Paranormally Yours: A Boxed Set

by Alisha Basso

  Nikolas stayed in place for several minutes, almost hoping Tessa would come by, and yet dreading the thought of seeing her just now. He wondered why she was still at the museum. He didn’t really expect her to come after him, but he thought she might have at least started for home by now, and she had to come this way. Maybe she was waiting awhile, hoping he was long gone before she started out. She probably didn’t want to see him right now. She probably never wanted to see him again.

  He sighed and turned toward home. This had been a fruitless and disappointing night. His hopes had been dashed to the ground, and now the woman he had begun to care for thought he was a lunatic. When he arrived at his house, he went on down to the basement and lay down in the freezer, pulling the lid down over him. He just wanted to sleep and forgot for just a little while what had happened tonight. As slumber overtook him, his last thought was of Tessa and the concern in her eyes when she saw his tears. Maybe there was hope. Maybe he could find a way.

  ***

  “Wow, Tessa, what did you do to him?” asked the guard, grinning widely.

  Tessa blushed. “Nothing. I think one of the artifacts scared him.”

  “I wouldn’t be scared of some little relic. Why don’t you show me your artifacts?” he said with a leer.

  “Go away. I think I’ll just straighten up in here a bit before I go. I’ll lock up when I leave.”

  “Your loss, honey,” the guard said as he walked away.

  Tessa sighed and sat down at the table, facing the jar. What was going on with Nikolas? She had been so shocked at his reaction to the jar containing what apparently was a soul. She couldn’t believe it was real. She had read it in the book, but the idea of a vampire soul trapped in a jar was so bizarre, it was hard for her to wrap her mind around it. But Jan had told her to open her mind, and that’s what she was trying to do. She touched the jar and the light moved toward her hand. She stroked it and the light strobed as if it was feeling her caress. Fascinated, especially now that she believed it was a soul, she continued to rub the jar. The light grew brighter at her touch and continued to pulsate as she moved her hand across the jar. Hesitating for only a moment, she drew the jar close to her, holding it against her breasts. Warmth radiated from the jar and the light grew brighter. It was as if the soul was drawn to human interaction. She finally put the jar back on the table, and she watched as the glow faded to nothing. She believed. She had no choice. As she placed the jar back on the shelf, she remembered Nik’s words. But it’s not mine.

  Chapter Twelve

  All day long, Tessa found herself yawning. She hadn’t gotten to bed until after three-thirty, and then her sleep was restless all night. The only thing she could think about was Nik’s reaction to the jar and the odd things he said. It was time he came clean about the real reason he wanted her to find out about where the souls were kept. She had an odd feeling about the whole thing, like she was missing something she should have figured out.

  Jan came by a couple of hours after lunch, and Tessa asked her to sit down and talk for a while. Jan looked puzzled, but did as she asked.

  “What’s up, Tessa? You look terrible, by the way.”

  “Thanks. You’re such a good friend for pointing that out. Actually, I feel worse than I look.”

  “I doubt that,” said Jan with a mischievous smile.

  “Come on, Jan. I’m trying to be serious here. Something really weird has happened.”

  “Okay, tell me everything. I promise to listen with an open mind without any snide remarks.”

  Tessa rolled her eyes but began filling Jan in on all that had transpired the night before. When she was finished, to her surprise, Jan didn’t seem shocked by any of it.

  “Aren’t you freaked out about the whole thing?” asked Tessa.

  “Not really.” With a sigh, Jan said, “There are some things you don’t know about my family, Tessa. Those feelings I get? That’s not the craziest part. My grandmother is actually…a witch. I used to think she was just crazy, but I went to see her recently, and we had a long talk. Now I’m a believer.”

  “Great,” said Tessa, throwing her hands into the air. “My life just keeps getting stranger and stranger. Now I’m finding out things about my best friend I never even imagined.”

  “You know, let’s talk about that later. Maybe this wasn’t the time to bring that up. Let’s talk about what you’re going to do about Nik.”

  “You drop that bomb on me about your grandmother being a witch, and then you just don’t want to talk about it?”

  “You have more important things to think about right now. I just told you that so you’d know there’s nothing you can tell me that would shock me. When all this is resolved with Nik, we’ll sit down together with a bottle of wine and talk about everything, okay? Right now, let’s focus on your situation.”

  “Okay,” said Tessa in reluctant agreement, “but you have to tell me everything when the time comes.”

  “I promise. No more secrets. Now, what are you going to do about Nik? Are you going to talk to him?”

  “I’m not sure what I should do. He ran out of here like the Baskerville hound was after him. There’s something very strange about this whole thing about the souls. It was like he had a personal interest in it. But why would that possibly be?”

  Jan evaded her eyes. “You need to talk to him. You need to ask him to be honest with you.”

  “Do you know something?” Tessa asked suspiciously.

  “Not for sure. But I have an idea. I’m not going to tell you, though, because you need to hear it from Nik.”

