Wandering Soul

by Cassandra Chandler

  He smiled, knowing exactly what his mother would say on that point. He would call Jazz first thing in the morning while Elsa was tending to Winston, and set up a meeting. That in itself would be a bit difficult, however. He and Elsa were seldom apart.

  The realization stopped him in his tracks. Since Dante had arrived, they had spent almost every waking moment together, as well as several nights. He thought back to Jazz’s comments about the nature of his relationship with Elsa, and he found he wasn’t sure what it truly was.

  He happened to have paused just outside the door to Elsa’s bedroom. She had left it open a crack. He ran his fingertips lightly down the wood, enjoying the coolness of its surface. Taking it as a good sign, Dante retired to his room to prepare for an evening relaxing in her company.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Even after her bath, Elsa couldn’t relax. She sat at the kitchen table drinking yet another cup of chamomile tea, trying to soothe her frayed nerves. The thought that someone had been in her house was beyond unsettling. She was still hoping that they were wrong, that there was some other explanation.

  Maybe they had left the door to the cabinet open themselves. Maybe Leonardo had knocked Dante’s mask onto the floor and it bounced under the bed somewhere. Maybe the key had caught on Winston’s shirtsleeve as he locked up the night before and it’d fallen to the floor.

  None of those scenarios seemed likely. Elsa insisted that everything was just so. She had to admit it wasn’t only because she was watching out for Winston. Her friends thought of her as a control freak, and they were right. They just didn’t know how much of her life she had felt completely out of control.

  She’d crawled under her bed with a flashlight and searched everywhere for Dante’s mask with no luck. Winston might be blind, but he had a keen sense of hearing. If he had been in the room when the key hit the floor, he would have heard it.

  Elsa couldn’t rationalize any of the occurrences away. The most likely explanation was that someone had been in the house the night before, someone who had picked through her things and watched Dante and Elsa as they slept.

  Another shudder swept over her body. Elsa held the hot mug closer to her chest. The warmth did little to comfort her, but at least she could distract herself a bit. She focused on the sensation of the steam as it floated around her face, calming herself as she breathed in its earthy scent.

  Someone knocked at the kitchen door. She jumped, spilling the tea on her chest. Luckily, she was wearing a baggy T-shirt, and leaned forward quickly enough to avoid being burned.

  Garrett was standing outside, rattling the handle. She could see the concern etched in his features through the door’s window. Elsa trotted over to let him in.

  “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “I’m fine.” Elsa stepped aside as Garrett entered the kitchen, closing and locking the door behind him. “It was my fault I jumped. I was distracted.”

  Garrett stared at Elsa’s chest, where her T-shirt had plastered itself against her breasts. She pulled the fabric away. The tea on her front was quickly becoming cold, which was just making the situation more embarrassing.

  “Sorry.” Garrett looked away.

  “It’s okay. I’ll change later.”

  “How’s Winston doing?”

  “Grumpy. He says he wants to get up, but I saw him going back to bed from the bathroom and he was walking stiffly.”

  “That’s to be expected. I’m sure he’ll shake this off after a couple days of rest. And moving around a bit will be good for him.”

  “Well, don’t worry about us starving. It turns out Dante is a great cook.” Which was a good thing, because when he let Elsa make the toast that morning she managed to burn half of it. As in, all of the toast was burned on one side.

  “About Dante…” Garrett’s mouth was still open, but no words came out.

  “What about Dante?”

  “I know he’s the reason you didn’t want to call the police.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Listen, this guy isn’t who he says he is.”

  Garrett made his statement with entirely too much conviction. Elsa’s cheeks began to tingle, the blood draining from her head and making her dizzy.

  “What did you do?”

  “My friend Finn is a private investigator. I gave him a call and asked him to do some digging.”

  “You did what?” Elsa’s sense of foreboding blossomed into a full panic attack. Her heart threw itself against her ribs, seeking to flee, while her body felt leaden and rooted to the ground.

  What kind of digging? What had he found?

  Memories churned through her mind. “Abomination! Which of my sins was so bad that I was burdened with you?”

  She shoved the pain away. She had to stay focused. Damage control. Assess the threat to herself and Dante.

  “How could I not?” Garrett said. “You refused to go to the police after someone broke into your house, and you’re shacking up with a guy who is lying to you.”

  “Dante has never lied to me. Ever.”

  “Are you sure about that? Because my friend says there is no record of a Dante Lucerne entering the country. In fact, the only Londoner he could find by that name died back in 1881.”

  “I can’t believe you went behind my back and did this.”

  “What did you expect me to do?”

  Rage overwhelmed her fear. “Respect my wishes? Not invade my privacy?”

  “I thought you were in danger. I still think so. This guy is conning you. He’s playing on your sympathies—”

  “Stop. Just, stop.” Elsa took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. “If you ever, ever, disparage him like that to me again, you will no longer be welcome in my home. Do you understand me?”

  Garrett’s mouth went slack, his shoulders slumping. She regretted hurting him, but she couldn’t stand by and let Garrett say such things. Especially when Dante was keeping silent to protect her.

