Love Beyond Expectations

by Rebecca Royce

  "Uh-huh." Zane's heart beat fast against his ribs. He knew what she meant. Clearing his throat, he pulled out the power he kept under wraps except for the most pressing of circumstances. "How about you do a little dance?"

  "What?"

  She hadn't moved. Not a twitch of her foot to indicate she would start to twirl. Nothing. "I said dance."

  "I'm not a stripper. If you're not going to just give me the twenty dollars, I'm not going to do anything to get it."

  Zane sat back on his stool. She'd just resisted his vocal commands. In his entire life, no one had ever done that before.

  He extended his hand. "I'm Zane."

  She took his offering and gave him a strong handshake. "Gia."

  He might not find her attractive, but he felt like, maybe for the first time in his life, there was somebody else out there who could understand his abilities.

  "The Outsiders are coming." An old woman's voice from months before resonated in his head. He'd thought she was crazy. Maybe he owed her an apology.

  Chapter Four

  Christophe stormed forward through the rain, wishing he could pummel his brother. Go to Maine. That had been the entirety of the imbecile's instructions. If Christophe had been thinking clearly at the time, he might have demanded to know an exact address. One couldn't just arrive in Maine and hope to stumble upon a particular direction.

  He shuddered, pulling his coat tighter around him. Of course, Christophe had been the one to blindly travel north at an exhausting speed, not stopping for any reason other than gas until he'd arrived in Portland an hour ago. Ironically, his car had blown a tire on the side of the road or he might still be traveling north, heading straight into Canada.

  So which one of them got to win the award for acting more ridiculous? Colin for suggesting Christophe run to Maine or Christophe for listening to Colin in the first place?

  Run to Maine. Ha! Kiss my ass.

  As he trudged up a street in search of a restaurant where he could regroup and dry off—not to mention call a tow truck—he jolted backward. Standing right in front of him, wearing a sensible raincoat and a pair of yellow boots, was Ruby. He lost all ability to breathe. His heart stuttered. For a few seconds, he would swear he heard chanting in his mind. The singers spoke a language he didn't know but the words felt like a blessing had been bestowed on his soul.

  In her rain attire, Ruby looked like the sexiest woman he'd ever beheld. His cock jumped to attention, begging to come out and play. He swallowed, forcing air back into his lungs. The longer he knew Ruby, the more he wanted her. Now, if only she would speak to him. As far as he could tell, the woman viewed him with utter disdain.

  And it had been months since he'd managed to speak to her without saying something he didn't cringe about later.

  As if feeling his eyes on her, she raised her head and stared in his direction. He had the pleasure of watching her blue eyes widen as she recognized him. It may have only been seconds that their gazes held, but for that brief period of time, he didn't have to worry about demons, Colin, or the fact that he had no car and no idea where to meet his idiot brother. All that existed in the entire universe could be summed up in one word: Ruby.

  He sighed. Christophe had never been a romantic. Women were always the last things on his mind. His mother had once suggested he see a psychiatrist since he seemed to be so perpetually uninterested in anyone—women or men. Like he had some sort of mental block when it came to having sex. Somehow, he'd always known he just needed the right woman. And the second he'd seen Ruby—she'd been exactly right.

  "Dr Roux." Was it his imagination or did her cheeks look slightly red as she spoke to him? "What are you doing here?"

  Her last words disabused any thoughts he might have about her blushing. In fact, she sounded downright hostile.

  "Dr Brannon." He addressed her the same way she did him because, as far as he could remember, they had never actually used each other's first names. She might not even know his, and that made his spine tighten and his blood pressure rise.

  "I asked you what you're doing here."

  He blinked rapidly. Worshiping Ruby from afar was one thing, enduring attitude from her when he'd done nothing wrong meant something else entirely. He'd never put up with nastiness very well. Maybe it had to do with his upbringing, but he had no intention of taking unwarranted negativity from anyone.

  "Do you own Portland? Did I need some kind of permission from you to come up here?"

