A Girl Named Calamity (Alyria Book 1)
Page 19
There was so much going on in his eyes that I couldn’t read them. Tension clouded the air between us and I tried to lighten up the mood.
“Why do you have fangs?”
His lips tipped up, and I wondered if it would be different kissing him than it had been with Maxim. Would his sharp teeth cut me? My thoughts were interrupted by angry eyes. I got back on track.
“I’m not completely against it, but I need to know you aren’t going to try to bite me. I’ve already had enough of that.”
He stopped and turned me towards him. “Who bit you?”
“Some naked woman in the forest.”
He frowned. “Where?”
I showed him the scar on my wrist, and he shook his head. “You don’t give your blood to just anyone,” he chastised.
“I didn’t have a choice! She was going to drain my blood in her pond and swim in it!”
“It’s a wonder you made it this far.”
I didn’t mention I had been robbed by a child as well.
I smiled. “I sure fooled you for a while, though, didn’t I?”
He gave me an annoyed look as we reached a couple of Untouchables who had Gallant waiting for me outside the camp.
“Where is your horse?” I asked Weston.
“I didn’t bring one.”
I blinked. “You mean you walked all this way?”
He didn’t give me an answer, and I pondered how he got here on foot. The Untouchables walked away and left me alone with Weston while I looked at my horse and then at my short dress.
“This isn’t going to work, Weston,” I said as I realized all I had were some dirty shirts in my saddlebag. My breath hitched when he grabbed my bare hips and set me on Gallant sideways; his hands seared my skin. “I can’t ride like this.” I felt like I would slide right off.
He mounted Gallant and grabbed the reins, boxing me in with his arms. “You’re fine. I won’t let you fall.”
I was most definitely not fine.
His forearm brushing my bare stomach and resting on my thighs was the only thing I could think about. It lit a fire under my skin. I felt every slight movement he made and could focus on nothing else.
I was on fire, and he was the fuel.
I fidgeted around and tried to keep my shoulder from bumping him. And tried to move away every time I thought his arm would brush my stomach.
“Stop,” he growled.
I tried to stop. I really did. My mind was a hazy mess, and I needed to focus on something else. Another minute of fidgeting and I jerked when he gripped my hips and pulled me all the way against him.
I felt breathless and melted against him as my entire body heated. There was a haze over my mind, but this time, there was nothing magical about it.
“Did you enjoy kissing Maxim?” His deep voice was close to my neck it sent a shiver down my spine. I couldn’t think in this position, so the truth came out of my mouth.
“Yes.”
He turned my face toward his. “Do you think you would enjoy it more with me?”
“Yes,” I said without any hesitation.
“You stabbed me. Do you feel bad about that?”
I bit my lip and nodded.
“You shouldn’t,” he scolded.
“But I do.”
“Do you know what this is between us?” he asked.
“What?”
“Lust. You’ll have it with many men. Don’t try to make it into something special.”
I tensed, irritation flaring through me. “Do you think I’ve been pining over you or something?”
“I can hear your thoughts, Princess.”
“Yea, well, you didn’t hear my thoughts when I was sitting on Maxim’s lap with my tongue in his—”
“Enough,” he barked.
That nasty trick of his had my mouth involuntarily shutting and I glared at him. I should have never told him I felt bad about stabbing him.
Maybe if I did it again, he would forget what I had said.
That’s an idea.
* * *
The haze that clouds one’s mind. The dilated pupils. The racing heart. The erratic breathing. My grandmother would have looked me over and said, “You’re in lust, dear. I’ll make you some tea, and you’ll get over this,” as if it were a disease, and then she would have dragged me to the chapel to repent my sins.
I hated lust. It was irrational and didn’t pay any attention to my mind. It did whatever it wanted and—
“Stop. I can’t handle your thoughts right now,” Weston said darkly from across the fire.
I scowled. “Then maybe you should stay out of my head!”
“Fuck, you drive me crazy.”
“Well, you drive me crazier,” I retorted as I stood up and started to walk out of camp.
“You need to stay here.”
“You don’t know anything about what I need! Leave me alone!”
I walked further into the woods before I was pulled back against a chest hard enough that all the breath whooshed out of my body. I would have been yelling at Weston if I had been able to breathe and there wasn’t an older man in a black cloak standing in front of me. I pulled on Weston’s arm; he loosened it some, and I sucked in some air.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice you?” Weston told the man harshly. “I let you sniff around because you’ve apparently gotten yourself into something you shouldn’t have. Leave now and I’ll let you live.”
The older man’s face flushed. “I’ll take the girl first.”
What am I? A sack of potatoes?
Weston laughed coldly. “You can have her if you can take her from me.”
Yea . . . just a heavy sack of potatoes.
The man’s eyes narrowed. “We can work together. I’ve been watching, and you apparently don’t know how to handle the girl. Let me do it and we will get the seal open as soon as possible.”
