Crimson Dahlia (Book #3 of the Svatura Series)

by Abigail Owen

  “Hey.”

  Ramsey looked up as Lila leaned in the doorway. He inconspicuously admired her long, slender body covered in a pale yellow sundress that showed off her curves. Jeez, she was gorgeous.

  Ramsey compressed his lips, irritated with the wayward thoughts that periodically popped into his head concerning Lila. Nothing could ever come of it.

  “We’re going outside to hang out and work on our powers. Wanna come?” she asked.

  Lila had asked him this almost every night. She’d done so for almost ten years, ever since he’d joined their family.

  “Sorry,” Ramsey shrugged. “I’m working on homework.” While his power made him too dangerous to attend school, Charlotte had still insisted on home-schooling him. Since he’d left home at nine in an age when schooling was minimal anyway, Ramsey had had very little education to speak of when he’d joined the Jenners and the Pierces.

  “Liar.”

  Ramsey ground his teeth. Her ability to tell if someone was telling the truth or not had gotten stronger over the past year. Consequently, he spoke less and less in her presence, too afraid she’d be able to tell what he felt when he was near her.

  He said nothing, merely regarded her with a stoic expression.

  After a minute, Lila shrugged. “Suit yourself,” she said, and then she left the room.

  Ramsey sat unmoving and stared vacantly at the empty doorway where Lila had just been standing. She used to ask him with a pretty smile and pout when he refused. But lately she’d become almost perfunctory, as though inviting him was only out of habit. Sometimes Ramsey wished she’d just stop asking him.

  He waited for about two hours after she left. In order to not be a complete liar, he did work on his math homework to fill in the time. Then he snuck out of the back of the house and made his way through the surrounding trees to the outskirts of Hugh and Lucy’s backyard. The Jenners and the Pierces always bought adjacent properties out in the middle of nowhere so that their two families could remain in close proximity. He knew this was where Lila, Adelaide, and Nate hung out at night. Every once in a while, he would torture himself by watching them from the safety of the dark woods.

  These days he didn’t get too close, because he suspected Adelaide sensed he was there. She’d recently developed the ability to see relationships between people. The power was very new and uncontrolled. Svatura started to receive their powers when they hit puberty, but it could take decades before they could fully control them. Sometimes longer. Once or twice, when he’d gotten a little too close, he’d noticed Adelaide twitch and then look his direction. Ramsey wasn’t sure what she was seeing, but he kept his distance just in case.

  The sound of Lila’s laughter drew his attention as he found a good spot to watch. Nate had made her laugh. Nate always made her laugh.

  “I totally could,” Nate was saying.

  “No way!” Lila laughed again.

  “You don’t believe I could run four miles in less than two minutes?” Nate asked her.

  “How would I know? It’s not like I can watch you.”

  “You’d know if I was telling the truth about it,” he pointed out.

  “You know that doesn’t always work for me. I’m still developing it.”

  Nate thought a moment, clearly determined to prove his super speed. “I’ve got it!” He snapped his fingers.

  Lila gave him a skeptical look. “Yeah?”

  “I’ll give you a piggyback ride. I mean, it’ll slow me down some. You’ll have to give me three minutes instead of two.”

  Ramsey wasn’t surprised at all when she agreed. She had a bit of a thrill-seeker personality.

  “All right, Superboy,” she said, and hopped on Nate’s back. “Let’s go.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck, and Ramsey had to choke back his jealousy. Adelaide counted down on her watch, and then they were off. Lila’s squeals of delight followed them through the woods and then faded as they got further away.

  Ramsey waited for the sound of their return. When two minutes passed, he frowned. Another minute later and Nate suddenly burst through the woods all alone.

  “Where’s Lila?” Adelaide asked.

  Nate laughed. “You know that pond about a mile or so out? She said she was convinced about my speed and that she wanted to go swimming. I think she’s nuts.”

  “So you left her there alone?”

