At last, he smiled. “I’m glad you liked it. Give me a minute and I’ll do it again.”
She tried unsuccessfully to hide her grimace with a grin. “As much as I’d like to spend all day in here with you, I have to go to work.”
He sat up and bit back the urge to tell her she never had to work again. He knew Riley well enough to know she wouldn’t appreciate the offer. His woman had an independent streak he loved even though he knew it was going to cause problems when it clashed with his alpha-male instincts.
“I’m coming with you.”
She laughed. “No, you’re not.”
“I’ll shift. You can introduce me as your dog.” He winced as he voiced the abhorrent idea.
This time, peals of laughter rolled from her. She collapsed back onto the pillow and pressed her hands to her chest. “Sure,” she said as she regained the ability to speak. “You can be my huge dog who comes up to my shoulders when he sits and who looks just like a wolf. That won’t scare my clients any more than a gorgeous, overprotective man sitting in the corner watching my every move.”
She slid from the bed and pulled fresh panties from her drawer. “Soren, you can hang out here until I get home this evening. It would be great to come home to a nice, vegetarian dinner that someone else made.”
Wordlessly, he watched her dress. When all was said and done, he spent the day as he had spent the previous two—watching her from the bushes with only a simple charm cast over him to prevent her from noticing.
Chapter 3
Caiden closed his eyes and meditated. At times like this, he felt as if he had an actual, physical body. The shell he showed to his daughters contained his essence, but if they were to concentrate, they would both be able to see past the illusion. He was nothing more than a spirit, a ghost who couldn’t even manifest in the human world.
When he had first agreed to this kind of existence, he hadn’t known he was sentencing himself to three thousand years of a mostly solitary existence. Teigh could visit, but they couldn’t touch, not really, and his lover could never stay for more than a few minutes. Existing in any plane proved to be too much of a drain on his energy.
At least Teigh existed in the real world. Caiden existed only in the hearts and minds of his daughters. He’d given up hoping long ago, but recent events put a new twist on things. Now that both Torrey and Desiree had found their soul mates, there was a chance everything could come together.
But they had come this far before and failed.
“Moping. I should have known.”
That deep baritone represented the sweetest sound he’d heard in far too long. Caiden’s eyes flew open, and his ready smile manifested. He took in the towering figure’s broad shoulders and fine physique. It might be an illusion, but since it represented the real thing, Caiden didn’t mind the trickery. “Teigh.”
Teigh’s hood shaded his face, just as his sleeves extended well past his wrists to hide his hands. The ability to manifest in the real world came at a price. Teigh’s body wasn’t quite there. If Caiden, or anyone else, tried to see Teigh’s features, they would fail. Human logic superimposed the necessary features, but they weren’t really there. If Teigh concentrated, he could touch and manipulate things, but he couldn’t sustain the effort for very long.
Dropping to the ground next to Caiden, Teigh crossed his legs to match Caiden’s meditative pose. Muscles rippled through the dark fabric covering his body. Caiden resisted the urge to reach out and run his hands over his lover’s body. Though he was able to fool their daughters with the illusion of touch, the gesture would only cause Teigh to sadden.
“Torrey’s children are ten and Desiree’s are eight. Both of our girls have taught the kids the necessary rituals.”
This should have made hope soar in Caiden’s chest. It did not. “We still need to find Circe and Soren. Or rather, Soren needs to find Circe to activate her powers. That’s if she’s even been born.”
Caiden didn’t need to see Teigh to know the man grimaced. While one of Caiden’s duties required him to implant the souls of their daughters into the appropriate bodies, he had no control over Circe’s cycle of rebirth. It would have been wrong anyway. Circe was their wife, their lover, the mother of their children. Casting her in the role of even a symbolic offspring would have tainted the relationship.
Teigh sighed and shifted. He had never been able to sit still for very long. “Torrey’s husband has a brother named Soren.”
This brought a snort in response from Caiden. “Soren is one of the most common names among werewolves there is. You can go into any settlement and find ten men with that name.”
“Demons speak to him. It can’t be a coincidence.” Teigh rose and lifted his face to the stars. “We’ve waited too long.”
“He tried to kill Torrey.” Even as Caiden pointed out the flaw in Teigh’s reasoning, a thought occurred to him. “Do you think the souls of those who killed us found Soren before we did?”
As he watched, Teigh faded, vanishing before his eyes. Profound loneliness swept through Caiden. Just when he ceded to the urge, he felt his consciousness swept away. Not only were his daughters strong enough to summon him like this, now his grandchildren had mastered the skill. He had no way of knowing who called him or what they wanted until he landed next to them.
The kitchen in which he found himself wasn’t at all familiar. Short rows of cabinets sat on two walls. At a sink overlooking a window, he spied a woman. Moonlight spilled through the lace curtains, barely illuminating the darkened room enough for him to see her outline. A large shirt or a short gown fell around her body, the extra fabric folding in waves to hide her form. Somewhere around her thighs, it fell into shadow, leaving him uncertain where the garment ended.
Water whooshed from the tap, captured in a glass she eventually raised to her lips. The water disappeared as she greedily gulped it down.
