Burned

by Kensie King

  Gage took a seat across from me and explained the amount of food. “I was up early.”

  “That’s very…domestic of you.”

  He shrugged. “There’s a lot about me that you don’t know.”

  His comment implied that maybe I should take the time to know—and I would have. You know, if he hadn’t kidnapped me first. Kind of put a damper on the idea of a normal, healthy relationship.

  But it was hard to remember that when he poured orange juice for me and offered me toast. There was something so normal, almost comforting about him, it was hard to equate with the person he’d shown me here and there during the last two days.

  And really, it wasn’t my job to do that right now. My job was to get out of here. So in my mind, I plotted when I could try to contact Dylan again.

  A few minutes later, Gage asked, “What are you thinking?”

  I shrugged. “I was thinking maybe I could see those journals from the library again. And I want to look at my mom’s Book of Shadows.”

  “What for?”

  “I need more information about the spell and the curse. I still don’t understand what it’s all about, and if I’m going to try to…work toward something, I want to know what it is.”

  He stabbed his fork into a piece of honeydew. “It’s not just working toward it, you have to do it. There’s no way around this.”

  I frowned at him. I knew how important this was to him. He didn’t have to keep repeating it. I was just trying to be logical about it. I scooped eggs onto my fork and then took a bite. Damn. They were good.

  Good for being made by a vampire, I guess.

  “Still,” I said calmly, “I’d like to see the books. It’ll probably help me understand how to do the spell.”

  He lifted his eyebrows. “Interesting.”

  “What?”

  “You suddenly wanting to know more. I don’t buy it. I can see you plotting right now. So…” He smiled, almost apologetically. “Maybe we’ll wait on the spell book.”

  Fuck. He was right. I was plotting. But what did he expect in all honestly?

  I kept trying. “Maybe…” I thought fast on my feet. “I get where you’re coming from. I think I’ll take a shower and get cleaned up before I get started.”

  “A shower sounds like a great idea.”

  “Alone,” I qualified.

  He only smiled. “More people, more fun. But it’s your choice.”

  Good. It was the perfect time to try to reach Dylan again. And a shower would give me time to think, too.

  “You finished?” he asked. He pointed to my plate. “Going to need your energy if you want to go over those spells.”

  Wait, what? He was going to let me see the books? Well, I could play along for that. Humor him until I had exactly what I wanted.

  And then I was out of here.

  #

  Upstairs in the large bathroom, I turned on the shower but didn’t get in. There were three heads spraying steaming water, but I couldn’t enjoy it because I had to be quick.

  I yanked Dylan’s card out of my pocket, slightly ripping the edge, and then sat on the toilet seat. Focus. I didn’t have time to mess around, so I pictured him quickly, just like before. And I pictured him in his truck because I figured he was out and about and that was the fastest way to find him.

  My body slumped a little when I left it, and then I was hovering over Main Street, where I saw his car parked.

  I dropped myself inside, already excited I’d found him so quickly, but he wasn’t there.

  Dammit. It wasn’t like I could just keep popping up places to find him. Not if there was a possibility of people seeing me. I looked at my hands and vaguely saw their outline. If I’d had more time, I would have practiced this. I might have learned how to control it.

  I glanced around and then realized I was right across from the library. He could be there with Grace. It made sense.

  I concentrated on the building, picturing myself within the walls, in the back room where I’d set the books on fire.

  And in a rush, I was there.

  It was dark. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

  I forgot it was Sunday and they probably weren’t open. Or maybe she was out with Dylan looking for me.

  I tried to let that thought comfort me, but it didn’t because I couldn’t keep doing this. If I took too long, Gage would come looking for me and I didn’t want him to discover what I was plotting.

  In the blink of an eye, I was back in the bathroom. It was a rush and disorienting all at the same time when my body joined itself. I felt drained and energized at the same time. I wondered if that was something I could control, too.

  I quickly stripped my clothes off and hopped into the warm water. It stung a few cuts and scrapes I still had from running through the forest, but it felt amazing. It was the most relaxed I’d felt in the last few days, which was saying something.

  I tried not to think about Gage and how he’d probably been in the same shower. Naked. Or how his eyes were so hungry when they met mine. And how badly I wanted to connect with him when I shouldn’t. It felt like there was more to this, a bond holding us together, demanding that the universe keep us close.

  But how could that be when he was who he was? I couldn’t be with someone who had no respect for human decency. Who was willing to get whatever he wanted however he wanted, even if it hurt other people.

  After I stepped out, I wrapped a towel around my waist and remembered Gage had brought all my clothes, which meant I could change into something clean and new.

  I walked from the bathroom, prepared to find my bag, and then jerked to a stop when I saw Gage in the doorway.

  “What the fuck?” I asked, gripping my hand at the waist of the towel.

  “Just wanted to make sure everything was okay,” he said reasonably, though I didn’t miss how his eyes dropped to my chest. “You were taking a long time.”

  Because he’d hit close to home, I tried to make a joke of it. “You mean, you just wanted to check to make sure I hadn’t escaped.”

