As I started to squirm under the uncomfortable situation, a tall dark-haired man approached me, his dark eyes roving over me like I was the last cookie in the jar. He was slim built, but I could tell he was well muscled, lithe, the body of an athlete. The way he carried himself, his air of confidence, the way he moved—this guy was not human. His features were sharp and angular, but still utterly handsome and enticing.
“Hello there,” he said, his voice low and silky. “I’m Gordon. Marcus’ cousin. My mother and his mother are sisters.”
“Hi,” I said, smiling and trying to quash the unease rising in my stomach. “I’m Caitlyn.”
“You are quite remarkable, Caitlyn. It’s nice to finally put a face to the name.”
I faltered. What was I supposed to say to that? “Thanks. Marcus doesn’t really talk about his family much.”
A sly grin spread over Gordon’s pink lips. “I bet he doesn’t talk about much at all, does he?”
I frowned. “Yes, we do talk.”
“But not much about him.”
I couldn’t help but think about that. He was right. What could I say to that?
“Don’t worry,” he said, taking two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter with a silver platter of freshly filled flutes. He passed me one. “It’s just Marcus. He likes to forget his past if he can. Although you, wow, you must be like living in his past.”
“What do you mean?”
“The resemblance is uncanny…” he said, scanning over me from head to toe, inch by inch. The way his dark eyes lingered on my dress gave me a chill up and down my spine. Where the hell was Marcus? “That’s a beautiful dress. Very…vintage.”
Nausea churned together with nerves in my gut. This guy was speaking in code, on purpose, but my interest had been piqued, I couldn’t deny that.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
Gordon’s smile burst into a full-toothed beaming grin. “Has Marcus ever explained to you why he’s so attracted to you? Why you of all the beings in the world caught his attention?”
“I…” What kind of a question was that? “He said that I had the sweetest scent he’s come across in centuries.”
He leaned in close and drew in a deep breath. “Oh yes, that you definitely do. But I happen to know there’s more to it than just that.” He took a sip from his champagne, his eyes never leaving mine as they twinkled with unknown secrets. “You should ask him.”
“Ask him what exactly?”
“Why he is really with you, of course. I understand your human movies and TV shows lead you to believe that some of you out there may well be ‘the one’ who turns the monster’s attention because you’re ‘special’ in some way. Unfortunately, my dear dear Caitlyn, I must be the bearer of bad news and pop your misconceived bubble.”
Panic started to climb inside me. This guy blatantly knew something about mine and Marcus’ relationship that I didn’t know.
“Just tell me yourself,” I said, my voice coming out quiet and weak.
He tipped his head back and laughed. “Ah, but that’s not fun.” He looked behind him quickly. “Your opportunity is approaching. Let me know how this works out.”
In the blink of an eye, he disappeared, but no less than a second later, Marcus was back at my side. He put my drinks down on the table, slipped an arm around my shoulders and kissed the side of my head.
“I hope he didn’t bother you too much?” he asked, inclining his head towards Gordon, who stood on the other side of the room, watching us like a hawk.
“No…he didn’t bother me too much,” I replied. “He’s actually quite a strange one. He seemed to be talking in riddles of some sort.”
Marcus pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes at his cousin. “What did he say?”
“He said something about you living in the past and I should ask you why you’re really with me.”
Marcus closed his eyes and muttered a curse under his breath. When he opened his eyes again, they were blazing with fury. “Interfering good for nothing bas—”
“Marcus,” I said, sharply. “What was he talking about?”
“He was talking about why he thinks I’m with you but believe me, what he thinks and what’s true are two different things.”
My breath caught in my throat. Something was going on here, something that would bring my world crashing down around my ears. I had two options now—carry on like nothing had happened or force myself to face something that could potentially crush me in half. What was a girl to do for the best?
Chapter 27
Ultimately, keeping quiet wasn’t in my nature. I had to grab this bull by the horns and face it head on, no matter how much it hurt.
