Gossamer (18 page)

“Did you need anything else?” Grant asked me.

I shook my head. “Nah, I’m good. Looks like you have enough junk food to last me a few hours.” He laughed as did the creepy store employee–loudly. I looked up at the clerk and found him looking right at me. My gaze shifted back to Grant. The muscles in his arm flinched and his jaw tightened, probably resisting the urge to strangle this seriously annoying guy.

The clerk rang up and bagged our items. Every now and then his eyes would wander back to me. I tapped my fingers on the counter, growing very impatient. This boy irritated me, and I wondered if he was going slowly on purpose. Finally he finished. Grant paid and the clerk handed him his change. He never once looked or spoke to Grant, but his eyes followed me as we left.

“You have a nice night, and come back anytime.”

I walked out quickly.
What a creep.

“You sure seemed to brighten his day,” Grant joked, but his voice had an undercurrent of something. Jealousy?

“It was probably just the faery charm at work.” I shrugged.

He opened my car door and I hopped in. He slid into the passenger seat. Conor motioned he would be right back and headed into the store. Grant turned around.

“That was no faery charm.” He studied me for a second. “You don’t get it, do you?” My forehead creased and I tugged at my lip with my teeth.

“Lexie was right. Everyone sees it but you.” He spun back around. My heart skipped a beat. “Especially Mr. Wandering eyes in there.” His voice oozed sarcasm. He opened a soda and took a drink.

I sat there shocked. Did Grant just tell me, in an extremely roundabout way, I was beautiful? That
was
what Lexie said, everyone saw it but me. Just then Conor opened the door and slid in. He started the car and reached for a soda.

“Well, that was interesting.” I heard a fizz as he opened his bottle. “When I went in to get the bathroom key, that creepy guy in there asked me if my friend was single, and I’m going to assume he meant Kylie because if he didn’t, this just got awkward.”

“What?” Grant and I asked in unison. I was mystified as to why a complete stranger would ask that. Grant didn’t seem surprised, but instead outraged.

“What did you tell him?” He asked.

“I said, ‘I guess.’ Then the creepy guy handed me a piece of paper with his number ‘for my friend.’ It was weird.” Grant narrowed his eyes. “So, uh, if anyone’s interested.” Conor waved a piece of paper and then tossed it onto the dashboard. Grant reached for it, gave it a once over, and then, with a disgusted sound, balled it up and chucked it.

“Mental note, never go back to that gas station,” I said out loud. Conor laughed, but I sensed Grant’s agitation as he glanced back over his shoulder.

“See, I told you.”

“He doesn’t count,” I said, trying to lighten his mood. “He probably checks out every girl who comes into that store. I’m just going to make a guess here, but I’m pretty sure the ladies are not lining up at his door. And anyways, he never specified which friend he was talking about.” I wiggled my eyebrows at Grant. “Maybe he has a thing for otherworldly creatures that can warn of danger.” I spoke dramatically, earning a chuckle from Conor. Grant stared at me a moment longer, finally caving. His mouth tugged up and he faced forward.

“You’re clueless, Kyla.” His usual sweet demeanor was back.

Chapter 13

Grant pushed open the hotel room door, and we were greeted by a blast of cool air. It soothed my hot, clammy skin. Now, all I needed was a shower. We had driven all night and most of the day. Grant and Conor agreed we should get some rest. They also needed time to reassess our situation.

When they first came to find me, they’d never expected The Rite to be so close on my trail. We had no idea how much information these people were able to gather since discovering me. Ultimately, it was decided it wasn’t safe to use the originally planned portal. So we ended up in this small town, at a cheap hotel, trying to figure out what our next step should be.

Grant tossed the small bag I packed for myself onto the bed, along with his and Conor’s bags that had been stashed in the trunk of the car. I stared at the hideous floral bedspread and saw nothing but a soft, inviting bed. I wanted to throw myself down on it and drift off to sleep. My exhausted body begged for just that, but remembering the layer of grime covering me, I decided a shower came first.

