by A C Warneke
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” she interrupted. “Get to know you better.”
He laughed but it was without humor, “You have no idea how that tempts me but it is impossible, at least for now.”
“When will it be possible?” she asked, her words soft as her heart sat like a lump in her chest.
“I don’t know,” he said wistfully, sounding like he regretted the words even as he spoke them. “All I know is that now’s not our time.”
“Will we have a time?” she asked, her throat tight with tears she refused to cry. She barely knew the man and she wouldn’t cry over something that almost happened. It was better this way, ending it before it could really begin.
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly and a surge of anger threatened to engulf her. He had gotten her hopes up, promising her that they would make it work, and now he was telling her that he just didn’t know. “I want you so badly, Jenna, but everything is so fucked up right now.”
Clearing her throat, she uttered the words that tore the scab from her heart, letting the blood flow freely. “Then we shouldn’t tempt fate and see each other anymore. I think we should break up.”
She knew that they weren’t dating but the hours they had spent together had been among the brightest in a very long time. Unfortunately, she needed more than the promise of someday to take the leap. She had already leapt once and almost hadn’t made it out of the blackness when it had turned to dust. As much as she liked Rhys, as easily as she could imagine a future with him, she needed more.
“Jenna….”
“I meant it when I said it felt like you were the piece of me that was missing,” she rushed on before he could convince her to change her mind and wait for maybe. “My daughter already adores you and I could easily adore you, too, but if there’s no hope….”
“There’s always hope,” he breathed.
She smiled sadly, “But in this case hope isn’t enough. I need more.”
“Jenna.”
“Good bye, Rhys,” she whispered, hanging up the phone. If she couldn’t fix the problem then the least she could do was be there for Lenni.
With a sigh, she made her way back over to the main house, to Melanie’s room. Ferris had somehow managed to make a place for herself on Melanie’s bed, leaving hardly any space at all. Careful not to wake either of them, Jenna climbed onto the bed, wrapping her arms around Melanie from behind, feeling Ferris beneath her fingertips.
“Here.” Rhys handed Vaughn another beer, his heart aching for his brother. “Maybe she’ll come back?”
Taking the bottle, Vaughn looked at him with a grimace and sighed. “No, I asked too much of her and there just wasn’t enough time.”
Straddling the ledge, Rhys faced Vaughn, “Why didn’t you simply tell her what all it entailed before you made the offer?”
Vaughn’s lips quirked up in a rueful smile, “I didn’t think. I just knew that I would give my life to protect her and beyond that?” he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “I just wanted to keep her safe.”
Armand joined them, sitting on the ground, resting his back against the half wall and stretching his legs out in front of him. “Humans are fickle creatures, Vaughn. When you wake all of this will fade into a distant memory and in a few years you’ll even forget the color of her eyes.”
“Have you forgotten the color of Katrina’s eyes?” Rhys asked, nudging Armand with his knee.
Reluctantly, Armand smiled, “Blue-ish green.”
Rhys arched an eyebrow, “Her eyes were brown.”
Armand’s smile widened as he looked over his shoulder at his two brothers, “See? Forgotten.”
Vaughn chuckled but it was strained. Twisting so he was leaning against the half wall, he let out a long sigh, “I don’t regret it.”
Looking out over the city skyline, Rhys listened with half an ear. He enjoyed the muted sounds of the city from his perch on the building. There wasn’t a lot he could add to the conversation since he had never given up his nights for anyone and until he met Jenna he never even considered doing so. He had been content sampling the delights of many women, sometimes at the same time. With a huff, he took a drink of beer, “We should take the next few nights off and let the city go to hell.”
Armand smacked his thigh, the hit actually painful, “Don’t be an idiot, Rhys. Abdicating our responsibilities isn’t the answer.”
“You’re so full of crap, Armand.” Rubbing his thigh, Rhys continued scanning the city as he laughed, “You used to be able to take a joke, what happened to you?”
“You used to be funny,” he retorted, the razzing good natured despite the underlying cynicism that he now wore as a second skin.
Rhys chanced a look at his brothers and frowned when he saw the whiteness around Vaughn’s mouth, the way he pressed his lips together and squeezed his hand into a fist. Putting a hand on Vaughn’s shoulder, he jumped when Vaughn flinched. Vaughn looked up at him with desolation in his golden eyes, the light faded to almost nothing, “How am I going to go on without her?”
“She might return,” Rhys offered, hating Melanie in that moment for doing this to Vaughn.
“You’ll survive,” Armand said softly. “It’s the nature of gargoyles to survive.”
Vaughn bent his head and rasped, “What if I don’t want to?”
Rhys gaped at him for a moment before smacking him on the back of the head. When Vaughn grabbed the back of his skull, whipping his head around and glaring at Rhys, Rhys snorted, “That’s a hell of a way to cherish Melanie’s memory. You’re acting as if she is already gone.”
Vaughn closed his eyes as a shudder worked its way through his body, “If she doesn’t return in time than she might as well be. I’ll never see her again and,” he swallowed thickly. “And I can’t figure out what I am going to do without her.”
