After materializing outside the beach house, Cael glanced toward the archway, eyed the beautifully manicured lawn spanning the hundred or so yards from the cliff’s edge to the house. Was this his or had he only been staying here with her? Had they purchased it together? There were so many things he needed to know.
He decided it would be better to knock on the door this time rather than just appear inside like the rude son of a bitch he’d been earlier. When there was no answer, he tried again. After a few seconds, he pushed the doorbell button, the little song rang throughout the house, but she still didn’t respond. Her truck was outside so she had to be in there. Christ, she probably didn’t want to talk to him after the way he’d acted.
It was nearing dusk and the late afternoon sky appeared so majestic with the various clouds and the mixture of many different hues of purple and orange. Surreal, almost as if it had been plucked right out of a picture in a Bible.
Where could she be? She promised not to go on any more walks by herself in the dark. Considering the way he’d left, he didn’t think it appropriate to simply materialize inside. Frustrated as all hell, Cael swiped his hand over his hair and stepped to the window to peek in. A fire blared in the fireplace; the candle he had lit earlier still burned in the center of the coffee table, but there was no sign of Addison. Putting his hand against the glass to shield the glare, he was able to get a better look and noticed a flickering glow coming from the kitchen area. He strolled over to the kitchen window and gasped when he saw Addison lit up like a torch. God, that just made his blood curdle at the thought. How did she do that and not get hurt? The other time he’d seen her do it was freaky enough, but this time she was covered from head to toe in flames.
He stood staring for a few moments, wondering when she was going to let the flames subside. She turned toward the window—he started to wave when he knew she saw him, but when he saw her face, her wide eyes filled with fear and tears streaking down her cheeks, he realized something was wrong. He instantly dematerialized from outside and reappeared in the kitchen.
“What’s wrong?” he shouted, not sure she could hear him, really not sure what she was feeling or able to do.
“I can’t turn it off.” Her strangled voice reverberated from within the fire.
“Holy shit!” Instinct had him reaching for her.
“Don’t touch me!”
“Okay, okay.” He jumped back a bit when she yelled at him. “What can I do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why can’t you turn it off?”
“Cael, if I knew, I would do it.”
“Okay. Stupid question. Does it hurt?”
“No. I’m just scared.”
“Okay, calm down. Give me a minute to think.”
“I … I think I’m having some sort of anxiety attack or something.”
“Okay,” he said again. Jeez, he sounded like a broken record but he was beginning to panic and didn’t know what else to say or do. “Should I spray you with water?”
“I don’t know. You could try.”
He grabbed the nozzle from the sink, thankful that it had a retractable hose, cranked on the faucet and aimed the sprayer toward Addison. The water spewed out and flowed to the ground just in front of her. “Can you take a couple steps closer? It’s not reaching you.”
She took two steps. The intense heat radiating from her had him wincing and he wanted to back away but he was already up against the counter. He pointed the nozzle at her and water hit the flames on her arms but didn’t put them out, didn’t even make them sizzle. The flames were generated from her mind and he didn’t think any amount of water was going to stop them as long as she was subconsciously controlling them. “Try to think of something pleasant. Maybe that will help.”
She stared at him, shaking her head. “It’s difficult.”
There had to be something he could say to help her calm down. He must have caused this when he yelled at her earlier and stormed out, yanking the door closed so hard. “Addison, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I walked out and slammed the door. Please, baby, please forgive me.”
“I’m sorry too,” she cried. “I never meant to hurt you. I only wanted you to love me again.”
Her confession caught him by surprise, but the one word she’d added at the end, “again.” had him wanting to remember everything so much more, to remember her. But with or without that knowledge, he knew deep down inside how he felt about her and the words came tumbling from his lips before he realized he was speaking aloud. “I do. I do love you. I know I should have told you. We’ve grown so close over the past couple of months. I’ve loved you for a while now. ”
Her eyes flipped up to his, and she blinked, biting down on her lower lip creating an almost angelic vision with the flames dancing around her face.
“Please, baby, calm down. I love you. Do you believe me?”
She nodded, making the flames on her head dance and jiggle.
“Tell me, baby, let me hear you say it.”
“You love me.”
“Yes, I do. I love you, Addison!” he shouted the words. “I love you,” he said more quietly this time. “I love you, I love you. Good God, I love you,” he continued to repeat and gradually, as if someone had turned down the knob on a burner, the flames around Addison’s head dwindled. Slowly the fire on her shoulders sizzled out and down the rest of her body, the same thing happened until there was only a small flame left in her right palm. She fisted her hand and when she opened it back up, the flame was gone. She collapsed into Cael’s arms and he grabbed her on her way down to the floor. Cradling her body in his arms, he carried her to the sofa and laid her down. She stared at him, relief on her face. “Are you okay?” he asked, unable to think of anything else but her safety.
“I don’t know.” She sank back against the pillow and closed her eyes. “I’m so hot and dizzy. My head hurts.”
