“I know about demons,” Cece said with a firmness that showed her sincerity. “I am an angel, after all. As Saundra just pointed out.”
A few titters came from the other members of the Court, and Elsmed sent them a warning look, which silenced them, but Cece noticed a few were smirking when he looked back to her.
She met the fae’s gaze squarely, refusing to back down. She had nothing to hide, nothing to explain. Nothing to fear . . . she hoped.
“What was the name of the town you lived in before coming here?”
She stilled. His frosty blue eyes were boring into her, and she looked down.
“I came here from a small town in Montana. I think it should be in my file, or whatever record you use to keep track of your visitors and residents.” She tried to keep her voice even, to not let him know how he was affecting her.
Ric shifted in his seat, but didn’t interfere. Perhaps he had been burned too many times by the fae to get involved.
Cece was careful to keep her eyes only on Elsmed.
“If I remember correctly from your . . . file . . .” He stretched out the word in response to her comment, but she did not react. He continued, “You came to us because you had battled a demon and needed a place to hide from him. Is that correct?”
Cece nodded.
“You can see how we might need to question you about these teen demons after your previous encounter with a demon. Your connection to the girl who was attacked makes it a possibility that you might somehow be part of this intrusion.”
Cece shook her head. “I have no idea who those demons were. They didn’t get in contact with me, and I don’t know of any reason they might have attacked someone I knew. The demon I battled with before coming to Havenwood Falls could not have been here. Surely your wards would have stopped him, and I haven’t had any contact with him since I last saw him.”
That part was true, she consoled herself. After all, she’d only heard him—she hadn’t actually seen him—and the voice might not even have been his. It could have all just been her imagination.
“Have you asked Harper or Elias if they know anything?” Cece asked, referring to the psychic scribe who channeled dark spirts and demons, and a fallen angel who lived in town.
“They had no knowledge of their presence,” Ric said.
“I have nothing to help you, either,” Cece said.
After a few more questions, the Court seemed satisfied with Cece’s answers, although Elsmed still kept looking at her with a deep, knowing glance that she carefully avoided.
“Secrets have a way of being discovered, Ms. Amundson. Keep that in mind,” he said.
The Court allowed her to leave, reminding her to let them know of anything that seemed even remotely suspicious.
“Just tell Sheriff Kasun, and he’ll let us know if we need to be aware of anything,” Saundra Beaumont said, and then she was dismissed.
Cece left the building in a hurry, shivering with the effort of maintaining her composure for that long. Their questions left her wondering if there might have been something to be worried about, but then she shook her head and thought there couldn’t have been.
“Gregoire is dead. I sent him back to the Hell he came from. Those demons have nothing to do with me, or with him,” Cece whispered. She wrapped her arms around her body and squeezed hard to keep centered. Her back itched, but she ignored it.
“I need to fly,” she said out loud, even though she knew that wasn’t happening tonight. She looked up at the clear night sky, marveling at the beauty of its velvety blackness sprinkled with silver stars. The moon was a bright silver color tonight, its craters visible as dove-gray splotches on its surface.
The color reminded her of the wings in her dream, and the dream reminded her of Brett. Brett, with his sad eyes and killer body, was all she could think of as she neared her store.
“Hey, you okay?”
Cece whirled around to face the object of her recent thoughts, as if she’d conjured him out of thin air. Brett. He stood up from the small bench nearby, as if he’d been waiting for her. He held out a paper cup for her.
“Sorry,” he said apologetically, “it’s a little cold. You were gone quite a while.”
“Didn’t you go back up to your cabin?” Cece asked him. She took the cup and sipped, marveling that the coffee was still lukewarm.
“We could go warm that up in your microwave,” Brett said suggestively, ignoring her question.
Cece smiled, hesitated, and then turned to slip her key into the lock, and the two went through the store and up the stairs to her apartment.
Once inside, he said to her with a huskiness that sent chills up her spine, “I’ve been wanting to do this since I met you.”
Angel or not, she needed this closeness.
When they separated, she looked into his eyes with regret, and he stiffened, aware of what she was going to say.
“I am so sorry, Brett. You are very sexy . . .”
“I know how this goes,” he said bitterly, walking away from her to lean against the kitchen counter, his back to her. “You are the problem, not me . . . or how about the classic, ‘I would, but . . .’ fill in the blank—I am gay or I am not ready . . . Am I getting close? Is that how it is? I am sorry, but those cheesy lines are for movies or books, not real life.”
His voice sounded angry and bitter, and she rushed to his side and pulled him around to face her. Cupping his face in her hands, she kissed him on the lips with all the passion she could, feeling him respond to her touch with a passion of his own that took her breath away.
“I don’t understand,” he said, stepping back. Holding her gently by the upper arms, he stared into her eyes. “You turn me down, and then kiss me like that? Your signals are confusing me, woman,” he growled as he pulled her close once more.
She put a hand over his mouth, her eyes meeting his with a plea she hoped he could see, but knew he wouldn’t.
