by Mia Taylor
“What?”
She seemed stunned by the question, her blue eyes blinking in confusion as if she’d misunderstood him.
“A party. It’s nothing crazy, just a few of us getting together at my place for some drinks and—”
“Why?”
The question took him aback.
“Why what? Why the party?”
“Why are you inviting me to a party?”
She said the word “me” with such force, there was almost disgust associated with it and Cypher was perplexed.
“I guess you’re not in the mood after all you’ve been through,” he agreed, feeling slightly sheepish for suggesting it. “But you can lie down there. I have extra bedrooms. No pressure. No one will bother you and your friends can come.”
Had he mentioned that already? He didn’t want her to say no.
She shook her head, her face contorting in sheer confusion.
“No, why are you inviting someone like me to your party? I’m not… I’m not like the women you know.”
Inexplicably, he found himself getting defensive as if she’d made some judgment about him without knowing the first thing about him.
Maybe she reads the tabloids. Maybe she follows TMZ.
“I didn’t realize you knew my friends,” he offered, trying to keep the annoyance from his voice.
“I don’t! I just…” She threw her hands up in a “look at me” gesture. “I’m not exactly page six material.”
The statement pierced Cypher’s heart. It was clear she wasn’t looking for compliments. There was a naked plaintiveness to her words which said she didn’t believe she was anything special.
She has no idea what effect her mere presence had on me tonight and I hadn’t even set eyes on her yet. How can she not see her amazingness?
“I want you there,” he answered simply, his eyes locking on hers intently. He needed her to feel the sincerity in his words, even though he didn’t fully understand them himself.
Over the years, he’d learned that his DNA caused him to be different in many more ways than he’d initially realized.
He had no idea how he’d come to be a shifter. He’d explored different theories and visited self-proclaimed shamans on the matter but the answers had not been definitive or helpful. He was no closer to learning the truth about himself than he had been as a child.
Some believed that he’d been cursed personally while others swore that shifting was a magical gene passed from an ancient generation of otherwise extinct beings.
Whatever the cause, one thing was clear; there was no cure nor even a prevention.
Cypher had learned to control his shifts with age and even full moons did not affect him as they did in his youth but there was still much to understand about who he was.
However, when he was old enough to come to terms with it, Cypher saw that many facets accompanied his strange gift.
His sense of empathy was much stronger than that of other people, feeling to the point of physical pain when those he was close to were hurt.
It was one of the reasons he had kept to himself, keeping bandmates and agents at arm’s length.
Absorbing everyone else’s energies helped make him an incredible musician but to the detriment of his sanity.
The same was also true of love.
The few times he had permitted himself to enjoy the notion of romantic love, he had almost died with the heartbreak and Cypher had quickly learned it was much easier to be alone than in the throes of mental anguish, no matter how sweet the loving.
He dated on occasion but those days, attachment was not an issue in the least.
But whatever was happening there with the timid ginger, the connection was unlike anything he had known and yet he was aware of exactly what it was—she was his mate.
He knew it instinctively and he could see she felt their bond just as strongly.
She must or she would have run screaming by now, he reasoned. There is no good reason for her to be standing here before me except that she wants to know more about me.
“All right,” she said slowly, nodding her head, her eyes still hinged to his. “I’ll come to your party.”
A content smile broke out over his face and he nodded happily.
“Great. I’ll arrange for the car to meet us around the south exit. How many friends do you have with you?”
“Just two more—Rhys and Holly.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting them,” he told her and he meant it. He wanted to be a part of her life and know who she knew.
As they walked toward the door, it flew inward and Chloe jumped, gasping in shock.
“Fox!” Cypher growled. “Use some finesse.”
Cypher glanced worriedly at Chloe who returned to a gray shade of pale.
“Sorry!” the bassist said sheepishly, his face coloring a darker shade of red when his eyes fell on Chloe. “I didn’t realize you were still here or that you had company.”
“Fox, this is Chloe. Chloe, Fox.”
“Nice to meet you. Hey, we’re heading to your place now. You’re sure you’re coming, right?” Fox said quickly, pretending not to stare at the nervous redhead.
Cypher nodded, casting Chloe a long look. She glanced over her shoulder at him one last time before scurrying past Fox, presumably to find her friends.
“I’m sure,” Cypher said, deciphering her look as one of concession.
Fox nodded, watching as Chloe left.
“She’s cute,” he offered and Cypher grinned.
“Yeah, she is.”
“Someone special?” he pushed.
Is it written on my face?
“She will be,” he replied, following Fox out the door. “I think you’ll be seeing a lot of her.”
Fox did a double take, blinking dubiously. He’d never heard Cypher speak so candidly about a woman, let alone a strange woman.
“Did you just meet her tonight?”
“Yes.”
“And what, it’s like love at first sight?”
Cypher chuckled dryly.
“It’s much more than that,” he replied quietly. “It goes beyond comprehension.”
Fox paused.
