The Power

by Cynthia Roberts

  “It couldn’t have been that long. You don’t look much older than eighteen now.” he grinned as if teasing her, but truth be told, she did look very young. How old was she anyway?

  “I’m older than I appear to be, Jack.” She said with a smile.

  “Good. Then I don’t have to worry about going to jail.” he teased, and she grinned.

  “No.” She agreed.

  “Was it your aunt who told you the stories of your grandmother?” Jack asked, recalling the story Lilly had related to him some nights ago. Lilly ducked her head.

  “I’m sorry. Tough subject?” he asked, reaching across the table, and taking her hand in his he turned it palm up and traced the small lines within her palm with his index finger.

  “I would rather speak of something else tonight, if you don’t mind?” she took his other hand in hers, and turned the tables on him, stroking his palm now, instead of the other way around. Jack felt something like a shock wave go through him as the soft tips of her fingers caressed his hand, and it was all he could do to stay seated.

  “Is New York a permanent residence for you?” he found himself asking, and at the shake of her head, his heart seemed to plummet into his stomach.

  “I’m a traveler, I suppose. I never stay long in one place, Jack.” she told him.

  “Then you’ve seen the world?”

  “Much of it, yes.” Lilly agreed as she met and held his gaze. “You’re thinking of money and how our salaries compare.” she accused, and it was his turn to duck his head.

  “You just reminded me of how different our worlds are.” Jack confessed.

  “My coming from wealth and privilege, and you, from the upper middle class?” she cocked a sexy blonde brow at him, and Jack tried hard to keep his lust in check.

  “Upper?” he argued, and she tilted her head to a side.

  “Privileged?” she challenged, and he grinned.

  “Weren’t you?” he counter-challenged.

  “I suppose I am now.” she relented. “But everything I have wasn’t handed to me on a silver platter, Jack. I do work.”

  “Yes. You’re an artist.” Jack filled in. “Talented and wealthy.” he smiled, but he was feeling more than a little inadequate here.

  Lilly narrowed her gaze on him. “And what of your talents?”

  “My talents?”

  “Yes. Your puzzle solving skills. I read up on you as well, Jack Stone. I know of the medals and awards you’ve received over the years. I know how you served in Iraq for three years before returning here to New York City to continue on as a Homicide Detective. I hear you’re quite a good aim with a gun as well.” Lilly listed off his qualities, all of which sounded like a pile of mud next to hers. Lilly rolled her eyes heavenward. “You don’t know your own worth, Jack Stone!” she hissed, and he grinned over at her.

  “And I’m afraid to know yours.” He confessed, pulling her toward him, and leaning over the table to kiss her softly. “I want you to meet my brother.” he said suddenly, and she started to pull back, as if suddenly uncomfortable.

  “I…uh…”

  “I, uh, what?” Jack mocked playfully. “You want me to arrange something for this weekend? Friday you say?” he put to her, and she smiled with a shake of her head.

  “We’ll see.” she gave in partly. It was enough for now, Jack thought, and he leaned in to kiss her once more.

  “You never touch your coffee.” he mentioned when the kiss broke. Lilly looked down at her cooling cup of coffee, still full to the rim. She looked into Jack’s eyes, and smiled. “I don’t drink coffee.” she confessed, and they laughed together.

  “No?” Jack scoffed teasingly. “Then how did I meet you in a coffee shop?”

  “I saw you through the window, and had to meet you.” Lilly admitted.

  “Because I look like your grandmother’s painting?” Jack asked, not sure he liked this part so much.

  “Yes.’ Lilly agreed.

  “And you still believe I’m your Jackson reincarnated?” Jack teased. Lilly smiled, meeting and holding his gaze.

  “Aren’t you?” she asked, leaning in close, her lips hovering dangerously close to his.

  “Darling, I’ll be whoever you want me to be.” Jack said huskily, and then he kissed her, kissed her until he was breathless with it.

  Chapter sixteen

  After coffee, Jack drove Lilly home and somehow he found himself standing in the front parlor of her home. It was an elegantly decorated room with rich woven rugs and tapestries that belonged in castles of old. The furniture was Victorian with high-backed, velvet-covered sofas and chairs with hand-sculpted arms and legs. The furniture in this room probably cost more than his brother’s house, Jack thought uncomfortably! A man in his late seventies to early eighties dressed in a penguin suit greeted them at the door and took Jack’s leather jacket.