Conor and Grant began talking strategy or something to that effect, so I grabbed my small bag and headed for the bathroom.

Grant looked up from his conversation and smiled warmly at me. “Is there anything we can get you? Are you hungry?”

I melted into his blue eyes, but instead of just standing there like a love-struck idiot I forced myself to answer his question. “I just want a shower...and a bed. Looks like I have both, so I’m good.” I smiled.

“Okay. We’ll be right out here, just let me know if you need anything.”

I closed the bathroom as he and Conor resumed their conversation.

* * * *

The hot water massaged my skin. I let the steam fill the shower around me. Slowly the tension in my shoulders relaxed. I picked up the tiny bottle of hotel shampoo and squeezed some into the palm of my hand. It had a floral scent, reminding me of rose and lavender.

“Not bad for a cheap hotel,” I murmured.

I lathered my hair, scrubbing away the grubbiness. Once satisfied it was clean, I positioned my head under the hot water, letting it stream down my head and back. I repeated the process with the conditioner.

After I finished washing with the ridiculously tiny hotel bar soap, I debated whether I should get out. The steamy water was magnificent, but the bed called to me. Now clean, the bed won. I turned off the shower and toweled myself dry. I reached into my bag and pulled out one of the tee shirts I had managed to grab. Unfortunately, I had absolutely no pajama pants or shorts to wear. With reluctance, I tugged back on my jeans, thankful I was tired enough that I didn’t even think uncomfortable jeans would prevent me from drifting off into dreamland.

I combed my hair and brushed my teeth, happy I’d at least had the foresight to pack those items. I studied myself in the still slightly fogged up bathroom mirror. My wet hair hung around my face and down my back. My smooth complexion looked paler than usual and my eyes looked tired.
I finally get to spend time with Grant and this is what I look like
. I sighed. Nothing I could do about it now. I repacked my bag and left the bathroom.

Conor and Grant were still involved in an intense conversation.
Seriously, how much planning did we need here
? It started to make me a bit worried. Grant listened to Conor, his gaze intent on the other guy’s face, when I set my bag on a chair. My movement caught his attention. He casually flicked his eyes in my direction and did a double take. Something in his eyes stopped me in my tracks. They roamed my body, my thin tee shirt felt very revealing.

The way he looked at me caused waves of heat to roll inside me. The intensity gave me chills–the good kind. We locked gazes and my stomach fluttered under his stare. He seemed to regain his composure and abruptly turned his attention back to Conor. Now self-conscious, I made my way over to the bed and sat.

Grant spoke, but avoided looking in my direction. “You should probably get some rest.” His voice carried so much affection but being denied his eye contact left me lost. I folded back the covers and slid in.

“Aren’t either of you going to get any sleep? I feel bad taking the bed. I know you’re tired.”

Grant finally looked in my direction and his eyes were affectionate again, the smoldering heat had gone. “Don’t worry about us. We actually don’t need as much sleep as you do. And if we get tired we can take turns on the couch.”

That didn’t help the guilt. Obviously sensing I was about to argue, he cut me off, “Really, sleep. You need your energy for tomorrow.” With a look at Conor, Grant said, “What I would love is a shower. Do you think you can handle watch alone while I take a quick one?”

Conor waved his hand. “No problem, man. I got it.” He gave me a sly grin. “That’s if Kylie left you any hot water.”

I faked a scowl. “There some left.” Conor chuckled as Grant picked up his bag and made his way to the bathroom.
might
be

“Maybe I need a cold one,” I heard him mumble, and my jaw went slack. I quickly looked over at Conor to see if he heard anything, but he had walked to the front to peek out the heavy curtains. I glanced back in Grant’s direction just as he closed the door.

I shook my head. His comment brought back the arousal his expression earlier had stirred in me. Conor settled onto the couch. I lay down and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was reminded of my exhaustion. As tired as I was, I figured I would fall right to sleep, but my mind kept racing with thoughts of Grant.

