“Speak.”
“My parents.” Unable to stop myself, the words slipped out. How did he do it? I glanced at Lorenzo. “I thought you said he wasn’t a warlock.”
“He’s not.” My brother glowered at the other man but continued to let him manhandle me. I allowed it too.
What’s wrong with us?
“Then what is he?” I frowned at Thomas. “Who are you?”
“Your uncle.”
My mouth opened and closed a few times. My mind upgraded Thomas to Seriously Delusional Serial Killer and I protested the insanity of his words. “Have you looked in the mirror lately? You’re about my age. And you’re blond.” And clearly bat shit crazy. “You can’t be my uncle. Now let me go, you nut. My arms are going numb.”
All traces of humor left his face. “You would deny me?”
“Back off.”
He forced me to another painting. “Him?”
Lorenzo made a strangled sound. “That’s enough, Thomas.”
Thomas ignored him. “Would you deny him, too?”
My stomach somersaulted and landed in my throat. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t deny my instant connection with the man in this painting, his skin like fine china, pale and perfect, his face delicate and chiseled with high cheekbones and a smallish chin. Almost feminine, yet at the same time masculine. Full red lips, slightly narrow nose. Thick black lashes framed dark eyes. Long dark chocolate hair styled in perfect ringlets surrounded his breathtaking face and spilled over his shoulders. He wore a frilly white shirt open to the waist over tight black pants and black boots, his body tall, lean, and strong.
It wasn’t the fact he was the most beautiful man on the planet, or that he stood next to the grand piano in my family home. No. Truth hummed in my brain. Ties to this man jangled, as if they ran through my blood and demanded I acknowledge him. His outstretched hand beckoned. Come, Carina. Come.
“That’s—” I cleared my throat. “It’s my Uncle Maurizio. My Zi. Zio Zi.”
“Yes, very good, Carina.”
“But I don’t understand. I’ve never even met him before, have I? And is that my piano?”
“He gave it to you for your sixth birthday and taught you how to play it. As a child, you entertained us both on many occasions.”
I shook my head. “I don’t believe you.” Don’t want to believe you…
“No? Then let us open the door in your mind and return to the beginning. Thus we will separate lie from truth.”
“Door?” My skin crawled, shoulders tensing. Faith spoke of doors during her vision earlier. Cracked ones, in my mind? God, does this guy, my so-called uncle, have something to do with my memory issues?
Lorenzo wrenched me away from the other man. “Basta, Thomas. Enough.” He wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders, warmth to battle the chill icing my skin. “This is not the way.”
The men talked as if I wasn’t there. “What is the way? You see how she reacts to Maurizio and me. And how she is called to Alexander. It is time to open the door.”
“I won’t let you hurt her.” Menace didn’t trickle from my brother, it flooded. The room’s testosterone level elevated as the two men faced off.
Though their conversation put me on edge, I rolled my eyes at the alpha male display. I shrugged off Lorenzo’s grasp and raised my hand.
“Hold up, He-Men. Who’s Alexander?” Yep, I ignored the disturbing topic—messing with my head—and went straight for info on the hot guy. What a great birthday prezzie he would be.
Both men ignored me.
The air cooled and power emanated from Thomas, a living thing filling the room. “You think you can stop me, boy?”
“She’s not your toy.” My brother stepped through the chill of it and crowded Thomas.
To my surprise, Thomas laughed. The power riding the air disappeared with an almost tangible pop. “Believe what you must, Lorenzo, to ease your conscience.” His expression sobered. “But you will not interfere.”
Lorenzo shoved me behind him. “Or. What?”
“Do not push us.” The air crackled with energy, thick and hard to breathe through.
“No. This is wrong,” my brother barked. “You can’t show up here and say ‘hey, open sesame’ as if there aren’t consequences.”
“I can do many things.”
“That’s beside the point, dammit. Let me talk to her first. Let me explain about the past and her power and what you did to her. Ease her into this.”
My stomach churned. So, I was a pawn in someone else’s game. Their game.
