“Geez, sorry I asked. Don’t be angry. It was just a crazy idea.” Dina sniffled out the words.
Zane tried to keep his mind from the darkness. He didn’t want to tell Dina everything causing his tension. He couldn’t do much to shelter her from what was bad in the world, but he could keep his worries to himself. Recently, there had been a string of robberies where the victims were murdered with electricity, Ian’s MO.
“My reaction has nothing to do with the question. I have a lot on my mind.”
She frowned and reached toward him before dropping her hand. “I can’t believe I asked you to go on TV. I know how hard the press is on you. I’m sorry. You never rest enough. I don’t have the right to add another burden on your shoulders. I’m so ashamed I even asked.”
He was lost as he heard her soft, sad words. He’d expected her to want to fight with him about something, and to push him away. He’d never anticipated she’d ask this kind of favor from him. He took her chin in his hand and tipped her face up so that she met his eyes. “All right, Dina, I’ll do it, for you. I’d do anything for you, even reality television.” He tried to keep the irritation out of his voice, but failed miserably.
She threw herself into his arms. “Oh, thank you, Zane. You’re giving me my life back.” Then she paused. “Are you sure you can do this, really?”
He nodded stiffly.
She hugged him tightly. Her body felt small in his arms, and he pressed his cheek against the top of her head, relishing the feeling of holding her. The light, floral scent of her shampoo filled his senses and his body responded to her. He’d materialized in street clothes and he was grateful that he had. His spandex disguise, the one Ella insisted he wear, would never have hidden his arousal. Zane hoped she wouldn’t notice. This was the first time he’d seen Dina in far too long, and for once, she wasn’t trying to start a fight.
“If you’re really willing to help me, please come to my office in the morning and I’ll go over everything with you about the show. Zane…” She stepped back to gaze up into his face. “Thank you so much. You save strangers every night, but tomorrow you’ll be saving my life.”
He was happy too, but only because he’d get to see her again in the morning. He turned toward her door to leave. He didn’t want to piss her off by using his powers without a good reason again.
“Oh, and Zane…”
He paused and turned to her.
“Use the door,” she requested softly. “Don’t just pop yourself over to my office. I hate seeing you slowly killing yourself doing that.”
He grinned. The urge to pull her into his arms for a kiss was so great he had to take a physical step back from her. He left before he could act on it. He missed having someone give a damn about him.
As soon as he was away from her door and he was sure no one was watching, he materialized himself to his own efficiency bachelor pad. He stood alone in the darkness wearing nothing at all. It was dark, dirty, and lonely. Walking to bed, he realized he was whistling, and paused. It had been a long time since he’d been cheerful. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he didn’t feel like the world was just one big pile of shit he was sinking into. No matter what kind of show she planned, he’d do it just to be near her.
Zane lay down on his rumpled, stale smelling bed and closed his eyes. An image of Dina floated behind his eyelids. Sleep claimed him quickly.
Zane struggled against the cold hands as they forced him into the cage, but at eleven years old he was no match for the burly man. Tears ran down his cheeks. He could hear screams—a boy’s screams. Somewhere in the dark sub-basement of the orphanage, bad things were happening. Zane screamed for his mother, but it was pointless. She’d been bad and they’d taken him away from her.
He didn’t like the orphanage, but he liked this dark, dank basement even less. He’d woken up halfway between his bedroom and the elevator. The man had covered his mouth and he hadn’t been able to scream. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and he saw other cages filled with children. Some slept while others sat shivering in the cold. There was no blanket here, no pillow, only steel and concrete.
“Hello,” he whispered.
“Hi.” A girl’s voice came out of the darkness and he turned to the left. She had long, dark ringlets of hair. He could see marks on her arms. The thin nightgown she wore didn’t have sleeves. He was freezing in the standard–issue red flannel that all the boys wore, so she had to be even colder. “What’s your name?”she asked.
“Zane.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Didn’t you see them put me here?”