  Exasperated, Tessa said, “Jan, if you know something….”

  “No,” she interrupted. “It’s not my place to tell you this. And I actually could be wrong. Go to Nik. Ask him to explain. It’s the only way you two can get things out in the open and have a possible relationship.”

  “Maybe I should leave right now.”

  “No,” said Jan quickly. “Just wait until it’s time to go home. Then, we’ll walk together to the apartment, you’ll put on something nice, and you’ll ask Nik to come over. It will be dark by then, and you can light some candles….”

  “This is not a seduction, Jan.”

  “It could be.”

  “You’re impossible. Okay, I’ll wait until after work. But I won’t be able to get much done.”

  At five o’clock, Tessa was awakened by Jan nudging her. She raised her head, disoriented for a moment, and then realized she had fallen asleep at her table with her head resting on her arms. She sat up straight and stretched the stiffness out of her back.

  “I wonder how long I was asleep,” said Tessa.

  “You don’t want to know. Luckily, our boss was too busy to check on you today.”

  “Whew, I would hate to have to hear that lecture! I’ve never fallen asleep at work before. I really didn’t get much sleep last night…well, this morning actually. Is it time to go home?”

  “Yep. Let’s get going. You need to call Nik then get ready for your date.”

  “It’s not a date. Besides, he may be too busy to come over.”

  “I bet he won’t be. Just call him.”

  Tessa called Nik and asked if he could come over, and he agreed readily. When she hung up, Jan gave her a ‘told you so’ look, and Tessa stuck out her tongue. The two women walked to the apartment together, and Jan looked in Tessa’s closet for something for her to wear.

  “Why are you so concerned about what I’m wearing?” asked Tessa.

  “Because if you get him distracted by how you look, you can probably get him to talk.”

  After discarding several outfits, she picked out an Asian inspired silk pants and tunic set. It was deep red with black embroidery stitched on the tunic. When Tessa put it on, the silk felt wonderful against her skin.

  “This has to be the most comfortable thing I’ve ever worn in my life,” said Tessa. “I found this on sale and never found a reason to wear it.”

  “Well, this is the per
fect occasion. Now finish getting ready before Nik gets here.”

  When Tessa opened the door to Nik a little later, Jan waved a greeting to him and walked out. Nik raised his eyebrows at Tessa and she shrugged.

  “Jan could have joined us,” said Nikolas.

  “She had other things to do.”

  “I guess it’s just as well. Maybe what we have to say should be said just between the two of us,” he said.

  “Why don’t you sit down and I’ll make us some tea.”

  Nik asked, “Do you have anything stronger?”

  “I have some white wine. It may be too sweet for your taste.”

  “No, that’s fine. I’d love a glass of wine.”

  Tessa poured them both a generous glass before sitting down beside Nik on the sofa. He picked up his wine and drank a small sip.

  “So, I imagine what you want to talk to me about is my reaction last night.”

  “It was actually this morning,” she corrected.

  He sighed. “Whatever. Anyway, I knew I would probably have to talk to you about this sooner or later. I’m sorry I ran out of the museum like that, but there are things you don’t know about me.”

  “I’m trying to remedy that, Nik,” she said. “Are you going to tell me what’s so important about the soul in the jar? Because it really is a soul, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, it’s really a soul,” he admitted.

  Tessa asked, “I know this is going to sound far-fetched, but is it the soul of someone you knew? Is that why you were so upset? But, no, you said it was the wrong soul. Did you think it belonged to someone else and were disappointed that it wasn’t who you thought it was?”

  “So many questions,” said Nik as he took a large sip of wine.

  “I deserve answers to them.”

  Nik stood up and walked to the window he had looked through the night he had watched her. His whole body seemed tense as he stood there, and Tessa rose from the couch and walked over to him. She put her hand on his arm, and it felt like steel with his muscles bunched in nervous tension.

  “What’s wrong, Nik? Tell me what this is all about.”

  He turned to her and he looked her up and down. Then his eyes met hers, and her breath caught at the raw desire she saw in them. Did she want him or was she afraid of him? Or both?

  “Tessa…if I tell you, it might mean the end of our association. And I need you right now.”

  She swallowed hard. “You need me?”

  “Yes. You might be the only one who can find the Book of Sacred Truths. I need that book.”

  Her disappointment was like a sharp knife plunging into her stomach. All he wanted from her was her expertise. She turned away from him, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back around to face him.

  “You look very nice tonight,” he said, his voice low and husky.

  “Thank you,” she said in a shaky voice.

  “Tessa, if you only knew….”

  “Knew what, Nik? You’re this huge mystery, and I don’t know what to think. I don’t know if all you want from me is my knowledge and resources, or if you want something more. I’m getting mixed signals.”

  “Oh, I most definitely want something more, Tessa. But I think it’s much more than you would be willing to give.”

