“I came to check on you.” Her voice was very soft, and slightly unsure in her tone.
“I’m slightly winded but otherwise fine.” I sat up and kept my eyes on her frame. She was wearing a light-green tank top with jeans today. The pale, soft skin that was on display made my fingers twitch from the desire to caress along her shoulder and up her neck.
“Okay. Well, I didn’t have your number, and I couldn’t sleep. For some reason I thought I should be here, but I can see I was wrong.” Blush dusted her cheeks, and she turned on her hiking boots she was wearing to walk toward her car.
It was as if time had slowed down as I watched her walk away from me. I had a decision to make in a split second. Despite how I was cursing her in my head, I couldn’t get her out of my mind.
“Hungry?” I called out, and she came to a stop, not turning around to look at me. Finally, after a few seconds, she slowly spun around and her eyes met with mine. Seems I haven’t been the only one with a war raging inside my mind. She had the look of being torn, as well. Odd.
She nodded, and without a word she walked over to me, holding out her hand to help me up. Although I was willing to bet she also wanted a little peek into my emotions at the moment, too.
I gave her my hand and didn’t care to shield myself from her powers as she helped pull me up from the ground.
My eyes scanned her face as she read my feelings in the minute our hands were touching. I knew she had found the good emotion when her cheeks turned pink again.
“Not used to people thinking you’re beautiful, are you?” There was no reason to beat around the bush with her. She shook her head.
“I mean, my brother and parents, but imagine being a teenager, when boys will say whatever they can to get you in the sack to your face, but then you feel their true emotions when you touch.” She made a grimace, and my body heated from that look. Not in a good way of warming, but more so in the category of rage. I wanted to crush her body against mine and tell her how beautiful she was while touching her supple skin, but I knew that wasn’t what either of us needed. So instead I kept our hands together and walked her up the stairs and into my home, where I would make us some breakfast.
“Phillip told me their futures at the time, so it made me pity them more than myself. I know I’ll find the right guy eventually.” She let go of my hand and sat in the chair at the table, like she had before.
“One guy would end up having one of his testicles removed, so whenever he would try to make fun of me, I would just laugh at him.” A little smile grew on her face, and I was right back to where I was when I first found her in my coop: wanting to know her story, all her little secrets, and what makes her smile. I’d been in this position before, and knew where it ended. As much as Rose was starting to appeal to me, I couldn’t go down that road again, for the sake of my sanity. Something deep inside me said that I wouldn’t recover from it.
“Sounds like you and your brother are close.” It was an obvious statement. Anyone could tell they were very close.
“He is my best friend.” She smiled and then looked at me rummage through my fridge for something to eat. Feeling indulgent, I pulled out the makings for pancakes.
“Pancakes okay?” I asked, and she nodded while giving me a stunning smile.
Quickly, I got everything together, and had the pancakes in front of her in minutes.
Not wanting to stand this time, I strode into my darkroom and grabbed the roller stool to bring out to the kitchen table.
There was silence as we sat and ate. Awkward silence. I knew she wanted to ask me if I had changed my mind, and since I didn’t have an answer for her, I said nothing.
Chapter Eight
Rose
“So.” I tried to break the silence, but I already felt very vulnerable having come here in the first place.
I just couldn’t stop myself from getting in my car and driving over. After Phillip and I left, I couldn’t get him out of my head. What really lay beneath the man? I thought I had gotten a glimpse of him before, but since we hadn’t heard from him I guess I had been wrong.
“So.” He smiled lightly, obviously enjoying the uncomfortable silence between us.
My eyes narrowed at his smile.
“Let’s just get this over with then.” I was just going to put my thoughts out there, whether he wanted to hear them or not.
He finished eating his food and set the fork down, giving me his full attention.
“Have you changed your mind yet?”
He kept looking at me with those haunting blue eyes, and on the inside I wanted to squirm, but kept a strong front on the outside.
“Not yet.” The right corner of his lips rose into an almost smirk.
“Is there anything that we can do? The world needs you, Draco.”I took a deep breath to settle my growing annoyance with that almost-smirk.
He looked at me, then closed his eyes, thinking to himself, or drawing out his answer to keep me in suspense. Patiently, I waited for him to open his eyes and let me catch a glimpse of his thoughts. I needed insight into this man’s emotions, since he was apparently our only hope.
“Let me ask you a question, Rose.” His eyes opened, and all I saw was pain. I didn’t even need to use my power to see that he was suffering on the inside.
“I’ve lived a very long time. Everyone I’ve ever known or cared about are gone. Some by old age, some by the hands of others, and some by their own hands. I’ve known suffering and pain like no one in the world can even comprehend. I’ll never die, and if I join you now, I will inevitably lose more people, and suffer more.” His eyes held mine, and I swore I saw something else inside them as he said his next words. I wish he would let me touch him right now, to feel what he felt. But a part of me honestly didn’t want to feel the amount of pain he had talked about, if it was true.
