by JoAnna Grace
Evander led her down to sit beside him on the bench. He held her hand and though she didn’t think he would use his powers on her, not now, she still held on to the fear that had colored her entire adult life.
“My mother raised us right, Evander. She was a good woman and one hell of an Olympian. It kills me that her memory is so tainted, because she sacrificed her life for her kids.”
“No one in our world knew the truth, Keona.” He reached up and wiped away her tears, his gentle hands breaking her heart. “It may be frightening, but you have the chance to clear her name.”
“Mom kept us a secret for our own safety, the same way I’ve kept Piper hidden away as much as I can. She’s brilliant, Evander, like my father, and so gentle. She’s delicate and lovely, like a flower. I’ll do anything to protect her, just like our mother protected us.”
His blue eyes stared straight into hers. “You know I can help you. I can protect your sister.”
“Why would you do that for us? You don’t know me, you’ve never even met Piper. What do you have to gain by helping us?”
His breath left his lungs in a rush. “You. I think I’d do anything to get closer to you. Last night was the first time in decades that I’ve felt alive. You really don’t know how incredible you are, do you?”
Keona turned away. His blatant declaration of his feelings for her was like nothing she’d ever experienced. Evander didn’t keep his emotions close to his chest, he laid them all out on the table, risking everything…for her. “Are you always this honest with women you’re interested in?”
“I’m not always interested at all, much less like this. You’re different, Keona.” He touched her chin and tilted her head up to meet his gaze. “Why did you come back to me tonight?”
The man was gorgeous, too handsome for words, and his open heart was enough to capture hers. “I knew you were worth the risk.” She bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. “And you did buy me flowers.”
Evander cupped her cheeks with his hands and slowly teased her mouth with his. The link between her lips and the rest of her body sizzled with electricity, a live wire shot from her head down to her core. As he deepened his kiss, her thighs clenched together, heat and moisture blossoming between her legs. She shifted on the bench, moving so she could press her chest against him. Need and desire shot through her veins and had her blood pumping fast. Yet she didn’t stop. The world paused around her and nothing else mattered but this delicious man.
“Evander,” she whispered against his kiss. His response was a moan as she nibbled his bottom lip. “Do you realize we’re making out in a public park like a couple of teenagers?”
“I should buy you flowers every day.” They laughed and leaned their heads together. His smile shined brighter than the moon above, and she couldn’t help but return the gesture.
“I have an idea.” He ran a hand through his dark brown hair. “Will you go on a date with me? I know a fabulous five-star restaurant—”
Keona scrunched up her nose and tugged at her Cubs hoodie. “They wouldn’t let me in and I’ve already returned the dress to the owner.”
He nodded, scratched his chin. “Okay, better idea. I know this kick-ass hot dog stand and there’s a new action movie that just came out yesterday.”
A wide grin stretched across her face, awakening muscles she hadn’t used in a long time. “That is the sexiest thing you’ve said to me yet.” Keona leaned in and kissed him once more.
Yeah, he was absolutely worth the risk.
PIPER AWOKE EACH morning, her heart broken. She didn’t dream. Not even a normal dream. Nothing. Her mystery man had told her the truth, he was gone. Without the extra boost she received from seeing him in her dreams, her days became dreary and lonely. Sure, she had her patients, but she missed her man.
After a long phone conversation with Evander Castille, she gave her two weeks’ notice at the hospital. There was one particular nurse who had a sickening crush on Evander, or Paul Smith, as she knew him, who turned up her nose at Piper every chance she got. Going to work each day reached a new level of difficulty.
Keona tried her hardest to lift her spirits. She constantly spoke of how great Evander was and tried to get her excited about working with him at the clinic. Piper didn’t want to intrude on her sister’s dates, so she stayed home when the two of them went out. There were some things Keona needed to keep separate, and dating her sister’s future boss was one, at least in Piper’s mind.
She tried, she really did. But each morning Piper awoke with no news of her missing love, she withered away a little more inside.