Conor stood and flipped off the big overhead light, leaving the room dimly lit. I snuggled into my pillow and willed myself to sleep. My body slowly relaxed, and the drowsiness of sleep came on. My lids were drifting shut when Grant came out of the bathroom.

Curled up on my side, I faced his direction. Had I fully thought this through, I would have turned the other way because the moment he stepped out, lust replaced my sleepiness. Damn. Why did I keep letting him get to me like this?

As I stared at him, all I could see was the way his shirt clung to his damp body. His hair looked messy from being towel dried and he hastily ran a hand through it. He reached up, hanging his towel off a door hook, and my eyes traced the lines of his body. He tossed his bag onto the counter, and I admired his well-defined arms. When he stopped moving, my gaze shifted to his face to see why, and I realized he had caught me staring at him. I should have been embarrassed, but he looked at me with such intensity, I wasn’t. Something in his eyes made me feel as if he liked the idea of me watching him. Electricity radiated between us and the air crackled around me. I couldn’t look away.

His gaze drifted to my mouth. I had been unconsciously biting my lower lip and stopped when I realized it. He looked in Conor’s direction, then back to me. I could see hints of desire pulsing through him mixed with what I assumed was self-control. He inhaled deeply, let it out then reluctantly turned away. Too late. My whole body was very awake.

I closed my eyes again and began counting from one hundred to one, my trick to put myself to sleep. When I reached seventy-four, my breathing slowed. Its steady rhythm assured me sleep was near. I heard Conor and Grant talking in the distance. Conor told Grant something about securing the perimeters. I was down to fifty-eight. My mind drifted slowly to sleep. In the distance, I thought the door opened and closed softly but my body was so heavy with sleep I couldn’t turn to check. Forty-three, forty-two, forty-one...

* * * *

Once again I found myself in the heavily wooded forest. I advanced slowly not sure where to go, something was wrong this time–the normal pull was absent. Everything was hazy making it easy to get lost in a place like this. No matter which way I looked, I saw the same thing. Trees, large ash and oak trees surrounded me. It disoriented me and I had no idea which direction to travel. I had never needed to make that decision before, my dream just took me where I was supposed to go. Part of me wanted to run but I didn’t know where while another part of me was drawn in by curiosity. I had my normal déjà vu feeling, having visited this place many times before, yet it was different.

Is it always this quiet?
A forest like this should have animals
. Of course I didn’t mind avoiding them if there were any. It was
too
quiet though.

Suddenly, something called to me. Finally, I could sense the pull that had been lacking from my dream, but this one felt off. I couldn’t describe it. Instead of the peaceful tug urging me forward, someone snaked a metal wire around me and yanked. My stomach gave an uneasy twist. Taking a deep breath, I decided to give myself over to the calling. After all, I’d had this dream many times before. I was pretty sure I knew where I was headed. The oak tree. Always the oak tree.

I took several careful steps forward even as my body was reluctant to move. Every instinct told me to turn around, but I had to know what summoned me. I felt a bit unsettled but couldn’t resist.

I approached a large tree, but instead of my usual oak it was an ash. I felt pretty confident this was where the call came from, so I placed my hand on the tree and slowly peeked around it.

I found a small clearing. The air was still thick, and even though I knew it was daytime, the sun did not shine through the canopy overhead. Next to my large oak tree on the other side of the clearing stood a woman with her back toward me.
Had she been on the other side of the oak tree in my last dream?

She had extremely long, blonde hair, almost silvery. The pale strands lay like silken threads down her back in stark contrast to her black attire. She wore a dress with sleeves that puffed at the shoulder then ran tight down to her wrists. The gown tucked in at the waist and billowed out into a full skirt which touched the forest floor. The thick, heavy fabric seemed as if it would weigh down her slender silhouette. Her petite frame looked delicate, and I could tell she was young. She moved her head a little to the side, her hair forming a shimmering veil obscuring any real view of her face. She sensed my arrival and spoke. Her soft, delicate voice drew me in. I took another step forward to hear her better.