by S. J. West
“Oh,” he seemed a bit surprised by this fact. “Are you afraid of heights?”
“No, why?”
He took my hand and we were instantly transported to the top of the Eifel Tower.
Ok, this was too weird. It was like déjà vu.
“I’m sure you’ve never been here right?”
“No, I haven’t.” I decided not to worry about the coincidence of my dream with Malcolm’s itinerary. It had to just be chance happenings. It’s not like he could see into my dreams, at least I hoped he couldn’t.
I looked at the people milling around us like nothing was out of place.
“How come people weren’t startled when we appeared,” I asked.
“They don’t see it consciously. It’s sort of like knowing something is different but not knowing what exactly. If I wanted them to see it, they could, but I rarely want to scare a human that badly.”
“I don’t understand. I know when someone does it. I’ve seen you, Will, and Brand do it.”
“Like I said,” he tucked a wayward strand of hair blowing against my face behind my ear tenderly. “You’re different.”
I wasn’t completely comfortable with the way Malcolm was looking at me. At least when he made his lewd off handed remarks, I could play it off as a joke. But the tender, loving way he stared at me now took me completely by surprise.
“There seem to be a lot of people here,” I said, finding a good excuse to break our eye contact. “Are you comfortable with that?”
“Surprisingly yes,” he said surveying the crowd around us. “I think having you near helps control that particular craving of mine.”
He held out his arm to me. “Would you like a tour of the city, dearest?”
Malcolm spent a lot of time showing me the sights of Paris. It felt odd to be touring the city at night when back home it was still mid-morning.
“I’ve spent a lot of time here,” he explained when we stopped to eat at the Café de l’Homme restaurant. We sat by the windows looking out at the Eiffel Tower which was lit up against the night sky now. “I love this city. It never sleeps.”
“I guess that’s convenient considering what you are.”
“It has its advantages,” he agreed with a sly smile. “So,” he said sitting back in his seat looking at me. “What do you think Brand would say if he knew you were here with me?”
“That I shouldn’t be around you. That you’re dangerous.”
Malcolm’s eyes narrowed on me like he was trying to figure something out.
“And yet you still agreed to spend the day with me.”
“He doesn’t have any rights to me anymore. He can’t dictate who I spend my time with.”
“So, what exactly is the relationship between you and Brand anyway?”
“There isn’t one anymore.”
“Do you love him?”
“I don’t see what business that is of yours. He left me. Everyone leaves,” I took another bite from my plate of pasta hoping he would drop the subject.
“Everyone? Who else has held your heart and left you?”
“Will was my first love,” I wasn’t sure why I was telling Malcolm about my personal life. I guess it was the fact he knew them and what they really were. He probably knew them better than I did in some ways.
“And he broke your heart too?”
“Yes.”
“But it’s Brand you still love?”
“Listen, I’d really rather not talk about Brand if that’s all right. I came with you today so I wouldn’t have time to think about him too much.”
Malcolm grinned. “Fair enough.”
He leaned his elbows on the table. “Why haven’t you asked me the question you kept asking me the other night?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I thought about it, but honestly, I don’t think you know who wants me dead anymore than I do.”
“Perceptive,” he said, his voice rising a pitch higher like he was impressed. “What made you come to that conclusion?”
“You don’t seem like the type of person who would keep that sort of information to yourself. I think if you knew you would have told me by now, if for no other reason than to brag about it. You know it was someone powerful but you have no idea who it is. But, I’m a little confused. You had to have gotten the order from someone. Who was that?”
“The leader of my faction of Watchers came to me personally and asked that I get rid of you for someone he owed a favor to.”
“Why you in particular?”
“I have a 100% success rate where these matters are concerned. Plus, ladies tend to find me irresistible.” He said with a smile that told me he had known a lot of ladies in his time.
“What’s your leader going to say when he finds out you didn’t do what he told you to?”
“He didn’t say anything. Just thought it was curious I should pass up an easy target. He knows better than to mess with me. His request was more of a favor than an order.”
“Do you think he’ll send someone else after me? To complete his favor to who really wants me killed?”
“No. I made it clear you’re under my protection now, to all of them.”
“And if we stop being friends, would he send someone then?”
“Perhaps, but I doubt it. He doesn’t linger on matters like that very long. He’s probably already forgotten about you.”
“Is there any way you could help me find out who wants to kill me?” I didn’t want to plead for Malcolm’s help but he was the best chance I had in discovering who was behind everything.
“I’ll try, dearest, but I’m not sure how much help I’ll be. Justin isn’t all that pleased with me at the moment. I don’t think he’ll willingly give me the information. But I can tell you he was a little frightened when I told him to leave you alone and it wasn’t because of me. I think he was scared what the repercussions of leaving you alive would be.”
“Well, anything you could find out would be more than Will and Brand have been able to do yet.” I took the napkin off my lap and put it on the table. “Where are we going next?”
