A Paranormal Easter: 14 Paranormal & Fantasy Romance Novellas

by Tiffany Carby

  “Oh, I understand plenty. You court my girl into sharing her secrets with you, play knight in shining armour rescuing her first from Troy, then from Victoria. You tell her you’ll wait for her, and in the next breath, up and vanish for three weeks, give her the silent treatment, then have the balls to show up with another woman.” She jabbed her finger in his shoulder. “I don’t care if you’re my boss, that spells arsehole in my book and I won’t let you hurt her any further.”

  Ana’s words deflated him, every word true. Laid out like that, he was indeed the world’s biggest arsehole. Yes, he’d promised Selene he’d been there, but instead he’d run. No, he didn’t deserve her, and she deserved so much better than him, and yet he still couldn’t let go.

  “You’re right about everything, period, end of story. I don’t deserve a chance to explain, to try and make things right between us, but I am asking for one. Please, Ana.”

  Ana chewed her bottom lip as she considered his request. It didn’t look promising.

  “Tell me where Selene is, and the cafe’s yours.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Ana’s words exploded with indignation. “You think I’d sell her out if the price was high enough?”

  Kyler threw up his hands. “That wasn’t—” Shit, he was so screwed. “It wasn’t a bribe. I was trying to demonstrate how badly I want to make things right, what I’m prepared to do, for a chance to fix what I broke.” He dropped to his knees. “I’ve made such a mess of everything.” He paused before rising off the floor. “Please just tell her how sorry I am.”

  “Kyler.” Halfway to the door, he halted. “You hurt my girl and I am not ready to forgive you for that. But unlike you, I won’t make decisions that are hers to decide.” Ana scribbled on a piece of paper but didn’t let it go. “I’m not letting you ambush her. The second you leave, I’m calling to give her a heads up. If she wants to talk, then that’s up to her. Promise me you’ll respect that if she’s gone when you get there.”

  The thought Selene might run threatened to snuff out the tiny spark of hope Ana had lit. And reflecting on his behaviour, the likelihood she’d wait rated slim to none. He didn’t deserve a second chance, but by the Goddess, he wanted one.

  Ana continued gripped the ticket to his redemption, waiting. “Promise.”

  She let go, judging his answer to be sincere. Hope flared in his chest and he bent to kiss her cheek. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t make me regret helping you, okay?”

  By the Goddess he hoped he didn’t. With a brief nod, he raced out to his still running car. Kyler punched the address into the GPS and spun the wheel. The next eight hours might be the longest ever, but he’d need every second to plan the perfect apology.

  The house ahead sat in darkness.

  He rechecked the address Ana had given him. Yep, this was the place.

  Selene wasn’t here.

  Kyler collapsed like a deflated balloon. The entire drive, he’d refused let go of the belief she’d wait, but he’d been wrong. Now Selene’s absence hit him harder than the eight-hour drive to get here. His own stupidity had kicked him fair in the balls and he needed a minute to recover.

  Beyond the end of the drive, the ocean crashed against the shore.

  Kyler cut the engine and wandered down the beach. There was no reason to stay, but no reason to leave either. No matter where he went, Selene wouldn’t be there.

  Barefoot, Kyler stood at the water’s edge. Emotions tumbled through him seeking a release he refused to give. He’d didn’t want to find peace; he didn’t want to let her go. Silent tears slid down his cheeks. This level of hurt shouldn’t be possible.

  After the death of his parents, no one had even cracked the shield with which he guarded himself until Selene. Her wide-eyed innocence stirred his protective instincts and reminded his heart how to love once more. And that part scared him the most. The frail, human woman had the power to bring the big, powerful witch to his knees with nothing more than her smile.

  Kyler hung his head.

  Goddess, you blessed me with the greatest gift one can ever hope to receive, and like the fool I am, I didn’t see it for what it was until it was too late. I won’t even ask for your forgiveness, but please, wherever she is, grant Selene your blessing of peace. Help her move forward, free of the hurt I brought upon her.

  “Ky—ler?”

  His face lifted upwards. Had the Goddess spoken to him?

