“He wasn’t. I don’t know why, but without the crystal I seem to have lost the ability to communicate with him.”
Cael wrapped the towel around his waist and sat on the bed beside her. “Were you ever able to communicate with him before you had the crystal?”
“Well, no. I’ve had the crystal since I was twenty-one. He gave it to me for my birthday that year.”
“Oh. I didn’t know.” He hated the memory loss problem he’d been dealt, especially when it came to Ristéard. He felt like a fool. “Damn it.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Sorry, I wish I could remember the last five years. I probably already knew that he gave it to you.”
“I don’t see why you would. I don’t think he told anyone, except maybe your mother and she was …”
“What?”
“Um … sworn to secrecy. A promise she made to my mother and father. It’s a long story.”
“Tell me.” He’d heard part of the story from his mother the other night, but he wanted to hear her side.
Addison stared at him as if she were concentrating very intensely. In fact, it almost seemed as if she had the ability to block her thoughts from him. Or was it simply a coincidence and he’d lost his gift to sense her feelings along with his ability to teleport because of his sexual cravings for her?
She filled him in on some interesting details, most of the information was the same as what his mother had told him, but Addison added to the story of how she’d been frightened when she discovered her abilities and how upset and furious she’d been when she discovered that everyone, including his mother, kept everything a secret because of a promise made to her mother. When she told him about how her aunt helped raise her, the angry expression on her face changed to admiration as her brown eyes opened with brilliance almost immediately, and the gold specks in them sparkled; a definite show of love and respect for Maia. He liked that. But for some reason, he had the sense that there was something very significant that she was leaving out.
“When exactly did you find out about your powers?” he asked. He knew, because from what she was telling him, it seemed fairly recently.
“I didn’t find out I had powers until …” Addie paused mid-sentence, almost revealing where and when she first met him, when she’d nearly run him over with her truck. “… a few months ago. I mean, everyone kept all these secrets about who I really was. No one ever used their abilities around me, so I was never exposed to any. That’s why they didn’t show up until …” God, she almost did it again and was grateful when he interrupted her.
“I’m surprised you’re not bitter about it.”
“Oh, I’m beyond that. I was resentful at first that my father hadn’t trusted me enough to realize that I would be able to handle myself.”
“Knowing Ristéard, I completely understand why he did it. He loved you and wanted to protect you. I loved the man like he was my own father.”
Cael grew quiet. She had the feeling he was thinking about his own father and the way he’d abandoned Cael when he was a child. Knowing Cael the way she thought she did, her heart broke for him sometimes. He would never admit it, but deep down, she was sure he would have loved to have grown up with the man who was his real father.
Cael walked to the window and stared at the ocean. Addie stepped beside him and wrapped her arm around his waist. They watched the waves crash against the walls of the cliffs and she sighed. “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else but right here.”
“I can certainly understand why,” he said, draping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her against him.
***
“Would you like to see what I’ve just recently been able to do with my fire ability?”
Cael struggled to tear himself away from the window and the majestic view, but he noticed the chill left at his side where Addison’s warm body stood just a few seconds ago. Turning at the sound of her voice, he blinked as a silky cream-colored nightgown slid over the front of Addison, slowly covering her beautiful breasts and abdomen. “Of course,” he said, smiling. “I’m always interested in new abilities.”
“I don’t think my father ever did this and it startled me at first. It happened by accident while I was depressed, upset, and needed to calm down. Please don’t try to touch me, or judge me.”
He cocked his head and stared at her. “Why would I judge you?”
“Just watch and again, please don’t touch me.”
“Okay.” He let the towel fall to his side and watched as she held out her arms, palms up. Sparks ignited in her right palm the way they used to in Ristéard’s, and quickly changed into flames. As Cael observed, the flames slowly started to move. She was right, he’d never seen Ristéard do anything other than form a ball of fire and throw it at a target. The flames traveled up her arm and across her chest to her other arm, and then down to her hand. She stood in front of him, burning from fingertip to fingertip.
“Addison?” Cael uttered, almost afraid that if he said anything it would distract her and be detrimental. Slowly the flames traveled back across her chest and down her other arm until they reached her palm where they started, hovering in a small ball. She closed her hand and it disappeared without so much as a single scorch mark or a trace.
He realized he was staring at her, mouth open, unable to speak because all he could think about was his dream.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, shaking her hands as though they tingled before she reached out to him. He took a step back, not because he was afraid of her, but because he realized she was his dream.
“You’re the one!” he announced, getting the gape under control.
“The one?” she asked, an understandably puzzled look on her face.
“You’re her.”
“Who?”
“The woman from my dreams,” he said, pointing to the tattoo on his arm as if she should know everything.
“You have dreams about me?”
“I’ve had this recurring dream of a woman in flames, but not burning. I could never see her face in my dreams. It haunted me. She haunted me. I got this tattoo because of that dream. Well, that and I’d had a few too many that night in Bora Bora, but yeah, you’re her.”
