Hidden Hope (Hidden Saga Book 3) (12 page)

He moved toward me with a wary expression. “You disappeared. Everything all right?”

I nodded. “Sure. I came in to get a tea refill. Want some? You must be thirsty after all your...” My gaze went to the empty doorway, through which Vancia had disappeared. “...exertions.”

His eyes narrowed as he studied my face.
There’s nothing going on, Ryann
, he told me silently.

I turned away and filled a new glass with ice.
Okay. Whatever.

He stood beside me, watching me, but I didn’t look back at him. I couldn’t. I didn’t want him to see the tears beginning to form in my eyes. Not when it was probably stupid to feel this way.

He’d just told me in the Elven way that nothing was going on between them. I knew it was true—on
his
end at least. But I couldn’t deny what I’d seen—what I’d felt passing between them. It wasn’t just a childhood friendship. There was a connection between them. Here and now.

Vancia was clearly aware of it. I wasn’t sure if Nox was. Maybe he was in denial. Maybe he’d felt that way about her so long he didn’t even recognize it for what it was. Maybe I was losing my mind.

He sighed. “Unfortunately, I have to go. Walk me out?”

I nodded and followed him to the door and into the garage where he’d parked. He leaned against the car and drew my body in between his spread thighs. When he dropped his head to kiss me, I shocked myself by drawing back. I didn’t want his lips on mine—not right now.

“What’s wrong?”

I squirmed back away from his close embrace. “You like her.”

“Of course I like her. We’ve been friends all my life.”

“Not like that. You
really
like her.”

He let out an exasperated noise and tipped his head back so I was looking at his Adam’s apple. Dropping his chin so we were eye-to-eye, he said, “Ryann—no. Don’t be ridiculous. I love
you
. You know that. I’ve told you a hundred times.”

I nodded. “Yes. You have... but you’re acting different.”

“So are you.”

“I’m not. I’m still the same.”

“You didn’t want me to kiss you earlier with Lad nearby.”

“That was... that was nothing. I just felt uncomfortable.”

He blew out a long breath and pulled me close again, pressing my cheek to his chest, stroking my hair. The gesture was meant to be comforting, but his inhumanly rapid heartbeat under my ear served as a reminder of our vast differences. 

“I miss you, Nox. I miss
us
. I feel like you don’t talk to me anymore, like everything’s changing. I have no idea what your life is really like now.” 

“It’s lonely. It’s strange. I don’t tell you a lot about it because I don’t want you to worry.”

“I’m already worried, so you might as well tell me.”

“Well... I’m surrounded by people I’m not sure I can trust. Some have told me how relieved they are I’ve returned and stepped up to lead instead of Davis. They didn’t approve of his lust for Elven domination. Others smile and nod, but I don’t know
what
they’re really thinking. There are bound to be some who are still loyal to him and who actually wanted to follow his plan. But I don’t know how many and how strong they are. Until then I can’t say anything against him and change directions. Hopefully Vancia can help me with that kind of information. That is,
if
she can manage to stay around Davis long enough without him figuring out what she’s up to. If she can manage to stay safe.”

His brooding expression hinted he’d been spending a lot of time worrying about her.

“Are
you
safe?” I asked. “Aren’t you worried there might be some sort of coup by the ones who
are
loyal to Davis?”

“Of course I think about that. Am I safe? I guess the answer is I don’t know. I try to stay in public most of the time. When I’m not, I keep the ones I know are loyal to me—like Ewan—close by. I avoid being alone with Davis so he can’t play his mind tricks on me. And I try not to draw suspicion to myself. Which reminds me, as much as I hate to leave, I really do need to get home. You think I can get that goodbye kiss now?”

I nodded against his chest, and he gripped my shoulders, moving me back a few inches to give himself access to my face. I didn’t reject him when he kissed me this time.