  Nate shrugged. “She insisted. Said she knew the way back.”

  Adelaide frowned. “We shouldn’t leave her there. What if something happens to her?”

  “She’s fine, Delia. That pond is perfectly safe. We’ve been swimming in it lots of times.” Nate started heading toward the house. “Come on, let’s go play a game.”

  Adelaide gave the woods one last worried glance and happened to look in Ramsey’s direction. It almost felt as if she were telling him to go after Lila.

  Once they were gone, Ramsey turned in the direction of the pond. After a brief internal struggle, he started walking in its direction.

  Chapter 15

  About fifteen minutes later, Ramsey reached the clearing in the woods. At first he couldn’t hear anything, only the sounds of the night… the breeze through the trees… frogs croaking to each other… the rustling of some small animal in the brush. Just as he started getting a little worried, Lila broke the surface of the water. The moon wasn’t very full, so he couldn’t see her too clearly… just her long blond hair slicked back from her face as she caught her breath.

  “You know it’s hazardous to swim alone at night,” Ramsey said.

  Lila gave a startled shriek. “Ramsey Pierce. You scared me to death!”

  Ramsey ducked his head to hide his smile. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a nearby tree.

  Lila floated around and kicked up her feet. “Are you just gonna stand there?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I can’t swim around while you watch.”

  “I’m not letting you swim alone at night. It’s dangerous.” Ramsey drew out the last word.

  “So don’t just stand there… c’mon in.”

  Ramsey stayed where he was.

  Lila made an irritated sound in the back of her throat. Pulling back her arm, she skimmed it across the surface of the water. She did it so fast that she managed to take Ramsey by surprise and doused him thoroughly.

  “You little—” Ramsey jumped to the edge of the water, fully intending to drag her out, but stopped himself. He crossed his arms back over his chest. “You’re gonna pay for that, little girl.”

  Lila shook her head. “Now I’m definitely not getting out.”

  “Then we’re gonna be here an awful long time. You’re gonna get all pruney.”

  “I guarantee I can out—” Lila twitched in the water and looked down. After a second she looked back up and continued, “—out wait you.”

  “I seriously doubt that,” Ramsey said. Lila wasn’t known for her patience. And he, well, it seemed like he’d been waiting his entire life.

  “You doubt—” Lila moved again and reached down to brush at her leg.

  “You know there’re probably snakes in there, right?” He didn’t really think there were, but he didn’t mind playing dirty if it meant she’d get out of the pond. She hated snakes.

  Lila froze and then jerked again. With a sudden squeal of terror, she rushed out of the water and slammed right into Ramsey before he could move out of her way. He steadied her by putting his hands on her waist, and sucked in a breath as he felt her soft, warm, skin.

  He was going to push her away. But when he looked down and found her looking at him with such longing and heat, every thought, every protective impulse, went right out of his head.

  With a muttered curse, Ramsey closed his mouth over hers. His kiss was not gentle. It was full of pent up need and frustration. He didn’t merely kiss. He felt like he’d devour her, his need was so great.

  His hands moved over her. Every delectable inch of her body. He c
ouldn’t get enough of touching her. Every luscious curve under his hands spurred him to more intimacy. He swept one hand around her waist to her lower back and then inched his fingers under the elastic band of her undies.

  Lila suddenly broke off their kiss with a sharp cry. She stepped back from him, realized that he could see all of her, and hurried over to the nearby brush to grab her dress.

  That’s when Ramsey saw it. An ugly welt in the shape of a handprint was rising on the back side of her hip.

  “Lila,” he choked.

  She pulled her dress over her head. “Don’t. It’s not your fault.”

  “I burned you.” The horror of what he’d done to her… and how much worse it could have been….

  “It’s fine. I’m fine,” she said.

  Lila reached out for his hand, but Ramsey jerked away from her, stumbling a bit in his haste.

  “We need to get Hugh. He’ll heal it for you,” he said.