“Well, since you don’t like water, the next spot I wanted to show you is out,” he said thinking hard. “Would you like to see a pyramid?”
“I’ve always wanted to see one of those,” I said excited.
“I’ll take you to one I helped build.”
He stood up and held his hand out to me. I placed my hand in his and the next thing I knew we were standing near the top of a pyramid. It was dark but there were some spot lights around that helped me see where we were.
“You helped build this?” I said, holding onto his hand. The height was a bit disorienting to me in the dark. The warm breeze coming off the desert sand was pleasant and had a strange exotic smell to it.
“Yes, a long time ago. I helped design it. I’ve always liked architecture.”
He sat down on one of the big stones and sat me down on his lap. I marveled at the small grouping of three pyramids we were sitting amongst. I never thought I would ever be this close to one.
“What’s it like? Living as long as you have?” I asked.
“It gets harder and harder to find distractions,” he said absently playing with one of my hands in his looking out into the desert.
“Am I a distraction?”
My question seemed to break his ruminations because he looked at me then and smiled. “The best kind. In all my time here, I’ve never met anyone like you. I’m not sure you understand how special you are, dearest.”
That was basically what Brand had said. I was an anomaly. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to exist.
“Have you built anything recently?” I asked after we’d been sitting there for a while in comfortable silence.
“I just built a house in Hawaii. Would you like to see it?”
“Sure.”
We stood up. He still had hold of my hand and we were instantly standing on a beach made of black sand. The sun was high in the sky forcing me to shield my
eyes quickly from its brightness. Malcolm looked behind us and pointed.
“That’s it.”
I turned to look behind me and saw Malcolm’s home or at least one of them, I guessed. It was a modern house two stories tall made of glass, steel and concrete. It reminded me of a book of homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright I’d seen as a child.
“It’s gorgeous,” I breathed. It really was the most interesting, geometrically designed house I’d ever seen in person.
“Come on, I’ll show you the inside.”
It took almost an hour for Malcolm to show me everything he wanted to show off about his home. I could tell he really loved his design. He was so proud of every little angle and how things complemented each other. I didn’t understand everything he was talking about but I did enjoy the difference in him. He was like a kid showing off his favorite new toy to his best friend.
“So what do you think?” he asked as we ended the tour going into the last room on the second floor.
“It’s gorgeous. You should be proud of what you did here.”
A pleased, almost shy smile graced his face. “Thanks.”
The last room ended up being his personal bedroom. It took up a large portion of the top floor and had one large circular bed in the middle covered in white satin sheets. Malcolm hit a button on the wall as we walked in which opened a large section of glass on the all glass ceiling and opened a pair of sliding glass doors leading out onto a balcony overlooking the ocean letting in the sound of the waves crashing against the beach echo against the walls of the room.
I didn’t go far into the bedroom. Something just didn’t feel right.
Malcolm took both of my hands into his and brought them up to his lips.
“Would you like to try out the bed?” he murmured before kissing the tops of my hands and looking at me in a way which told me exactly what he wanted.
I took my hands out of his and crossed my arms in front of my chest. “I think I should go back home now.”
“Don’t you find me the least bit irresistible, dearest Lilly? Let me help you erase Brand from your mind,” he stepped closer to me.
“Listen, I thought we were just going to be friends. If you’re wanting me to be your lover, I’m sorry but I can’t do that. I would have to be in love with you in order for that to happen. And I barely know you.” I turned to leave but Malcolm put a gentle hand on my arm to stop me.
“Wait. I’m sorry.” He looked at me like I was a curiosity. “You’re not a virgin are you?” He said it as if the idea of me being a virgin were completely preposterous.
“I’m not sure what business that is of yours,” I replied defensively.
He started to laugh like I had said something funny.
“I don’t understand what’s so funny.”
He tried to compose himself but his laughter still leaked through.
“I’m so sorry,” he said chuckling. “It’s just that I haven’t met a virgin over the age of sixteen in a long time.”
“So just because I’ve decided to wait, I deserve to be laughed at?”
“No, no, I’m laughing at myself, not you. I can’t believe I just tried to seduce a virgin is all. If you made it out of high school with your innocence intact, you’re to be commended. Not a lot of people do. Please, accept my apology. I had no idea.
But still,” he looked at me like he was trying to figure something out about me. “You’ve spent a lot of time with me today yet you’re completely ambivalent to my desire for you. Most women would be trying to seduce me by this point.”
“Brand mentioned the pheromone you produce. Is that what you’re talking about?”
“Yes. I’ve had women fall into my arms within minutes of meeting me yet you seem to be completely immune to it.”
Was I immune to it? Did that mean my feelings for Brand were real? Not just a by product of being around him too much, breathing in the chemical which was part of his curse? This realization made me happy and sad all at once. I was happy my feelings were true and sad that I would have to get over them naturally. If they had been a side affect of being around him too much, I could have recovered like an addict does when they stop using drugs. Now, I would just have to wait for my heart to heal itself.