  Her mouth closed so fast he could practically hear her teeth clenching together in her mouth. Even stunned and annoyed, Ruby made a beautiful sight. She looked like some kind of mythical goddess, the wind whipping at her hair, her eyes bright with temper.

  "This just feels a little non-coincidental to me."

  "Why is that?"

  It felt that way to him as well. The one woman he lusted over in the whole world and she happened to be in Portland just when he arrived?

  A woman ran up next to Ruby, grabbing onto her arm. The newcomer stood slightly taller than Ruby. She had dark hair and dark eyes. Christophe swallowed. Ruby's friend did nothing for him sexually. Only Ruby had ever gotten him as hot and bothered as she made him. But he couldn't help the sensation that he'd seen this woman somewhere before.

  The dark-haired girl gasped and covered her mouth. Ruby turned to her. "What's wrong?"

  He'd like to know the same thing. If it turned out that there was a demon parked behind him ready to chop off his head, he'd be really, really pissed off.

  "You know this person?"

  Ruby briefly glanced down at her feet. What did that mean? He'd never understood women. "I know him a little bit. We were both professors at the same university."

  Him? Christophe rolled his eyes and extended his hand. "Christophe Roux."

  "Marina." She shook his hand tightly, never taking her hand from his even as she continued to address Ruby.

  "He's one of us."

  Ruby gasped, covering her mouth.

  One of them? It took a moment to digest what she'd said and then realization dawned on him suddenly with the force of a freight train slamming into him. He pulled his hand from Marina's.

  "You're all Outsiders."

  Marina's mouth fell open, and Ruby dropped her hand from her face to her side. "You've heard of us."

  "Obviously." He hoped he hid the panic forming in his stomach. If nothing else, he'd always had a fairly decent poker face. "Shall we go someplace out of the rain to discuss this more?"

  Ruby and Marina looked at each for a moment before Ruby addressed him, the sound of her voice causing shivers to travel up his spine. "Drew is hanging out in the coffee shop over there." She pointed over her shoulder. "Why don't we go there?"

  "Drew?" He hadn't even met the man, and he wanted to pound him into the ground for having had his name spoken by Ruby. "This is your…boyfriend?"

  In all the months he'd lusted after Ruby, she'd been single. He knew this because he'd made very subtle inquiries whenever he could about the status of her love life. But after she'd vanished, she could have fallen in love.

  "No." Ruby grabbed his arm. In all the time they'd circled around each other, never really speaking about anything important, they had never deliberately touched. Maybe one of them had accidently knocked into the other one with their briefcase when they'd passed in the hallways but that had been the extent of their physical contact.

  Her hands on his arm made his skin, even through his jacket, warm. If all of the heat from the sun could have been channeled into a heavenly glow, Ruby held the ability to transfer it using nothing but her touch alone. The chanting he'd heard earlier came back at full force, slamming into his head with such magnitude the world swam in front of his eyes.

  He'd never fainted in his life and he didn't intend to now. "Damn it." He closed his lids, hoping he could stop the vertigo before it brought him to his knees.

  Ruby let go of him, taking all of her warmth with her. He wanted to beg her not to ever stop t
ouching him but he couldn't make his mouth work. Opening his eyes, the world ceased moving, and he could finally take a deep breath. The chanters gradually ceased their aria in his head, which helped immensely.

  Ruby stared open-mouthed at him, and Marina grinned, hopping from one foot to another.

  Christophe felt so ridiculous standing on the street, in the rain, nearly falling over because the girl he liked had touched him. He straightened up. His grandmother would have fits if she could see him now. Rouxs always knew how to behave. They didn't make scenes, and they never acted foolishly.

  Of course, it had turned out he wasn't actually a Roux…

  "Well? Are we going into the restaurant or not?"

  Marina nodded. "After you."

  Ruby darted forward, stepping in front of Christophe's way. "Did something happen to you? Just now? When we touched?"