She giggled. “No. How long have you been an orphan?”
“I’m not an orphan. I have a mom.” He didn’t know why he felt so offended at her question, but he wasn’t like the others. His mom would get him back.
She gave him a half-annoyed, half-understanding look. “How long have you been in the orphanage?”
“I don’t know, a while, since school started. Why are we in cages?”
“They’re mean doctors.” Another scream made him jump, and the girl paused. He could see her tremble. “They hurt us.”
“Why?”
“Because they can, we’re unwanted,” she whispered.
“I’m not. My mom will come and get me.”
She gave him a sad look. “I hope she does. My name is Dina. I’m ten.” She pointed to the cage to his right. “That’s Ella, my sister.” He glanced over to see a girl curled up in a tight ball. Her face was visible. She looked exactly like the girl he was talking to, and he glanced back at Dina, just to be sure. “She’s my twin.”
“How long have you been down here?”
“Since the last day of school. They took us from our last class and brought us here.”
Terror raced through him. “All summer?”
“I guess. How long since school started again?”
“It’s almost Halloween.”
“Oh.” She looked incredibly sad, and he felt badly that he’d been the one to put the look on her face. He reached through the bars and she cautiously followed his lead. He held her cold hand. “Thanks,” she whispered.
He gave her a small smile. A man came in. She quickly dropped his hand and scrambled to the far corner of her cage, where it was darkest. The man didn’t look at either of them, but instead went to her sister’s cage.
“No,” Dina screamed.
The man turned and glared at her. The light from the hallway illuminated his face enough to make his scary scowl appear ghoulish. “Shut up, kid. You’ve had your fun.”
She trembled. Judging from the welts on her arms, whatever they’d done hadn’t been fun. Zane watched as the little girl in the cage woke up. She shrieked. Some of the other kids in the cages stirred. When they saw the man, they all had similar reactions of fear. Scooting away and trying to hide, some of them even started crying. Ella slapped at the man, but he pulled her out of her prison. Zane watched her struggle as the man dragged her from the room. When he slammed the door, they were surrounded by darkness once more. Dina sobbed.
“What are they going to do to her?” Zane whispered.
“Make her hurt. Make her want to die. Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don’t. The kid who used to be in your cage didn’t come back last week.”
Cold dread ran down his spine. Zane reached out his hand again. Dina pulled herself close to the bars and reached out. She took his hand and held on as she lay down, sobbing. Dina flinched as the first agonized shriek echoed in the room. Many more utterly horrific cries followed the first as her sister endured whatever they were doing to her behind the closed door.
Zane gasped. He struggled, pushing the covers off his body. Sweat made him uncomfortable. He had to look outside. The claustrophobia that accompanied one of the dreams made it hard for him to breath. He yanked on the cord and the room-darkening shades opened. He let the sun hit his face as he closed his eyes and basked in the warmth. He wasn’t a trapped lit
tle boy anymore, but he didn’t want to go back to sleep again. He needed to do some work anyway. Glancing at the clock, he sighed, running his hand through his hair. Yawning widely, he stretched. He’d had four hours of sleep, more than usual. It was time to get up.
Chapter 2
Dina sat at her desk going over her presentation nervously. Zane still hadn’t shown up, and it was well past noon. She regretted her ban on him using his power as she glanced at the clock. She’d expected him hours ago. Gritting her teeth, she tried to ignore the worry clawing at her insides. What if he changed his mind? A pounding knock on her door startled her into scattering the paperwork on her desk. She began frantically trying to reorganize the sheets before she looked up. Zane stood in the doorway. Dina breathed a sigh of relief.
She noticed his dark brown hair was a little too long. He needed a haircut. She itched to feel that hair, it had always been so soft. Still feeling anxious, she gave him a tight, albeit welcoming, smile. This was going to be the hardest thing she’d ever have to do. She felt as if she was asking him to sell his soul.
“Hi, Zane,” she said quietly.