Addie stepped toward him. “I don’t know why you would have that dream. This ability is fairly new, not something anyone has ever witnessed. You are the first to see it.”
“Well, maybe my dream was giving me a glimpse of my future or something, because, baby, you are definitely the girl from my dream.”
She smiled and traced her finger gently around the woman on his arm. “Well, that’s a good thing, right?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “Yeah.”
He skimmed his fingers lightly down the sides of her arms. They were so smooth. He pulled her against him and she wrapped those silky arms around his neck. “Addison, you are so remarkable.”
She smiled and lowered her eyes almost as though what he just said made her a little embarrassed. “Maybe, but I need you.”
“Baby, you got me.”
“I am so glad.”
“All this heat in here has me wanting some ice cream. What about you?”
She laughed. “Yeah, ice cream sounds great.”
“But first ...” He kissed her, gently, tenderly. “I want you to know I will help you find the crystal. In fact, it will be my great honor to assist you in this endeavor, my lady,” he crooned against her ear in his sexiest low voice as the soft tune of “Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead” rang throughout the house, stopping as quickly as it had started. “The doorbell?”
She smiled and nodded. “A present after … I destroyed Eidolon.”
“Right, Eidolon.” He glanced at the clock. “It’s two in the morning.”
“I think I know who it is.”
“I think we both know who it is.”
They stood like statues, neither one making a move to go to the door. “Are you going to answer it?” Cael asked.
As the tu
ne rang out again, Addison said, “I’d better or he’ll just keep ringing.”
“Is he stalking you?”
“No, of course not. He’s just … concerned about me.”
“Why?”
She sighed. “It’s a long story.”
“I’m all ears, baby.”
Ignoring him, she snatched a heavy robe from the back of the door and shrugged into it. He stood in the doorway, blocking her. “Please, Cael, just wait here for a minute, okay?”
“At least look through the peephole first.” When she looked at him as though he were an imbecile, he added, “Just sayin’. You know, in light of the missing crystal and all. One can’t be too careful.” He let her slip by him and he stood there like an idiot wishing he’d gone down with her just to make sure everything was okay. He knew he needed to respect her wishes, but for someone she wasn’t involved with, this Aiden character sure seemed to be able to make her a bit more flustered than Cael liked. Okay, so he wasn’t completely respectful, he thought as he realized he now stood at the top of the stairs eavesdropping like a jealous lover. He wasn’t actually jealous, just being cautious, he told himself.
He strained to sneak a peek as he heard the creak of the heavy front door, then, “Hi, Aiden,” Addison’s soft voice barely audible. If it hadn’t been for his acute gift of hearing, he’d never be able make out what was being said. Was she hiding something from him?
“Hey, gorgeous. Did I wake you?” Aiden’s voice sounded lazy and suggestive and Cael started to take a step down but caught himself. As much as he wanted to go and make the guy leave, that was no way to win the affections of a lady. And Addison MacKenna was very much a lady.
“Yeah. I was trying to catch up on some sleep.” Good girl, Cael thought. Way to keep your reputation intact, but he hated that she lied. He would have preferred she’d told the truth, especially to Aiden. That would have put the guy in his place for sure.
“I’ll, uh … let you get back to sleep. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. After our conversation at the bar, I was worried. I haven’t seen you there the past couple of nights. I thought maybe you were upset with me. Are you?” What conversation had they had? The one while they were dancing, no doubt, when Cael left because he couldn’t stand to watch them any longer. But now that he knew the situation, he really did want to know what was going on between them.
“No. I’m not upset. Not with you, anyway. I am worried about the crystal, but you know that. I saw you today at the bar, remember?”
“Of course, I remember. But you …” Cael heard the door squeak closed and realized she had stepped outside to talk and now he couldn’t hear anything other than muffled speech. He wanted to know what they were saying, so he dematerialized, only to re-appear right back at the top of the stairs, sighing before banging the back of his head against the wall a couple of times. He would give her the respect and privacy she deserved. Just because they made love didn’t give him the right to listen in or interfere. Besides, this was by far a better situation than when he’d thought they were married.
Chapter 17
Addie was surprised when she came back upstairs to find Cael lying comfortably in the bed, his head resting on top of his beautifully muscled arm, his eyes following her as she walked around the bed to the other side, her side. This was so unlike him. She half expected him to be lurking at the top of the stairs ready to bombard her with twenty questions about Aiden and why he’d come by, but not a word was spoken as she slipped in beside him and curled against his chest like nothing had ever happened. But she knew it had. The Cael she knew would never have let Aiden’s visit go without an inquiry. Did that have anything to do with his memory loss or did this “new” Cael just not care about her the way he used to? She wanted him to stay, hoped he would and when she came in and discovered him still naked and in bed, her heart began pounding in her chest at the possibility that he would remain with her forever. Maybe forever was too much to ask at the moment, though, and she should concentrate on the here and now. She needed to make him fall in love with her once again. This was a good start, she thought, squeezing her eyes closed as if by shutting them tight, they would lock in this moment in time and she would never have to let him go. Would this one episode even lead to more? She needed to believe it would but first things first. Whether he wanted to bring it up or not, she needed to clear the air about Aiden. “Cael, I …”
He cut her off with a soft kiss then sat up. “I need to get going if I’m going to help you find that crystal.”