Caiden wanted to say something, but he had no idea who she was or how she had called him. To his knowledge, he only had the souls of two daughters wandering the Earth. The rest of them had asked to be released from their obligation, the pieces of their souls scattered in the universe, which he had done. If they didn’t find Circe this time, he had no plans to ask Torrey and Desiree to try again.
She turned, and the glass slid from her grip to shatter on the floor. No scream issued from her, but the color did drain from her face until she glowed eerily in the pale light of the moon. One hand rose, and she reached for him, her hand hovering tentatively as if she couldn’t believe he was actually there.
“Caiden.”
The whispered word drew his attention to her lips, dark against her white skin. Light flooded the room, but Caiden didn’t look to see who had joined them. The incandescent bulb’s yellow glow showed healthy color returning to her face.
She was tall, easily the same height as his daughters. She would be able to rest her head against his shoulder if he could hold her in his arms. Golden strands threaded through light brown hair, evidence of time spent in the sun. Her light brown eyes lit from within, and her body shimmered with suppressed energy.
The enormity of the moment swamped Caiden’s consciousness. He held his hand out to her, wanting and needing a physical contact he knew wasn’t possible. Her name escaped his lips. “Circe.”
Everything faded, and Caiden found himself back in the nothingness that made up his home.
* * * *
“Riley? Honey, are you okay?”
Riley stepped forward, but Soren’s hand shot out and clamped onto her shoulder. She turned her head to peer up at him. The vague, unreal quality that had permeated the room only seconds before had vanished, leaving a confused mess swirling through her head.
He dipped his head closer to her. “Are you sleepwalking?”
“I kinda feel like it, but no, I’m awake.” Only now did she remember dropping the glass. She looked down at where she had come close to stepping on one of the shards. “At least it broke into big pieces.”
When she returned, she held it open as Soren placed the pieces inside. “I’ll put this into the recycling bin. You get a broom and sweep for smaller pieces.”
By the time he returned, she had finished. The small kitchen made it a small job. He lifted her into his arms. “I knew I should have gone with you. See? You need protection even if you’re only going down the hall.”
She snorted even as she relaxed into his embrace. Ever since she had arrived home to find him making grilled cheese and home fries, he had harped on her about her adamant refusal to let him accompany her to work. “Just because I’m tired and klutzy doesn’t mean I need a bodyguard. It means I need sleep.”
In his strong arms, she felt light and small, two things she wasn’t all that used to feeling. She rested her cheek against his chest and let her hand rest just below the pulse ticking on his neck. Breathing deeply, she inhaled his scent. It filled her senses, and she sighed contentedly.
He kissed the top of her head and tossed her onto sheets that still held heat from their earlier activities. “I guess I should leave you alone so you could you get some sleep.” Instead of rounding the bed to climb in from the other side, he rolled to hover just above her body. Heat smoked his eyes, darkening their color. His lips teased close to hers, sending her pulse racing, but he didn’t deliver. “Or I could make you so exhausted you can’t stay awake.”
Amused and sleepy, she smiled an invitation anyway. “I’m already so tired I hallucinated a man in the kitchen.”
Every one of Soren’s muscles tensed. He raised his body, lifting his head to better use his wolf senses. “I neither smell nor hear anyone.”
This time, she laughed and ran a hand up his thigh. Cords of muscle rippled beneath her fingers. “I said I hallucinated him. I even knew his name. It was Caiden.” She wrinkled her nose as the memory slowly focused in her head. “He didn’t know my name, though. He called me ‘Circe.’ You’d think my own hallucination would know my name.”
He sat back on his heels, kneeling on either side of her legs, and frowned at her. “Why are you so sure it was a hallucination?”
She reached up and tugged at the waistband of his boxers. “I just knew he wasn’t really there. I wasn’t afraid of him. It was like I knew him, but I don’t. Weird. Now, I’ve decided for option two, so get to work before nature takes over and I pass out.”
Soren frowned, and deep thoughts creased a line between his eyes.
“Oh, Soren, don’t overanalyze it.” Riley sat up to get a better angle with her hand. She slid it into his boxers, but he stopped her with one powerful hand on her wrist.
“Something isn’t right. You’re dismissing this too quickly. What did his eyes look like?”
Reluctantly, Riley gave up her attempt at seduction and flopped back onto her pillows. Soren abandoned his prime position between her legs to slide under the covers next to her. His penetrating gaze never left her face, no matter how much she wished he might penetrate her elsewhere.
With a resigned sigh, she closed her eyes to focus the image of the man in her kitchen. “Blue. They were clear, crystal blue. He had black hair. It was shorter than yours, but still kinda long. It went almost to his shoulders.” The image of him in her head included a backdrop of a sandy beach and a bright, sunny day. She opened her eyes and frowned. “It’s weird to know all of that stuff when it was dark in there and I could barely see him.”
He squeezed her hand, and for the first time, Riley felt the weight of his worry. “Did he scare you?”
“No, he didn’t.” She lifted his arm and wiggled closer. Resting her head on his shoulder and snuggling her body against his, she tried to reassure him with her touch. “He seemed as surprised to be there as I was to see him there. He’d never hurt me. He loves me.”
