“Shh, Eion. They’ll never hurt me again, you saw to that. I remember that much. I remember waking up to find you there, standing over me.” I touched his cheek. “I remember begging you to let me go and you telling me that if she’d have needed me to be there too, she would have waited.” I lost it as tears fell openly down my cheeks. “You told me you couldn’t sense her soul lingering, that she was safe. I remember. I clung to your every word and I remember what happened to you once you knew Myra and Gina were there to watch over me. I saw what you did to them, Eion. I saw you shift for the first and only time that night.”
“Lindsay, I shut off. I don’t remember killing any of them. I couldn’t think. I knew before Myra said anything what they’d done and that I’d have to look you in the face and tell you the baby didn’t make it. That she was gone. And I knew she was the only thing still holding you to me. Those bastards attacked you for no reason. And then you shut the door in my face. You built a fortress around you, disappeared from the public eye and were gone. Myra and Gina acted like guard dogs. They wouldn’t let me near you. Why? I’d never hurt you. Ever.”
Taking a deep breath, I locked gazes with him and confessed the truth. “Those monsters that took me had a reason, Eion. They told me I was the mate of a powerful man and they wanted to hurt him through me. I thought they were talking about you.” Running my hand over my lower abdomen, I bit back more tears. “They laughed as others pinned me down and ripped my body to shreds. I couldn’t stop them. There was too many and I didn’t understand how to use my powers fully. I begged them to stop. They didn’t. They just kept talking about the need to destroy my mate’s line, his chance at happiness and weakening him to the point he didn’t fight back anymore.” A choked sob ripped free from me as the memories of it all hit me.
“Lindsay,” Eion whispered as he reached for me. “Don’t. I’m sorry. I should have left the past in the past.”
Shaking my head, I let him hold me. “No. I lay there trying to stay awake through the pain, trying to heal what they’d done. I tried. The entire time I blamed you. I couldn’t understand why you wouldn’t tell me about them wanting to hurt you. Why you wouldn’t give me all the facts. How you could let that happen to your family. I even thought you held back from telling me the truth because you were upset with me for telling you I wasn’t ready to get married. That I couldn’t commit to you because something inside me wouldn’t let me.”
“Gods, why in hell would you think that?”
Taking a deep breath, I cried against his chest. “I thought you were the one they talked about because…because they talked about my blood and the baby’s…I can’t talk about this. Just know that they told me they could taste the royal blood in me now. They celebrated that they took a royal heir, and fully planned on taking me after they finished. I thought he was you and at the time I hated you for that. It took me a long time to understand you couldn’t have known and that if you had, you would have come to me, never letting it happen to begin with.”
“If you understood that then why didn’t you contact me?”
“Eion, something deep inside me wouldn’t let me go back to you. It knew we couldn’t last. I don’t know how. But it knew.”
Eion thrust another wave of power out. “Bullshit! We would have…Lindsay?”
“What?”
“Are you telling me that they thought the baby was this mate guy’s and that her blood matched his royal line?”
I nodded.
“And I find you now with Exavier.” His entire body went rigid. “Is he your mate?”
“Eion, I’ll go. The two of you are family. He didn’t know. He couldn’t have. Exavier’s not responsible for our losing her. He…”
Power leaked off Eion. I felt his hate, his rage as if it were my own. I tried to pull him to me. To hold him. He wouldn’t let me. “He’s always known they wanted to take over. It’s common knowledge. And he has always known who his mate is. He wouldn't tell me. He didn’t like talking about it because he ‘missed her too much’.”
His magik increased and I grabbed hold of him. “Eion, calm down. Don’t take your anger out on him. He’s your family. Don’t do this. He’ll kill you.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Lindsay.”
Cupping Eion’s face, I shook my head. “No, Eion. That’s not it at all. I’ve had a peek inside him, in dreams, at what he carries and it's pure evil. He can’t help it resides there and he’ll never be free of it. You don’t have that. No part of you is evil. I know that. You’re more than a good man. If you go at him harboring nothing but hate and rage, his power will recognize it. It’ll draw on the same source it takes from when dealing with evil creatures and it will destroy you. Not Exavier—he has no way to fight through it when it consumes him. He’s on the edge already. I can sense it in him. It’s not as bad today as it was but it's there.”