  "Yes." He walked around her. Ruby had to think him a fool. He didn't need to make it worse.

  She called from behind him. "To me as well. Really bizarre, right?"

  "Not so strange," Marina interrupted their conversation, "You're soul mates."

  He stopped walking. The pounding of the rain no longer bothered him. Turning around, he regarded the dark-haired woman. "What did you say?"

  "Soul mates." She stepped closer, patting him on the arm. "See? When I touch you nothing happens. That's because Drew, who is not Ruby's problem, but unfortunately, mine, is my soul mate. Also, I'm fairly certain I've heard your voice before. We spoke on the phone."

  He swallowed. Just his luck. The one moment in time when he'd panicked and not done the right thing, and he had to run into one of the few people who would know firsthand what a coward he'd been. He couldn't even begin to face this.

  "That's right." He kept walking. The coffee shop hadn't seemed so far away, but the walk to it might as well have taken a year.

  "Thank you. We were able to save Leonardo, Kal, and Isabelle because of your help."

  They'd reached the door to their destination but Marina's words still played in his head. She thanked him? Christophe credited that particular moment as the single most cowardly thing he had ever done or, hopefully, would do in his entire life.

  His powers had pulled him to a home and, wanting to be smart, he'd hidden in the hall closet until he got a sense of what went on around him. Immediately, and he'd never forget the feeling, he'd known that something existed in the house that couldn't be human. Why and how he knew what he had, he couldn't explain.

  Not that anything ever really made any sense. The demon had been dragging some people through the house. When Christophe had had a chance to make contact with them, he'd carried a message from one of them to others who could help. He'd done as they'd asked, but he hadn't done anything to help the individuals trapped in the basement.

  The memory shamed him. Most of the time, he couldn't help because his powers took him away too fast. That time, however, he might have actually been able to assist and he hadn't.

  Because it would have made everything too real. Because if demons walked the earth then his issues weren't simply weird—a quirk of fate that was more of an annoyance than anything else. In that moment, he'd frozen.

  And he'd sworn he never would again. So far, he'd managed to keep his oath. Still, that day haunted him. It had taught him that if he didn't monitor himself, he could very well turn out to be a really lousy person.

  Now, the people he'd not saved that day had names. Leonardo, Isabelle, and Kal.

  Opening the door to the coffee shop, he stepped inside, ignoring the pounding in his head. He wanted Ruby's touch back.

  Marina indicated where Drew sat, and he walked over there. He felt Ruby's presence behind him, and it took everything inside of him not to pull her up against him.

  God, she smelled good. Like lilacs.

  Soul mates…could it be true?

  He slid onto the bench. Drew raised his eyebrows but didn't say another word. He stared instead at Marina. "You take a walk outside, and you find another Outsider. You're quite the little finder these days, sweetheart."

  Marina rolled her eyes, scooting next to Christophe. She wasn't the female he wanted next to him right at that moment, but he wouldn't complain. Not until he got some real indication from Ruby that she even wanted him around. He hadn't liked the hostility she'd displayed when she'd first laid eyes on him.

  "Blow me," Marina muttered under her breath.

  "Marina." Ruby sat down next to Drew. "Language please. I might remind you that we have a lot going on here besides the two of you and your…issues."

  "Right." Marina nodded. "Although some of that might have changed now that your soul mate has shown up."

  Ruby raised her hand. "Even if that is true, I think that's a conversation that should happen another time."

  Her eyes briefly met his, and his heart stuttered. How could someone have such blue depths? What should he even call that color?

  "Dr Roux. Are you okay?"

  He blinked rapidly, realizing he'd completely zoned out. Ruby stared at him outright now with a questioning expression on her face. Yeah, he probably looked insane.

  "I think it's probably time that you call me Christophe, and I'll call you Ruby. Yes?"

  "Whatever you'd like."

  Somehow he doubted that very much.

  "Okay." Drew took a sip of his coffee. "We came all this way in this horrific weather to get to your preacher. I'd say that's the thing to do next."