“Why?” I whispered. “Why me? Of all the girls you could have your pick of, you choose an awkward, clumsy, eighteen-year-old. Why? And don’t give me the same crap you did before about my scent being the sweetest you’ve come across in centuries or whatever.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and drew in a deep breath. “Don’t go down this road, Caitlyn. Please. It won’t end well for either of us.”
The conversation I’d had with Gordon ran rife in my head. I couldn’t let this go. I had to know what he meant. “I’m already on this road, Marcus, whether you like it or not. Tell me.”
Letting out a deep breath, he opened his eyes and said, “You really want to know why I came up to the café that day? The first day we ever saw each other?”
I nodded. My heart pounded against my ribs. It was too late now. I’d committed us both to whatever happened next but that didn’t mean I would like what came out of his mouth.
“I could smell you from four miles away. That lured me in. Then when I saw you…” He scrubbed his hands over his face “…you’re her spitting image. I knew it meant something.”
My heart somersaulted several times. This would really hurt. “Someone important to you?”
He pressed his lips together and said, “Yes.”
That single word hit me with the force of a thousand punches, right in the heart. I felt almost breathless. “Why did you come into the café that day? If you hadn’t, none of this would have happened. None of it. We wouldn’t have met.”
“I…I was curious. I wanted to meet the person who reminded me so much of…” he stalled, seeming to choke on his words “…of her.”
“Who was she?” I couldn’t deny that curiosity and jealousy were fighting an ugly war inside me. I had a feeling I knew the answer to my question already.
Tears glazed over his eyes as he whispered, “My mother.”
That shocked me. I had been expecting an ex-wife or psychotic ex-lover or something. I couldn’t really grasp how I felt about our relationship being based on his unresolved feelings for his mother. Was this some weird incestuous thing he had going on? I thought back to the oil painting in his house. The only resemblance between me and his mum, to me, was our red curly hair.
“So you’re attracted to me because I look like your mum?” I shivered. “I’m sorry but I find that very…creepy. To say the least.”
“No, no, no. Nothing like that. You’re her doppelganger. And you turned up right here in Whitby, our home. This means something and I think you’re the key for me to find her.”
Doppelganger? All I knew about them was what I’d seen in fictional TV shows. Did the reality carry a different truth? At the moment though, my heart ached with pain and my pride had taken a severe dent. I knew from the beginning Marcus had been too good to be true.
“If you wanted help finding her, you could have just asked. Not faked a relationship along the way.” I fought back tears and shook my head. “I kept telling myself you were too good to be true.”
He knelt down and grabbed my hand, squeezing it tight. “Everything I feel for you is real, Caitlyn. Don’t let what brought us together be an issue.”
I tore my hand from his. “But it is an issue because it means everything was a lie, Marcus. You’ve had ulterior motives from the
second you laid eyes on me. How am I supposed to trust anything about this entire situation? How am I supposed to trust you?”
“You know you can trust me,” he said, taking my hand back.
I ripped it away from him. “Stop touching me.” I sucked in a deep breath and blinked away my tears before looking him square in the eye. “How am I supposed to help you find your mother anyway?”
He pursed his lips. “Your dreams…”
I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth. I vividly remembered the red-haired woman from my dreams. “Mirabelle? That’s your mum?”
He nodded. “Your dreams are flashbacks of her actual life. You two are connected on a spiritual level, a cosmic level. Now you’re here, in her home, it’s like history repeating itself except you’re able to see it, experience it, live through what she has.”
My entire head started spinning. All the pieces of the puzzle were slowly clicking into place. “Is that why you left me when I had dreams?”
He sighed. “You talked about where you were so I went there, looking for clues.”
I felt like someone had just stuck a million pins in me and deflated me in an instant. I’d been nothing more than a pawn this entire time. What a fool I’d been. I glanced down at the floor, skimming my fingers over the fine silk dress I wore.
That’s a beautiful dress. Very…vintage.
I grabbed a handful of the gorgeous material and looked back up at Marcus. “Why did Gordon comment on this dress?”