  “A little of that, too, but…” His gaze wandered. “Also…” He swallowed, and I knew instantly where his mind had gone. I didn’t have to be any closer to know. “It’s hard to keep my distance.”

  “Try.”

  But he called my bluff.

  He walked right up to me, eyes hungry. “I don’t want to.”

  He was like a furnace. I could feel the heat of his skin even when he wasn’t touching me. “Gage,” I said, shaking my head. “You told me you wouldn’t influence me.”

  “I know. And I’m not.” He reached out and took my hand, the simple gesture almost sweet. It surprised me. His next gesture shocked the hell out of me. He brought my hand to his mouth and then kissed each finger, one at a time. “Take off the towel.”

  Ah. There it was.

  “Gage,” I warned, even though I would have probably wanted the same thing. No, I did want the same thing.

  “Doesn’t hurt to try.” But he released me and stepped back of his own free will. “I wasn’t lying when I said I could be patient.”

  My dick still hardened.

  “I’ll be downstairs waiting,” he said, turning and closing the door behind him.

  I sagged against the bed, my raging hormones out of check. My cock throbbed, and I saw the outline through the towel, showing me just how turned on I was. If I didn’t already feel it, which I did.

  Why the hell were the sexy ones always the bad ones?

  The universe was not messing around when it decided to fuck me over this week.

  With a groan, I grabbed my bag and got dressed.

  CHAPTER 12

  Gage was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. When he saw me, he held out a hand. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  I stopped on the bottom stair. “Like…outside?”

  He nodded.

  It knocked me off my game. Not just because he seemed to recognize that I needed to be out with some sense of normalcy, but als
o because I had a plan, and this was derailing me.

  But when he gave me an encouraging smile, it was like I was helpless against it.

  I took his hand and let him guide me through the kitchen and then out a glass door that struck me as a good place for escape, but only as a side thought.

  More than that, I was wondering what the hell Gage was doing. If he had all these plans for world domination, or even eventually to hurt me—get rid of me—why was he taking the time to talk to me? To get to know me?

  To be patient with me, like he said?

  It made me think, not for the first time, that there was something bigger going on. Something deeper. Something I could actually help with if he’d be reasonable.

  Gage led me to the garden and walked side-by-side with me. “My great-great-grandparents built this place. They were in love from what I’ve heard. So deep in love that when my great-great-grandfather—he was the first Alder in Knob Creek—was injured during the war, my great-great-grandmother did a spell to save him.” He glanced at me. “She was a witch, like you.”

  And he seemed to appreciate that about me. Gage wasn’t afraid of my power or the fact that I was different. He embraced it. But then, he had good reason to if he thought I was going to help him.

  But it did surprise me that he had a witch in his family, too.

  “What was the spell for?” It blew my mind that people actually had that kind of power. That they could decide from one moment to the next to change their lives in a supernatural way. Or even control the kind of power they already had.

  “It brought him back to life,” Gage said. When I paused, he squeezed my hand and nodded. “He died from that injury. And my great-great-grandmother felt as though she couldn’t live without him.”

  I stared up at Gage, studying the emotion in his eyes. He turned before I could figure out just what he was thinking, guiding me to trees on the side of the property, with my hand still in his.

  “There were, of course, consequences,” he said.

  “He became a vampire.”

  Gage looked at me again and then nodded. “He did. I mean, if that’s what you want to call it.”

  “What would you call it?”

  “Complicated?” he asked. He shrugged and turned to me swiftly, his mood changing just as fast. “Do you want to know if we bite?” He pressed his lips to my jaw and then parted them, skimming his teeth on my skin. “Because the answer is yes.” He tipped his head to the sky, sunlight glinting in his eyes. “We can be in the sunlight, too.”

  I stayed frozen in place when he kissed my jaw again and moved toward my lips. “Garlic?”

  “Are you asking me if I like it? Because I do—especially on pizza, which I will be making for an early dinner.”

  “Gage…” I wanted to keep talking about his ancestors. I wanted to learn more about his life and where he’d come from. And I wanted the truth. “I can’t concentrate.”

  He flashed a grin. “I know. Just goes to show how perfect we are for each other.”

  I swallowed at those words. Perfect. God, how could I even consider that under the circumstances? But the wild thing was, it made sense. It was like we knew each other without really knowing. And it was scaring the shit out of me.

  “You want to go back?” He put some space between us, eyes going serious again.

  When I nodded, he only took my hand once more and let the way back to the house. “We’ll look at those books now.”

  Gage was confusing the hell out of me. But he was giving me what I wanted, so I couldn’t complain. I hated that the more time I spent with him, the more conflicted I was about doing what he wanted.

  But I didn’t have a choice. I had a sinking feeling, deep in my gut, that doing this spell tonight and trying to reverse the curse was going to be bad on so many levels. I couldn’t let that happen.

  It was that black and white.

  When we got to the library, however, Gage didn’t leave me there alone. He stayed with me, pacing across the rich hardwood floor or staring out the window. Him being in here with me derailed all my plans—which basically, right now, consisted of getting in touch with Dylan again.