  “How do you know that unless you ask me?”

  He laughed bitterly. “You have no idea what I might ask. Look, this mission of mine is very important to me. I wish you would accept that instead of insisting you need to know all the answers. It would be easier for both of us. Maybe later we can explore the…other things.”

  “I don’t accept that. I can’t accept that. Besides, you said something that keeps coming back to me, and I can’t get it out of my mind.”

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “You said ‘but it’s not mine’ when you were looking at the jar. I need to know what you meant by that. I need to know what that jar means to you.”

  Nik pulled her up against him roughly, and the feel of his hard body made her feel faint. He whispered, “Are you sure you want to know my secrets, Tessa?”

  “Yes,” she said breathlessly. “I want to know everything.”

  “So be it,” he said as he crushed his mouth to hers.

  Tessa twined her hands into Nik’s hair as his lips moved against hers. He parted her lips with his mouth and she could feel the warmth of his tongue slowly work its way into her mouth. His kiss deepened, and his arms tightened around her. The thrill of desire rushed through her in a wave so strong that she felt dizzy, and if Nik hadn’t been holding her up, she would have fallen to the floor. His hands traveled up and down her spine, causing her to shiver with delight. What was this man doing to her? She had never felt this way in her life, and it scared her as much as it delighted her.

  She broke the kiss. “Nik…I….”

  “Shhh,” he said. “Just enjoy.”

  He sounded in control, but the trembling of his body against hers betrayed him. Was he as blown away by this as she was? Could he possibly be feeling this way, too? She sighed as his lips traveled down her neck. He pulled the material of her tunic aside and she felt him latch his mouth onto the muscle where her neck met her shoulder. She moaned in pleasure as she felt his teeth brush her skin. Suddenly, she felt a sharp prick and then a deep pain that was also pleasure. What was this? She felt her knees go weak as she gave herself to the feelings coursing through her, although she wasn’t sure what those feelings were. Waves of pleasure radiated from where Nik’s mouth was sucking on her flesh and traveled all through her body. Confusion and fear warred with desire, but she was helpless to stop whatever was happening to her. She began to feel weak and dizzy, and the next thing she knew, Nik was pushing her roughly away. She collapsed to the floor, disoriented and her emotions chaotic. She looked up at Nik, but he had turned away.

  “What…what happened?” she stammered. “Nik, what’s wrong with me? Please, turn around!”

  He slowly turned and looked down at her. There was a drop of blood at the corner of his mouth. Confused, she shook her head, trying to make sense of everything. As her mind cleared, she remembered feeling the sharp pain, and then the deeper pain mixed with pleasure. She recalled his mouth latched onto her, drawing deeply. With a shaking hand, she reached up and touched the area where Nik’s mouth had been. She felt something wet, and when she looked at her fingers, they were covered with blood. Her blood. She looked up at Nik, realization and horror in her eyes.

  “Your soul. You’re searching for your soul.” Then she fainted.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Tessa felt herself slowly come to consciousness, her mouth dry and her head aching slightly. Confused, she looked around and realized she was lying on her sofa. She tried to sit up, but she felt weak and lay back down on the pillow that cushioned her head, and closed her eyes.

  “Here, drink this,” said a voice coming from above her. She looked up and saw Nik standing there with a glass of ice water.

  Puzzled, she took the glass from him and drank. What was Nik doing here? Why was she lying on her couch? And why did she feel so weak? She realized Nik was speaking to her.

  “I’m sorry, Tessa. I took too much. You’ll be okay in a couple of hours.”

  “What are you talking about? What do you mean by….”

  Suddenly, everything came flooding back to her. The memory of his kiss, how he felt in her arms, and then…the awareness of what he was. Vampire! She scrambled up into a sitting position, the empty glass falling to the floor. Her eyes wide with fear, she shrank back into the sofa cushions as if she could melt into them and get away from the horror standing before her. The horror that was so handsome, so like a real man, but indeed a monster.

  “Please don’t hurt me,” she said.

  “Tessa, I wouldn’t hurt you,” Nik said. “I care about you.”

  He stepped closer and she pressed herself harder into the back of the sofa. Her terror was almost a tangible thing, and Nik felt his darker side feedi
ng on it. He clenched his jaw, pushing that side of him down into the shadowy recesses of his mind, compartmentalizing it, building walls around it. He hoped the prison walls would hold.

  “Tessa, please, let me explain.”

  “Explain what? That you’re a vampire? I let myself trust you. I let you into my home. What can you possibly explain?”

  He lifted his hands toward her, palms up. “I can’t help what I am. I didn’t choose this life.”

  “Did you choose to drink my blood? Did you choose to deceive me and pretend you just wanted me to do research for your pleasure? All this time, I was helping you find your soul.”

  “What would you have done if I had told you the truth? Would you have helped me, or would you have sent me on my way, maybe even exposed me for what I am?”