Nexus

by C. L. Parker

  Dante arched a questioning brow. “Have I ever?”

  Drew smiled. Clearly he had been counting on Dante’s ego to rise to the challenge. He clapped his son on the back. “No, my boy, you have not.”

  Dante nodded in acknowledgment of their silent pact because he knew it would make his father feel better about the situation. Drew needed to learn to relax and have a little fun, just like Dante planned to do for the duration of his summer.

  He bid his father a good night and jogged up the stairs to the third floor. Thanks to his mother, he knew his parents and their guests would be staying on the second floor—all but one guest. Dante entered his room, shutting the door behind him, and walked over to the door on the far left wall of the room. He pressed his ear against the wood and smiled to himself as he heard the broken pitter-patter of shower water cascading over a naked form. Tori’s naked form. Yes, his mother had placed “the kids” on the same floor, without parental supervision, thinking they’d keep each other company and forge their bond quicker. What his mother refused to acknowledge was that both Dante and Tori had entered adulthood, which meant they had adult bodies, adult desires, and adult imaginations that could lead to some very inventive ways of keeping each other company.

  Dante wagged his brows and reached for the doorknob. Slowly, he turned it, careful not to make any noise when he stepped into the bathroom and allowed the warm steam to overtake him. The frosted glass door of the infinity shower stole his ability to make out the finer details of Tori’s body, but he could certainly see enough of her curves and slopes to get his blood pulsing at an unhealthy level.

  The perfume of lemongrass shampoo saturated the air, reminding him of the way Tori’s hair smelled as he held her in his arms, which inevitably reminded him of how soft her skin was against the palm of his hand and how sinful it felt to have her arse pressed against his crotch. Jesus. He looked down to find his jeans tightening from the near-titanium hardness bulging beneath, and that was just from the thought of her. How the hell was he going to manage to keep his hands to himself for an entire summer when she would be in such close proximity?

  Tori was a stunning creature with wavy, dark auburn hair that flowed like corn silk to the middle of her back, plump lips set in a natural pout, doe eyes with lashes that swept her cheeks with each bat, and tawny skin that begged to be touched. Everything about her body was perfectly proportioned, soft even though it was clear she had been training hard physically. In short, he wouldn’t kick her out of bed. Hell, he was probably going to break his neck trying to coerce her into it.

  Dante shook his head to clear his thoughts and then tiptoed over to the steamed mirror. With a smirk on his face and a couple of swipes of his fingertip, he left a message his bathroom mate was sure to see when she stepped out of the shower. Once he was done, he treaded lightly back to his bedroom, pulled his shirt off to get more comfortable, and then lay back on his bed with his hands clasped behind his head and his booted feet crossed at the ankles. All he had left to do was wait—and think.

  He had known his godparents, Dominic and Kerrigan, were coming to stay for the summer with their daughter, but had he known what a knockout Tori was, he might have thought twice about staying away for so long. He supposed their meeting upon her arrival was inevitable, else she wouldn’t have shown up in the one place that was hidden well enough that no one else had ever found it.

  Which is how he had come to nearly mow her over with his Ducati.

  Tori had taken quite a hit, but it hadn’t been life-threatening even if it did stun her into unconsciousness. He had known as much when he used his Guardian abilities to give her a once-over. Obviously, he felt like a louse when he saw her limp form lying there soaking wet, but it wasn’t like he could drape her across his lap and ride back through the unforgiving wilderness of the woods to take her—well, he hadn’t known where he should take her. So, it was only logical that he carry her inside his little home away from home to keep her dry and warm until she regained consciousness.

  Dante smirked to himself, remembering how he peeled away her wet clothes to reveal the voluptuous body hidden beneath. It had been like unwrapping a present on Christmas morning— someone else’s present—and that had made it all the more exciting.

  His concern for her well-being really kicked in when she had started to shiver. It wasn’t desire that had compelled him to strip down to his skivvies and snuggle next to her, although desire had certainly been a follow-up emotion once he had. It had been the need to get her warm as quickly as possible. When he had pulled her against him, his entire had body trembled with a foreign sort of vibration. He should have been clued in as to what she was then, but he had thought it was the vibration from her shivers that he had been feeling. By the time she had warmed, he had already fallen fast asleep right along with her.

  That was another odd thing. He was a borderline insomniac. It was maddening at times, tossing and turning to only get three hours here, four hours there, but as relaxed as he had been next to Tori, he was out like a light in no time. It was like his mind had been waiting for her before deciding to shut down for some much needed R and R.

  As a Guardian, he had been training for as long as he could remember, probably even longer. His father was adamant about his importance; his mother determined his success would make amends for all the wrong she had done. Wasn’t that just like parents to depend on their children to make them look good? His mother had practically scoured her tarnished image to a gleaming shine, but the guilt of the person she had once been would forever be an unforgiving monkey on her back. And because his father was one of the wisest and most respected men in the Guardian community, the pressure was on for him not to screw up.

