by Brianna West
His hair just touched his shoulders and looked just as dark as it had in the alley where I first saw him. It reminded me of black silk, flowing down until it curled just at the tips. His eyes were almond shape and dark like I had initially thought but appeared to be a deep sapphire blue. His sun-kissed skin looked smooth, and my fingers trembled with the desire to feel just how smooth.
Also, it momentarily made me wonder what kind of body wash he used to have such a flawless complexion.
His jaw was a hard line accompanied by perfectly sculpted cheekbones. A nose that was flawlessly long and angular with only the slightest flaring in his nostrils, easily added both a beauty and masculinity to his face. Lips that were infinitely more delicious looking than any man I’d ever laid eyes on.
Actually, they looked quite soft and full—and kissable.
If he had not bashed me into a wall, I daresay I would have asked him to join me for drink. And after a night of drinks, profess my undying love and loyalty. However, that wasn’t happening even if this Englishman found me attractive enough to share a drink with.
I was not terrible looking. Nattie had even gone to say I was attractive, but her opinion was of a best friend and meant little to me.
I had long, dark brown hair similar to milk chocolate. My eyes were a mixture of blue and green, as the soft touch of yellow that haloed my pupil gave them a greenish hue. I had freckles galore to accompany my pasty white skin, which was partly why I was so envious of Tall, Dark, and Handsome; I would simply never tan to such perfection as that.
Quite the opposite. I would burn baby burn.
My build wasn't heavy, but I wasn't skinny either. I was your average Jane with very little at my disposal to entice the opposite sex with.
It had been a long time since I had a man in my bed. A very long time.
Nattie had finally gotten me out to “The Bar” and left early with some barney as she was prone to do, leaving me by my lonesome with a bunch of old drunks that were eager to saddle up beside me with “if I was your age” comments that always ended with “I would take you home.”
Thanks old man, but if you were my age, you'd get a knee.
Speaking of Nattie, my hand dove into my pocket, and I was disappointed to find that my phone had been confiscated. So they were pros.
Damn.
“Where's Blondie?” I finally asked when Tall, Dark, and Handsome had been skulking silently near the doorway for far too long in my dapper opinion.
“Who?” He was momentarily startled from his gaze at the nearby vanity.
Vanities were nice and all, but I doubt he was staring at it for any particular reason except being lost to his thoughts. Brooding and handsome? It was straight out of my usual collection of romance novels.
“Uh...what's his name...?” I wracked my brain for the asshole that knocked me out. It was very Russian and started with a 'P'—as in ‘pretentious’ I concluded. “Oh, Pavel.”
Dark angels always had weird and hard to pronounce names. I didn't read about many Russian dark angels though. Most times, they were English.
Lucas would have been a perfect dark angel as well, but he struck me as something different. Something darker with a conscience. Probably closer to an unsung-hero-type pirate captain with a reputation that proceeded him but was quite the opposite of the truth.
“He will return shortly,” he answered coolly.
Well, at least he didn't ignore me. Although, knowing his accomplice would return soon had my stomach clenching with spite.
Here I was, conversing with my captor as if I wasn't just thrown into a wall, questioned, and made witness to some crazy shit I won't even think about for sake of sanity. Not to mention being knocked out at the end of the impressionable evening.
Chalk it all up to a normal and crazy Friday night, I suppose.
“Look,” I said finally after deciding when you can't run, you reason. “I realize that what I did last night was unforgivably rude, but I won't utter a word of this to anyone if you let me go. I promise to act as if last night and this morning never happened.”
Was it in fact morning, I couldn't really guess, but since the father clock chimed seven, I assumed I couldn't have been out for an entire day.
“I cannot permit that,” he said with a finality that stopped my heart nearly instantly within my chest.
Figures.
I was not exactly talented with the art of persuasion, and guessing by his outstanding looks and physique, he was likely used to having people try to persuade him.
My fists clenched at my side, and I withheld the outburst sure to make its way out of my mouth. “Why not?”
“You will be in danger if I did,” he responded.
I stared at him in silence before laughter overtook me. “In danger?! Who the hell do you think knocked me out in the first place? What's to say that Blondie won't come back to finish the job! I seem to remember being promised to be silenced forever if I didn't answer your goddamn questions!”
“That was before we knew what you were and what you were capable of doing,” he explained, drawing out a look of incredibility from me.
I watched him as if he had grown another head, which in my defense, after our previous evening, he could very well have, and it would be just as bat shit crazy as six-foot men disappearing and large shadows with glowing red eyes.
“I'm not following. I'm pretty sure that I'm terrible at fighting, prone to donut consumption, nosy, and quick to stick my foot in my mouth with sarcastic outbursts. That’s about all the interesting bits about me,” I said with confidence.
His face, for the first time since we met, melted into a softened expression.
Be still my heart.
He was gorgeous when he smiled. His face lit up like a Christmas tree, and the deep rumble of his laughter echoed off the walls of my current prison. “Donut consumption? I hardly think that noteworthy.”