Eion pulled a tiny portion of his power back. Not nearly enough to make me comfortable. “They hurt you. They hurt our baby because of him. How can you stand there and defend him?”
“Because he’s my mate. Because a piece of me knows Exavier would have done anything to keep her safe had he known—his child or not.”
Eion let out a soft laugh. “That means nothing. I have a mate out there and there is no way she’d come before you, Lindsay.”
I ran my thumb over his lips, missing the touch of them. “You say that now but once you meet her you’ll understand. It will all make sense.”
“Do you love him?”
I closed my eyes.
“Lindsay, do you love him?”
“Yes, I’ve always loved him.”
He made a move to go around me. Terrified he’d get himself killed, I took hold of his shirt and yanked him to me. “Lindsay, I—”
Clamping my mouth over his, I kissed him with all that I had, letting him feel just how much I really did love him. Eion wrapped his arms around me and moved his tongue over mine, thrust for thrust. I hated myself for what I had to do. Taking his memories was beyond wrong. Leaving him to live in his own private hell was worse.
I continued to kiss him, my body reacted to his every caress, just as it always had. I let my power up slowly, not wanting to alarm him. The minute it was all the way up, I ran it through him hard and fast, going instantly for any memory of me he ever had. Our mouths stayed locked and we continued to kiss, to moan, to express our love for one another as my power stripped him of his past with me. Carefully, I replaced it with good memories. Happier times and strong bonds with his cousin.
Pulling back, I yanked my magik out of him. Eion fell backwards as did I. Pain shot through me as I struck the pavement. “Oww.”
“You can say that again. What happened?” Eion asked.
Sitting up, I smiled at him when every ounce of me wanted to cry. “I was running around that corner and I didn’t see you there. Sorry.”
Eion gave me one of his famous shit-ass grins that had always made me melt. “You, are the prettiest linebacker I’ve ever seen.” He stood and extended his hand to me. “I’m Eion Mac Mason.”
Taking his hand, I let him pull me to my feet and fought with all I had not to cry. “I’m Lindsay Willows. It was, umm, nice running into you, Eion.”
“Lindsay Willows? The dancer?”
“You’ve heard of me?”
Shit, I missed a memory.
He nodded. “Yeah, a really close friend of mine, Tim Collins had a Lindsay Willows with him when his,” he looked away a moment, “tour bus crashed.”
“Yeah, I’m her. Tim was a great guy.”
Eion nodded. “You weren’t hurt, were you?”
His love for me was so strong it had managed to somehow survive, even if just a bit. It tore at my gut.
“No. I wasn’t hurt. Thanks for asking.”
Eion stared at me, as if he were trying to place how he knew me. “Your eyes are really red. Are you okay?”
I’d forgotten all about the sun and how bad my eyes hurt when I’d
found Eion. “I’ll be fine. I’m a little sensitive to the sun and I forgot my sunglasses.”
“Come on, I’ll take you in and have someone take a look at them.”
Shaking my head, I offered him a warm smile. “I’m good. Thanks though.”
Eion ran his hand through his hair and laughed. “Lindsay, you’re probably going to run like hell but I don’t think I can physically walk away knowing you’re in pain. That makes no sense. I know, but it’s the truth.”
“There you are. I’ve got your glasses.”
Exavier held a pair of black sunglasses in one hand and a glass of water in the other. He nodded towards Eion. “Patrick’s going ape-shit in there.”
Eion glanced between Exavier and I. “You two know each other?”
“Yep, she’s the mate I mentioned but refused to give you details on.”
I just stared at Exavier wondering how much of the conversation he’d heard. He closed the distance between us and handed me the glasses. The second I had them on, he pulled me to him and kissed my forehead. He let his power out and it ran over my eyes, taking the burning away instantly.
