“Are you going to take me back to the mansion?” Ursula repeated with impatience.
Revulsion took Ascher's voice, and he gave her what he knew was a cold stare.
“I only wanted to spend time with you, dearest. Just think, this time next month we’ll be sealed.”
Ascher gasped as he realized that Clive had neglected to tell her about his refusal letter. He decided to play along with her. What harm could it do? Ursula was sadly mistaken if she thought he’d lay one finger on her.
Five ~ Friendship
After a week of avoiding Ursula’s many sexual advances and missing Shauna, it was finally time for the charade to end. As a diversion, Tristan and Kara travelled to Romania to finalize the plans for the sealing.
As soon as the plane took off, Ascher grabbed his phone to call Shauna. She was pissed, resorting to the use of one-word answers and sighing heavily over the line. He lied; telling her that he’d had the flu and didn’t want to infect her. They agreed to meet at the library. He hated lying to her but knew he couldn’t tell her the truth without it hurting her, or exposing his secret. When he arrived at the library, she was reading at a window seat. He swept her mind, but she was blocking, but her expression was contemplative and peaceful.
She glanced up and her cheeks flushed with sudden excitement, even though anger creased her narrowed eyes. “Good of you to make it,” she stated dryly, the disapproval heavy in her tone. “You’re here, so I assume that means you’re feeling better.”
“I am,” he whispered, his head hanging. She was mad and with reason. He wondered if his vampire charm would even be enough to get him out of this one.
“You know there is an invention called a phone.” She whipped hers out of her backpack. “You see here? You push these buttons and wait for someone to answer the other end. It’s an amazing concept. You should try using one the next time you go missing for an entire week!”
Ascher couldn’t think of a clever line to say. Truthfully, he didn’t want to be cunning. Deciding to make a statement that wasn’t a line, he said, “I’m so sorry, Shauna. I won’t do that to you again.” And he wouldn’t; separating from her for a whole week had been its own brand of torture.
The coldness melted in her eyes, a smile turning up her lips. She seemed to accept his apology. “It’s a beautiful day out. Let’s get out of here.”
They walked the outskirts of the campus towards the park. Though it was the middle of January, the air felt much like early spring. Shauna tilted her head back, allowing the warm sun to bathe her lovely bronze face. Each gentle whirl of the wind blew her sweet essence towards him, bringing a thirst for her blood and a sexual hunger that twisted his insides.
She found a dry area, suffused with direct sunrays, and sat under an oak tree.
Ascher sat opposite her, opening all of the books. “So, what’s giving you the most trouble?”
“All of it. I still don’t see why I have to take a math to be a ghost chaser.”
He began with a simple equation for her to solve. “It’s a core class. They use them to torture you. So, tell me more about what you’d like to do with your degree.”
“I’m still not sure. I have a love for anything taboo or out of the ordinary. I’m not sure that ghost chasing is what I really want to do, but it is a possibility. Are you going to become a psychologist?”
Wouldn’t she be surprised to know that he’d already been one? He’d graduated medical school twice and was quite a gifted cardiologist when they lived in France, forty years ago. He became a psychologist when they moved to Canada, fifteen years later. “I’d like to use my degree to preserve families. Maybe become a family therapist.”
“Family saver...that’s really cool.”
He handed her the paper. “I’m the youngest in my family. I have older brothers. I dreamed of being a big brother, but it never happened.”
“Trust me, being the oldest isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. Who knows, maybe you’ll be a father someday.”
“I doubt it.”
“Someone will take pity on you and take you off the market.”
“Pity is exactly what it will take. A woman would be crazy to spend the rest of her life with me.”
“Why would you say that? I happen to think that you’re…” She paused then went back to solving the equation.
Ascher stared off into the distance, focusing on the placid waters of the river and wondering what the rest of that sentence might be.
Shauna solved the equation then handed the paper back to him.
To his surprise, the answer was right. She’d solved for “x” and checked her work. “I think you just wanted to spend some time alone with me. This is the right answer.” He gave her a suspicious glance. “I’ll have to give you a harder one.” He wrote a new equation on a fresh sheet of paper and handed it to her. “Tell me about your family.”
“That’s a complicated subject.”
He glanced at her over the glasses he sometimes wore to appear normal. Optometry had no classification for the level of extreme accuracy in his vision. “I have time.”
“Do you want the full version or the edited one?”
“Whichever you’re more comfortable with.”
“My father is African-American. My Irish grandparents fell in love with and adopted him when he was four. My grandma, Amy McCutchin, is the sweetest woman you’d ever want to meet. I really miss her.”
“What about your mother?”
“Mama is this gorgeous, blond, green-eyed bombshell. She and Daddy met at mass. He courted her proper and married her a year later. I came five years after they were married. Kat came on their ninth wedding anniversary.”
“Kat? Is that short for something?”
“Katherine, but we mostly call her Katy.” She produced a picture from her backpack. “Our parents raised us religiously, but I don’t practice now.”