  “No!” Lila practically shouted. “There is no way I’m explaining to my dad how your handprint ended up burnt on my butt. It’s fine. It’ll heal on its own.”

  “It’ll scar.”

  “I’ll live with that.”

  Ramsey stared at her, lips compressed, but said nothing. Lila moved toward him again, but he backed away.

  “Ramsey?”

  He heard the question in her voice. The return of the longing.

  “No, Lila. You stay away from me.”

  “But you want me. I know you do now. You can’t deny it. Not after that.”

  “I don’t have to do anything about it either.”

  “But what if I want you to?”

  Ramsey shook his head. “I mean it, Lila. You stay away from me. I won’t come near you like this again.”

  Something in his expression must have convinced her of his determination. She stopped coming toward him. Her face fell, but her shoulders pulled back. “But what if I want you?”

  Instead of answering, Ramsey turned and walked away. It felt as though a rock suddenly lodged inside his chest. It got bigger and heavier with every step he took. But he kept going and didn’t look back, even when he heard her softly call his name.

  He didn’t look back.

  Chapter 16

  Lila hadn’t counted on what the feel of Ramsey’s body pressed up against her, with one arm wrapped around her middle, would do to her once they were settled inside the tent. He seemed to knock right out. Not her. She was so drained she should’ve fallen asleep the second her head hit the pillow. But that was over two hours ago and she still lay there, wide awake.

  She resisted the urge to move, knowing it would wake him. “Fan-freakin-tastic,” she thought. “In that dream world, all I wanted was to wake up. And now all I want is to go to sleep. And I—”

  “Can’t sleep?”

  Lila almost jumped out of her skin as Ramsey’s deep voice vibrated through her body. She cleared her throat. “I didn’t know you were still up.”

  Ramsey shifted a bit. “I can still sense you for whatever reason. Makes it tough to sleep.”

  “Well. Isn’t that… interesting.” Lila tried to scoot over to give him some space, but couldn’t really go far.

  “Why do you think it is?”

  Lila felt his arm tighten around her. Images of a night long ago flashed through her mind. She pushed the memory away and focused on his question.

  “Um… Something to do with my emotional power is my guess. Though I don’t know why you’d be feeling it.” After a moment of silence, Lila glanced over her shoulder to find him watching her with an odd little half smile.

  She frowned. “What?”

  “I don’t think you quite get what I mean when I say I feel a connection.”

  Lila’s heart sped up. Oh jeez. What exactly does he know? “So explain it to me,” she said to him, proud of how unruffled her voice sounded.

  “Well, earlier I could feel your frustration and restlessness.”

  So he can feel specific emotions. Like I do.

  “…And just now I know that you felt… longing maybe.” That darn half smile was back. She could hear it in his voice.

  Lila was grateful for the dark, because she was sure her face was bright red. And then her determination to push Ramsey out of her life kicked back in. She’d just spent the last year getting over her infatuation with him.

  “Embarrassment. Irritation,” he murmured.

  “Okay. I get it,” Lila snapped.

  “Not as fun when it’s turned back on you, is it?”

  Lila shifted uncomfortably. “I only watched for your more volatile negative emotions. I didn’t sit there and read everything.”

  “Are you reading my emotions right now?”

  The deeper note in his voice had her turning to see his expression. “No,” she whispered.

  “Why not?”

  The green of his eyes held her gaze. Lila felt mesmerized. She couldn’t look away.

  “You’re not losing control, so…”

  “Maybe not in an angry way,” he said. “But I don’t think I’ve ever been less in control.”

  Lila simply looked at him. And Ramsey waited for her. She was used to Ramsey avoiding her, or being gruff with her, or walking away from her. She wasn’t quite sure what to do with this Ramsey. Maybe she’d just dreamt being freed from that stasis. Maybe she was still in a coma on that uncomfortable metal table in Maddox’s prison.

  Curiosity won out. “What are you trying to control?” she murmured.

