“Yes. She had three boys and we constantly cleaned the kitchen out so she had to cook all day long to keep up with us.” A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he set down my plate. Then in the center of the table he laid out a plate of pita bread. “It’s for dipping in the sauce on the kebabs. Try it.” He grabbed a small piece and smothered it on my plate and then placed it ever so softly in my mouth. Pure heaven. It was so creamy, but not too heavy.
“I think I just had an orgasm.” Our eyes locked for a small little instant. It was enough to realize that there was a lot of non food related hunger going on in the room. I would have to watch my words. His fingers reached up to trace my lips. It was such a delicate touch, but it left a scorch. I turned my head down and continued to eat.
The food was amazing. I inhaled it so fast that I almost forgot about the questions I needed to ask. Almost.
“I want you to tell me about the others.” I gently set my fork down and grabbed my already filled wine glass.
“You’re part of an Order. An Order that was formed long ago. In fact, our people have become so spread out that we now work hard to track them and bring them in with us to fine tune their magic.” Alexander grabbed another piece of pita bread to try and feed me, but I quickly let him know I was too full. He fed himself instead.
“Is it your job to find people?” I had figured out by now that he found me.
“Not really.” He mumbled between mouthfuls. “You were already found when I came for you.”
“What are you then?” I was confused. What was his purpose?
“I am a therapeftís, like you.”
We were the same. I just reminded myself that I didn’t believe in sparks flying and all that fairy tale stuff.
“What does that word mean? Thera-” My eyes looked to him for an explanation. Even so, I started to feel myself close off a little. I was drawn to him because of the magic in our blood.
“Therapeftís is Greek. It translates to healer in English.” His voice was soft. I saw frustration in his eyes. He knew I was trying to close myself off from him.
Warm hands found their way around my face, “You are a Healer, Layna. You belong to us.” The words were simple, but I felt him pull me to him. I wanted to belong to him. Before I found myself stuck in his web, I drew back.
“Is that why I feel this?” There was anger in my voice. I wanted it to be real, but it wasn’t. “That’s what I’m feeling when you touch me.” I pushed my empty plate away and grabbed the wine glass again. I was pretty sure it had been refilled.
“We feel each other’s presence. It’s almost like a sixth sense. There are other beings we can sense too, but they alert our awareness to their difference. You will learn to differentiate.” Hope filled his gaze. It captivated my heart. “The other feelings…” He started and then reached over to touch my arm, “They are intensified because of what we are, but they are no less real.”
So many questions started to torpedo their way through my mind. Where did we come from? How did they find me? Could I really have this man?
“What does being a Healer mean?” I looked up to notice that Alexander had started to clean. I jumped up immediately to help. He walked to the refrigerator to put some things away and I took the opportunity to rush to the sink and start washing and loading the dishwasher.
His voice was suddenly in my ear from behind. “What are you doing? You need to sit and rest.” His arms seemed as though they were about to touch my waist, but then he relaxed them down at his sides.
“You rescued me from the driveway, brought me in your house and cooked for me. The least I can do is wash dishes. By the way, dinner was wonderful.” I was not able to make eye contact while I talked. I knew it would just melt my insides. Remembering passing out reminded me of something.
“Why was I unconscious? Did that have something to do with healing?” I’d put on gloves while washing the dishes, so I just kept blowing the pesky hair strands that were falling in my face. Alexander gently pushed the hair out of my face before he answered.
“Healing doesn’t usually weaken us to that state. It’s possible, but there are other things that can, though.” The controlled anger in his eyes showed me what a powerful man this was. He was someone I wanted on my side.
I put the last dish in the dishwasher and laid the gloves down on the sink. The faraway sound of reggae music started to travel down the hallway. “That’s my phone.” I ran back through Alexander’s bedroom to the bathroom where my bag was.
“Hello.”
“I started to worry when I didn’t hear back from you after the hospital.” It was the cool, calm voice of Leo.
“I’m sorry, I kind of passed out.” This was going to get in uncomfortable territory real fast.
“What! At the hospital? Are you sick?” Worry filled words echoed through my ear.
“No. I actually felt bad at the hospital. It was probably because I hadn’t eaten all day. I passed out in my driveway after I drove here from the hospital.” I paused for a moment. Should I just finish the story or wait for him to ask? “My neighbor found me passed out and brought me in.”
“The neighbor that was at your house this morning?”
A simple question, but there was a lot of implication in his voice. “Yes.” I took a deep breath in anticipation for the lecture coming. I stepped out of the bathroom and decided to lie on the bed while holding the phone to my ear. My body craved the security of the bed right now.
“I’m glad you’re alright.”
How could I do this to Leo? I rolled my body over to place myself on my stomach and then tucked my head sideways on the pillow. I could feel Alexander on the pillow. Electricity trickled through my body as I sensed the man who slept in this bed while I was on the phone with Leo, the man I should be with.