Despite his brother’s breaking heart Rhys could still envision a scenario where he would give up his nights for Jenna. To keep her safe he would give up everything even if it meant losing her. In the end, Vaughn was going to realize that he made the only choice he could: in order to keep Melanie safe he had to give up his nights.
If he was given the chance he would give up his nights for Jenna in a heartbeat.
Chapter 5
Jenna stood in the break room at the office, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing so she could wake up enough to get her work done. It was going to be at least a three cup day today. Between worrying about Melanie and trying not to think too much about Rhys, she was already exhausted and the week had barely begun.
Hiding her yawn behind her hand, she stared at nothing as she gave herself permission to think about Rhys for a few minutes. There may not be a future for them but that didn’t mean she couldn’t relive the few moments they had shared.
It definitely didn’t prevent her from dreaming about him.
A slight smile curved her lips at the heated memory of her erotic dreams, of Rhys teasing her with his lips, his fingers, of Rhys fucking her until she screamed. They had been some really good dreams. Relaxing, her eyes slid shut and she pictured Rhys’s chest gleaming in the night, his jacket and shirt gaping open despite the cold air. Even in the middle of winter he had radiated so much heat and she just wanted to bask in it….
“Good morning, Jenna.” A voice interrupted her thoughts and she blushed, opening her eyes and seeing her co-worker Blake standing in front of her with a coffee mug in his hand. He leaned against the counter and smiled at her, his hazel eyes twinkling far too merrily for that hour of the morning.
“Blake,” she returned. There had been a time not so very long ago that she had found him attractive but compared to Rhys he was just Blake. He was pleasant looking, with short, dark blond hair and a tall, svelte frame, but he lacked the pure masculinity that was Rhys, the laughing brown eyes.
He stared at her for a long time, assessing her with an odd expression on his face. His lip quirked up in a slight smile as he murmured, “There’s
something different about you, Jenna.”
She glanced down at herself and made a face since she was wearing her usual outfit, a nice blouse and a pair of beige slacks. She had draped a colorful scarf around her neck but it was nothing out of the ordinary. Blake’s laughter had her lifting her head and looking at him. “I’m talking about you, Jenna, not your outfit.”
“I see,” she murmured, but she didn’t because her brain still needed coffee to be able to function after a night of so little sleep.
“Listen, I’ve wanted to ask you out for some time but you always seemed,” he chuckled, letting the word hang there for a moment before he continued, “Distracted. What do you say?”
“About what?” She really needed her coffee if she had any hope of following the conversation because men in the office didn’t walk up to her and ask her out. They talked about tax codes and rates of return, not dating.
He smiled, “Joining me at a bar for a drink and conversation.”
“We’re talking now.”
His smile widened, “I was thinking something a little more intimate.”
She wasn’t sure what the protocol was because she wasn’t actually seeing Rhys – she had put an end to that. But she wasn’t really interested in Blake. Color stained her cheeks as a smile played about her lips and she murmured, “I’m sort of seeing someone right now.”
His smile faded slightly but he nodded. “Then just drinks and conversation.”
“I guess?” Before she met Rhys she had wanted to test the waters and here was the perfect opportunity. Blake was handsome and she felt nothing more than friendship for him. He was exactly what she required.
“Awesome.” He rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming. “How about we grab those drinks tonight?”
It wasn’t exactly what she was expecting but she agreed none-the-less. Melanie or her parents would watch Ferris and it was only for a drink. Since it was a workday in the morning she would have an excuse to leave early so she nodded her head, “Okay.”
Grabbing her coffee, she headed back to her desk, trying to decipher Blake’s behavior. Why now? She had known him for several years, ever since she started working at the company right after graduating college, so why now?
They ended up going to a popular Irish pub in St. Paul that was located not that far from the castle and served hot appetizers. Jenna tried not to think about how close she was to Rhys because she was on a date with one of her co-workers and she was going to enjoy herself even if it killed her. She refused to think about Rhys at all, at least not much.
Blake held the chair out for her and she smiled at him as she sat down. Smoothing the material of her slacks over her thighs, she glanced around the bar and took in the ambiance, trying to get into the mood. She was on a date with an attractive man and she was determined to enjoy herself. With a pleasant expression, she looked at Blake and startled when she caught him staring at her with an amorous smile.
“You’re a beautiful woman, Jenna,” he crooned, caressing her with his eyes, making her blush and feel a little uncomfortable. “Tell me why it is that you never married?”
Her smile was pained but she held it in place so she wouldn’t cry, “My fiancé died shortly before the wedding.”
“Oh, god,” he gasped, leaning back in his chair as the color drained from his face. “I didn’t know.”
Shaking her head, she waved her hand through the air, her smile relaxing slightly. “I wouldn’t have expected you to.”
“At least you didn’t have any children….” His words trailed off as he saw her face, the look of horror she was sure she wore.
“Actually, I have a daughter,” she murmured, thinking how crazy it was to work with someone for so long and know so little about him or her because she knew next to nothing about Blake either.
“You must think I’m the biggest ass in the world,” he continued, obviously upset by his unwitting blunders.
“It’s fine,” she tried to assure him because the more he talked about it the worse it was. Rhys would have made some off-colored remark and had them both laughing. He would have looked at her with laughing brown eyes and….
