“No. We left quickly, but my Mom wouldn’t have expected to hear from me. We don’t talk much.” Not since she told me to get over what my step-sister did. I’d barely talked to her since, and on her part she wasn’t trying very hard to change it. It seemed my request for space had been taken seriously.
“And your dad?”
“I’ve never met my dad.” And I knew nothing about him other than he had been a fellow student when my mom was in college. No matter what questions I asked her, I always got the same answers. He wasn’t in the picture so it didn’t matter. His name wasn’t on my birth certificate. My mom had actually put in John Doe.
“Oh. I didn’t know.” She walked over to where I stood by the wall. “I apologize for my questions.”
“Don’t apologize. It is what it is.”
“Still, it must be hard to have a parent who chooses not to be part of your life.” She put a hand over her mouth. “Sorry for saying that out loud.”
“It’s only hard if you let it be. I never knew him. It would have been harder if I had.”
“That’s a positive way to look at things.”
“Do you miss anything about your old life?”
She shook her head. “No. I was pretty miserable. I thought my mom was dead. I had almost no friends. I was in love with a guy who didn’t even really see me.”
“Wait, who?” Discussing crushes was a much lighter and desirable subject.
“Liam.” She smiled.
“Uh, he sees you.” He seemed to only have eyes for her when they were in the same room.
“I didn’t think he did. He never acted on it at all. I know now he did… but it took a while. He was Kevin’s best friend.”
“You guys are perfect for each other.” I smiled.
“Thanks. He’s my other half.”
“How did Kevin take it?”
“When Liam and I ended up together?” She pulled her hair off her neck as though she were hot.
“Yeah.”
“We were already in this world, so it was different. If he acted on it before then, Kevin probably would have been furious. He was really protective of me.”
I laughed. “Maybe that was part of it.”
“I also seemed much younger. I was his friend’s kid sister.”
“But he kissed you.” I remembered that detail.
“I kissed him.” She laughed. “He ran out of the room afterward. I regretted that kiss for years.”
“Wow. Do you still give him a hard time about it?” Thinking about Charlotte and Liam’s relationship helped keep my mind off my own. I still didn’t quite understand what was happening between us, or to me. I wanted to know how much of my feelings for James came from the kindred connection.
“Sometimes.” Her eyes twinkled.
“Charlotte, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” She sat down on a padded bench.
“This kindred thing…. do I really feel this way for him?”
“Yes. It’s your feelings. The only thing that’s changed is you’re connected.” She folded her hands and placed them in her lap.
“I still can’t quite believe it.”
“I understand. This is a lot to take in.” She smiled reassuringly.
“I still wonder what I have to do with any of this. How did they have my name?” I sat down beside her.
“I don’t know, but we’ll find out. You’re safe here while we do.”
“Is James happy about it?”
“About what?”
“Me. This whole thing.” I stared down at my hands.
“He’s crazy about you. He’s happier than I’ve ever seen him.”
“He’s stressed.” I stood again. I was far too anxious to sit.
“He’s always stressed.”
“His life hasn’t been easy, has it?”
“With a father like his?” She shuddered. “Not for a day.”
I wanted him to open up to me about all of it, but I was also afraid. Would I be able to handle the enormity of it? Whether I could or not, I needed to hear it. It was the only way I would truly understand him, and it couldn’t be good for him to keep such strong memories and emotions pent up. He would explode one day. That’s how it always went.
Charlotte stood and looked out through the window. “I see him. Way out there.”
I squinted and saw something in the distance. “Wow, you have good eyes.”
“This isn’t my first time watching for someone. Plus, to be fair I knew what direction he’d be coming from.”
“Can we head down?” I was more than a little bit excited to greet him.
“Excited to see him?”
“Very.” I grinned. I was giddy at the thought. At least this time I wasn’t sick.
We walked down the spiral staircase back to the second level and then down the main staircase. I waited impatiently in the foyer before James finally walked in. I ran right over to him.
He gave me a giant hug. “Glad to know I was missed.”
“Did you find out anything?” Charlotte asked from behind us.
“I always knew you only wanted me for my intel,” he teased her.
Charlotte groaned. “I’m glad you’re home, but Ainsley greeted you enough for the both of us.”
“Talen is meeting us here at dawn. We are going into the lost world to meet some wolves he thinks can help defeat the darkness.”
“But what about the undead?” Charlotte asked. “Did you see them?”
“The Arcos took care of them before I got there. The bodies are in the prison up there if you want someone to do clean up.”
“I hate that prison.” She tensed.
“I understand.”
I watched an unreadable conversation take place through their eyes. Although I already knew they had a long history, it was still difficult to watch. I wanted to be in on all the secrets, to understand everything. Maybe one day I would be, but for now I was glad he was back.
“Did I miss dinner?” he asked.
“Nope. You’re right on time.” Charlotte smiled.
