by Jackie Ivie
“Daron. Um...”
Evelyn raised her head from his shoulder. It was harder than she suspected, as if her skin even wanted to stay near him. She forced her gaze to his, got snagged by intense ice-blue eyes. He had such amazing eyes! They were especially vivid against his coloring. No wonder women everywhere wanted him.
“I...need some time to think. Process information. You know. Uh...think.”
“You wish to return to my chambers? No. I mean our chambers?”
“Um. Actually...I need to be...alone. I’d like to go back to the harem place.”
“You will not leave me?”
Her heart palpitated. It could have been the flash of silver that altered his eyes momentarily. It could have been the hitch in his voice. Perhaps the feel of him along her side. Beneath her. His arms still wrapped protectively about her. It could be any combination of things, other than he suspected anything.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
When planning a devious mission while stuck in a gargantuan palace, owned by an immortal being that couldn’t exist, the last thing a girl needed was a group of giggling harem servants. Evie gave them a hint of her plan when she asked Tamell if there was concealing attire of any kind available. That got her a round of giggles, and an invitation to bathe again in the tub while they searched her wardrobes. She had wardrobes? Evie set the question aside. Even if soaking in the pool sounded like an incredibly grand idea, she was on a mission. She sent them on an errand to locate concealing attire, while she looked for the packet she’d secreted in her panties before leaving for the Rocking Horse what felt like a month ago. It wasn’t hard to find. The girls had placed it atop the folded wreck of what had been her perfect ‘snag-a-sponsor’ dress.
Hmm.
Nobody offered undergarments. Still. The packet was too big to carry unseen. No worries. Evie fished through her pack, palming her credit card and the twenty dollar bill. She smiled wryly at the condom pack before setting the packet back down. She always carried a large – it kept a man’s ego from getting deflated. But in Daron’s case, not only was it too late, but it wouldn’t remotely fit anyway.
She was finally dressed in rose-shaded silk trousers, a tunic top of matching fabric in a different shade of pink, with a dark navy chador over everything. The cloak was also fashioned of silk, and worse. It had a design sewn into it that was probably done with real silver thread. She’d also changed into a pair of sandals that laced atop her instep and up her calf. They fit much more securely. Unfortunately, the straps were adorned with what looked like real gems. She probably looked spectacular. Exotic. If the harem possessed a mirror, she could have checked.
She didn’t look remotely covert. Maybe she could hunch down a bit.
Then again, it depended on where she was. That was the first part of her mission. Discover her whereabouts. Number two – find a phone. Three – call home. Her family deserved better than this. If she really was dead, that was one thing. But since she was still living, and breathing, and available to hug, then they needed to know. She wasn’t leaving the prince. Every nerve rebelled at the thought. It wasn’t just the sex...although that had been amazing. No. It was more. She was attuned to him. Linked somehow. Like she was a live wire and he was the grounding circuit. Being near him was addictive. And she wanted more. A lot more.
But she wasn’t prowling around a palace, or resting in a harem until she had some facts. So. Prince Daron was full of it. Or he was nuts. And it was time to find out.
He didn’t keep the enormous double doors leading to his harem locked. Good thing. If he’d tried imprisoning her, he’d have earned a fight. The handles were as big as her torso. Evie turned one down and pulled on the door. The handle moved smoothly, and the door opened easily. Nothing squeaked. It was really quiet, too. Her sandals made the only noise, and it was a soft shuffling sound as she slid from the room and into a span of room that made her gape.
Good night.
Prince Daron really knew how to waste space. She had never felt so small and insignificant, like a toddler walking the floor at Short Hills Mall. The ceiling was cathedral height again, just like his throne room. Another forest of columns held up the ceiling here, as well. Evie craned her neck and almost fell backwards. It was unbelievable. Each column was topped with a pair of brightly painted, carved statues. Some looked like bulls. Some eagles, maybe? Were some of them...dragons? Evie was in awe. Katie would be in raves. Sculpture was Katie’s thing. It always had been. She’d started with mud pies and evolved from there. Katie was a fantastic sculptor. She’d made a bust of Evie back when they were young and before they seemed destined to compete with each other. Evie kept it on the bookshelf so she could see it every time she walked into her apartment. And...
