“We both have demons, Evie. Some real and some imagined. Please tell me why you tried to drown yourself and why you’ve tried to end your life in the past. Is it because of the darkness? This has happened so fast, and neither of us knows each other. It’s a lot to ask, but we mustn’t have any secrets if we are to survive this.”
She didn’t want to lose this wonderful man now she had found him. With Dad around, she had not been alone, but that was the past. She wanted to be tough, but it would be wonderful to have someone believe in you. The issue was: would he want her if he knew the truth?
“It’s back. I’m sorry, Heath, but I can’t live in that pit of darkness again. When it overwhelms me, I can’t see any way out. When you did that bonding thing, it felt like it was gone, like I was my old self again. Then earlier, when I was in the bath, the world became black again. It was seeping through the water into me. I thought you’d all be better off not having to fight the other guys if I was gone.”
She wanted him to wrap her in his arms again, but apart from their hands, he wasn’t touching her, even though their bodies were only inches apart.
“You’re not crazy, Evie. I can sense a presence in you.”
“When I first came out of hospital after the accident, I used to think I was schizophrenic and could hear voices telling me to do terrible things. Then I thought I was bipolar or even possessed. Funny how I’m talking to a guy with wings about trying to be rational. I even had a priest come to our house once. He said he couldn’t do anything. Another guy into paranormal stuff came around and said I was a fake and wasting his time. I wonder what he would think of all of you and your housemates.”
Heath lifted his gaze to hers and she sensed hesitation. “The world cannot know about my kind. Once we remove this presence from you, I can take you to Pergor and you’ll be able to get a guardian once our bond is broken. Then I’ll need to clear your mind.” Heath kept her gaze.
“What if I don’t want you to make me forget you?”
“You should forget me.”
Evie shook her head. “I was just naked up against you after you saved my life. I think we’ve gone past ‘I don’t know you and I should forget you.’”
“I’d most likely kill you if I changed you. I wouldn’t risk that. These emotions we’re feeling are from the bonding, I believe.”
“I’m not daft. I know you don’t love me, we’ve only just met, but I’ve been alone a long time and would be prepared to risk it. We have a physical connection, if not a mental one. Is it because of Elizabeth?” Evie could see him stiffen at the mention of the name of the woman he had loved. She had never known love or been loved and wondered what it would feel like.
“I was going to bond with Elizabeth. She said she loved me but could not join with me. She would not give me a reason. I decided I would convince her, and on that day I went to her home and found her dead. She had cut her wrists and bled to death.”
“I’m so sorry.” Evie still felt the raw pain of her father’s death and knew Heath was still suffering from the sadness of Elizabeth’s.
“It was long ago, but I would not wish to lose anyone like that again.”
“So where do we go from here?”
“I stay close to you until we can a get a healer here to see what this darkness is. For now, you need to rest.”
“You’ll still be here when I wake up, won’t you?”
“I promise.” Evie turned on her side as Heath moved in behind her and placed his arm around her midsection. It had been so long since she had felt the human touch of a body beside her as she drifted off to sleep. Then she remembered the wings and reminded herself he wasn’t human. At this moment, she didn’t care.
Chapter 9
Aunt Georgia
Heath knew this was a mistake to get close either mentally or physically with Evie, but he reckoned it was too late. He peered at her while she slept, just watching her breathe in and out. She held his hand against her chest, and he could feel her heartbeat. He was under no misconception that what he felt was love. He knew what that feeling had been like with Elizabeth.
His compulsion to want to protect Evie was undoubtable. To bond with her had been the only option. He would not kill her, though, by risking the change. Ridge might have changed Nicole, but others had tried since and failed. It seemed Nicole was one in a million. Someone knocked on the door and opened it. Marge walked in carrying a tray. Evie stretched, and for a second he could see the fear on her face as her eyes opened wide. Then she looked at him and smiled. That one look was his undoing. To be needed was a powerful drug.
“I brought you both some food.” Evie sat up and the tray was placed across her knees. Heath slung his legs over the edge of the bed as Marge picked up his shirt and coat. “Look at all the buttons ripped off and your jacket thrown on the floor. You slept in your pants as well. I don’t know how you can expect me to look after your clothes when you treat them like this.”
Heath walked over and kissed the top of Marge’s head, but she pushed him away. “Don’t you go trying to get round me? Now you eat up, young lady, and you look after her, you big fool. What I have to put up with living in this house with you lot. Should’ve stayed in Wales.” Marge left the room but gave them both a big smile before she went.
“I’ll go and dress while you eat.” He made his way back to his room and got dressed. Walking over to his dresser, he noticed the picture of Elizabeth. He picked it up and stared at the face of the woman he had loved so long ago. His hand shook at the thought he was betraying her. He placed the picture back, wondering once again what the hell he thought he was doing. As he pulled on another shirt, the door to his room opened and Suzie walked in.
“Heard you spent the night with her. I don’t suppose I need to ask if you were a gentleman.”
Heath raised an eyebrow as he scowled at her and shook his head.