Marcus’ skin paled ten shades. “What do you mean?”
“He said it was beautiful and very vintage, but he emphasised the word vintage. Does this dress really belong to your sister or is it your mothers?”
He closed his eyes and his lips moved as he muttered something under his breath. “I hate that piece of shi—”
“Marcus.”
When he opened his eyes, they were full of fear and remorse. “It belongs to neither of them.”
My breath hitched in my throat. More secrets? “Dare I ask?”
“She…her name was Tatiana.”
I shivered as he said her name, the exotic tilt he gave to it as he pronounced it made her sound like someone unattainable, someone to fear, someone to worship.
“We…were engaged,” he continued. “When she discovered what I was, she wanted me to turn her so we could be together forever.”
I gasped. “She was human? This…this dress was hers?”
He cringed, visibly winced in pain. “I…I can explain—”
I held my hand up. “Don’t. Just don’t.” Hot tears sprung up in my eyes as a wave of nausea rolled around in my stomach. “I can’t believe you lied to me. What…why did you even let me wear it? Was this some sort of sick trip down memory lane for you? Or was it an experiment to see who wore the dress better?”
The memory of the passionate kiss we’d shared before we came here suddenly became tainted with something nasty and dark. Had he been picturing his ex in this dress when he kissed me with such fervour? When we danced moments ago, the moment I realised I was falling in love with him, had he been picturing Tatiana?
“No, Caitlyn, no. Nothing like that.” He sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Please, Caitlyn. You have to believe me.”
I looked up into his beautiful sapphire eyes and felt my heart crumble in an instant. “I don’t have to do anything.” I shook my head and said, “I’m leaving. I can’t do this.”
Standing up, I gathered up my dress and ran out of the fire exit doors behind the table like Cinderella. My heels clattered against the patio paving as I ran around the side of the grand hotel. Tears blurred my vision but not enough that I couldn’t ignore his athletic frame blocking my way to the car park. A waist high brick wall surrounded the patio area, except for a narrow walkway to access it.
“Get out of my way, Marcus,” I said, trying to push him out of the way. It was like trying to move a block of concrete.
“No.”
“Marcus, please. Get out of my way.” I tried in vain to barge past him, but my efforts were fruitless.
“How are you going to get home?”
“I’ll walk if I have to.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Caitlyn, just calm down for a minute and think this over. You’re being irrational.”
I snapped then, completely losing my temper. “Don’t tell me what I am and am not being! I’m not being ridiculous. You’re being ridiculous…expecting me to find your missing mother and giving me your ex’s clothing to wear in some sort of sick joke. I have feelings, Marcus. I might only be human, but I still have feelings!”
Tears streamed down my cheeks. My mascara clumped together, creating blobs in my vision. I bet I looked a right state.
“Shhh,” he said, putting his hands on my shoulders. “Calm down. You’re making a scene. People are coming outside.”
“I don’t care!” I yelled, hoping getting hysterical would make him get out of the way.
He wrapped his hand around my forearm and led me towards the car park. I was halfway to freedom. “Let me take you home,” he said, his voice low and calm.
“No,” I replied, yanking my arm away from him. “I told you not to touch me. I don’t want to be anywhere near you.”
I fumbled with my clutch bag, pulling out my phone. I couldn’t call Dad. Not after what had happened earlier on. He needed rest and his space. One name flooded my mind and I couldn’t shake it. Someone I knew without doubt would come and pick me up in my desperate time of need. My finger hovered over his name.
“Don’t you dare,” Marcus said, his voice low and laced with authority. “Don’t you dare ring him.”
That was like a red rag to a bull. I wouldn’t stand for him telling me what to do at a time like this, when I wanted nothing more than for him to leave me alone. I pressed Luke’s name and glared up at Marcus with all the defiance I could muster.
He let out a shout of frustration as I held the phone to my ear.
“Hey, Caitlyn,” Luke said, answering on the first ring, sounding as bright and cheery as ever. “You ok?”
