Dominic's Nemesis (15 page)

“The woman admitted to me that she…sees
things, hears voices.” Dom knew it hadn
’
t slipped his brother
’
s notice that he
’
d called her by her Christian name a moment ago.
“Which is partially my fault, I suppose. She can somehow sense me
when I am invisible…and I…shimmered in front of her.”

Dominic heard rather than saw his brother
tense at this revelation. He continued on quickly before Cael asked
him for details of the occasion. “I had thought to send her packing
to her relatives before she becomes too embroiled but one glimpse
of the Prescotts has disavowed me of the notion.”

Cael arched both brows. “That bad, were
they?”

“Worse.” He grimaced at the memory. “They
suggested I apply for her a place at Bedlam.”

“I thought as much.” His brother stated,
shrugging his shoulders matter-of-factly.

Surprised, Dom frowned at him. “You
knew?”

“No, just suspected.” He admitted, “If she
would rather kill herself, than reach out to them…that alone speaks
volumes about their character.”

Dom hadn’t thought of it quite like that
before, however having met them, he conceded. “The pair of them
would
’
ve driven her
around the bend within a week…that is, if they were even willing to
accept her into their hollow household.”

“If you
’
re being sarcastic, the word is hallowed.”

“I wasn
’
t. The place is
hollow
, devoid of emotion.
It reminded me of a mausoleum, for all its warmth and gaiety. She
could not be happy there.”

“You
’
re worried about her happiness? I thought this was
a safety issue.”

“It was…
is
.” Dominic paced, knowing
he
’
d said too much but
beyond caring. He needed a sounding board for his feelings. Ethan,
the brother that usually provided the service had voluntarily
abandoned him. He would make do with Cael in his absence.

“What else?” He pressed.

“Does there have to be something else?”

“Don
’
t be coy, Dom. What’s got you so harassed?”

He felt his brother
’
s hand rest on his shoulder, and stilled.
“I
’
m attracted to her.
She is…affecting me.”

“And you want my advice about how to
counteract the effect.”

“Yes, dammit!” He rounded, fiercely.
“She
’
s not frightened of
me as she should be…as I expected her to be.”

Cael
’
s eyes narrowed, as if he were assessing the
situation. “Do you truly want my advice?”

“I’m here, aren
’
t I?”

“
Well,
” Cael took a turn about the office,
considering, thumb and index finger at his chin. “If she is
attracted to you and you to her, I can do nothing about it on
either end. And why would I? She is marriageable and so are you.
Ethan has Kathleen installed as a chaperon.” He came back to stand
opposite Dom, gesturing mildly as he spoke. “Why not
court
her? And let things evolve naturally.”

“Cael.” Dom drew out his name as if he were
speaking to a confused child. “Courtly manners are beyond me.
I
’
ve lived too much in
my own company.”

“Am I correct in assuming that thus far
she
’
s been treated to a
thorough display of your…eh proclivities?”

Dom felt his jaw twitch, but he could hardly
deny his brutish behavior in respect to his guest.

“That
’
s what I thought.” Cael concluded, half-smiling.
“Now, what does it tell you that she hasn
’
t already quit the estate at a run?”

He conceded with a nod but pressed on. “There
is still the matter of her sanity to be proved, or disproved. If I
am to…” He stumbled to a halt, not sure how to complete the
statement. What if he were to become involved with Eden…
romantically. What would it be like to invite someone to share his
life, ease the perpetual loneliness? Could one small woman fill the
deep void in his spirit? What if he truly were broken, unable to be
fixed or filled, even by a woman whose essence shone as lovely and
giving as Eden
’
s?

Or, what if he and the rest of his
mother
’
s offspring did
not just inherit their mother
’
s psychic talents, but her mental instability as
well? True, he had reached the ripe old age of two and thirty with
his wits still intact, but what if the madness did not set in until
later? Who knew for sure how many more good years remained to him?
Did he dare marry and saddle a wife with a loose-screw husband and
children cursed with inevitable madness? And if she too succumbed
to mind-rot…what chance did their children have, with two
asylum-bound parents?

