Hidden Realms

by Dean Murray

  He escorted me to my next class. Man I wanted to spend more time with him.

  “So, I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” he asked, coming closer.

  His size absolutely intimidated me, but his nearness was what made my heart flutter like a dying moth. He wanted me to go to the football game with him, so I had invited him to come with Cassie and me. “Uh-huh,” I said dreamily. Good grief. I sounded like a moron.

  His fingertips brushed my cheek lightly, before he turned and sauntered away, whistling a sad sort of melody that brought to mind long lost loves and days gone by. I watched him go, realizing I didn’t know anything about him other than his name. I could have practically written biographies for every person sitting at that table by the time we were done talking today, but not him. Why was that?

  . . . . .

  “What do you mean you’re ‘sort of’ bringing a date to the game?” Cassie complained. Her bottom lip protruded in an exaggerated pout.

  I had purposely waited until morning to tell her Zach was coming with us. I knew she’d be upset, but I had no way of contacting him to see if he knew anyone to set her up with. I didn’t even have Natalie’s number yet. “I know. I’m really sorry, but maybe he’ll come with a friend.” I prayed he would. I should have asked him when I had the chance, but the minute he mentioned me going with him to the game, my mind short circuited. It had been too busy reeling to think clearly enough to worry about Cassie.

  Cassie’s cheeks rose perkily in a smile. Her raven curls bounced, as she clasped her hands together. “I hope so.”

  Seeing her this animated made my smile bigger. I craved to settle into one of our comfortable conversations. It wouldn’t hurt to try again. “How have you been, Cass?”

  Her tone leaked frustration. “Fine.”

  I shook my head. I hadn’t brought up the motorcycle rider or pegasus in days, yet worry still clouded her normally bright eyes. “What’s with you? Since when did you start answering questions with one syllable?”

  She shrugged and plopped onto the crisp sofa that had been delivered yesterday morning. I thought we’d get a used one somewhere, but this was straight from the showroom. The winter white chenille contrasted well with the hot pink and lime green of her bedspread. In fact, the only thing that wasn’t coordinated perfectly was my bunk. I was kind of surprised she didn’t throw a fit when I insisted on keeping my favorite quilt.

  Aunt Grace had given it to me a few years ago. I asked her when she had found time to make it. She claimed she bought it, but I knew better. She would have never watched me so intently when I opened the package if that had been the case.

  Cassie hugged her knees then, picked at a fringed hole in her sleeve. “I don’t know what to say. Unlike you, I didn’t get to meet a great guy yesterday. You don’t even care about men right now. How fair is that?”

  I shrugged. “If Zach doesn’t know anyone, I’ll ask Natalie.”

  She stood up, shoving her hands into her pockets. “There’s another thing. When have you had time to make new friends without me? You’re going to be gone most of the time from now on, and I won’t have anyone to hang out with.” She fully glared at me now. “And another thing, since you brought it up. I really don’t like any of my classes.”

  Wow. Where had the animosity come from? I refused to feel bad about trying to take care of myself. She thought I should be fine with her parents paying for my expenses, as well as hers. I just couldn’t give in and like myself. “I won’t be working that much, and you know it. You’ll hardly even realize I’m gone.”

  “So you say.” She plopped back down and started surfing TV channels distractedly.

  I watched her for a moment, but she wouldn’t look at me again. We had to get past this barrier. I decided to try a different approach. “What are you wearing to the gam —?”

  She flicked the TV off faster than I could get the words out. The remote fell out of her hand like last week’s trash. This was the first time real excitement shone in her eyes since the day we arrived here. Her smile could have lit up Manhattan. “I was thinking we should go to the gift shop. You know, show some spirit.”

  I could deal with shopping if it would keep that smile on her face. “What are you waiting for?”

  She didn’t even answer. She bolted to get her purse and turned to me eagerly. We made the fairly long walk to Notre Dame because Cassie didn’t like the selection in our store. She had been too impatient to wait for a shuttle, and we were nowhere near my car.

  I didn’t mind. I loved being in nature, and I hadn’t dared go out alone since I met that guy in the woods. It had been two weeks already. I missed my runs.