He smiled warmly, but the expression soon turned into a frown. “Dina, you look terrible. What’s wrong?”
He could read her so well. She put on her best fake smile. “Never tell a girl she looks terrible, even when she does. I just really hope you’ll agree to my proposal.”‘
“Yes, I’ll marry you. I never thought you’d ask, it’s about time,” he joked.
She rolled her eyes. Her stomach felt tied in knots and her nerves frayed around the edges. Her sense of humor was on vacation. “Sit down, please, Zane. I know how private you are, and I want to start out by promising your secret won’t be revealed. My staff won’t even know. I’ll not allow your real identity to be compromised, you have my word.”
He sat down in the chair across from her desk and crossed his legs. He looked so casual in his khaki pants and polo shirt. The shirt stretched across his broad shoulders and the tight fabric strained to contain him.
She cleared her throat, forcing her eyes off his male yumminess. “With that said, we can now get down to the bones of the show. This is going to be all about your Mind Man persona. I’d like you to be the star of the show I’ve titled I Want To Date a Superhero.”
His mouth fell open. She waited a moment before she leaned over and gently closed his gaping mouth with her finger. He didn’t speak. She was losing him to shock. Thinking quickly, and trying to salvage the situation, she rushed forward with her explanation.
“Don’t worry. You won’t have to marry any of the contestants, unless you want to.” God, she hoped he didn’t want to. “There’ll be ten women, and each week you’ll select one to leave. They’ll compete to win safety from elimination for the next week’s episode. We’ll interview you, and you’ll go out, as Mind Man, on a date with each girl. We’ll start out with group dates. As the pool of contestants gets smaller, you’ll go on solo dates. The network will cover all expenses. At the end of the final episode, you and the winning girl each receive a check for fifty thousand dollars. We’ll donate yours to the charity of your choice, to preserve your identity, and she’ll have the option to keep or donate her check. I’ll personally oversee all of it. I’ll also have final veto on the casting. I promise not to pick you any ugly ducklings. Please, Zane, I really need you to do this. Say yes.”
* * * *
Zane couldn’t breathe. He stood up so quickly he knocked over the chair he’d been sitting in. Agitated, he went to her window and opened it, taking a huge gulp of fresh air. He turned around to look at her again. Dina frowned. Her face was pale.
“If anyone else on Earth just asked me what you’ve asked of me, I’d say no, but for you I’ll do it—on one condition.”
“Anything, whatever you need.”
He looked at her a long, quiet moment. She was the only thing he’d ever needed. “You have to be on the set each and every day. You’ll be in charge of making sure my identity is a secret, and you’ll be responsible for not letting me look like an ass. You alone oversee the final edit.”
* * * *
Dina nodded. Can getting him to say yes really be this easy? “I can totally do that.” She nodded enthusiastically.
When he left the window and walked over to stand next to her, she looked up at him. He leaned down and kissed her firmly on the mouth. Her eyes opened widely before closing. He cupped her face in his hand. Warmth tingled through her. He still tasted of some sort of exotic spice that was purely him. She sighed and her lips parted. His tongue darted in to swipe across hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, unable to help herself.
She fell forward with a startled gasp. Her mouth no longer pressed against his. He disappeared so quickly she wondered if she’d imagined the kiss. Pressing her fingers to her lips, she could still feel the tingle from his lips against hers and taste him. It had been real. What was that all about? I should’ve been kissing him for saving me. How can I do this to him? I love him. Her heart pounded. She really hated it when he poofed. She stood up and walked to the window, breathing in the fresh air. She let the breeze cool her cheeks. Her whole body felt hot and needy after the brief, but wonderful, contact. I hope my job is really worth it. Oh, Zane, I wished you’d just said no. She was lying to herself. She wanted this show to work. A little part of her did wish he’d said no, but a bigger piece was doing cartwheels. This show would be television history and she’d be queen again.
