Scarred Protector (Midworlder Trilogy Book 2)

by Mundy, Maggie

  Evie had no intention of arguing with her, as she barely had the strength to lift her head off the pillow. She rolled back over and gazed at Heath. Was she falling for him? It would be so easy, but the most likely outcome of all this was that she would end up dead. She just didn’t want to take anyone else with her.

  She reached up and moved the fringe of his hair away so it didn’t cover his eyes. His color was starting to come back, but his face had always appeared slightly gaunt and haunted to her and was now even more so. She lay beside him with her hand on his chest where the scars were as she fell asleep. After what had happened, she didn’t think either of them would even have the energy for mind sex, no matter how good it was. She didn’t know how long this would last, but for now she didn’t want to be anywhere else but here with him.

  Chapter 12

  A Day at the Beach

  The scream left her lips as Evie yelled for joy when the wind blew in her face. Heath drove the motorbike down the motorway and she gripped on tight around his waist. Cars and trucks became a blur as they zoomed past them.

  “This must be another dream,” she shouted, unsure whether he could hear her over the roar of the bike.

  “Ow. There is no need to shout, Evie. I can hear everything you say. We are in my mind again as you’ve surmised. I picked up from your thoughts you’d always wanted to ride on a motorbike, so here we are.” He sped up and overtook a truck, and she grabbed on even tighter around his waist.

  “I don’t want to fall off,” she yelled.

  “You won’t. There’s a backrest behind you, and you’re doing a great job holding on to me, which I must say I like. Just lean with me into the corners.”

  She didn’t know where they were going, and she didn’t care. At this moment, she wasn’t even sure if she was doing the whole leaning thing right. It was more fun than she had ever had before. The wind was cold on her face as her arms reached around his waist and she pressed against the back of his leather jacket.

  It was a gloriously sunny day with not a cloud in the sky, and yet she shivered with a mixture of excitement and the chilly air passing them by. They veered off the motorway and down a country road past cottages and village greens. The corners were sharp, so he would lean the bike over, and she moved with him. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her breath caught in her throat. The more bends he took, the more she gained her confidence and found herself laughing and loving every moment of it.

  Time went by, and the scenery changed as they made their way along a coastline of high cliffs. It reminded her of visits to Cornwall when she was small. Dad had never had much money to spare, but he always took her to the seaside in the summer. Her breath caught in her throat at the thought of him being gone forever. She missed his sense of humor and terrible jokes. Most of all she missed being able to hug him whenever she needed.

  Eventually, they wound their way down a steep road, onto a dirt track, and through trees until they came to a small beach. Heath turned the bike off and put the side stand down, but Evie still held on tight around his waist. She had an inkling her legs would not hold her up if she tried to stand at the moment. He turned his head back toward her.

  “As much as I love you hugging me, you need to let go so I can get off the bike.”

  She unclenched her fingers so the blood could come back into them as Heath leaned forward and got off the bike. He held his hand out, but she still couldn’t move as she gripped onto the seat in front of her. He scooped her up in his arms and let her feet down. Her legs were shaking, but she reckoned she would be able to stand. Heath took off his helmet and placed it on the bike and then helped her with hers. Then he took her hands in his.

  “You’re shaking. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry.”

  “You didn’t−well you did, but it was a good scared if you know what I mean. I was more scared when I thought you were dying.”

  “Come on, let’s go for a walk. There is a little shack not far away at the other end of the beach.” Heath grabbed the bag off the back of the bike then reached out and took her hand.

  It didn’t matter that this was not real. She had spent so much time inside her house after the darkness attached itself to her that being out in the open felt magnificent. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face. They found a little shack hidden amongst the trees at the back of the beach.

  Heath walked up onto the creaky front veranda and opened the door. She followed him inside to find one large room that had a makeshift kitchen to one side and a couch and a bed against the other wall.

  “No bathroom then,” she said.

  “There’s a toilet out the back, and you can use the ocean to wash. What more could a person want?”

  “I have to admit, I like my bath and plumbing, but for today it is perfect.”

  He pulled out a bottle of champagne from the bag and popped the cork. He poured them drinks and motioned for her to follow him outside and sit on the rocking swing. They sat quietly, listening to the waves hit the shore. She could almost smell the salt from the water as she took in a big breath of air and sighed. How could Heath make things sound, look, and smell so good. She took a sip of the champagne, and the bubbles went up her nose, making her giggle. It was something she had not done for a long time−neither the champagne nor the giggles.

  “We’ve not had a moment when we’re not fighting foes or trying to heal each other, so I decided we should have some time together where no one can interrupt us.”

  Evie could feel her skin warm with a blush at the thought of being alone with Heath and where it would lead. He was looking at her and shook his head.

  “I didn’t mean to presume we would do what happened the last time we shared minds. I’m sorry.”

  “No, don’t be sorry. I don’t regret what happened then, and I’d love to talk. I have questions. I need to know what is going to happen if you can’t get me clean of the darkness.” The way Heath peered at the sand instead of her face didn’t do much to boost her confidence.