“Is it okay if I brief Liam there?” James held onto my hand tightly. Maybe he’d missed me as much as I’d missed him. I needed to believe he did so I didn’t feel so obsessed.
“Absolutely. Ainsley has been waiting patiently to see you for hours.”
“Patiently?” He raised an eyebrow. “I was hoping for impatiently.”
“I almost got there. It was touch and go for a while.”
His face darkened.
“That was a joke.”
“I know.” He squeezed my hand. “Let us get ready for dinner.”
* * *
Later that night I lay in James’ arms staring up at the star-filled sky.
“Aside from the lack of plumbing, you have a really nice place.”
“Glad you like it.” He ran his hand through my hair. “I like it a lot more now that you are here.”
“We do this a lot.” I ran my hand over his bare chest.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I don’t usually have this kind of uh, appetite.”
“Neither do I, if that helps.” He leaned up on an elbow. “And I started it this time.”
“I know. Amazingly enough I didn’t try to jump you the second we were alone.”
“I will not read into that, because you were more than eager once I let my desires be known.”
“I love your voice.” I closed my eyes and breathed him in.
“My voice?” He took my hand and touched it to his throat. “This is not about my accent again, is it?”
“Nope, your voice. It’s velvety and rich.”
“Sounds like you are describing chocolate cake.”
“Both are yummy things.” An image of enjoying cake in bed with James came to mind.
He laughed. “Yummy is a word from your world that still amuses me.”
“What’s funny about it?”
“Nothing innately,
but the way you used it there makes me laugh for whatever reason.”
“So I shouldn’t call you yummy?”
“You can call me anything you want. You know that.”
“I feel like I’ve known you for years.” The comfort I felt with him was unbelievable.
“I feel the same way.”
“Yet there is so much more I don’t know about you.” Too many things to name. I knew more about his father than I knew about his own hopes and dreams.
“You can ask me anything.”
“And I will, but right now I just want to lay here and enjoy this.” I stared up at the sky.
“This is nice.” He pulled me closer to him.
“I never thought I could be so comfortable naked with someone.”
“Of course it is natural for us. It is the way we should be.”
“Yet I’m not allowed to streak.” I laughed.
He pulled me up on top of him. “It is the way it should be when we are alone.”
I ran my hand over his bicep. “You don’t go to the gym.”
“No.”
“Then how did your arms get like this?”
“There are other ways to work your muscles.” He ran his hand down my back.
“You’ll have to teach me because I hate the gym.”
He laughed. “You should talk to Samantha. She is a force to be reckoned with.”
“You think I need to be trained by a girl?”
“If Samantha heard you say that…” He shook his head. “Ask Kevin to tell you the story about getting trained by her. I have heard it about a dozen times, but it never gets old.”
“Wait.” He had my attention. “What happened?”
“I will let them tell you themselves, since I was not there to hear it first hand, but suffice to say she taught him not to underestimate women.”
I laughed. “I’ll have to ask about it. I can totally see that.”
“Samantha is tough, but she has a real heart.”
“Sometimes the people with the toughest exteriors have the biggest hearts.” I was beginning to see that James fell into that category too. There was so much more to him than first meets the eye.
He pulled my head down to his. “You are sweet.”
“But not yummy?”
“Oh, you are perfectly yummy.” He rolled us over so he was on top of me. “I will not let you forget that.”
8
James
It took effort to drag myself out of bed that morning. All I wanted to do was stay with Ainsley in my arms, but that was not an option. I needed to discover how my father had achieved influence again and destroy it, before it destroyed Ainsley.
Ainsley had wanted to stay in bed too. “Please. Can’t we wait another hour?”
I kissed her forehead. “I wish we could.”
“Please.” She ran her teeth over her bottom lip, and if I had any doubts before, they were gone. She knew exactly what effect that motion had on me.
“None of that.”
“Of what?” she asked innocently.
I laughed. “That.” I forced myself from the covers. “I will see to our breakfast.”
“And here I thought you could never resist me.”
“I cannot. That is why I am standing so far away.” I stepped into my clothes, grateful that I could still muster some self-restraint.
“Can you explain all of this again?”
“Which part?” I moved into the kitchen, hoping she would follow. I was unsure if my resistance was strong enough to handle seeing her in the bed again.
“Who Talen is, and why we’re meeting him at the gate.” She stood in the doorway with the blanket wrapped around her.
“You do not sound excited about returning to your world.”
She shrugged. “I’m not really returning. Besides, I was just starting to get used to being here.”
“You are right.” I set aside the fruit I had been cutting. That and bread would have to do for the morning. “You are not really returning.”
“Who is this Talen guy?”
“He is an Arco. His true form is of a snow white wolf. A large one.”
“Uh, a werewolf? First zombies and now werewolves?”
“There are many things here and in your world you would not believe.”
