“I am. Did you see this other Shiver?”
“No. But I could feel him. He tore off a piece of the gym and sent it crashing toward the ground where we were—sparring. Then he stuck around, taunting me, refusing to show himself. I know not what he wished to accomplish or what to expect of this. I know not who to call—”
“Your brother.”
“I cannot. He has his husband and Osaki has Kofi. It would not be right drawing them into danger when they have so much to live for.”
“And what of you?”
“I am not important.”
“Nonsense! You are my son and that means you are every bit as important as Ciro. You may not have a lover yet, but I adore you beyond words, far beyond any measure. I want you to be safe.”
Koi took a breath.
“Could this being not be a Shiver? Could it be just one of Aerios’ offspring we know nothing about?”
“No. He only had one child. I am scared, Mother. Not for myself, but for Christophe.”
“Do not be. You have so many around you to assist you. Now, let me call in some favors. But I fear some things a mother cannot help you with. In those times, you must seek your brothers.”
Koi smiled and kissed her head. “You are wise, Mother. I do love you.”
Thýella grinned beautifully at him. “Go. I pray Ciro or Osaki can be of more help.”
“Goodbye, Mother.”
His next appearance landed him in the middle of Carter and Ciro’s place. Though Carter was not home, Koi found Ciro in the backyard doing a kata Osaki had taught him. Out of respect, Koi took a seat in one of the plush backyard chairs and waited for Ciro to be finished before he spoke. “I need to talk, brother.”
Ciro arched an eyebrow, his eyes twinkling at Koi. “I was wondering when you would get around to me. Osaki told me you had some trouble.”
“Yes. Something happened that is beginning to unnerve me. A part of me is starting to believe I imagined the whole thing—that sensing another was all in my head. I spoke to mother and after we could not make heads or tails of it, she said I should seek your guidance.”
“Very well.” Ciro sat. “Regale me.”
Koi proceeded to explain everything to the elder Shiver. He did leave out the part where he was sitting atop Christophe with his body burning. He conveniently omitted the part where all he wanted to do was ease his ass back and grind into Christophe’s very hard cock while taking his lips with a force that would put his mother’s storms to shame. That part would certainly bring on more questions. Perhaps his arousal had caused him to lose control, tearing off that block that almost crushed them both. Perhaps he was a weakling after all—unable to keep his power under check when a mere human aroused him.
“I see,” Ciro said, his voice thoughtful. “And Osaki said you did not see anyone. I wonder what is happening. I at first thought it was one of Mother’s storms, but it would have caused much more devastation.”
“Yes, and it would not simply pull off a specific piece of that building. I almost lost my cool with Christophe around and I cannot do that. He cannot see me as anything more than I am.”
“Koi?”
“No. I am not in love, brother. I just… I feel so… I feel unreal around him and it terrifies me. If there is someone out there seeking to do me harm, I cannot approach Christophe with anything romantic. I dare not put his life in danger for I can promise you, he would never forgive me.”
Koi rose and walked to the railing. The sun was going down, now leaving the sky a beautiful splash of colors that never ceased to take Koi’s breath away. “I am oftentimes jealous of you, dear brother,” Koi admitted softly. “I see the way Carter looks at you and how you often get this playful gleam in your eyes when you see him. There is a happiness in his eyes when you walk through the doors. The way he throws himself into your arms doesn’t seem to get old for him and he does it with such genuine happiness, my heart swells for you, but breaks for me. I’ve always wanted that. I’ve spent an eternity searching.”
“Koi, there is no reason to be jealous. There is someone made for each of us.”
“You do not truly believe that?” Koi continued, looking up. When Ciro said nothing, however, he turned around.
“Yes, I do.”
“Would you say that had you not found Carter, had Carter not loved you so desperately? Would you still believe we were all meant to find that love to make us genuinely happy?”
Ciro nodded. “Yes.”
Koi shook his head. “We were never meant to be here. We are the ultimate accident, the one no one can simply recover from and walk away. We are a freak of nature, as they say here on Earth!”
“Yet here we are!” Ciro countered. “We are here, Koi. Tell me honestly—do you truly believe we were meant to be miserable because we were accidents?”
“We were not destined for greatness or forever.” Koi took a breath. “You and Osaki were lucky. We are blips, tremors in the whole scale of things, anomalies on the timeline.”
“I do not think luck has anything to do with it,” Ciro said. “I want your happiness too, Koi. And if Christophe—”
“Doesn’t deserve the life I could give him. He lost his mother and the last thing I need to do is break his heart if something were to happen to me. But most importantly, if something happened to him because of me…”
“And don’t you think it would kill me if anything happened to Carter? But I love him and even if I wanted to walk away, he would have my head.”
“But no one loves me as much as that. Christophe… I see something in his eyes when he looks at me and I want so much to believe that this heated stare is love. Hell, I’d even take lust. Then I remember that one day I would have to come clean to him, tell him what I really am, then he could turn his back on me and it would kill me. I found myself wrapped up in that fear, feeling him hard against me, smelling the beads of sweat trailing down his skin and I get turned on. I lose my train of thought and slip back into that mind where I can see myself—then something goes wrong and he withdraws and I die a little more inside.”