  The beauty of campus struck me again. The trees on the Avenue swayed in the fresh breeze, as glimmering light filtered through the leaves.

  Leaving my new sanctuary left me decidedly uneasy, but I had to go to Notre Dame sometime. Better to rip off the bandage than lull myself into a false sense of safety. Besides, we were around so many people, how could fae lords, if they existed, and I still wasn’t saying they did, do anything to me here? I didn’t know why I was so worried. I reminded myself once again that nothing had happened in quite some time.

  “This one looks nice,” I said, holding up the fifteenth sweatshirt I’d found in Cassie’s size. I didn’t know why it mattered so much. They were mostly blue, white, or gold with the exception of an occasional pink girly one or the generic leprechaun green that had nothing to do with Notre Dame colors. At least this had a cool design. Stunning images of campus surrounded the Fighting Irish logo.

  Cassie took it from me, rubbed the fabric between her fingers, made a face, then, handed it back. “It’s nice, but just not, well, special enough.”

  I snorted, waving my arm sideways for emphasis. “I hardly think you’re going to find a one of a kind in here.”

  She smiled sheepishly at me. “It’s the first game. I want to stand out.” She held up a white and gold jersey that had the number ten on it. “What do you think?”

  Smiling, I shook my head then, raised the shirt in my hand higher. “Like that’s any better than this.” If she was going for different, she hadn’t found it. The store was packed with number ten gear.

  Not to be distracted, she dug into the rack again. “Help me find a blue one. It will go better with my eyes.”

  I started my search, but my heart wasn’t in it anymore. “What’s so great about ten, anyway?”

  She straightened, giving me her ‘you’re too clueless to live’ look. “It’s Devon King’s number.”

  “Who?”

  “He’s the new quarterback.” She said it like anyone in the world should have known who he was.

  I might have guessed. Cassie had a thing for quarterbacks. I’d have thought she’d prefer a tight end.

  “I have the perfect thing for you,” a deep voice rang out, blazing through my soul like a forest fire.

  I hastily glanced up from the rack. Cassie spun around, as if she had casters for feet.

  Four men stood casually in front of us like runaways from Mt. Olympus. Each man exuded the cocky assurance that he was the best option a woman could have. He was it — the end. Every one of them was absolutely stunning, not to mention intimidating.

  And I thought Zach was bad.

  They looked like chiseled marble deities. Michelangelo couldn’t have done better. Was the whole world full of exquisite men, or was it just Notre Dame?

  The man smiling radiantly at Cassie had bronze skin with dark, cascading chestnut hair that seemed to shine with an inner light. The clingy white tee he held in his masculine hands sported an image of a blue and gold stiletto heeled cleat with a number ten on it. Long live the King was written under it in bold letters.

  His amber gaze landed on mine, lighting an unquenchable inferno in the pit of my stomach. He smiled charmingly, a Celtic dream.

  Cassie stepped timidly toward him. “That’s exactly what I’ve been looking for!” Inching closer to him, she accepted the shir
t carefully with a star-struck expression plastered to her suddenly rosy features. “Now this is special, Rayla.”

  I jumped at the sharp sound of indrawn breath. Each man contributed equally to the symphony. I was immediately uneasy, and not in an ‘I’ve got four hot guys surrounding me’ sort of way.

  These men certainly looked otherworldly. Could they really be fae? I had pretty much discounted the idea the fae even existed, but there was something different about them that I couldn’t quite grasp.

  All I knew was I didn’t like that they knew my name. Refusing to look directly at any of them, I turned toward Cassie. “We should go.”

  “Why the hurry, beautiful?” the blonde asked in a southern California accent, sliding up next to me. He smiled fully at me.

  The epitome of a sun god, his bright cerulean eyes taunted me playfully. His shoulder length blond hair was split down the middle, falling in light waves that caressed his golden, Thor-like face. The closer he came to me, the more my scar itched. I fought the urge to scratch it, even though it rushed with sensation. My body trembled as he came nearer.