Oh crap. Evie whisked away a tear. What was she doing reminiscing? She was on a mission, here. Standing and ruing anything and getting emotional was just wasting time.
She had to find the exit. Every room had one. Even labyrinthine monstrosities like this. All she had to do was find it. Evie stepped forward from the harem until she thought she’d reached a center point. She looked right and then left. Either way was an endless amount of space, lined with columns that drew together in the distance. It was pretty much identical. No matter which direction she picked. She was probably going to get lost. Well. She debated her options. She either had to go back and ask for help from the girls, or she had to figure it out herself.
She went left.
The walk should tire her. She moved at a pace that seemed incomprehensible. The columns ran together as she flew by them. They started matching the heavy beats her heart was making. Her chest grew tight. Her breathing constricted. The combination was almost painful. And truly weird. She couldn’t have a heart attack. Not now. At her age? And not here in fantasy land. No. Evie slowed her pace, gasping for breath, and that’s why she actually saw the door. It was normal-sized, and blended with the wall mural so she almost missed it.
She’d found an exit.
A real exit.
She hesitated before turning the handle. Her chest cavity was filled with a mass of glowing embers where it should contain a heart. Needles were pricking her lungs. This was odd. And then a rush of tears stung her eyes. She blinked rapidly to stave them off. She hadn’t felt this forlorn since her grandpa had passed away. She was feeling...grief? Now?
She put her left hand to her chest and pushed against the sensation as she turned the handle with her right hand. Her credit card fell. She stooped to snag it, but the door pushed her through the portal, and then it closed behind her with a hiss, as if vacuumed shut.
Well.
Looks like she’d found the exit.
She almost turned back. Almost. Two things stopped her. One was the chamber she stood in. It was a span of gray-painted space, larger than her apartment back home. It was miniscule compared to the palace, however. A set of stairs began on her right that would have given a firefighter pause. They were made of grooved metal to prevent slippage or something. They didn’t look like something from ancient Persia. They looked completely modern and absolutely normal. For a maintenance stairwell. Just like back home.
That was reason one.
Evie looked up. And up. The thud of each heartbeat increased. Harder. More painful. Each one carried a sense of loss and desolation. She winced and turned back to the door, and discovered the second reason she didn’t turn back. The door had sealed shut. It was barely noticeable against the walls, and only because she knew where it was. That door didn’t have a handle on this side. Or a door bell. No knocker. No intercom button. Nothing.
She looked at it for long moments, hearing nothing but the sound of her own heart pounding heavily. The rasp of her breath. The incredible sense of sadness worsened. She sniffed back real sobs. This was stupid. But...could it really be that outrageous? She should cut herself some slack. Somebody should. It seemed her entire life she’d been trying to please everyone. She’d been trying to be the perfect daughter, the most loving ol
der sister, the most beautiful woman, the most charming, appealing, polite, captivating, successful...
Damn everything!
She dabbed at her eyes with her chador, darkening the navy shade with tears. Her entire life was a farce. And what did she have to show for it? A non-death by explosion. A family that was mourning her but would probably move on. Katie wouldn’t forgo entering the Miss New Jersey pageant because she’d recently lost her older sister. And now she faced a stairwell from hell.
So, what was life about, anyway? Why did any of this happen to her? And why was there a gorgeous man, who was either a certified lunatic or a phenomenal actor, in the mix? What was up with that? And why the hell couldn’t anything he said have been true? Did she have to find out like this? She had to see it? And climb it?
And with her luck lately, the metal grooves were going to bite into her thin-soled sandals. Well. It wasn’t getting any easier if she stood looking it over. Evie set her chin and started climbing.