“Possibly suffer more than ever before.” His eyes were willing me to understand those ominous words, but for the life of me I couldn’t, and I was too scared to delve deeper into his broken soul.
“Now, with what I’ve told you, do you think I deserve to live out my existence without any more pain and suffering? That I’ve earned the right to feed my chickens, milk my cows, and chop wood until the world ends? Haven’t I given enough?” His face held no malice, but I could see that he truly fought with the answer to this question. He wanted me to answer for him, because despite having gone through all the pain, he was considering doing it all over again.
“I think the real question is if you are going to let all that pain and suffering win. Are you going to let it drag you down so far that you can’t rise above to help when you are truly needed? That is what you need to ask yourself.” I reached out to touch his hand, risking what I might feel through the open wounds I could see inside his mind, to comfort him.
His eyes moved down to my hand touching his and then he looked at me.
There were no other words exchanged.
One nod was all he gave me.
I pushed feelings of friendship into him, so he could see he truly wasn’t alone anymore. Phillip and I didn’t know much about him, but we wanted him to be a part of our new family of people like us. To help mankind together.
I stood and gave him a smile that hopefully showed how grateful I was for his strength, that he did not let the darkness inside him win.
“You are a strong man, Draco. I don’t know your whole story, but I know it’s true.” I felt a fondness for him starting to wrap around my heart.
He stood and looked up at the sky before taking a deep breath. His resolve seemed to solidify.
“Let me clean up and then we will head to your brother’s. It’s time you both had a history lesson on where your powers came from and why you have them.”
The air around him had transformed, and now he was like a general talking to his troops. I felt commanded, and it wasn’t necessarily a bad feeling.
Without another word he strode down the hall and disappeared into his bathroom.
<
br /> Figuring I might as well get comfortable, I walked over to his couch and sat down.
My mind wandered over his words…a history lesson about our gifts. I’d often wondered how and why we got them. Thankfully, I had Phillip, so I wasn’t alone while dealing with the change, but I bet there were others like us that had a more difficult time with it all. So knowing the whys and hows would soothe a part of me that I had pushed into the recesses of my mind. Why me?
I was still thinking over what he was going to tell us when the bathroom door opened, tendrils of steam flowing over the doorjamb and across the ceiling.
Even though I knew I shouldn’t continue to look at the opened door, I couldn’t take my eyes away.
Draco was a very attractive man; it was only natural for a woman in her twenties to look at who they found attractive. Especially women like me, who hadn’t had much experience when it came to all things sexual.
There was a little creak in the door as it opened wider, pulled by his large, tan hand.
Which flowed into a strong forearm, and a chiseled chest.
Heat flooded my system and with it I felt my breath stop.
He was naked. Completely unashamed in his birthday suit, and of course why shouldn’t he be, when he looked like a frigging sex god?
He ran a towel through his shoulder-length hair one more time before walking toward his bedroom.
“Oh, sweet baby Jesus.” My eyes were still wide from the shock of seeing him naked.
His body, and his hair, and oh my God—his cock. It was just like the ones I’d seen in my porn collection. My sex clenched and ached just thinking about it.
I groaned, closing my eyes, and put my face in my hands.
Great. Now I wouldn’t be able to look at him without thinking about his cock and pure male nakedness.
After taking a few deep breaths, and thinking about something soothing like cardigan sweaters, reading, and tea, my rising libido began to calm. No cocks taking over my thoughts.
“Ready to go?” He walked into the room, thankfully wearing jeans, boots, and a black shirt.
“Yep. I’m ready. Are you ready? Yep. Okay, let’s go.” I sprang up and almost skipped toward his door. Total spaz. Seeing him in all his naked glory had turned me into a babbling, hottie-struck horn dog, apparently.
I briefly heard a chuckle behind me but I was already moving out the door, toward my car.
Chapter Nine
Draco
“Seahill,” I grumbled as we got stuck in traffic heading into the city.
“Yeah, she can be a bitch sometimes.” Rose had seemed to have calmed herself from earlier, and was now tapping her fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the radio.
I grimaced as I looked ahead and saw that cars were starting to move, but slowly.
“So besides taking care of your animals, and the rest of your little farm, what do you do for fun? Do you have a job?” She smiled at me, while attempting small talk.
“Photography. I am a photographer.” Her fingers stopped drumming, and her head turned to look at me with a shocked expression.
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously.” Her face was quite adorable right now.
“That is pretty neat. So what avenue of photography do you work with? Fashion? Landscapes? Something else?” Excitement grew in her voice, and I found myself obliging her, just to keep her happy tone echoing in the car.
Her smile brightened with every piece of information I fed her; she was so eager for knowledge.
The traffic began moving faster and faster, we kept talking, and soon we were getting off the highway and then pulling into a parking garage for Phillip’s home.
He was one of the most powerful men in Seahill, and now I knew how he became so. But despite the power he possessed, he only used it when it could better mankind. He was good, through and through.
