by A. C. James
-Doesn’t matter. I can still do this.-
-What are you…two?-
-Oh, come on. It was funny.-
-As a heart attack.-
He started laughing, and Arie turned and looked at him. Arie simply arched an eyebrow at him and Rue didn’t even acknowledge him at all. I took my ear buds back out.
“You know, drawing attention to us isn’t a good idea. This country has become very aware of threats, and we don’t want them perceiving us as one.”
Arie smirked. “Relax. You’re wrapped entirely too tight for my taste.”
“Small favors,” I muttered.
“I was just having a little fun,” Toren said. “I’d completely forgot that I had it.”
“Who on earth packs a butter knife anyway?” I tried to keep my voice down, but I couldn’t help that it pitched up an octave, incredulous as I was that he’d pull something so ridiculous.
Toren grinned. “What? I bagged it with my English muffin, since you two were rushing me out the door and I didn’t get a chance to eat the other half. I’m not going to put butter on it before I’m ready to eat it and have it get all soggy.”
My jaw dropped and I started shaking my head in stunned disbelief. “But did you have to tell them when they asked why you had it, ‘Oh, that. It’s just an artfully concealed butter knife that I plan on using later…on my English muffin.’ Was the super-long pause just for effect or did you do it deliberately to piss everyone off?”
“Like I said, it was an honest mistake and I was just having a bit of fun.”
“Well your idea of fun could have made us miss our flight,” Rue said.
“But we didn’t,” Arie said. I hadn’t expected him to stick up for his brother, but then he’d been completely different and honestly I didn’t expect much help from him.
Toren shrugged. “Overreact much? We wouldn’t have missed our flight. We didn’t miss our flight, and we still have ten minutes before they’ll even start boarding.” He shot me a look like he was disgusted or something, but I couldn’t have cared less. “Just enough time for a drink.”
With that he strode off toward the bar just across from our gate. I stared at his retreating back. Arie stood up.
“I think I’ll join him.”
“Unbelievable,” I said as he followed in the direction his brother had gone.
Rue, who’d been sitting next to me, patted my arm. “You have to understand that Arie’s memories have been stolen, and you can’t expect him to be the way you’ve known him to be.”
“Yeah, well, what’s Toren’s excuse?”
Rue laughed. “It’s just his way of coping. I can’t imagine he’s happy about Arie’s predicament. Best to let him blow off a little steam, and honestly him joking around with TSA could have been a lot worse.”
“I suppose they could have gone full cavity search on him.”
Part of me couldn’t help thinking that it would be very satisfying to see him bent over with a pair of blue latex gloves headed south. I’m sure he’d have dazzled his way out of it, but the mental image had a smile playing at the corners of my mouth. When my thoughts began to drift inexplicably to what he might look like exposed, vulnerable, and pantsless, I wondered why such a thing would pop into my head at a time like this. I supposed it was for the same reason you slow down to look at a really bad accident; he was like a crash waiting to happen. The flight attendant came on the speaker and started announcing rows. Toren and Arie were still over by the bar.
I pulled the plane ticket from my army satchel. My ticket read 1A, and sure enough they’d called my row.
“What number are you?” I asked Rue.
Rue pulled out her ticket. “I’m in row 23.”
“Right.” I looked toward the bar again. “Well, I guess I’ll see you on the plane.”
“Okay.”
I’d hoped that I’d be sitting with Rue, but I’d heard Toren complaining about the seating so it wasn’t a surprise. I grabbed my duffle bag and my satchel then made my way toward the woman checking tickets. There were only two passengers ahead of me, so I didn’t have to wait very long. I’d be happy once we landed in New York, but until then I planned to get settled in a nice comfortable position that I hoped wasn’t too cramped, pop in my ear buds, and try to focus on the music instead of the fact that we’d be several thousand feet above the ground.
The brisk spring air met me as I walked down the jetway, which did very little to contain warmth. Another flight attendant greeted me as I stepped onto the plane with a, “Welcome aboard!” and rattled off a good morning along with the name of the airline that we were flying. Good grief. Imagine having to repeat that a few hundred times a day. I smiled and murmured an obligatory good morning as I passed him on the way to my seat.
My seat was located in first class, much to my surprise. I stowed my carry-on bag in the overhead compartment and slid into a wide, roomy seat with leg room to spare. There was always leg room to spare when it came to me; one of the perks of being so short. I settled in and looked out the window. The flight crew was scurrying around below, checking the plane before departure, and I supposed that was some comfort.
“Excuse me, would you like a pre-departure beverage?” asked a flight attendant with short blonde hair.
“Uhm, yes please. Could I get some seltzer with a splash of cranberry?”
She immediately turned and whizzed away, returning quickly with my drink.
“Thanks,” I said with a smile.
I took a few sips and set my drink aside. I leaned back into the headrest and closed my eyes. The overhead compartments were opening and banging closed around me as the plane filled up. There was pressure in my head and the strangest sensation, like I’d gone swimming. I tried to ignore it and focus on the thought of finding Daeveena. Someone settled into the seat next to me. I didn’t open my eyes. What if they were a talker? I wasn’t in the mood, and it was too early to be bothered with idle chit-chat.
