Slumber (Beauty Never Dies Chronicles Book 1)

by J. L. Weil

  My fingers were stiff and clammy as I gripped the front of his shirt. “You’re asking me that as we’re dangling a hundred feet off the ground.” There was no hiding the sheer outrage in my voice.

  Dash examined the ravine below. “Now seemed like a good time.”

  “What makes you—?” An arrow sunk into a wooden plank directly in front of me, and my voice faltered.

  “Them,” he replied, scooping an arm around my waist.

  The Night’s Guard were coming down the hill.

  Ugh. These asshats don’t give up. Dash and I exchanged looks. I knew what was going on inside that head of his. We were only halfway to the other side. There was no way we were going to make it without one or both of us getting an arrow to the back. “Isn’t it just as dangerous in there?” I asked, glancing over the edge into the churning waters below. The waves whooshed over the rocks. The sun’s reflection tinged the water gold, but beauty was only surface deep. Under those waves lived another horror.

  “Dammit,” Dash growled, surveying our limited options. “Yeah, but I’ll take my chances with the sea creatures rather than with the Institute.”

  My brain balked at the idea.

  “Hold on tight, Freckles.” He secured me in his arms and jumped.

  “Dash—!”

  My scream was cut off, caught in my lungs as the rush of wind cascaded over my face, whipping through my hair as we fell. I buried my face into Dash’s shoulder and held on for dear life.

  Water rushed over my head.

  The moment I hit the river, we were thrust apart. My body got caught in a whirlwind of waves, spinning me around and around as it carried me downstream. I was disoriented, unable to see Dash or get my bearings.

  Something brushed against my leg, and I made the mistake of screaming. Water rushed into my lungs as I flailed in the turbulence, trying to make a break for the surface. If the Institute caught me, at least I’d still be alive.

  I didn’t know how he did it. Dash was always just there when I needed him. His fingers touched mine, and I reached out, interlocking our hands. He hauled me to him. I threw my arms around his neck like a hysterical monkey.

  This time, Dash couldn’t talk me through it, but his silver eyes ensnared mine, telling me to keep my cool.

  Trust him.

  He pointed a finger toward the surface, and I nodded. Already, I could feel the burn in my lungs.

  Our heads bobbed over the water at the same time. Although we’d been tossed around in the water, we hadn’t traveled as far as I had hoped. The Night’s Guard were waiting for us with weapons ready. A series of arrows showered the water surrounding us, and we had no choice but to go back under again.

  I took an enormous gulp of air and let myself sink into the water.

  I was trapped like an animal—nowhere to turn, no way out.

  It was a feeling I hated—helplessness.

  Anger slowly began to tingle like a low fire in my belly. I was fed up with being chased. I was tired of being shot at. And I was damn sick of being scared.

  Giving up wasn’t the answer. It would only let them win, and I wasn’t a quitter. Screw the Institute. Screw the Night’s Guard. Screw the entire Heights.

  I let the anger consume me, fueling my strokes as I swam deeper, scrambling to avoid the arrows pelting the water.

  Whoosh. Plop. Plop. Ping.

  The little spears cut through the river.

  I didn’t know what came over me. It was as if I was possessed by a ninja with a death wish. Time seemed to slow in the sludge of the water, but contrary to the time glitch, my senses felt heightened. Rolling to my right, I positioned myself in front of Dash. Behind me, I could hear his protest muffled by the water. There was no stopping the split-second decision, and honestly, on some greater level, I believed I timed the maneuver just so Dash wouldn’t be able to prevent the arrow heading straight at me.

  I closed my eyes, no idea what I was actually doing, and braced for the arrow that was going to pierce my gut. The seconds ticked by. And I waited. …

  “Freckles, you can open your eyes,” Dash prompted. “We’re safe … sort of.”

  What did he mean, sort of?

  How is he talking?

  And why can I suddenly breathe?

  My wet lashes fluttered opened. What the—

  Confusion swirled inside me as I stared through an iridescent barrier. I followed the rainbow-like substance with my gaze, curious and alarmed. It was in the shape of a globe—a giant bubble might be a better description—and Dash and I were inside. The bubble provided an air pocket for us to breathe.