  All Dante wanted to do was hang out with his friends, but of course that couldn’t happen either. He didn’t have any friends because he trusted no one. That was par for the course as a Guardian of the Light in tumultuous times, even if the world refused to acknowledge the chaos of war, famine, civil disobedience, and general lack of faith that surrounded them.

  Tori was the Guardian of Mankind, and according to Drew, Dante’s destiny was to be the Guardian of the Guardian. It wasn’t a responsibility he wanted, but he couldn’t fathom Tori wanted what had been laid on her shoulders either. The reason behind her holiday wasn’t purely for the sake of fun. The real reason Kerrigan and Dominic had brought their daughter to London was so they could test his father’s theory that Dante was the one. They knew Tori would need a partner, someone to fight by her side to ensure she was able to carry out her task. The fate of the world was in her hands and, as her protector, in Dante’s as well. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a little fun along the way.

  The water from the shower kicked off, and he eased back, trying to appear nonchalant. A mental countdown to ten began, but before he reached eight his bedroom door burst open.

  “What the hell were you doing in my bathroom?” Apparently, Tori had been too upset about the evidence of his presence while she was in the buff to be concerned about how indecently she was dressed with just a towel wrapped around her still-wet form. He had actually been counting on that. Hence the ‘If you want me, I’ll be in here’ message with an arrow pointing to his bedroom door that he had left behind.

  Dante propped himself up on one elbow. “Our bathroom,” he corrected her. “We have the only two bedrooms on this floor, and the one bathroom that separates them. Are you as excited as I am about our good fortune?” He gave her a suggestive sweep with his eyes. “No one will ever know what we’ve been up to.”

  Tori grasped the towel tighter and shifted her weight to one hip. “Let’s get one thing perfectly clear: we have not, nor will we ever be up to anything.”

  “You’re here; therefore, you must want me,” Dante said, reminding her of the specific instructions he had left on the mirror.

  Tori scoffed. “You are so full of yourself. You really have no shame, do you?”

  He smirked, loving the fire in he
r eyes when he got her riled up. “Actually, I’d rather you were full of me, and I do happen to think it’s a shame that you’re not—yet.”

  “You’re delusional.” She turned and stomped toward the bathroom in a huff. She had just reached for the knob to slam the door behind her when Dante’s next words, spoken so softly he was afraid she wouldn’t hear them, stopped her.

  “You felt a pull that led you to my fairy mound, didn’t you?” When she didn’t answer, he continued. “I did, too. It was this overwhelming feeling that I just had to be there. I’d never felt it before. You’re a Guardian so you know full well that everything happens for a reason. We were led to each other, and that has to mean something. Face it, Angel, you and I are written in the stars.”

  Tori didn’t say anything, but the rigid lines of her body relaxed and instead of slamming the door like she had originally intended, she closed it quietly behind her retreating form.

  Yeah, Dante was just as speechless as she was. Where the bloody hell had that come from?

  Tori lay tossing and turning in her bed, never really getting past that hazy state of mind where her brain was tired but her mind refused to shut off. Maybe it was because she was in a strange place, or maybe it was because of Dante. He had knocked her out for God only knew how long. Napping for long periods of time wasn’t exactly conducive to a good night’s sleep.

  Not quite giving up the good fight, she opened her eyes and decided to go down to the kitchen for a warm cup of milk, and maybe even another slice of that sinfully delicious chocolate cake Sinclair had made for dessert earlier that evening, which Tori had missed out on because of her borderline obsession with following that pull.

  She laughed dismissively to herself with a roll of her eyes. Fat lot of good that did. Dante? Really? That’s what was so important?

  The house was dark, but strategically placed floor lighting helped ensure she didn’t go tumbling down a flight of stairs to break her neck. That was a good thing. That was a really good thing. She had just about made it to the kitchen when she spotted a dim light shining in from the back of the house that seemed to call to her. Great, another one of those callings. Would her actions ever really be her own?

  Sighing, she took the detour and headed in that direction. A pair of French doors opened up into a garden, but it was too dark outside to see the details. What she could see, however, were spotlights trained on a fountain that surrounded a statue in the center of the garden. Tori wasn’t sure if it looked more heavenly or spooky.

  What she was sure of, though, was that she had indeed fallen asleep and was now dreaming. The evidence of that fact was standing at the foot of the statue with his hands tucked into his pockets. Him—the man with no name, but whom she oddly let take advantages with her. Slut much?

  “Took you long enough,” he said without turning around.

  Tori walked toward him. “What are you doing out here?”

  He looked at her from over his shoulder and flashed a toothy grin. “Waiting for you. I’m always waiting for you.”

  He turned back around, and Tori took a moment to observe him from behind. His hands in his pockets pulled the material of his leather pants tight across his bottom, giving her a spectacular view of his ass. Thighs, thick with muscle, bulged just underneath and tapered into calves any athlete would envy. His back was broad at the shoulders, slender at the waist, and his arms were toned—not too big, but not in the least bit puny. It was as if the hand of God himself had sculpted every inch of his body. In short, all other men would forever pale in comparison. And for whatever reason, he wanted Tori. But she wasn’t discounting the fact that he was inexplicably bound to her. She was still trying to figure that one out.