Clearly, this was the man my brother wanted me to meet, my uncle, an enigmatic man with power, a power responsible for my memory loss. But how? Why? And the comment about my power? I was strong enough and nimble as a cat, too, but instinct told me he referred to something else. But what?
The unanswered questions shot ice pick pain straight into my skull and fear into my heart, fear the answers would tear apart me and my world. Memories or no childhood memories, I liked the life I’d built for myself. I was in no hurry to open up some metaphysical door in my brain, thank you very much.
I stepped between the two men. “You both need to dial down the alpha male hormones. Forget about my head. It’s fine the way it is. And tell me about Alexander.”
Alexander. His name alone made happy goosebumps dance across my skin.
Thomas chuckled. “You see her focus, Lorenzo? We must free her mind and unleash her power, open what we closed all those years ago. We must do it now, or she will not survive his call.” He offered me his hand, his green eyes glowing with anticipation—and love? “Come, cara mia. It is time to return you to your full glory. It is time to come home.”
I slipped my hand into his and let him draw me away from my brother.
“Damn you, Thomas!” Lorenzo hurried after us.
His shout snapped me out of whatever hypnotic spell Thomas cast over me. I pulled away. “Whoa there, Mister Crazy. I’m not going anywhere with you. Or you either, Lorenzo.”
I waved off both men. “You’re both nuts. I’m going home then to my club. You two are not on the guest list so don’t even think about showing up there. Just leave me alone. Both of you.”
They remained silent. I headed for the hallway and my friends.
“It was not a pleasure to meet you, Uncle Thomas,” I tossed over my shoulder.
His husky laugh followed me. “Oh but it will be, little one. It will be.”
Two
The metaphysical mayhem at the W-T left my head thrumming with a wicked headache and my mood black. A pre-club disco nap followed by delivery Thai food and children’s chewable aspirin took the edge off, but I didn’t crack a smile until my goofy friends made me blow out a candle stuck in the sticky rice and mango dessert while they belted out an off-key rendition of “Birthday” by the Beatles.
I loved them for it, but despite their TLC, stress and tension continued to gnaw at me. Nothing like a super-powered, psycho uncle who claimed I possessed power and who wanted to mess with my brain to suck the happy right out of my birthday.
Hopefully, our outing to my club would improve my outlook.
I dressed in cranky-rocker-chick chic. Dance mini over stretch-lace boy shorts paired with a split-front T-shirt to show off the ruby and titanium barbell in my navel piercing. A chainmail choker surrounded my neck. Black leather cuffs on the wrists. Lace up boots on the feet. Serious eyeliner and blood-red lipstick for my pale face, and flat-ironed hair completed the look.
It was a short walk downhill to the heart of our Castro neighborhood and my club. Halfway there, Faith stopped us. “You want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?” she pressed.
I shrugged. “What’s there to talk about? Apparently, I have an impossibly young, blond-haired, green-eyed uncle on some kind of power trip. We should steer clear of him. What else do I need to know?”
Faith bit her lip.
A cold wind tore past us.
I shivered and crossed my arms. “Spill it, Faith. Whatever it is, I trust you, even if you’re about to tell me something supremely weird. You know I’ve always believed you. So, out with it already. I’m freezing my ass off.”
She graced me with her lovely smile, reminding me of the thirteen-year-old I’d befriended long ago at Headland Hills Prep. Lorenzo had dumped me in Marin County’s most exclusive girl’s boarding school at age thirteen. Faith, an orphan from China, landed there with a four-year free ride from an anonymous benefactor.
When she arrived in the dorm room we would share for the next four years, we’d stared at each other in a lengthy silence. She broke it with, “You have no parents. Like me. You have no memories. Unlike me.”
“Who are you?” I’d replied, impressed by her mind reading trick.
Her lips curved in a soft smile I’d see for the next twelve years and counting. “Your soul sister.”
“Soul sister,” Faith repeated now, as if reading my mind, which she probably was.
“Yes, yes, and?” I prompted.
“You believe his claim, that he’s your uncle?”
