Try as I might, I couldn’t seem to stay mad at Buzz. He was sort of a likeable oaf once you got to know him. Buzz sat himself on the bench outside, opened the newspaper that he always seemed to have handy, and settled himself in.
He was so engrossed in what he was reading he was oblivious to Vitor when he sauntered into the store. I knew it wasn’t a coincidence. I could read it on his face as he strolled over to me. He didn’t rush at me, but his attention was focused like a laser, unwavering from my direction.
“You are looking quite beautiful,” Vitor said in his cultured voice, as he looked me up and down.
It was an appreciative look from a handsome man. This is what I imagined normal felt like. Too bad he was an alien, and I, the half breed who was the key to opening up other dimensions.
The page I’d gotten from the priest suddenly popped into my head, Golden child born and left, will be the hope of the bereft. Was Vitor the bereft? What if the page actually meant something? Was I supposed to be helping him? I turned toward him now with even more questions burning in my head, but simply said, “Thank you,” not sure exactly how to broach the subject.
“So, how have you been?”
“Good.” Besides the recent case of agoraphobia, not being completely human, having just recovered from five bullets in the head, and possibly being the subject matter of a very dire sounding prophecy, it was roughly accurate. It was odd, considering the circumstances, to be talking to him as if we just happened to be casual acquaintances. “And how are you?” I didn’t add, are you feeling especially bereft today? Even though I wanted to.
“I’m doing well. I’ve heard that you are residing with Cormac?”
I nodded.
“I’m sorry if I scared you last time I saw you. It wasn’t my intention.”
“I know,” I said and meant it.
“I want you to understand, I’m not trying to hurt Cormac. I just believe that it isn’t right for him to hold all the cards.”
“I think you misunderstand my relationship with Cormac.” I hung the red dress back up on the rack.
“I need you to know, I don’t want this for myself. I just want to help my people.”
I felt the fabric of another dress, as I pondered his words. He was sounding pretty bereft. “I really don’t know what I can do.” I might be the key for him, but I had no idea how to open the lock.
“I don’t know how much he’s explained to you, but for reasons you may or may not know about, he’s unmovable. There is no talking to him. I need someone that can operate a portal.”
“My skills in that area seem to be stunted.” I walked to the next aisle, and glanced over at Buzz.
“He’s not paying any attention,” said Vitor. “Are you afraid of me? Do you want me to leave?”
I turned back and could see the sadness in his eyes. “No, you don’t scare me. I don’t know why.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe you should, but you don’t. That doesn’t mean that some of the things you tell me aren’t always so comfortable.”
He smiled slightly and the tension relaxed in his shoulders. “Good. I wouldn’t want you to be. I’m not a bad guy, Jo.” He lifted his hand and pushed a wayward blond strand behind my ear.
Just as he was pulling his hand back, a movement by the door caught my eye just in time to see Cormac walk in. Walking actually might be too sedate of a word, storming was more like it. His face was set in stone, his eyes as cold as I’d ever seen, the kind of cold that burned.
Cormac didn’t stop until he was at my side. He slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me into his side. I instinctively moved to pull back, but his arm didn’t budge. I then noticed Vitor’s face. I had to give the guy credit, he had guts to be willing to stand up to Cormac.
Cormac wasn’t the type of guy other men wanted a problem with, but Vitor would do it. I relaxed into Cormac’s embrace and hoped that would ease the quickly growing tension. The moment I did, I regretted it, not because it felt bad, but because it felt too good.
“I thought it wasn’t like that?” Vitor asked looking at me.
“Doing a little shopping?” Cormac asked Vitor.
“You could say that.” Gone was the gentleman as Vitor eyed me from head to toe.
I knew Cormac didn’t want Vitor around me but he was acting like a jealous boyfriend. The tension was so thick I was about to choke on it. Trouble was about to break out any moment. I’d seen violence in my life, but the idea of Vitor beaten into a bloody pulp hit me in a soft spot that I didn’t know I had.
