Cheating Time (Longevity, #1)

by T. R. Graves

Chapter 18

  Longevity, Loyalty, and Devotion

  Carlie

  "N-no biggie. I woke up and saw you weren't using it so I thought I'd try contacting them," I said. My voice was a shaky as my lies and my hands. "I hope you don't mind."

  "I don't mind at all," he said, walking toward his desk.

  As he studied me, I reached my finger up, tapped on the corner of the three-dimensional, lithographic image, and closed it down, effectively preventing him from reading the messages or contacting either of my parents via Dad's secured route. When the electric blue of my parents' instant messages blurred and disappeared, I felt lonely and lost. Again. I'd just talked to them, but I missed them more than ever.

  I backed away from Thorne's desk. He put up his hands and said, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just told you if you'd asked, I'd have let you use the computer. Forgive me for not realizing you needed to contact your parents sooner. You must think I'm a complete shit."

  I shook my head. "No. So far, I think you're anything but a complete shit. Rorie loves you too much for me to think too poorly of you."

  Thorne looked over his shoulder and toward his sister before saying, "The problem is… she never sees the awful things in anyone… including me. Sometimes, I think the world would be better off if everyone had her blind faith in mankind. Other times, I think the human race would be extinct if we all trusted as unconditionally as she does."

  "I wish I were more like her. I could use a little more unconditional trust in my life," I mused.

  "It seems to me you have that with Jayden."

  I nodded slowly and bit my lip. "We bicker like brothers and sisters, but I trust him with my life. That comes from years of tests, ones you don't even know you're giving they're administered so subconsciously."

  Thorne cocked his head to the side. "How do you mean?"

  I laughed and it was more self-depreciating than I'd planned. "I don't know how to explain it without sounding more jaded and bitter than a girl my age should."

  Thorne leaned on the edge of his desk while waving a hand at his chair, suggesting I sit back down. I did.

  "Well… first, there's longevity. He's been with me for more years than I can remember. He's proven time and time again to my family and me that he's willing to stick around. So he's passed the longevity test with flying colors."

  Thorne nodded as if he could understand the importance time played in a relationship.

  "Then there's loyalty. Jayden's never once betrayed my family. There were opportunities for him to improve his standing under Barone. All he had to do was betray my parents. He's never once considered it."

  "And you know this how?" Thorne asked.

  I glared at him. "Because loyalty is innate within Jayden. It's as much a part of him as his eye color."

  "Loyalty to you, not our president… I assume," Thorne said.

  I knew better than to be baited into a discussion about Barone so I ignored what he'd said. What he'd implied.

  "He's as dedicated to his commitment to keep me safe and alive as anyone ever has been for anyone or anything," I said.

  "Oh… he's dedicated to you all right. In fact, I'd go so far as to say he's smitten with the beautiful girl sitting in front of me. I'm not sure I can blame him. I barely know you, and I'm already infatuated with you. I can't imagine what it would be like if I'd had a lifetime to get to know you," Thorne said, looking down at his hands.

  When he did, the shadow of his thick, full lashes fanned across his cheeks and made him even lovelier than before.

  "Knowing Barone… there's probably a MicroPharm pheromone that is released when we're near that mimics attraction. He's ruthless when he wants something, and if I remember correctly, you said he'd insisted we be married. Like I said, he gets what he wants even if he has to introduce artificial pheromones that make us think we're attracted to each other," I said, chuckling and voicing my hypothesis on the instant attraction we'd felt for each other.

  With eyes bulging, Thorne stared at me. "Oh my God! I hadn't thought of that. It would explain why I'm so attracted to you. I mean, I've never felt like this with anyone before. I'll bet you're right."

  His absolute relief was a knock to my ego. It was as if he'd finally—thankfully—figured out why he was so fascinated by someone like me.

  He's probably into the whisper-thin model types.

  "Yeah… I can see why the pheromone theory would take a weight off your shoulders. I mean, no man in his right mind would be caught dead with me," I said sarcastically, standing and planning to leave his damn tent and take my chances searching for Jayden.

  Before I could take the first step, he grabbed the top of my arm and pulled me into him. It felt a lot like being held by Jayden, and I missed him all the more.

  "I-I didn't mean anything by it. The thought just hadn't occurred to me, and you know as well as I do that the theory is solid," Thorne said, looking down at my lips.

  He watched them for a long time before leaning down and kissing them. I was so shocked that I couldn't do anything but stand still and wait for him to finish his experiment because I knew as well as I knew my name that he was testing some theories, assuming I'd soon jump on board with his experimentation.

  I'm not.

  This kiss was nice, and I had to admit it made my stomach flip and flop, but it was nothing compared to the way Jayden made my stomach quiver like thousands of butterflies had been released and my chest burn with unconditional love. A week ago, I'd have sworn I hated him, and if Thorne had kissed me then, I'd have climbed on board the Thorne Express and never gotten off.

  The problem was Jayden had kissed me. Jayden had slept next to me. I couldn't pretend Jayden didn't excite me when he so clearly did. Artificial pheromones or not.

