Carter got out and opened my door. He led me to the front door, where I half-expected a butler to let us in. He put his palm up to a black box next to the door. Something clicked and the door opened automatically.
“Welcome to my humble abode.” He gave a slight bow and ushered me inside.
Everything sparkled, reminding me of the Jag. The entryway had a high, open ceiling and showed off an enormous living room to the left and a beautiful spiral staircase to the right.
I gasped. “This is gorgeous.”
He kissed my cheek. “I’m glad you like it. Would you like to eat outside or in the dining room?”
“Uh…” I glanced around, imagining the dining room to be just as elegant as everything else.
“How about the garden?” he asked. “I could use some air. Then I can give you the grand tour.”
“Sure.”
He looped his arm through mine and led me through the living room. I stared in wonder. Everything was so fancy, it seemed to belong in a museum. Actually, the house felt like one. It was hard to believe Carter lived there.
We went out through a sliding glass door. I gasped at the sight. His garden was bigger and more gorgeous than I had ever imagined the ancient one being. Beautiful and unusual plants hung down as far as I could see.
“This way.” He laced his fingers between mine and we followed what felt like a maze until we reached a picnic bench. It had a lovely lace covering, plates set out, and two tall lit candles on either side of a bottle of champagne.
Carter gestured for me to sit and then he scooted next to me.
A man in a black suit came over and emptied the food from the boxes onto our plates. Then he popped open the champagne and poured it into glasses.
“Do you need anything else, Master Jag?”
“No, we’re fine.”
“Very well.” He bowed and walked away.
I turned to Carter, my eyes wide. “Why do you spend so much time at the club when you could be here?”
“Usually, it’s lonely here. Not today, though.” He tipped my chin and pressed his soft, warm lips on mine. “Now it’s the perfect getaway. Let’s eat before the food gets cold.”
My pulse raced. This was all too much. But I wasn’t about to complain.
As we ate, I took in the scenery. Flowers and buds of every shape and color surrounded us. It felt like a magical kingdom rather than a garden just outside town.
I’d been hungrier than I thought and emptied my plate when Carter was only about halfway through. I sipped my champagne and enjoyed the sweet aromas surrounding us. The bubbly drink helped me to relax further and seemed to repress that annoying inner voice, and that was probably the best part.
Carter set his fork down. “How do you like my garden?”
“I could live here.” I laughed awkwardly. “Okay, that was weird. Sorry.”
He grinned and ran the back of his fingers along my jawline. “Not at all. I love how you adore nature—even if it does get dangerous.”
“It doesn’t. I just like adventure.” I grabbed his hand and kissed his fingertips.
Carter held my gaze and leaned closer, leaving barely an inch between us.
My breath hitched.
“As do I.” He pressed his palms against my face and moved them back, combing his fingers through my hair.
My skin felt on fire. I longed to feel his mouth on mine again.
The inner voice urged me to pull away.
Shut up, nun.
I reached for his arms and ran my hands up them, enjoying every ripple of his muscles. He flexed and I leaned closer, able to smell his cologne and hair gel. I could see a few faint freckles sprinkled across his nose.
His fingers cupped the nape of my neck and he leaned closer, brushing kisses in front of my ear and trailing down to my neck. I gasped and instinctively raised my chin, giving him easier access. His lips tickled my skin, sending a fire through me.
I moved my hands up to his face and guided his mouth to mine. He wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me closer, kissing me with an intensity that made me shudder.
He purred.
Wait. He purred?
I pulled back and stared at him. “What was that?”
My inner voice urged me to run. I didn’t budge.
Carter made the purring sound again. “You light me on fire, Victoria.”
The way he said my name sent a warm shiver down my spine. I leaned in and pressed my mouth on his. He forced my mouth open and pulled me even closer, so that I could feel every curve of his muscular frame.
The annoying voice screamed at me to leave. It only made me want this all the more. After all I’d been through, I deserved some fun and relaxation.
Carter pulled back and trailed kisses to my ear. “Do you want to take this inside?”
Toby’s face appeared in my mind’s eye.
I leaned back, surprised.
“We can stay out here,” Carter whispered. “It’s perfectly fine with me.” He nibbled on my earlobe.
A gasp escaped my mouth.
“You like that?” He ran his fingers down my bare arms, giving me the chills.
I ran my fingers through his hair. It was so soft. I pulled on it.
He purred again and ran his fingers up my arms and to my back. He tugged on the zipper, pulling it down.
My inner voice screamed and yelled. Images of Toby from my dream ran through my mind—of him gazing into my eyes with nothing other than undying love.
I pulled back, gasping for air.
Carter let go of my zipper and stared at me, his eyes wide. “Is this too fast for you? I’m sorry. We can slow down. I’d never pressure you to do anything you don’t want.”
I struggled to breathe normally. Though I was looking at Carter, all I could see was Toby. I shook. The harder I tried to stop, the worse it became.