It was a good kiss, a pleasant kiss, but something was different. The usual thrill wasn’t there—at least for me. I guessed too much had happened tonight for the magic to be there. I wasn’t sure how he felt about it, but he ended the kiss after a short time without pushing things further, which was a first for him in my experience. “More” had always been Nox’s middle name.

“Okay,” he said, dropping another soft kiss on the tip of my nose. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Make sure we talk before you try pulling off some big rescue operation for your mom, okay? I want to help.”

“Okay. Good night. Be careful.”

Nox climbed into his car, opened the garage door, and backed out. I stood watching his retreating headlights until he swung the car around onto the Pacific Coast highway and disappeared from sight, back to his world.

Vancia was right inside the doorway when I opened it to enter the kitchen.

“What are you doing? Were you
listening
to us?”

“No,” she said, but her high nervous tone betrayed her. “I was about to take out the trash. Lad said the garbage can is in the garage.”

“Where is he?”

“He went for a walk on the beach.”

“Alone?”

“Yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “I guess he needed some space.”

The look on her face was accusatory—there was no other way to put it. But why was she trying to make me feel guilty? I had every right to spend some alone-time with Nox.
She
was the one who’d been inappropriate.

“I’m not surprised after the way you threw yourself at Nox tonight,” I said.

Her jaw dropped open, but she didn’t deny it. 

“You’re in love with him,” I said matter-of-factly. I knew it. She might as well know I knew it. When Vancia didn’t respond, I went on. “You accused
me
of being unfair. Talk about unfair—how do you think that makes Lad feel?”

Her laugh was a harsh sound. “Oh,
now
you’re worried about Lad’s feelings. So what if I
was
in love with Nox? He was mine long before he was yours.”

“Really? How can you even ask that? You’re
engaged
to Lad—that’s what. If you have feelings for someone else, you should tell Lad.”

“Why? So you can move in and comfort him? Offer him a shoulder to cry on? You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

“No, I—”

“He’d like that, too,” she went on. “I don’t know what you did to make both of them so crazy over you, but
that’s
what’s
unfair
.”

Her words pierced my heart like a blade. “You’re wrong. Lad is very committed to marrying you. He told me himself just today.”

“Yeah.” She snorted a bitter laugh. “He can’t
wait
for the ‘happy day’ when we’re bonded forever.” She dropped the trash bag to the tile floor. “You know what? I don’t know why I’m wasting my time talking to you. If you’re too blind to see what’s going on here, I can’t help you.”

Pushing past me, she hurried to where her own car was parked in the driveway.

“Vancia. Vancia—” I followed her out of the garage. The cool night air offered little relief from the blazing heat rising from my neck to my forehead. When she turned back to me, one hand on the car’s door handle, I said, “What do you think is going on here that I can’t see?”

She let out an exasperated breath. “Nox and I are meant to be together. It’s obvious. I feel it. He feels it, too. It’s what our parents always intended, and if they hadn’t been killed, it’s what would have happened.”

I lifted my shoulders. “Things change. You’re betrothed to Lad. Nox loves me now.”

“He thinks he does. He doesn’t know
how
he really feels because your Sway is blocking his vision.”

A huge invisible hand closed around my throat. Lad had suggested the same thing a few days ago, only he’d been talking about Nox’s glamour affecting me, not the other way around. I shook my head slowly, fighting for breath. “That’s not true.”

“I lived with Davis, Mr. Sway King himself, for five years.
Believe me
, I recognize it when I see it. Let him go, Ryann. You’ll both be happier.” She climbed into her car and slammed the door closed.

Staggering back into the house, I collapsed onto the sofa in front of the dark, lifeless fireplace, staring into its empty black interior.
She’s wrong
.

Wasn’t she? My mind went back to the conversation I’d had with Daddy before I’d left Mississippi for D.C. About how he’d be “under her spell” as long as she lived. It was obvious Mom had swayed him, even though she was unaware of her own Elven-ness.