“Would you like a pre-departure beverage, sir?”
“I’ll take a beer,” I heard Toren reply, and my eyes popped open as the flight attendant prattled off a short list of beers.
When she hurried off to get his drink, I grabbed his arm. “What are you doing?”
“Ordering a beer. I didn’t get to finish mine before they called our flight.”
“No, I mean what are you doing sitting here?”
“Would you rather sit by Arie and have him fall asleep, wake up, think you’re Kat, and start choking you midflight?”
I bit my lower lip as I searched his eyes, which were deadly serious. “No.”
“Then I guess it’s just you and me darlin’.”
For the next two hours and twenty minutes.
Chapter 12
Even though our flight was only two hours, it promised to be an uncomfortable and awkward experience. I was grinding my teeth by the time the captain came on to make announcements. He advised us of the conditions in New York and warned about a storm in our area. He said they were working on rerouting us around the weather, which could potentially add some time to the flight, but he’d be sure to let us know if that happened.
Great. Even more time trapped next to Toren.
I sighed heavily.
A few moments later the entry door was closed, followed by an announcement to turn off all electronics. I’d never had a particular attachment to my cell phone, but knowing that I was losing contact with the outside world and that we’d soon be soaring high above the earth made my heart thump double-time. The whirring sound of the engine blocked out everything except for my rising panic as I now realized that we were going to take off. I clutched the armrests as the plane began to move.
“Have you ever flown before?” Toren asked.
He was watching my intense reaction to the plane bouncing gently as we meandered toward the runway.
I closed the shutter on the window to my left. “Yes. I just prefer having both feet on the ground.”
“I don’t like flying much either. Try to relax.”
“I’m fine.”
“Yes, that’s why you look green around the gills.”
“I don’t need your sarcasm right now.”
“Just breathe slowly -even though we don’t need air- and try swallowing a few times. It helps relieve pressure.”
I really didn’t appreciate his advice, and his very proximity bothered me—something about his scent, musky and masculine, as he leaned in a little too close for comfort—but as I took his suggestion, my heartbeat slowed and my fingers lessened their grip on the armrest.
“Better?” he asked.
I nodded slowly.
Then I opened the shutter, because for some reason I wanted to be able to see the ground while I still could. The storm made its way over the field, and I could see a long line of planes already queued up, awaiting takeoff. Luckily it appeared we’d been rerouted and we zigged and zagged around the row of planes ahead of us as we made our way to the runway.
And then the plane propelled forward, picking up speed, and I squeezed my eyes closed. A hand wrapped around mine, which was currently holding onto to the armrest to anchor me to something that was steady and unmoving. I imagined it was Toren, but I couldn’t seem to form words as we lifted into the sky with a whoosh. And then my ears popped.
The plane shifted to the left and we turned north as we climbed through the edges of the storm. I opened my eyes and looked down. Toren’s hand still enclosed mine.
“You can let go now,” I said.
He did.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice turning quiet.
He nodded. “Take a sip of your seltzer.”
I nodded and took a sip of my drink, turning to look out the window. Once we were pretty high up we were given a view that showed this was by no means a little storm. It extended to cover all of Chicago for as far as the eye could see with thick gray clouds. We turned northeast, to head over Michigan and through Canada before making a beeline toward New York.
I closed my eyes and started to feel myself drift into an uneasy sleep, which slowly turned into a vision that showed me more than I cared to ever know about Toren and Arie. The Sight could feel intensely real, like I was experiencing every sensation firsthand, and if I was honest I wasn’t sure if this vision revolted me or turned me on.
* * *
The castle was often dreary, and on rainy nights when the air was damp and cool it seemed even more desolate, no matter whose arms were wrapped around me. If not for these idle amusements, the landscape would be bleaker. Dullness settled over me, and its weight was unbearable—so much so that it made me want to scream from the top of the tower for all to hear. My nipples pebbled under the caress of the incoming breeze that swept through the stone window overlooking the barren field below. I arched into the welcoming curve of Toren’s arm, draped around my shoulders as I lay naked with him in the massive bed shrouded by heavy drapery. My head rested on his shoulder.
A wave of turbulence made me jump, and for a moment I couldn’t tell whether I was in a castle or hovering above my sleeping body on an airplane. The jarring motion settled, and once again I shifted in Toren’s arms on the bed. My confusion dissipated. The Sight had trapped me in Katarina, her human body, before Arie had turned her. I wasn’t sure how I knew that exactly—maybe it was the nature of her thoughts or the sense of being inside her Of course, I’d vanquished her on the night of the gala, but without warning my thoughts became buried under the surge of her restless thoughts as I rode along in her body as an unwilling passenger.
Toren’s arm hooked under my neck and he was idly playing with a loose tendril of hair that had slipped from a pin to trail down my throat. Our bodies stuck together despite the chill. The smell of sex permeated my senses, and even though I could still feel his seed between my legs I wanted him again. Except I didn’t think it was enough. I wanted to feel completely filled and overwhelmed by sensation. He’d been watching me for weeks, and I’d known when I dropped a basket and his hand grazed mine that Arie wanted me. And I wanted both of them. I nuzzled my head into Toren’s chest, which was lean yet broad at the same time.