  “Good evening, sir. May I take your jacket?” The butler, Reginald, if Jack had it right, had asked with a dignified bow. Two other men were there as well, younger men in their mid-twenties, handsome, solidly built men that made Jack wonder what the hell they were doing there. He cocked a brow in their direction.

  “My grandsons, Josh and Troy Meiser.” Reginald introduced the young men, who stepped forward to shake Jack’s hands.

  “We work as Lillian’s bodyguards, not that she ever takes us anywhere.” The dark haired young man by the name of Troy commented as he shook Jack’s hand.

  “Mostly we hang around the manor and twiddle our thumbs.” Josh added with a grin that caused dimples to sink into both of his cheeks.

  “But we do get paid well for it.” Troy said with a wink to Lilly. Jack’s gut tightened.

  “Bodyguards?” he cocked a brow curiously in Lilly’s direction.

  “One can never be too careful.” She said, and she motioned for him to follow her. They joined in another room, a larger room, with more rich, woven rugs, tapestries, and fine furnishings. This room also had a stone fireplace, this one as big as Jack’s car, Jack thought in amazement. It was entirely made of huge, gray stones that did indeed look as if they had been carted in from some far away castle. Above the mantel there was a painting of a dark haired woman with amazing sapphire eyes.

  “Who is that?” Jack nodded toward the painting.

  “Lady Gina.” It was Reginald who answered. “She was like a second mother to my Lillian.”

  “Your Lillian?” Jack asked, taking the crystal glass of Brandy that Troy brought to him, and staring down into the amber liquid.

  “Forgive me. I tend to think of My Lady as a daughter.” Reginald smiled awkwardly, showing a remarkable mouth of white, straight teeth.

  “How do you know Miss Lillian?” Troy was the one to ask, sounding protective of Lilly. Jack didn’t like it.

  “We met in a coffee shop.” Jack met Lilly’s gaze from across the room. She had settled on a high-backed, blue velvet-covered sofa, tucking her legs beneath her elegantly and sitting straight with her hands in her lap. She nodded to the chair across from her, and Jack sat down, feeling more uncomfortable the longer that he stayed there in such lavish surroundings.

  “Jack doesn’t like the fact that I have money.” Lilly announced from out of nowhere. “He is uncomfortable here.”

  Jack noticed when Josh and Troy exchanged a snicker at his expense. He looked to Lilly accusingly. “They are just things, Jack, things of little importance.” she assured him.

  Things that I will never be able to buy for you, Jack thought, and he stood to his tall height. Handing his brandy back to Troy, he nodded to Lilly. “It’s late.” he said in dismissal, turning to leave.

  “I’ve injured your feelings?” Lillian acknowledged, looking up at him.

  “No.” He lied. “It’s late.” he said tightly, and he nodded to each of the three men. “Goodnight, Lilly.” he said, not looking at her, and he turned to leave, but the butler jumped forward and blocked Jack’s path.

  “I’ll just get your coat, sir.” Reginald said hur
riedly.

  Jack had made it all the way out the front door, and had shrugged back into his jacket when Lilly opened the front door, and stepped out into the moonlight.

  “Jack.” She called, and he turned fully to face her. “I’m sorry. I know that this bothers you.” she said, motioning around her. “I just wanted you to know that it doesn’t bother me, that I wish it didn’t bother you.” she told him, and he stood there staring at her. She was so damn beautiful, he thought, and she ducked her head, hiding her face from him. Jack stepped forward and brushed her hair aside. Leaning in, he kissed her forehead, and brushed his hand along the side of her soft, beautiful face. Her amazing blue eyes lifted to meet his. “Don’t let this bother you, Jack.” she said, almost pleading.

  “I’m trying not to.” He replied, and he smiled down at her. Taking a step in to her, he ran his hands slowly up and down her arms. “Friday?” he asked, and she looked up sharply. “Now who’s uncomfortable?” he accused, and she forced a smile.