“Believe me, my unfaltering loyalty to donuts is pretty impressive,” I stated with inflated pride, hoping that the humor would somehow break down his defensive barriers so I could escape this Victorian period hell hole.
I gave the room another look about, but the windows were small and would definitely not fit the size of my derriere no matter what angle I might try.
I almost giggled at the thought of my new word 'derriere.' My romance novels were starting to pay off. My vocabulary had started to include words such as derriere and bosom.
Pretty soon my internal ramblings would manifest into verbal outbursts that would later—or sooner—transform me into a crazy spinster.
I really needed to get laid, or at the very least, have an entirely too long make out session with some heavy petting.
Finally returning to the topic at hand, my current captivity, I faced the man now giving me unbidden sexual urges. “So Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome.” This earned me a raised eyebrow to which I cleared my throat against the need to laugh victoriously at my biting wit. “I mean, Lucas, what might I possess that could very well warrant my current imprisonment?”
Hell yeah, I sounded smart!
I crossed my arms over my chest with inflated confidence.
“You mean that you do not know of what I speak?” he asked, confusion drawing down his forehead.
Well, duh. If I did, why the hell would I ask?
“No,” I said, deciding that simple and short was the best course of action with the overly serious Tall, Dark, and Handsome.
He appeared at a loss, and it was the first time he had showed anything other than his customary arrogant confidence or authoritative scolding. Before he could elaborate, a deep baritone broke through the quiet.
“Lucas,” it said as I recognized the Russian accent almost immediately.
I internally cringed at the realization. Pavel had returned. As if hearing my internal thoughts, Pavel entered the room with his hair in a platinum mess about his face. In the light, he was even more beautiful than I remembered.
However, Beauty w
as the Beast in this case, if my throbbing migraine was anything to show for it.
His light hair was in disarray but in a sort of I-meant-it-to-appear-messy sort of way. Light blue, clear-as-ice depths focused on me from his spot at the doorway. He even had perfect white teeth that were currently mocking me from where he stood.
Jerk.
The black t-shirt was stretched over his well-sculpted chest, nearly bursting, and was only a slight—okay—tremendous distraction from his mesmerizing eyes and perfect smirking mug.
All-in-all, I was almost certain they were gay. Two men living in close quarters of equally stunning beauty; there had to be a catch, and it was assuredly that they bat for their own team. The other catch being they were likely serial killers. And very presently, kidnappers.
“We are not gay,” Blondie proclaimed in exasperation, nearly throwing me from the bed with the incredibility of the statement.
“How the hell—“ I asked, suddenly unable to breathe.
“You are hard to tune out. I won’t, though. Your mind is rather entertaining, actually.” Pavel gave me a knowing look before turning to Lucas. “She is not yet aware of her powers and even more naive to our world. I was able to sort through her memories, and she has lived as a human from infancy. Her mind was unprotected which led me to believe she has yet any control or understanding over her powers.”
“I had presumed as much, Pavel.” Lucas seemed aggravated by the information. “You could have enlightened me last night before I nearly ran her head through a wall.”
Yeah! If you could read my mind, you should have said it earlier, you bastard.
Pavel's eyes met mine, mirth dancing within them. Definitely a bastard.
“Well, I was quite preoccupied with keeping our barrier intact, wasn’t I? And you left me very little room after discovering her.”
Yeah, I felt about as invisible as a fly on the wall. They were conversing as though I wasn't even in the damn room. Not that I could blame them. In comparison to these gods, I was inconsequential.
I focused instead on the previous conversation about certain abilities I might harbor.
Was I like a superhero or something? Could I kill people with my eyes, or climb walls with the palms of my hands and soles of my feet. Or maybe, could I even fly? That would be super cool, but also sort of ironic since I was afraid of heights.
“Victor will want to hear of her,” I heard Lucas say as images of myself in a cape and tights danced in my head.
Pavel's head jerked towards me, a grin breaking out over his face, and nearly startling me into a drooling mess of fan girl. “You look good in a cape, moya solnishka, but I would much rather you visualize yourself without any clothes at all.”
My cheeks flared instantly as I did my best to glare in his direction.
Did the man even understand how invasive reading my thoughts are?
I visualized him catapulting across the room and was surprised when he was sent backwards and into a wall with a loud thump. Lucas' eyes went wide as he jerked his head towards his friend, and then towards me.
Pavel was momentarily stunned before he was at my bedside, his face every image of fury. I sunk into the bed, cowering at the ferocity in his eyes.
Damn, Russians were intimidating when angry.
“Calm down, Pavel. You know she could not have possibly done it on purpose,” Lucas said from behind him, appearing within the blink of an eye to hold him back should he act upon his anger.
I honestly was not sure what had just taken place. How did I do that?
“I'm awesome,” I accidently whispered out loud, and then my eyes widened while glancing quickly towards the two men.
Pavel was still every bit as scary as he had been the night before, and Lucas, well, he looked very close to losing his composure to a fit of giggles. Did big men like him giggle? It was certainly an entertaining image.
Pavel's face relaxed, and his lip upturned. “Indeed,” he said as he shook Lucas off. “Do it again, moya solnishka, and I will not be as lenient.”