“That’s the problem,” she told him with a wry smile. “I’m not the woman you think I am.”
With that, she stepped out of his embrace, shivering at the sudden coldness she felt inside at the loss of his body wrapped around hers. She pointed toward the door.
“Tomorrow the camp starts. You need to get some rest, and all your equipment and clothes are at the cabin. Glenn will be there pretty early to get you, so let me see about getting you a ride.”
Brett shrugged. “Don’t bother. I’ll walk.”
He left, not giving her a chance to argue with him, and Cece watched him go, wishing she could tell him the truth. But laying on him the burden of knowing who and what she really was wouldn’t help her heal him.
Sex with him, as wonderful as she knew it would be, would only complicate her goal of helping him heal the darkness that covered his heart. He already felt lost without his mother, his band, and now her, when and if he ever learned the truth.
Are you sure you want to let him go? the voice whispered in her mind.
Nothing But Time
(Pink Melon: One Time More)
Written and sung by Brett Rhys-Falwyck
Minutes to hours to days
We got nothing but time, babe
Holding on like we have a tomorrow
when every minute testifies to our sorrow
Seconds feel like weeks as I wait
until I hold you in my arms again
We got nothing but time
until I am yours, and you are mine
Nothing but time to keep us together
Hanging on through stormy weather
Always you are my love
until we journey above
Chapter 17
Cece walked into the store just as Glenn and Brett arrived. Brett was carrying his guitar case and a larger bag, which he set down next to the counter. Turning to Cece, he kept his eyes from meeting hers, his disappointment from her rejection last night evident in the tilt of his shoulders and the way he turned from her whenever she approached him.
Following his lead, she walked toward the back of the store and pointed to the tables on which she’d put fresh blueberry scones, their scent rising and wrapping around them like a warm blueberry hug.
“Scones!” Glenn said with glee, reaching for one.
Cece slapped his hand playfully and said, as she looked over at the clock behind the counter in the front of the store, “Please wait until the others get here. Would you mind retrieving the notebooks and pens from the counter next to the cash register? I forgot to grab them on my way back here.”
Glenn, grumbling about the blueberry scones not staying warm, did as she asked. Cece chuckled at his behavior, because the minute the door opened and Meghan walked in, all thoughts of scones obviously went out of his head.
Meghan, her wounds healing quickly, greeted Glenn with a big hug. He hugged her back and even gave Laine, who followed her in, a high five.
“There are scones,” Glenn told the other two teens as they headed to the back, where Brett was still fiddling with his equipment and Cece was busy arranging the packets of sugar and the cups by the coffee machine.
The three teens each grabbed a scone, and amidst sighs and exclamations of pleasure at their freshness, the other students arrived. Zoey breezed in first, her smile wider when she saw the scones. Next came Elle, and immediately behind her, like a love-sick puppy, was Kase.
“Okay, everyone ready?” Brett said with a big smile for all of them. All six sets of eyes looked at him, and the teens opened their notebooks, ready to take notes.
“So, today we are going to work on our songs. The purpose of this workshop is to teach you the magic that a great song can bring to those who listen to it. If you have questions at any time during the workshop, just ask it. We are going to run this camp very casually. Okay?”
The teens all nodded.
Meghan raised her hand and said, “I’m not sure why I’m here. I don’t really write songs.”
Brett smiled at her. “With a voice like yours, it wouldn’t hurt you to learn to write songs. So, let’s begin, shall we? The first thing I want you to think about is something that makes you happy. I always find that if I think about things that put me at ease, writing songs is a lot easier. Write down five things that make you happy, and we will use them to craft a song.”
Some of the teens went to work right away, and Cece could see words such as vacation, blueberry scones, puppies, kittens, Brett, and others on their pages. Others sat in thought for a while, before they, too, started jotting down things. Brett watched them working and joking with each other, and smiled.
Cece felt her heart lightening as the darkness receded from his eyes a little bit with each minute he spent with the kids. At one point, he looked up and saw her watching them, and he half smiled before turning his attention to the teens and answering a question.
Cece had decided to close the store during the camp. She knew it meant a loss of income for a few days, but felt the teens would be less likely to be distracted if she didn’t have customers wandering around. Without customers, she had time to do those things she never got around to in the shop, such as sorting the paperwork that had been piling up lately. Engrossed in the vendor receipts, she didn’t hear Brett until he was right beside her.
His breath on her cheek alerted her to his presence, and she jumped, putting a hand over her heart to still it. Turning, she found herself squeezed between his body and the back of the counter.
“Hey,” she said softly, her breath betraying her nervousness at having him so close.
“The kids are hungry. Are we sending them out for lunch, or did you have something catered?”
Cece looked at the clock in surprise. Time had flown!