Ascher gave her a wary glance, because he’d heard her reluctance when she talked to Quinn about her beliefs. Though she didn’t seem as anxious with him, he’d proceed with caution. “I know that religion is complicated for some people. I don’t mean to pry. I’m just curious. Call it research for psych class. Are you undecided or devoid of belief?” He fumbled with the pencil in his hand, hoping his question wasn’t too personal. “People with obsessions towards the paranormal, usually are.”
“You aren’t prying. I believe in a God in the sense that it lives in nature, but I don’t necessarily believe in organized religion. Does that make sense to you?”
“I think I understand. They raised you strict and religious. Let me guess, your parents pushed until you broke.”
“That was pretty much how it was. What about you...were you raised religious?”
Religion wasn’t something he readily discussed. The belief that he was a soulless, doomed, demon incarnate was his universal truth. Ascher took a deep breath, needing a second to order his thoughts. Such a loaded question required the right answer. “I was taught to treat others with respect and to embrace their differences. I don’t identify with any one religion. My brothers and I were encouraged to learn about all religions and form our own views. My father is very traditional but progressive in that one way. I have an old friend, Ags, and her upbringing was similar to yours. I bet the two of you would hit it off.”
She shrugged while handing him her math answer paper.
Ascher looked it over with a bit of dismay. “Looks like you need me after all. This is not right.” He leaned over to help her.
* * * *
Shauna tried hard to concentrate, but it was impossible while smelling that incredible cologne. It overwhelmed her senses, while his close proximity spurred her heart into uneven thumps. She wiggled, finding that his closeness brought a tingling between her legs. A surge of warmth coursed her spine on a direct path to her core.
Her time seemed better spent staring into his mesmerizing, clear blue eyes. Shauna couldn’t look away from his face. He had more col
or in his cheeks today. That was a good sign. The flu put some color into that pale face.
He chuckled. “Are you listening to me?”
His voice snapped her back into reality. “Of course, I’m listening.”
“No, you aren’t. With your wandering mind, it’s no wonder you’re failing.”
“I know. I’m like the poster child for high functioning A.D.D.”
He gave her a narrowed gaze before handing her a new piece of paper. “Try to concentrate and solve for ‘y’ please. I hope your boyfriend isn’t the jealous type. You did tell him that I was tutoring you, right? The last thing I need is some angry dude threatening to kill me.” He glared over his glasses like a schoolteacher. “I’d kinda like to live.”
Distracted, she continued solving the equation. “And what makes you think I have one of those?”
“I don’t know. Just thought that you might.”
“Well, I don’t. I work and go to college. That’s all I can handle.”
“Most students I know still live at home. Things would be so much easier for you if you did, but I completely understand why you don’t.” He paused, worried contemplation on his face. “But who am I to make such a statement? You don’t have to explain anything to me. We’re still getting to know one another.” He smiled down at her correct answer to a harder equation. “This is right, too. I think you’re pretending to need my help.” He gave her an impish grin. “You could’ve just asked me out.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
His grin turned into the most heartbreakingly beautiful smile. Ascher didn’t just smile with his mouth; his whole face seemed to light up. “Would you like to go to the movies with me tonight? I’d go alone, but it’d be a lot nicer to have company.”
Shauna couldn’t believe he was asking her out. This was so unexpected. After the weeklong disappearing act, she’d assumed that he wasn’t interested anymore. Elated wasn’t the word. Overjoyed didn’t cover it. There were no words to describe how she felt. The thought of going on a real date with him was surreal. She attempted to suppress the smile tugging at her face, but it was no use. There was no way to stop it. “Okay, I’ll go, but only if you promise not to grab on to me. I hate the whole macho male clutching thing.”
“Only, if you can watch it without clutching me,” he teased.
She put out her hand. “It’s a deal.”
Ascher shook her hand and chuckled. “You’re going to lose!”
“Let’s make it more interesting. The loser buys the winner dinner tomorrow night.”
* * * *
Ascher grasped her hand and tensed, knowing that he couldn’t eat food without it making him ill. He agreed to dinner while knowing that he’d have to excuse himself to bring it back up before it digested. “I prefer pizza, but anything will do, so long as it’s edible.” He’d successfully delivered his line. Eighty-seven years of practice made him a believable, but reluctant liar.
Ascher smoothed a careful hand across her face. Her pulse thrummed with excitement as a sudden blush spread across her cheek, causing his breath to hitch. He sensed her hammering heart as if it beat in his own chest, pulsing electricity through him like lustful lightning. Everything in him quickened, vibrated and acclimated to her body’s biorhythms. Shock waves flowed between them, causing his pulse to skyrocket. He felt exposed and raw, his body a jumbled mess of feelings, sensations and emotions. He couldn’t believe she had this sort of power over him.
Curiosity consumed him, negating the thirst that her blushing cheeks and jumpy carotid should have caused. She made him feel more human than he'd ever felt. Almost a century with his vampire brothers made him fierce, but less human. She was good for him, and if he could control his thirst for her trinity blood, this could work.
A honking horn broke the hypnotic spell that seemed to mesmerize the both of them.
“I really have to go now.” She half smiled at him before giving him another kiss on the cheek.
