by Deanna Chase
He stood there unmoving, and I didn’t know if it was going to go my way or not.
“Fine, but you stay here.”
“No.”
He leaned in, taking a large chunk of my personal space up. Cormac was good at intimidation tactics like that. “I don’t have to negotiate.”
“Considering that you need me, I think you do.” I knew it, and I’d press for all I could. It was now or never.
He took my chin in a gentle grasp as he tilted my face to his and said in a near whisper, “Don’t push it. I can do this without you being willing.”
“You can?” I asked in a surprised tone not much louder than his.
He nodded.
“Then why haven’t you done it already?”
“That doesn’t matter. Just know that I can.”
I jerked my face out of his grasp. “Fine, but we lose the guards.”
“Fine.”
He picked up the phone on the desk and dialed a number into it. “Tell him that we’re bringing his guy over.” The phone clanked loudly on its holder in the silent room.
Chapter Sixteen
“Where is everyone?” I asked Dodd as we entered the empty portal room several hours later. Last time we had been down here, the place had been hopping.
“If this goes bad, I want as few witnesses as possible,” Cormac answered for him. “It’s only going to be us three.”
“How ‘bad’ can this go?” It was a little late to ask, but what the hell. I looked at both of them but suddenly they seemed to be too distracted to pay attention. “Oh yes, now I feel good. So, how does this work exactly? Since I never got past getting the balls in the air, I’m not sure what I’m going to be able to do for you guys.”
“Oh, don’t sell yourself short there darling, you could…” Dodd fell deathly quiet, and I looked over to see the stare Cormac was leveling at him, his veins twitching. “Oh come on! I was only playing.”
Cormac looked back down at the computer in front of him. “Dodd and I are going to try to channel some of your ability.”
“Does that work?”
“Sometimes. I think it will this time. When you were stuck on the ceiling the other night, I drained you, that’s how I got you down.”
I heard what sounded like a giggle from Dodd, and I leveled my own death stare at him. “I’d shut up before I shoot out your knee caps, again.”
“Really? This is how the night is going to go? You guys need to lighten up. Maybe if you two…”
“Dodd!” Cormac didn’t give him a chance to finish.
“I canceled a date tonight with Vicky for this,” Dodd said.
“I thought Vicky was with you?” I looked over at Cormac.
“She’s mad about you staying at the penthouse,” Dodd now answered for Cormac, who stood silently.
“Why would you date her if she’s involved with Cormac?”
“Cormac gave me the thumbs up. He wasn’t interested in her seriously, and now I get some revenge sex.” I must not have hidden my thoughts well.
“Hey, no judgment! You don’t know how hard it is for a guy to turn down revenge sex.”
“Let’s get in position,” Cormac said, as I still grimaced over Dodd’s comments. “Dodd, hold her other hand,” Cormac said as he held my right.
“Got it, Boss.”
There we stood, lined up in front of where I imagined the portal would open, Cormac on my right and Dodd on my left.
“Jo, just try to stay relaxed. I’d imagine it’s going to feel slightly odd.”
“You’d imagine? You mean you don’t know?”
“No, we’re flying blind here.”
“Great.”
Cormac closed his eyes and I watched around the room, not sure what I was waiting for. Then I saw it, it looked like a flicker of an electrical charge, the kind you saw when you drag your foot across the carpet or touch something in the dark. But, it didn’t go away; it stayed centered between the monoliths of ebony, flickering. Then it grew, and grew. As it got larger, a gentle breeze filled the room, and blew my hair from my face.
I turned and looked at Cormac whose eyes were wide open now and focused ahead. Dodd had a similar look upon his face. I watched as this weird entity opened larger and larger, until it took up almost the entire wall, stretching from monolith to monolith. It was actually quite beautiful, and then the oddest thing started to happen, its surface, which had looked sparkly before, started to clear. A shade of lavender shimmered behind the flickering. Then I realized that the portal wasn’t lavender, but the sky of the world I was seeing into. There was a thing I would describe as a moon if I saw it hanging here, but it was enormous compared to Earth’s. A silhouette of a man appeared against the strange sky. He walked toward us, and I felt the room heat up. The heat poured at us in waves. I felt like it was seeping into my bones, like I’d been roasting on the beach with the sun hanging in noon position for five hours straight.
The man slowly emerged clearer into view. He couldn’t have been more than twenty. He looked like a surfer with shaggy blond locks hanging over one eye. He stepped through the portal and greeted us with a brilliant white smile that could have been on a Crest toothpaste ad.
The portal closed quickly once he stepped through, snapping shut into nothing, but I could feel the energy rolling through the room. Then it hit me like a punch in the gut. Sweat was streaming down my face and it was an effort to remain upright.
“Did you feel the close?” Cormac asked Dodd.
“No,” he replied a bit ominously, and they both turned and looked at me.
“Get him out of here,” Cormac said stiffly, and Dodd escorted surfer dude out while I struggled to stand.
“How do you feel?”
“I’m fine,” I replied through gritted teeth.
“No you aren’t. I think you got the full blast.”
“Huh?” The feeling of running my intestines through a meat grinder made it hard to concentrate.