  “Ky—ler.”

  He spun around as it came again. A few steps behind him, his own goddess stood, bathed in moonlight. “Selene?” He resisted the urge to rub his eyes afraid she’d disappear. “You’re here.”

  The goddess figure nodded.

  Kyler took a step forwards but froze when she retreated. “You— you spoke.”

  “First time.”

  “You said my name.”

  Selene dropped her eyes as the implication registered. “I’ve been too scared to try, to find out if it worked.”

  Words battled in his mouth, but he only had one shot at this. Every word had to count. “I didn’t think you were here, but you have no idea how grateful I am that you are.”

  “Since Ana called, I’ve wavered between wanting to run and needing to stay. Until I saw you standing there, I still hadn’t decided. For my own peace of mind, I have to know why you ran. I can’t keep wondering what went wrong.”

  Moment of truth. “This might take a while. Be a good idea if we find somewhere to sit.”

  A breeze blew off the ocean and she shivered. “Sounds like I will need wine.” Selene gestured a short distance away. “You start a fire and I’ll back in a minute.” Not waiting for his response, she hurried up the beach. One by one, lights lit the darkened house.

  Kyler turned his attention to the fire-pit, trying to calm his nerves. The power to restore or crush his future hung on the words he said next. He dragged several nearby logs onto the blackened pile. Heat built in his palm as he drew on the magick inside him. Flame flickered for a moment before he tossed it and watched the logs catch alight.

  “Wow. Never works like that for me.”

  Goddess he’d missed her, but he fought back the urge to blurt out his confession, instead taking the glass offered to him.

  When she settled on the sand, he sat out of reach, hoping to resist the temptation to sweep her into his arms and beg her forgiveness.

  He took a sip of wine to bolster his courage. “Where do I begin? How do you say to someone ‘Oh, by the way, I’m a witch and I can do magick’? From day one, I’ve been stumbling along, never sure what I am supposed to do. So much of you reminded me of the animals I rescue; wary, slow to trust, and I thought if I eased you into my world, into what I am, we’d make it work.

  “That day at the reserve, I thought we’d finally gotten on the same page, and then everything imploded. First Troy, then Victoria, and taking you to Kyan was a risk, but I couldn’t stand for you to be hurting because of me.

  “There’s a reason we hide. History proves that discovering things exist, that defy all explanation… rarely goes well, and once you know the truth, it’s impossible to unknow it. I was so sure you’d turn away from me. Never for a moment, did I guess I’d be the one to run. I can’t apologise enough for doing that, for shutting you out, but Penelope… Penelope blindsided me, and I simply reacted.”

  The memory of that day threatened to drag him under, as the hurt, and anger built. Kyler flinched at Selene’s touch, but when she didn’t pull away, he intertwined their fingers, the simple gesture calming the storm brewing inside him.

  “What comes next isn’t pleasant. Are you sure you want to know?”

  Selene’s hand squeezed his. “I’ve imagined all sorts of awful things since that day. If you’re strong enough to tell me, then I can be strong enough to listen.”

  He wrapped his free hand around their joined ones and hoped she was right. “My temper was simmering when I stepped out of the cafe that day, but Penelope—it was like throwing fuel on th
e fire. Do you remember her words?” From the corner of his eye, he saw her nod. “Wrapped up in a child’s ditty, was the history of what the founders did to my family. The song, those words, I’d never heard them before, but now I have every one etched on my soul.

  “And I understand my reaction may have appeared extreme, but there’s something else I haven’t told you. Besides being blessed with special gifts, the Goddess grants us a lifespan five times that of the average human.” He paused a moment, Selene stilling beside him as the words registered. “Until we reach sixteen, witches age at a similar pace to humans, but after that, it slows, year by year. On the outside, you and I, we look the same age, but inside, I am older.”

  “How much older?”

  “My brothers and I were five when we left town, fled in the middle of the night. The night they rounded up the rest of the family and killed them. If we’ been a few years older, we’d have died alongside them.”