  Finally, Thorne pulled back and said, "I'm assuming this is better for me than it is for you, and just so you know… there's nothing about knowing it that won't sting later."

  This time he was the one that was being self-deprecating, and for me, his inability to see himself as the beautiful man he just happened to be was one of his most endearing qualities. He may have looked like a god, but he in no way considered himself… loveable.

  "Thorne, have you spent much time with your parents?" I asked, hoping his response would help me understand where his lack of confidence came from.

  "Carles, my parents are researchers who've spent more of my life away from me and at their labs than at home with Rorie and me. Why do you ask? What does that have to do with you not enjoying kissing me when it does all kinds of unexpected things to me?" he asked.

  "No reason. I was just curious," I murmured.

  Thorne was still too close for comfort when he reached up and stroked the side of my face and tucked my hair behind my ear. "You're tired and need your rest… though I'd love nothing more than to stand here breathing you in. I'm convinced it's comparable to getting high. The way you excite me and calm me at the same time… i-it's got to be as addictive as any drug known to man," he hummed.

  I tucked my chin into my chest. "You barely know me."

  "That's what makes you all the more alluring. You forget I've been with you for the last three days, which means St. Romaine barely has anything on me when it comes to longevity, loyalty, and devotion," Thorne said with a smile and a wink.

  I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure I was a lot to handle for those three days."

  "I'm not complaining. Now, as your doctor, I'm ordering you back to bed. This time, I expect you to stay there. Rest is what you need now more than anything," Thorne ordered while waving me toward my cot.

  Suddenly, the giant air mattress looked like heaven on earth. My aching muscles were still suffering the aftereffects of the poison, which meant the MicroPharm would be working overtime, pumping medication into my system in order to manage the pain.

  I didn't argue. I strolled back to my bed, climbed in, and rolled over so I could watch Thorne, who looked like he was about to go back to studying.

  "Thorne
…" I said low so I wouldn't wake Rorie.

  He glanced up from whatever he was writing and said, "Yes, Carles."

  "You can call me Carlie," I said.

  He smiled. "Carles is your real name, and I love it."

  "Most people think it's some version of Charles. They refuse to give it two syllables. You and Rorie are the only people outside of my family who know how to pronounce it."

  "Like I said… I love it. It's the name I'll call you forever," Thorne said as if he were making a majestic pronouncement.

  He made me smile.

  "Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

  I shook my head. "No, I wanted to tell you thank you for looking after me. I know I was in pretty bad shape when I got here, and I'm sure Mom was doing whatever she could from afar, but I wouldn't have made it without you. I-I just wanted you to know I'm grateful."

  Thorne offered me a lopsided grin and said, "I'm not sure how to explain this to you in a way that won't make me sound a little unstable or won't make you hate me. The minute I scanned your chip and found out who you were… my head told me to let you go. I've resented my entire life the way our parents betrothed us. I've been the male version of a slut as I made the most of my bachelorhood. I'd convinced myself that you were going to be a two-headed monster I hated."

  My brows wrinkled. I was trying to decide if I was shocked or hurt.

  "The point is it didn't matter what my head screamed. As soon as I saw your face, my heart raced hysterically and took control of my every action. It was almost as if self-preservation took over. If you died, there was some part of me that would die, too. There would never be another woman in the world for me. It was then I realized I'd never been with a walking, talking woman who made me feel as alive as you—despite your comatose status—who'd ever made my heart skip a beat. I needed to see you up, awake, and moving around. Tonight, I saw that you are everything I'd hoped," he said sweetly.

  I closed my eyes and shook my head.

  "What?" He asked.

  "Nothing. I just don't know what to do with you. You're so brutally honest. I've never had to deal with anyone like you. In my house, we keep secrets. Not because we don't love each other. It seems that we do so because we love each other so much. I know my parents love me, but I didn't even know I'd been promised to you until you told me. In fact, I've learned a lot of things in the last week.

  "Don't get me wrong. I'm not angry with my parents. I believe they thought they were protecting me… or they thought they'd be able to change my future before I'd actually have to marry you. I don't know. I just know I've never known anyone who is so open and honest," I said right before a giant yawn escaped, and I closed my eyes.

  "I am what you see, Carles. Nothing more. Nothing less. I'm not sure the same can be said for your Surrogate Soldier," Thorne said.

  My eyes flew open, and Thorne stared at me pointedly. He wanted me to ask questions. I didn't. I was afraid I might find out Thorne was right, that Jayden was working with Barone to keep my family under the president's thumb.

  When Thorne realized I wasn't going to be baited, he looked back down at his notebook and began writing again.

  I wanted to hop from my cot and go find Jayden. I wanted to make him tell me everything he knew. I wanted the lies to stop and the truth to be splayed out and ready for me to accept.

  I lay there knowing Jayden was more secretive than Mom, Dad, and Gran combined. He'd never tell me anything he'd not been authorized to disclose. Everything about that hurt. Until Thorne reminded me otherwise, I'd convinced myself that Jayden was more Procreate than Surrogate.

  Jayden is a Surrogate Soldier above anything else, I thought as I drifted off to sleep.