I nodded.
“He speaks the truth,” Faith confirmed. “About that and the door.”
I figured as much and shifted, wishing just once she’d be less vague. “Not a fan of metaphors. What’s your point?”
“He’s the one who did it. Messed with your head.”
“Yeah, he mentioned something about that and my power.” I put air quotes around the latter. “But I hoped it was just crazy talk.” The need to know more and the need to let it all go warred inside me.
Faith rubbed her arms. “He was serious. He enveloped your aura. Your head is surrounded by orange and it has been since I first met you. But it’s not your energy. Orange is the color of power and control, usually your own, but this is different. It circles you and clouds your mind. Inside, the door keeps you from yourself.”
Goosebumps danced up my arms. “Please tell me there’s not some kind of metal plate in my head.” I tried for sarcastic and failed.
“Of course not. The door is power. A barrier. And there’s more. I saw it in you at school. I’m sorry I never told you. But you always said, ‘If I can’t see it or punch it, then don’t bother me with it,’ so I didn’t mention it.”
“Oh-kaaaaay.”
“I’d never seen anything like it before.” Faith waved her arm, as if she could find the words in the air. “I didn’t know what to do. I thought if I stayed near you, I could help. But, I can’t protect you from this, Rina. I won’t say the D-word again—”
I snorted.
“But change is coming. Fast.”
A sharp wind snapped at us, as if nature itself agreed with Faith. I resumed my descent and my friends followed. No one spoke.
Our hood was in full Saturday night mode with happy people filling the sidewalks and bars and restaurants of the main drag. We weaved our way through the masses, past the Castro Theater with its bright red neon Castro sign and blazing white marquee advertising its current double feature, past the block-long line of patient movie-goers until we arrived at Haven. A similar, long line greeted us here.
Adrian and I opened Haven a few years ago. Lorenzo, of course, was not a fan of my pet project. I’d just graduated, was too young to run a company. And the club business? Foolish. Frivolous. A waste of time and money. We argued about it until opening night when Lorenzo was unable to criticize. The happy party people of San Francisco loved us, making our space one of the top five hot spots in the city’s dance club scene.
“Hey Rina, over here!” I recognized a few of my regulars near the front of the line, gave them a wave, and addressed Faith.
“So, my impossibly young uncle has power and he used it on me. He’s still using it on me. And he’s not a warlock?”
Faith shook her head. “No, but I don’t know what he is. He’s immensely powerful. An old soul. That’s all I have.”
My brow furrowed. “You know the worst thing about this? My brothers know what’s going on. I mean, I know we’re not best buds and I’m like the little sister they probably never wanted, but...” My eyes watered. I blinked fast, working to hide my reaction.
“It hurts,” she finished for me.
I nodded and quashed the waterworks. I hated crying. It made me want to punch something. I motioned at Haven’s double doors. “Let’s go.”
Faith stopped me. “Wait. One more thing.”
I groaned. “What now?”
Her happy, sparkling eyes were at odds with the heavy topic of our conversation. “Did you like your surprise at the W-T?”
I frowned. “No. Thomas is a—”
“Not him,” Faith interrupted. “The other one.”
“The other...oh, yeah.” My heart raced and I couldn’t help the smile that stretched my lips. “You mean Alexander?”
Faith’s eyes widened. “So that’s his name.”
“What, you didn’t know?”
Her laugh was comfortable, familiar. “How many times do I have to tell you it doesn’t work that way?”
I chuckled. “A million. And wow, yeah, liked that surprise. Thank you, crystal ball. I can’t wait to actually meet him. The whole eyes-meeting-across-the-room-thing was great, but then Thomas happened and you know how that turned out. Any clue when we’ll meet?”
“It doesn’t work that way.” She gave me an apologetic shrug as the wind blew tendrils of hair across her cheeks. “But I can tell you he’s part of your destiny.”
“Ack, the D-word.” I raised my hands in fake protection even as I shivered with excitement.
On that happier note, Faith and I joined arms and strolled into the club.