“Hey, you.” Keona met her with a mug of steaming coffee. “Since you start your new job Monday, and we both have the weekend off, why don’t we go out? Let’s go dancing or to that dollar movie theatre. We can have a girls’ night.”
“I thought you had plans with Evander.”
Keona shrugged a shoulder, but averted her eyes. “I’ll cancel. I’ve been with him nearly every night for weeks. You’re my sister and I know you’re down in the dumps. He’ll understand.”
Piper set down her coffee and hugged Keona. Emotion welled up inside her and she didn’t know what she’d done to deserve such a loving sister.
“Whoa, hey, what’s up?” Keona said, returning her embrace.
“I love seeing you so happy. And I love even more that you would sacrifice seeing him for me.”
“Aww, of course I would, Piper. You’re my sister, my twin. No man comes between twins, you know that.”
Piper kept holding on to her. “You’ve sacrificed most of your life for me, Kee. You worked so I could go to school, you sold your car to pay for my books. You always take the crappiest jobs at whatever hospital or clinic I’m working at.” She pulled back but kept holding on to Keona’s elbows. “I’m glad to see you happy. If this is Evander’s doing, I already like him. You deserve amazing, crazy love.”
“Thanks, Piper. That means a lot to me. And yeah, he does make me happy. I have to pinch myself every time I see him smile at me. He’s incredible.”
“Go out with him tonight, don’t worry about me.” She held up a hand to stop Keona’s protest. “I’m fine. Really.”
“Are you still not dreaming? No visits from your man?”
Piper darted her gaze away and shook her head, trying to cover her tears with a pinched smile. “He said he was leaving, so I have to be patient. The gods will bring him back. I know they will.”
“Come out with Evander and me tonight. I want you to meet him. I’ll ask him to bring along a friend, if you don’t want to be the third wheel.”
Seeing her sister so bright and cheery made Piper’s burden lighter. Keona was usually reckless and wild, dark and moody, but with Evander in her life, she’d been smiling more and laughing at things that would otherwise get on her nerves. Piper liked this side of her sister and she was grateful to the man who exposed it.
“Yeah, yeah. Okay, why not?”
Keona’s entire face lit up, her eyes wide and sparkling. “Really?”
Piper nodded and gave a tight smile. “You clearly trust him. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have insisted on me working for him. This isn’t exactly how I first wanted to meet him, but hey, go with the flow, right?”
“I’ll call him now.” Keona practically skipped away. It was great to see her so light. Piper kept that in mind and tried to look forward to the evening. Keona came back a few minutes later with a wide grin on her face. “He’s bringing one of his friends and they’re picking us up in an hour.”
“Here?” Piper glanced around their hovel of a place.
“We’ll meet them at the curb.”
Of course. “Don’t want him to see where we live?”
Keona swallowed hard and lifted her chin. “He knows where we live, Piper. We’ve had a shadow for the last couple weeks, remember? He doesn’t care where I live. I haven’t showed him you. That’s what I’m trying to protect.” She shrugged a shoulder, brushing off
the concern.
Piper changed the subject and tried to distract Keona with clothing choices and promising to do her makeup. This was a big deal for her sister, to invite Piper on a double date, to introduce her to a guy “officially”. It showed a great deal of trust that she didn’t play twenty questions with Evander about whomever he was bringing along. Keona didn’t usually develop long term relationships with anyone, much less make it a family thing.
Keona also had this irrational idea that Piper was so much prettier than she was, which was crazy. They were identical twins, for Zeus’s sake. She didn’t understand it, but it was one of Keona’s only insecurities, so she hadn’t pushed meeting Evander sooner. Tonight proved that Keona wasn’t worried about Evander’s loyalty, which was spectacular.
They dressed up in their best outfits and fixed their hair, and talked about going out. All the while, Piper made up her mind to have some drinks tonight. Maybe she would actually sleep and not wake up sad.