“Ahem, if I am to consider lifelong
companionship, I will not repeat my father
’
s mistake.”

“You
’
re being paranoid, but I can plan a trip to the
estate in a day or two to access her.”

“Bring Stephan.” Dom needed a buffer between
him and her.

“Certainly. I had planned to.”

* * *

“Hmmm, Dom-inic-” Eden purred contentedly at
the first touch of invisible hands running through her
Repunzel-esque hair. He swept aside her tresses, exposing her neck
for his touch. She held her breath, poised for his gentle
caress…when suddenly a wintery breeze wafted across the sensitive
skin of her nape. Instead of Dominic’s warm hands, icy fingertips
grasp her throat.

Eden started, upsetting the water in the tub.
The clammy, grasping hands couldn’t be Dominic’s. They were much
smaller and thinner than she remembered his being, with knife-point
nails. Her shoulders hunched involuntarily as she cringed forward
to escape the molesting touch. They followed, grabbing hold of her
shoulders, kneading in harsh strokes, inflicting pressure on her
upper blades and the junction where her shoulders became her neck.
The chilling ministrations grew sharp, pinched, then painful.

Eden flinched as the hands seized her neck,
squeezing tightly. Her eyes widened in fear and shock; her first
thought to scream…but the hands anticipated her and tightened,
strangling off any sound. There would be no yell for help now. Eden
began to struggle wildly, madly. She twisted her head from side to
side, succeeding in doing nothing but wetting the floor and
angering the hands into adding a twisting motion to the vice grip.
Blind panic infused her with new strength, the superhuman strength
of the desperate. Eden scratched at the unseen claws of death
choking the life out of her, legs kicking up into the air. A hoarse
thread of sound the only hint of the mortal battle being
fought.

Water sloshed over the rim of the tub like
tidal waves in the ocean, giving her a last-ditch inspiration. She
threw all her weight against one side of the tub, succeeding in
knocking it off its clawed feet. Eden tumbled from the capsized
porcelain on the heels of the mad rush of water. The unexpected
jolt off-balanced the malevolent force by just enough to cause its
finger extensions of evil to lose their grip. Able to breathe again
after what seemed like eons, Eden sucked in gasps of air post
haste. Her breasts, wet and naked, heaved from the effort…a hand
clutching instinctively at her heart. She shrank away and scrambled
backward awkwardly, as the malevolent force moved in her direction.
This time she did scream,
a
bone-rattling shriek born of sheer terror.

Night had fallen. Dominic stood outside his
brother
’
s now darkened
office, watching as the hack carried him hurriedly away to his
London townhouse. Cael
’
s
advice laid heavy on his mind, mingling with his old nemesis. The
two clashed. Attempts to reconcile his past demons with his
present…situation…proved vexing. Weary, Dominic glanced around the
gloomy, deserted square, already settling his mind for astral
travel.

The second his essence shifted into the void,
stark horror impaled him like a million shards of glass. Eden’s
essence flashed blinding shades of purple and violet…her distress
nearly palpable, even on the sense-devoid astral plane.

He sought her out, traveling at instantaneous
speed. She was alone, hers the only lifeforce for a good distance.
Over the years, he
’
d
taught himself the art of astral-to-corporal spatial estimation, a
necessary talent to avoid disembarking in front of witnesses.
Without thought, Dominic melted himself with her and exited into
the corporeal world.

His senses slammed back into him with painful
intensity, a hazard of reckless astral travel. Her ear-splitting
scream knocked him further off balance. He fell into a backward
slide. His tailbone collided painfully against the far wall of a
bedchamber…
her
bedchamber, he realized at the same moment
that he also realized he held a flailing,
naked
Eden in his
arms.

Wetness seeped into his clothes, and he
peeked around her to take in the capsized porcelain and gallons of
water sloshing around them in quick shifting waves. Satisfied no
imminent danger lurked, his focus shifted back to the hysterical
woman fighting desperately to escape his hold. She screamed
continuously, pausing only to breathe as she struggled against him.
His greater size and strength was the only thing keeping her from
disentangling herself. She too was dripping wet he noticed.