  I was a little dizzy with the waves sloshing on either side of the magical globe. “How is this possible?”

  He watched me carefully. “You tell me. You’re the one who created this force field.”

  “I did?”

  He thrust the wet curls plastered to his forehead off his face. “What were you thinking?”

  I shook my head, unable to believe what I was seeing. “I didn’t think.”

  “How the hell did you do this?”

  “I-I don’t know. It just happened.”

  “You seem to be able to do all kinds of things that just happen.”

  “So what color were my eyes this time?” I asked, knowing there was a pattern developing between my eyes and the strange things I could do.

  His lips thinned. “I wasn’t going to say anything. They were blue.”

  “Fabulous. Another problem to work through.” I couldn’t ignore the unusualness of my eyes or what they meant.

  We floated downstream, the current pulling us farther out of the Badlands. Break out the streamers and confetti. If I hadn’t been stuck in a bubble underwater with Dash, I might have done a little happy dance.

  Dash outstretched his arms, flattening his palms and testing the durability of the material. “Whatever you’re doing, don’t stop.”

  The thing was, I wasn’t doing anything. Not now. Once the barrier was created, my abilities or whatever, were no longer needed. On the flip side, apparently this thing I made was impenetrable, which made me a tad nervous. How were we going to get out of here?

  Space was going to be a problem, especially with someone Dash’s size. His head almost touched the top. To make things more comfortable as we drifted under the surface, Dash circled his fingers on my waist. Unsure what to do with my hands, I laid them on his shoulders. It was like we were doing an awkward floating dance in the water. Our bodies fit together, and I was immediately aware of the hard breadth of his chest.

  Tension sparked.

  It couldn’t be helped.

  Deny it all we wanted, there was something concocting between us.

  Two shadows moved at the edge of the water, and I stiffened against Dash, knowing it was the Night’s Guard. Swallowing, I wondered if they could see through the murky waters. “Crap.”

  Dash’s hand curled around the wet material of my shirt. “We might get to test out the durability of your bubble.”

  “This was your grand idea, tossing us over the edge,” I so pointedly reminded him.

  A glimmer of light entered his expression, and he pressed his cheek to mine and whispered, “We’re still alive.”

  I shivered, a blend of being soaking wet and Dash’s warm breath on the skin of my neck. My hands tightened on Dash’s shoulders. “The day’s not over yet.”

  There were threats all around us, and now, caught in our own personal bubble, all I could do was dwell on Dash and the magic of his lips. Every time I thought about kissing him, my senses came alive.

  An unfriendly looking fish with razor teeth cut through the water, making circles around us. And I hadn’t forgotten about the two guards patrolling the water’s shoreline, but a rocky wave brought my body closer to Dash’s, and I couldn’t ever remember feeling like this. He made the air in my lungs still.

  “They haven’t noticed us.” Dash’s voice was soothing in my ear.

  I wished he would stop talking �
� or not stop. I couldn’t make my mind up. Gathering courage, I draped my arms around his neck, easing the strain of my muscles as I leaned into him. “Who?” I blinked, my head scrambled.

  His silver eyes twinkled. “The guards.”

  Face palm. “I knew that.”

  Dash’s gaze turned arrogant and amused, a combination I found both irritating and tempting. “I think maybe the heat is getting to you,” he mused, his lips brushing the sensitive skin below my ear.

  Was it ever. My pulse skyrocketed. I swear the temperature inside the bubble hiked fifty degrees. Holding his smug gaze, I twined my fingers in his hair and tugged just hard enough to cause his gaze to meet mine. “I know what you’re doing.”

  He chuckled. “Freckles, you have no idea what I’m capable of.” To prove his point, his hand slid along the base of my spine, trailing up and then down, leaving a wake of tingles in its path.

  His challenge backfired. “When are you going to get it through that thick head of yours that it doesn’t matter to me what you’ve done?”