“Well, since my powers of seduction are useless on you,” he took my hand and led me out of the room. “Come on, I have something in the backyard you might like to see.”
Malcolm’s backyard was beautiful. It looked like a miniature Japanese garden with a modern twist.
“It’s lovely. Did you do this yourself?”
“I designed it, but I don’t do the heavy lifting if I can pay someone else to do it for me.”
There was a large koi pond with a red and black oriental bridge across it. Malcolm gave me some fish food to throw in. We stood out there for a while feeding the fish and talking about the different plants around the garden. It was then I noticed the red and white rose bushes.
“Were the flowers you brought me this morning from here?” I asked.
“Yes, they were. I thought you might enjoy them.” He took one of my hands. “Come with me. Do you know how to play chess? I’ve been dying to play chess with someone here.”
“I know the basics but I’m no expert.”
“That’s all right. I like to win anyway.”
I don’t know how long we sat there playing chess but eventually Malcolm said it was time to get me back home.
“I promised to have you home by ten and I intend to keep that promise. Otherwise Tara might not let you come out and play with me again.”
We were standing in front of my door before I knew it, but we weren’t alone.
Both Will and Brand instantly materialized beside us.
“Where have you been?” They both said harshly and in unison.
They both looked at me with scowls so ominous I instinctively took a closer step toward Malcolm who put a protective arm around my waist.
“Ok you two need to not do that to me again,” I said putting a hand to my racing heart. “And exactly what business is it of yours where I’ve been? I’m a grown woman. I can take care of myself.”
“You know,” Malcolm said looking at Will and Brand completely amused by the situation. “As I see it, you two have had your chances with Lilly and failed her miserably I might add. You shouldn’t make her feel like she did something wrong by spending the day with me. She doesn’t belong to either of you. She can stand up for herself you know. Why even today she proved it by refusing to let me seduce her in my own bedroom. And I can assure you both I was trying my hardest.”
Both Will and Brand moved forward like they were about to pounce on Malcolm’s head. Luckily, the door behind me opened and Tara stepped out before the situation exploded out of my control.
“All right, I’ve heard just about enough from all of y’all. You boys need to just leave Lilly alone.” She pulled me by the arm into the apartment standing between me and the three outside. “Now get and no fighting outside our apartment. If y’all want to act like idiots, do it somewhere else.” And she shut the door on all three of their stunned faces.
“I swear, girl. I don’t know if I can take any more of your suitors.”
“I wouldn’t call Brand and Will suitors. They’re just over protective morons.”
“Men don’t act that stupid over a girl unless they’re in love with her.”
I hated to admit I hoped that was the truth in Brand’s case. I wanted him to fight for me. I wanted to know he still loved me even though he kept pushing me away. If there was even a glimmer of a chance he still loved me, I wanted to hold onto it.
Chapter 15
The next morning I ended up taking another cold shower when I woke up. I had no idea why I kept dreaming about Malcolm in compromising situations. But at least this time we stopped in between love making sessions and took walks along the beach and played chess. It wasn’t all sex all the time like the previous night’s dream but what sex there was had my
hormones raging.
It took me longer than usual to get ready for school that morning because of my long shower. I ended up making it into biology class just before the bell rang. I faltered a bit when I saw Brand sitting in his usual seat. I sat down across from him and avoided making eye contact. I could feel him staring at me. I’m not even sure what Dr. Floyd was saying in class but I kept my eyes on him anyway. It didn’t keep me from seeing Brand out of my periphery vision though. I saw him scribble something down in his notebook and angle it towards me in an agitated manner.
I had to make a decision. I could either pretend I didn’t see it or look to see what he had to say. My curiosity won out.
What the hell were you thinking spending the day with that thing?
I’m not sure what made me madder: him questioning my decision making skills or calling Malcolm a thing.
I wrote a response in my own notebook which initiated a short, silent conversation.
What I do with my time is none of your business. And Malcolm isn’t a thing!
Do you know how worried I was about you? When Will told me he stopped by your place and Tara told him where you were and who with, I thought I would go crazy! We both searched for you but the trail was cold by the time we found out you were with him.
Why do you keep acting like you care about me Brand? You said you wanted me to leave you alone and I am. So why can’t you leave me alone?
Brand took a long time to respond. I thought he was going to ignore my question.
You need to stay away from him. He can’t be trusted.
And he closed his notebook effectively ending our conversation.
The bell rang and I quickly made my way out of the room to go to English comp., not wanting Brand to stop me and berate me about going out with Malcolm.
I told Tara about my conversation with Brand when I got to class.
“Lilly Rayne, you’re gonna have to make a decision,” she said in all seriousness. “You either need to go to him and be honest about your feelings or forget about him. Which one can you do?”
“Neither,” I said covering my face with both hands in frustration. “I guess if I knew whether or not he really loved me I could go to him, but I’m scared to do that and have him completely reject me again. It hurt too much the first time. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I need to forget about him completely.”