When the elevator door opened to his large apartment that faced the sea, his tall figure was waiting there, having expected us.
“Sister. What would I do without you?” He smiled at her before engulfing her in a tight bear hug. She giggled and smacked him in a very sisterly way to demand to be put down.
“Welcome to my home, Draco.” He looked at me and spread his arms wide, showing me his space and welcoming me in the family.
“No hugs for me,” I teased and strode into the living area. It was very modern, and clean. Much what I would expect from a man like him. But then I saw by his fireplace was pictures of his family. The ones he cared about most in this world.
Everything he did, he did for them.
“Let’s get this show on the road and lay out all our cards, shall we?” Phillip gestured for us to sit on the couch. On the little table in front of it, he had five manila files waiting for us.
“Right.” Rose gave a fake serious look on her face and sauntered over to a very comfortable-looking chair that she curled up in, reaching for a steaming cup of tea that was waiting for her.
“You spoil her,” I commented to Phillip with a slight grin on my face.
“Always.” He grinned right back and took his seat. Both of their faces met mine, and I knew it was time to get down to business. It had been so long since I had let someone into my life without restraints. It had cost me so much, and here I was about to pay again.
“Have your visions told you anything of why you have your powers?” I asked Phillip while taking my seat on the armrest of the sofa, facing them.
“No, only the future. Can’t go back.” He shook his head. Very well then, I would have to start at the beginning.
“I’m sure you’ve heard the old myths of the Greek gods, yes?” They both nodded, and I continued with my very long and painful story, remembering that when you know the past, you know the future.
“Then you would have heard about the demigods as well. Demigods were the product of an immortal and a mortal having an affair. Demigods were not always as the stories would have you believe. Some were peaceful, and heroes. But most were greedy with their power. They sought the ultimate power of the gods themselves. The gods knew the demigods had to be stopped, so they set them against each other. Those who survived the fray, they killed themselves.”
I shut my mind to the feelings that were starting to run through my veins as I opened up my soul with the words that came from my lips.
“But soon after the fall of the demigods, humans began to lose their faith in the gods. The gods began to wither, but never once lost their love for the humans which they protected. When they knew their lives were coming to an end, they dispersed their powers into the air, and into the bodies of men. There it would hide in the genetic code, to be passed down through the generations until a person was born who was deserving of that gift. They wouldn’t leave the humans without protection, so they gave them heroes.”
My face twitched with the thoughts of what came next. My hands flexed and became a fist, and I took a deep breath to settle myself.
“But the gods had one last mission before they took their final breath.”
A shiver ran down my spine, and I felt the scars of the brands along the crease tighten.
“I was a general of Greece. I’d fought against the demigods in their war to protect my people. The gods had chosen me to be a leader for their creations. To find them, protect them, and help them become the heroes the gods designed them to be. One by one, they put the last of their power into me, giving me an endless life so that I may forever do my duty, and never forget their story and what they did.”
My head fell forward, and my eyes scanned the white carpet beneath the table, feeling the weight of the gods’ choice bearing down on me.
“They sacrificed themselves to protect the humans that had forgotten them.”
My chest began to ache, and I didn’t want to keep spilling out my soul for the two in front of me.
Just as I debated on getting up and leaving, warmth spread through my body—an embrace without being touched. My eyes flew
up to meet Rose, to see her eyes were watering for me. I wouldn’t shed a tear, so she did it in my stead. Using her gift to comfort me, letting me feel I wasn’t alone.
I wasn’t alone anymore.
“I took my duty to the gods as serious as my every breath. Over the years, I waited patiently, and found every precious gift that had been chosen. I told them the story of their origin and what they were chosen to do. Some tried, but were always met by an untimely death. Some had channeled the greed of the demigods, feeling like the world was on a platter for their taking. They, like the demigods, destroyed themselves.”
I didn’t mention that there were some that couldn’t be taken down by anyone but my hand. But I could see in their eyes that they knew anyway. They knew, and they didn’t run.
“I kept fighting on, until I lost too much for too long. And now it appears that this is the moment I had always been trying to achieve.”
Taking a moment to truly look into their eyes, I vowed to not let them down. To be the man I once was. They needed me, and I would not fail them. I would be their keeper, and their leader through this life, and the next if needed. My purpose was once again revived.
Chapter Ten
Rose
I excused myself to the bathroom once Draco was done with his story.
My emotions were completely out of whack from hearing everything he said and feeling the emotions that he didn’t let out but I could taste anyway.
We were picked to host these powers for a reason. I had always assumed it was evolution, and we were the lucky ones.
The tears had dried up as I started taking deep breaths and going to my happy place.
I managed to get myself under control enough to join the two men who were chatting about history together. Phillip was apparently in utter awe to be near someone who had lived as long as Draco. To me he still looked like he was in his early thirties, and after seeing his body, that thought wouldn’t change anytime soon. Just a hottie with an old soul.
Dawn (Hero Society Book 1) Page 4
