Alex really didn’t want to get into this with her. She wasn’t ready, and he wasn’t ready to face the truth. When he looked in the mirror, he saw himself as he’d always appeared, a young man. It didn’t matter that he watched generations rise and fall. He felt untouched by the abrasive sands of time. Too soon she would understand this truth, when her loved ones faded from sight and she yet remained. “Now is not the time for such talk. There is much to be done.”
Kate felt the tension in Alex as he corrected her grip and stance. He didn’t want to talk about the past. She could understand that. But they’d have to talk about it eventually. If they were going to move forward in their relationship, they’d have to deal with the past. Plus, she had things she needed to tell him.
They worked all day in the solitude of the mountain retreat. Their swords clanked against each other as Alex showed her the proper form. She learned how to stand, how to jab, and where to look to read her opponent’s moves. They stopped for a light lunch, but then got right back to work. Alex wanted Kate ready for Hayden’s retrieval. There was still a lot to learn.
~ ~ ~
Kate watched Alex flip the steaks on the grill. Steam rose and she could smell the marinade wafting in through the open window. She couldn’t wait to eat. Her stomach growled, and she licked her lips in preparation.
The oven timer beeped. She pulled out the baked potatoes and set them on the plates. Then she placed the side dishes and condiments on the table too.
“Smells delicious,” she said as Alex walked in with the steaks, his eyes pinning her. She gave him a weak smile. This felt a little awkward, too homey. Like they were an old married couple getting ready to eat their thousandth meal together. Earlier, when they were busy working outside, she excused his stares as instructional, but now she read the look in his eyes, and it was desire. Could he see the desire in hers?
“Thanks. They look perfect, if I say so myself,” Alex said with a wink. He couldn’t help but stare at her. She’d showered and her wet hair hung over her shoulders. She was beautiful. She looked natural, no makeup, nothing prohibited him from seeing the real Kate, except the wall she’d erected to hide behind. There was nothing he could do about that. He’d break down that wall one stone at a time.
They ate dinner and continued with their small talk. At times Kate caught his eyes betraying his heart as they remained on her longer than necessary, but hers did the same to him. This cabin would be her undoing. She would fall to the mounting desire that built within her for him.
“You did great today,” he said, turning on the dishwasher. “You’re a natural for this.” Pride swelled in his heart for her. She worked hard without complaining, and she picked everything up quickly. The fact that she was a natural athlete was evident. But he could tell something troubled her because her smile didn’t quite make it to her eyes. She seemed distracted once they’d stopped the lesson. “What’s on your mind?” Alex motioned towards the door that led to the patio.
Kate stepped onto the stone paver patio and breathed in the fresh air. The setting sun caused brilliant hues of orange and yellow to dance upon the lake. She eased onto the porch swing and looked up at Alex as he stood before her. She gently rocked the swing back and forth and felt the weight roll from her toes to her heels as she moved. She didn’t even know where to begin with Alex’s question, so she shrugged.
“Wow, that bad,” he said, joining her on the swing. “A shrug. That either means you don’t want to talk about it, or you’re embarrassed to talk about it. Which is it?” he asked, his voice smooth and easy.
“It could mean I’m not sure what’s wrong,” Kate said.
“It could, but you’re a smart girl,” Alex replied. He stretched his arm out and rested it on the back of the swing. Her hair brushed along his skin as she turned to face him. “And I think you know what’s on your mind,” he added.
One side of Kate’s mouth quirked up in a smile. “Actually, there are lots of thing on my mind.” And one of them is you, constantly. The desire that built in Kate for Alex grew each day, fueled by the dreams that she now craved. She now longed for those dreams to bleed over into reality, but she was scared to make the first move, and that made her feel weak. Zoe or Rylee would just go for it. Grab him and pull his mouth to theirs, but she seemed unable to do that. She wasn’t afraid of rejection. She knew he wouldn’t do that. She was afraid of where it would lead. That terrified her.