Carter pulled me close and held me in an embrace. “I’m so sorry. What did I do wrong?”
“I… I don’t know what’s the matter with me. I’m sorry.”
He kissed my forehead. “Don’t be. I know you can’t remember anything—I should have gone slower.” He drew in a deep breath. “It’s just that after one kiss, I couldn’t control myself. You’re intoxicating.”
Toby’s image flashed in my mind again.
“It’s not you.”
Chapter 20
Victoria
The cold plastic bent in my grasp as I clung to my iced black coffee. I’d gotten next to no sleep again. Carter had been so upset by my stupid freak-out that he’d insisted we relax by watching a movie in his personal theater. He kept his arm around me the entire time and hadn’t placed his sweet lips on me even once.
Then when I was back at the Waldensian, Landon and Sasha bombarded me with questions about Carter and the Jag. When I finally climbed into bed, my dreams terrorized me with images of deadly wolves and hatchets aimed at my head.
I sipped my drink and took a seat next to Grace.
She arched a brow. “What happened to you?”
Absentmindedly, I rubbed a scratch. “Just clumsy, I guess.”
Her eyes widened. “You must be a level ten on the clumsy scale.”
“It would appear so.” I pulled out my laptop and textbook.
“So, what happened?”
“I tripped in the woods.”
“Ouch.” She cringed and then went on to tell me a story about crashing her bike while camping.
I kept watch for Toby from the corner of my eye. It was nearly time for class to start, and he usually arrived early. A prick of worry tugged at me. Hopefully nothing bad had happened to him.
Of course it hadn’t. I wasn’t going to turn into a worry wart—or was I already one? I sighed, wishing I knew something about myself.
By the time Grace’s story was over, it was a full five minutes past the start of class.
“Where’s Professor Foley?” she asked, glancing at her fitness watch.
Others were whispering
about him, too. At least I wasn’t the only one worried.
Five minutes turned into ten, and then fifteen.
One guy put his stuff away and stood up. “I’m leaving.”
Several others followed.
My twinge of concern was growing by the minute.
“Someone should check his office,” a guy said.
A group of girls agreed and left the room.
I took a deep breath. Something seemed wrong. Even though I didn’t know him very long, showing up late was out of character.
“What do you think?” Grace asked.
“Maybe he’s sick or something.”
“But wouldn’t he tell someone?” she asked.
My stomach twisted in knots. I remembered running off the day before after lunch. Had I upset him when I’d done that? He wouldn’t skip class to avoid me, would he?
The more I thought about it, the worse I felt. He’d gone out of his way to be nice to me—more so than anyone else other than Carter or Sasha. He had paid for my meal and then offered to help me over lunch. My stomach churned acid.
What if his absence had something to do with me?
Or more than likely, I was being paranoid and full of myself. Why would the professor not showing up have anything to do with me?
Everyone whispered theories, and to my relief, some of them were far wilder than the ones running through my head. I was pretty certain he hadn’t been abducted by aliens or eaten alive by any wild animals.
The girls who had gone to check his office finally returned.
“He never showed up this morning,” said a blonde. “Another instructor told us to do whatever he has in the syllabus for today. Basically, we’re free to go.”
Cheers erupted around the room, and the majority of people hurried out. A few remained, reading from the textbook.
“What are you going to do?” Grace asked.
I shrugged. My pulse was elevated, and I felt sick to my stomach. Something was wrong.
The card. He’d given me his number.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Yeah. I need to make some calls. Mind if I meet you later to drive across campus?”
She glanced at the time. “I have time to walk. I’m just going to do that.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow.” She packed up her things and left.
I glanced at the doorway, hoping he’d walk through. Maybe he’d even give extra credit to those of us who had stayed. But I knew that wasn’t happening.
I put my stuff back into my backpack and headed outside. The warm sun felt good, but did nothing to help me feel better. I dug into the pocket with Toby’s card, entered the number into my contacts, and called him.
Straight to voicemail. I ended the call.
Maybe I should leave him a message. What if something really was wrong?
I went over to a secluded area and called again.
“Hi, you’ve reached Toby. I’m not available right now, but if you leave a message, I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks.”
My hand shook as I waited for the beep. “Hi Professor Foley, this is Victoria. You didn’t show up for class this morning and I just wanted to make sure everything’s okay. Hope you’re having a nice day.”
I ended the call and shook my head, embarrassed. Hope you’re having a nice day? He was probably violently ill stuck in a hospital bed somewhere. It wouldn’t be long before he thought I was a total idiot, and I already had one teacher who thought that.
Sighing, I leaned against the closest tree. What could I do? Running off, excited about getting to miss class wasn’t something I could do. Not when I was so sure something had to be wrong.
Maybe I could go to his office. I didn’t know what I could find that the other girls hadn’t, but at least it was something. It was better than doing nothing.
I pulled out his card again. His office was across campus. Maybe a brisk walk would help to clear my head. I secured my bag over my shoulders and headed for the building.