  Snapping his mouth shut in a frown, Garrett glared at her. Deep furrows formed on his forehead, and she could practically hear his teeth grinding together.

  “Yeah, I get it.”

  Elsa heard a soft voice behind them say, “Am I intruding?”

  She turned around to see Dante standing in the hall just outside the kitchen. His eyes were wide and he looked about as stunned as Garrett had a moment before.

  “No,” Garrett said. “As Winston’s doctor, I’m here to check on him.”

  As angry as she was, Elsa still felt her heart constrict watching Garrett leave the room. He was one of her best friends. She didn’t want to lose him over this, but she couldn’t think of a way to make him understand without telling him everything.

  For a moment, she considered doing just that, but immediately dismissed the idea. Garrett had gone behind her back. He might have been doing what he thought was best, but she had made herself clear and he hadn’t respected that. At least he had gone to a private investigator and not the police.

  Dante was counting on her. She had to protect him.

  Elsa grabbed her mug and stalked to the sink to wash it. Her shirt was still cold and wet, thanks to Garrett as well. Why couldn’t he have left it alone?

  Dante crossed the room to stand next to her. He spoke in a low voice. “I do not mean to cause rifts between you and your friends.”

  “You didn’t cause this problem. Garrett not respecting my wishes caused this.”

  She managed to slam her hand against the side of the sink, hitting her thumb just right to make her yelp. She set the mug down a bit more forcefully than was probably wise, shaking her hand to make her thumb stop stinging.

  “Did you injure yourself?” Dante reached for Elsa’s hand, but she clutched it against her chest.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Y
ou must learn to let others help you.”

  Right, because that had worked out so well for her in the past. Elsa bit her lower lip to keep the sarcastic comment from spilling out. She did let him take her hand and put it under the tap.

  Her anger dissipated as he rinsed the soap from her hands, his fingers gliding over her skin. Tingles of pleasure raced up her arms at his gentle touch. Dante turned off the water and held her injured hand close to his chest. He ran his fingertips lightly over her thumb. “Does it still hurt?”

  “Not really.” Elsa’s voice came out a squeak. He stared into her eyes, still lightly caressing her hand with his. She cleared her throat and said, “Thank you.”

  Dante brought her hand to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss on her thumb. “You are most welcome.”

  His gaze slid to her lips and he leaned closer, his head bending toward hers. Elsa could feel the heat of his body, as if their skin was already touching. He was going to kiss her—she was sure of it. And suddenly, she couldn’t remember any of the reasons she had to stop him.

  “Winston is fine, in case you’re wondering.” Garrett stood in the doorway. His harsh voice scattered the clouds in Elsa’s mind.

  She couldn’t believe she had let that moment go so far. That she and Dante had almost kissed. And here was Garrett, angry because he thought that Dante was trying to take advantage of her. If only Garrett knew the truth.

  Dante looked momentarily abashed. “That is welcome news.”

  “I bet.” Garrett scowled at Dante, but didn’t even look at Elsa.

  She grabbed Garrett’s arm as he passed her. “I appreciate you coming to check on Winston.”

  “It’s the least I can do for a friend.”

  “I know you’re only trying to help, and I appreciate that too,” she said. “But on the other matter, can you please trust me that I know what I’m doing?”

  Garrett shook his head and let out a sharp, low laugh. “Funny. You’re so good at asking for trust, but do you ever look at how much you give out? It’s a two-way street.”

  “Garrett, I—”

  He didn’t let her finish. “I’ll call my guy off. Don’t worry about it.”

  How could she not worry? He was asking her to trust him, and she wasn’t sure she knew how. His harsh accusation rattled like chains in her mind. But another voice broke into her thoughts. Dante’s voice, their conversation from earlier in the day playing through her mind.

  “You are surrounded by people who care for you.”

  “If people knew what I could do, they would hunt me down and dissect me.”

  “Even Garrett? Even Winston?”

  Would they really hurt her? Elsa’s mother had been a drunk and a religious fanatic. Winston and Garrett cared for Elsa. They had proven how they felt time and again. But was she brave enough to trust them, too? Like she was learning to trust Dante?

  Garrett had only spoken with a private investigator. A friend. He could handle telling the guy to back off. Maybe if she could try to trust Garrett on this one thing, she could mend a little of what had been damaged between them.

  “Okay.” She loosened her grip on Garrett’s arm.

  Garrett lingered as if he was waiting for her to say more. He probably expected a long litany of instructions. But she was going to trust him to take care of this, even though it felt sort of like stepping off a cliff.

  “Well, all right then.”

  Garrett’s eyebrows scrunched together and he cocked his head to one side as if he was trying to puzzle out what was going on. He hesitantly leaned in to hug her. Elsa stood on her toes to hug him back, which pushed her cold clothing against her skin.

  When he let her go, his signature smile was back in place. “Dante, make sure she changes into something dry before she catches a cold. Winston is enough of a handful. I don’t think we can stand tending to them both.”

