by Marian Tee
“Oh?”
“Feeling jealous?”
I lifted my chin. “Noooo.”
“Liar.”
This was a subject-changing moment if ever there was one. “Are we going to start on the lessons tonight?” I didn’t want Dyvian to know how irritated I was. Lucian had again stuck his brother with babysitting and now he was off in DV flirting with dragonettes.
“Yes. He put me in charge of training you on the basics.”
“Great.” But worry gnawed on my thoughts. What could Lucian be doing right this very minute? Again, without thinking, I sought support from The Voice. “Do you know who’s with Lucian—”
“Deli, no.”
I jumped. “What?”
He shook his head. “Don’t make it a habit, talking to The Voice like that.”
His unerring guess made me gasp. “How did you know I was talking to it? You hear it, too?”
Dyvian rolled his eyes. “No, I don’t, and I doubt I ever will. But really, your face is an open book. It’s easy to know when you’re talking to it.”
“It is?”
“Yes, Deli, and I told you, you can’t trust it completely. Okay?”
“It’s not as bad as you think it is, Dyv. It’s actually helped me—”
“I know.” He held up a hand. “But we still don’t know that much about it. In emergencies, yes, I think it’s better to trust The Voice. In fact, it’s absolutely imperative. But as for relying on it even for the smallest things—” Dyvian paused.
“It’s like a sleeping pill, okay, Deli? You have to take it only when absolutely necessary. If you take it when you don’t need to, it’s going to be an addiction, and it could lose its effectiveness.”
I understood the analogy but wasn’t there also something a little off with his logic? Nevertheless, I decided to let it go. Dyvian had my best interests at heart and I respected his judgment. If he thought it was wrong to rely too much on the Voice, then I’d have to believe that until I learned otherwise.
~~~
Two hours later, I was wishing Dyvian had never been born.
When I said I wanted to work on having full control of my Evren powers, I was sort of envisioning wearing a cool karate uniform—custom-made, of course, to show off my figure—while practicing some fancy kicks. But never in my wildest imaginations did “practicing” include doing a headstand for hours in the middle of the Mojave.
Oh, and did I mention that Dyvian had also tied a rope around my ankles and hung me from a branch fifteen feet off the ground so I couldn’t escape? Sure, he had lowered the rope enough so I could touch the hot dry soil, but still.
Dyvian checked his watch. “A couple more minutes, Deli.” He was sitting nice and comfy in a folding chair he had brought with us and browsing through People magazine. Angelina Jolie’s face pouted back at me from its cover. It was yet another area where the Chevalier brothers differed. Lucian devoured the business papers while Dyvian—okay, I was guilty of this, too—gobbled up gossip rags.
“I swear, Dyvian,” I gritted out. “You are one dead lizard the moment you release me.”
“Name calling? That warrants another hour hanging upside down, don’t you think?”
“Dyvian.”
“I was just kidding. Relax. Two more minutes.”
“I’m going to tell Lucian about this,” I threatened.
He snorted. “Who do you think taught me how to let my dragon out? And how do you think he taught me?”
I could only stare at him in horror. Barbarians. I was living with two drop dead gorgeous barbarians.
His watch buzzed and Dyvian stood up. “We’re done,” he announced in such a cheerful voice that if looks could kill, I’d have murdered him ten times in the last five seconds.
He flew up in the air and took me with him, hoisting me onto the branch while I leaned against the trunk, grateful to have something to support me. He untied the rope around my ankles and grinned. “How do you feel?”
“Come here and I’ll show you.”
He flew a step back, still grinning. “Now, now. You were the one who wanted to practice, Deli.”
“But to do it like that?” I sputtered, glaring at him. “Surely there’s an easier way—”
“No, there isn’t,” a voice below countered just as Lucian materialized out of thin air.
His presence automatically made me smile. “Lucian.” Just seeing him filled me with pleasure. There was something about him… “Catch me!” I jumped off the branch.
“No,” Dyvian and Lucian objected at the same time.
I was laughing when Lucian caught me in his arms. His scowl could’ve frightened small animals. “You fool!”
It was weird but these days, I was beginning to think Lucian’s angry words were like an endearment. In my mind, his anger meant he cared. And because of that line of thinking, I found myself immune to his fury.
“I missed you, too,” I responded, delighted when his scowl melted into disconcertment.
“Can’t you think before you do something? Anything?” he almost begged.
I giggled. “Oh, come on. I knew you’d catch me.” Dyvian and I laughed as a familiar shade of red slowly stained Lucian’s cheekbones.