  Selene freed her hand and reached for the wine, drinking straight from the bottle. “One hundred and five? You’re trying to tell me you’re one hundred and five years old?”

  Kyler shrugged. “Is that any harder to believe than everything else you’ve learned?”

  She didn’t answer but took several more sips.

  “In the dead of night, on what you’d call Good Friday, Kyllian woke up screaming. He continued to scream as he raced from the house to the edge of the river. On the river, caught beneath the bridge, was a boat engulfed in flames. Above the roar of the fire, I heard their screams.” He barely noticed Selene take his hand once more. “The images that rushed through my mind when Kyllian grabbed me, I’ll never be able to forget. My family, restrained hand and foot, waiting to die.

  “But beneath the screams and the terror, I heard something else. The Elders were casting protection spells over the three of us and Everwood. For a long time I was angry they wasted their final breaths on us instead of saving themselves. As the last of our line, I grew to understand why they did, and the power it must have taken, but it doesn’t ease the guilt that still plagues me because I’m here they aren’t.”

  “You were just children.”

  * * *

  “But we weren’t. In magic, three is a powerful number. We weren’t ‘just’ three brothers, but triplets, direct descendants of the Goddess. At five our individual powers were greater than most grown witches, and together we wielded even more. Yet, at the moment our family needed us the most, we failed them, we froze, and to this day it haunts me wondering if we might have saved them.

  “To come back, to this town, even after one hundred years, stirs up powerful emotions. None of us anticipated running into anyone who’d remembered that night. Penelope words ignited all the hurt, the anger, the guilt I’d tried to forget. On the drive home, I sensed your confusion, but my emotions, my self-control, everything was on a hair trigger. At the manor, I locked myself in the bunker and let go. For what seemed like hours, I pounded lightning at the walls, blackened the ceiling with fire, and shook the earth until I passed out.

  “The next day I planned to tell you everything, but Kyan and I were due to fly out at noon, and it wasn’t fair to dump all this on you and just leave. I didn’t want to go, but Kyllian had called insisting we be there. He doesn’t ask for much, but I still should have said, no. Kyan had joked about inviting you to join us. At the time I’d dismissed the idea, but now, I realise what a huge mistake that was. From that point forward, everything conspired against me and I have nothing but excuses. The timing was wrong, Kyllian needed me, I didn’t know what to say, and the biggest mistake of all… Arabella.” Kyler kept hold of her hands when Selene tried to pull away.

  “For weeks, all I’ve thought about is you, how I’ve messed, and trying to figure out a way to fix things. I didn’t even realise I’d agreed to Arabella’s request to visit Everwood until we were on the plane bound for home. Which only further highlights how stupid I get when you’re not around to keep me grounded.

  “If I’d been thinking straight I’d never have agreed, but now, Arabella’s taken it as a sign I’m finally interested, which I’m not, I swear, but what Arabella wants she usually gets, and by bringing her to Everwood, I’ve made everything worse. She’s made it a personal mission not to let me out of her sight until she wears me down. I’ve slept at the reserve every night because ironically Arabella’s a witch with an allergy to cats.” He hoped Selene understood what he was trying to tell her.

  “This morning, mutual friends from out of town arrived, and I bailed. When I saw the boxes at the cottage, it damn near killed me. I begged Ana to tell me where you were, knowing if I didn’t talk to you now, I might not get another chance. Sweetheart, I know I’ve screwed up, and don’t expect you to forgive me, but I had to explain.”

  Selene didn’t respond, tugging one hand free to snag the wine bottle again, his time sharing it with him. They continued to pass the bottle back and forth, watching the fire, neither of them speaking. Kyler’s own emotions were too raw to even try reading hers.

  The empty bottle fell from Selene’s hand and she pushed off him to get to her feet. Kyler assisted as she doused the fire with sand. Satisfied it was out, she headed up the beach. “Coming?”

  “Where?”

  “Bed.” She continued towards the house.

  Kyler jogged to join her. “Selene—”

  She stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Kyler, I am halfway to drunk and trying to process everything you told me. The only way that happens is if I get several hours of uninterrupted sleep, so you’re welcome to join me in the house, or camp out in your car. It’s up to you.”

