“Of course he will have abilities,” she confirmed. “Many of which he probably isn’t even aware of. Mortals tend to block out or ignore the things that they don’t understand.”
I nodded. “So what should I do?”
“You should tell me where you are so that I can come to you,” she urged. “Please, Empusa. Now more than ever, you need me. This could be more dangerous now than we even thought.”
“No!” I snapped. “Mother, I love you. But you cannot come here. I cannot take the risk.”
“But it appears that you are already taking risks,” she argued. “It’s better to do that with me there to help. Especially if you and Brennan do turn out to be connected. You know, moonlight does not exist on its own. Do you realize that? Moonlight is simply a reflection of the light of the sun. Think about that. What implications do you think that holds for you, little moon princess, if you are tied to Brennan? His father is the god of the sun! Tell me where you are. We’ll sort this out together.”
“No.”
We stared at each other, our gazes unwavering. Finally, she smiled. “I see that you inherited your determination from me. That pleases me at the same time that it pains me. I love you, Empusa. I won’t stop looking for you.”
I opened my eyes.
Morning light flooded my bedroom and I yawned. I had been dream-walking all night, which left me tired. Dream-walking was not conducive to a good night’s sleep.
“It’s about time you woke,” Gaia grumbled from the chair in the corner. I sat up, rubbing my eyes and then stared at her.
“Gaia, how often do you sit in here while I sleep? It’s slightly unnerving.”
She laughed, unaffected by my comment. “You talk in your sleep, moon princess. It is entertaining. You’ve been talking to your mother all morning. Did she come to you again?”
I nodded, staring absently out the window at the magnificent view of the lake. The morning sun was reflecting from the surface, creating beautiful prisms of light. The sight of the sun’s glory reminded me that Brennan was the son of Apollo. And that was something that I didn’t wish to share with Gaia just yet. I wasn’t sure why, but I wanted to keep it to myself for the time being.
“Well, what did she say? You were agitated while you were sleeping.”
“Same old, same old,” I replied. “She wanted me to tell her where I was.”
Gaia sniffed. “I can guess how that conversation ended.”
She kept talking but I tuned her out as I watched the frigid water lap at the shore. It was soothing, rhythmic and mesmerizing. The foamy froth slid over the sand and pebbles to touch the shore, only to be sucked back into the lake, time and time again. Leaning forward, I cracked open the window, allowing the chilly Autumn breeze to fill my room. Tucking my feet beneath me, I continued to observe the beautiful scene outdoors, while pretending to listen to my ghostly friend.
“You’re not even listening to me,” she complained, glaring at me as she noticed. Since my back was to her, I didn’t see her glare, but I felt its impact in between my shoulder blades.
“Of course I am,” I replied, not turning around. “You’re talking about my mother.”
“Yes. What did I say about her?”
I drew a blank. I had no idea. But a movement from the staircase leading to my house captured my attention and I gasped.
Brennan was climbing the stairs, breathtakingly beautiful in the morning light, wearing a pair of well-fitting jeans and a v-necked black shirt that hugged his chest. Appropriately, being in the sun agreed with him. He looked glorious as the sunlight seemed to reflect off of every angle of his face. He held two foam cups in his hands. The breath constricted in my throat and all I could do was point.
“What is it?” Gaia asked in concern as she flitted to the window to look. “Ahhh. Your boyfriend.” She turned to look at me. “You’d better get up. You’re not even dressed.”
She was right.
I flew out of bed in a blur and threw open my closet doors.
“You’re never going to have enough time,” she pointed out. “He’s almost to the door.”
She was right again. I glanced at myself in the mirror. My hair was disheveled, my nightgown barely covered my butt and I hadn’t even brushed my teeth yet. Good lord.
A firm knock on my door resounded through the small house.
“I told you,” Gaia smirked.
“Go on- leave,” I instructed. “You don’t get to eavesdrop.”
Glaring at me, she faded into invisibility. I could only hope she was gone because I never quite knew.
I tucked my hair behind my ears and drew in a deep breath before I walked to the door in my nightgown. I opened it and Brennan smiled, his gaze drifting over me and then back up to my face, keeping it there. I had to give him credit for that.
“Good morning, sunshine,” he grinned. “I owed you a coffee.” He held one of the cups out and I took it, careful not to touch his hand. It was too early in the morning for spine-tingling electricity.
“I’m sorry. I’m not dressed yet,” I pointed out the obvious. “If you want to come in, I’ll throw some clothes on really quick.”
“Oh, don’t get dressed on my account,” he grinned again and I smiled back. He had an ornery sense of humor and I found that I liked it. He dropped lazily onto my sofa, sipping at his coffee, making a show of being patient. “But if you must, I’ll be right here.”