What do you say to an angry Russian? Not a damn thing.
So I nodded and clasped my hands, in an effort to subdue my shivering, into my lap. Even though I was slightly ashamed, I was also pretty amazed with myself. This was not the first time this had occurred, but I had always attributed it to coincidence. Now, I wasn't so sure.
Addressing Pavel once more, Lucas referred back to their previous conversation. “I will speak with Victor tomorrow. Today, I think it wise that we speak with Isabelle.”
“Izzy,” I corrected hating the way my name sounded. I was by no means making myself familiar with these two, but I abhorred my full name.
“Izzy,” Lucas repeated with a smirk. “I assume you have questions.”
“Damn right.”
“Then let us answer them,” came his quick reply.
--
To say I was prepared for what the two of them might enlighten me to would mean that I was ready to believe in witches, demons, and vampires, which I wasn’t.
Lucas painted a world that was similar to what I would read in one of my paranormal novels. He described beasts that lived on the flesh and blood of humans and opposing creatures in which were put here to protect humans.
Honestly, I zoned out somewhere in the middle when I realized that these guys were crazy hot with a double side of crazy.
I was pretty sure I was staring with a dumbfounded look on my face from the way that Lucas sighed and shook his head.
“You look as though you do not believe what I say to be true,” he finally voiced.
Uh, could you blame me? I was more of a see-to-believe-it sort.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I loved paranormal romances and would read those even if my arms had fallen off and was told I would lose my legs should I continue to read, but that was not to say I believed any of that crap.
“I'm just finding this all a little hard to believe,” I said as I scooted away from the crazies.
I wasn't sure what hallucinogens they had me on, but now I was sure I had fallen into the laps of cult members who had somehow drugged me to see things that weren't possible.
“She thinks we are mad, Lucas,” Pavel said with a voice dripping with frustration.
I gave Pavel the evil-eye before continuing my backwards progression.
“As she should, having lived under the guise of humanity for twenty-seven years.”
Did I look my age? How the hell did Lucas guess that?! Dammit, I was told by Nattie that I looked barely twenty-three, but now I could call her a liar to her face.
“Victor needs to be informed. We waste time with her,” Pavel said angrily.
My glare was lost on him, but that did not mean I couldn't continue to try. I should try a different approach.
“I like you too, Blondie,” I said grinning.
Kill them with kindness.
Could you kill a Russian with kindness? Were they immune because the way he gazed at me, as if I was covered from head to toe with boils, gave me the impression that he saw me as nothing more than a nuisance.
I didn't blame him. I could be difficult; but for him, I would be especially difficult.
“Her understanding is imperative should we move forward,” Lucas replied, ignoring my interjection. “I do not want to worry that she might use any opportunity that rises to escape. Besides, her talents could help us along with our investigation. She would just require a bit of training, but she harbors a raw power that even I would not disregard.”
Yeah, well, I probably would attempt to escape given the chance, but I was sort of intrigued by the possibility of powers.
No, Izzy, powers did not happen in reality, only in those books I found myself reading nearly every day for the last couple months.
Yeah, I really needed to get laid. I sighed at the revelation that I was the saddest person I knew. Only two boyfriends under my belt at the age of twenty-seven was sure to be evidence of that.
Blondie
turned towards me, his eyes darkening. For a second, I worried he might try attacking me again, but then he was turning back to Lucas as if he couldn’t be bothered with me.
Well, I didn’t like you much either, you beautiful bastard.
“You know,” I said, interjecting myself into the conversation again. A girl could only take so much. “I'm right here. I've been here the entire time you've been speaking about me as if I wasn't.”
Lucas gave me a thoughtful glance before a small smile nearly had me losing my train of thought.
Focus, Izzy.
As amazing as his smile was, it was increasingly vital that I didn't lose my initial reason for saying this in the process. I needed to find a way out of here.
I closed my eyes and visualized my thoughts being guarded by a thick wall. When I heard a sharp intake from Blondie, I wondered if it could have actually worked. I tested the waters and thought of him dancing through the room with a tutu.
“Shit!” the Russian bellowed.
When my eyes flashed open, he was wearing said tutu, and Lucas was staring on in confusion. Pavel tore the tutu away and threw it as if it burned his skin. I grunted, attempting to hold back my laughter, at the pink tights now hugging his masculine thighs.
“She blocked me. She is not yet trained, and she was able to manage blocking me,” Pavel growled, eyeing me in accusation.
And dressed you like the pretty little princess you are.
“Then she is stronger than we initially thought,” Lucas said with a small upturn of one very delicious looking mouth. “Do you understand now why it is imperative to us that she join? Raw talent and power such as these are rare, and while I know it will displease Victor, he would not disagree with her usefulness.”
I was suddenly more afraid than I had been the night before. They didn't intend to kill me which was a plus, but now I was to be used for whatever reason they saw fit? That didn't bode well with me.
I liked my freedom, and I didn't trust these two as far as I could throw them. And by the sheer size of them, I wouldn’t be able to even lift them.
“I won't be your personal slave.”