When I got to his floor, some professors were gathered together, talking about Toby.
My stomach twisted into tighter knots. Something was definitely wrong. I continued heading toward his office, anyway.
A tall blonde sat in the chair behind the desk.
“Is this Professor Foley’s office?” I asked.
Her eyes widened when we made eye contact.
“Soleil?” I asked, remembering the girl who had spoken with me at the Jag. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m friends with Toby.” Her expression was somber.
“What’s wrong?” I exclaimed. “Where is he?”
She gestured for me to come inside. “Close the door.”
I did and then sat across from her. “Is he okay?”
“We don’t think so.”
I felt like throwing up. “What happened?”
She took a deep breath. “It’s rather complicated, and you don’t remember anything.”
“Huh?”
Soleil bit her lip. “I’m not sure how much he would want me telling you.”
I stared at her. “You do realize I’m just his student?” Though I was sure I was about to find out more about not only him, but my memory issues as well.
She held my gaze. “You and I both know that’s not true, honey.”
My shoulders dropped and a lump formed in my throat. “I don’t know anything.”
“You know more than you’re letting yourself admit to.”
“Stop talking in riddles!”
“This would go a lot faster if I could drink from your essence again.”
I stared at her. “What are you talking about?”
“This.” She got up, walked around the desk, and stopped inches from me. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth. Mine opened on its own. The same silky feeling from our last interaction pulled up from deep within me and out through my throat.
My eyes fought to shut, but I forced them open as a warm tingle ran through my body, massaging every inch of me. A sparkling purple mist swirled in between our mouths, appearing to travel from mine to hers. If that wasn’t weird enough, wings appeared behind her, taking up the entire office. A slight breeze brushed over me with each movement.
The pulling sensation continued and the tingle grew warmer as the mist grew darker in color. Finally, my body went limp. I couldn’t remember what I’d been so upset about just moments earlier.
Soleil closed her mouth and everything stopped. I jerked backward. She opened her eyes—and they were an unnatural shade of green. She blinked and they returned to normal. Her wings disappeared.
I stared at her, breathless.
“Okay, now that I’m up to speed—”
“What was that?” I demanded. “You did that to me at the Jag, too.”
“For Toby.”
My mouth gaped. “What?”
She returned to the seat. “Your dreams—those are actual memories.”
“I-I… How do you know about my dreams?”
“When I drank your essence, I gained access to everything.”
I scowled. “Everything? My memories, you mean?”
“Only what you allowed, and—”
“I didn’t allow anything! You didn’t even tell me what you were doing.” Anger tore through me. “How dare you?”
“Look, Toby needs our help. Are you willing or not?”
“Where is he?”
“Being held against his will.”
The room seemed to spin around me. “What?”
“Look, I don’t want to overwhelm you. There’s a lot you don’t know, but I know you remember Toby—even though you doubt.”
I felt completely naked. Her essence drinking, whatever that was, had given her access to all my thoughts. “Well, whatever you just did to me, you should know what I’m willing to do,” I snapped. “And how do you know he’s being held against his will? Did you steal his essence, too?”
&n
bsp; She muttered under her breath. “He was trying to protect you.”
Everything disappeared around me as I stared at her. I couldn’t find any words.
Soleil reached around me and helped me to stand. “Here, come sit in the comfortable chair.” She helped me around the desk and sat me in the soft seat.
“We need to get him out, but you’re the only one with a way in.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I leaned my elbows against the desk and accidentally knocked over a stack of papers—I really was a klutz.
“Nope. None of us can get near him.”
“Why me?” I picked up the fallen papers and put them on the desk. A framed picture sat on the desk, face down. I pulled it upright and gasped.
It was a photo of me.
Or someone who looked just like me. I held it, trying to make sense of everything. The girl looked just like me, down to a barely-noticeable scar in front of my right ear. Only she was wearing an outfit I’d never seen and was sitting in front of a pond I’d never been to—at least that I was aware. I hated my memory.
“Wh-what’s this?” I shoved the frame at Soleil.
“His favorite picture.”
I pushed the chair back, shaking my head. “This is all a joke. A really cruel prank.” I glanced around for hidden cameras.
She shook her head. “It’s not, and he needs you.”
The room seemed to close in around me. My stomach lurched. “I’m going to be sick.”
“The toilet’s down the hall and to the right.”
I ran past her and found the bathroom just in time. As soon as I rinsed my mouth, I hurried out of the building as fast as I could.
Why did he have my picture? What did it all mean? Whatever the answers were, I couldn’t face them.
Chapter 21
Toby
My head snapped back, waking me. I blinked my eyes, trying to get rid of the bleariness. My arms ached from being tied over my head for so long. I pulled on them, but the metal only dug into my skin again.
I steadied my legs underneath me, using them rather than the chains, to keep me standing upright. If only I had something to lean against. Or to drink. I was parched.
How long had I been in the dark dungeon?
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