by O. Rose
Still, despite it all, he wondered if they could have what he wanted, felt sure they could. She would spend many days with him and Levi, some would see them as three. She would love them and they would love her.
Life would not seem needlessly endless if love could be made part of it. That was what he wanted to achieve with her, with the experiment. A perfect, unending love. Side by side through all of time, a love that would never perish.
A ridiculous, absurd romantic he’d become and all his nonsensical notions returned with her.
He’d tried to transfer those desires to Charity, but the girl was too different. Her life was dissimilar and he felt a sense of duty, but it was a trial. He was the one to bring her into undying and he owed her guardianship; she craved that, to have someone guide her.
She wanted more and he wasn’t blind to it, but he had no emotions of the kind where she was concerned. His attempts to feel more were wasted and she was growing intrusive.
He knew he couldn’t simply leave her, that would be the height of injustice; she’d been abandoned before. He was not heartless.
Yet, something had to be done. He was finished leading her and he would be honest now as he’d been in the past. If she wanted to follow he wouldn’t stop her, but she needed to know that his fondness would never be hers. Undoubtedly, she would be hurt. Angry.
That was why he’d never taught her anything about how to pull on the power of word or local energy.
Blessed be his foresight.
∞
Levi felt the call of Olwen, heard in distant vibrations what she said, and part of him was relieved to know Holly’s location.
The rest of him was still irritable.
There was no one, and there never would be anyone, who could bring him to the boiling point like his brother. When together they could be the best of friends or the worst of enemies. They were diametrically opposed in so many ways and yet, ultimately, they had the same desires. Those hopes were the reason they attempted to make Holly.
Truly, it was a fluke. He could think of no reason for it to have worked; she shouldn’t have been born based on their rudimentary nonsense. Seeing her alive was a shock like no other and for the first time since they gained immortality, he’d felt a spark of promise.
It turned dark when she died by his hand.
When he saw her again it was many decades later and he didn’t know what to think.
Upon returning to the villa he packed his own bag first and then got to work on hers. It was a slow process because handling her clothing was difficult in a different way.
The house was his. Some of the things in her room where also his. The bed and table, the wardrobe, came from her island home, but the dresser was connected to the house and, by extension, to himself.
So, when he encountered her range of underthings he understood something she didn’t.
It was a commentary on his desires. Deeply hidden and long repressed, but between Adam and himself they weren’t so far apart. What his brother was honest about, wanting to share their companion, was true for him as well.
That felt like another lifetime and it was impossible now, wasn’t it?
Chapter Nineteen
Holly knew he wasn’t Levi. Not immediately, it took a moment and Olwen was fooled, but they held themselves differently. Adam was commanding in a way Levi wasn’t; she couldn’t believe Olwen failed to see the difference. He pulled attention, Levi deflected it, and Adam was somehow less polished than his brother.
She didn’t say anything as the lady of the house left them to speak, only nodded with a small smile she hoped conveyed thankfulness.
“Let me know when you’re done,” Olwen said, departing for the staircase that would take her to the main floor. All of her hidden items were in the basement, behind a locked door concealed with magic. The one place in the house the children weren’t allowed to enter. If ever they found it, she would consider it fated because she’d put every ward possible over the entrance.
Now Holly was alone with Adam. One day after her sudden departure and she didn’t know how he’d found her.
“What did you want to say?” she took the initiative, a first for her. She’d been thinking of what Olwen said, of her questions, and Holly accepted that she was right. She’d never tried to be anyone. Today, she wanted to reclaim some of what she’d lost.
She was royalty once, even if one her people didn’t want to follow. That was still something, a place to start.
She’d spent the night trying to think of herself that way. She wanted to hold her head high, to walk with dignity. She’d been through a lot, maybe more than anyone else, didn’t she have the right to be proud? She’d faced death again and again, yet it hadn’t been able to hold her.
She was alive and, finally, she would try living.
Facing Adam wasn’t easy, standing before him without shaking took effort. He really did look identical to his brother and she wasn’t sure how she felt about either of them, but she did feel a connection.
It was inescapable and made her want something she wasn’t prepared to acknowledge. It didn’t seem right.
She jumped when he moved a step closer, but held her ground as he answered, “There was nothing I wanted to say, only something I wanted to try.”
Wide eyed, Holly found herself frozen as his hand touched her shoulder, trailed the length of her arm and found her hand. He lifted it, eyes on hers, and brought it to his face. His hand curled around her cheek as he rested hers on his.
Her tiny sound of surprise didn’t dissuade him, rather it was encouraging. It meant she felt the flicker, as he’d thought she would. As he’d desired so long ago. It’s loss was what enraged him, drove him to unrestrained fury. It was what made his brother shut down.
He’d been so sure it would work, he could feel her in their future; when she died they both came undone.
His eyes closed as peace washed over him. Finally, peace. She was alive, she was with him. She’d been with his brother.
“This was what we wanted,” his voice was a whisper on wind. “Can you feel it?” His dark gaze reclaimed hers.