Okay. Something was severely skewed here. The climb didn’t take but a minute. Maybe two. Toward the top, she was taking steps two at a time at a jog. She should be exhausted. Worn. Panting. Struggling up each level by using the rail, hand-over-hand. She was neither. She wasn’t even winded. The only effect of climbing over a thousand steps seemed to be the heavy weight in her chest, where her heart was supposed to be. The pain was still there, and it was accompanied with a sense of loss so severe, she really was sobbing as she reached the plateau at the top.
And another door.
Evie wiped her eyes again and turned for a look over the rail. It was a pretty impressive view. She’d climbed that? Wow. And just last week, she’d been applauding a two hour work-out session. She should be elated. Thrilled. She’d managed to find an exit. All she had to do was find a phone. Discover where she was and where reality had hidden.
The weight that was her heart thumped heavily as she thought it. This pain resembled her last break-up, but at a much more intense level. And she’d thought that impossible to live through. She’d holed up in her apartment for three days and four nights, mostly sobbing, while devouring every potato chip and cookie in the house. She’d sworn off relationships. That’s how bad it had been.
But this. This? Was even worse.
What had Daron said? They shared a mate-bond? Was that why she felt as if her heart was being ripped from her chest? She got another heavy thump at that thought. Maybe she needed to change her objective here. All she really needed was to find out if she was still on the planet. Maybe...her location. She didn’t need to call anyone. She was just going out to peek and then scuttling back in.
And the door wasn’t making her decision this time.
Evie leaned against the wall and unlaced a shoe. This door wasn’t vacuuming her ass out. Not without a fight. She was blocking it with a shoe. And while the leather straps might not present much of a problem, that door was going to have trouble with all these gems. She was sneaking out for a quick look and coming right back in. Just as soon as she found out where in the hell she was.
Evie wrapped the jewel-encrusted bands around the sandal until she had a nice-sized ball. She eyed the door handle for a moment, sizing up her opponent. The handle wasn’t like the others. It didn’t have a long, ornate handle. No. This one was utilitarian, and would be hard to hang onto. She’d go on the count of three.
Oh.
This was ridiculous.
She’d go now.
Evie grabbed the knob, twisted it, dropped her sandal as the door swung outward, and there wasn’t a damn thing out here but a lot of sky and a lot of empty space. She lost out to the door, too. She slid off the knob and started falling.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Evie’s heart lodged in her throat, effectively stopping any sound. Not that she’d have made one. Despite what all the movies showed. Not everyone falling to their deaths gave a long, slowly fading, scream. She didn’t have any breath to make one and couldn’t gasp another. She was really going to die this time. And not a soul knew where or how or when.
And why did plummeting down an unknown distance feel like floating? As if arms cradled her? There couldn’t be any gorgeous Persian hunks to save her this time. She’d already had that chance. She’d blown it. It seemed to take a hell of a long time to hit. But if she didn’t have her eyes shut, she could have answered all of it, rather than just squeeze everything in her body into a tight knot in preparation for impact.
The sensation of arms disappeared. A second later, Evie landed. Her feet took the jolt but that didn’t hurt as much as landing on her left hip. That was probably going to bruise. She rubbed at it absently as she rolled to her knees. She would have gained her feet, if there wasn’t a lot of fabric in the way. Damn harem garments. Damn door that had stolen her sandal. Damn fate. Damn everything. Damn. Damn.
The exquisitely sewn chador ripped, but finally released its hold on her legs. She stood. Looked about. It was pre-dawn. Or twilight. There wasn’t anything to see for miles except little stunted tree-things. Clumps of grass. Coarse dirt. And then the ground beside her left leg started rattling.
Evie reacted instinctively and instantly, reaching for, and grasping the rattlesnake beneath the head and then she flung it. She didn’t wait to see how far or where it landed. She was jumping up and down and screaming. And shuddering. And if anyone had been around, she’d have been hitting them. She was smacking fists at her upper arms before wrapping them about her.