“Oh.” The idea startled her and she fought to control a plea for him to stay. In a more calmed voice, she said in the sexiest tone she could muster, “Are you sure you wouldn’t like to stay the night? I could make it worth your time.” Her finger gently trailed down the top of her breast and lingered at the edge of her areola and she did her best to lick her lips in an erotic way.
Cael laughed. He actually laughed at her and she couldn’t help giggling herself as she tossed one of the fluffy pillows at him. “Stop laughing!”
“A little overzealous aren’t we? That looked so unnatural for you.” He continued to laugh. “Baby, you don’t need to try so hard to look sexy when you already are.” He lay back down and pulled her close. “Come here.” He kissed her before saying, “I’ll stay if you want me to. Besides, this bed is so much more comfortable than the one I have at Bart’s.”
“You can stay here as often as you want. Make yourself at home.”
“I just might do that. In fact, I’m a little hungry. What about that ice cream? Do you mind if I go see what I can find down in the kitchen?”
“No, go ahead. I think there is some chocolate fudge, caramel.” Aiden brought over two gallons of the stuff when he insisted she needed to fatten up some. She’d only had a little, but remembered it being very yummy.
He got out of the bed and glanced around the room before turning toward the closet. “Got anything in here I might be able to fit into, like a T-shirt or something to wear downstairs?”
Before Addie could say anything, he had the door to the walk-in closet wide open, the light turned on and was stepping inside. She stopped breathing.
She managed to get out of the bed and stood beside it, waiting for him to walk out of the closet, not sure what she would say to him after he saw all of the men’s clothes hanging there. His clothes.
***
At first Cael thought he was seeing things. Why did Addison have all these men’s clothes in her closet? There were several pairs of jeans hanging neatly in a row and a multitude of shirts, both short-sleeved and long-sleeved. A few pairs of black pants hung beside a couple of khakis. And shoes; a half dozen pairs of men’s shoes lined the shelves beside a dozen or so pairs of women’s shoes. He stood in shock for a few seconds trying to comprehend what he was seeing. Then it dawned on him. She was in a relationship with someone. Maybe not Aiden, but someone else. Had she lied? He’d decided not to press her about Aiden’s visit, wanting to give her the privacy he thought she deserved, but this was different. He couldn’t let the discovery of all these clothes go without a mention.
He slowly emerged from the closet, holding a pair of black shoes and a long-sleeved dark purple shirt out in front of him and asked, “Addison, who do these belong to?” When she didn’t answer, he stood aside, turning and pointing back at the closet, adding, “Who do all these men’s clothes belong to?”
“Um … it’s not what you think,” she said.
“No? What do I think?”
“I … I guess I don’t really know what you think, but I know how it looks. I wish I could explain …”
“Try. I know I don’t have any right to ask. I hardly know you, but in light of what we just did and how I’m beginning to feel about you, I think I need an explanation. Who do these belong to?”
“I’m sorry. They …” She looked as if she was searching for something to say. Was she about to lie to him? Christ, he wished he had some sort of his intuitive ability around
her. Why was it he couldn’t read her? “They don’t belong to anyone. Not anymore,” she finally said.
“What is that supposed to mean, exactly?”
She wrapped her arms around her waist and said, “They belonged to my fiancé.”
“Your fiancé?”
“I said ‘belonged.’ As in past tense.”
“Where is this fiancé now?”
“He’s gone. He disappeared.”
Cael blinked. “What do you mean disappeared?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Baby, I’ve got all night.”
She took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed. “Do you want to get ice cream first?”
“No. I’ve suddenly lost my appetite. I’d rather hear about this missing fiancé.”
“Okay. I was engaged to be married. In fact, that ring you saw was the one he gave me. I kept it on, especially at work for some of the reasons I told you, but also because I didn’t have the heart to take it off.”
“But you did take it off.”
“Yes, I … found myself attracted to you and I didn’t want you to think I was still engaged.”
He felt his eyebrows rise and almost smiled, but realized he still needed more of an explanation. “I see. Do you still have feelings for this man?”
“Yes. I won’t lie to you. I do have feelings for him and was devastated when he left. I loved him very much.”
“‘Loved’,” he said to himself more than to her. “Do you still love him?”
She sighed. “A part of me does, yes,” she admitted and a part of him wished she’d lied.
“But … I don’t expect you to understand and I’m not sure I can explain to you why I am attracted to you and still have feelings for him, but that man is not coming back. I know that and I also know that I need to move on.”
“Keeping his clothes in your closet is not exactly moving on.”
“I know. I actually forgot about them. I know that sounds strange because there they are staring at me when I turn on the light, but I really don’t think about them. They are just there. It seemed normal to me. Please don’t let this spoil what we’ve only just begun.”
A Secret Fate Page 16