Honesty. Truth. Words mattered. Her mind warred, yet she knew lying would do no good here and she didn’t want to.
“Yes,” a wavering whisper of her own. Her hand shook, fingers quaking, and she found herself unable to look away. “I’ve never- Nothing, like this-” her thoughts were in a jumble.
“No,” he murmured, as if he understood. “Never anything like this.” His forehead rested against hers and he drew a deep breath, caused lashes to flutter and lips to tremble.
This was foreign and strange and inexpressible. She’d never felt anything like the fluttering of her heart before. The hand outside his grasp rose on it’s own, took hold of the hem of his shirt; he wore a button down, she realized belatedly, traded casual for formal.
She looked away for a moment, just a moment, to see the color of his shirt, but the second their gazes reconnected she forgot what she saw. Her mind was flooded with him, a place in her heart suddenly soothed.
His hand slipped from her cheek to her neck, round her shoulder in a gentle massage. Tugged her a tiny step nearer. He dipped his head, mouth at her ear. “Between myself and my brother, our feelings for you are the same. Far too strong.”
Holly shuddered at the feel of hot breath, his words were unnerving and tempting, inviting her to a world she’d never hoped to dream of.
“What we offer will enchant you, fascinate you. We will never tire of you. You will be ours eternally.”
A whimper escaped her; to be wanted. He said they wanted her. It was what she’d longed for, in every life. To be wanted.
She didn’t fight as his hand moved to her waist, settled on her lower back and brought her forward, moving her body into his. He released the hand that held hers to his face, it dropped to his shoulder while his wandered into her hair, tugging her head backward.
He absorbed her expression, felt a rush of greed. Ch
eeks flushed, eyes closed. Lips parted.
“Say you will,” he spoke softly, earnestly. His mouth ghosted over hers. “You have already pledged to my brother in a way, I ask you to take us both.”
The longing in his voice was an unknown concept to Holly, like nothing she’d ever experienced. Not once had anyone asked a thing like this of her. They asked her to step out of the room, to pack her trash bag. When she thought of it, even Levi held some of this, though he expressed it in a very different way. He brought her things, let her change his house.
“To us,” he added in the same devout tone, “You are more precious than anything.”
She felt it then, her answer. Felt herself step into their path, into their future.
She took what he offered. “I will have you both.”
Chapter Twenty
What was Holly afraid of? Exclusion.
Her fears were brought into reality daily. She was ignored, stepped around, discarded. She’d never had any hope of being close to anyone, of knowing what it felt like to have friends let alone be loved. It was something she’d stopped wishing for. The stars never answered. Or, maybe, it just wasn’t time yet.
Now, it was right in front of her face and impossible to ignore. The way Adam looked at her, it was reverent, and the way Levi treated her was sweet, despite his difficulties in conveying what he was thinking.
She wasn’t good at that either, neither did she have any experience in handling someone like Adam. Levi was careful, yet sincere; his brother was enigmatic and consuming and apparently had no desire to release her.
“You bite your lip when you’re thinking,” he touched a finger to her mouth. “May I bite your lip?” Her eyes popped open and she stared at him aghast, but Adam was perfectly serious. “Well?”
There was no answer, her mind went blank. Adam was so different from Levi that it made her head spin!
His eyes were molten, her heart beat wild. “The answer is the one you want to give. You aren’t used to that, are you?”
The shake of her head was unsteady and Holly questioned whether the step he took back calmed or upset her.
“Then I will need to be patient, though you may have guessed that isn’t my strong suit.” He turned from her, listened to the sounds of Olwen’s return. “I doubt your hostess would have expected it from my brother anyway. She’s mistaken me for him.” He looked to Holly. “Are you staying? Say you won’t. Come with me and we will await his return.”
∞
Olwen felt the pulsing energy, the shift in her house, long before making her way back to the basement. She’d known something was different about Levi the moment she saw him, but it wasn’t until the air was full of power that she realized he wasn’t the man she knew. That was the brother. Adam.
He made no attempt to compress his abilities and this short introduction told her more of him than Holly’s description.
She didn’t trust him, would never leave her house in his care, yet even without trying she could detect the direction and nature of his thoughts. He had them on full blast, expanded no effort to hide what he was feeling.
Holly would be uncertain, unfamiliar. Worried that she was reading his actions incorrectly and he was making damn sure she couldn’t mistake him.
Even so, the smaller emotions indicated that she was still misunderstanding to an extent.
Adam radiated lust, a little humor.
Holly was accepting and overwhelmed.
When Olwen entered the room she could see him all over her, his aura hung protective and covetous.
“I won’t ask you to stay,” she began. “I can see that your time here is done for now, but I would like to speak to you,” her eyes found Holly, “for a moment alone.” The girl nodded, looked to Adam and Olwen added, “You don’t need to ask for permission.”
She felt his displeasure, he emitted waves of annoyance directed at her and she knew it was purposely done. Like Levi, Adam was much older than herself and far stronger. That was grounds for caution, but she wouldn’t allow him to rule over her.