“I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, but just let me know if you need anything.” He shut down. How could I blame him? My heart started to feel pain for what I inflicted. There were so many things going on. I had told him I loved him. Did I mean it? There were so many things about me Leo didn’t know. Alexander knew things about me that I didn’t even know myself. I rolled over onto my back with my head still on the pillow. The bed tempted me to just pull back the covers and curl under them.
“Alexander knows things about my family. I think that they hired him to find me.” That was at least some of the information I could give him. I didn’t want him thinking I just jumped on the neighbor.
“What? Are you sure?” Leo’s voice implied his extreme doubtfulness of Alexander’s legitimacy.
“I really can’t say very much about it, except that he knows things about me. Things I’ve never told anyone.” That was as far as I could go to give him information.
“Just be careful. I know you probably want to believe him, but check out what he’s told you.” I understood that the only reason Leo didn’t trust him was because this man was six foot five inches of gorgeous male. But, I did realize it would be smart to check him out. I thought I’d kept the business card of the cop that was at my house in the morning. I could give him a call and see if he could recommend a good private investigator. It couldn’t hurt to look into this Order.
Leo and I got off the phone and I continued to lie sprawled out on Alexander’s bed. I didn’t even realize my eyes were closed until fingers slowly ran through my hair. My eyes snapped open in an instant.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to just make myself at home. Which bed should I sleep in? Or, I could go home. I’m sure it’ll be fine with the window.”
His fingers closed over my lips. “Relax. I already told you that you were staying here tonight. You can stay in my room.”
My heart stuttered. There was no way I could sleep platonically in bed with this man. I was still lying down, but I gently sat up. “I’m not taking your bed. No way. Where would you sleep?”
A sneaky smile peeled across his face. “I can sleep on the couch and you can have the bed. I’ll even tuck you in.�
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I was sunk. “I need to brush my teeth.”
I was back in the bedroom in a few minutes and Alexander had pulled back the covers on the bed for me.
“I still have more questions,” my voice softly whispered.
“Just one more tonight.” He got in the bed on the other side, on top of the sheets.
“Where did it all begin? Where did we come from? Was it some kind of genetic mutation?” The scientific part of my mind imagined all the horrific reasons for my skill.
My feet snuggled their way under the covers and I leaned my body to the side to face Alexander. There was only a small amount of light coming from the lamp on the night table in the room. I moved over closer to his heat—so I could hear him clearly, of course.
“How much do you know about Greek Mythology?” His soft voice danced its way to my ears.
“Enough, I guess. I could probably tell you about the well known gods and goddesses.” A yawn escaped from my lips and I continued to roll closer to his side of the bed.
“Goddess.” There was passion in his words and a deep heated look in his eyes. Maybe we should be talking in the dark so I would not be able to see the heat in his eyes. It was distracting, to say the least.
“Could we turn the lamp off? I think I’m starting to fall asleep.”
“Of course.” A ripple of air tickled my face as his body moved around and right back into place. Maybe a little closer.
“Did you ever hear of Asclepius?” My head gently moved itself to find his voice. I started to think that it might not be that smart to have the lights off. In my head, I thought through all the Greek gods I knew and Asclepius was not one of them.
“No.”
“Well, he was the god of healing. Some people say he was the god of medicine and healing, but actually, he was the god of healing.” Our bodies were pretty much intertwined at this point and I rested my head on his arm as it embraced me. His lips were near my ear as he continued to whisper, “We are his descendants. His blood flows through our veins. It’s through his blood that we receive our magic.”
There was a peace that settled over me again. I was not alone. Alexander and I were the same. This sense of belonging was such an immense amount of emotion that my body started to go into shut down mode. One of the weights on my soul slowly lifted. I was lighter. The lashes on my eyes were kissed as the lids fell. Lips tangled in my hair and his presence started to shift off of the bed. An almost immediate reaction moved my hand to grab him and hope he would stay.
He knew without words and spoke,” Are you sure you want me to stay?”
Simple words, spoken and overused across eternity, but I felt strong when I said them now, “Yes, I need you to stay.” It really was need at this point. This man was a stranger to my mind, but somehow my body and soul knew him.
Rough words in my ear, “Definitely lickable.”
Just how long had this dark angel been watching me?
Chapter Thirteen
Two snakes slithered their way over to me. I was on a white sand beach. The soft ripple of the crystal clear water was background music. My legs were stuck and I couldn’t move. The terror slammed through my body in convulsions. I had to get away. I tried to scream, but no noise escaped from my lips. They were going to kill me.
The illusion of the nightmare disappeared and I was being held fiercely to the dark angel of my dreams. The room was still dark, so it must have been the wee hours of the morning. His lips barely whispered in my ear.
“Shhhh…someone is in your house. We have to leave.”
The panic in my eyes must have alarmed him because Alexander leaned into my ear again and murmured, “Don’t worry. I will never let anything happen to you.” Passion filled words laced with a fervor that was hard to disregard.
Maybe I could trust him.
My feet hit the floor and I looked to him for guidance. I grabbed my bag from the bathroom. As I began to anticipate what to do next, he came back into the room.
