by Jaymin Eve
It was older but very well maintained. A clawfoot tub dominated half the room, but I didn’t have time or energy for a bath, so shower it was. Placing my new clothes on the bench next to the sink, I shucked off what I was wearing and padded across to the glass stall.
The water was hot, the pressure was good, and I spent at least fifteen minutes in there trying to clean the last twenty-four hours off me, finally emerging with clean hair, teeth, and skin – old makeup is so gross. I got dressed in the comfortable sleep clothes and was barely able to keep my eyes open as I stumbled into the bedroom. I’m not sure what happened after that, but I think I managed to dump my stuff in the corner before face-planting on the bed. Brad ruffled my hair – the ass – once or twice, as he left to shower.
Everything after that was blank.
I was pretty sure I didn’t move a single muscle for the entire night. When I woke the next morning, there was dried drool on my face and my right fingers were numb from me lying on them. With a groan, I wiped my face and pulled myself up to sit. As more of my brain came online, yesterday’s events hit me in a screaming rush. Aliens. Secret Keepers. Starslight stones.
And Chase.
Sweet alien babies, Chase was absolutely everything I both feared and craved.
For some reason, I hadn’t expected the craving I felt for him to be as strong today, like maybe a full night of sleep would dull those hyped-up emotions. But, if anything, they felt stronger. Just knowing he was under the same roof as me … in bed somewhere...
Give me strength. Resisting him was going to take a lot more effort than I was used to with guys.
“Dude, did yesterday actually happen?”
I swung toward the husky voice; Brad was half sitting as well, the sheets draped across his toned chest.
As our eyes locked, I shook my head, my face scrunched up. “I don’t even know what to think about it all. I mean … aliens. There are freaking aliens walking around Earth like they own the place.”
Really, really hot aliens.
“I told you that dude in our science class wasn’t human,” Brad joked, swinging his legs off the side of the bed. “I’d like my apology now for the way you called me an asshole.”
I shrugged, before rolling toward the side of the bed. When my feet hit the floor, I expected an icy chill, but the wood was warm. “You were an asshole. Hating on him because all the girls fell over themselves to talk to him. The alien thing was just an excuse for the frailty of your male ego.”
Jesse Jameson had been really gorgeous and charismatic. Maybe he was an alien after all.
Brad snorted. “My ego is robust. A champion among champions.”
I managed not to roll my eyes at him, and he laughed loudly.
“You want first shower?” He changed the subject.
I already knew he was starving, breakfast was the meal he carbo loaded at. And protein loaded. Not to mention grain, fat, and dairy. Basically, he could eat the ass end of a cow at breakfast and it barely even touched the sides. “You go first, I’m sure you’re dying for food, and I always take longer than you.”
He bounced out of bed, not denying the “dying for food” part. As he passed me, he dropped a kiss on my head, before grabbing his clothes and toiletries. When he was out of the room, I stretched out all of my limbs, and then headed to check out the clothing situation.
For some stupid reason, I wanted to look my best today.
By the time Brad was back in the room, his hair damp and spiked up in attractive disarray, I had decided on a denim skirt, black fitted long-sleeved shirt, and knee-high black socks. It was warm in the house, so unless we had to go outside, I wouldn’t need a coat.
“See you downstairs,” Brad said as he left for the second time. I gave him a wave, before making my way into the bathroom.
My shower was fast, and I was relieved to find a hair dryer in one of the vanity drawers. Once my long hair was dry and shining, I applied light makeup, focusing mainly on covering the dark circles under my eyes. Apparently not even eighteen hours or so of sleep was enough to recover from an almost kidnapping.
When I was done, I dropped my sleep clothes and makeup bag back in the room and made my way downstairs. My stomach was doing somersaults as I walked; when I reached the stairs, I actually paused at the top to try and get my shit together. Seriously. Why was I so nervous?
After a few calming breaths, I continued; I really did want to see everyone again. The team thing was starting to grow on me. When I made it to the main floor, I found everyone seated around a large, round dining table. It was just off the kitchen, in a nook I hadn’t noticed yesterday. There were four banks of windows, surrounding it on all sides, and the sun streamed in giving the entire scene a very “picture perfect” look.
“You’re awake!” Emma exclaimed, jumping to her feet. “How are you feeling today?”
“Much better, thank you,” I said. “The sleep did wonders.”
Her smile grew, and my nerves lessened as I hurried forward; the warmth of her greeting was exactly what I needed. What we all needed apparently, because conversations broke out, and everyone started reaching for the food that was piled in the center of the table.
As I took a seat next to Emma –Lexen was on her other side – I scanned the table. Star and Brad were sitting close to one set of windows, arguing about who could eat the most – Star seemed pretty sure she could eat him under the table. Callie and Daniel were filling their plates, their arms and hands grazing across each other as they moved. My parents were sipping coffee, smiling as they watched all of us, and Chase … Chase was leaning back in his chair, broad shoulders spilling over either side of the backrest, his eyes firmly locked on me.
“Good morning,” he said when our eyes met.
I swallowed roughly, because … his voice was still the most seductive thing I’d ever heard.
“Morning,” I mumbled, before clearing my throat. “How did you sleep?”