Alex tried to read her emotions, but she was all over the place. He couldn’t get a handle on her body language. “Then I’ll go first. Go ahead, start with an easy one” he said. “Ask away.” He wanted to be an open book to her. He wanted to let her into his heart, mind, and soul just as he wanted into hers, but he knew that would take time. “You don’t have to feel funny or stupid. We’ve all been the newbie.” He had a feeling that her questions had less to do with her Asteri relationships and more to do with her responsibilities.
“How did you know you were a Guardian?” Kate asked.
Alex breathed deeply and glanced into the sky. Colors shifted as night approached. Night had never bothered him. Not even as a boy. But ignorance, that drove him crazy. But now she’d shown her hand. Now he knew what was troubling her. Her future role. He already had an inkling which path she would take. Her question confirmed his suspicion. He felt relief as his ignorance was replaced with confidence. He could solve any problem as long as he knew what the problem was.
“My father was a doctor,” Alex began. “People from neighboring villages traveled to see him. Sometimes he would mix herbs to help battle fevers or diseases. He also performed basic surgery. You’d be surprised what they did back then.”
“Without anesthesia,” Kate said, her eyes fixed on Alex’s legs. She watched his muscles flex as he rocked the swing back and forth.
“Alcohol and drugs were the anesthesia of my father’s day. If the pain was unbearable, mercifully the person passed out.”
A shiver ran through Kate. She’d been miserable when she had her wisdom teeth taken out. She couldn’t imagine the horrific conditions of a surgery done inside a house on a filthy table or bed without pain medication.
“The most vivid memory I have of my father is a time when we worked together to save someone. We’d been working in the field and suddenly we heard a woman screaming. I looked up and saw terror in her eyes. Tears streamed down her face, and she clutched her skirts as she sprinted towards us. She was so panicked that her screams were indecipherable. My father and I ran to her. And that was when we saw it. Coming up behind her on the road was a cart pulled by a horse.
“Was her husband in the cart?” Kate hadn’t taken her eyes off of Alex’s face since his story began.
“No,” he shook his head. “Her son. I’d guess his age at fifteen. He’d been in the fields, working with the other men. Somehow his leg intersected with someone’s sickle. I remember looking into the cart and seeing the blood soaked hay. His leg was still attached, but just barely. The bone stuck out and was nearly cut in two. He looked so pale. He didn’t even move. He just lay there. His eyes closed.”
“What did you do?”
“My father yelled for me to grab his leg and hold it steady while we carried the boy into our house.” Alex looked at his hands and then wiped them on his shorts. He could almost feel the sticky blood as it covered his hands. “The boy’s leg was slick with blood. He moaned horribly as we moved him. But we got him inside and laid him on the table. My mother set to boiling water and fetching cloths. I grabbed my father’s instruments while he examined the boy. Then he worked his magic.” Alex smiled. “I’ve often wondered if my father had a little bit of the Asteri power in him. I know he had the gene, that’s obvious,” Alex said with a shrug. “But that boy lived. He should have bled to death, but he didn’t. My father sewed him back together. I think my father could put Humpty Dumpty together again. I don’t think he ever lost a patient, save for old age.”
“You were raised to be a healer, a Guardian.
”
“Yes,” Alex nodded and looked into the blue eyes that captured his heart. “I was trained to save lives, not take them. It’s just who I am.”
“But sometimes in order to save lives you have to take lives,” Kate said solemnly.
He knew that was true, and so did she. That was why she said it. She’d been way too comfortable with the death and killing part of Asteri life to be a Guardian. She had a taste for justice, for balancing the scales, but as he looked into her face, her beauty and youth shone through. She hadn’t been hardened yet by the years of death and fighting. She still radiated a beauty that had no rough edges, but that would change. Even Sarah, eternally beautiful, had a rough edge to her beauty. Most wouldn’t see it, but Alex did. He saw how the deaths weighed her down, causing her to seek out more monsters to kill. Peace does not come easily to the Avenger. “Do you feel a pull in either direction?” he asked. He already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from her.