I tensed while I listened to this man. I didn’t want to know how he would ‘handle’ me. I shuddered, and Weston’s arm tightened a little around me.
“I work alone.”
“You cannot keep the girl! At this pace, the seal will never be opened. The others have allowed you to keep her only because we thought it would be opened soon. We won’t wait any longer.”
“Do you think I give a fuck what you want?” Weston said menacingly. “You aren’t taking the girl.”
Name’s Calamity, I grumbled internally.
There was silence for a moment, and I realized there was something else going on by the focus in the old man’s eyes. He was concentrating on something and then winced.
Weston laughed. “Your mind tricks could use some improvement.”
The old man must have been a Mage. His face turned bright red in anger. “Maybe so, but my other skills are . . . proficient. You will not do what you are supposed to, and that is why I will be back for the girl.”
I sucked in a breath as the Mage disappeared into thin air.
Did he mean that Weston wouldn’t make me open the seal? A small bit of elation filled me until Weston’s arm tightened around me and I wheezed.
“Do not listen to the ramblings of an old Mage,” he scolded before he dragged me back into the camp.
* * *
I stared at the crystal around my neck while I lay in front of the fire. It wasn’t glowing, and I wondered why it didn’t consider Weston a danger. Maybe it couldn’t sense him at all like I couldn’t sense his hum. Or maybe it was because he didn’t physically abuse me.
It wasn’t like he made me feel all that welcome, though, either.
“I want to know what happened to you while you were gone,” Weston said.
“Yea, well, too bad. I don’t want to tell you,” I retorted.
“Tell me.”
Sonofabitch.
My whole story came spewing out of my mouth. I told Weston everything that happened, not holding anything back. He took it all in, and looked irritated when I explained about Sahara and how she bit me.
“You don’t let anyone take your blood,” he scolded.
“She wouldn’t have wanted it if I wasn’t a virgin. So I’ll be losing that as soon as possible.” I said it with a little truth, and also because I wanted to hear what he would say.
“You won’t be losing anything.”
For some reason, he believed he could control every aspect of my life, and it made me want to scream in frustration. Instead, I just closed my eyes and imagined Maxim on top of me, kissing me, peeling off my dress.
“Fucking hell, Calamity. Stop,” Weston growled.
“I can have sex with whomever I want.”
His eyes narrowed. “No, you can’t. As soon as the seal is open, you can do whatever you want. Until then, a virgin you will be.”
I scowled. “Why do you think you can control my life?”
“Why do you constantly try to piss me off?”
“’Cause I like to,” I mumbled as I rolled over, trying to get comfortable. The toll of my day had overwhelmed me, and I fell asleep seconds later.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
BRIDGES AND BITES
“Get up. We need to go.” Weston’s voice was too loud, and I groaned and rolled over.
“It isn’t even light out,” I grumbled.
“Get up.”
“No.”
My pallet was pulled out from under me, and I rolled onto the ground. A stick poked into my side. “Hey!”
“I should have let the old Mage come along. Maybe you would be more cooperative then,” he snapped. I ignored his comment. He had seemed more than serious about not letting the Mage help.
“I can change my mind,” he growled.
“You can stay out of my head,” I retorted as I got up, only because of the stick poking me.
My feet were bare as I walked down to the stream. I used the short time I had there to figure out a plan.
I came up with absolutely nothing.
When I got back to camp, I saw my soap melting in the fire and the strangers’ dirty shirts ripped to shreds all over the ground. I must have really confused him, or he wouldn’t have thrown this kind of tantrum. His eyes shot to me after I thought that.
“Come here,” he said calmly, but a little too calmly.
I shook my head. I didn’t know what he had planned, but I didn’t want any part of it.
“You can do this willingly, or I will make you do it.”
“Do what?” I snapped. What did he have planned now?
“You are more resourceful than I thought,” he said.
“Of course I am.”
We stared awkwardly at each other for a moment before I looked with sad eyes down at my soap in the fire. There went covering my scent. Maybe the strange woman would be in the next city we went to.
“You won’t use your tricks on me again.”
“I’ll do whatever the hell I want.”
“That’s what I thought you would say. That’s why I need something of yours.”
“What could you possibly need? You’ve taken everything from me! My life! My freedom! I will never give you anything willingly,” I growled.
His eyes hardened. “That’s not what you were saying last night.”
He got me there, but that’s what I had evasion for.
“Any man would have made me feel that way after Maxim didn’t finish what he start—”
A burst of air hit me with a blur of movement and I was pinned against a tree. I looked up into heated eyes and thought maybe I took it too far.
“Mention Maxim or even think about him again and I will take you back to their camp and kill him in front of your eyes,” he growled.
“I’ll be rooting for him,” I retorted.
He laughed. “You’re not a good liar, Princess.”
My skin prickled with irritation. He was right that I’d be rooting for him, and that made me even more annoyed. “You wouldn’t win. He could kill you with one touch,” I said haughtily. I enjoyed the thought of someone being able to best Weston.