Keona gave her sister credit, she was trying. Piper smiled and listened to her gush about how much she adored Evander, how excited she was for them to meet, and how thrilled everyone was that Piper was coming to work at the Ralpha Clinic.
They got all dolled up and walked downstairs when Evander’s car arrived. The moment she opened the door to the apartment building and saw him standing there, her heart took flight. He was dressed in what she called his street clothes. His pressed white button-down shirt was opened enough to tease her with a glimpse of his defined chest. Over the shirt was a buttoned up black vest, with a matching black belt in his low-slung designer jeans. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up and showed off his muscular forearms. Evander was every bit the upscale GQ type, even when he tried not to be.
What she loved the most though, was the smile he wore when he saw her. His entire face lit like a Christmas tree. Keona felt the same way. Her heart lurched in her chest every time she laid eyes on him.
“Hello, beautiful.” Evander took her hand and pulled her close. He rubbed his nose to hers and kissed her. “We have a full party tonight, huh?”
“Yeah, she’s nervous, so be gentle.” Keona motioned for Piper to come out of the building. Her aura was trapped tight behind mental shields, as was Keona’s, and to any other Olympian, she would’ve passed for a human.
Piper came straight to Keona and held her hand, something their mother made them do as children. This way, if Keona needed to blink out, she didn’t have to think twice about having Piper with her.
Keona swallowed the lump in her throat. It was a moment of truth for Evander, though he didn’t realize he was being tested. She and Piper might be identical twins, but Piper had always been the prettier of the two. Her features were softer and gentler. Men thought Piper looked beautiful and Keona looked fierce. Even though they both wore similar dress shorts and tops, they fit them differently. With all her martial arts training, Keona’s chest wasn’t as pronounced. Her legs were muscular, not like the sleek lines of Piper’s. Twice in their life, a man had started out interested in Keona…then met Piper. Those jerks were kicked to the curb, Piper’s love for her too great to even consider them an option.
But it still hurt.
Now Evander, a man whom she was head-over-heels crazy about, stood staring at them both. The seconds felt like hours. What if he thought Piper was more attractive? What if he thought Piper’s healing gifts complimented him more than Keona’s teleporting? Was this going to be another disappointment in her life? Another moment she played second fiddle to practically perfect Piper?
“Wow.” Evander’s brows rose as he glanced between the twins. “Identical. There’s subtle differences, but man, no wonder you two can impersonate each other.” He smiled and held out a hand to Piper. “Pleasure to meet you in person, Miss Nadal. Your sister has said wonderful things about you.”
As long as you’re not thinking wonderful things about how gorgeous she is…
Being ever courteous, even though she was nervous, Piper shook his hand. “Likewise. Keona has a permanent smile on her face these days and I think the credit goes to you. Thank you.”
Evander slipped his arm around Keona’s waist and kissed her neck. “I have to admit, I’m thankful you didn’t come to that first interview, Piper.” His eyes shined as they met hers.
Did he mean that? Was he just trying to impress Piper by playing the good boyfriend so she would consider him later? Beautiful people attracted beautiful people, and Evander was exactly that.
“Keona is the best surprise I’ve had in a long time. She’s wrapping me around her little finger, whether she knows it or not.” His smile, a sparkling miracle in the middle of their night, made Keona’s heart flutter. Maybe he was for real. Maybe she’d finally met a man who didn’t prefer her sister.
She smiled back and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Oh, I know it. And I intend to use it to every advantage I can get.”
Evander’s laughter filled the streets. “I’m so screwed.”
Piper laughed, really laughed, and it warmed Keona’s heart. Her sister needed some laughter and happiness in her daylight hours.
“Piper,” Evander said, holding his hand out toward his car. “This is Sean. He’s your escort for tonight. He’s also one of the best Thracian soldiers I have.”