“I’ll be right back.” Cael hurried to the kitchen and opened the freezer, pleased to see a bag of frozen peas there. Smiling, he snatched it, tossed it around in his hand and grabbed a small towel to wrap around the bag as he walked back to the sofa and Addison. Kneeling on the floor beside her, he placed the wrapped bag of peas on her forehead. “Here, not sure this will help, but it might keep the temperature down.”
“Thank you.”
Seeing her like that in the kitchen had to be the most horrific thing he’d ever experienced. The thought of losing her now that he loved her, knew he loved her beyond any doubt, stabbed him in the chest and he almost couldn’t breathe. He didn’t know what he would have done if she couldn’t have put the flames out. He did know that he wouldn’t have let her die alone. He would have wrapped himself around her, tried to take away the heat. With that revelation, he sat back on his heels and sighed. “Listen, I … I’m sorr …”
“No. You don’t have anything to apologize for. Not a thing. I was wrong for keeping our relationship from you. I should have told you.”
He stared at her, knowing he loved her, but still wanting to know why she did it. There was just a little twinge of doubt in his mind, not about whether he loved her, but whether or not she loved him.
“Why? Why didn’t you tell me? Were you hoping I might not ever find out or remember and therefore you wouldn’t feel obligated to me anymore?”
“What? No! That is further from the truth than you could ever possibly know. You saw what I just went through. Do you think that was because I didn’t want you to love me?”
“No. You’re right. But why, then? If you wanted me to come back and resume our life together, why didn’t you let me know?”
She sat up, holding the peas to her head and gently touched her free hand to his cheek. “Oh, Cael, I wanted you to remember me on your own. I didn't want you to feel pressured into loving me. If you'd known, you would have wanted me to tell you things, things I wanted you to learn unaided and still do. I wanted you to love me just because you do, not because someone told you that you should, or that
you did at one time.
“I didn't want you questioning every little thing you did and wondering if I was comparing it to the ‘old’ you. I didn't want to live in the past. I wanted you ... us to make a future, and I wanted you to remember making it, not one you were told about and expected to just accept. That wouldn’t be fair.
“I didn't want you to be somebody you didn't want to be or forced into a love affair you didn’t want. Your memories of us should come from here,” she placed her hand on his heart, then put her other hand over her own heart. “That’s where mine are. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry this all happened and I see now that I should have told you. I had no right to keep things about us from you.”
He sighed, picked up her legs and quickly slid on to the sofa under them. Now, with her legs over his, he chewed his bottom lip, thinking about how he should proceed, wanting so much to make things better. “I think maybe we should start over.”
“Start over?”
“There are things about me, about us and mostly about you that I don’t know, and you were right not to bombard me with all those details. I’ve had a little time to think about all this and with the help of some guys who, by the way, think the world of you, I understand why you didn’t tell me that we were in a relationship. Knowing me, I probably would have rejected the idea.” She sucked in a breath and he realized the way that must have sounded. As he rubbed his hands over her bare silky smooth legs, it dawned on him what she was wearing: a pair of men’s black, silk boxer shorts and a men’s navy and white striped, long-sleeved dress-shirt. He rubbed the hem of the shirt between his finger and thumb and smiled, guessing the clothes must be his.
“Let me explain. When Finn and I materialized on that beach, I thought I was twenty-five years old, not thirty. I was in no way ready for a relationship with anyone when I was twenty-five. I’d barely begun my career with the police department and I was heading toward detective with my goal being to work for and protect the Sectorium. And you’re right. If you had tried to ‘force,’” he held up his fingers, putting air quotes around the word “force” for emphasis, “a relationship between us when I first met you, I’m not sure I would have been very receptive to it. I suppose you know me better than I realized. So I guess what I’m saying is I’d like a do-over.”
She fell quiet for a few seconds, letting his words sink in. “I think, in this case,” Addison skimmed her finger over the back of his hand, making little circles, “a do-over would be appropriate.”
Cael let out a huge breath of air, suddenly aware he’d been holding it, waiting for her to say something. “Good.”
“You know, it’s usually the other way around.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s usually me holding my breath and you telling me to breathe.” She sat up and he stroked his finger down the side of her cheek, letting it linger at the top of her throat. The softness of her skin amazed him, especially remembering it had just been on fire.
“I do have one condition though,” he said, stroking his hand on her thigh.
“Condition?”
“About our relationship.”
“Okay. What is it?”
“If you don’t mind, don’t give me too many details. There are some things I still want to discover on my own.”
She grinned and skimmed her tongue over her bottom lip. “Agreed.”
He could only guess what she was thinking because damn it, he still couldn’t read her thoughts and desires like he could with others.” Pushing that thought aside, he smiled. “You’re amazing.” When she scoffed at him, he added, “The way you can control fire and have it consume you that way without it burning you.”
“Me? What about you?”
“Ha. Sweetness, your abilities are so much more potent than mine.”
“I disagree. Your ability to go anywhere you want, anytime you want, has always been a favorite of mine.”
“Oh. So are you saying you really only want me for my travel discount?”
She laughed. “Yep. That’s it.” Addison cleared her throat. “Um … without giving too much away, my abilities are only strong because of you.”