  "I can't go anywhere until I find my brother." Christophe looked over his shoulder to get the attention of the waiter. American coffee didn't go down as smoothly as the stuff he got at home but for, the moment, any hot beverage would do.

  "Your brother?" Drew sat forward. "Look, this might be rude but what can you do? I need to know which of your powers I have."

  "Which of my…"

  Christophe never got to finish his thought. His powers came alive with a vengeful push that made bile rise in his throat. Without the usual few seconds he got to control his shift, he was thrown into space traveling to some unknown destination.

  Damn it.

  He could have used a few more minutes. A little time to be more impressive to Ruby. To find his bearings. To figure out if he could make sense of the words soul mate.

  Instead, he plopped down on the ground of a cellar floor. In the distance, he heard dripping water, and the smell of mold filled his nose. He coughed once while he tried to figure out where he landed.

  Dim lighting made it hard to see, as it appeared the only illumination in the room came from a small fluorescent light swinging from a metal chain on the ceiling. He swallowed hard. None of this could be very good. Without even knowing any more of where he found himself, he knew this situation had demon written all over it.

  The creature loved basements.

  "Christophe."

  His head darted up, and he lunged up from the floor when he heard the croak of his name spoken from behind him. For a second, he couldn't believe what he saw. His brother, Colin, hung from his arms, held up by a device attached to the ceiling.

  A large, thick metal chain came out of what looked like some kind of horrendous device created for torture. The chain was held together by a bolt in the ceiling, which is where Colin was currently attached.

  "Are you okay?"

  Colin snickered, which made Christophe take a deep breath. If his brother could manage to laugh, he must not be near death, even if his face appeared swollen and bloody.

  "No. If I move too much, that machine over there tightens the chains. Eventually, I imagine it'll break my bones."

  Christophe stepped closer to the machine. He'd never been what some might call exactly "handy". The likelihood that he could figure out how to detach his brother from it fell somewhere between slim and none.

  "Who did this to you? The demon?"

  "Yes. This is only temporary. He's weakening me. Later on, he'll start to bleed me. Apparently, it'll taste better to him if I've been const
antly abused for a period of time."

  "Did you see it?"

  "It doesn't have a form any more than it did when we were in the apartment with it."

  Anger surged through his veins. Screw this. One way or another, he'd get Colin down. "Is it here now?"

  "No idea, but I doubt it. If it were here, you'd be strung up too."

  "Hold on, brother. We'll get you out of here."

  Colin groaned. "You finally call me brother. That must mean I'm going to die. How did you get here anyway?"

  "I traveled to you."

  Colin closed his eyes speaking slowly. "Really? Fate sent you to me? I'm honored."

  "So then you know that at any time I could vanish again. I'll come back. I found the others…the Outsiders. They're not very impressive. Whatever they can do, I'll make them do it to get you out of here." He stared at the horrific thing again. "Let's see if I can make the machine loosen you up."

  Christophe stared down at the device wondering how the hell it even worked. Several buttons decorated the outside. But which one to push? If he hit the wrong one, would it make it worse for him? Shit. Shit. Shit.

  "Did you find her?"

  Looking up, he saw that Colin had his eyes wide open again. "What?"

  "Your soul mate? Ruby. Did you find her? Was she with them?"

  "How did you know that?"

  "Our ancestors who sent me to you told me that yours would be waiting for you. Mine is a whole different situation."

  "You knew." He didn't phrase it as a question since clearly Colin had known about Ruby throughout their entire acquaintance.

  "I did. Sorry I didn't tell you. Somehow, it didn't seem prudent."

  "You're such a pain in the ass." How could he feel such affection for such a person?

  "Hurry back."

  What? Just like that he got shoved back into space again. Damn it.

  Chapter Five

  Ruby darted to her feet. One second Christophe had been sitting across from her, looking dreamy and sophisticated, making her feel like some kind of country bumpkin who didn't deserve to share air with him. Then, boom, he'd vanished.