“I’m done shopping. Let’s go.”
I looked from Cormac to Vitor. Neither of them budged.
I spoke again in harsher tones, “You both want something from me, you do this here and now, and neither of you will be getting anything.”
Cormac’s arm loosened, then fell from my waist as he stepped closer to Vitor. I watched in horror as I tried to decide how much I really did care for Vitor. In reality, I barely knew him. Did I feel for him enough to step in the middle of these two? No, probably not.
I watched Cormac get within an inch of Vitor’s face.
“You don’t have a shot in hell of taking me on and you know it. You got lucky. Remember that. You won’t get lucky again.”
He turned toward me and I quickly walked toward the store exit. I didn’t need to check to see if he was following me because I felt his hand rest at the small of my back.
Buzz finally looked up from his paper to realize something was wrong and Cormac waived him off without a word. We walked briskly through the casino. I knew how this would look to all who were watching. We screamed couple with him at my side, now. The gossip would kick into high gear now, it didn’t matter if it was correct or not. Once you could blow off. Twice? Nah, not likely. No one would buy it after being seen a second time like this. There was nothing to be done about it.
Cormac and I stepped into the elevator that would take us to his penthouse, and I watched the doors close. The moment they closed, I felt his Cormac’s hands grab me. The elevator wall was suddenly at my back and his body pressed full length against me. I opened my mouth to say no, but his mouth was on mine before I got the words out. By the time he moved downward toward my neck, the only noises coming from me were unintelligible, with no resemblance to anything close to no.
I knew we should stop, and I was going tell him to any second. His strong masculine hands ran up my legs toward my hips, and dragged my dress up with them. I should have told him to stop at that point, but I didn’t and he started kissing me again. Then his hands circled around and grasped my ass, pulling my lower body closer to him as his leg moved in between mine. His thigh press intimately against me and instead of pushing him away, my hands pulled him closer, as my fingers intertwined in his dark locks.
One hand climbed upward and cupped my breast, the other reached around the back of my thigh lifting it to his side as he ground what felt like a very large erection against me. I arched my back, sighed in pleasure and pressed myself into him.
I wasn’t aware the elevator doors opened until he pulled back and grabbed my hand as he walked forward. I watched his back as we walked toward the penthouse and panicked. If I didn’t stop it now, I’d never stop it. The door loomed ahead of me and I pulled my hand out of his. I knew if I didn’t stop this now, I wouldn’t once he was touching me, again.
He stopped instantly, and turned toward me. “What’s wrong?”
“This isn’t a good idea,” I said, then steeled myself for his reaction. He stood silent and unreadable, and I held myself firm, consciously avoided the urge to fidget.
“Okay.”
Was that it? He was going to let it drop that easily? I watched his back as he opened the penthouse door. He gazed back at me, as I stood frozen for a moment. Was he bluffing? Was he going to maul me the moment I walked in the door? That made no sense. He could do it in the hallway. Even if his men showed up, they wouldn’t stop him.
“You’re not upset?”
&nb
sp; “You’re scared. I get that. I’m not some monster who’s going to rush you.”
Anger gave me the momentum to get my feet moving. “I’m not scared. It’s just not a good idea.”
“Why are you angry? I’m trying to be understanding about this. You don’t need to be defensive.”
“I’m not defensive. I won’t sleep with you because it’s a bad idea.” I threw my purse on the couch in a slight huff.
“That, I could understand, but that’s not the reason.”
“And you know my reasons better than me?”
“I know you want me as much as I want you and I think you are clinging to any reason you can find to… hey, where you going?”
Ignoring him, I slammed the door to my room. He was completely off base.
I sat in the huge Jacuzzi in my bathroom until my skin pruned, but it still didn’t relax me. When I finally crawled out, I found a turkey club, a bag of salt and vinegar potato chips, and my favorite flavored latte sitting on the table near my bed. A little note lay on my pillow.