We were talking across the table, surrounded by people, but it almost felt like we were in our own little bubble. Whenever I looked at Chase, the rest of the world faded away.
“Chase insisted on taking guard duty last night,” Lexen cut in. “Even though he didn’t get any sleep the night before.”
Concern for him pushed through all other emotions. He hadn’t slept the night before because he’d been rescuing me. He must be exhausted.
“You should go and rest now,” I insisted, half rising in my chair.
Chase leaned forward, moving in my direction. “I’m okay, I don’t need a lot of sleep, and protecting … the secret keepers is something I’m taking very seriously.”
He’d hesitated over the words “secret keepers” and for a second I wondered if he’d been about to say something else.
“You should eat, Maya.” Chase leaned onto his forearms, the fitted white shirt he wore, stretching across his biceps. “You need to build up your energy again after the events of last night.”
Resisting the urge to fan my face, because it felt really hot in here all of a sudden, I leaned forward as well, and managed to look away from Chase long enough to examine the food-filled platter. It was piled with bread, cheese, and dips. Fruit of all colors were sliced and beautifully displayed. There was also a range of granola and pastries.
Not a piece of meat in sight, though, which would probably annoy Brad to no end. Except, for once, his focus was not on food. Star, the football tamer, had all of his attention.
I filled my plate, and as I bit into my first strawberry, followed by another, and then more of the fruit, I wondered if maybe this was alien food. Because it tasted so good. Like my senses were firing, and I was enjoying this meal more than any I’d had in a long time.
“So, are we planning on leaving today for Overworld?” Callie asked, having finished her breakfast already. “I think we should try to find the last secret keeper as soon as possible. Laous is going to be coming after Maya; he probably already knows where she is.”
&nb
sp; Daniel reached out, draping his arm across the back of her chair, pulling her closer. “We’re waiting for the council to get back to us. Last time we talked to them, they advised us to stay put for another day. They think they have a lead on Laous again.”
Emma snorted, before shaking her head. “The last lead went nowhere. Actually, it almost got us all killed, and it…” She broke off, before clearing her throat. “It did get Marsil killed. I don’t think the council has our best interests at heart.”
Lexen’s face shuttered then; his brother’s death was clearly too raw for him to even think about. But he did take the time to comfort his mate, holding her close to his chest, letting her bury her face against him. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Brad reach out and take Star’s hand. He gave it a quick squeeze before letting go, and I actually thought that a little of the despair lining Star’s features lessened. Her eyes were still drowning in sadness, though.
“We’ll leave at first light tomorrow,” Daniel decided. “The council has that long to deal with their sources. Not a moment more.”
No one else argued, and I was relieved to think that we’d be moving on to the next part of the plan tomorrow. Even if it did mean I would soon be taking a trip to another world.
The rest of the day was way more relaxing than I would have expected from a group being pursued by a homicidal maniac. For most of it, Emma was on the porch daybed, multiple novels spread out around her. After breakfast, I spent a few hours talking fantasy worlds with her. Callie joined in as well, and we switched it up to include favorite television shows and movies. Turned out all of us were into romance and fantasy – we had quite a lot in common.
After lunch, Emma started helping Callie with her reading, and because I didn’t want to be a distraction, I decided to do a little exploring. I wasn’t supposed to go far, but I felt an urge to step off the porch and move toward a pocket of trees close by. When no one called out to stop me, I grew braver, moving under the heavy canopy.
My eyes adjusted almost immediately, and this time, as I stepped between the giants, I let my hands brush across the rough bark and foliage. For once there was no fear of bugs. The normal discomfort I felt in nature was being eclipsed by a soul-deep peace.
When I was completely surrounded by wide trunks, my stomach started to flip and twirl. I slowed, only my head moving as I turned to find Chase.
“Up here.”
His low voice drifted through the trees, and I tilted my head to find him sprawled across on a thick branch, his back against the truck. “Whoa,” I murmured, blinking at how high up he was. He was like thirty feet in the air. “How are you going to get down from there?”
Without warning, he straightened and pushed off from the tree. A scream got caught in my throat as he dropped, my pulse pounding like a jackhammer in my veins. Chase landed with ease, barely making a sound as he straightened. “Not human, remember,” he said with a wink.
I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to calm myself down. “I thought you were going to break your neck.”
Chase laughed, throwing his head back just slightly, giving me a glimpse of the dark skin at the base of his throat. My fingers twitched then, like they were going to just reach out and touch him. No! My damn body had a mind of its own at the moment.
Chase took a step closer to me, his laughter dying off to be replaced by an intense look, those green eyes mesmerizing. “Why did you come into the forest?” he asked, still watching me closely. “Yesterday you seemed almost … afraid of the trees.”
It was hard to put into words why I was in here, mostly because I didn’t really understand it myself. “I … don’t really know,” I said. “Ever since you showed me the essence of nature, I’ve been drawn here. It feels right.”
Just like standing with him did.
“It’s getting harder to fight,” I whispered, unsure if I was talking about the trees or Chase this time. Both, really.
He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, a shout rang loudly through the trees. “Maya!”