“The healer is on her way from London, but I also have some news. You asked us to keep an eye on Evie’s place, and it seems a Jamaican lady has turned up. Says she’s related to Evie. Luke tried to read her mind, but she blocked him. Not sure what’s going on there. She keeps coming back and said she won’t give up until she finds her.”
Heath was interested and suspicious of the timing of someone turning up just after Evie had left her home. “I suggest we go there now and find out.”
“What about Evie?”
“I think she would be safer here, but I’ve a feeling she won’t take no for an answer.” He was right. Evie was dressed when he returned to her room. His mind went back to when she had been naked the night before. She was a beautiful woman, and he had been alone for so long, just like her. It was a need he had to keep under control.
“I was going to ask you if we could go back. I want my clothes and phone and laptop. I also want some pictures and my snake.”
“Snake? I see, your pet I assume.” She nodded. “Do you not like the clothes we’ve provided for you?”
“They’re beautiful, but they’re not me. You saw what kind of things I wear when you met me. I like tight jeans, big tops, and combat boots. In the past five years, I haven’t exactly had a reason to dress up.”
“If that is what you would like. I want you to feel comfortable here. I also want you safe, and I won’t be letting you out of my sight.” He stood with his arms across his chest, so she knew he meant business.
“I’m good with that.” She winked at him, and he shook his head.
“What can you tell us about the woman saying she’s your aunt?”
Evie sat down on the bed and took a deep breath. He had obviously touched a sensitive issue, but he needed information.
“I’m mixed race as you know. Mum’s family disowned her when she married Dad. They couldn’t deal with a black son-in-law. An old school friend said he had arranged a meetin
g with them to patch things up. She went there, and he and his friends attacked and raped her. Mum killed herself not long after that.”
“I’m so sorry, Evie.” Heath sat next to her and placed his arm around her shoulder.
“I was a baby and don’t remember anything. Dad’s family wasn’t there for him, and he rejected them. I’ve never heard from any of them since. I wondered if he had contacted them when he knew he was dying. I know you’re worried about me meeting her, but I have to take the chance.”
Heath looked her in the eyes and knew already he would have great difficulty denying her anything.
As they pulled up outside of Evie’s home, Suzie got off her motorbike. Tiny got out of the car to talk to Luke, who had stayed on watch over the place. Evie had said she didn’t know any of her father’s side of the family, so it was unlikely she would recognize her aunt. The others came back to say the house was clear with no sign of any Demonics. Heath opened the door and helped Evie out of the car and got her quickly through the front door. Evie went straight to her room and started to empty her drawers into a large bag she had pulled down from the wardrobe.
She then made her way to the room they had been attacked in and grabbed her laptop and some photo albums. She looked around and then at him.
“I suppose this may be the last time I’ll see this place. Have the guys put the snake in the van.”
“Yes. I’m not sure what Marge will think of it, though.”
“Let’s go then.” They headed out the front door to find a woman dressed in a yellow dress with a green scarf wrapped around her head. She was talking to Suzie.
“She’s here, I can feel it. You must let me see my niece.”
The woman turned and headed toward Evie with arms wide open. Heath positioned himself between them. The woman did not look intimidated as she glared at him. Evie peeked around him.
“Aunt Georgia?”
Heath reached out with his mind to sense the woman’s intentions but came up against a blank wall. Georgia looked at him like she knew what he was doing.
“Let me know you mean no harm, and I will let you meet.”
“He is your man?” she asked.
Heath looked to Evie, unsure for a moment what her answer would be. She nodded. For some reason, he felt proud she had acknowledged him as such. The block was lowered immediately, and he could feel only concern from this woman for her niece. He also sensed power, but not of the Midworlder kind.
“We should leave here and return to my home. There you both can talk.” Heath made sure Georgia sat in the front of the car while he had Evie in the back with him. He liked to be in control, and the fact this woman’s mind was like nothing he had sensed before concerned him. Then everything involving Evie concerned him. Including his growing feelings. Evie squeezed his hand as she smiled at her aunt. She leaned across and whispered in his ear.
“I want her to like me. Is that crazy?”
“She’s family. It’s not foolish at all to want that.” He stared at their joined hands. Family to him was the group of people who shared his home. The truth was that he had never let himself be close to any of them. He had learnt a long time ago of the pain involved in letting someone near. He clasped Evie’s hand, and she smiled at him. He was being a fool, and that was not a term used for him by anyone accept Marge, who could get away with it. Georgia was humming a tune, and he wondered of its significance. If the woman thought she would be allowed to be alone with Evie, it was not going to happen.
The gates of his manor opened, and they drove through. For a moment, he would breathe a sigh of relief to be back here. Charles would not be giving up so easily, and he didn’t want to take Evie out of the house again until he had a better idea of what was going on. Once they entered the house, he guided Georgia and Evie to the library where they could talk. Suzie and Tiny followed them. Georgia sat down and creased her brows as she took in the scene. Evie stood next to him, staring at the woman who said she was her aunt. Heath thought he would make the first move.
“I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I’m Heath Blanchard and these are my colleagues, Suzie and Tiny. Welcome to my home.”