  “I’ll pick you up at seven.” he told her, and he didn’t give her time to respond. Instead, he kissed her quickly, and walked away.

  Lillian watched Jack Stone until he was safely in his car and driving down the drive.

  “Well. That was interesting.” Troy called from behind her. It was only a few hours until sunrise. Lillian had not fed this night, but she had fed enough the night before to last her a week or more. She would hunt as little as possible, she thought. Being with Jack Stone, associating with him, touching him, kissing him, and being held by him was making her feel, well almost human again.

  “Was it?” she replied, and she stepped back inside her home, and shut and locked the door behind her.

  “So who is this Jack Stone?” Troy, the more aggressive of the two brothers, asked point blank as he led Lillian back into the drawing room.

  “He’s a detective with the police department. He’s working the murders.” Lillian said awkwardly.

  “I see. So, you’re keeping your enemies close?” Troy said as if she were a genius.

  “Jack Stone is not my enemy.” Lillian spit out.

  “You fancy this man.” Reginald stated, and Lillian looked up meeting the old man’s dark eyes.

  “I do.” she confessed, and Josh sucked in his breath.

  “Fancy, as in want to…make a meal out of?” he asked in a shaky tone.

  “I don’t bring my dinner home, Josh.” Lillian said as she sat back down on her sofa, and stroked the finely carved arm.

  “Then you like him, like him?” Josh asked not understanding. Troy chuckled beneath his breath. Reginald smiled from ear to ear.

  “Tell me everything.” Reginald insisted, and for once in a very long time, he sat in her presence, taking the seat across from Lillian. Lillian smiled gently.

  “When I was young, having just left mortality.” she began, and Troy and Josh gathered around close. The crackling of the fire in the fireplace sounded, and all four sets of eyes turned to stare at the orange glow of the fire for an entranced moment. “Gina and I were aboard a ship leaving from England to the Americas. We were fleeing, as I being a newborn to immortality, had done something foolish, and had exposed us.” she told the men, seeing that she had their undivided attention. “The ship, the Elisabeth II, had been at sea but a few days when I met a man too beautiful for words. Gina warned me against this man. She could read of him his true character, and also I would discover later, she had had a past with him. Being so young, I would not heed her advice.”

  “What does this have to do with Mr. Stone?” Josh complained lightly, and Lillian frowned up at him.

  “If you do not wish to hear this story then carry yourself off somewhere else. Josh, I fear you and I will never get along if you don’t find a way to become more at ease in my presence.” she warned, making Troy grin and duck his head.

  “I can lighten up.” Josh said with injured pride. “Go on. What happened with this man aboard the Elisabeth Two?”

  “Well, he wasn’t a man at all.” Lillian met Troy’s soft brown eyes, and said. “He was a vampire as I soon would discover. I had not yet learned to read thoughts so easily, you see. Nor did I think to listen for his heartbeat. It was Gina who would tell me later that night that Ewan was a vampire, like us. She also would warn me of Ewan’s evil.”

  “But you didn’t listen to her?” Josh asked, overzealous now. Lillian tried not to roll her eyes.

  “No. I would not listen. Ewan was very handsome, dashing and beautiful, and I craved him from my first sight of him. What Gina had to say concerning him was of little concern to me. But, I will tell you a secret concerning my kind.” She leaned in closer. “We all possess certain powers, but one power within us is dominant, more refined. For me, it is that I can read the minds of mortals, and also of my own kind with great clarity. It was the same for Gina. She is the one who made me, so naturally that skill is powerful within me as well.” she explained.

  “And what was this Ewan’s skill?” Troy was clever to ask.

  “Persuasion.” Lillian said lowly, and she turned and stared into the fire as the memories came flooding back to her.

  “Persuasion?” Reginald asked, not understanding.

  “He could persuade the mortals to do things for him. He could bend their will so to speak. He could capture them with a handsome smile, with his pretty face, make them want to do anything and everything he asked of them.” she said deep in remembrance.

  “And this persuasion, it worked on you?” Troy asked in an enthralled voice.

  “Yes. He made me believe that I was in love with him.” Lillian confessed. “At the time, I would have done anything for him, but to him, it was only a game. I was only a game.”