As the words fell from her lips, she knew they were the truth. That didn’t negate the shock running through her system. She shivered and burrowed even closer to Soren, seeking comfort from him as much as she sought to comfort him.
“How in the world could I know that?”
He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. “I don’t know, honey. I just hope this doesn’t mean demons are close to finding me. Now that I’ve found you again, I couldn’t bear to leave you.”
Pain stabbed at her heart. She didn’t want him to have to leave, either. “Soren, this man isn’t a demon, and he isn’t after you or me. He’s a good person. He likes seafood, and he’s really good with plants. He’s kind and sensitive, and he’s the person our daughters go to when they need a shoulder to cry on.”
Panicked, she pushed away from Soren and sat up. The reading lamp he had turned on when he followed her into the kitchen cast the room with long shadows that seemed to jump out at her. She pressed the heels of her hands to her temples. Soren’s arms held her tight, keeping the shivers wracking her body to a minimum.
“What the hell was that? What’s happening to me?”
“I don’t know, Riley. I should be jealous that you’re talking about another man loving you, but I’m not. Maybe I should bite you, turn you into a wolf. It’ll give you extra senses to protect you against whatever this is.”
Riley shook her head. As much as the idea might appeal to some, she had no desire to become a shape-shifter. She clung to the thick arms banding her body. “I wasn’t meant to take your power like that.”
He held her for the longest time, rocking her back and forth in a soothing motion that eventually lulled her to sleep.
* * * *
Caiden waited in his favorite grotto. The sheer cliff walls rose on three sides, casting much of the space into shadow even during the brightest parts of the day. The sun was one thing for which he’d always been grateful. Circe might have damned him to this existence, but she had left him in a virtual replica of the paradise they had shared for so long. Sometimes loneliness overwhelmed him, but walking among the dwellings and trees where his family had once flourished helped him to keep them fresh in his memories. It brought him immeasurable relief to be here.
The waxing moon hung low in the sky, appearing much larger and brighter than normal. It seemed close enough so that if he reached out, he could run his fingers along the rocky surface. He loved the harvest moon for this reason alone.
Waves lapped the shore, drawing him into the open. He stared at the moonlight reflecting from the calm surface and wondered at the vision he’d encountered earlier. As if he’d conjured her, she appeared next to him.
Her bare toes wiggled in the sand, and the cold ocean water shocked a gasp from between her lips.
“Shouldn’t this be warmer?” She didn’t move away from the water. “Aren’t we in the topics?”
Caiden shrugged, struggling to hide the excitement urging him to throw his arms around her and kiss her senseless. “Not when the water is cold, my darling. This world you’ve created is always moving. It’s safer that way.”
She looked at him. He felt her eyes boring into the side of his face, demanding his undivided attention. Unable to deny her anything, he turned his head and met her gaze. She searched his eyes, her hazel irises glowing with an inner light missing when she assumed her human form.
Reaching out, he lifted her chin to angle her face into the moon’s light. The physical features he’d always loved had changed so much, and yet he saw no difference at all. Her kind eyes held a vast well of inner strength. She didn’t flinch away from the sparks of urgency and expectation wrought by their physical contact. He recognized her struggle to make sense of it all.
“I’m dreaming.”
Caiden shook his head. “No, my love. This is quite real. Your body can’t travel here, but your spirit can be denied nothing.”
She lifted a hand to caress his cheek. Caiden closed his eyes to focus the sensation. “I’ve caused you pain,” she said
, her voice just above a whisper. “I’m sorry.”
His eyes flew open. “No, beloved, you did what had to be done to save us all.”
“How do I know your name, and why do I feel such love for you?” Her hand explored his cheeks and the slight dip on the tip of his nose before moving to caress his lips. “I don’t feel disloyal to Soren at all.”
Relief almost crippled Caiden. “You found Soren? That makes sense. He would have activated your powers. Oh, Circe, this is wonderful. The four of us will soon be reunited.”
Unable to contain himself one moment longer, he feathered his lips over hers, worshipping with his gentle touch and asking for admittance. She stepped into his arms and tilted her face for a better angle. Her lips parted, and her tongue darted out to lick at the tip of his, inviting him inside.
Heat exploded, and she melted against him. He tightened his grip, holding her firmly against his body. Her breasts pressed into his chest. His shirt, which he hadn’t bothered to button, flapped open, but she still wore the same cotton nightshirt she had been wearing earlier. The thin barrier was too much, yet he knew to rip it away would be too much, too fast. He’d waited three thousand years. Surely, he could take his time. After all, she didn’t quite remember him.
She broke the kiss, throwing her head back to gulp air. Her fragile body quivered, and her fingers dug into his arms. “Caiden, please tell me what’s going on. Why do I have such profound feelings for you when tonight is the first time I ever met you?”
He trailed kisses across her jaw and down her throat. “Circe, darling, we’ve been together since before man learned to sail the seas.”
A tiny moan escaped when he found a sensitive place near the hollow of her throat. This new body had different erogenous zones, and he planned to enjoy finding every single one of them. Her hands moved, and her fingers tangled in his hair.
Zurlo, Michele - Riley [Daughters of Circe 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 5