“Mmm, I hate to say it but I think we’re going to need to head back in.”
Eion gave Exavier a hard look. “That’s one hell of a lady you got there. Treat her right or you’ll answer to me, cousin.”
Exavier smiled. “I know. She’s amazing. And you have my word I’ll love and protect her with all I am. I already promised her father, but now I’m telling you too.”
Eion nodded. “Good. And Lindsay, should he get out of line, come to me. I’ll kick the shit out him and see to it you’re taken care of.”
“Well, thanks. I appreciate that.” I watched as Eion headed back into the building. The moment the door shut I gave in to the urge to cry.
“Shh, baby, you did what needed to be done.”
“I’ll head home when you’re done today. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you…I didn’t know how.”
Exavier held me tight with one arm and handed me the water he’d brought out. “I found you again a couple of days ago. I am so sorry, Linds. I didn’t know. I would have told you. I would have protected you and the baby. I didn’t know.”
“You don’t hate me?”
“I love you. I hate my mother for toying with us. It would have been me with you that summer. It would have been my child, my…umm… I love you so much. I know I should be seething mad but all I want to do is comfort you, baby. I want you happy.”
“I love you too.”
His power ran up and over me. “Baby, let me lesson some of the pain from that night. Please.”
“No,” I said quickly. “Don’t take my memories of her, Exavier.”
“I won’t, honey, but I can make it so you can move forward with life, like she would want you to.” The minute I felt his power move through me, I knew he wasn’t waiting for permission. The urge to fight him on it wasn’t there. The urge to hold him was. I gave into it.
Chapter Thirteen
I took another sip of my bottled water and laughed at the guys as they lifted Exavier over their heads and held him there. They’d been up to their antics for several hours, drinking steadily and seeming to enjoy themselves.
Eion laughed hard. “He finally did it! The man finally worked up the nerve to find the girl of his dreams.” He glanced at me. “The girl who is giving me a look like I better not drop him. I think he bounces. Should we see?”
“No,” I said, moving forward fast. They’d been drinking since the director announced they would be pulling an all-nighter. When I questioned the drinking while working thing, Eion pointed out they weren’t doctors so there was no threat of being intoxicated and needed in the operating room. He also pointed out half the shows they put on involved drinking at some point.
I would have argued but there really was no point. One was as stubborn as the other.
“Okay, gentlemen. I need Exavier to shoot the crypt scene,” Pat called out.
They all groaned. “Don’t make him lay on the bitch. We didn’t know he found his mate…umm…matching socks, yeah,” Karlon the keyboardist said, quickly covering for his slip.
“Sorry, set's built, label knows, it's happening.”
Eion pointed at me and let go of Exavier. “Use her. She’s Lindsay Willows.”
I watched in horror as they dropped Exavier and he hit the ground. He groaned and then laughed as he lay there, clearly allowing the alcohol to take the edge off his pain. That or he was just insane. As of late, I wasn’t sure.
He put his arm up and held it there a moment before pointing at the ceiling. “She’s not only Lindsay Willows, she is my wife.”
You could have heard a pin drop.
Smiling, I rushed towards him. “Umm, he’s drunk. He means girlfriend.”
Eion touched my shoulder and I wanted to wrap him in my arms and assure myself he’d really be okay. I held back. He snickered. “It's okay, Lindsay. We like to deny him too.”
“Wait, Lindsay Willows the choreographer?” Pat asked.
“Yeah, care to eat your words now? I am no man’s flavor of the week, director of the moment.”
He reddened. I smiled. “Umm, sorry about that.” He stared down at Exavier. “Can I get you to lay naked on a crypt with Lindsay under you instead of Hyde whom we have not gotten a single good shot of today?”
Eion stepped forward. “I’ll lay naked any way you want me to if she’s under me. That might piss Exavier off since she’s his wife and all.”
“I’m not his wife.”
Karlon touched my shoulder and his power swept through me. It rolled around, banging into itself as it explored me. Heat rushed through me and I drew in a sharp breath. He pulled it away fast and chuckled. “Are you sure?”
