Night

by Jessica Florence

  It was the type of love I’d always wanted, and while the two were completely different people, I could see how it would work. She was the queen to his king of the city. She would keep him on his toes, even with him being able to see the future.

  “How’s the arm feeling?” Draco asked, and I smiled. He was kind and caring through that tough-looking mask he wore. Watching those he cared about die had taken a toll on him, but I could see he was really trying to let everyone in.

  “It’s all right, just sore. I will survive.”

  I moved my arm, testing the range of motion. It was fine. I was lucky I hadn’t been closer to the explosion.

  He nodded.

  “Before I forget, I’m heading to Magnolia to see my parents tomorrow, so no one get hurt for twenty-four hours, okay?” I looked them all in the eye, giving them my best nurse stare and a few of them laughed. I guess the look wasn’t as badass as I was trying to make it.

  “I don’t foresee any trouble. We should manage a day without needing your services.” Phillip wasn’t smiling as he said those words. Was there something else he saw that he wasn’t saying aloud?

  “Good.”

  Everyone finished eating their food, then Leon and Lilith went up to their room with claims they wanted a nap. Everyone knew better. Rose and Draco settled themselves in the chill room on their chair while she read a book and Draco just enjoyed her company.

  Phillip and Mina got into a very interesting conversation about how to stop pollution in the ocean. Mina was going to whip that boy into a weapon for her own use, I could tell. Thankfully she was on the side of good and would make him do things like end world hunger or save all the kittens.

  Echo and Asher headed off to go hike in the snow. They were outdoorsy, and while I wasn’t much of a nature girl, I could appreciate the beauty of simply being one with the woods.

  So then it was just AJ, Charles, and me. Charles left for the training facility below, intent on using his new strength as much as he could.

  “Wanna come play in the command center with me?” AJ asked awkwardly, and I grinned.

  “Of course.”

  AJ was a nice boy. Really smart, but what I think I loved about him most was his ability to not let the world get him down. Even when things were going wrong left and right, he stayed positive.

  “I control what I can and let go of what I can’t. I learned that a long time ago,” he said, and then we became the eyes of the city for a while, watching over Seahill like a protective mother waiting to step in when needed. Together.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Esme

  I was sitting in an Aston Martin with Dorian.

  I was totally sitting in an Aston Martin with Dorian, on our way to my parents’ house.

  “You really didn’t have to drive me. I would have been fine,” I said, and he just gave me a look and turned his eyes back to the road.

  “Well, don’t think this earns you anything special. You’re not getting anal, or anything close, just for driving me.” I shrugged and wiggled to get a bit more comfortable in the smooth seat.

  Dorian looked at me for a hot minute, then his mouth opened, and he laughed. A full-on belly laugh, and I couldn’t help but stare at him. In all the time I’d known Dorian, I’d never seen him look so…normal, with his dark jeans, black button-up shirt, and a smile on his face.

  I was looking pretty cute, if I did say so myself, in an off-the-shoulder green sweater dress and tight leggings tucked into boots.

  We had only been driving for thirty minutes, and I was already starting to regret agreeing to Dorian playing chauffeur.

  “So, you’re just going to drop me off and do whatever you do, right? I’ll call you when I’m ready to go.”

  I stared out the window, enjoying the beautiful scenery, praying he would just agree, and that would be it.

  “I’m not going somewhere else.”

  Dammit.

  “I can’t have you around my parents. They’re going to think we’re dating or something.” I really hadn’t thought this through. I should have just told him no or snuck out before he came to pick me up.

  “They won’t approve of a friend bringing you home and staying in the room with you?”

  “Yeah, no.” I shook my head. Oh God, my parents were going to freak.

  “Plus, we aren’t friends,” I reminded him. We were having sex. And sometimes eating together.

  He seemed to think on my words before speaking.

  “Just tell them we’re dating.”

  I froze.

  Did I just hear him right?

  “We aren’t dating.”

  “I’m quite aware. We pretend, and at least this way I can make you scream and no one will blink an eye.”

  That was his reasoning? We lie to my parents, and then he can screw me, and they won’t care?

  “Is that all you care about? Making me scream? Not lying to my parents? Or pretending to be my boyfriend? I mean, seriously, have you ever even dated before? Do you know how to be in a relationship?”

  Yeah, I was freaking out, but I had a right to be. This was one big and bad decision. My mom was pretty insightful, she would see through this. And my dad! He would be all protective of his daughter.

  Sweat beads broke out on my forehead when I realized that Dorian was going to hear everything about me. About Eli. This was too personal. We were just supposed to be screwing. I would be vulnerable to him, and I didn’t want that.

  “My twin brother died when I was sixteen,” I blurted out, grasping for information I could give him, so he was learning about me and my past from my own mouth instead of my parents. At least this way he would understand when the air in the room shifted to sadness—it was because we missed him so much. His death changed us all in many ways.

  “How did he die?” Dorian asked calmly, and I started telling him everything. Well, everything except my gift. I wouldn’t give him that tidbit, and I knew my parents didn’t even know, so I was good there.

