The Chronicles of the 8th Dimension - Limited Edition Box Set (4 Books): A Supernatural Thriller Box Set

by Carissa Andrews

  My eyebrows tug downward in surprise. It’s not the direction I thought this was heading.

  “Okay?” I say, confusion painting my tone.

  “You’ll love it. Trust me,” he says.

  “I do trust you,” I say, taking his offering and standing back up. I brush off the grass and dirt from the bottom of my dress and straighten my shoulders.

  “Excellent,” he says, holding his hand out again.

  I slide my fingers between his and his palm presses against mine the way I’ve seen him do with so many others. My heart trips over itself and I fall in line, ready to follow wherever he leads.

  We walk for a few minutes into the tree line along a path he must have already beaten back. For some reason, I feel like it should be more difficult, but can’t put my finger on why.

  “How long were you here before I arrived, Liam?” I finally ask.

  He looks over his shoulder at me and presses his lips into a thin line. “You know, I’m not quite sure. Why?”

  “Just curious,” I say, eyeing the trodden path. “Was it days?”

  “Maybe? I honestly don’t remember much before you arrived. It was all sort of a blur as I tried to figure out where I was. This has been an odd experience from beginning to end, that’s for sure.”

  I tip my chin, thinking. “I can imagine.”

  He squeezes my hand and continues to lead us through the thicket. When the trees begin to diminish, twinkling lights capture my attention on the path ahead.

  “What is that?” I ask.

  Liam grins back at me. “You’ll see. We’re almost there.”

  As we crest a small hill, the trees open up to a patch of sand and before us is a beautiful beach. The sun twinkles against the surface of the lake like lightning bugs dancing in the evening air. To the right is a small waterfall, adorned with some of the most colorful array of wildflowers I’ve ever seen.

  “It’s breathtaking,” I say, pulling up short and overlooking the scene.

  “I knew you’d like it. By far, it’s the prettiest place I’ve found here,” he says.

  “Why didn’t you just set up camp here?” I ask, turning to him.

  His face darkens and he shakes his head. “I tried. It’s not the same at night. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s downright scary.”

  “Really?” I say, my eyes widening as I search the area.

  “Yea, but during the day, it’s a peaceful sanctuary. So, don’t worry. I wouldn’t bring you here if I thought something bad would happen.”

  I nod, casting my gaze back over the water. It’s not that I’m overly afraid for myself, but without my powers, it would be harder to protect Liam.

  The waves lap back and forth, sending a peaceful tranquility through me and setting my nerves at ease. For every story I’ve heard of Purgatory, this certainly isn’t the place I’d envisioned. For some reason, I suppose I saw something more akin to what Hell should be. But this—

  “Come to think of it, I have been here a few days. I’ve come out here a few times now and the water is glorious this time of day,” he says, leading the way down to the sandy beach.

  As we reach the shore, he drops my hand to untie his shoes. Kicking them off, he slips off his socks and sets them aside.

  “You’re not afraid of the water, are you Eva?” he says, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

  “Of course not,” I say, snickering softly.

  I walk out into the sand, letting the warm granules tickle my toes. By the time I reach the shore, Liam has removed every shred of clothing from his body. Without an ounce of embarrassment, the right side of his lips curve upward in a sexy grin that sets my insides aflame.

  My mouth pops open in surprise, but he points to the pile of clothes. “I don’t know about you, but I only arrived with one outfit. It’s no fun to walk around in wet clothes, waiting hours for them to dry,” he says.

  I nod absently, unable to make words come out. Instead, I can’t seem to tear my eyes away from taking all of him in—from his sexy smile to the way his chest muscles glisten in the sun’s rays, to the line traveling down his core and the curves of his hips leading to…

  “I don’t mind,” I say, blinking wildly as my eyes return to his.

  “I hoped you wouldn’t,” he laughs.

  I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves.

  “But I kinda hope you’ll join me, too,” he adds playfully.