  Ramsey lifted his hand and lightly brushed the backs of his fingers across the bare skin of her arm. “The need to touch you,” he murmured.

  Lila’s heart was beating so hard it was making it hard to breathe. She didn’t want Ramsey to feel that – to know how much he affected her. She tried to regulate the air moving in and out of her lungs, but her efforts only made her need for oxygen seem more urgent.

  “You’ve never had a problem not touching me before,” she finally said.

  Ramsey’s lips twisted bitterly. “I’ve always had trouble keeping my hands off you.”

  Lila shook her head and pulled her arm back slightly, away from his touch. After sixty-some-odd years of rejection, she was through with wishful thinking where Ramsey was concerned.

  “You don’t believe me?” he asked.

  “Not really,” Lila muttered.

  “I’d like to kiss you, Lily.”

  His eyes focused on her lips. In slow motion he leaned toward her. Lila had no idea what to do. The part of her that had always longed for this wanted him to move faster. The part of her that had moved on wanted him to stop. Before she could make up her mind, their lips met.

  The kiss started out soft and sweet. Ramsey feathered his lips across hers in a barely there touch that had her leaning into him, trying to get closer. He rewarded her with an open- mouthed kiss, still soft and sweet, but then he sucked her bottom lip between his teeth. He gave her a little nip and then soothed it with his tongue.

  Lila whimpered.

  Ramsey shifted so that she was lying partially under him. While his lips played havoc with her mouth, her neck, her earlobe, her collarbone, and back to her lips, his hands wandered her body.

  Touching… but not quite touching. His fingers whispered down her side, barely brushed the underside of her breast, traced her ribs, and lingered at the dip in her waist. Lila held her breath when his hand stopped at the elastic band of her sweats. Would he?

  Oh yes, he would. His fingers snuck under the band and squeezed her hip. Suddenly Ramsey froze. He placed a swift, hard kiss on her lips and then pulled back. Lila opened her eyes, slightly apprehensive at what she might see in his.

  She saw that he was focused on where his hand had been. He rolled her slightly onto her side. “Ramsey what are you...?”

  He inched her pants down to reveal a hand-shaped scar. “I’m so sorry I hurt you.” He leaned down and kissed the damaged skin tenderly.

  Lila shivered at the sensation of his
lips on her body. “I never was sorry.”

  “No?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve always thought of it like…”

  A thought struck Lila, or more accurately, a series of memories reared their ugly heads. All the reasons she’d let go and moved on. Echoes of past words that had ripped out her heart and trampled it into the ground sounded in her mind…

  I mean it, Lila. You stay away from me. I won’t come near you like this again.

  I’ve moved on, a long time ago. You should too.

  I don’t want her anywhere near me!

  Ramsey frowned as he felt her body stiffen beneath him. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  Lila reached down to pull her pants back up, and he leaned away, giving her the space her body language demanded.

  “You don’t want me anywhere near you.”

  Lila wasn’t positive, Ramsey was always so hard to read, but it looked like sadness entered his eyes. “I was trying to protect you,” he said.

  “I didn’t need your protection. I was a big girl. I could make my own decisions.”

  “You weren’t thinking clearly when it came to me. One of us had to keep you safe. That scar is only a tiny bit of what could’ve happened to you. How could I have lived with myself if I had hurt you?”

  Anger sparked in Lila’s eyes. “So you decided to live without me?”

  “As much as I was able. I never did manage to force myself to leave the family.” Ramsey grimaced.

  Lila’s frown deepened. “No. I had to do that.”

  “Why did you go?” He reached for her hand, but she pulled it back.

  “You made it clear you didn’t want me. And you’re in love with Selene.”

  Ramsey sat back with a jerk. “What? What made you… Did Adelaide tell you that?”

  “She didn’t have to. I could sense your emotions around Selene.”

  “Is that the main reason you left?”

  Lila wanted to scream yes, but she still had some pride. “Despite what you believe, not everything I do is about you. It was more than time I learned a little independence.”