Could I be unknowingly swaying Nox? I knew his singing and his sexual glamour affected
me
powerfully. But was it really so different than the normal pull people felt toward each other when they fell in love?

And then my mind shifted to the love Lad and I had shared. It had happened slowly, naturally. His Sway didn’t work on me. And after he’d pushed me away the way he did to protect me, I was pretty sure mine didn’t work on him, either. Otherwise, he’d never have been able to let me go.

If Vancia was correct, and Lad
was
still in love with me, it was the real thing. And if I had any lingering feelings for him...

The back door opened, and Lad came in from the beach, surrounded by an ocean breeze and the fresh scent of the California night.

“Hi.” He gave me a shy smile. “Everything okay now? You and Nox made up?”

“Everything’s great.” I stood from the couch as Lad dropped onto it. “I’m heading to bed now. See you tomorrow.”

Concern knitted his eyebrows. “Okay then. Sleep well.”

*     *     *

I did not sleep well. It was weird to be spending the night in the same house with Lad. I couldn’t stop myself from picturing him one floor above me, stretched out in his own bed. Was
he
sleeping? Or was his mind going in a million different directions like mine?

I rose late the next morning to find the house quiet and still. Lad was obviously still in bed. Padding to the kitchen in search of coffee, I opened the cabinet and smiled. Nox hadn’t failed me. There was a bag of Vanilla roast and a package of mini half-in-half containers.
He does love me.

While the coffee brewed, I went to take a shower. The soapy water ran down my body, and I tried to let it wash away my worry. Being stuck here, forbidden to leave and without the ability to contact Mom, was beyond frustrating. I hated not knowing what was happening to her. And waiting around for Vancia to do something seemed foolish. I wasn’t exactly her favorite person. Why would she go out of her way to help my mother?

By the time I turned off the spray and reached for a towel, I had half a mind to sneak out and go to Davis’s house on my own. After wringing out my hair, I wrapped myself in a towel. Yep. That was what I would do. I would call a cab and go over there. Trying
something
was better than nothing. And it would be better than spending the day cooped up here with my ex-boyfriend.

I opened the bathroom door, planning to dress quickly in my room, then slip out of the house before Lad woke up. If he were awake, he might try to stop—

“Good morning.”

My heart seized and then bounced around my insides like a super ball. Lad stood in the hallway just outside the bathroom, holding a steaming mug of coffee.

“Uh, hi.” I tugged the edge of my towel further down over my thighs, then realized that left more of my chest uncovered. I shrugged it back up again, wrapping both arms around myself in a fight for modesty. “I thought you were still in bed.”

He looked like a born-and-bred California beach boy in turquoise board shorts and bare feet. His upper body was bare as well, and drops of water still glistened on his skin. I swung my gaze away to keep from gawking at the expanse of tanned skin, wide chest, and broad shoulders in front of me. Not to mention those cologne-ad abs.

His eyes swept over me, from my wet hair and clean-scrubbed face down to my pink-painted toenails and back up again. He gave me a slow grin. “No. I got up early—went for a swim—you should try it. The ocean feels great, even better than the spring-fed pool.”

I struggled to get enough air to answer him. “Sounds nice.” Did he not realize I was standing in front of him basically naked?

He lifted the mug toward me. “Your coffee. I was going to put it in your room for when you got out of the shower.”

The aroma of vanilla combined with ocean air and Lad’s own enticing scent made my stomach growl and my insides shaky. “Okay, thanks.” I let go of the towel with one hand and awkwardly reached for the mug, desperate to get rid of him and escape to the safety of my bedroom. 

His gaze followed my fingers, then traveled up my arm, across my shoulders and downward, lingering at the top edge of my towel where a hint of cleavage was visible. His voice was decidedly distracted when he answered.

“No problem. I’ll… uh… see you in a minute when you’re… yeah. See you in a few minutes.”

Speeding down the hallway, I darted into my room and shut the door behind me, my heart still zooming around my chest cavity like a jet ski on the ocean.