Her nature was caring and she’d been exploited before.
Holly was easily guided into the room she’d spent the night in, once white and sterile made homier for her overnight stay with color on the walls, a little vase of flowers, a crochet blanket and area rug.
Olwen had no illusions about his ability to listen in, a closed door wouldn’t stop him, but for Holly’s sake the semblance of privacy might be helpful.
“I won’t try to dissuade you,” she said. “But, I will ask you to keep yourself in mind and to be careful.”
“I- don’t understand,” Holly admitted. “Any of it.”
“And that’s why I’m telling you to be cautious, for your own sake. I can’t doubt his sincerity and Levi is different but I never doubted what he was feeling for you either. I don’t understand it, to be honest. I don’t know their perspectives on your story. But its clear that Adam has strong feelings for you and Levi does as well. Be careful with them.” She placed a hand on Holly’s shoulder. “Don’t let either of them push you around. Remember, you have time.”
When the two of them departed, left in a disappearing act she could never master, Olwen hoped her advice got through to Holly. It was hard to tell, she was still so quiet; Olwen looked forward to the day when Holly was able to open up more, to herself as much as anyone.
“Ah!” a small sound of surprise as her gaze landed on the book left behind. It sat forgotten on the sofa, but when Olwen reached for it, she hesitated. The tome was old and permeated with magic.
She used a cloth to lift it, to avoid direct contact, but even that left a mark. It burned within her, a desire to open it and pursue it’s contents.
Olwen locked the door behind her as she left the basement, Holly’s book placed upon a wooden table.
∞
Charity’s last meeting with Adam didn’t go as planned. Not even close. He was there for a moment and then gone, after speaking some unintelligible rubbish about ‘setting her free’.
“Go find something worth having, Char,” he said. “I always told you I wasn’t it for you.”
He didn’t know that. He didn’t know how she felt. He never listened; she followed where he led. Why didn’t he understand that he was her compass? Her northern star.
He gave her life when all she had was death. If not for him she would have been gone, lost to an alleyway or worse. The rebel child who ruined her own life, not a unique tale except for the unexpected twist. The man who arrived like a dark angel, offering something unknown and she took it, took it and suffered for. Now more than ever.
For all those years she followed him and he’d gone off on his own more than once, but he came back. Every time.
She had the impression, gut wrenching intuition, that he wouldn’t do it again. Whatever led him to her was pulling him back and he went to it all too willingly.
Charity was never one to give up what was hers, her own will led her to the gutter and she held on despite that. Clung to her tiny bit of control, even when the only thing she had power over was herself.
Control. That was what she’d wanted, what her family refused to give and it seemed they were right. She was stupid, lived dangerously. They saw her addictive personality and tried to intervene, but she was too stubborn for their best intentions.
Well, that led her to life unending, to Adam.
And she would find him again, no matter how long it took. She wasn’t one to be discarded and he would learn that about her.
He might even love her for it.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Be careful...you have time...”
Olwen’s light warnings weren’t lost on Holly; she recognized an admonition when she heard one and it was appreciated. Between Olwen and Levi she felt more cared for than ever before. They were genuinely looking out for her, telling her to think before acting.
Like the old woman did.
She was sure that wasn’t part of Adam’s
program, he would never be the one to hold her back, to ask her to think through a decision. He didn’t seem inclined to that on a personal basis and she doubted he’d expect it of anyone else.
For example, he’d swept her off her feet and carried her, in the style of a new bride, over the threshold and she didn’t know how to react as he deposited her back on the floor.
Adam took a long, thorough look around the entrance of his brother’s home and said, “Yes, this looks like him.” He pivoted toward Holly, who took a step back. “Change it.”
It took a moment for his demand to sink in and when it did she could do nothing but ask, “What?”
His smile was enticing and he held out his hand. “Come here.”
Knowing he was asking for her, voluntarily reaching out, she couldn’t turn back or deny him.
As her fingers twined with his though, his eyes darkened. A storm. “I don’t want you to say yes because you don’t think you can say no.” A rough tug elicited a gasp and brought her closer; he held her waist. “Did they do that to you? Are you waiting to be pushed away again?”
She saw his anger, barely concealed, and vowed never to tell him specifics about the people previously in her life. Foster homes or caseworkers. Teachers, classmates. She could imagine where his fury might take him.
“You,” she searched for a way to convey her thoughts. “I mean, not just you, I don’t know how to be around people,” when the glass in a front window cracked she flinched. “It’s going to take a while, but don’t we have time?” She echoed Olwen’s words because they mirrored her thoughts; all she had now was time abounding.
“Tell me who they were,” his voice was tightly controlled.
She shook her head, “No.”
Adam’s eyes slid closed; he turned his head to the side as he drew a deep breath. “You refuse,” his gazed snapped back to her. “I hope this isn’t a precedent,” his stare was sardonic, his fingers flexed on her hip.