He blinked, not sure what she meant, but didn’t want to learn anymore without experiencing things with her again. Instead, he concentrated on her lips that were only inches from his. Closing the gap between them, he kissed her. A part of him half expected her lips to taste charred and burnt, but they were soft and sweet and had a slight warm tenderness to them. He stopped kissing her and let his lips linger an inch from hers for a couple of seconds before covering her mouth with his again. He groaned a little when she slid her hands up his back and parted her lips, losing himself in the sensation of her deliciousness. His tongue slid slowly over hers, tasting, exploring, as a soft moan escaped from the back of her throat. The desire to have more of her overpowered everything. The erection in his pants grew uncomfortable and he shifted so she’d feel it under her legs, hoping it was the right move, hoping desire burned inside her as it did him. “Burn” was probably the wrong choice of words, he considered, but the smile her lips made against his as he kissed her told him what he needed to know. He wanted more and picked her legs up off his lap, spreading them so they straddled his hips as he knelt between them. With his arms around her upper body, he held her close, kissing, tasting, wanting to devour every inch of her. He made little flutter kisses down her chin and neck and slipped his hands up inside her shirt, caressing and massaging her smooth firm breasts in his hands. He still wanted more. Without bothering to unbutton it, he tugged the shirt up and over her head, dropping it on the floor beside the sofa. Removing her from his lap, he lay her down on the sofa. She uttered a small, “Mmmm,” as he lifted her hips, positioning his body between her thighs. He kissed her stomach, moving his hands over her thighs before slipping his fingers up and inside the loose-fitting boxers. He skimmed over the soft hairs and grasped onto her thigh so close to the spot where she was wet and warm and oh so intoxicating.
“Oh, Cael, take me to bed and make love to me.”
“Baby, we’ve been making love,” he huffed against her neck, but pulled his hand out from the shorts and picked her up. Cradling her against his chest, he carried her up the stairs. After laying her gently on the bed, he started to unbutton his shirt, then decided that was too much work and yanked it over his head leaving all the buttons fastened. Cael quickly undid his belt and, like a frantic impatient teenager, practically ripped his jeans off. Addison lay on the bed, her hips gyrating in such an inviting way he could barely contain an orgasm as he watched her. Good thing he’d always had the ability to recover quickly, he mused. Just in case.
Straddling her, he tugged down the boxers, exposing the beautiful treasure awaiting him there. Her hips rose as his fingers tantalized her, and she shivered under him. Addison’s fingers raked though his hair as his tongue glided down her skin, over her stomach to her most sensitive spot, a taste as sweet as the first apricot of summer.
She hummed with pleasure and he delighted in knowing how much he aroused Addison as her pulse raced and throbbed against his tongue while she trembled under him. He watched as he brought her to climax after climax, each one more intense than the last.
He tuned in his senses to hers, and yes, it was there, her orgasm intensifying his erection, making it throb.
He didn’t think he’d be able to last much longer. The excitement this woman induced in him was too strong, too intense. “I need to be inside you,” he begged, the ability to control the urgent, desperate sound in his voice completely gone.
“I want you so badly. Please, Cael.” With her fingers wrapped tightly around him, urging, he let her guide him to the spot leading to heaven and he wanted to be inside her like he’d never wanted to be inside another woman before.
When he thrust into her, he thought he would explode right then as her tight walls surrounded him. His mouth covered hers with the heat of his passion as her hands latched onto his buttocks. She pulled him in, deeper
and deeper, sending him into an orgasm unparalleled by any he’d ever experienced before.
***
Addie lay on the bed, Cael’s legs intertwined with hers as she stared out the huge picture window, watching the surf, listening to the waves pound against the cliffs. The sun was almost touching the horizon making a quick descent as it met the sea. The sky’s red-orange hue mingled with a scattering of clouds of various fluffy shapes and sizes. One caused her to smile, appearing like a rabbit running at lightning speed across the sky. She loved this floor-to-ceiling window and the view it afforded—spanning from the sandy beach to the heavens above. Addie couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. It would be dark soon, though still early in the evening. Wouldn’t life be perfect if she could just lay here with Cael for all eternity? Their lovemaking was intense and always special, but this time was even better than the last time. That had been great, but something was missing, not from the sex part, but from the connection they’d once shared. He’d confessed his love and she confessed hers. Why couldn’t they resume the mental connection they’d had? Addie considered the idea that maybe it was because the crystal was missing. She was stunned when out of the blue and almost as if Cael had been reading her mind, he asked, “So, was it the same?”
At a loss for words, Addie wasn’t sure how to answer him. If she said yes, it was the same, or no it was different, would it really matter? Never wanting him to feel self-conscious about what they used to have compared to what they had now, she went with, “I think maybe that sort of question falls under the category of one of those details you’d rather discover on your own.”
“It sounds like I have my work cut out for me then,” he said, disappointment dripping from each word.
“Cael, you can’t expect me to reveal something like that. If I told you it was better, you’d wonder what made it better. If I told you it wasn’t as good, you’d wonder what you did wrong.”
A Secret Fate Page 20