“Hey, I…I…err…need a favour. I’m really sorry to call this late but I wouldn’t be ringing if I wasn’t desperate.”
He chuckled. “So you only call me when you’re desperate? That’s nice.”
I let out a small giggle, my tears fading away. “That’s not what I meant. I just…can you come and pick me up please?” I heard a load of rustling and the jingle of keys in the background.
“I’m already in the truck. Where are you?”
I felt like crying all over again but this time in relief. I told him where to find me and ended the call. My time with Marcus had now been limited to a little over fifteen minutes. Luke drove fast on a normal day.
“I can’t believe of all the people, you had to ring him. Why him?”
“I didn’t want to disturb my dad just because my boyfriend is being an asshole.”
He clenched his jaw, a muscle in his cheek twitching. “I think you’re overreacting, Caitlyn.”
“Do you?” I said, frowning. “Because it’s quite funny that I actually disagree.”
“Stop being difficult and talk to me like an adult.”
“I am talking to you and I’m telling you I want to leave. Why can’t you respect my decision?”
“Because it’s a stupid decision, Caitlyn.”
I gawped at his audacity. “So now I’m stupid? Wow, you really know how to make a girl feel special.”
He stepped towards me, making me scuttle back three paces. “That’s not what I meant, Caitlyn. You’re twisting this all out of proportion.”
“Go back to your party, Marcus. Leave me alone.”
He came towards me, his hands clasped together but his eyes were cold and hard. “Caitlyn, please. You’re embarrassing me.”
That little comment had me seething in an instant. “You embarrassed me,” I said, all but hissing. “How many of those people in there didn’t know about Tatiana?
You think I didn’t notice the way they all looked at me, the private conversations they were all having? The ones my human ears couldn’t pick up on. Or maybe they were whispering about the fact I’m basically your mum dressed in your ex fiancé’s clothes.”
He pursed his lips and glanced at the floor. “They’re my family and oldest friends. Of course they know about her and my mum.”
“So you just humiliated me in front of two hundred people for the hell of it?”
He growled. “I can see I’m getting nowhere with you whilst you’re in such a stubborn mood. Fine. Run off with Luke. I’ll speak to you tomorrow.”
Determined to make it obvious that I was still calling the shots, I replied, “I’ll speak to you when I’m damn good and ready.”
I turned my back on him and stomped off across the car park, heading towards a small courtyard that sat just off the driveway. I’d seen a picnic bench next to the tennis court there. It would serve a perfect purpose whilst I waited for Luke.
Sitting down on the cold, damp wood, I let out a sigh. I looked up into the clear night sky above me, stars twinkling against the black velvet like little gems. How had my life gotten so complicated? Only weeks ago, I’d moved up here to enjoy the last of my father’s life with him and now I was caught up in some love affair with a supernatural creature who belonged in an entirely different world to me.
I realised I needed to sort my life and my priorities out, despite what Dad kept encouraging me to do. Marcus needed to take a back seat and appreciate that he wasn’t my priority, he wasn’t the focus of my life. He should be supporting me, not distracting me, taking me away from the important things.
The quiet chatter of people sounded behind me and I turned my head to see a group of six or seven men and women having cigarettes, completely oblivious to the world that had just fallen apart right in front of them. It struck me then, how lives interact and collide so often, yet one could fall apart without so much as affecting the others. Life was nothing but cruel.
Needing some relief, I slipped my shoes off my feet and groaned in pleasure. I massaged the bottom and sides of my feet, enjoying the bliss it brought. A flash of light bounced through the trees lining the driveway. A wave of relief washed over me as I realised Luke was here already. I tapped the screen on my phone, checking the time. Twelve minutes. Wow. It was a fourteen-mile journey here. I dreaded to think of the speeds he’d driven at just to come to my rescue.
Love, Lies and Immortal Ties: A young adult paranormal romance (Love, Lies and Ties Book 1) Page 25