She bit her bottom lip and thought about her reply. “It’s not so much that I feel a pull, but Sarah said something to me.”
“Sarah? When?” In a dream or reality?
“That day in the garden. The day you almost died and we learned that Hayden was still alive,” she added. “I saw her right before I met up with you.”
Alex nodded. He would never forget that day. It was the day she’d declared her love for him.
“She told me that I was a predator. I think she’s right.” She was so concerned that Alex would be disappointed with her that it felt as if the butterflies in Kate’s stomach were hopped up on ecstasy and rioting for supremacy. She feared that he’d see her as only a little better than the monsters she destroyed. Why did she have a taste for blood?
Alex took Kate’s hand in his. “Does that bother you?”
While his touch calmed the riot within her, it stoked the fire within her heart. “Not really,” she whispered, staring at the intersection of their hands. "I haven’t felt bad about any of the deaths I’ve witnessed or committed. They’ve all felt… just. The only time I was scared was when you nearly died. That was when I realized that this is a vicious, never-ending cycle. I realize now that one day I am likely to die in this cycle of death.”
Alex didn’t want to think about that, even though it was most likely true. Avengers lived by the sword, and they typically died by the sword. “Well, the truth is, you will save many lives before you need to worry about your death,” Alex said, and he would do his best to ensure that.
She nodded slowly and took a deep breath. “Does it bother you?” she whispered.
He turned his body so he could face her more easily. “That you’re an Avenger? No,” he said with conviction. “You are who you were destined to be. I could not fault you for being an Avenger any more than I could fault you for having blue eyes. Being an Avenger declares to the world your strength, your compassion for those who cannot defend themselves, and your innate sense of right and wrong.”
Kate squeezed his hand and looked out at the lake. Everything here was peaceful and beautiful, but she knew life was not that way. Life was hard and challenging. She wanted to stay here, play house with Alex, and pretend that nothing could touch them. But that wasn’t going to happen. They would leave here and face some kind of monster, a monster that needed to be killed. “I’m glad you feel that way,” she said, and her nose wrinkled as she flashed him a smile. “Maybe it shouldn’t, but it matters to me what you think.”
Alex had waited long enough. For months he’d watched her, looking for a sign, and now that he knew he was right, that she was meant for him, he didn’t understand what he was waiting for. She was his, and he was hers. As she sat there, her eyes so innocent and captivating, he knew that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He’d been unable to read her because he’d been so caught up in not rushing her that he’d failed to follow the bread crumbs that she’d dropped.
Alex pulled his hand free from her grasp and cradled her face with his palm. A faint smile played on her lips as his fingers grazed her cheek. The softness of her skin disguised the dangerous predator that she was, and he liked that. He liked that she was gentle yet deadly, intelligent but still pure, feminine yet strong. She was everything desirable, and with each breath, his desire for her increased.
Kate wasn’t sure how much time had passed since the moment his hand landed on her cheek, but the heat of his touch raced through her body. The tingling sensations traveled at warp speed. She stared into his green eyes and saw the passion he held for her. She wanted a taste of that passion. A real taste, not a sampling from her dreams. She leaned forward ever so slightly and he met her halfway. As their lips touched, a rush of emotions overwhelmed her. Desire flooded her as every inch of her body burned with excitement. Their lips melded together as he pulled her closer. She opened her mouth to him, and he took their kiss deeper.
He hadn’t felt his blood surge within his body like this for a long time. He’d spent so many years longing for his lover’s touch that he almost forgot how wonderful the sensation truly was. She set him on fire, and he wanted to stoke the flames. He pulled her closer, settling her on his lap. She straddled him, her angle perfect for kissing. His hands rested on her hips, and he dared not move them. If he risked exploring her body, he wouldn’t want to stop.