Be ready at eight. Make sure you eat.
Cormac
Nothing worked. It wasn’t as if I could operate anything, but he still wanted to keep trying. Nothing stopped that.
I considered ignoring it. The idea of sitting with him alone in a room all night made me distinctly uneasy. Anger prickled at me and I couldn’t seem to contain it. Who was he to set the rules? I threw on a robe and left my room, ready to do battle.
“Did you find anything on my parents?” I demanded after I tracked him down in his office. When I felt uneasy, I did what came naturally. I picked a fight.
“No, but I’ve got men on it.”
“That was the deal,” I said. I leaned both hands on the desk where he sat.
“And I’m going to get you answers, but I don’t remember telling you it would be quick.”
I watched as he stood up and circled the desk, and I turned with him as he walked around to my side until he stood in front of me, his desk at the back of my legs. He stood so close his clothes brushed the front of my robe. I couldn’t help but breath in his scent. He was wearing a dress shirt, like always, and I found my eyes drawn to the skin at the top of his chest. I could clearly see the definition of his chest. An image of him standing shirtless flashed in my brain, and my breathing hitched.
He stepped closer still. With no room left to back up, I ended up half sitting on his desk. His hands gripped my hips, sliding me farther onto its surface as he stepped in between my legs.
He leaned his head down toward my ear and took my lobe into his mouth, then nipped at the sensitive skin below. “Hmmm, I think I just discovered a way to…”
Ben yelled his name from the other room before he could finish.
His eyes stared into mine for a moment, then he leaned back from me and rested his hip on his desk. I jumped off, fearing I’d look guilty standing anywhere near him.
“I’m in the office,” he called out.
Ben’s tall lanky frame filled the doorway. “Dodd told me that Tracker is insisting on having his man come over tonight.”
“No. I told them no one through this portal until next week. They have to use the other portal.”
“Tracker is insisting. He said he’s got the choice of portals. That his man is coming over at nine p.m. What should I tell Dodd to do?”
Cormac pushed off the desk and silently walked the length of the room for a minute.
“Are you ready?” he asked me as he turned back around.
“That’s a joke, right?” His face remained stoic. “You couldn’t have missed the fact that I haven’t been able to do anything?”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve got an idea.”
“An idea? That’s certainly reassuring. What if you do it and kill this guy like the last one?”
“I told you, I can’t reveal that I don’t have control of the portal. It could make things worse.”
“I’m not doing it. I want nothing to do with this.”
He crossed the room to stand in front of me. “I can’t show weakness. If I do, this will only get worse. I can’t risk losing any of my people because they are scared.”
“Why can’t you just say no?”
“Because there is a contract in place set up a very long time ago and it’s not one I can break. If they insist, I have to do it or I’ll never be able to keep things under wraps. I need to know who’s working against me and get to them before this blows up.”
“What is it with you and these contracts? It’s a piece of paper!”
“If I don’t keep it open, there will still be bloodshed, and more than one person might die. I need to bring the guy through and I need it to work.”
“I’ve worked very hard to get my life on a normal track. I don’t want to be involved in your mess!”
“You keep saying that like this isn’t your heritage, just as much as mine. I don’t have a choice and neither do you. Just because you didn’t know about it, and I did, doesn’t make it anymore mine. This is who you are. You need to stop running at some point and own it.”
“If I do this, I want the tails off me and I’m moving back home. I’m tired of being followed everywhere I go. I’m done with your rules. You want me to be a team player than you better start treating me like one.”
“They aren’t there to watch you. They’re there to protect you.”
“I don’t care. I want them gone.”
He stood there unmoving, and I didn’t know if it was going to go my way or not.
“Fine, but you stay here.”
“No.”
He leaned in, taking a large chunk of my personal space up. Cormac was good at intimidation tactics like that. “I don’t have to negotiate.”
“Considering that you need me, I think you do.” I knew it, and I’d press for all I could. It was now or never.