  With more assurance than I actually feel, I walk back to him. Raising my hands to the front of my dress, I begin to unbutton it. My hands quiver, but I hope he can’t see it. Neither of us remove our eyes from the other’s the entire time. It’s a strange, sexy connection; like a cord of electricity binding us together. When I reach the bottom, Liam steps closer. Without a word, he slides his hands inside the fabric, running his palms over my skin as he shifts the garment from my shoulders. His hands are warm and ignite a wanting I didn’t even know was possible by such a simple touch. I lower my hands, allowing the garment to fall to the ground with a soft thump.

  For a moment, he holds still. Taking in my naked skin as his hands linger on my upper arms. Heat rolls off his body, making me shiver at his proximity. His dark lashes kiss his cheeks as he silently places his hands on my hips. Standing before him in only a pair of pink panties, I eye him for a moment, wondering if he’ll help me out of them.

  “My God, you are so beautiful,” he whispers, running his hands along my arms. “You really are an angel.”

  Goosebumps flash across my skin and I slide my fingertips inside the fabric, tugging them off. When they hit the ground, I kick them over to the heap of clothing to our right.

  “You’re beautiful, too,” I say, stepping forward.

  I reach behind him, resting my hands on the small of his back. His muscles tighten beneath my touch and his tongue flashes across his lips.

  “We should—ah—” he begins, “the water is…” He twists around, reaching for my hand, and dragging me toward the water.

  Our feet hit the edge of the lake, splashing and sloshing as we move deeper and deeper. The water is cool, sending shivers through me as I follow in anticipation of what he has in store for us.

  Chapter 12

  Could This Be Eden

  When we’ve reached a point in the water where it has swallowed our lower bodies and is edging toward our torsos, Liam turns back to me. Releasing our interlocked hands, he extends his arms out and tugs me closer.

  “So, what do you think of the water?” he asks, sighing contently and peering around at the trees beyond us. “Nice, right?”

  “It’s lovely,” I say, feeling wildly exposed but unsure I want to be anything else.

  In all my years as a Guardian, being vulnerable has been a rarity. There wasn’t much I couldn’t take head-on and win. But this…

  Liam smiles, raising his right hand to the side of my face. His fingertips brush the side of my cheek before sliding behind my ear. He bends in, brushing his lips against mine. The kiss is soft and sweet, and he breaks it as quickly as it started.

  I sway on the spot, wishing it hadn’t ended. Sighing deeply, I open my eyes.

  “Come on, I want to show you one more thing,” he says.

  Without another word, he lets go of me, twists around, and dives into the water. I watch his naked backside swim away and disappear farther into the depths.

  I hold my breath, waiting for him to resurface, but the moment takes longer than expected.

  “Liam?” I call out, searching the water for any sign of him.

  Silence extends between us, and anxiety takes hold in the middle of my stomach. I narrow my eyes and lean forward on the tips of my toes. Suddenly, he breaks the surface halfway across the lake.

  “What are you still doing over there, silly?” he says loudly. “You were supposed to follow me.”

  “Follow you? How?” I ask, shaking my head.

  “Swim,” he laughs.

  “But I’ve—” I take a deep brea
th and cast my eyes on the water between us. “I’ve never swam before. Angel, remember? We don’t really deal with the realms of water. I’m not a mermaid. Space and time is more my thing.”

  “Oh, right. I sorta… I wasn’t thinking. Hang on. I’ll come back for you,” he says, diving back in.

  Within a few moments, he’s again beside me, flicking water from his hair as he stands back up. His body glistens in the afternoon sunlight as it starts to get lower in the afternoon sky. It casts deep shadows in the crevasses of his carved torso.

  “We can just walk. It’s not very deep,” he says, waving his arm out in front of us to suggest we begin.

  “Thanks,” I grin. “It’s not that I wouldn’t try swimming, you know.”

  “Well, do you want to learn?” he asks, turning to me.

  I narrow my gaze, thinking. “Maybe?”

  “It’s not that hard. In fact, if you want to just float on your back, I’d be okay with that,” he says, a hint of a mischievous grin breaking across his face.