“And I know how that is too. I went through it with Carter. I too had the doubts, the fears—all of it. Do you not think I tried keeping him away? I never thought a man could love me—well, a human man—as much as he does. Then he looks at me or we’re sitting in the sunroom with his morning coffee and he reaches across to caress the back of my neck and I know. I trust you and the others to protect Carter. I have to let go and think I am not in this alone. I found my happiness through believing in the love and loyalty of my friends and you and Osaki.”
“Is it really that simple?”
“I had that question too.” Ciro nodded. “I would ask myself that every single night before I allowed myself to have Carter, to accept his love. And every night until he put this ring on my finger, I repeated it.”
“You don’t anymore?”
Ciro shook his head. “Now I wonder what I did to deserve him. My advice here is really not complicated and it’s not great wisdom. Let Christophe be your happiness if he is meant to be. He has more than enough people around here to protect him if needs it. You have to trust us that between all of us—as Carter always says—we got this.”
Koi took a breath and faced the view again. He didn’t think he would live long enough to be happy—he could feel it in every bone in his body.
* * * *
That night he stood atop the condo across from Christophe’s. He watched the man move about his life in peace and knew if he was to ever make his heart known, Christophe would never have that again. He’d have to train him to sense danger, to constantly be looking over his shoulder to be on high alert at all times. He’d take away Christophe’s sense of solace and safety. But even as he stood there and the wind picked up around him, he sensed something heading his way. He kept his eyes on Christophe through the glass of the building, even as his hands reached up to grab the special guns strapped in an X on his back.
Once they w
ere dislodged and at his side, he sent a jolt of lightning through them. There was the familiar sound of them being charged then cocked and ready. He bent his knees and jumped, twisting his body in mid-air, then he aimed. A blue streak of light slid along the top of the guns before the tops glowed red and he fired. He connected with his target and the man fell into existence, writhing against the roof of the building.
Koi hovered over him, guns trained on him as he landed to stand over him. “Who are you?” he asked.
“Not…important…”
“I’d say it is. I am the one with guns on you so you are inclined to answer my queries.”
“There are things in play here, Koi, things that are out of your control. I never wanted to be a part of any of this. They told me I would be free after this one thing…”
“Who?”
“I cannot—they will kill me.”
“And what do you think I am going to do with you?” Koi asked. “I have very little patience for games. You are not a Shiver. So why do you have the read of one?”
“I know not. There was an old woman—and a man I did not recognize. But they have immense power together. I felt it bursting through every pore of my body, clouding my senses.”
Koi holstered his guns and hunched down on one knee. He gripped the man’s chin and met his eyes. There was truth there mingled with confusion and fear. Koi knew his capture of this being was too easy. Any warrior knew you could not sneak up on a Shiver even on his worst days. Yet this one had tried. Koi tilted his head. “What is your crime against these two?”
“It is uncertain. I awoke and I was there. All they wished from me was one favor and I could go back to my family. You must understand I do not wish to die. I simply want to be with my family.”
Koi pressed his eyes closed and licked his lips. His mother had always taught him everyone deserves mercy. “Think of your family,” Koi whispered, his voice cracking.
The man looked to him and Koi smiled.
“Think of your family,” Koi repeated.
“Will you send me home?”
“Yes. But I require your word you will not come back here.”
The man nodded. “Wait, if you should need assistance in the future—I cannot stay away. You have saved me.”
“That is not why I am saving you.”
The man shook his head. “I can give you my word I will not be back to harm you or those you love. But I will if you need help.”
“What are you? You are no Shiver, or immortal.”
“I am a sprite. They call me Lis. Now I think of my family.”
Koi nodded, and pressed his index finger against his middle finger then touched them to the center of Lis’ forehead. It took a few seconds, but Lis vanished in a small glow of orange light. For a silent second, Koi remained where he was kneeling before standing and turning to look toward Christophe’s place. It was now dark. He looked up to see the moon was high in the sky. He exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and pulled his trench coat around his legs.
‘An old woman and a man I didn’t recognize…’
‘I am a sprite. They call me Lis.’
There was something horrible in the air—from the destruction of Madagascar to the attack at the gym and now this—Koi was getting a really bad feeling.
Chapter Nine
“What are you doing on Saturday?”
Christophe dropped the phone between his shoulder and head. “Nothing planned right now. Kofi says I should take the day and just breathe, but I have one showing in the morning on an eighteen-million-dollar penthouse.”
“Child! You have to show that!”
Christophe laughed. “Yes. So, I have that at ten-thirty for about an hour, then I’m free. Why? You wanna do something?”
“Yeah. I was hoping to best-friend-nap you for some boys’ time. How are things going with your hottie with the intense eyes?”
“It’s not. I haven’t seen him in a while, so I’m thinking it wasn’t meant to be. I mean, he called to check on me since we both almost died. But that’s about it.”
“I still think you should strip naked and kidnap his ass.”