  “I thought we were going to get something for you, too,” Cassie said. Her curious eyes studied me, as if I’d gone crazy.

  Didn’t they affect her like they did me? She was standing there casually, with a glazed look in her eyes. “Nope. I’m good.” I nodded toward the door, giving her another look.

  “Let us help you,” one of the other men suggested in a satin tone that fell on my senses like a feather-light kiss. My body shifted to his signal. Although extremely different in appearance from the guy standing next to me, my awareness of the speaker affected me in the same odd way. I felt his call, as though he were the only man on earth.

  His eyes were deep set chocolate pools, his skin russet velvet. His thick black tresses were pulled back in a crisp queue: The perfect Latin lover. His sumptuous lips turned in an inviting smile. I looked away shyly.

  “Are you all players?” Cassie asked innocently. Her gaze darted from each one and back again, as though having trouble determining which of them was best.

  The last man in the group burst out in a husky laugh. I shivered as he became my new world. His rich obsidian eyes pointedly surveyed the scene. I doubted he missed much.

  He was a few inches taller and quite a bit larger than the rest of them, even though each man was very nearly a giant and perfectly muscled in the way of Adonis. Flawless mocha skin and long dark braids completed his exotic look: The ultimate jungle warrior.

  “Of a sort,” he replied in a tone that sent a quake of sensual expectation through my entire frame. He smiled at me possessively, as though I were his somehow.

  Aunt Grace’s words were tattooed in my memory. These men fit the description. They were all exquisitely, inhumanly stunning. I wasn’t sure about the cunning part, but I didn’t want to get anywhere near them if they could be lethal.

  I made a mistake by coming here. I should have never come to Notre Dame.

  The blonde came closer. “How about it, Rayla? Will you let us help you?”

  The way he said my name got my pulse pumping like a V12 at full throttle, but just as quickly a calming sensation washed over my body, settling my nerves. I wanted to give him anything he asked for. I wanted to toss my hair, bat my eyelashes, and accidentally brush up against him just to feel his body next to mine. I could never be close enough.

  I might have actually done it if I hadn’t gotten a kick in the pants from my mind to grab Cassie and sprint back to our dorm. I inwardly shook myself, closing off my emotions. If he were fae, I couldn’t let him know I was on to him. That would be the stupidest thing I could do. What would keep him from throwing me over his shoulder and bounding out the door? It sure wasn’t going to be the scrawny cashier. Thinking about me or Cassie fighting him off was laughable. Besides, with the way that red-haired dude had her in his sights, she’d be right beside me.

  “I suppose,” I said calmly. It came out better than I had hoped, especially considering my battling emotions.

  The sun god lifted a blue shirt from the rack, holding it up to me. He didn’t even bother looking at the tag, yet it was exactly my size. Soft as a feathery boa, his knuckles brushed my chin. I nearly doubled over from the strangest sensation I had ever experienced. A storm of emotions threatened to drown me: passion, fear, excitement, anxiety, longing. You name it. I was feeling it all at once.

  If that wasn’t bad enough, sharp pain erupted in my scar. I stepped back, trying to cover my escape with a smile.

  His tropical eyes narrowed slightly. With a grin on his face, he stepped nearer, entrancing me where I stood. “If I could, I would drape you in the finest silks. I would gift you with pearls, adorn your body with precious gems, and set you on the throne you deserve. Unfortunately, this will have to do.” The corners of his mouth lifted further in an earth-shattering smile. His gaze darted to the floor and back to mine. Redoubled in intensity, his look shot through my soul. “For now.”

  I was like a gazelle caught in crosshairs. I needed to bolt so badly I didn’t care in that moment if Cassie was with me or not. I had to leave. Imagining myself in this man’s arms came too easily for me. The temptation to give in to my feelings rolled onward. My control was moments from shattering.

  At the same time, I couldn’t run screaming from the store like I wanted and expect to stay here very long. I locked my senses down instantly, worried I would be in real trouble if he discovered how freaked out I was.