With each kiss, Kate felt more at peace with her destiny. She’d always enjoyed kissing Nick, but kissing Alex was different. Everything felt right as she sat on his lap, pressing herself against him. She didn’t want to stop. She wanted to taste him and let him taste her. She tilted her head, positioning herself for more of his kisses. He pressed kisses along the curve of her face and down her neck. His hot breath warmed her flesh.
She wiggled against him, her body pressing into his, and he pulled away. Her eyes questioned him as she sat silently atop him.
“We should stop,” Alex said. He couldn’t take his eyes off her flushed face. “Believe me, I don’t want to.” Alex moved his hands down from Kate’s hips to her legs as he took a deep breath, reining in his body. “But I don’t want to rush this,” he added, hoping that she’d understand.
He felt weird, like he was rushing her. Yet in his day, women her age were married and had children, but the social norms had changed, which made him feel off-kilter. He was with the woman he would be faithful to ‘til death. And in reality, he’d been faithful to her since before she was born. He was committed to her. He thought she understood that, but they still needed to talk before they took the next step.
Kate’s heart pounded within her chest. Her blood coursed through her, and she knew he was right. She rested a hand on his shoulder for balance and stood. She took a deep breath and felt some relief. “At least we got the first kiss out of our way,” she said with a smile.
Alex laughed. He planned on getting a lot more kisses with growing frequency.
8. Oracle
Zoe dragged the packing tape across the box and sealed it tight. She labeled the box and recapped the Sharpie. She hated moving, always had. Moving was a pain, but it was part of their life. They tried to only carry the necessities, but some things weren’t necessities because they facilitated life, they were necessities because they helped them maintain their sanity. The artifacts in the basement fell into that category. Special items from their past helped them stay connected to their history. Each item had an imprint of a loved one or significant event within its core. Those things stayed with them as they traveled from house to house, but this time, everything would have to go into storage. They weren’t going straight to their new home. They had a hunt to complete. This time they were nomads.
“Is that the last one?” Evan asked. He looked around the basement. Between the three of them, they’d organized and hung all their treasures by time in history. He always enjoyed doing that. Nick would reminiscence on battles fought, and no one could spin a tale like Nick. Evan figured Nick had a knack for embellishment, but who knew? Nick was a great warrior. But now as Evan scanned
the room, the walls were bare and the cabinets were empty. Zoe hadn’t forgotten anything.
“Yes.” Zoe looked up at Evan from the floor. “Do you ever get tired of this?” She sighed as she rested one arm on the box in front of her.
“Tired of what? Moving?”
“Moving isn’t so bad. It’s the packing and unpacking,” she groaned.
“It’s tedious, but isn’t that what life is, a series of tedious events linked together with a few joyous moments in between?”
Tedium with a sprinkling of joy. That sounded about right. “I guess so.” She stood and rubbed her hands down her thighs. She rolled her neck and reached up, stretching her back.
“I’ll get this one. You get that one,” she said, leaning over and picking up a box.
They carried the boxes to the moving van and locked the heavy, metal doors. Zoe went back inside to look around. She double-checked every cabinet and cupboard.
“I’ve already done that,” Evan said. He leaned against the doorframe in the kitchen.
“I know,” she replied, going from one cabinet to the other. “You know me. I can be a little obsessive.”
“Yep,” he nodded. She always double-checked whenever they moved. Sometimes she triple-checked. It also drove him crazy the way she would check and recheck to make sure she had her wallet and phone, as if she’d lost them in the five seconds since she last checked. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched her. She was all he cared about. The stuff didn’t matter to him. It could be replaced, but she couldn’t.
“Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath and glancing around the empty kitchen. “We’re clear to go.”
“After you.” Evan motioned to the front door with his hand. “I’ll lock up. The realtor is coming by later. She already has a key.”
Synchronicity (Scintillate Series Book 3) Page 13