  The tightness around her heart vanished at Garrett’s words. She hadn’t lost him. More than that, he had included Dante, as if the two of them were a team. Elsa didn’t miss the way Dante’s expression relaxed.

  “I shall make that the next order of business,” Dante said.

  “I’m sure.” Garrett’s smile turned a bit wry, but that seemed to be the end of it.

  After Garrett left, Dante locked the door. He put the key on the shelf nearest the door instead of leaving it in the lock. “You should change your shirt.”

  “I’ll just check on Winston first. I think I’ll sleep on the couch tonight. I want to be close enough to hear him if he needs anything.”

  “Garrett was right.” Dante grabbed the edge of his shirt, then pulled it over his head and held it out to her. “If you will not take the time to go upstairs and change, at least put this on instead.”

  Elsa might have if she was able to move, but she was paralyzed at the site of Dante half-naked in her kitchen. The dark hair that lightly covered his chest contrasted against his pale skin, accentuating the broad planes of his muscles and flowing like a waterfall down his flawless stomach. It disappeared beneath the waistband of his pajama pants.

  Fireworks exploded through her. Her arms tingled, as if begging her to reach for him. She could barely breathe. The air passing over her parted lips felt like a caress. She longed to touch his chest, to trail kisses along his stomach, to explore every inch of his body…

  “Are you all right?”

  He took a step toward her, jolting her back to reality. She kept her eyes locked on his, only his eyes, and tried to block out everything she was seeing in her periphery.

  “I’m fine, thanks.”

  She reached for his shirt, but since she wasn’t looking, she wound up brushing her hand against his. The physical contact was like touching a live wire. She still managed to grab his shirt and started to pull it over her head.

  “Elsa…” Dante stepped closer and grasped her arms to stop her. He was so warm. “You should take off your own shirt first.”

  She peered at him through the open neck of his shirt, her arms still held above her head. “You want me to…”

  A flush spread across his neck and chest, creeping over his face as well.

  Elsa would not let this happen. Not until he had met other women, spent time with them, and realized that he had options besides her. If she gave in now, she’d never be sure that he would have chosen her.

  She lowered his shirt and backed away from him, forcing a smile. “Of course. I’ll change in the laundry room.”

  She fled from his presence as quickly as she could, heart beating like a frightened rabbit thumping out a warning. The laundry room was just off the kitchen. Elsa closed the door behind her, leaning against it as she brought herself back under control.

  This was going to be harder than she thought. Dante was kind, intelligent and beautiful. She loved spending time with him. She was already attracted to him, and that was before what she had just seen. Elsa had never wanted anyone so intensely.

  His body was gorgeous, and she had slept right next to that not once but twice. She shivered just thinking about it. Her mind filled with images of exploring his chest, her fingers tingling as she imagined trailing them all the way down that dark path.

  For once, she was glad for her insane cycles—they had driven her to get an IUD that secreted hormones to lighten her periods. At least if she did give in to her desires, she wouldn’t have to worry about birth control.

  That was not what she should be thinking about.

  She would have to be stronger. With renewed determination, she tore off her shirt and threw it aside, then pulled Dante’s over her head. She only realized her mistake after it settled over her shoulders.

  The scent of sandalwood enveloped her. His shirt was still warm from his body. His heat seeped into her chilled flesh. She could feel him surrounding her. She moaned and leaned against the wall, unable to make her
self take it off.

  If it felt this good just to think about touching him, what would it be like if she gave in? But if she did give in, she’d never know if what they had was real.

  Changing their relationship would also absolutely change how they behaved toward one another. What if it didn’t work out? What if giving in to their attraction brought out dark sides of their personalities? What if they lost what they already had?

  Everything would intensify—attraction, passion, rage…

  Elsa needed distance. If she kept her hands to herself and tried to avoid physical contact, she could resist the temptation he presented. Clinging to that thought helped as she summoned the courage to open the door to the kitchen again.

  He was nowhere in sight. She was both relieved and disappointed. She headed to check on Winston, glancing into the entertainment room as she passed by. Dante wasn’t there either.

  Winston’s door was slightly open. His room was dark, but the light spilling in from the hallway was enough for Elsa to find her way to his bedside. He was sound asleep. The weathered lines around his eyes and mouth had softened.

  She watched him sleep for a few moments, reassuring herself that he was okay, then tiptoed back to the door. She left it open a bit to hear him better if he needed anything during the night.

  Passing the entertainment room again, Elsa noticed blankets and pillows stacked next to the couch. Dante must have been there, but he had already left. She backtracked to the kitchen, where she found him pouring two glasses of tea. Thankfully, he’d put on another of his shirts.

  “I didn’t know you were expecting company.” She tried to feign a sense of ease she didn’t feel.

  He set the tea pitcher back in the refrigerator and closed the door. “I thought perhaps we could watch a movie together.”

  “Okay.” The word slipped out before she could stop herself. What was she doing? This wasn’t avoiding temptation. This was barreling right into it.