“Okay.”
“I can’t believe you’re not going to argue with me about this,” Aric muttered.
“Maybe tomorrow,” I said. “I was thinking that tonight I could distract you with nudity and make us both feel better.”
Aric arched an eyebrow, his eyes glinting under the filtered moonlight. “How much distraction are we talking about here?”
“Come back to bed and find out.”
WHEN I woke again I found Aric’s side of the bed empty. I knew darned well I’d tired him out the night before, the sound of his heavy breathing lulling me to sleep as his mouth pressed against my ear and his body melded to mine from behind.
Where the heck was he? Please tell me he didn’t sneak out of bed to murder Paris.
I heard a low voice in the bathroom and swung my legs over the side of the mattress, reaching down and searching for something to throw over my head and cover my nudity before investigating the noise. When I found the floor bare, I remembered we’d stripped in the bathroom and not bothered to put anything on before going to bed.
I moved to the bathroom door quietly and pressed my ear to it. Yes, eavesdropping is wrong. If he didn’t want me to do it, though, he should’ve called whomever he was calling from a different room. I can’t be blamed for my curiosity.
“Thanks for sending the team,” Aric said. “They worked late. The yard is completely bare this morning. I’m going to go outside and double check as soon as Zoe is up, but it looks good.”
Aric pleasantly conversed with his father. That wasn’t nearly as exciting as I thought it would be.
“She was impressive,” Aric said. I knew he was talking about me. “She could have easily killed all of them on her own. She was upset after it was all over, but I think some of that was dealing with the knowledge that Paris left her there to die.”
Sometimes I think Aric fancies himself an amateur psychologist.
“We talked about it a little bit,” Aric said. “I didn’t ask her too many questions, and she didn’t volunteer a lot of information. In the immediate aftermath … I think she was in shock. She focused on me and let the rest of it go until she got a hold of herself.”
There was a pause as Aric listened to his father talk.
“I’m not doing that, Dad,” Aric said. “She kicked some major ass. I’m not going to try to train her again. I don’t care what you say. She doesn’t like it and it makes her unhappy. That makes me unhappy. Her body and powers seem to know exactly how to work in a crisis. You can’t fight genetics.”
I wrinkled my nose. If James Winters thought I was going through training again, he was crazy.
“I am not whipped,” Aric snapped, causing me to smile. “Fine. Go ahead and call me that all you want. If loving Zoe and wanting her to be happy makes me whipped, then I guess I’m whipped. Oh, whatever … you’re more whipped where Mom is concerned than I am.”
He was so cute sometimes. I liked that he was whipped.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do about Paris,” Aric admitted, causing my shoulders to stiffen. “I can’t kill her. Zoe would never forgive me. She’s got it in her head that we have to help Paris because she owes her. I’m not arguing with her about it. We’re going to help Paris, and that’s the end of it.”
My heart swelled at his words. I should distract him again before breakfast. He clearly deserved a reward.
“That’s not the reason I called,” Aric said, his voice weary. “I called to thank you for sending the team and to ask if you’ll come up here and take a look at this book. I have no idea what I’m looking at. It’s in Latin … and maybe some other language I don’t recognize. You will know how dangerous it is more than I do.”
I tugged a hand through my messy hair, smoothing it so I could distract him the second he walked back into our bedroom.
“Thank you for agreeing to come,” Aric said. “I appreciate it. I have a feeling we’re in over our heads here. You’ll be a calming force in this house. I … um … need you to do something else for me, though.”
Aric listened again. I could practically see him making a face through the door when he growled.
“Yes, you’re always doing me favors,” Aric conceded. “This one is an easy one. I need you to bring that … thing … I have in your safe with you when you come.”
What thing?
“Yes, I’m sure,” Aric said. “It’s been time to tell her for a long time. I know now isn’t the perfect moment, but we might never get that. I want it. I’ll handle the rest when it’s time.”
What the heck was that about?
“Thank you,” Aric said. “We’ll see you tonight.”
Aric was already pulling the door open before I had time to race to the bed and pretend I’d been there the whole time. Aric pulled up short when he saw me, glancing around the bedroom and taking in my naked body with a studied look. “Good morning, Trouble. Were you just eavesdropping?”
“That’s a horrible thing to say,” I said, mustering as much outrage as I could manage in an effort to put him on the defensive. “I had to go to the bathroom. I didn’t know anyone was in there until you walked out.”
Aric narrowed his eyes. “I think you’re lying.”
Crap. “I think you’re casting aspersions on my character when I haven’t earned it,” I countered. That would show him.
“I think it’s cute when you turn our conversations into a scene from one of your romance novels,” Aric said. “I still think you were eavesdropping. It’s okay. I wasn’t saying anything I wouldn’t have said if you were around.”
Except for the part about the “thing.” I didn’t bring that up, though. I was still trying to pretend I hadn’t been eavesdropping. “And who were you talking to?”
“You know very well I was talking to my father,” Aric replied, his gaze pointed. “He’ll be here in time for dinner. That means I’m going to have to run to the store. Are you okay staying here with Paris for an hour while I’m gone?”