Pravat, the bass player, pushed his chestnut brown hair back off his shoulder and grinned. “We owe the guy a bachelor party. Naked chicks, liquor and hopefully he gets licked by her. Sound good, Exavier?”
Karlon put his hand up. “It’s got my vote.”
“Nope, I don’t think it's such a good idea,” Eion said, sounding every bit as intoxicated as the rest of them looked.
I glanced at Pat and nodded. “I’ll do it. Give us a bit and we’ll meet you over there.”
“Thank you.”
“Aww, we want strippers.” Pravat leaned over Exavier. “Get your lazy ass up. We want hot chicks, food and fucks. Don’t you want to get as much ass in as you can before it’s too late?”
I zapped him in the forehead with my magic. He spun in a circle looking for the source of the attack. “Oww, Exavier, I think this place is haunted.”
“No, you’re just an idiot.” Exavier rolled onto his side and glanced up at me. “I love you, Lindsay. I love you with every fiber of my being. And I have loved you from the minute I laid eyes on you when we were just kids. That’s a hell of long time to love someone but I have. I didn’t think I could love you more. I was wrong. I do.”
All the guys stared at him as if he were announcing he was becoming a monk.
“Did he just tell someone he loved them?” Pravat asked.
Eion nodded. “I think so. Though, I’ve never heard the man utter those words so I might be mistaken. He said it a lot so he’s not giving me an out for him there.”
“An out? I don’t want one. I more than just love her, guys. She’s my everything,” Exavier said, grinning foolishly. “She is the only woman I’ve ever loved. Ever.”
“Get up. You have a video to finish making.” Using my power, I pulled him quickly to his feet and straightened his outfit, refreshed his hair and make-up.
“Whoa,” he said, looking around with wide eyes.
“How the hell much did you guys drink? You metabolize things ten times as fast as humans.” I glared at them all.
Karlon patted my arm. “That is exactly why we drank twenty times more than them.”
“Exavier, are you ready?”
“Hurry up, man. You get to do her on a cr
ypt,” Pravat said, nodding.
Exavier’s magik shot around us. The next thing I knew, we were standing on a completely different set. This one had a large crypt in the center of it. Fake graves were all around it. Fog covered the floor. Frantic, I looked around, terrified Exavier had magikally popped us onto a set full of humans.
“Relax, Linds. They’re coming in now.” He winked. “I love you in that outfit. We’re keeping it.”
“Huh?” Glancing down, I found myself in an off-white corset that laced up the front. Partway up, it was clearly too tight so it didn’t meet in the middle. The majority of each breast showed, as did my stomach. The off-white floor-length skirt had tiny silk ribbons on it. Lifting it, I found layer upon layer of material. I shifted a bit and knew I wore nothing other than stockings and a garter belt beneath it. The cream, four-inch spiked, old-fashioned style boots left me feeling like I might tip over.
Reaching up, I found my hair was done in large ringlets hung loose to my waist. My eyes widened. “Exavier?”
“Wonderful! I see wardrobe found you. That is record time for them.” Pat circled me slowly. “I didn’t see this one when I was costume picking. I love it. An angel among demons. It’s perfect.” He smiled wide. “Exavier, untie her corset during the shoot. We’ll pan around the two of you. Leave the skirt on. I think the idea you’re in too big of a hurry to undress her fully is sexy as hell. They’ll eat it up and it can only help keep it playable.”
Everything happened so fast. One minute I was standing there staring at Exavier and the next I was under him on the hard, cold slab. He’d undressed in less than thirty seconds. No part of him seemed to care he was walking around a set naked. He just kept staring at me with hungry eyes. One of the assistants covered us in blood red satin sheets. Exavier had my legs spread wide and looked as though he wanted to devour me.
“Get ready with the music.”
“Hey, Exavier, are you happy we forced them to add this scene? Playing guitar while you’re screwing her would be really friggin’ hard,” Pravat said, sounding as if he was laughing more to himself than anyone else. “Bet he lip syncs now.”
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