“Does she have anything to do with the performance you gave tonight?”
“She has everything to do with the performance I gave tonight.”
Fox let out a low whistle and continued walking as Cypher looked for Chloe who had found her friends.
Cypher was again flanked by adoring fans but not before he heard Fox’s comment.
“Well, if that’s true, you better keep her around… for art’s sake.”
Chloe turned her head to look at Cypher and he waved encouragingly. Cypher assumed the brunette was Holly, who waved back, grinning almost drunkenly, and he was once more swept away by his followers.
But as he moved, he felt Chloe’s eyes on his back and he knew that when he got to the limo, she would be there waiting for him.
And she was.
“You ready to do this?” he asked her, escorting the trio into the back of the Hummer limousine.
“I’m not sure,” she replied honestly and Cypher smiled.
“That’s what makes it more exciting, doesn’t it?”
A small smile formed on her lips but she turned her head away shyly and caught Holly’s wide, toothy grin.
“Yeah,” she whispered. “It does.”
~ ~ ~
They had snuck away from the party and sat on the back, second-floor terrace, overlooking the moonlit beach from the covered balcony.
“I can’t believe you own a house in San Francisco. I thought all rock stars lived in LA or New York,” Chloe commented. “Or at least whatever limited knowledge I have about the life of the rich and famous.”
“I have a small apartment in New York and I crash at Fox’s place in LA when we’re recording there but my heart is here, just as the song goes,” Cypher explained. “What about you? You have a Midwest accent. What are you doing in these
parts?”
“I just graduated at USF,” Chloe replied. She was slowly coming out of her shell, her answers becoming a little bit longer as if she was letting her guard down.
Cypher looked at her with interest.
I should have known she was smart as well as beautiful. My mate couldn’t be all looks, after all. Someone has to have the brains in all this.
“You did? What’s your degree in?” he asked curiously.
“IT. Much to my parents’ chagrin.”
She laughed when she said it but he caught the underlying sadness to her words.
“What did they want you to be when you grew up?”
“A lawyer. Like everyone else in my family.”
“That’s just what the world needs,” Cypher chirped. “More lawyers.”
“That’s what I said!” she chortled. “They didn’t see the humor but then again, humor isn’t really a respected trait in our family either.”
“Do you like computers?” He felt silly for asking the question. Obviously she did if she was willing to dedicate her career to it.
“I like taking things apart and seeing how they work,” she replied shyly. “And machines are so much easier than people.”
Cypher nodded slowly and in agreement.
“Yes, they are and they don’t disappoint you, do they?”
She peered over her shoulder but didn’t quite meet his eye, focusing on the floor as she stared in his general direction.
“People can’t disappoint you if you don’t give them an opportunity,” she reminded him.
They were both silent, each lost in their own thoughts over the magnitude of the statement.
Chloe cleared her throat slightly as if she recognized the conversation was taking too much of a heavy direction.
“What about you? Your family can’t be disappointed in having the lead singer of Elevated bouncing around. I bet you’re the guy who bought his mom a house in Naples or something and his dad a five-hundred-thousand-dollar Harley.”
“I don’t have a family.”
It sounded so flat when he said it, so final.
“I—I’m sorry,” she mumbled, clearly embarrassed. “I didn’t know that about you. I mean, you’ve never mentioned your family in any of your interviews but I just thought you were being private.”
“Have you been cyber-stalking me?” he asked, his forehead rising in surprise.
Her face was almost translucent in the pale light of the moon.
“No!” she choked. “No, I—”
He burst into laughter and shook his head.
“I’m just teasing you, Chloe. You need to relax. I’m not trying to humiliate you.”
“I know,” she sighed but Cypher wondered if she really did. She seemed so timid, so afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing.
I imagine that’s what a lifetime of living with lawyer parents will do to you. Anything you do or say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
He rose from his spot on the swing and made his way to her side. She leaned back, allowing the wind to catch the soft wisps of her hair.
She looks perfect in the moonlight, like a porcelain doll come to life. Why has it taken me so long to find her?
“I’m an orphan,” he told her softly. “I was barely five years old when my mother left me and my three brothers at a nunnery in Louisville.”
She jerked her head up to look at him, her blue eyes wet with compassion.
“I’m so sorry!” she breathed. “D-do you know where your brothers are? Were you raised together?”
Her questions rushed out and Cypher could see she regretted asking.
“I’m sorry,” she continued quickly. “It’s none of my business. You don’t need to tell me anything. I’m terrible at tactful conversation.”
She lowered her gaze, heat tinging her cheeks a flattering red despite her embarrassment.
“I want to tell you everything,” he replied softly, his eyes boring into hers. “But first, I want to kiss you. May I do that?”
She visibly swallowed and nodded, her eyes as wide as saucers.
Cypher leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers.
The sizzle of electricity flowing between them confirmed what he had already known and when they parted after a long, sweet moment, he brushed a strand of hair from her face and stared at her lovingly.