  Smoky eyes snarled mine. I wasn’t the only one feeling the energy igniting between us. “Careful,” he said.

  That was the thing: I didn’t want to be careful. I wanted to be anything but. I wanted to not think for once and act on these emotions churning inside me. Expanding my fingers in his hair, I made a slight movement with my hips, fitting our bodies closer together. There was something exciting about our situation—being stranded underwater—and also a bit naughty.

  A shiver of awareness jolted through Dash, and the arrogance from earlier was gone, replaced by stark emotion. Our bodies were virtually one. The feel of him turned my insides to molten mush and gave me a rush of confidence. He didn’t make me feel like a girl. He made me feel like I was sexy and irresistible. I tipped my head up. When he didn’t move away, I pressed my mouth to his.

  Just one kiss, I told myself.

  The moment our mouths met, I knew I had lied. One would never be enough.

  His lips were warm and decadent as they moved over mine, and it was easy to drift into the kiss. “This is going to complicate things,” he murmured, lips brushing over mine.

  He was kissing me again, not so patient now, not so gentle. Clever fingers found a bare patch of skin at my hip, above my waistline. Things were quickly escalating, and I loved every second. “I’ve never wanted a bed more in my life.” His voice took on an air of desperation.

  A breath left my lungs in an unsteady rush. He pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth. We were safe, and the reasonable thing to do would have been to stop and go on our way, but his fingers were skimming just under the swell of my breast. My entire body reacted to the intimate touch. Yes. Yes. Yes, I thought a second before he sealed his lips to mine.

  He kissed me as if I was the single most important person in his world. If I could sink any deeper, I’d be halfway to China. Against his mouth, I moaned.

  There was a POP!

  The bubble burst.

  I don’t why or how, but once again we were immersed in the dark waters, the drop pulling us apart. Kicking toward the stream of light, I laughed the moment my head broke the surface, the sound rippling over the water and into the cloudy mist hovering above the river. A rush of adrenaline trilled through my veins.

  That had been the most insane thing I’d ever done to date.

  I pulled myself up on the ledge and flopped on the grass. Dash lay beside me, water dripping from his hair as black as a moonless night, framing a face of male beauty. “I love the sound of your laugh,” he said, eyes smoldering. “No one laughs anymore. I’ve missed the sound.”

  I turned my head. “That’s sad. Without laughter, there’s no happiness.”

  Dash got quiet, his shoulders going tense. “There hasn’t been much to laugh about.”

  My smile started to slip. I wanted to make Dash laugh. It suddenly became my personal mission to see the serious tracker let loose, do something silly. “Maybe once you find who you’re looking for, you’ll see things differently.”

  “I’ve been searching for a year.”

  I lifted up on my elbow. “You can’t give up.”

  His gaze captured mine, and the look settling into his features had my heart racing. I couldn’t look away. In the pit of my stomach, a flock of butterflies congregated, completely hopped up on Red Bull. I was back in the bubble with Dash kissing me until my toes curled.

  Dragging in a deep breath, he finally looked away and stared at the sky. “I shouldn’t have kissed you.”

  I blinked. “Because you’re seeing someone else,” I rationalized. Why else would he regret something that had been so amazing?

  He shoved both his hands into his hair, his gaze avoiding mine. “You took me by surprise. No one’s made me feel as much as you do.”

  Holy hot dwarf babies.

  A hot flush crawled into my cheeks, and my stomach cartwheeled. I didn’t see what the problem was. There was obviously something between us. “Why do you make that sound like a problem?”

  “I’m hazardous, Charlotte.” Our eyes locked, and if I didn’t know better, there was regret. “If you don’t get as far away from me as possible, you’re going to get hurt. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you. I told myself I wouldn’t touch you. It can’t happen again. I can never give you what you deserve.”

  Every fiber in my being was saturated with raw emotions. He couldn’t keep doing this to me, kissing me and then giving me the cold shoulder. He wanted me. He didn’t. But in this moment, I didn’t care about his reasons. They were insignificant to me when all I felt was the sting of his rejection. “No,” I dug in, refusing to listen. “I don’t believe that.” It had only been one kiss—two if you counted the one at Eastroth—but I knew he felt something.