  Like there was a choice.

  Even with her invitation, he hesitated in the doorway. There wasn’t much to the place. A small open plan kitchen and living area took up most of the floor space. At the rear of the kitchen, a door led into the laundry. Another opened on a single bedroom, with a small attached en-suite bathroom, and the sounds of Selene brushing her teeth came from that direction.

  The swell of her cheeks peeked out from her pyjama bottoms as she wandered from the bathroom to lock up. Kyler couldn’t tear his eyes away as she moved around the room. She reached around him and engaged the lock on the front door before flicking off the light. The moonlight filtering through the open curtains held back the darkness.

  Selene slid her hand in his hand. “Ky—ler.”

  “Sel—”

  She put a finger to his lips. A serene smile crossed her face. “Sleep.”

  His arm went around her when she swayed against him. He should refuse. Selene had drunk way more than he’d realised. She’d probably started long before his arrival. The noble gesture was to crash on the couch, but Goddess help him, he couldn’t do it. In the morning, there was every chance she’d send him on his way. If one night holding her in his arms was all had, then so be it.

  The softest giggle escaped as he swept her into his arms. His chest tightened as she settled against him, her sweet smell filling his senses. Even before he reached the bed, her breathing slowed. Lying on his back, Selene draped over him, everything felt so right. He could only hope when morning came, Selene felt it too.

  10

  There was a distinct taste of cardboard inside her mouth, and her pillow was much firmer than she remembered though she recognised its masculine scent. With considerable effort, she cracked one eye half open to confirm her suspicions. Smooth sun-kissed skin and the hint of a five o’clock shadow filled her vision.

  Kyler.

  Selene closed her eyes and searched her most recent memories. Ana had called to say Kyler was on his way. She’d gone back and forth between wanting to run and needing to understand why he had. They’d talked. Well, he’d talked, and she’d listened. He’d apologise, explained, and oh yeah, he was one hundred and five years old, still hadn’t accepted that one, then she’d invited him up to the house to sleep.

  In bed.

  With her.

  Shit.

 
Her eyes flew open. Kyler still wore his pants as did she if you could call them that. Had she really walked around in her skimpy pyjama pants last night? Her arm fell across her face as she rolled to her back. Yep, she had. Damn. Alcohol was not her friend. When was she going to remember that?

  The arm at her back flipped her to Kyler’s chest as she tried to escape to the bathroom. “Morning.”

  Selene’s blush covered her from head to toe. Never had she woken up with a man in her bed before, the fact they’d done nothing but sleep, didn’t lessen the embarrassment factor. Kyler didn’t appear the least bit upset. Typical man.

  “Mor—ning.” Her hand flew to cover her mouth. Morning breath. Ew.

  Kyler caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “I can’t believe you’re talking. I’m so proud of you.”

  Her blush deepened with his praise. “You and me both.” Selene pushed off his chest to sit. “Kyler, what are we doing?”

  The contentment left his face. “That’s up to you. After everything, I have no right to ask anything of you, and apologies are inadequate, but they’re all I have. That and my word never to cut you out ever again. This past month has more than proven that keeping you at arm’s length while dealing with my issues is a bad idea. But that’s on me. I hurt you, and all I can do is ask for you to give me a second chance, even if I don’t deserve one. Sweetheart, I don’t want to walk out that door, but if you ask me to leave, I will.”

  Sincerity rang through every one of Kyler’s words, which only made things harder. After everything, how did she trust him? So much remained a mystery. Was it naïve to let go of the past month and give Kyler another chance? Probably. Did she want to was the real question? The answer didn’t require much thinking. Yes. Very much yes.

  Okay, first things first.

  Selene slipped off the bed and dashed into the bathroom. Successful negotiation was not achieved with morning breath. Next, she raced into the kitchen and poured two fresh cups of coffee. The beach shack might be small, and basic, but one thing it contained was an ultra modern coffee machine, complete with a timer to guarantee there’d be fresh coffee ready and waiting whenever you rose.