“I’m Georgia Withers, Evie’s aunt. I believe we have some questions for each other. I want to know what you are and why you have my Evie.”
That was not the question he had expected. “What makes you think we’re any different from you?”
“I can see the glow around you. Your spirits aren’t human. You’ve done something to Evie as well.”
“They haven’t hurt me. I trust them,” Evie said.
They didn’t have time to waste, and Heath removed his jacket and closed his eyes as his wings sprouted from his back. Evie took his hand in hers. Georgia gasped and then burst out laughing.
“The spirits are looking after you, Evie. You have looked into my mind, Heath. I am honored to be in your presence. You know I mean her no harm. Please, may I hug my niece now?”
Heath nodded and retracted his wings but stayed close as Georgia came across and embraced Evie. He turned to Suzie and asked her to get Marge to make them some tea. Georgia and Evie sat down still holding the other’s hands. He now felt the odd one out, but would not be leaving them alone together just yet.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t come back before. Your father sent me a letter a few weeks ago, but I didn’t realize he was so sick. I went to your house and your neighbor said he had died and that they hadn’t seen you.”
“I was attacked the night Dad died, and Heath saved me. The attackers weren’t human, like him, but they were evil.”
“You don’t seem surprised at our existence, Georgia,” Heath said. The woman seemed to be taking everything in her stride, and yet, she had just discovered the existence of supernatural beings.
“I follow Obeah, and we take notice of the angels in our lives. To find you protecting my niece makes me very happy.”
Marge came in and set the tray down with tea and biscuits. Heath made the introductions and noticed his housekeeper paying close attention to the newcomer.
“I was wondering if you could prepare a room for Evie’s aunt.” Marge nodded and left the room, shaking her head with disapproval.
“Tell me what has happened to you, my dear. I sense a darkness I’d like to try to remove.”
Heath wasn’t about to let Georgia try anything just yet. “We have a healer coming. If she can’t cure Evie, we’ll talk about it again.”
“That would be my choice, surely not yours,” Evie said, as she glared at him and raised an eyebrow.
“He’s an angel, Evie. You should listen to him. He knows things you and I cannot know. When did this darkness arrive?”
Heath could see Evie bite her bottom lip as if she didn’t want to recall what had happened. He sat next to her and took her hand in his and reached up to touch her face, turning it toward him. There was fear there, as if the darkness would soon be unleashed.
“I’m here. I won’t let it control you, no matter the cost.” He could see her eyes watering as she looked back at him.
“It was five years ago, and I had a life like everyone else. I was at university studying and had friends and would go out and have fun. Get drunk and have boyfriends, go to parties. I was on my way home one night−I wasn’t drunk or anything−and was waiting at a stoplight when a car slammed into me. I remember the lights coming toward me and then nothing else. I woke up a month later from a coma. I thought it was brain damage at first. Then I started to see all the angels and demons on people. It got so bad, I hid myself away from the world. There is something else I haven’t told Heath.”
Heath raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. Evie looked at the tray before them and pointed with her finger at a teaspoon. It started to shake and then moved up so it hovered a foot above the tray.
Evie flicked her finger and the spoon flew across the room and embedded itself in the far wall.
“It hasn’t worked for the last few days, but this morning I dropped my cup from my tray and managed to stop it in midair. It also started when the darkness came, so I don’t like to use it. I thought they might be connected in some way.”
“You’re full of surprises. I think that could come in handy if our friends ever plan to return,” Heath said.
“It didn’t work. When I tried to make a letter opener hit Charles, he stopped it.”
“Maybe we can train you. In the meantime, I’ll get someone to show you to your room, Georgia.”
When Georgia left, he turned to Evie. He could not believe she had such a power and had not told them. What else was she keeping secret?
“Don’t you ever keep secrets from me. If we’re going to beat this darkness, we need honesty. I thought I told you that.” He was yelling, and he could see she wasn’t pleased. He reckoned if she could have managed it, she would have hurtled something at him from across the room.
“I dealt with this for five years before you came. Stop playing the bossy father figure. I was going to tell you, but things happened,” she yelled back.
She stood with her hands on her hips, angry, and glorious. He loved the fact she was not intimidated by him.
“I hardly know you, but I want you and will not lose you, but we must have honesty.” Her anger was gone as she ran into his arms and kissed him. She placed her arms around his back and pulled him close, as her mouth opened to him. His tongue searched her mouth as he ran his hands up and down her spine. He wanted to take her now, right on the floor with her aunt just out of the room. He had always been in control, but he didn’t want to be anymore. He scooped her up and took her over to the couch, and laid her down. Unzipping her top he revealed the lacy bra beneath. He pulled it aside to see her taut nipple before him and ran little circles with his tongue around her tight bud. He sucked hard as she buck beneath him, and he lay on top of her pressing himself down on her body. Her hand was going to his pants to undo his belt. He needed to be inside her now. His cock was so hard it hurt. She groaned as he bit her nipple, and the sound sent him over the edge. It also brought him back to reality as he slid off the couch to the floor.
Scarred Protector (Midworlder Trilogy Book 2) Page 9