  “You don’t have to wait with me,” I told him. “I’m sure you have things to do.”

  He turned away from the window and stopped at a shelf close to where I was standing. Instead of addressing my comment, he took another book down and passed it over. “Try this.”

  I brought it to the table, pushing the Book of Shadows aside. I had no idea how I was supposed to find some old spell that some random witch used to curse Gage’s bloodline and stop the powers of all the other paranormal beings in Knob Creek but the faster I found something that might work, the more inclined Gage would be to trust me.

  To give me space.

  Gage continued to pace while I read, but after a few minutes, I got so lost in the words of the journal, I barely noticed he was there.

  Evidently, once Gage’s great-great-grandmother, Olive, had done the spell that changed her husband, the entire witch community shunned her. Vampires were also labeled as enemies against other paranormals in town. Like werewolves.

  I thought about Grace and wondered if Gage knew who she really was. Or Dylan. But mentioning them to Gage might get me answers only at the expense of him finding out the truth. That I might have outside help.

  Once Olive was ostracized by her people, including my ancestor Savannah, she embraced the dark side and was turned into a vampire like her husband.

  When I looked up, I found Gage watching me from across the room.

  “What happened to them?” He gave me a blank look. “What happened to your great-great-grandparents? They’re not—I mean, are they still alive?”

  He shook his head.

  “So…did they…?” Damn. What happened to my usual good interviewing skills? But I had to remind myself I’d never interviewed a vampire before. “Can you live forever? Or is that another myth?”

  He strode to the table and sat in the chair across from me. “No, not a myth. But that isn’t how things are now—and they haven’t been that way since before the curse.” He ran his fingers on his jaw, as though debating how much to tell me. “Once the curse was placed, we lost almost all of our abilities. Some are vaguely there, but most are non-existent.”

  “So you’re not—”

  “Immortal?” He smiled, a flirty smile I could tell was all in fun. “Does it make you happy that the answer is no?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Maybe.”

  “I still get other perks.”

  I leaned in, interested. “Like what?” He just stared at me. “It’s only fair. You know a lot more about me than I know about you.”

  He leaned in as well, close enough I could feel his breath on my lips. “And there’s so much more I want to know.”

  I sighed. “You do that a lot, you know.”

  “What?”

  “Dodge my questions. You’re asking for a lot from me. I’m just asking for simple answers.”

  He considered this a moment, then dipped his head in a nod. “Fair enough. I can heal faster than a normal human.”

  I blinked. “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “What else?”

  His lips curved. “I have certain…what should I call it?” His tone turned suggestive and he glanced down, in the direction of his crotch. “Powers of rejuvenation.”

  Fuck me. I couldn’t help the image I had of him completely naked and standing in front of me with the most magnificently toned body. His fingers would race over my skin without the fire coming between us before he plunged into me over and over again, filling me full of what I couldn’t stop wanting.

  My throat dried.

  “I think it’s time for a break,” Gage said. When I just stared at him, he pointed to the journal. “A break from reading.”

  That broke the spell, and I glanced at my watch. It was already mid-afternoon, which meant time was running very short. I couldn’
t take a break. Not right now.

  “Go ahead,” I told him, pulling the book back in front of me. “This is interesting.”

  But he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He walked behind me and pulled out my chair, cupping one hand under my elbow with barely veiled strength and lifting me to my feet.

  “We skipped lunch,” he said, tugging me to the door and opening it for me. “Let’s work on dinner.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but he was determined to get me to wind down. It would have been amazingly sweet—again, if it were under different circumstances. He got me a drink and then ordered me to sit so he could make pizza dough.

  I’d never seen anyone make pizza dough before.

  “We have to let it rise,” he explained as he dropped a generous ball of dough into a deep bowl. He ran a thin, white towel under a stream of water before setting over the bowl. “It’ll be ready for us to make the pizza in a few hours.”

  Who went and made homemade pizza dough for their hostage? Was I in some parallel universe?

  I glanced to the window and my stomach twisted. The sun was on the other side of the house, and it was getting later and later the longer we sat here.

  I swiveled back and looked at Gage. “How old are you again?”

  He grinned. “I’m legal.”

  I’d have to guess mid to late twenties, though he seemed a lot worldlier than that. Maybe it was from all those things—things he wouldn’t talk to me about—that he’d experienced in life.

  “Where’d you learn to do that?” I asked, pointing to the dough. “And cook?”

  He glanced away, and I could tell I’d hit a sore spot. “My sister.”

  “You have a sister?”

  “And a brother,” he murmured, coming around to the other side of the island where I sat.

  I swiveled in the chair again, just in time for him to reach out both arms and trap me against the counter. “Gage—”

  “Let’s not talk about family. Let’s do something else.”

  And suddenly, he was a young man again, just trying to enjoy an evening alone with another man. One who was insanely attracted to him.

  “We’re supposed to be figuring out the spell,” I reminded him.