  “Why do I get the feeling there’s more to the story than that?” I say, narrowing my gaze.

  “Well, it might be a little self-serving, I suppose,” he chuckles. “I’d be able to admire you a bit more.”

  My face flushes.

  Not having this kind of interaction throughout my existence puts me at a disadvantage at understanding some of these nuances. Even now. You’d think after all the years of hearing his thoughts—and the many charges I’ve had before him—it would have helped me know where his mind is at. Instead, I’m more wrapped up in my own thoughts.

  “I’d be okay with that,” I finally whisper, biting the side of my lip.

  Liam’s chin tips upward, and he takes a step toward me, “Well, then, dear Eva. I suggest we get started with your first swimming lesson.”

  “What do I have to do?” I ask, laughing softly.

  “Do you trust me?”

  “With my life,” I say, locking eyes with him.

  The depths of his hazel eyes darken as his pupils expand. His cheeks tighten. “Good. Then all you need to do is lie back and lift your legs. I’ll catch you.”

  Doing as he asks, I turn so I’m horizontal to him and lean back into the water. The cool, wet liquid races across my back and into my scalp, dampening my hair and sending a chill up and down my spine. As promised, his hands catch me as I lean back and I raise my legs in response.

  “There you go,” he says, smiling. “How does it feel?”

  “Cold,” I laugh, shivering slightly.

  “Yes, I can see that,” he says, allowing his eyes to travel my body. They rest on my torso for a beat longer than anywhere else and the skin across my breasts tightens in response.

  “Now what?” I ask, trying to be more confident than I feel.

  “Gently kick your legs. They’ll propel you,” he says.

  I kick out my legs the way I’ve seen my charges do over the years, and my body moves backward in the water. Liam takes a step back, allowing me a little space to float on my own as I move away slowly.

  “See? You’re getting it,” he says, walking alongside me.

  “This isn’t so hard,” I say.

  “That’s debatable,” Liam says under his breath.

  I turn my head, eyeing him quizzically.

  His cheeks brighten, but he raises his eyebrows, clears his throat, and points behind me. “So, I wanted to bring you over there,” he says, flitting his gaze behind me.

  I roll in the water, dropping my feet back into the soft sand. Following his gaze, I see that the waterfall is much closer now.

  “Why didn’t you just say so? I mean, it’s beautiful, but I could see it from over there,” I say.

  “Not the same. Besides, there’s more to it than that,” he says, grabbing my hand again. “Come on. Let me show you.”

  We trudge through the water together, moving slowly through its resistance. It presses against my skin in stark contrast as it floods past the warmth growing between my legs. As we reach the waterfall, rainbows of light spring off in various directions as the sunlight hits the spray.

  “Wow,” I say, unable to help myself.

  “Pretty, isn’t it? Are you ready to go through it?” Liam asks, eyeing me over his shoulder.

  “Through it? Isn’t there rock on the other side? I mean, look at it—”

  The waterfall springs from a cliffside of jagged rocks, flowers, and mosses. It’s gorgeous but doesn’t look the most inviting.

  “Well, sure. But there’s also a small alcove on the other side. When the sun is setting, it’s the most magical thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life,” he says, taking a step toward the waterfall. “We just won’t want to stay long after. It tends to get dark pretty quickly, and we’ll want to get back to camp.”

  “Okay,” I nod. “Is the water colder at the waterfall?” I eye the way it crashes against the lake.

  “Tremendously,” he chuckles.

  “Oh, goodie.”

  “I’ll keep you warm,” he says, tugging me closer. He presses his chest against mine, wrapping his arms around my lower waist.

  Shuddering at his close proximity, I nod. “Okay, let’s do it.”

  There are plenty of other things I could think of wanting to do more, but I get the impression Liam is trying to walk the fine line between being a gentleman and giving in to his own desires.

  Without another word, he turns toward the waterfall and walks straight into it. The force from its downfall breaks our hands apart, but I continue to follow behind him, not wanting him to be left on the other side alone. As quickly as the water cascades over me, it ceases, and we’re both behind the waterfall.