He lowered me to the ground. “The next time you do that, I won’t catch you.”
I made a face then, remembering that he had been gone for the day. I tried to sound very casual as I prodded, “So, where have you been?”
“I had to meet some Evren.”
My “Oh?” was loaded with meaning.
Lucian raised a brow, but his questioning glance was directed at Dyvian. “Is there something I should know?”
Dyvian was loading his stuff in the pickup, but he gave Lucian an innocent look and replied, “Beats me.” He opened the driver’s door. “How many times have you talked to The Voice today, Deli?”
Lucian stiffened. Their opinion when it came to The Voice still vastly differed. “Besides the time you stopped me from speaking to it?” I asked cautiously.
Lucian and Dyvian exchanged looks.
“Yeah, besides that.”
I almost looked at Lucian for guidance, but that was silly, right? The Voice was inside my head, not his. It had nothing to do with him. “Just once,” I admitted, not knowing why I was reluctant to answer Dyvian’s question. “And it was for my own good. It told me not to draw attention to myself in school because if I did, it would endanger all of us.”
Dyvian nodded. “I see. That’s good. Maybe it’s beginning to understand its boundaries. It should be rewarded somehow.”
Now, I was totally confused, especially when I saw Lucian looking annoyed. “Rewarded?” I repeated blankly.
But Dyvian was already inside the pickup. His window slid down just as I was about to open the door to the backseat.
“By the way, Deli?”
“Yes?”
“Your practice session isn’t over.”
All my muscles groaned in protest and my head started aching. “What?”
“You need to walk back home.”
I paled. “You have got to be—”
“But Lucian’s going to be with you.” Dyvian grinned wickedly. “That’s not too bad, right?”
Darn, but he was smart. While I debated choosing between comfort and love, Dyvian was already driving away.
Lucian sighed from behind. “It’s too late to think now, Deli. He’s gone.”
I searched for signs of disappointment in my heart and found only pleasure. I shrugged. “It’s okay.”
We started to walk home, and I took his hand, ignoring him when he sighed again. Well, we were a couple, weren’t we? Even if it was a sham, we still had to keep up appearances.
Lucian snorted.
I turned to him in surprise. “What?”
“Why are we holding hands?” he inquired in that clinical tone of his that I alternately loved and hated.
“Because I’m your girlfriend, and we have to keep up appearances.” Good
thing I thought about this already. Geez, sometimes I could be so smart I even amazed myself.
“For the sake of what?” He pointed to the bunch of red-spotted toads croaking under a palm tree, the only living creatures close enough to see our clasped hands. “Toads?”
Sensing a losing argument, I changed the subject. “Who did you talk to when you were in Death Valley?”
“I told you, other Evren.”
“Male or female?”
Lucian stopped walking to look at me. “Does it matter?”
I gasped. “You have to ask?”
A smile was tugging at his lips. “Jealous?”
I gritted out, “No,” and stalked away.
He easily caught up to me but didn’t say anything.
Two can play this game. “You know, we had P.E. today.”
“Oh?”
“Basketball. I was thinking of using basketball practice to improve my aim.”
“That’s good.”
“And Wesley? You remember him? He offered to give me extra lessons,” I said sweetly and was satisfied when it took Lucian longer than usual to reply.
“Really?”
I smiled up at him. “Jealous?”
Lucian blinked then shrugged. “What do you think?” But he was smiling and the smile said it all.
It was all I could do not to throw my arms around him. Would he push me away if I did? But he was just so darn gorgeous, and it felt like forever—well, okay, more like twenty-two hours and fifteen minutes—since we were alone with each other.
“Lucian?”
He gazed down at me with dark eyes that hid so much.
When was he going to tell me he cared for me? When could I be his girlfriend—his real girlfriend and not just some fake girlfriend from down under?
“What is it?”
“When do you think you’re going to be comfortable enough to tell me you like me?” Love me, I wanted to ask but it was too soon.
He choked. “I beg your pardon?”
“Never mind.”
He touched my cheek, startling me.
“Lucian?” This time, my voice filled with wary hope.
“I can’t say it.”
My shoulders sagged but I rallied valiantly. “It’s okay, I didn’t—”
“But I can do this.” And the next thing I knew his lips were touching mine and my feet were no longer touching the ground.
Chapter Ten
I’d kissed Lucian many times…in my dreams. But none of them could ever compare to the reality of having Lucian’s lips finally touch mine.
“Turn invisible,” Lucian whispered against my lips. I shifted to obey him, but his arms tightened around my waist.