The rest of the day dragged by. When she finally got home, all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep off the blue feeling that had crept up on her. She went to her room. She lay her robe over a chair and lay down in bed. She always kept the adjoining bathroom light on. Her phobia of the dark had deeply seeded roots from her childhood horrors. She put her arm over her forehead. The room was cold, just the right temperature for her to fall asleep. She needed it to be chilly, too many years of sleeping in her cell had left her comfortable with what others would find miserable. When Dina closed her eyes sleep came for her swiftly.
Zane held her hand. They walked up the stairwell to the roof of their building. This place had its charms, and the roof was one. The six of them had made a nice patio. They shared with the other tenants, but everyone knew this was their place. Zane told her he had a surprise. She loved surprises.
He stopped her at the door. She hated dark, enclosed places, but with Zane, she felt safe. He pinned her to the cold steel. His lips brushed hers gently. He pulled back to look into her eyes. The pad of his thumb traced her lower lip tenderly. “I love you, Dina.”
She smiled. Her heart did a funny little somersault. “I know,” she whispered.
“I really love you—like forever. We’re twenty, and we’ve been on our own for years. We can get married.”
It wasn’t a question. Her heart pounded. She opened her mouth to ask if he’d just proposed, but shut it quickly. He didn’t need to propose to her, she was his. They both knew it. He kissed her again, roughly. She wrapped her arms around his neck, whimpering. He was so strong—her personal superman. She smiled against his lips. He hated it when she called him that. He fought crime and still worked a job to provide for their family. The six of them were the only family she’d ever known. She was happy.
When he pulled away, his face looked flushed. She felt his erection pressing into her hip. “Let’s go before I change my mind and drag you downstairs and put you to bed.”
They shared a bed, and made no apologies for it. Bridget and Aaron slept together too. She wondered if Ian and Ella would eventually end up together. She hated that her sister was alone. She knew El had a thing for Zane, but he was hers. As much as she loved her sister, she didn’t plan on sharing him.
Zane opened the door. Lights hung off the low wall and a table was set up in the middle of their potted-plant garden. Candles burned low and there were real plates. He’d gone to a lot of work. She had no clue when he’d found time to do all of this.
She rolled her eyes, but deep inside his words stirred a deep, primal need for a protector. Most of the time she didn’t feel safe. She was always looking over her shoulder. Someday those men who’d experimented on her would find her again, but when Zane was with her she felt safe. Love overflowed from her heart. She didn’t know how it was possible to love someone like she loved Zane. Nothing would ever make her stop feeling this way about him—nothing.
He smiled and handed her a bread stick. “For my lady,” he said gregariously.
She shook her head with amusement, but accepted his token. Then she noticed something strange on the stick. She pulled it closer to her face. A ring. He’d actually found money for a real ring. His words weren’t all talk. He really wanted to marry her.
She pulled the precious, simple, gold band off the bread. The gold was inscribed. The words “infinity times ten” were etched into the metal along with their initials. She looked up at him and raised her eyebrow, her head cocking to the side.
“That’s how long I plan to love you, Dina Dell, infinity times ten.” He took the ring out of her limp hand and placed it on the ring finger of her left hand. “Always.”
She swallowed around the lump in her throat. Tears prickled threateningly in her eyes. “Always,” she echoed.
Dina’s alarm went off. She slapped at it hatefully. She seldom dreamed, and when she did, it was usually a nightmare about the hellish dungeon where she’d been tortured for four years of her young life. This dream was a memory of the best day she’d ever enjoyed. Her last week with Zane before she realized staying would kill him. Tears filled her eyes and she curled up on her side, sobbing her heart out.
Chapter 3
Ervin loved her again. He even made the janitor give her back the premium, executive parking spot. All the ad people buzzed around, crazy to promote this historic television extravaganza. Each time someone raved about the idea or praised her, Dina cringed inside. She’d sold out the love of her life for a job she was starting to hate, yet she couldn’t lose the only thing she’d ever felt she was good at—the only thing that made her special.
Reality Hero Page 3