“I need to get you upstairs.”
“I’m fine.” Even as I said it, I knew what I must have looked like. I could feel the cold sweat on my face. With the way I was feeling, I knew my skin had probably gone from golden tan, to ashen white. The feeling of vulnerability was suffocating me.
“I know you don’t trust me, but I’m telling you now, you can.”
He put an arm around my waist and tried to help support my weight. I used the last of my strength to pull away. I managed to walk a couple of steps to lean against the nearby wall, feeling too sick to stay upright without some help. I watched him take off his dress shirt and then the white undershirt, and then he shrugged back into his dress shirt. He grabbed his discarded white undershirt and approached me.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have anything else. It’s clean. I just put it on right before we came down here,” he said before he used it to wipe the sweat from my face. “Let me help you. I promise, no matter what, I won’t let anything happen to you.” He looked into my eyes then, “You don’t have to believe me. Time will tell.”
“No, it won’t. I’m not going to be here long enough.”
He didn’t respond, just patted my face with the soft white cotton. It smelled of him, and I liked it. I pushed his hand away.
“You ready? I need to get you out of here now, the longer we wait the worse it will be.”
“Why?” I asked, the pain seemed to subside slightly, and before he could answer, another round struck me that doubled me over and made me gasp for air.
“That’s why.”
He leaned down and slung my arm around his shoulder, taking practically all my weight. This time I didn’t have it in me to fight. The hallway outside the room was empty, so was the elevator that would take us up several floors, but I’d have to make it out of that one and through the casino hall and into the penthouse elevator, all while appearing normal though my insides now felt like someone had shot napalm into them.
“The doors are going to open in ten seconds. Are you
ready? Can you do this?”
I nodded, took a deep breath, and stood up straight.
The walk took forever, or in real time, about three minutes. I just concentrated on not crumbling to the ground, one foot in front of the other. Cormac had his hand on my back, slightly steering me and it was a godsend. Even though my eyes were open, my entire attention was on not passing out from the pain.
We stepped into the elevator, and I felt Cormac’s arm go around my waist again and I slumped against him.
“You did good,” he said, and I thought he kissed my head but I wasn’t sure, in my current state.
“What’s wrong with me?” I asked into his shoulder.
“You got too much radiation.”
“I thought radiation was no big deal?”
“Too much of anything can be bad. All three of us were pulling at it, but you absorbed it all. You’ve got an unusually strong pull. I’m so sorry, I had no idea that could happen.”
“Is this going to kill me?”
“No.”
“You don’t know do you?”
“I won’t let it.”
“How long will this pain last?”
“A day or so, I think. You’re a lot smaller than the guys it has happened to. I don’t know if body weight plays into it.”
When the elevator doors slid open, he reached down to pull me into his arms.
“No, I can walk.”
He didn’t argue with me, just scooped me up into his arms anyway. I didn’t pay attention as we walked into the penthouse, just leaned against him with my eyes closed, as I tried to ride out another wave of pain.
I felt the bed against my legs as he laid me down and then curled onto my side. I felt Cormac’s hands as he pulled off my shoes, and I pulled my knees inward and tucked them up against my body. Curled into a ball in the center of the bed, I opened my eyes when I heard him talking in hushed tones. That’s when I realized I wasn’t in my room, but his.
I tried to sit up, I needed to get to my own room, but hands pressed me back into the mattress before I made any real progress.
“Jo, I’ve got someone coming to check on you. Just lie back and relax.”
I didn’t want to lie back, but the pain gripped me with an iron fist so tightly that I didn’t have a choice.
An undistinguishable amount of time later, I heard a soft female voice whisper near me. I opened my eyes to see a beautiful brunette with a kind smile hover over me before I shut them again. I felt her soft touch upon my head as she felt for the pulse in my wrist. The hallmark cold metal on my chest told me she was listening to my lungs.
“She’ll be fine. It’s just going to be an unpleasant night for her,” the feminine voice said.
“Isn’t there something you can give her?” Cormac’s voice asked.
“No. It’s not safe with the overload of radiation. Try heating pads or a warm bath. That might help with the muscle spasms.”
“Thanks for coming so quickly, Sabrina.”
“No problem. Call me if anything changes.”
Opening my eyes again in the dim room, I saw Cormac shut the door. It was just the two of us, now.
“How do you feel?”
“Like I’m on my deathbed?”
“You’re not dying.”
“I know, but right now, I almost wish I was.”
I closed my eyes and tried to ride out the pain with as much dignity as I could muster. I felt the mattress near me sink down, strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me into Cormac’s side.
“Just try to relax,” he said.
Even with the pain, my brain was still aware of his hard muscular body lying next to me. His hand was slowly rubbing my back and the pain lessoned its hold slightly.
“Are you doing something?”
“I’m trying to. I can’t take it all from you, but I might be able to take the edge off.”
The last thing I remembered was my cheek resting against an impossibly hard chest. I’m not sure how long I passed out, but I woke as excruciating pain radiated through the length of me.
I felt Cormac’s heat pressed against me, and I realized he must have stayed with me the whole time, however long that was. My body tensed with the next wave of pain, and I felt Cormac move out from under me. My fingers gripped his shirt without meaning to.