“I’ll be fine,” I replied, rolling my eyes. “It’s not as if she’s going to jump me and try to slit my throat while you’re out picking up steaks.”
“I’m getting crab legs, too,” Aric replied. “I thought I would add corn on the cob and potatoes. Do you want anything else?”
This was a rather mundane conversation given the big “thing” that he wasn’t talking about. “That’s fine,” I said. “I … is that all you said to your dad?”
“I thanked him for the cleanup crew and told him you were a total badass,” Aric said, moving past me and dropping a kiss on my forehead. “What do you want for breakfast?”
How did this conversation get away from me? “I was going to distract you again before eating,” I said, finally finding a train of thought to glom onto. “I thought we would distract each other and then eat breakfast.”
“How about we compromise,” Aric suggested, smirking at my discomfort. “How about we shower while distracting each other? I can’t help but feel I missed out on a prime opportunity last night because we were so distracted.”
“Then what?”
“Then I will make you and Paris breakfast and run into town,” Aric said. “That will give you guys an hour to talk without me watching over you, and it will give me an hour to load up on alcohol and food.”
“You’re being really easy to get along with this morning,” I said.
“I’m easy to get along with every morning,” Aric shot back. “You’re the grumpy one in the morning.”
“I … .” Seriously, how did this conversation get away from me? I want to know about the “thing.”
“Come on, Trouble,” Aric said, patting my bare rear end. “Let’s get to this distracting you promised me. I’ll start the shower.”
One of these days I’m going to figure out exactly how he bamboozled me. Whatever he did, it was a masterful feat. I’m not sure he even realized he was doing it.
8
Eight
“Where’s Ari
c?”
Paris found me sitting on the living room floor studying The Archimage five minutes after Aric left. He warned me about turning my back when Paris was around, gave me a randy kiss, and then winked as he walked out the door. He told me he would probably feel the need for another distraction that night and didn’t give me a backward glance as he strode out.
You would think he was enjoying all of this. Well, other than Paris. He barely spoke to her throughout breakfast and refused to make eye contact. Where she was concerned, he was still angry. Everything else had him smiling, though. It was odd.
It probably had something to do with the “thing.” In an effort to distract myself from obsessing about whatever it was, I decided to focus on the book. Aric dropped it on the coffee table when he left, practically daring Paris to steal it. Part of me wondered whether he wanted her to so he would have a legitimate reason to kill her. That’s crazy, right?
“His father is coming tonight to look at the book,” I said, resting my chin on the table so I could study the leather-bound tome. “Aric ran into town to pick up food and liquor.”
“Is Aric’s father a big drinker?” Paris asked, settling on the floor next to me. She was close enough to give the appearance of friendship, but not close enough to touch me. She was leery.
“I think the alcohol is for Aric,” I said. “We don’t have a lot of stuff around here. We usually drink wine and beer. He mentioned wanting something harder. I told him to get stuff so we could make fruity drinks. He’d better not forget my little umbrellas.”
Paris snorted. “Other than my arrival, things between the two of you seem to be going well.”
“They are,” I said, shifting my eyes to her face without lifting my chin. “We’re happy.”
“Are you sure?” Paris pressed. “You seemed upset when I brought up marriage last night.”
I’d almost forgotten about that. Almost. “Do you want to know the truth?” Even though I was angry with her I missed having a female friend to talk with about girly stuff. It felt like forever since I’d wasted an afternoon gossiping. I missed being able to unload my insecurities on Paris and Kelsey.
Paris nodded. “I always want to hear the truth.”
“I thought he would’ve proposed by now, too,” I admitted.
Paris’ smile was sympathetic. “Why don’t you ask him about it?”
“Don’t you think that’s a little desperate?”
“I think that Aric will do anything to make sure you’re happy,” Paris replied. “If he knew you wanted to get married … .”
“That’s the thing; I’m not sure that I want to get married,” I said. “Okay, that’s not true. I would like to be able to look at him and say, ‘That’s my husband.’ I’m not keen about the idea of a wedding, but I can’t see myself with anyone but him.”
“Are you worried he can see himself with someone other than you?” Paris asked. “If that’s the case, I think you’re barking up the wrong tree – so to speak. Should I bring up barking given the wolf attack?”
“Probably not,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “I thought Aric was going to propose a long time ago. When he didn’t, I convinced myself it would eventually happen. Now I think we’ll probably just live together forever.” I shrugged, pretending the prospect didn’t bother me for Paris’ benefit. “It is what it is. I’m fine with it.”
“You’re still a terrible liar,” Paris said, smirking. “You want to get married. I think you should tell him.”
“If I do that and he doesn’t want to get married, we can never go back,” I said. “I don’t need a ring on my finger to tell me that Aric is everything I’ve ever wanted. If I press him on marriage and he doesn’t feel the same way, we’ll never be able to get this back.”
“If you press him on marriage and he does want it you might get something even better,” Paris countered.
“I’m not sure I’m willing to take that risk.”