Startled, I stumbled forward, tripping over an exposed root just in front of my shoes. Chase caught me with ease, holding on for an extended moment before righting me again. The moment our bare skins touched, ripples of energy crossed my skin, bringing all of the hairs to attention on my arms.
Another shout distracted us both. “Maya Anne Lewis, where are you?”
My father seriously had the worst timing known to human and alien.
“I better go to him before he brings in the full force of the American government to search for me,” I murmured, wishing I could just stay in the darkness with Chase.
I forced myself to turn away then, stomping my way back through the trees. I hadn’t realized how far in we were, and by the time I reached the porch where my dad waited, most of my annoyance at his interruption had died off.
“Sorry,” I said immediately, cutting him off. “I didn’t realize I was so far away.”
He just shook his head at me, before folding an arm around me. “Come on, your mom has prepared some food for everyone. Then it’s straight to bed. We have an early start in the morning.”
“Before dawn,” Lexen confirmed as he came around the side of the cabin. “I’m not taking any chances of a Laous ambush.”
Avoiding a Laous ambush was very high on my list of priorities, too.
That night, I ended up eating dinner with just Brad and my parents. The others were patrolling and packing. It was a quiet sort of meal, all of us wondering what tomorrow would bring. I went straight to bed after that, and despite the early hour, I fell asleep in an instant. With dreams of trees and the beautiful gods that walked among them keeping me company.
10
When I awoke, the room was still dark. My brain came online almost instantly, and even though I sensed it was too early for our departure, I knew there was no way I was going back to sleep. Not knowing we were heading to Overworld today. Soft breathing from the other bed told me that Brad was still sound asleep, and not wanting to wake him, I slid out of the bed and tiptoed across to the door. I pulled it back and waited for the creak – this was an old cabin, there had to be a creak, right? – but it swung in silently.
I closed it behind me and walked more freely along the hall. As I moved down the spiraling staircase, I wasn’t sure what my plan was, but maybe a glass of water would help.
The light in the kitchen had been left on, and the clock on the wall read … 3:56 A.M. Which meant it actually was pretty close to departure time. At that thought, I realized I was starving– it felt like a really bad idea to run for your life on an empty stomach.
The fridge was a huge, white, two-doored piece. Modern and sleek, it didn’t really go with the dark wood kitchen, but it was one of my favorite pieces in here. Although the old wood burning oven, with freestanding legs, was a pretty cool second.
Opening up the fridge, cold air washed over me. There was fruit, some pre-made Greek salads, and a tray of sandwiches inside. I grabbed a salad sandwich and a bottle of water. I didn’t have a plate, because there was no way I was opening cupboards to search for one, so I ate over the bench to catch any crumbs, sipping on my water in between bites. Just when I was about to shove the last piece in, a shuffling noise drew my attention. I froze, only my eyes moving as I stared toward one of the large bay windows near the front door. Curtains were across them, but as I continued to watch I could have sworn that a shadow darted across in front of it.
Just a flash of movement, then nothing else happened, but my unease did not disappear, my heart beating fast enough that I could hear the thundering in my ears. Swallowing, I slowly straightened, trying to decide if I would investigate or run back to my room to hide. Come on, Maya, you can’t let everyone be murdered.
If there was something bad or dangerous out there, I needed to warn the people in this cabin. It was a no-brainer. Stepping forward, I ducked down and took an indirect route across the open floor, in case someone was peering t
hrough the curtain gaps. When there were only a few feet to go, I crawled, pressing myself to the wall below the front window.
Pausing for another mental pep talk, I prepared to stand, not even close to being ready for what I might see on the other side. Eventually, I convinced myself that if something was out there, sitting on the floor was not going to get rid of it. I eased up slowly, using the frame to stabilize myself. When I was standing right on the edge of the window, I flicked the side of the curtain an inch. Before it fell back into place, darkness was the only thing I saw. So I did it again.
Nothing…
Frustration pawed at me, so I sucked in a deep breath for courage, gave myself one final mental pep-talk, and then wrenched the curtain completely aside. I should have known better than to try to see into the darkness outside, especially with the backlight from the kitchen. The first thing I saw was my own reflection and I just managed to hold a scream back. Laughter bubbled up inside of me. My own reflection had almost caused me to pee myself.
That laughter died off as my night vision adjusted and I saw the second set of eyes … and a face that was masculine, and scary, and creepy. He smiled, and even through the glass I heard the word “Gotcha.” This time, there was no holding back my screams, and it felt like three seconds later I was surrounded by half-naked men. In any other circumstance I would be thanking my lucky stars and searching for dollar bills to shove into their shorts…
This wasn’t the time for that, though.
“What happened, Maya?” Lexen had me by the shoulders, spinning me around and pulling me from the window. I was out of his hands in seconds, and I knew exactly who held me now.
Chase. My stomach was flipping all over the place. “There’s a man outside,” I gasped out. My body felt cold as shock kicked in.
Lexen and Daniel were out of the cabin in a flash. Chase didn’t leave me. Shivers were rocking through me, and they weren’t all about fear. I tried not to think about the way his arms were wrapped around me … bare skin pressing against mine … tingles racing across my skin.