  Cassie took the shirt from him. “Why don’t we go ring these up?” she asked no one in particular. Her expression held mostly curiosity, yet something else lurked in her gaze that I didn’t have the strength to analyze.

  I followed her to the register, trying to ignore the heat of the sun god’s nearness as he dogged my steps. My body screamed at me to take advantage of the situation and lean into him. I was painfully aware of every step he took, how his frame angled toward mine. His warm breath on my neck sent the pleasant kind of shivers through me, in spite of my fear. He slipped fluidly around us and handed the cashier a hundred.

  “I would rather pay,” I said, whipping out my wallet. I refused to be indebted to him.

  The cashier looked back and forth between the two of us like a little boy trapped in the middle of arguing parents. More than anything he seemed as though he didn’t want to take sides. I gave him the stare I usually reserved for Sarah when she tried to lie about her homework, but it did no good. He still took the darn bill. I turned away in disgust.

  “My pleasure, Rayla,” said my suitor in triumph. Was it his tone or the way he used my name that battled my will? “I am completely enchanted by you. Come to the game with me.” It was a command, not a request.

  “She has a date already,” Cassie interjected. Her inflection betrayed her jealousy.

  “Cancel it,” the sun god said, giving me a smile that could fry the moon.

  “I don’t even know your name,” I replied hoarsely. My attraction notwithstanding, I was terrified of him. I didn’t know Zach very well, either. But given the choice, I would pick him a million times over. Something about him set me at ease.

  Besides, he was at least human. Most men swagger or bounce when they walk. This guy didn’t even move right. He glided like a wave, or more like a shark lurking under a swell.

  “How rude of me,” he said, with an ocean of promise in his grin. “I’m Luke. Give me a chance, beautiful, and I will quench every desire you have.”

  There was no humor in his tone or expression. He was too much — literally. The age-old question about beauty had been answered, at least for me. It had the capacity to be as disturbing as the most grotesque thing out there.

  The words were torture to get out. “I’m sorry, but as Cassie said, I already have a date.” I was as calm as a reflecting pool on the surface while suppressing a turbulent hurricane of conflicting emotions underneath.

  He narrowed his eyes. Looking utterly flummoxed, he gave me a shrug. “A
s you wish, Rayla,” he said, using that odd inflection to my name. “We’ll have plenty of opportunities to get to know one another, now that I have found you.” His statement was bad enough, but his gaze reflected a horrifying promise of certainty.

  “Sure thing,” I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “See you around.”

  Before I could move a muscle, another voice rang out. “Perhaps Rayla would prefer one of us,” the Latin lover said.

  His words blew over me like a balmy zephyr. I was a sail that had no tether. My breath came so fast and shallow my head swam.

  I couldn’t take anymore contact with these men. My entire body trembled, and if I stayed here any longer, I was a goner for sure. “We really have to get going. It was nice to meet you, Luke, and the rest of you, too...” I turned toward them in a polite dismissal. I should have known better.

  The Latin lover stepped forward, bowing. “You may call me Taylor. I am at your disposal.”

  I smiled hesitantly. He stepped back and clicked his heels together like a dutiful soldier.

  “I am Finn,” the Celtic dream said in a rich brogue. “If it’s a real man you are wanting, look no further.”

  I turned away shyly. His expression held the promise of endless nights spent in his arms. How odd. I was certain he liked Cassie.

  “You are but a pup,” the dark warrior chided, sidling around Finn. “I am Jett, your deepest desire. I will take you to depths unexplored. Anything you want, I will give to you.”

  Jett’s nearness blasted through me to my core. I shook with the intensity of it. Could he be the man from the woods? My reaction to him was eerily similar. To be fair, it could have been any one of them.

  I cleared my throat. “Quite a promise, but I’m afraid I will have to decline, gentlemen. Cassie, we need to leave.”

  When I turned to her on trembling legs, she looked bewildered and above all — hurt. How could I blame her? She just got ignored by four of the most gorgeous men in existence, even the one who had at first seemed interested in her. That never happened, and it didn’t make any sense, unless I had something to offer these men that she didn’t. Heavens. Maybe Aunt Grace had been telling the truth.