~ * ~
“The partiers outside will be waiting all night,” Kai observed, scanning Haven’s crowded, main lounge.
Modern, black couches dotted the space, all occupied. More patrons stood in between, laughing, talking, drinking, twitching to the beat. Others crowded the bars on both sides of the lounge. Busy, busy. I liked it.
Was the dance floor packed, too? I tapped Mark’s shoulder.
He leaned down so I could shout in his ear. “Dance floor packed?”
Using the advantage of his height, he checked and gave me the thumbs up. Well, all right, a great Saturday night, indeed.
I pulled Mark’s head back down to mine. “Let’s go to Heaven.”
He smacked Ren and Kai in the arm and pointed up to our VIP lounge, our private Heaven inside Haven. Kai jerked his head at the dance floor. I nodded my approval, and Faith and Kai took off.
The DJ played some awesome, thumping, dance music and I bopped in place to the beat. Mark grabbed my hand and moved in front of me. I took Ren’s and we weaved through the crowd in time to the beat, headed toward the grand staircase.
Our DJ pals and their entourage, plus assorted regulars and close friends, usually inhabited Heaven and I expected them when we entered. I did not expect Adrian, strawberries, and champagne.
Mark elbowed Ren. “We’re going downstairs to get a drink.” They headed for the door.
“There’s a bar up here,” I reminded him.
“Right, but I want to dance,” Mark replied.
“Yeah,” Ren smirked.
“There’s a dance floor up here.” I indicated the empty space in the middle of the room.
“C’mon Rina,” Ren complained. “There are no girls up here.”
I tilted my head at the door and they hurried out.
“Alone at last.” Adrian shot me his best come-hither look and motioned at the sofa behind him.
I shook my head, uninterested in playing our usual friends with benefits game.
“Let me give you your birthday prezzie.” He turned up the sultry, sauntering toward me in a way which usually gained a reaction.
My eyes tracked the swagger of his hips. I knew what he wanted. Was this good or bad, given the location? My head warned bad, but my body thought probably good.
A
drian reached behind me, pushed a few buttons on the security pad and the door locked. His hand slipped inside my shirt to caress my stomach and finger my barbell before moving over my hip and under my skirt.
Okay, good. His touch awakened a glimmer of heat.
We stared at each other, faces inches apart, while his hand inched closer to where I wanted it. His fingers traced lazy circles on the lace boy shorts barring his way, finding and massaging my most sensitive spot. I blew out a shaky breath and my legs went a little wobbly. I steadied myself with a hand on his chest.
“Yes.” He planted soft kisses on my neck.
“Couch,” I breathed.
He scooped me up as if I weighed nothing and strode across the room, setting me on my feet to reach under my skirt and pull off my panties. I stepped out of them without a word and fell back on the couch. Adrian settled in between my legs and pushed up my skirt, exposing me to his hungry gaze.
“Hello, girlfriend.” He lowered his head.
I threw back mine, eyes closed. The pleasure built and I soon trembled on the verge. He slid a finger inside me and spilled me over that sweet edge. I moaned and bucked, reveling in the release. He held me down with one hand on my stomach and made me spasm over and over until I begged him to stop.
“No more, no more,” I panted, pulling at his head.
His blue eyes glittered with amusement and a fair bit of male pride at a job well done. “Happy birthday, babe.”
“Thanks.” I gave him an appreciative smile and slipped into my panties. Adrian joined me on the couch and poured us some champagne.
He handed me a glass and motioned at his other birthday offerings. “Strawberry? There’s whipped cream in the bar fridge.”
I laughed, comfortable with his familiar ploys. “No, thanks. You’re such a cliché.”
He shot me a wicked grin. “Is that any way to treat your boyfriend after such fine cunnilingus?”
My amusement disappeared. “Come again?”
“You heard me.”
“I heard the B-word, Adrian.”
He shrugged and took a drink, but I recognized the tension in his shoulders.
“Friends, sex friends, friends with benefits. Those are good words. But not boyfriend.”
Haven Page 3