“No, don’t move.” My entire body shuddered as his lips nibbled mine, shaping and molding mine to his. His skin turned icy cold, and I forced my mind to focus on doing the same. He laughed softly when I only succeeded after several failed attempts. His kisses were too much of a distraction.
Lucian is kissing me. The words played over and over in my mind.
His hands held my face, moving to dig through my hair, gripping to pull me closer to his.
I love you. The words jumped out of nowhere.
A slight tremor shot through Lucian’s body, and he pulled me even more tightly against him.
I love the way he makes me feel. I love his kisses. I love—
“Deli,” he groaned against my lips before kissing me so deeply he bent me completely backward. I gasped in fright, aware that we were a few hundred feet off the ground.
But he only chuckled. “Relax.”
My body responded by softening, instinctively trusting him.
He covered my face with light, sweet kisses, and every one of them made my skin sizzle. His lips traced my hair. He breathed against my neck, nuzzling the sensitive skin. It was weird having someone you couldn’t see kiss you. Weird but good, I thought dreamily as Lucian uncurled one arm from my waist to hold my nape and pull me forward, making the kiss more intense and mind-blowing.
Lucian steered for us both and—clasped in his arms, with his never-ending kisses—our flight back home was very much like dancing in air.
I was very, very close to fainting when he lowered me gently onto the ground. My knees wobbled. He chuckled, supporting me as he materialized into view.
The same transformation took me longer but only because I was still woozy over Lucian’s kiss, my head in the clouds even though we weren’t flying anymore.
He unlocked the door, leading me inside. I stared at our entwined hands, my mind still blanketed in a euphoric haze.
I bit back a protest when he gently unclasped his hand from mine and headed for the study.
“Dyvian?” I called but there was no answer. I ran to the kitchen and a note magnet-pinned on the fridge immediately drew my gaze.
I read the note with widening eyes. Dyvian was out? He didn’t want us to wait up? Lucian and I were alone—
A pair of hands settled on my waist, whirling me around. I opened my mouth to share the good news—sorry, Dyvian—but was unable to because I was too busy being kissed. By Lucian. Again.
~~~
“Do you know just how beautiful you are?”
Lucian simply rolled his eyes.
He was in my bed, and I was curled right next to him. Nothing happened and I hadn’t fooled myself into hoping that something would. Lucian just didn’t seem to be the type to do that on the first date. Or, technically speaking, right after the first kiss.
I giggled. “I’ve always wanted to ask you that.” The TV was on but neither of us had paid attention to it in the past two hours. We had simply been too occupied kissing and talking.
My fingers traced his face. I couldn’t get enough of him. I couldn’t even believe I was allowed to touch him.
“Tell me about your family.”
He tensed against me. “Why would you want to know?”
“Why are you being so secretive? I just want to know more about you.”
He relaxed again, startling me when he bent down to kiss my hair. I was still amazed that he could be this…affectionate.
Lucian sprang away and accidentally threw me off in the bargain.
“Hey.” I rubbed my head gingerly, which had bumped hard against the headboard at his sudden move.
“Sorry.” He returned to my side, his face twisted in a combination of embarrassment and exasperation. He checked my forehead. “Are you hurt?”
“Of course not. This is a tough Evren chick you’re talking to, remember?” I ignored his little eye-rolling response and touched his face, concerned. “But what about you? Why did you—”
“Nothing.” He hauled me right back into his arms. “I was just thinking.”
“What-e-ver.” But I wasn’t about to be sidetracked, so I demanded again, “Tell me a little bit about your parents and how you and Dyvian grew up.”
“There’s nothing good to tell. We weren’t a happy family.”
“No family’s completely happy or perfect.”
“Trust me, Deli. My family’s completely deranged.”
The coldness in his eyes appalled me. It chilled me to think he had so little care for his family. My hands curled against his chest. “Don’t be so harsh. I’m sure—”
He cut me off. “My mother was a bitch.”
His body was again rigid with tension. I reached out to soothe the tension away, kneading the muscles in his neck.
“She raised me with tender loving care at first.” But his biting tone contradicted his words. “It wasn’t real but it was very convincing, enough to put me into shock when I realized that she had left me for good.”
“Left?”
“Abandoned in a Paris alley,” he spelled out. “I starved right next to crooks and drug junkies. If I was lucky, I’d find a crazy man to stay next to and snatch a few hours of sleep. It’s always better to be taken for a lunatic. You get bothered less because you’re not the ideal victim.”
“Helpless, you mean?”