He took my chin in a gentle grasp as he tilted my face to his and said in a near whisper, “Don’t push it. I can do this without you being willing.”
“You can?” I asked in a surprised tone not much louder than his.
He nodded.
“Then why haven’t you done it already?”
“That doesn’t matter. Just know that I can.”
I jerked my face out of his grasp. “Fine, but we lose the guards.”
“Fine.”
He picked up the phone on the desk and dialed a number into it. “Tell him that we’re bringing his guy over.” The phone clanked loudly on its holder in the silent room.
Chapter Sixteen
“Where is everyone?” I asked Dodd as we entered the empty portal room several hours later. Last time we had been down here, the place had been hopping.
“If this goes bad, I want as few witnesses as possible,” Cormac answered for him. “It’s only going to be us three.”
“How ‘bad’ can this go?” It was a little late to ask, but what the hell. I looked at both of them but suddenly they seemed to be too distracted to pay attention. “Oh yes, now I feel good. So, how does this work exactly? Since I never got past getting the balls in the air, I’m not sure what I’m going to be able to do for you guys.”
“Oh, don’t sell yourself short there darling, you could…” Dodd fell deathly quiet, and I looked over to see the stare Cormac was leveling at him, his veins twitching. “Oh come on! I was only playing.”
Cormac looked back down at the computer in front of him. “Dodd and I are going to try to channel some of your ability.”
“Does that work?”
“Sometimes. I think it will this time. When you were stuck on the ceiling the other night, I drained you, that’s how I got you down.”
I heard what sounded like a giggle from Dodd, and I leveled my own death stare at him. “I’d shut up before I shoot out your knee caps, again.”
“Really? This is how the night is going to go? You guys need to lighten up. Maybe if you two…”
“Dodd!” Cormac didn’t give him a chance t
o finish.
“I canceled a date tonight with Vicky for this,” Dodd said.
“I thought Vicky was with you?” I looked over at Cormac.
“She’s mad about you staying at the penthouse,” Dodd now answered for Cormac, who stood silently.
“Why would you date her if she’s involved with Cormac?”
“Cormac gave me the thumbs up. He wasn’t interested in her seriously, and now I get some revenge sex.” I must not have hidden my thoughts well.
“Hey, no judgment! You don’t know how hard it is for a guy to turn down revenge sex.”
“Let’s get in position,” Cormac said, as I still grimaced over Dodd’s comments. “Dodd, hold her other hand,” Cormac said as he held my right.
“Got it, Boss.”
There we stood, lined up in front of where I imagined the portal would open, Cormac on my right and Dodd on my left.
“Jo, just try to stay relaxed. I’d imagine it’s going to feel slightly odd.”
“You’d imagine? You mean you don’t know?”
“No, we’re flying blind here.”
“Great.”
Cormac closed his eyes and I watched around the room, not sure what I was waiting for. Then I saw it, it looked like a flicker of an electrical charge, the kind you saw when you drag your foot across the carpet or touch something in the dark. But, it didn’t go away; it stayed centered between the monoliths of ebony, flickering. Then it grew, and grew. As it got larger, a gentle breeze filled the room, and blew my hair from my face.
I turned and looked at Cormac whose eyes were wide open now and focused ahead. Dodd had a similar look upon his face. I watched as this weird entity opened larger and larger, until it took up almost the entire wall, stretching from monolith to monolith. It was actually quite beautiful, and then the oddest thing started to happen, its surface, which had looked sparkly before, started to clear. A shade of lavender shimmered behind the flickering. Then I realized that the portal wasn’t lavender, but the sky of the world I was seeing into. There was a thing I would describe as a moon if I saw it hanging here, but it was enormous compared to Earth’s. A silhouette of a man appeared against the strange sky. He walked toward us, and I felt the room heat up. The heat poured at us in waves. I felt like it was seeping into my bones, like I’d been roasting on the beach with the sun hanging in noon position for five hours straight.
The Keepers (The Alchemy Series) Page 11