“There should be a couple of pizzas arriving any minute now,” Cece started to say when her comment was interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Pizza!” the teens said in unison. Glenn raced to the door, grabbed the boxes, and took them to the tables. Cece chuckled as she paid the delivery person. Going upstairs to her kitchen, she got out paper plates and plastic silverware before returning downstairs. Most of the pizza was gone by the time she returned, and she shook her head in amusement, a small smile twisting her lips.
“Thanks for leaving a slice for me,” she said, grabbing a pepperoni slice she could see Kase eyeing hungrily. “Tomorrow I will make sure to order more.”
“Might be a good idea,” Brett said, chuckling as he pulled a slice out of the hands of Laine, who groaned and grabbed another slice.
“So, how’s it going? Are you all enjoying it?”
“Yep, it’s great,” said Laine. “I’m learning a lot.”
The other teens nodded in agreement.
“Okay, let’s get back to work,” Brett said. “You all have your first line, and your refrain, so now you have to decide if it will be a rhyming song, or a free verse.”
Cece retreated as they returned to business. A few hours later and the teens were heading out the door.
“Tomorrow we will start on the music. Thanks, guys. You all did a great job.”
Goodbyes were said, and then they were all out the door, with Glenn, Laine, and Meghan the last ones out.
Cece closed the door behind them and turned to Brett. “I forgot to ask Glenn to give you a ride back up to the cabin.”
“I told him I was fine.”
“You’re not going to walk, are you? It’s going to be dark soon, and it’s pretty cold.”
Cece saw the look in his eyes, and her heart suddenly started fluttering.
“I thought we could go out, have something to eat, and then maybe talk?” His eyes watched her carefully for a reaction.
Cece hesitated, knowing she should say no. Knowing she wanted to say yes.
“Yes, sure,” she said without realizing the words were out of her mouth. “My jacket’s upstairs. I’ll be right back.”
Heading up the stairs two at a time, she surprised herself with how the thought of having dinner with this gorgeous man was exciting her. She wouldn’t think about the consequences of dinner and conversation; she would just enjoy it, she decided.
When she came back downstairs, Brett was standing with his back to her. She could see his face in profile, and it broke her heart to see the sadness had returned.
Slipping her arms around his waist, she rested her cheek on his back and whispered, “Why so blue, dream lover?”
“What?” Brett turned quickly, capturing her in an embrace. She lowered her face, but he brought her chin up until she looked him in the eyes. “What did you just say?”
Cece started to deny saying anything, but instead she reached up and drew his face down to hers and softly pressed her lips to his. She broke their embrace before he had a chance to tighten his hold and pointed to the door.
“Shall we go?” she said a little breathlessly.
He nodded after a moment of studying her. He did not reach for her again.
At dinner, this time at Whisper Falls Inn’s dining room, she asked him how he thought things were going with the camp.
“It’s going great,” Brett enthused, excited to be talking about the teens and their obvious interest and talents. “They are all very good students.”
“Yes, they seem to like this. So what will you do tomorrow?”
“We worked on lyrics today, so tomorrow I thought we would work on understanding the interplay between notes and lyrics and what notes set the mood. You can increase the speed of the notes so many ways, and that can be a phenomenal way to set a mood; or you can slow it way down,” he said, emphasizing the last two words by drawing them out, “to set another kind of mood.”
Playing with her food, Cece looked at him with a twinkle in her eye and said, “And what kind of mood would our love song have?”
Brett was obviously taken aback by her question, looking like he was about to spit out his drink. Cece rushed over to slap him on the back until he regained control of his cough.
“Sorry,” she said i
n a tone that didn’t sound like she was sorry. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Upset me?” Brett swallowed hard to regain his breath. “You just took me by surprise.”
Cece grew quiet. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Locking eyes, the two looked at each other with the certainty that comes from knowing they would soon be in bed together.
Brett laid his silverware down and said, “Shall we get the check?”
“Yes,” Cece breathed, not taking her eyes from his.
Walking back to her apartment, neither spoke. What was there to say, after all?
As they moved into her bedroom, Brett stopped and turned her to face him. Cupping her face like she had done to his earlier, he kissed her gently, his lips barely touching hers as he gauged her reaction to his touch.
She didn’t move away, and he grew bolder.
Cece, knowing this was crazy, knowing they had no future together because of what she was and what he wasn’t, and knowing that this might unravel everything she was trying to do for him, let him lead her to the bed.
He laid her down and climbed into the bed next to her. Clothes and shoes practically fell off them as they learned about each other’s bodies. Cece held him close, directing him to what she needed even as he helped her discover his desires. Sighs and whispers were the only music they needed as they climaxed in a symphony of pleasures they found with each other.
Afterward, they lay in bed exhausted, and Cece held him until he fell asleep.
She slipped out of bed and went to the bathroom. She leaned against the mirror over the sink, feeling overwhelmed. Even with all her good intentions, she’d still managed to fall into bed with him without considering the consequences. She had been able to keep herself under control this time, but what about next time? She couldn’t let this happen again.
Rock Me Gently_A Havenwood Falls Novel Page 14
