earth centre me again. Why was this happening?
You have come home, the Orchid whispered. We have been waiting, it added and then stroked the side of my forearm.
A throat clearing over my shoulder told me I was no longer alone. I turned slowly and met the g
olden eyes of Theo. They were completely devoid of hazel, entirely infused with that shining, bright yellow of gold.
I took a deep breath in and said, "You're glowing," waving my hand in the direction of his eyes.
"Because you look stunning communing with my plant." It was a compliment of sorts, I supposed. I would have preferred that he thought I looked stunning in the dress, but if the Orchid hadn't woken me up from the fairytale moment, his words certainly did.
This was an arrangement, nothing more.
"Time to leave?" I asked, walking as casually as I could manage across the floor toward him.
He shifted his body so he could watch every step I took. When I came abreast of him, I stopped and forced myself to look him in the eyes. The gold had vanished, it might as well have not been there at all. I wondered if I could ever turn off the magic that makes my eyes change colour as easily as he just did.
It helped to think like that. To remind myself I had much to learn and Theo Peters could teach me. I needed him, even as I tried to tell myself I didn't want him. I still needed him.
He offered me his arm again, this time taking it didn't feel so foreign. I was learning already it seemed.
Theo drove us to wherever it was we were going. It soon became obvious it was out Howick way, the Eastern suburbs. I was betting the Rigas had a house on the cliff overlooking the Tamaki Strait. Some of those places rivalled Malibu or Beverly Hills. I wasn't disappointed.
Guards stood at the gates and waved us through as soon as they got a look at Theo. They all bowed their heads in respect as we passed.
"Is everyone this courteous, or are you special?" I asked, just to fill the silence. I was thinking Theo's silence was because he was preparing himself to face the King, but unlike my terrifying reasons for preparation, his were probably just getting into the mindset to bow and scrape.
"A little of both," he replied, manoeuvring the car up the winding driveway until an enormous structure came into sight. "Welcome to Pyrgos, Gi," he said, as the car came to a stop in front of the impressive white steps.
Elemental Awakening Book Bundle Page 7