They talked about random things while they walked to the parking deck. When they reached her car, he leaned in, caging her inside his arms. Each time her eyes pierced him, he got the same nervous flip in his stomach.
That yearning to kiss her was there, again.
Her pulsing neck caused him to shiver. He captured her eyes while securing her hands. Nervous, her palms were damp and her mind was loud. Her thoughts and emotions merged, becoming a confusing mix of jargon.
Ascher brought his lips to the threshold of hers, his fingertips resting against her neck, picking up the throbbing in her pulse. Her erratic breaths slowly synchronized to his calmer ones. The thudding of her heart drowned out the confusion flooding his head with her soft voice.
I wonder if he’ll kiss me. I want him to, and I can’t make the first move. Why am I still a virgin? I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. Please, please let him make the first move. Be quiet heart. Calm down.
“Something’s happening between us,” he whispered against her lips, his eyes still blazing into hers.
“I know.”
Ascher released her, having heard the truth in her thoughts. She wanted him. Channeling was better than any lie detector test. He opened her car door, closing it when she was safely inside. “I’ll see you at the bar.”
“I’m looking forward to the movie.”
Ascher stood, watching her drive out of sight. He desperately needed to close the Ursula chapter. It was the only way he’d be able to explore his feelings for Shauna. He wasn’t confused about what he wanted now and simply needed a way out of the sealing. Until he could kiss Shauna with a clear conscience, their first kiss would have to wait.
* * * *
Ascher stood behind the counter of the bar at Rousseau’s, polishing the same spot while thoughts of Shauna flitted through his head—her smile, the way her dark eyes flashed when she was excited about something, the innocence of her kisses on his cheek.
“That sure is a goofy face you’re making,” Quinn teased. “What’s with that face, anyway?”
“My face isn’t goofy, Quinn. I’m just thinking.” Ascher answered with slight irritation.
“Can I make three guesses about whom?”
“Stop teasing me.”
“Ash, you need to be clear about this. You know what will happen if you don’t do it. While I don’t care about fighting the darklings, others might not feel the same.”
“I know. I just don’t understand why it has to be me who seals to her. Why not one of you...is it not the same bloodline?”
“Old Klaus saw you.”
“Do you mind if Shauna and I cut out of here early tonight? I’m taking her to see the new horror movie.”
“You’re asking me? Hell, of course I don’t mind, considering you’re technically my boss. Just think about what I said. I know you think there is something there, but you need to be sure it’s worth risking your life.”
Ascher was so engrossed in his conversation with Quinn that he never noticed Shauna arrive. It surprised him when she covered his face with her hands.
Quinn gave her a smirk and moved away.
“You guys seemed pretty intense before I walked up. What was that all about?”
“Quinn is a worry wart. He thinks we should be careful about our friendship.”
“I agree with him.”
“You do?”
“I think we should take things slow. I’ve waited twenty-one years, and I’m in no rush.”
Ascher wasn’t confused about what she meant, but he wasn’t supposed to have an inner channel to her mind. “Waited? Are you telling me that you’re a virgin?”
“Is that so hard for you to believe?”
“It isn’t the norm. Some women your age already have children and husbands.”
“Catholic guilt, remember?”
“You’ve had boyfriends, right?”
“I’ve had one or two but nothing serious. Definitely nothing physical.”
A flustered frustration swept him. If s
he asked him the same question, he wouldn’t have that answer. Though he had no religious guilt about his lack of virginity, he loathed the fact that Ursula was his first experience. If he told Shauna that he was a virgin, it was only half-true. He’d never been with a human before, but he couldn’t blatantly lie to her when he was lying about so much already. “I’m not,” he finally blurted out.
“You’re a guy. I figured as much.”
Once he blurted the first part, the rest spewed from his lips. He had to admit that coming clean felt good. “I’ve only been with one person. It wasn’t serious, but we were monogamous.” Like that makes it better. “We broke up a couple of months ago.” More lies.
“Do you think you’ll get back together?”
“No. That was over a long time ago. You don’t need to worry. ” He took her into his arms, resting his lips against her temple. “I really enjoy spending time with you, Shauna.”
His thoughts weighed heavy with the consequences of his decisions. So many were affected by his choice—his family, Ursula’s family and Shauna. He couldn’t deny what he felt. Ascher wanted Shauna more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life. It wasn’t just about the physical part. His heart wanted her, too, desiring for her to love him as much as he was beginning to love her. He was finally ready to admit it to himself—he was falling in love with her, and she was changing him. The raw reality of his emotions hit him like a ton of bricks. His actions, thought processes and reasoning were becoming that of a human.
Six ~ Decisions
Sheridan, Massachusetts
Ascher was wide-awake, staring at the blue walls of Shauna’s guest bedroom. She was stirring around in the living room attempting to be as quiet as possible.
Their friendly date turned out to be a fun one. After the movie, they’d gone for coffee at a hip jazz café a couple of blocks from the theater. Only when the closing announcement came over the loud speaker, did they realize how late it was. They left the café and went back to her place.
The Progeny (The Progeny Series) Page 6