  “It’s not something I’m prepared to accept. I’ll not deny I don’t know how we will rid you of this affliction, but when we do I believe getting you a guardian will not be difficult.”

  She didn’t want to talk about getting a new guardian at the moment. “I thought I hated the shadow in my mind, but it saved you, so I feel like I don’t understand it anymore. For so long, I thought I was mad, but since I’ve met you I realize it’s something completely separate from me.” She drained her glass and put it out for a refill. “By the way, I don’t want an imaginary hangover.”

  “You won’t have one, I promise.”

  “Tell me something about yourself. We’ve been thrown together so quickly, we haven’t had a chance to really learn much about each other.”

  Heath emptied his glass and refilled both. He went back inside, searched in the bag again, and brought out a box full of fruit. Evie grabbed a strawberry and dropped it in her glass. She had a feeling Heath was delaying his response while she nibbled on more fruit.

  “After I lost Elizabeth, I wanted to die. I tried to kill myself as you’ve seen by the scars on my wrists. Midworlders heal quickly on Earth, so I went to Pergor. I used a crystal up there to slice my skin. The people in control back on Homeworld decided to save me. They needed me to search for a killer alongside some of my friends. The years went by down here, but we never found him. I grew to live again, but was never really alive. When she died, I lost a part of me.” Heath stared out at the ocean as if lost in thought.

  “What was she like? If it hurts too much to say, then don’t worry.”

  “She was petite, blond, and had beautiful blue eyes. She also had kindness of heart. She would take in any stray animal and always wanted to help. For a gentleman’s daughter, she didn’t mind getting her hands dirty if people were in need. I was going to marry her i
f she agreed and hoped to eventually bond with her. After she was gone, I became a person who liked to be alone. I live in a house with many people, but I’ve never let anyone near.”

  Wow. She hadn’t expected him to be so open, but then they had nearly died in the past few days. A part of her wanted to know more about Elizabeth’s death, but she sensed now was not the time to ask.

  “I lived in a house with Dad for five years, never went out, and certainly didn’t let anyone near, so I understand. Now I have a guy bonded to me. That, I have to tell you, is still a weird thing to say. Plus, I have an aunt I had never met. I also have a bunch of new friends and enemies that have wings. This is crazy, but I don’t want to go back to my old life, though I wish Dad was still here. I’d love to know what he’d think of you.” She reckoned he would have approved.

  “Suzie told you about our race, I believe. We can live with and love humans, but then we watch them die while we live on and strive to find someone else. I’ve never wished to push my intentions upon you, though it may have seemed different the night we first spent together.”

  She wanted him the same way she had that night but had a feeling it was not going to end well.

  “You haven’t pushed yourself on me in any way that has upset me.” She was blushing again, thinking about the sex, and needed to change the subject. “Tell me about your friends in America who bonded. What happened to them when they first met?”

  “Her name is Nicole, and her partner, Ridge, saved her from a Demonic. When he took her to Pergor, they had trouble as well. She didn’t have anything stopping a guardian from connecting with her, but Homeworld wouldn’t allow it. They said the Angelic attached to her had been damaged and they wouldn’t risk attaching another one. One of the Elevated was involved, and it is difficult to obtain information in such a scenario. Midworlders are workers, and we are told we should keep quiet and do what is expected of us without question.”

  “So, we have people up there and down here after us, plus some other weird guy with poisonous knives. We really are up shit creek without a paddle. Before the darkness came, I had a life when a lot of the time I didn’t fit in because I wasn’t white. Dad sent me to an all-girls private Catholic school. He wanted the best for me. He could just about afford the fees, but not the extras like the snow trips to Switzerland. I don’t blame him, but I didn’t fit in. One girl even asked me what I was doing there. I said money. It was the truth. We had every denomination you could think of. The nuns didn’t care, as long as you paid the fees.”

  “On Homeworld, a person is classified by their birth parents. Midworlders are half breeds, where an Angelic or Demonic has bred with one of the other races, and we never fit in. We come to Earth to live, or we take a pill and die. We can read minds when we are full-grown, and the powers in charge don’t like it.”

  “That’s appalling. I can’t say anything, though. Man has done worse to one another. I reckon we’ve two choices, you and I: give in and let people get the better of us, or take control and do whatever we have to. Sounds as though we both might end up dead anyway, so we should go out fighting.”

  “You continue to amaze me with your toughness after what you’ve been through. I’ve only felt a slight touch of the darkness within you, and I sense it has cost you much.”

  “I think when we go back to the real world, we should ask my aunt to help us more. When I healed you, I found her chants helped me. What do we have to lose?” It went through her mind that they had each other to lose when they had only just found each other. This was going to hurt so much when the end came.

  “Can you swim?”

  His comment caught her off guard. She had been expecting a remonstration to say they had to be sensible so she wouldn’t get hurt. “Yes. Since I was a toddler. Dad took me to swimming lessons. He said he was the only dad in the class. I did pretty good and got through the grades but didn’t want to do more.”