“I’ll be right back.”
For the first time in a long while, I was truly scared to be alone, and I really started to wonder if I was, indeed, dying. I heard the water running in the adjoining bathroom, and I couldn’t help but resent that I while I lay in pain caused by helping him, he was showering.
My resentment was short lived, as he walked back in the room shirtless, with just a pair of gym shorts on. He looked like a dark angel come to collect me.
“What are you doing?” I asked, as he picked me up in his arms.
“Heat, the doctor said the heat would help.”
The bright lights of the bathroom hit my eyes before he dimmed them quickly. I heard the humming of what sounded like a hot tub. He lowered us both, and I felt the hot water soak through my clothes as he sat down with me still in his arms. The water felt like it was almost boiling, and it was fantastic, reducing the intensity of the spasms within minutes.
As the cramping started to subside, I became acutely aware that much of Cormac’s naked skin pressed against me; the way the material of my shirt clung to my breasts detailed every curve. I turned to look into Cormac’s face, just mere inches away, and I could see I wasn’t the only one who was becoming very aware.
I grabbed the edge of the tub, splashing water everywhere with my sudden movement and pulled myself out. I barely stopped long enough to grab a towel in my rush from the room, leaving a watery trail behind me as I ran into my room and collapsed on my bed.
“Jo?” Cormac said as he stood just inside my door. “I don’t want to leave you alone.”
“I’m fine. The pain is subsiding.” I rolled on my side and looked away from him. I didn’t want to be alone anymore, but I couldn’t trust him. I’d been getting sloppy. I’d relaxed my guard. I couldn’t afford to do that. I still had no idea who my parents were, what had happened to my mother that night long ago. Cormac had his own priorities. It didn’t matter what he said. He’d had me hurt once; he’d do it again. Actions were what were important.
“No, you aren’t.” I felt the bed dip as he climbed in next to me. His arm pulled my body close to his, and I didn’t fight it, but just lay there nestled alongside him.
Chapter Seventeen
I woke alone the next afternoon to a beautiful Monet painting leaning against the wall, opposite the bed. It was beautiful, with red lily clusters. I wasn’t sure why it was sitting there but I wasn’t going to complain.
The need for a strong cup of coffee propelled me toward the living room in hopes that Cormac might have a pot of hazelnut floating around.
“So, what are we going to do?” I heard Dodd ask as I neared the room.
“I don’t know, but she’s not doing it anymore. Not like last time. Not until I know it won’t happen again. It could have killed her,” Cormac replied.
“But we’ve got the Festiva. What are we going to tell them when we can’t get them over?”
“I’ll figure something else out.” He spoke in a tone that made it clear he was done discussing it.
As I walked in, I saw Cormac standing by the windows while Dodd and Buzz sat on the couch.
“Hey, how are you feeling? Heard you had a rough night?” Dodd asked.
“I’m fine.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Dodd asked.
Cormac didn’t say a word, but walked over to me. He looked me over a little too intensely for comfort. Even though it wasn’t a sexual perusal, I was glad I’d opted for jeans and an oversized sweatshirt.
“How are you going to run the portal?” I asked him.
“It’s not your problem.”
“If what you said is true, then isn’t it everyone’s problem
?”
“I’ll handle it.” He turned back to Dodd and Buzz. “I’m going to go see if I can track down Hammond.”
“Is he even alive anymore?” Buzz asked.
“Yes, and I’m going to find him,” Cormac replied. He turned back to me. “I don’t want you going out today. You need to rest.”
I tilted my head toward the foyer and motioned for him to follow me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, once we stopped in the foyer and out of earshot.
“I know this isn’t the best time to talk, but I have to get this off my chest. I think I’ve been throwing you some mixed signals, but I just want to make it clear, we are just business. I’ll help you through this mess and you’ll get me the answers I need, then we go our own way. I’m not looking for any other kind of relationship.”
“Sure.”
“That’s not a problem for you?” I guess he hadn’t been that interested then.
“Believe it or not, I’ve got other options.”
“I mean, obviously you do. I just think that this is the way it should be.”
“Like I said, no problem.”
Completely nonchalant, like it didn’t mean a damn thing that I was rejecting him. He did know I was rejecting him, right?
“So, strictly business.”
“Yes, and I’ve got some of that to attend to. Was this all you needed?”
“Yep, that was it.”
“Great, see you later!” he said as he walked toward the door, but then paused. “I almost forgot, did you like the painting?”
“It’s beautiful. Were you going to hang it on the wall there?”
“Is that where you want it?”
“It’s your painting. Hang it wherever you want it.”
He smiled. “It’s for you.”
“I couldn’t! It’s a Monet! Isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. No strings. I knew you had a rough night so I thought you would like it. It’s called Red Lilies. I’ve got to go. See you later.”
I stood, still staring at the door as words from the page sprang to mind. Eternal Lilies bloom after a hard night, the giver of gifts will stand for the right. Nope, it was just a coincidence. I wasn’t going to start reading into things thinking there were cryptic meanings. There was some strange stuff going on, but I refused to buy into fortune telling, too. A girl had to draw the line somewhere.