  “Then he broke your heart?” Josh guessed as if they were talking over a simple lover‘s quarrel.

  “No.” Lillian turned back to the men. “But the spell he had over me was broken one particular evening when I witnessed his cruelty to a young cabin boy.” The memory assaulted her mind, and Lillian closed her eyes against it. “You see, who I thought was a good man, was actually a dangerous killer. Like a cat, he enjoyed playing with his food before he devoured it. The torture he forces his prey to endure is cruel and inhumane, but then again Ewan has not been human in hundreds of years.”

  “You speak of him as if he is still around?” Reginald asked, sounding anxious.

  “I suppose that he is. I just don’t know where.” Lillian replied thoughtfully. “Gina and I were able to escape him when the ship docked in America. It was daylight, but Gina and I had booked passage on the Elisabeth II for ourselves, and for the two caskets of her dear, departed parents. We had traveled as cousins, you see. Gina paid men to take the caskets, and leave them in a hotel room in town. She had paid men handsomely to purchase the room ahead of time for us, and to deliver the coffins within. By the time night fell again, Gina and I had gained a head start in our escape from Ewan and his followers.” Lillian recalled that night as if it were yester eve. She had never been more frightened.

  “His followers?” Josh countered excitedly. “I thought all vampires traveled alone?”

  “Not all.” Lillian said simply.

  “I still fail to see what this has to do with Jack Stone?” Josh complained, and Lillian smiled slowly.

  “On board the Elisabeth II, after I had discovered Ewan’s true nature, and the spell he had over me was broken, Ewan, though very possessive of me, still allowed me to roam the ship alone. He knew he no longer possessed me the way he had: as a child who had worshipped him endlessly. The sight of me afterward enraged him. He longed to keep me as his own, but he wanted total possession, and could not decipher a way to obtain it once more after what he had done.” Lillian explained.

  “And?” Reginald hurried her on.

  “And, while I was roaming the ship, contemplating all of my foolishness, and wallowing in self-pity and depression, I met another man, a Sloan Jackson. I called him Jax.” She said in fond memory. She did not
tell them that the night she had met Jax she had been running from Ewan, that he had hurt her terribly. It would only hurt them, she reasoned. “He could see that something wasn’t quite right with me, that something horrible had happened. He longed to comfort me, and he did. We became fast friends. We would meet night after night while Ewan played with the mortals.” Lillian turned, losing her thoughts in the fire as the memories leapt out like flames in her mind. She could see Jax in her mind’s eye, see him smiling, laughing as he leaned down to say something against her ear. He had kissed her but once, a gentle kiss at the corner of her mouth when she had least expected it. The look in his eyes then had been so intense, and the feelings she had seen there within those smoldering amber eyes, she knew were mirrors of what she, herself, had been feeling.

  “This Jax? Was he a vampire as well?” Troy was the one to ask.

  “No.” Lillian shook her head negatively. “He was mortal.” she whispered.

  “So what happened?” Josh was legitimately getting into the story now, and eager to hear more.

  “We became quite close, Jax and I, but Jax could sense something was wrong with me. One night, through tears that I can no longer cry, I told Jax everything. I expected him to walk away from me, to think that I was crazy at the very least, but the ship was not a large ship. People had come up missing, bodies had been discovered. I swore to Jax that I hadn’t killed anyone and I hadn’t. Gina and I had been living on rats, disgustingly so, for weeks. I had not killed anyone since my aunt.” She said, hearing when Josh swallowed suddenly, and his heartbeat took off. “But that is another story, Josh, and she did deserve to die.” she actually reached out and patted Josh’s hand in sympathy. Troy grinned knowingly, and Reginald did as well.

  “Then he believed you, in the whole vampire story, just like that?” Josh asked skeptically.

  “I showed him.” Lillian whispered. “I cut my wrist with my fingernail, and the smell of the blood caused the change to come over me. At first, he was frightened, understandably so. Vampires, such as I, were not supposed to exist after all. He started to back away, and I thought I had just given us away, Gina and I, that Jax, in his fright, would go to the captain of the ship and we would all be hanged, or whatever they would do to us to end our existence.”