“In my world?” Ainsley crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m guessing that’s why we’re going back now?”
“Yes. Talen thinks there are wolves that know how to defeat the darkness. We need to get rid of it so you are safe.”
“I’m glad you’re willing to take me.”
“I want you with me.” I always wanted her with me, but that was only part of my reasoning.
“Good.” She disappeared into the other room and returned a moment later in the same jeans and t-shirt she had arrived in. I forced away the momentary disappointment. She would be coming back to Energo with me. This was not the end of anything.
* * *
After a quick breakfast we met up with Talen at the castle. Ainsley had been quiet since getting dressed, but I assumed it was nerves and did not press.
“So this is the girl.” Talen grinned when we approached.
“This is Ainsley.” I linked my arm with hers.
“Pleasure to meet you.” He took her free hand and kissed it.
She startled. “And you are the wolf?”
Talen narrowed his eyes at me. “Wolf? Is that how you described me to your woman?”
“I forgot the official term.” She looked down. Surprisingly she did not appear to mind him calling her mine.
Talen smiled. “I do not mind it coming from you. I like to give James a hard time.”
“We all like to give James a hard time.” Henry walked over. I had selected him to accompany us, and I hoped my choice was a wise one.
“Guys are weird,” Ainsley mumbled.
I laughed. “So are women.”
“Sometimes.”
I took her hand and helped her onto my horse. “You are even more beautiful than yesterday.”
She looked down at her chest and then back at me. “I am?”
“Yes. You get more beautiful every day.”
“You sound like you actually believe it.”
“Of course I do.” I mounted my horse behind her. “I would never say it otherwise.”
She leaned back into me. I inhaled her sweet and intoxicating scent before we made the ride over to Rawlins.
I focused on her scent and the feel of her body against mine as we rode. Despite everything, I knew I was the luckiest man alive.
All too soon we left the horses and started the short walk toward the garden just inside of the gate in Charleston. We left the horses in Rawlins since we were not positive how long we would be away.
“Thanks for picking me.” Henry babbled next to me as we made the short walk to the garden.
“You have experience in the lost world. Theoretically you should be able to blend in.” He had lived there for a year before Charlotte moved to Energo.
I led the way back toward the garden I now knew every inch of. So many of the turning point moments of my life had been shaped by journeying through the lush flower garden.
“Is that really the only reason you chose me?” Henry stayed behind the rest of us as I had asked him too. I wanted to ensure Ainsley’s safety.
“Yes.” I did not have many other men to choose from, and Henry had grown on me over the years. Charlotte had convinced me to start viewing him as a younger brother, and that helped. He had grown up a lot, but there was still an immaturity to him that grated on my nerves.
Henry fell into conversation with Talen, and I turned my attention to Ainsley.
“You all right?”
“I’m fine.” She adjusted her hand in mine.
“No one is going to hurt you.”
“I know.” She smiled in a forced way.
“Then why are you nervous?”
“A lot of reasons.” She made no attemp
t to add to her statement so I let it go. I was already learning that sometimes Ainsley appreciated silence.
We reached the garden and followed the path through the dense and brightly colored flowers and plants.
“What car are we going to drive?” Ainsley asked as we neared the wrought iron gate.
“I know you are disappointed there are too many of us to fit in my Aston Martin.” I inserted my iridescent crystal key into the small keyhole.
“I am. We could take my car if you guys are okay squeezing in.” She waited while I stepped through first. It was early evening in Charleston, and the sun was on the way down. It had taken me a dozen trips into the lost world to get used to the opposite pattern of time.
“I will check the area around the house.” Henry jogged off to do a perimeter check. He was already proving useful since I preferred to stay with Ainsley.
Ainsley glanced around the yard as if checking to make sure nothing had changed. Each of the live oaks with dangling moss were still there, as was the old fountain.
“Anything is fine with me.” Talen was uncharacteristically quiet. Maybe he was less than thrilled about returning to the lost world, but my bet was it was something else.
“You were close to your chief.” We had time before Henry finished his scouting, so I decided to ask. Losing your leader was never easy, but this seemed more personal.
“Very.”
“He was family to you.” He had to be. Talen was not one to get easily swayed by emotion.
Talen nodded. “My grandfather.”
“Your father is the new chief. So you are next in line.” Things started to fall into place.
“I am.”
“Yet you are coming with us?”
“Our leaders do not stay back in battle. We have the same mentality as your people.”
It was true. Even Charlotte would put herself in danger if the need arose. I had nearly died trying to save her because she did.
“Still, I appreciate your sacrifice of missing any ceremonies.”
“The safety and security of my people defeats any need for a ceremony.”
“What if this wolf doesn’t want to see us?” Ainsley asked. “I mean James said they are your bitter enemies or something?”
“Not bitter, but there is bad blood in the past.” Talen withheld the details. “By asking for help I am showing deference. That will solve any problems.”
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