“Shhhh…Eden,…EDEN! It
’
s me.”

“NOOOOOOO!”

They were face to face, but her eyes were
tight closed. She snapped her head from side to side, hands clamped
over her ears. Her back arched away from him. “No, NOOOOO!”

“Hush, before you bring the ceiling down.
Shhhh, cara, please…do not cry so.” He cooed, holding a steady hand
at her torso, just under her breast, while the other stroked her
hair and back. He tried to stay her even as her feet pushed at the
slippery wet floor for leverage to tug herself loose.

“Eden, look at me. Open your eyes.
It
’
s Dominic,
I
’
ve got you.”

After a time, the fight seemed to drain out
of her. She lapsed forward against him, limp and breathing hard.
Her bare legs curled loosely around his hips, arms and hands dead
weight. Dom held her close with one arm and shrugged out of his
jacket with the other. He shifted her to the opposite side to loose
the other sleeve. He slipped the jacket around her tenderly as if
dressing a precious little one, taking the time to guide her arms
into the too-big garment. Then he gathered her fully into a tight
embrace, cupped her head and nestled it against his shoulder. Her
small warm form against his body was like holding a little piece of
heaven in his arms. He thought her unconscious until he heard her
sigh.

“That wasn
’
t you before, Dominic.” She accused. Her voice was
raw and raspy but calm.

Not wanting to reveal the alarm her statement
set off, he did his best to mimic nonchalance. “Before when?”

“I was taking a bath when I sensed it, like
before when you came to me. I thought it was you, but…the touch was
disturbing, sinister-even. Then, it tried to strangle me.”

“Eden, you were alone when I arrived. There
was no one here…in the corporeal or the astral world.”

She continued as if he hadn
’
t
spoken.
“It retreated across the room, watching us. It only
vanished a moment ago.” Eden threw up a limp hand to point to the
opposite corner, as if the small movement took all the effort in
the world. “Please take me away from here. I know you have odd ways
of traveling.
Please
.”

Ahhh…Dominic had wondered that she did not
ask what he meant by ‘the astral world
’
. It appeared she
’
d worked out part of the mystery on her own.

“Hook your arms and legs around me,
cara.”

Head still pillowed on his shoulder, she
wrapped her legs around his back while her hands slid into his vest
to clutch at the thin silk shirt beneath. Dom nearly forgot
himself. He breathed slow and even. By the third long breath, he
was steadier. Piggy-backing required a certain amount of expertise
and concentration. Eden
’
s enticing body wrapped around him like a hug
unsettled his usual calm but he wouldn
’
t have traded the experience for anything in the
world. He rubbed her back and rested his cheek against her
still-damp hair, breathing in the fruity scent lingering there. A
tremor ran threw her, reminding him of their wetness. He
’
d have to dry them off…and soon or
risk them both catching a chill.

“Relax, cara, I won
’
t let anything more frighten you tonight.”
With that, he shimmered them onto the astral, orienting himself by
the two familiar souls on the estate…
Kathleen
’
s and Renfred
’
s, noting that Ethan had arrived. He angled away
from all three toward the essence-less space. Dominic kept his
suites emptied of servants, for two main reasons: so his domain was
easier for him to pinpoint on the directionless plane and so he
wouldn
’
t have to worry
about someone stumbling upon him as he rematerialized.

They stepped back onto the corporeal in his
bedchamber. Dom stood beside the bed, with Eden still in his arms.
He was undecided, knowing the danger that lurked within himself. He
wanted her. She beckoned to him on so many levels. Her essence was
so alluring, calming and beautiful: her body, warm, welcoming,
fine, but gently curved…her eyes, those beautiful hazel windows he
loved to stare into. Her bruised spirit called out to his broken
one. They were alone, with her naked and clinging to his
affection-starved body. Dom did not know if he could stop himself
from sinking into the abyss of passion her body promised.