“No, he couldn’t. We are blood brothers.”
My eyes widened. “You are brothers?”
“Not true brothers. Childhood friends who shared blood. I am immune to his touch.”
And there went someone besting him . . .
“You would kill your friend?” He really was heartless.
“I have no idea why you ever thought differently.”
“I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, now get away from me,” I snapped, and pushed at his chest. His hands rested above my head, and I felt claustrophobic and hot. His body put off an unnatural amount of heat.
“No.”
I let out a breath. “What the hell do you want?”
His eyes locked onto mine. “Something that will make sure I can find you anywhere.”
Couldn’t he already find me anywhere with his creepy senses?
“What?” I asked.
“Your blood.”
His voice traveled down my spine and I shivered.
I shook my head. “No . . . you told me I wasn’t supposed to give my blood to anyone. And I’m sure as hell not giving it to you.”
“I’m not giving you a choice.”
“There is no reason you need more control over me!” A cold sweat covered my skin. If he got any of my blood, I would never be able to get away from him.
“I lost you . . . it took me a while to track you, and that won’t be happening again. Your blood will make sure I can find you anywhere.”
My stomach sank. “No . . . Weston. I won’t leave, I promise.”
He laughed. “You really are a terrible liar.”
“You can tie me to you! You don’t need my blood.” I would rather be chained to him than have something so permanent exchanged. His eyes burned holes into mine while panic crawled up my back and made me want to run. Far away. But he had me boxed in against the tree, and my fear of failing Alyria consumed me.
“I can smell your fear. I think this is the first time you have truly been afraid of me.” I didn’t even blink twice at the fact he could smell an emotion. He brought his hand down to cup my cheek. The gentle touch from him gave me the shivers, and I tried to turn my head away, but he held my face firm. He leaned down and pressed his face against my hair while I stood still. He took a deep breath. “I didn’t think I would like it so much,” he told me.
I couldn’t even react to his words because my fear of being a failure trumped every other feeling. I was just a girl in a man’s world. I wouldn’t survive it much longer. A weight settled on my chest. Tears welled in my eyes as I stood there stiffly, looking off into the distance.
“Now that, I don’t like,” he said as he wiped away a tear running down my cheek. I hated this Weston. This one made me want to stay. This one had emotions swirling around in my chest that should have never been there. But I believed this was a fake one. To keep me docile and compliant.
“There is no reason you need to do this. You know you can keep me by your side without it,” I said desperately. My pride meant nothing to me right now, when I was about to be magically chained to him.
“Maybe I don’t need to,” he said while wiping another tear away.
“Then why?” I asked, some hope filling me that he was changing his mind. Until it was crushed by his next words.
“Because I want to.”
I didn’t even know how to comprehend what he meant before there was a blur of motion and a pinch of pain on my wrist. I winced and looked down at the couple drops of blood that dripped from my wrist.
He just bit me.
A lot less dramatic than I’d assumed. Weston’s face was unsettled as he took a couple of steps back from me. What was wrong with my blood?
“What?” I snapped. He shook his head as if to clear it before he walked away. That was it. He’d taken my blood, and now I could never escape. Was this my ending? The villain wasn’t supposed to win, and he just had. Angry tears ran down my cheeks, and I clenched my fists.
“What could be important enough to open the seal?” I shouted. “Thousands of people will all die. If you have a family, friends, count them dead. Do you not understand what will happen?”
He looked into my eyes and I saw that he understood completely.
He just didn’t care.
Whatever he wanted, he wanted it bad. And if I wanted to keep the seal closed, I needed to find out what it was.
* * *
“When did you realize who I was?” I asked Weston while riding sideways in front of him on Gallant. The sun was warm, and the soft breeze blew through my dress. I was more than angry at Weston that his arms around me only felt like a really warm prison cell.
“Why do you ask questions you know the answers to?”
“Maybe because I don’t know,” I grumbled. Had he known before we’d even left Cameron? Was that why he’d changed his mind? Something flashed in my mind, and I had a moment of realization.
“Were you in my room in Cameron?” My eyes traveled from his stubbled jaw to his sparkling eyes.
“Why do you think that?” he asked with a small smile.
He so was.
“What the hell were you doing in my room, Weston?” I suddenly remembered the table being missing. “Did you take my table?”
“I didn’t think you would want it.”
I frowned. “Why?”
“Because it wasn’t exactly a table anymore.”
“Then what was it?”
“A pile of wood.”
I blinked. “You smashed my table? What’s wrong with you?”
“Just keeping you safe as always, Princess.”
I snorted. “Yea, until the seal is open.”
He didn’t say anything, but I thought I saw something else in his eyes before he looked away.
Indecision. Turmoil. Uncertainty.
Call it what you will.
But I called it hope.
He only confirmed what I saw by looking away; he’d apparently figured out that I could read his eyes like an open book.
I was glad for the interruption of my thoughts when we rode over a hill, and I saw what was on the other side.