  A moment passed, and he worked his jaw as he sat up. “Us being together would be a mistake. One you can’t ever change. You might not understand now, but I’m doing you a favor.”

  I pushed up, forcing him to look at me. “Everyone thinks you’re so tough, so dangerous. But you’re a coward. You’re too scared to let someone in. That’s why there is no laughter in your life, Dash Darhk.”

  He drew in a harsh breath. “You say that now. I didn’t ask for this. For you. I don’t want the hassle.”

  A breeze kicked up, tickling over my arms as pain sliced across my face. “A hassle, am I? Well, this hassle just saved your ass.”

  “Look, once we find your family, and we will find them, you won’t have time to think about me. You’re gorgeous and sexy. There will be a hundred guys lined up for your attention. You won’t remember my name.”

  Hardly. He wasn’t giving himself enough credit. The only one I cared about wanting me was him. “But what about you? Do you want me?” I hated myself for asking. Afterward, I could have kicked myself. I didn’t want to come across as needy or clingy.

  For a brief second, I swore the mask cracked and uncertainty contorted his face. “I’d be dead or stupid to not want you. I’m neither, but that doesn’t change the facts.”

  I didn’t know whether to be insulted or flattered. It didn’t matter. “I don’t understand you. Why are you such a dick one minute and kissing me the next?”

  He frowned. “I don’t like the way you make me feel.”

  I cast him a sideways glance and swallowed thickly. “How do I make you feel?”

  I wasn’t sure he was going to answer me or that it would be an honest one. He surprised us both. “Like I want to care about someone. I haven’t cared about what happens to anyone other than me in a long time.”

  “Why is that a bad thing?”

  “Until I find my mom and brother, I don’t have time for feelings. They get in the way.”

  I threw my arms up in frustration, pushing the tears that were building aside. I refused to cry in front of him, to give him that kind of power. “You know what? Screw you.” I jumped to my feet.

  Dash was right there with me, looming down over me.
“What happens when you find your family?” he tossed at me. “You think they’re just going to welcome me with open arms? A killer?”

  I hadn’t thought about it. Truthfully, my parents were rigid. Dash wasn’t far off in thinking I’d grown up with a silver spoon in my back pocket. Yes, I went to uppity prep schools. Yep, my parents had more money than I probably realized. I hadn’t wanted for anything, and I knew, a hundred years ago, I wouldn’t have given Dash a second glance. We came from the opposite side of the tracks. I wasn’t proud of who I’d been then, but I had a chance to be something different—someone better.

  Why couldn’t he?

  I crossed my arms. “I think my parents will just be glad I’m alive. They want me to be happy.”

  “I’m not going to make you happy, Freckles.”

  I groaned and started walking around Dash. It was only a matter of seconds before the tears started. I knew it.

  “Charlotte, wait—”

  “Stop talking,” I hissed.

  He put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me, but I refused to look at him. “You’re being unreasonable. We’re both here for a purpose. My mom and brother are out there. I won’t stop looking for them. Never. It could take years. Are you willing to wait that long? Longer?”

  I hated that he was making me think about not having him in my life. Pressure clamped down on my chest. “I don’t know, but you’re not even willing to give me the chance.”

  “It would be better if we didn’t get involved—less messy. We can’t start something that is going nowhere.”

  Wow. That hurt. More than I expected. It was a smack in the face. Only worse. “Too late,” I muttered. He had made up his mind about us, and no amount of talking or pleading was going to change that. We could talk circles around the subject all day. Short of busting out the tears, this topic was over.

  “You might think you have feelings for me, but it’s only because of our situation. You’ll see things differently. You’ll realize I’m not the guy you think I am.”

  Blinking away the rush of angry tears, I brushed at my cheeks. “Karma called. She said, ‘Suck it!’ ” I yelled, tossing wet hair out of my face.

  His chin jerked up. “Original.”