  He listened quietly as I told him about Eli and about growing up in Magnolia, a small town with a very homey feel. I told him about my need to become a nurse to help people and control the things I could. Which still wasn’t much, but I tried.

  Once we pulled off the highway and made our way through the streets of my hometown, I started to feel all the memories tug me to follow them.

  “Helping the sick and injured has always been second nature to me. It’s the healthy and mobile that I don’t care for.” Dorian was trying to distract me, but I would bite. I knew nothing about him, and since I opened up about my life, I was hoping he would do the same for me.

  That hope fell flat when he didn’t say another word and we pulled into my parents’ driveway.

  They lived in a nice two-story home on an acre of land that had four bedrooms and three baths, surrounded by big trees. My favorite part of the house had always been the front porch. It wrapped all the way around and had a swing on the back.

  Dorian parked the car and turned to face me.

  “Relax, everything’s going to be fine.”

  His hand nestled itself through my hair, pulling my head toward his as he leaned in.

  The kiss was surprisingly sweet, and even comforting.

  My body started to relax and focused on his lips against mine.

  When he pulled back his eyes were locked on mine as they opened.

  “Showtime,” he whispered, then went about getting his jacket on and stepping out of the car. He walked around and opened the door for me, which was a tad over the top, but I smiled anyway. After I was out, he went to retrieve our overnight bags from the trunk.

  Looking up, I noticed both my parents standing on the porch waiting for us.

  I moved quickly toward them, and they surrounded me in the best hug together.

  “Honey, we are so glad to see you.” Mom was getting teary-eyed already. She had always been an emotional parent, but after Eli died, she got even worse. Mom and Dad stayed togeth
er instead of continuing with the divorce. They weren’t wild in love anymore like they used to be, now they were just like roommates who already knew each other’s lives and secrets.

  “Mom, Dad, I’d like to introduce you to Dorian.” I pulled back so they could say hello.

  Mom looked at him, her reddish-brown hair framing her face, eyes so similar to mine. Everyone said my smile came from my dad. I was tall like him, and he had put on a little weight, but his brown hair was trimmed nicely, and his blue eyes were giving Dorian a strange look.

  “Welcome, Dorian. Thank you for driving our daughter to us, that was very kind of you,” Mom spoke first; Dad was sizing Dorian up. I found that pretty comical for some reason.

  “It was my pleasure. Someone’s gotta take care of our girl.” Dorian’s arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me in tight. Our girl. If that wasn’t a declaration, then I don’t know what was.

  “Oh, Esme, you did good.” Mom winked, and I knew my cheeks were turning pink. I wanted to shout out that we weren’t together, but I bit my lip instead.

  “Well, let’s get these two lovebirds out of the cold, shall we, Sherry?” Dad gestured for us to follow, and we all walked into the house one by one, Dorian’s hand stayed firmly fixed on my lower back as we did.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Esme

  We had a nice brunch, and surprisingly, Dorian talked to my parents. He wasn’t all silent and serious like usual. He smiled, he joked, and he touched me every chance he could.

  I didn’t wanna like it, but I kinda did. I kept telling myself over and over that it wasn’t real, that as soon as we left my parents we would be back to screwing and that was it. No fake relationship. But every time he touched me, and every smile he threw my way, made my heart speed up.

  Panic rose inside me as it dawned on me what was happening.

  “Excuse me!” I jumped up from the table and all but ran to the bathroom.

  I washed my hands and tossed some water on my face while I was at it. When my eyes met my own in the mirror, I saw something I didn’t want to see.

  “Don’t you dare start to like him, Esme. He’s bad news, and he doesn’t have a heart to give you.”

  Oh God, I wanted his heart?

  That couldn’t be right. He was Dorian, asshole extraordinaire! There was nothing to make me fall for him.

  Except the touching, and when he brought me expensive dinner, and stayed with me while I slept then carried me to bed, and when he came back to work to check on me after the explosion.

  This realization hit me like a punch to the gut. I sat back on the covered toilet and digested all of these feelings. Dorian had been showing me kindness—not with words, but with his actions. His words were as sharp and cold as ever, but he had been taking care of me.

  I felt so confused, not knowing what to do.

  The tug of war between my mind and my head didn’t stop after I left the bathroom, and in fact only got worse when Dorian leaned in to kiss my cheek when I sat back down at the table.

  My eyes met his for a few seconds, and I wished it could be real. That I could let myself fall for him, and he wouldn’t break my heart. Because he would. I don’t think he knew any other way to be. But for that moment, when his brown eyes were staring into mine, I had a new wish.

  After brunch, Mom wanted to take a short nap, saying she wasn’t feeling well, and Dad decided to join her. Dorian and I went up to my old room. It was pretty normal as far as bedrooms go. I didn’t have embarrassing teen heartthrob posters everywhere; I was more of a color girl, so my room was just colorful.

  “You wanna talk about why you ran away from the table?” Dorian sat down and removed his boots and opened the top button of his shirt. Hello, sexy skin.

  I walked over to my cork board of pictures on the wall and looked at the pictures of high school. Good times, old friends, and Eli.