I’d wondered when Nox had told me on the phone that Vancia was acting
not-engaged
what that had looked like. I was pretty sure I’d just seen it in action. There had been desire in Lad’s eyes that was completely inappropriate for a man who was spoken-for.

I strongly considered hiding out in my bedroom all day, but my growling belly and the need for a second cup of coffee finally won out.

Dressed and starving, I emerged from my room, determined to act like nothing unusual had happened. Lad was sitting on a high-backed stool at the kitchen counter. He smiled widely when he saw me.

“I’m looking forward to the seafood feast you promised to cook for me today.”

“Oh, it’s a feast now? I recall saying I’d cook some shellfish.”

“Might as well cook all the seafood in there—it won’t keep for long according to the cooking website I found this morning.”

I grinned at him. “Getting domestic, are we? You’re right, though. We should eat it all today. Maybe for lunch and supper.”

“Can’t wait. Listen, I really just came in for a drink myself. I’m about to head back out. There’s a guy out there giving surfing lessons. Want to come along and try it?”

“I don’t know.” I picked up my phone from the counter and checked it. There was a message from Nox.

Spending the day with Vancia. Hopefully we’ll make some progress.

I tried not to grimace. Hopefully, they wouldn’t make anything
other
than progress. If Vancia had anything to say about it, they’d probably be making whoopie by the end of the day and be bonded for life.

Great. That was a lovely mental picture to dwell on. And what was I supposed to do all day other than obsess about what
they
were up to? Lad would shut me down on going to Davis’s house or even into the city where we might be seen and recognized. I’d already finished the book I’d brought with me, last night when I couldn’t sleep. Sitting around here all day doing nothing was going to drive me crazy.

“Okay, sure,” I told Lad. “Surfing lessons sound fun. I’ll head out after I eat. Hopefully there’s something in there I can wear in the water.”

“Okay, great. See you out there.” Lad gave me a big smile and slid off the barstool, headed for the door.

After quickly cooking an egg and eating, I went to my room to change. Thankfully Nox had supplied a swimsuit, which I found in a dresser drawer. It was a
full-coverage
suit to say the least, one of those retro styles that might have been risqué in the fifties but today looked like something my mom would be comfortable wearing.

After that insane Versace number I’d been forced to wear for Reggie, he’d probably given the servant sent to shop for me specific instructions to avoid anything sexy. Whatever. I wanted to enjoy the water and pass some time, not turn anyone on.

It turned out Lad was as good at surfing as he was at everything else requiring strength and coordination. Me—not so much. I did get the hang of it after a few hours. Sort of. At least Lad didn’t laugh at me, though I could tell he fought the urge hard when I wiped out. Repeatedly.

By afternoon, we were both starving. We toweled off on the deck and went inside. When I emerged from my room once again showered, and in a sundress, he’d already taken the shrimp and sea bass out of the refrigerator.

“I cut up some fruit,” he said, clearly proud of himself.

“Great. I might eat everything raw if I don’t have something to snack on.”

He laughed. “I know what you mean.” Pinching the tail of a shrimp, he dangled it over the counter. “Although these don’t look too appetizing. They sort of look like bugs.”

I eyed the grey transparent creature with its black bulging eyes and multitude of legs. “You’re right. I’ve never noticed before. Once you taste them, you won’t care what they look like,” I assured him. Opening the refrigerator door, I pulled out a stick of butter and a jar of minced garlic. “Especially after I cook them in
this
.”

“Well, I’m going to shower while you work your magic. Unless you need some help?”

“No. I got it. Go ahead and... shower.”

I had to swallow hard as I watched Lad’s retreating form go down the hallway. His bare back, sloping down to a narrow waist. The strong legs and big tanned feet. The sight sent me back to the time we’d gone to the waterfalls and natural waterslide together, when he’d issued the edict that we’d be no more than friends, and it had nearly killed me not to reach out and touch that delicious-looking body.