“They left, but your house is on fire.”
The two legs holding me up became wobbly at that point. I started to swerve, but of course, Alexander caught me.
His words penetrated my world again with such determination, “The fire is being put out by some of our people right now.” A vibration sound went off from his pocket. He was already dressed in jeans and a brown t-shirt.
“Yes.” Rough patience echoed through his voice.
“She’s with me, but we’re leaving now. They’ve found us. It’s not safe for her.” My ears picked up on mumblings that came from the other end of the call. I could tell it was a male voice, but nothing else was discernible to me.
Alexander’s strong words reverberated through the phone again,” I’ll be in touch.”
His eyes found mine and spoke softly. It was a contradiction to his earlier tone on the phone.
“I’m taking you somewhere safe. I’ll stay with you.”
Reality started to cloud my thoughts. “What about my job? What about my life? I can’t just run off with you to hide. Shouldn’t we call the police?”
Hard, masculine fingers wrapped themselves around my waist and pulled me closer to the heat that seared off of his body. Then words came.
“There are things we still have not spoken about. Things you still need to know. One of those things is that I am here to protect you. You have to trust that what I say is in your best interest.”
Blindly trust him. Really?
“How do I know that you aren’t trying to hurt me?” Frightened words escaped from my mouth. Trust was not something I gave lightly. Although, everything in my senses screamed that Alexander was right.
Warm hands now lifted to grasp my face.
“Not only can you trust me, but I won’t allow anything to hurt you. Ever.”
Something in me knew he was telling the truth. I could feel it in his very being.
“I’ll come with you, but you have to tell me what the hell is going on! For instance, why would people burn down my house?” I was starting to trust him, but there was no way I would let him know that yet.
After we both had our bags, he guided us into the garage. Once there, I was hoisted up into a larger than life man vehicle. It appeared to be some kind of cross between an all terrain vehicle and a truck. The color was a sleek charcoal. I threw my bag down at my feet. My short legs left plenty of room for the bags. Alexander leaned over to buckle me in. His scent assaulted me on so many levels and then I felt him inhale me like I was his favorite dessert.
Soft words in my ear, “Are you okay? You’re going to see what looks like a catastrophe at your house when we pull out. Know that our people are going to pull out your stuff and take care of everything. Don’t worry. It might be better if you don’t look.” His lips brushed my cheek and then we pulled out.
I sat there for a while puzzled at whether he had just kissed me or not. In my distraction, I missed the opportunity to inspect my house and I just barely caught a glimpse in the review mirror. Darkness covered the night with the exception of the small street lights. A few twinkles glimmered the sky, but stars were hard to see in the suburbs. Disappointment ricocheted across my face as I realized his intent in touching me. Alexander was trying to distract me.
We were on our way somewhere that wasn’t home, my house was in shambles and I was running away from all of my friends, but all I could feel was an ache in my soul that craved his actions to be real instead of some method of distraction. Pain in my body threatened to spill out over my cheeks. I held it in with my silence. One word and I knew I would erupt into sobs. I don’t know how long we sat in silence, but I finally broke it.
.
“Where will you take me?” A glance out of the window revealed lots of flat grassland and cows. The glitter of the sun was reflective all over now so it must be morning.
“The hill country. We have some safe houses up there.” His face concentrated on the road, as it should be, so it was difficult for me to read
an expression from his face. His tone sounded thoughtful. I wondered what intruded into his thoughts.
Grasping at straws, I tried to make small talk, “I’ve only seen parts of it when I was in school, and it was gorgeous.”
“It’s beautiful.” I could see a little pleasure on the part of his face visible to me. My heart started to beat at an accelerated rate as I thought about alone time with him. Last night had been hell on my hormones. I did not know how much more I could take. There was no mistaking this pull I felt toward him.
“So where exactly will we stay?” I heard my voice ask, but it felt like it wasn’t me. I really just wanted to keep him talking to me. The sound of his voice pacified me.
“I think it’s better if we wait until we’re there to give more details. My utmost concern is your safety. This is best protected when as few people as possible know where we will be.” His hair softly moved as he glanced at me for just a moment.
“You think I’m going to give away our location! Did you forget that I just saw some of my house going up in flames?” Indignation colored my voice.
“It’s not that I think you would intentionally give our location away. It’s just that you might tell someone you trust. I think that we should trust no one right now. Except, you and me.” The fire that ignited in his eyes when our eyes met after that comment could have launched the space shuttle. Shit. Maybe I should just get it over with and ravage this man until I could see clear again.
A stray thought reminded me of his words as I drifted to sleep last night.
“You. It was you at the club that night.” Should I be scared? He had wanted me then.
“Yes. Just for your protection.” I felt slightly paranoid with the thoughts of him spying on me.
Alexander veered our vehicle towards an exit and I started to look around. Everything still looked flat. It did not look like the hill country yet. I saw signs that said Chappell Hill. We pulled into a parking lot that was littered with small rocks. A large red sign indicated that this was the Chappell Hill Café. I was not impressed.
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