  “When was the last time you swam in the ocean?”

  She tried to think back. “So long ago. A group of friends and I went down to Torquay and had a boozy week when we finished school. Lost my virginity that weekend on the beach. Was not the best for either of us. Turns out sand is a killer of romance and the nether regions. Cheap wine will do that to you. At university, I just studied. Went to the local pool, but that was it.” Why the hell had she mentioned the virginity bit? Bringing sex into the conversation was not a good idea. He didn’t need to know about that. His first time had probably been a lot more dignified.

  “If you close your eyes, I can change your clothes so we can swim.”

  Evie took a deep breath and closed them. She could feel the cool breeze of the sea on her skin and opened her eyes to see she was wearing a lovely blue bikini. For a moment, she wondered how he knew her size in this imaginary world. Heath was standing down by the water’s edge in board shorts. Her breath caught in her throat seeing the scars on his chest. She wondered if they would ever fade because of the poison.

  He ran into the surf, and she followed him and screamed as the cold water hit her body. She had forgotten how good it could feel to just swim free in the sea. She swam out to where he was waiting beyond the surf. If this were real, she would be aching so much after this exercise. When she made it closer to Heath, she treaded water and considered how he looked sexy all wet in the ocean with his fringe hanging down across his face and his gorgeous smile. She hoped he couldn’t read her thoughts because she wanted to run her hands all over his body. Whenever she was near him, it was like her hormones went into overdrive.

  “See the headland over there? I’ll race you there.”

  Before she could say a word, he was off. This didn’t seem fair, since he had a couple of hundred years more experience than she did. Stuff it. Her competitive streak hit home, and she started out after him. She wanted to see the look on his face when she beat him. She forgot how much she loved swimming. The water had always been a place where she could zone out from the world doing laps. Evie put her head up, and could see he was not far ahead. She was determined to catch him.

  They both stopped about ten feet away from the rocky ridge, and their feet touched the bottom. She looked at Heath and could see he was laughing. It suddenly occurred to her if this was his dream, he had probably let her win. She wagged a finger at him, and he pouted and pulled an innocent face. It didn’t work. She dove across at him, determined to dunk him under the water. He got her first around the waist and they were a tangle of bodies falling backward under the waves. They both came back up spluttering and gripping the other’s shoulders.

  They could not stop the laughter, but when they did she could not look away from his eyes. They were in the cold water of the ocean, but she was hot to the core. From the look on his face, as he glanced down at her lips, she sensed that his feelings were the same. No man had ever looked at her like that before. This was beyond lust, and she felt as if he wanted to devour her. And she wanted it too. He reached out with his hand, and his palm cupped her cheek. She leaned into it and moved closer so their bodies almost touched. She needed to keep a few inches between them to let her brain try to understand what her body was feeling. She wanted him so badly.

  “Heath, are these thoughts yours or mine? I need to know if you’re influencing me.”

  “This is my mind creating this world, but whatever you’re thinking is not influenced by me at all. However, when Midworlders are close to humans our feelings leach out a bit.”

  That answered her question but was not exactly true. “Being this close to you makes me . . .” She wanted to screw his brains out, but she couldn’t say it.

  “I want to make love to you, Evie.”

  She breathed out, unaware she had been holding her breath. He put his hands around her waist and moved them down so they cupped her buttocks, pulling her close. She gasped, feeling the hardness of his dick against her
. She wanted it inside her and knew it was the only way she would get relief from this incredible yearning.

  “Evie, I can’t read your thoughts, but I can get your meaning and I want the same. From the first moment we met I’ve been drawn to you and couldn’t move away. I want to be truthful to you. I bonded with you because I believed it would save you, but I also did it because I wanted to keep you close.”

  “If you’d told me that before I might have thought it a bit scary, but I know you have a good heart. We’ve both had pain and deserve some happiness.” She couldn’t think of anything more wonderful than being in his arms.

  Heath bent his head and touched her lips with his, gently moving them back and forth across her lips with an occasional nip. His tongue ran over her bottom lip, and she opened her mouth to him. His lips pressed closer, and his tongue flicked against hers as they fought to get closer to each other. She ran her hands up and down his back. She considered the tattoos beneath her hands, and within seconds his wings appeared, splashing up through the water and spreading out. He placed his hands under her butt and lifted her so her legs encircled his waist as they lifted from the water. She couldn’t stop the giggle erupting from her throat as she put her arms around his neck.

  She thought he would fly her back to the beach, but he didn’t. He flew out over the ocean, skimming the tops of the waves as she screamed. Seabirds flew along beside them, squawking at the invader in their territory. Then he flew up to the cliff tops and over the trees, where she reached down and touched the leaves. It was wonderful, and she glanced up at his face to see him gazing down and smiling at her.

  “Thank you so much for this. I’d forgotten what it feels like to be free.” They swooped back to the beach and landed next to the shack, where he let her feet down. Now that they were here, her stomach turned over at the thought of being naked with him. She looked to the surrounding cliffs.