  He wasn’t kidding—there is an alcove here, but it’s larger than I’d imagined. The back wall is jagged and wet but carved in a semi-dome. The pool of water continues on for another ten feet or so, then fades into a ledge of stone and sand. Beyond is a platform of rocks to the left that meanders up into the ceiling and to the right is a sandy area that fades into the mosses and vegetation as it makes its way inside.

  “The way I figure it, someone—maybe lots of people, I don’t know—must have used this as a shelter at some point. See the rocks back there? They’ve been dug away with a tool of some kind,” Liam says, pointing.

  Walking forward, the lake fades quickly as I reach the inner shore. Stepping out of the shroud of the lake, the water drips from my body, but I can’t find it in me to be overly self-conscious. Instead, I turn back to Liam and hold out my hand.

  “Show me what you mean,” I say.

  He nods, walking forward and out of the water. It cascades off of him, sending a wave of desire rolling through me, but I settle into it, wanting everything with him to unfold naturally. The way he’d want it to.

  “See this section?” he says, stepping past me and pointing at the rock. “The lines of it aren’t natural. Some of the rocks have been broken off and this alcove enlarged. I think originally, the rock came all the way out to there.”

  He points to the left side, where the shore’s edge looks more like a rocky cliff.

  “But wouldn’t that have taken a long time?”

  “Definitely. At least, without the proper tools,” he says, nodding. “And I highly doubt they had any C4 out here.”

  “What if the person who did this comes back? Do you think we should leave?”

  “I don’t think anyone has stayed here for a long time,” he says, shaking his head. “There was a small fire pit over there, but you can tell it hadn’t been used in ages.”

  “Hmmm, if that’s the case, why didn’t you just take this over? It seems like natural protection from predators. When I first got here, I could have sworn there was something in the woods following me. Plus, there are other animals and creatures. I saw a deer out there.”

  “Like I said before, I tried. My first night here, I stayed in this very spot. But I couldn’t for the life of me keep a fire going. It was too wet from the back spray and an
y wood I managed to get in here was soaked.”

  “I see…”

  “Plus, I’m not a fan of wet clothes. Without a fire, they take forever to dry,” he says, winking. “At least I learned that lesson before coming back.”

  “Regardless of a fire, it would still be a better shelter than out in the woods.”

  “Trust me. At night, something crazy happens out there. It’s damn scary and everything changes. There are noises out there—howls and cries. All of that I can handle in comparison with this place. I found fire does the trick, though. Whatever it is—they don’t like the brightness of it. The lake takes on an eerie quality, too. It emits a strange light, but nothing bright enough to keep whatever’s out there at bay. So, I’d rather stay where the light is,” he says, scratching the back of his head.

  The muscles on his arm contracts, drawing my eyes back to his torso.

  I shiver, wishing we were somewhere warm and safe and tangled up in each other. Instead, my Guardian background begins to kick in, processing ways to keep us safe. I wish I had access to my weapons. I’d feel a lot better. I wrap my arms around my body, and Liam steps forward and takes me in his arms.

  “Are you cold?” he asks.

  “A little.”

  “Okay, how about we come back another time. The light is getting low anyway. Looks like we may have missed the magic moment I was trying to show you, anyway. We can try again tomorrow. We should get back to our camp before nightfall,” he says, tugging me back the way we came.

  A strange mixture of relief and trepidation swirls inside me. We’re definitely stronger together than apart, but I wish I knew what we were dealing with. It’s hard to plan an attack when you don’t know your attacker.

  As much as I hate to admit it, something gnaws at the back of my mind. It’s an annoying sensation, telling me I’m forgetting something. Or that I should know something vitally important, but for some reason can’t access it.

  When we come out the other side of the waterfall, the sun is hanging low into the tree line. So far, nothing is eerie, but I sense a shift in the breeze, like a storm that’s coming, even if you can’t see it just yet.