“Yeah—I wouldn’t do well in prison.” Christophe laughed. “Listen, let me get some things done, then I’ll give you a call when I get home, huh?”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too, Geoff. Have a great day, okay?”
“I make no promises.”
With their conversation over, Christophe chucked the cell into his pocket. He refilled the folders he was going through and folded the piece of paper he’d spent the last ten minutes searching for. After putting it into the tray on his desk for the secretary, Christophe spent the next little while calling around for showing requests and ensuring he received the confirmations. Since he didn’t have a personal assistant, all those things fell to him—besides, that way things were done the way he wanted them.
Christophe finished up at work, checked on a few of Kofi’s clients like his boss and friend had asked him to then headed to his final showing for the day. Though he was in a better mood than he had been the night before, he was still a little out of sorts. While everyone else had slept, he’d been awake, tossing and turning, pacing his bedroom, then staring out at the city like some recluse. He could have sworn he’d felt Koi the night before, but every time he looked out of the windows, he hadn’t seen anything. That feeling was stupid, because he was so high up in his penthouse, and there was no way Koi could be outside it. Yet, the sensation of being watched was ripe inside him. By the time morning had come, his eyes had been burning and he’d had to drink two cups of coffee before even leaving the house.
With the showing done, he headed to the grocery store. The plan was to cook and invite Kofi and Osaki over for supper. He wondered if Koi would come too. Since he had no way of contacting the sexy Greek with the stunning eyes, he had to depend on Kofi and he didn’t want Kofi to think he was a weirdo stalking Koi.
The truth was, he had felt safe and cared for under the hardened heat of Koi’s body. They’d been so close—so close to pressing their mouths together—and Christophe wanted that. Hell, he needed that. That block falling from the ceiling had cheated him.
Maybe Geoff was right. Maybe all he needed to do was just step up and tell Koi what he wanted. If Koi didn’t feel the same then at least Christophe could move on. As everything stood in that moment, it was like he was frozen in space and the only time he could move was to go back and rehash the fear of being rejected. That was no way to live—it couldn’t be.
‘Love should scare the crap out of you. That’s when you know it’s real.’
Christophe made a face. His mother was right about most things in life, but shouldn’t love be the easy part?
Up ahead, Christophe noticed everyone seemed to be slamming on their brakes. He did the same and almost crashed into the car ahead of him. He swore under his breath while praying the fool behind him noticed what had happened and didn’t hit him. When a loud bang didn’t sound, he glanced back and was relieved to see that an accident from behind was probably not going to happen, for that car had stopped as well. Craning his neck, he tried seeing what was going on in front. People tended to slow down for the most mundane things, which irritated the hell out of him. Why were humans so interested in seeing other people’s pain? Whenever an accident happened, everyone slowed down to get a look—why? What was there to gain from that?
He took a breath and was about to slam his hand over his horn like everyone else when he saw a man hopping from the top of one car to another.
“What in the hell?” Christophe muttered. “Now there’s an asshole move if I’ve ever seen one.”
The man stopped on the SUV before him and hunched down to peer into Christophe’s vehicle. The crazy person was dressed like a bad guy from every horribly written action movie on the planet—black leather, trench coat and dark glasses.
Great. This poser thinks he’s in The Matrix.
&nbs
p; The man pulled down his sunglasses to stare at Christophe. There was something in his eyes, even as he pushed the shades back on and slid down the back glass of the SUV to stand directly before Christophe. When the man reached back for a sword, Christophe wasn’t sure how he knew what was about to happen, but he unclasped his seatbelt and shoved from his car. He hit the ground hard and rolled out of the way just as the blade came crashing down. It snapped off the front left mirror, causing it to clatter to the ground.
“Hey!” Christophe called. “What the fuck is your issue?”
The man just kept right on coming. Christophe stood and squared up. He knew he couldn’t outrun this guy and if he was going down, he wasn’t doing so without a fight.
“Wait, are you giving up?” the man jeered. “Because I know you cannot mean to fight with me.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” Christophe said, sliding one leg behind the other and straightening his back. He exhaled and braced himself as the man started running for him.
Christophe managed to sidestep the blade and slammed his elbow into the man’s back. But Christophe wasn’t fast enough to move away. He was caught in the ribs by a kick that sent him sailing through the air. His back hit the side of a transport truck, hard.
Pain filled Christophe’s body from the hit, but it didn’t end there. He slid down the side and crashed into the ground. “Fuck!” He curled in a ball, thinking that would end the ache. It didn’t work. He rolled over in time to see his attacker coming again. This time he was moving through the air as if he were flying. His logical brain told Christophe that was impossible. But after being tossed across the large highway like a feather, he was inclined to believe his life was now over.
Though he wanted to move, Christophe couldn’t. Every muscle in his body screamed in agony. Instead, he simply closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, waiting for blow to come.
All that happened was the sharp sound of metal on metal. He looked up in time to see another man was there with a sword just as long as his attacker’s. This newcomer had saved Christophe. Not waiting to ask questions, Christophe gritted his teeth and rolled beneath the vacated car to his right. On the other side, he braced against the vehicle and shoved, shakily, to his feet.
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