“Wow,” she murmured. “I—you’re not at all what I expected.”
“What did you expect?” he replied, smiling softly, but she had no answer for him. She stared up at him with expressive eyes, wise but cautious.
“Now what?” she whispered. “Now what do we do?”
Cypher’s beam widened and he traced the lines of her face with his fingertips.
“Now let me tell you everything.”
Chapter Five
First Kisses, First Misses
When the light of morning first touched her face, Chloe didn’t want to move, her body still high from the sensation of Cypher’s kisses and soft words.
For a terrifying second, after she opened her eyes, she thought that it might have all been a dream, that it had not actually happened.
But as the remnants of sleep dissipated and every detail of the previous night flooded back into her mind, Chloe realized that she was happy, truly, sincerely happy.
“That worked out well for you,” Holly said teasingly when Chloe appeared in the kitchen, a dreamy smile on her lips. “Next time you shouldn’t fight me so hard when I get a good idea.”
A hot flush formed on Chloe’s fair face and she ducked her cheeks behind her straight strands as she sank onto a stool. Holly laughed merrily and shook her dark hair incredulously.
“Maybe I should fight you harder,” Chloe piped in. “And I’ll meet Jason Momoa next time.”
Holly howled with laughter.
“Something tells me that you wouldn’t have noticed if Jason Momoa was at that party last night even if he sat in your lap.”
“Don’t be ridiculous; he would crush me if he sat in my lap. Have you ever seen the muscles on that man?” Chloe chirped and Holly rolled her eyes.
“I don’t even know where you two snuck off to. The entire party was looking for you but as Rhys said, you probably didn’t want to be found.”
She winked suggestively and Chloe shook her head vehemently.
“It wasn’t like that!” she cried. “We just… talked.”
And they had, talked until the sun rose splendidly over Southern Bay to a splash of crimsons and golds and pinks. It seemed to her that she’d never seen a more beautiful sunrise in her entire life.
Chloe could not recall a time when she’d felt more at peace or at ease with anyone. It seemed so strange given their first encounter and what she knew about him.
I’m smitten with this… creature and it still feels so right.
But despite what she knew about him, about his gift and his power, she was not afraid. Just the opposite, in fact. She felt protected and secure near him. He’d already shown that he was willing to risk exposing his true identity to save her and they barely knew one another.
She still couldn’t understand what he saw in her. He had everything any man could ever want. She was nobody, a quiet wallflower who wasn’t even sure what her next career move was going to be.
“I still don’t understand how you two hooked up,” Holly continued. “I was saying let’s go find him and you were out the door. The next thing I know, we’ve got VIP passes to his mansion on Baker Beach. Damn, girl, you’ve been holding out on me for four years. You’re secretly in the CIA or something, aren’t you? You have good blackmail material on him? Come on, you’ve gotta tell me—I’m your bestie. Your secrets are safe with me.”
Holly’s shock was not alleviating the insecurity Chloe felt about the entire situation, even though Chloe knew she was only teasing.
A small part of her wondered if Cypher was just being kind to her because he worried she would expose his secret. After all, what
else could she possibly offer him?
But as memories of the previous night continued to flood her, the stolen kisses, the way their eyes seemed to melt into one another’s, she knew she wasn’t imagining whatever it was between them.
No matter how bizarre it seems to everyone. Including me.
“So, are you going to see him again?” Holly asked, sliding across the counter to grin at her suggestively. “Maybe you can go on tour with him.”
“He’s done the tour now,” Chloe answered quickly, her ears hot as she thought about what the future might hold. “And I’m not a roadie.”
Or a groupie. Will people think I’m a groupie? That’s what they’ll think of me if this goes anywhere.
Chloe knew she was getting ahead of herself.
You had one amazing evening with a guy. You’ll probably never see or hear from him again. You can’t let your imagination run wild and overthink this like you do everything else.
“No, you’re not a roadie,” Holly said thoughtfully. “But you do have a degree in IT. Maybe you can do some work for the band. Maybe their firewalls need—”
“Holly! Stop! I only met him last night!” Chloe snapped. If she wasn’t getting ahead of herself, she wasn’t going to let Holly do it either, but her best friend would not be easily dissuaded.
Holly grinned wickedly.
“But how long have you been in love with him?”
Forever, Chloe realized. I’ve been in love with him since the first time I heard his voice in my ears.
In her bedroom, Chloe heard the chime of her cell phone and she jumped instantly to retrieve it.
“When the rock god calls…” Holly yelled jestingly after her and Chloe was glad her roommate couldn’t see her face.
She picked up the phone and her sheepish smile faded.
The cell fell from her hand, onto the comforter, and Chloe was filled with an impending sense of dread, one she’d always known but that she’d managed to forget in the past twelve hours.
She snatched the phone back up with trembling fingers and dialed her father’s number.
“Where the hell have you been? I called you at least ten times since last night!”