  Tori pressed her front to his back, slipping her arms around him to splay her hands across his chest. She felt the cool of his skin through his clothes and the absence of a heartbeat. It made sense; he wasn’t really true flesh and bones, even though he felt very real to her in her dreams. She stood on the tips of her toes and rested her chin on his shoulder, turning her head to kiss his neck.

  “Mmm. I see you’re in a better mood. I like you much better like this.”

  “I know I only have you for a few moments, and I never know when I’ll see you again. I figure, why not make the best of it?”

  He was quiet for a moment, his head cocked to the side, really studying the statue. “I find this interesting. I’m curious. What do you see when you look at it?”

  Tori stared at the statue as well. What she saw was a beautifully provocative woman enshrined in cement. Her eyes were kind, but fierce, and the only expression she wore was a slight smile that tugged at the corner of her lips. As she pondered the expression on the statue’s face, it seemed to come to life, the smile turning into something sad. A drop of water splashed up from the fountain and landed on the woman’s face. Oddly, it resembled a tear as it fell from the corner of one eye. Tori almost laughed at herself. Of course it couldn’t have been a real tear. Statues didn’t cry. Then again, she was dreaming, so just about anything was possible.

  “I think she’s sad,” Tori answered, because that was how the statue made her feel.

  He laughed.

  “What’s so funny about that?”

  He shook his head and turned toward Tori, taking her face in his hands. His crystal eyes instantly rendered her immobile with his hypnotic gaze, and he stared, searching and studying her face just like he had previously done with the statue.

  The pad of his thumb swept her bottom lip, and then he leaned in and kissed her, stealing her breath away. Tori hung on tightly, barely keeping up with the ferocity of his probing lips and tongue. He was still searching, but for what?

  Suddenly, he broke the kiss, leaving her reeling and out of breath. With his eyes still closed, he inhaled deeply and then let out a slow breath. The muscles in his jaw worked back and forth, and his head fell back with an agonizing groan.

  “Why do you torture me so, Victoria? You have no idea how important you are to me, and your innocence is frustrating, to say the least.”

  “What’s your name?” she asked, hoping to take advantage of his distraction.

  He laughed again. “You’re a persistent one. I’ll give you that.”

  Tori sighed as she pulled his hands from her face. “Are you never planning to tell me?”

  He took her chin between his fingers and placed a chaste kiss to her lips. “Someday, very soon, you’ll figure it all out, but not until everything is in place.”

  “What everything?”

  He smiled. “You’ll see for yourself. Soon.”

  Tori let out a shriek of surprise when he grabbed her ass and pulled her flush against his body. “Of course, there is a way to find out sooner.”

  “How?”

  “Tell me you love me and there’ll no longer be a need for secrets.”

  She bowed her head and put her forehead to his chest. “You know I can’t.”

  “You can. You just won’t.”

  Tori thought about her family and about the tremendous responsibility that lay at her feet. Overprotective father, demanding mother, pressure the size of . . . well, all of mankind beating down on her. It was tempting to say the words just to rid herself of all that. But on the other side, she pictured her mother and father and the devastation of losing their only child, not to mention the devastation foretold if she didn’t carry out the duty that had been entrusted to her, and no way could she do it. Damn her inability to let people down.

  She lifted her head and met his gaze. “No, I won’t.”

  “I won’t stop trying to convince you.”

  “I know.”

  His brows pulled together as he regarded her. “You don’t even know the half of the power you have. Do you realize that you can have anything you wish? Anything at all. You just have to know how to go about getting it.”

  Tori took a step back, patting down her hips where pockets would be had she been wearing something that actually had pockets
. “Hmm . . . I must have left the lamp with my magic genie in my other pants. I should go up to my room and get that darn thing,” she said, turning to make like she was actually going to go.

  He grabbed her wrist with a chuckle and pulled her back to him. “There’s that humor I love so much.” He cocked his head to the side. “Tell me, what would you wish for, Tor?”

  She thought about it for a moment, but the second she got caught up in his iridescent eyes again, she knew the answer. “I’d want you to be real.”

  He turned his ear toward her. “I’m sorry? I don’t think I heard that quite right. Say again?”

  Tori laughed. “I want you to be real.”

  The corner of his mouth turned up into a very pleased grin. “That’s much better.”

  He leaned in and kissed her again, and a stiff wind rushed through the garden, swirling around their bodies. Tori’s hair whipped into her face as a chill pierced her skin and took root in her bones. Something had changed, a shift she couldn’t explain, like the positive particles in the air had turned negative, and the negative had turned positive. Out of order, backward—something was not right. Before she could make sense of it, he pulled back to look up at the sky.

  “I have to go.”

  “No, don’t.”

  “Don’t worry,” he said with a knowing grin. “You’ll be seeing me . . . sooner than you think.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose. “Thank you.” He turned and ran toward the side of the house.

  “For what?” Tori called after him.

  Of course he didn’t answer. She scanned the dark shadows of the garden, looking for the demons, wondering who their intended victims of the evening would be. She didn’t have to wonder for long.