Oh! She hated snakes! She hated them! Ugly, revolting, slimy serpents from hell! Snakes! Ugh! She hated them! She hated—
Wait a sec.
She’d just touched a real, live snake? A rattlesnake? She’d grabbed it and thrown it somewhere far away? Her? Evelyn Warner? She stared in the direction she’d flung it. Nobody would believe this. She didn’t even believe it and she’d just done it. She’d just saved herself. From a snake.
Her breathing calmed to a manageable level. Her heart rate followed, although each beat still carried the aching sensation. She winced slightly, rubbed at her arms, and took in her new surroundings. She didn’t notice when the shaking subsided and then stilled. She was evaluating her situation. It must be morning sun peeking over the horizon. The light gradually revealed nothing but miles of the same landscape. Hills that rose and fell. Some craggy. Some probably fit the terminology of mountain. It didn’t look like desert. That wasn’t sand beneath her foot. It was rough dirt. And bits of prickly stunted bushes. Wow. If she’d envisioned a purgatory, this was definitely it. Dirty. Dry. Desolate. And complete with creepy, crawly things like snakes.
And that’s when the sunlight touched her.
Holy shit! She’d been sunburned before, but nothing this drastic. Or this rapid. Nor had it raised bubbles this quickly. Evie cried aloud in shock and pain before wrapping the chador about every bit of exposed skin. And still the sun burned. And scorched. And seared.
“Hello!”
Evie turned at the voice and squinted. There was a man in the distance. He was jogging toward her. A man. A real human being. He was waving an arm and dressed in khaki colored clothing that matched the environment. He wore a large hat. And he spoke English.
“Hello!” he yelled again.
She was halfway to him with one step and right before him with the next. His expression was ludicrous. It probably matched hers. She’d never moved that quickly in her life. But the sun was rising higher, and she was starting to smell something burning. She was terrified it might be her.
“I need shade!” She grabbed his lapels.
“Are you lost?”
“He told me he was a vampire! I didn’t believe it! I’ve been bitten by a vampire! Can you help me?”
“Um. I have a truck. Yonder.”
He gestured behind him to where an SUV was parked. Evie nearly sobbed with relief. A second later she was at the vehicle, yanking open a back door, and diving inside. The floor well of the rear compartment was shady. Dim. Cool. The relief was intense. Imm
ediately. And euphoric.
He arrived some time later. She heard him speaking while he approached.
“...better alert Air-Med. I’ve got a live one. Yeah. Sun-stroke, maybe. Solo. Ill-equipped for hiking. Real looker. Yeah. And...don’t laugh. She said something about...eh. You’re going to laugh.”
The driver door opened. Evie slid back from the slice of sunlight that spiked into her hiding spot.
“Okay. Vampire. She said something about a vampire. Yeah. I know. We’re on our way.”
The springs beside her squeaked as he settled into the seat. The door shut. And then he was probably looking over the back of his seat at her. She had to guess. She wasn’t moving.
“Uh...Miss? You okay?”
“Who are you?”
“Well. You can call me Ranger Rick. Most of the ladies do.”
Oh. Double crap. He sounded flirtatious. Evie’s face fell. The sensation of burned skin accompanied it. That was kind of scary.
“Where am I?” she asked.
“Carlsbad.”
“Carlsbad...New Jersey?”
“Uh...no. Carlsbad Caverns National Park.”
She searched her memory. Sounded familiar. But why? Oh yeah. There was a Carlsbad in New Mexico, too.
“New Mexico?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“I’m in New Mexico?” Her voice rose slightly. He was going to think she was crazy. He wouldn’t be far off. She was thinking the same thing.
“Uh. Yeah. You okay back there?”
“Fine.”
“You need water?”
She should. Evie pondered it for a second. And then shuddered. Sounded horrid. She might gag. “No.”
“You should probably be in a seatbelt. I should probably enforce it.”
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Ranger station. It’s a rough ride. You ready?”