Paris pursed her lips, letting her eyes drift to the ceiling for a moment before refocusing on me. “I think he’s afraid to ask you to marry him for the same reasons you’re afraid to ask him about it,” she said. “I think he’s worried you’ll say no, and then he’ll lose you.”
“I wouldn’t say no, though. That’s stupid. He should know that.”
“Maybe he feels the same way about you,” Paris suggested. “Maybe the fear is so great that it paralyzes him, even though he knows it shouldn’t.”
That was an interesting thought. “I need to give it more time,” I said. “This is the exact wrong moment to bring that up. He’s on edge. Once this is all … settled … I’ll think about it.”
“The one thing I don’t worry about where you and Aric are concerned is love and happiness,” Paris said, her face serious. “Whenever I look at him I see so much love for you it almost stops my heart. I want someone to love me that much one day.”
“I’m sure you’ll find it,” I said, turning my attention back to the book. “You just need to stop hanging around with evil covens.”
Paris snorted. “I do make really bad decisions sometimes. I have no idea why.”
“It’s your lot in life because you’re curious and refuse to settle,” I replied. “You want to keep searching until you get everything you’ve ever wanted. I get that.”
“Are you angry with me?”
“I’m not thrilled with you,” I replied. “I know you didn’t do what you did out of malice, though. I am sorry for not keeping in touch. I felt as if I was in a no-win situation, though. What Aric was saying made sense to me. And, before you say anything, he wasn’t trying to isolate me. I know you think that, but you’re wrong. He thought hiding was the best way to keep me safe.”
“I know,” Paris said, resting her back against the couch. “I’ve always liked Aric. I was the one who told you he was a good match when we were in college. You remember that, right?”
“I do. You were his biggest cheerleader.”
“I wish Aric remembered it,” Paris grumbled.
“He will. He just needs time. He doesn’t adjust well to change. You should’ve seen his face when McDonald’s stop offering the McRib every Christmas and instead left it up to the individual restaurants. He was heartbroken.”
Paris giggled. “You’re so in love it shines through your eyes when you talk about him.”
“I’m so in love with him my heart flops every time I think about him,” I admitted. “It’s been years and I still can’t believe he loves me.”
“At a certain point you two are both going to have to give in and admit the love,” Paris said. “I hope I’m around to see it.”
I hoped so, too. I couldn’t make promises on that front, though. Aric was still too angry. Instead of letting the discussion meander, I decided to focus on the book. “Do you think this thing is magic on its own or does it just tell magical beings how to do nasty stuff?”
Paris shrugged. “I have no idea,” she said. “The only reason I knew what it was is because I did some research when Shannon brought it in.”
“And who is Shannon?”
“She’s a local girl from Rockford,” Paris replied. “She’s very big in the local Goth scene over there. She dresses the part and everything. She’s enthusiastic about being a witch, even though she has no powers.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Paris answered. “If she had power she never would’ve tried to find it in a book. I had the book in my possession for a full week before I realized what it was.”
“Who from your coven do you think is hunting you?”
“I have no idea,” Paris replied. “It could be any one of them – or it could be all of them. Once I realized what I had I knew I had to run without telling any of them where I was going or when I was leaving. I left in the middle of the night, in fact. Somehow they found out, though. I still don’t know how they did it.”
“And we have no idea what any of these spells are?” I asked, reaching for the book. The se
cond I touched the cover white sparks flew off my hands and bounced off the book, causing me to jerk back. “Holy crap! Did you see that?”
Paris nodded, her eyes intent. “That never happened when I touched it. Is that the first time you touched it?”
“Yeah. Aric took it right to the safe in our bedroom last night. When he got it out after our shower I barely looked at it.”
“And it didn’t spark when he touched it, right?” Paris pressed.
“I think I would’ve noticed that. He has hot hands, but actual sparks would’ve been something I noticed.”
“Don’t get snippy,” Paris admonished. “It was just a question. See if it happens again.”
Since the first attempt wasn’t painful, I saw no reason not to try again. This time I closed my hands around the sides of the book, pulling my fingers back quickly as blue smoke drifted upward.
“Well that’s … weird,” Paris muttered.
She could say that again. “We need to move this outside before we try again,” I said. “If I burn this house down, Aric will never forgive me.”
“I think Aric would forgive you anything.”
“Grab the book,” I said, hopping to my feet. “Let’s see what this thing can really do.”
“WHAT in the hell is going on?”
Aric was livid when he rounded the corner into the back yard an hour later. I clasped my smoking hands behind my back and pasted my best “I haven’t been trying to make the evil book spark” look on my face. “I love you.”
“Wow, that was smooth,” Paris said, making a face as she sat down at the picnic table. “He’s never going to think you’re up to something with that greeting.”
“What are you doing?” Aric bellowed. “Do you know you can see what look like lightning striking our yard from a mile away?”
Huh. Well, I was aware of the lightning. It took me by surprise when it struck, too. After the first time and I realized it didn’t hurt, I did it a few more times because it was so entertaining. Paris wasn’t as thrilled with the light show as I was. “Um … it was probably someone else’s yard.”
Rising Covenant (Living Covenant Trilogy Book 1) Page 6