Sean stepped from the car and joined them. He looked like Captain America in civilian clothes. Keona expected all Thracian soldiers to look like the warriors of old, with loincloths and swords, or perhaps like Nicholas, the tracker, with his odd albino features. The last thing she expected was a clean-cut, all-American guy with spiked blond hair, ready to hit the club. He wore deep red jeans that hugged his thick thighs and a white V-neck tee that accentuated every defined muscle of his chest and arms. He was tall and broad, just like one would expect of a Thracian.
He squinted his bright hazel eyes at Piper but quickly straightened when Evander started talking.
“Sean, this is my lady, Keona, and her sister, Piper.”
“Great to meet you.” Sean shook their hands, freely giving Piper a full body glance. “You’re a fine little bird, aren’t you?” He swallowed hard and shoved his hands in his jeans, a playful smirk on his lips.
“You’re not from Chicago, I take it.” Piper pushed her hair behind her ears, her cheeks turning pink and a shy smile crossing her lips.
Evander and Keona exchanged a quick glance. They liked each other immediately, a good sign.
“Ballycumber, Ireland,” Sean boasted with the tip of his imaginary hat.
“I love Ireland. It’s so beautiful.”
“You’ve been?” Sean’s eyes widened and so did his grin.
Piper nodded and squeezed Keona’s hand. Yes, they’d been to Ireland. They lived there for four months until they were recognized by Olympians. It was one tough place to leave.
“Why don’t we head to the restaurant?” Keona moved toward the car. “We have reservations, right, baby?”
The gentleman seated the ladies in the car and moved to sit on either side, keeping them together, like Keona had asked Evander to do until Piper was comfortable.
“Hello, Cain,” Keona said to the driver, a massive bald man who she’d seen multiple times.
“Madam.” He winked at her in the rearview mirror. His shoulders stretched halfway across the car and his head nearly bumped the roof.
The restaurant was fabulous, five star, of course. Fifteen minutes into dinner, Piper had already relaxed enough that she didn’t need to touch Keona’s leg under the table. For the first time in their lives, they could talk openly with someone about their gifts, their abilities, their race’s history. The entire conversation was like learning a foreign language, then speaking it fluently to a native. Keona and Sean found common ground talking about martial arts mishaps and battle scars. For once, Piper could explain the depths of her vision into the body and how she uses nerves and veins to carry her healing aura. At first, Piper and Evander’s intense conversation and his fascination with he
r skills worried Keona. She feared it would give him one more reason to like her sister more. But he kept his arm around Keona, his hand rubbing her shoulder or twirling her hair in his fingers. Every now and then he would lean down and kiss her cheek, her neck, her forehead. Once, when she was telling Sean about how she bested her instructor, she caught Evander staring at her.
“What?” Heat crept up her face as he ran his hand over her thigh.
“You’re amazing, that’s all.”
She smiled and kissed him, hoping he meant it. If Evander went after her sister, she’d be devastated. He was a dream come true, someone who could break her heart with one word, and that scared the shit out of her.
Evander and Sean were both into their fourth century of life and they kept the twins supplied with stories of how much the world had changed in the last three hundred plus years.
At one point, Piper talked about their parents, their life in Seattle before everything went to Hades. Joy filled her heart that her sister felt so comfortable as to open up. Sean was a trip, full of jokes, and with his accent, everything sounded funnier than it probably was.
The four of them finally reached the dance club about the time everything was in full swing.
“Do you dance, Sean?” Piper asked.
Red tinted his face. “I might need a jar or two first. But I usually don’t drink when I have a charge. You?”
“Keona drags me to clubs all over the world, so I’ve learned to enjoy it.”
Evander pointed to Cain, who had parked the car and made his way inside, and two other huge, bouncer-type guys Keona hadn’t noticed before. “I have three guards in the club, two outside at both exits. Nicholas is circling the block in another car. Have a drink, Sean. Let’s show these ladies a good time.”
“You might regret that later, sir. I’m a not a good dancer but I sure think I am when I’m langered. I’m sure I can make an arseways of it.” While the rest of them found a booth to sit at, Sean went to the bar to order the first round of drinks.