Her brows drew together in a frown as the familiar form of Rhys sauntered into the bar, a gorgeous woman on either arm. Jealousy hit swift and hard and she had to press her fist against her churning stomach. She had no right to be jealous since she was the one who ended things before anything could begin. She tried to look away before he caught her staring but it was as if he had some sixth sense that made him aware of her presence. A slight worry line marred his forehead as he glanced around the bar, searching.
With unerring accuracy, he turned his head and his gaze locked on hers, the frown melting instantly into a warm smile as genuine pleasure lit his face. He took a step towards her, oblivious to the two women on his arms. With another frown, this time of frustration, he started to let them go when he finally realized that Jenna wasn’t alone.
Scowling, he looked at her as if she had betrayed him and she arched an eyebrow, looking pointedly at the gorgeous creatures dripping from his arms. Shaking his head in denial, offering her a sheepish smile, he shrugged his broad shoulders and led the two beauties to a booth, holding her eyes as he sat down.
She desperately tried to tear her gaze from his but he had a strong hold over her. Even knowing nothing could come of it she still wanted him and by the way he watched her he wanted her, too. Yearning scorched the air between them, eating up the doubts and distance until her body trembled for his possession. Even from across the bar his eyes devoured her where she sat, promising her the world.
“Who’s that?” the darkly asked question jolted her back to the present and she blushed as she attempted to focus her attention on George, er, Blake. His lips were pressed together in an angry line as he glared at her with hard eyes, “Who’s the guy?”
How could she explain Rhys? The destiny that she had to deny? A slight smile curved her lips as she looked up and met Rhys’s eyes, seeing them sparkle with undisguised amusement. “He’s a friend.”
“Really.” Blake took a drink of his whiskey, crunching a piece of ice between his teeth, giving off strong vibes of jealousy which didn’t make any sense. He had no claim on her whatsoever – they were just friends. Co-workers.
She glanced up and caught Rhys’s gaze again and the shards of jealousy that had been embedded in her skin faded away because he wasn’t paying any attention to the women at all. He was completely and utterly oblivious to their charms. His eyes devoured her from across the room, stripping her bare and making her blood boil. Her breasts swelled in the cotton bra she wore, her nipples rasping against the soft material. Moisture gathered between her thighs and if she sat there much longer he was going to make her come just by looking at her.
Pushing back the chair and standing abruptly, she muttered, “Um, excuse me for a moment. I’ve got to use the bathroom.”
“Jenna,” Blake protested but it was too late. She had fled.
Leaning against the sink a few minutes later, she stared at her reflection and laughed. She was a crazy fool, infatuated with an impossible man. Splashing some water on her face, she tried to calm her racing heart, needing to think up an excuse to leave before she acted impulsively and dragged Rhys into a bathroom and gave in to madness.
Her poor sister never had a chance when Vaughn came into her life.
Hell, she half expected him to charge into the bathroom after her, kissing her until she couldn’t think straight, kissing her until she was naked and spread before him, begging him to fuck her.
With a wry smile, she realized that she was just as bad as Melanie because there was nothing that would have stopped her from having sex with Rhys in the bar’s bathroom had he showed up. All of her promises to keep her distance meant nothing when she came face to face with him. She was going to have to either keep her distance or just give in to temptation and hope that in the end it all worked out.
With a remorseful sigh, she
knew that she was going to have to tell Blake she was sorry but she couldn’t stay. The relationship between her and the man with long, auburn hair was just too complicated and tumultuous. She spared one last glance at her reflection before heading out to say good bye to Blake.
Suddenly, she was slammed against the wall and a hard body was pressed against hers as hot lips claimed hers in a kiss. As her brain registered the attack, her body recognized Rhys and she relaxed into the kiss, sliding her fingers into the silk of his long hair.
It was over almost before it began and he was resting his forehead against hers, his breath coming in heavy pants. “I couldn’t resist.”
“Shut up,” she breathed, pulling his head back so she could keep kissing him. If she only had this one second chance she was going to take it, damn the consequences. Mindless with need and nearly a week’s worth of erotic dreams, she began opening the buttons of his shirt, sliding her hands beneath the material and over the sleek muscles of his chest. His skin was on fire, burning her palms as they slid over the velvety skin.
His hand reached up and cupped her breast, kneading the soft flesh until she was desperate for more. She hooked her leg over his hip, rubbing her sex against the hard ridge of his erection as she fumbled with the fastenings with her fingers. Tearing his lips from hers, he gasped, “Come with me.”
“Where?” she asked as she stared into his beautiful brown eyes and saw a world of possibilities.
“Anywhere,” he panted. “Just not the castle.”
Those four simple words reminded her why she couldn’t do this: her sister and Vaughn. Stiffly, she put her foot back on the solid ground and unwound her arms from around his neck. “I can’t. You know that it’s impossible right now.”
He inhaled deeply, letting his fingers twine with hers at their sides. “I guess you need to get back to your date.”
“He’s just a co-worker,” she quickly explained. Glancing over her shoulder in the direction of the bar, she asked, “What about the girls you came in with?”