“Toren?”
His eyes were closed as he continued to toy with my hair. He grunted—a lazy acknowledgment that he’d heard me.
“I want something,” I purred.
The coquettish tone I applied always worked to my advantage with Toren; with most men, in fact. They were so easily led, especially in the moments immediately before or following sex. It disgusted me how she thought of them as nothing more than an amusing diversion, using them, not really feeling even an ounce of the emotion that they felt for her. And yet there was a sense of freedom in her lack of scruples that I almost envied, even if the ramifications would kill me come morning.
Toren sighed. “Again?”
I giggled.
Her giggle sickened me, and for a moment my stomach lurched as my consciousness, which had popped to the surface, submerged under her wild, erotic thoughts once more. I knew where this was going, could see it in her desires, but I was stuck here in her body without the ability to make the Sight stop. What was even more troubling was that her thoughts, jumbled as they were with mine, had made me want what she wanted. I had to see if she could bend them to her will, to feel everything in each heated moment as it passed. There was power in being taken, and my chest constricted as she flirted with him.
“Yes, but there is something else that I want this time.”
Toren’s eyes opened and his hand that had been toying with my hair drifted to my breast, cupping it as he said, “Tell me.”
I tilted my head and looked at him through my eyelashes. “I want Arie.”
The wind outside the castle howled like a banshee. Her honesty when she told Toren what she wanted took my breath away. I watched his eyes grow wide and then narrow. The way she wanted it wasn’t gentle, or nice, but hard and dark—a stark, empty desire that left me reeling. My gaze or hers (I couldn’t really tell anymore) held his steady. A greedy need ached between my thighs.
“Then go and wake him. I’m sure you can find some way to persuade him. I’m going to piss, then sleep,” Toren said as he pulled his arm away and turned on his side.
I can make this happen. Tell him what you want. He won’t know if you don’t tell him.
I couldn’t be sure whether it was her thought or mine, and with the tension in the room it was like we were riding the storm that swirled around us outside the castle walls to some uncharted destination. One rough, rocky destination, which left all inhibitions on the shore and would forever set us on a course that would change our fate.
Katarina placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him from rolling; over yet her touch was tentative, almost as if she knew that she was on tenuous ground. “I want both of you. No, I need both of you.”
My breath caught in my throat as Toren’s body stilled and he turned back to face her. I had the vague feeling that he was going to tell me no, and my heart sunk. Toren gave me a halfhearted smile and cupped my breast again, its weight heavy in his palm.
“What do you propose?” He pinched my nipple.
I paused, my breath uneven as sensation traveled south from the nipple he’d pinched to coil in my stomach. Then I lowered my lashes just so I could peek through their fullness, throwing the full weight of female persuasion into just one look. Oh, she’s good. “He’ll never acquiesce if I suggest it...”
Toren smirked. “He’s a little too chivalrous for my taste.”
After he accentuated the word taste, he bent his head, flicking his tongue across one nipple and then the other. It was hard to concentrate with the quick, hard flicks across my sensitive flesh.
“…but if I came to him while he was sleeping and then you were to join us, I think he might not have the will to stop.”
This is so wrong.
And yet my body came alive as I thought of all the sensual possibilities. The images going through her head and s
earing into mine were vivid, dark, and carnal. They sent a fiery array straight to my thighs, overloading my senses. I spiraled down and let those thoughts sweep over me, take over, and become me. Never had I felt so vibrant. Never had anything felt quite so right.
Toren seemed to consider this and it felt like an eternity before he finally answered. “Then go. Find him and I’ll come to you.”
His expression darkened and for a moment I wondered if I might regret this, but I kissed him on the mouth, hard and deep, then my feet hit the stone as I sprang from the bed. My ears were buzzing as I made my way down the darkened corridor. The air became damp and musty; it clung to my skin as I made my way along the wall, and my hand tracing a path against the stone that I knew by memory. How many times have I lingered outside his door? Or wondered what he would feel like inside of me? A guard snored loudly from the other end, but I moved toward what had been my goal for more months than I could count. When I reached the thick wooden door to Arie’s bedchamber, I opened it slowly, hoping that it wouldn’t creak and spoil my plans of waking him with my mouth.
He was so beautiful, sleeping peacefully. Arie was lying on his back with one arm folded under his head and the other stretched out across the bed. The way his arm was sprawled seemed like an open invitation that beckoned me to his bed. His chest was bare, but I imagined he’d be wearing drawers.
I pulled back the cover and straddled his hips. He woke up as soon as my naked body covered his, which was clothed beneath the blanket just as I had suspected it would be. Arie leaned up on his elbows, but I pressed both hands to his shoulders, urging him back down. He wore a sleepy frown and an arched eyebrow, but I had disrupted his sleep so I’d ignore the unappreciative gleam in his eyes.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
I grasped both my breasts, lifting them up, and his eyes dropped to the fleshy mounds overflowing in my palms. Desire darkened those gray depths, which matched the weather whirling outside the stone walls. “Don’t you want me, Arie?”