  “I’m confused.”

  I had been debating whether or not to talk to him about my feelings the whole way up here. I decided I should put it out there, so we could put an end to it before it got worse.

  “Confused?” Now he was confused.

  I turned around and leaned against the wall, next to those pictures of my past.

  “I like you, and I think that after this trip, we should end this when we get home.” There, I said it. His face scrunched up in confusion more. Yeah, join the club.

  “You like me?”

  I nodded.

  “For some stupid reason, my heart beats fast when you’re around. I wish I could control it, but I can’t.”

  Oddly, my admission didn’t make me want to be swallowed up by the earth. I’d accepted that I had feelings for Dorian despite the fact that he would most likely never have them for me.

  “I’m not the good guy, Esme. I’m not going to change for you.” His words were almost chastising, like I was a child that didn’t know what I was doing.

  “I know.”

  I held my ground, I didn’t expect him to be someone other than who he was.

  “That’s why we have to end this before I fall harder and can’t recover.”

  Dorian’s gaze was burning into me. I prayed he understood what I was feeling. That pitter-patter in my heart kicked up when he stood and slowly walked over toward me, his face mere inches away from mine.

  “I’m not letting you go,” he stated, and I didn’t know what to say.

  “Dorian, I can’t do this with you. It’ll break me…I know it.” I was pleading with him to understand, but his hands wrapped themselves around my waist, and his breath caressed my cheeks. This was too much.

  “Please do the right thing and let me go.”

  One more plea, one more chance for fate to change course.

  “I’m not letting you go,” he whispered.

  The moment before his lips touched mine, a sense of foreshadowing settled in my gut. Things would not end well for us. I knew it deep inside, like a knowledge I was born with. As he finally kissed me, hope replaced that dread. I may not be able to work a miracle with Dorian’s heart, but if my own saw him worthy, then I guess I would go down in flames trying to prove it right.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Dorian

  My hand caressed her soft skin while she slept peacefully against my chest.

  I should let her go; it would be the best for both of us. But I wasn’t ready to give up her taste and touch. She was addicting, and I didn’t want to be without my fix.

  Her future wasn’t set yet. Every time I looked, there wasn’t one where she got what she wanted and I got what I wanted.

  There were two futures Phillip was playing his games for, and I wished I knew which. One seeming more likely than the other—easier. The other was a very dangerous bet to take. Everything had to line up, and he would have to wager on lives. He didn’t have that in him; I’d had centuries of anger and practice to have that coldness when it came to playing with people’s lives.

  I looked down at Esme.

  She was falling for me. Not a bright woman, to do something stupid like that.

  Her pleas for us to end this between us fell on deaf ears. I wasn’t done with her. I’d warned her before—I wasn’t the good guy.

  After our kiss, I carried her over to the bed and showed her exactly why we weren’t over after this little trip. We moved and groaned into necks while chasing our own version of euphoria.

  Something inside her had changed, and instead of the fight she’d been giving me lately, I saw hope. I didn’t know what she was up to, but we both knew she wouldn’t change me. She was fighting a battle she would lose.

  Thirty minutes later we were back with her parents, chatting about hospital stories and embarrassing tales of Esme’s past. When they talked about Eli, the whole room chilled. Sadness crept in, and it was obvious the family hadn’t moved on from his death years ago. Esme would change the mood from dark to light quickly. I noticed that about her lately—she was like a little ember in the darkness.

  B
ut even embers could be put out.

  When her parents called it a night, we retired to her room as well, having another bout of quiet fucking so we wouldn’t wake her parents. It was odd, acting like teenagers who didn’t want their parents to hear them messing around. I’d never had that experience growing up.

  But then again, things had vastly changed since I was a teenager.

  Esme stirred in her sleep, and her arm with the golden vein flopped over, giving me an up-close view.

  I’d seen it many times, but never gotten to study it like this.

  It was shorter than a few days ago. She’d healed someone recently. My bet was on her unsuspecting mother, who was coming down with something. It was flu season.

  My unpinned hand reached out and gently ran a finger along the line.

  I wonder why she didn’t save her brother. They were old enough to have gotten their powers. She could have healed him instead of losing him, and I couldn’t figure out why she chose to let him go.

  She was becoming a puzzle that I wanted to piece together, but I had no time for that.

  Taking a deep breath, I allowed myself to sleep with her against my chest.

  The nightmare that was my worst memory started like it always did, and I knew I couldn’t do anything but watch it all play out.

  The dead were everywhere…brothers and sisters, my demigod family.

  I bent over to check each of their necks for a pulse, but there was none—destroyed by the hands of their brethren and parents.

  When I saw the form of Jasmine, I fell to the stone-covered ground and wept. She’d been like me, a good child of the gods. We had used our powers to help mankind. There was not a corrupt bone in her sweet body. We’d been together for a short time, but I’d fallen hard, and so had she. We talked over working in the temples of healing, helping mankind with our gifts. I’d always been a skilled healer thanks to my father, so naturally I would be wanted there.

  I remembered seeing our futures together. Marriage, children, and dying together in our bed.