I nodded and spun back around for my bedroom, making sure to close the door tightly behind me. I leaned against it for a moment, gathering my composure. My potential soul mate was lounging in my living room. And he just happened to be the son of Apollo, the most handsome god who had ever lived. Heaven help me.
I threw some clothes on, yanked a brush through my hair, brushed my teeth and was ready in five minutes flat.
Opening the door a crack, I peeked through. Brennan’s hazel eyes were boring a hole into my own. I startled and he laughed, the warm sound enticing me to walk nearer to him. There was something about him, an easy way of being, that made it incredibly hard to resist him. He cocked an eyebrow.
“Well, are you dressed?”
I nodded, my fingers still curled around the door. “Yes.”
“Then why are you hiding in your bedroom?”
I quickly straightened and threw the door open. “I don’t hide. Not from you, anyway.”
“Yet you just were.” Again with the cocked eyebrow.
“If you raise your eyebrows any higher, they’re going to embed into your hairline,” I told him.
He laughed again. “You’re funny,” he observed. “Kind-of snarky. I like it. It suits you.”
It was my turn to raise my eyebrows. “It suits me? And how would you know what suits me?”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t. But why don’t you come out here and tell me more about you so that maybe I can get an idea?”
Shit. I had walked right into that and mentally slapped myself on the forehead.
I eyed him cautiously and then mentally slapped myself again. I wasn’t afraid of anyone, much less a mortal boy. He wasn’t a
mortal boy
, I reminded myself. But still. I wasn’t intimidated by anyone, mortal or otherwise. I walked purposefully out to the living room and perched on the sofa on the opposite end from Brennan, trying to ignore the fact that my hands were shaking and my knees felt weak.
Brennan turned to me calmly, seeking out my gaze. He was cool and collected, so much so that his next question startled me.
“If I’m not a mortal boy, then what am I?” he inquired politely.
Holy shit. He had read my mind.
Chapter Five
“You can read my mind,” I stammered without thinking.
“So it would seem,” Brennan answered, still calm. “Why is that? What is happening?”
My own mind was spinning. Of course, he could read it…because gods could read the minds of other gods. I was probably the first demi he had ever come into contact with, so I was the first mind he could read. I quickly hid my thoughts so that he couldn’t hear them, camouflaging my hesitation with a question.
“Didn’t you wonder about this strange ability last night?” I asked him, slightly accusatory.
“I didn’t realize it until just now. It was a strange feeling and at first I thought that you had spoken out loud. But today, I was looking at your mouth and I knew that you hadn’t spoken.
I read your mind
. And you’re not surprised by that. Can you tell me why?”
For the first time, his voice was slightly tight, although his face was only a bit anxious. He was handling it well. Maybe too well.
“Why aren’t you more upset by this?” I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I should be upset. I should be panicked right now. But instead, when I am next to you, I feel calm. Like all is right in the world. But now your mind is blank- I can’t hear a thing. How are you doing that? Can you hear
my
thoughts?”
I paused. I probably could if I concentrated. I just hadn’t known that he was a demi before so it hadn’t occurred to me to try. And I couldn’t admit that because then I would have to explain his true lineage. How much should I tell him? But in my uncertainty, I forgot to veil my silent question.
“Tell me everything,” he growled. “Not just the parts that you want me to hear. Something is going on here, something big. And I want to know about it.”
“There’s nothing ‘going on,’” I answered with a sigh. “At least, nothing that hasn’t been ‘going on’ for a very long time. It’s just life, Brennan.”
“But there’s more to life than I know about,” he prompted. I nodded reluctantly, pushing away the image of my mother’s warnings. He could read my mind. He deserved some sort of explanation.
“Yes,” I replied simply. “There is. But let’s not talk about it here. Let’s go outdoors.” Neutral territory just seemed the way to go, for some reason.
He nodded. “I have a picnic in my car. My plan was to invite you to a picnic on the beach. I know a great place, but we’ll need to drive there.”
“Alright,” I agreed. I guess I agreed too quickly, because he looked at me slightly suspiciously.
“And you’ll tell me what I need to know?”
“I’ll tell you what you need to know.”
He looked satisfied with that as he stood, shoving a long hand into his pocket. He was really, really big. I craned my neck as I stared up at him.
“How tall are you?”
He smirked as he looked down at me. “6’5”. How tall are you, shortcake?”
I glared up at him. “I only seem short next to you, because you’re a giant. I’m 5’7”, which is perfectly tall for a female.”
I reached past him to pick up my favorite gray cashmere shawl from the arm of the couch, but as I curled my arm around him, he grabbed my fingers. Electricity shot up my arm, branching into my shoulder and down my spine. I stiffened for a moment and then hardened myself against the overwhelming sensations. I was going to have to learn to deal with it without feeling weak- a challenging task.
Brennan closed his eyes for a scant moment, sliding his fingers up to my elbow and back down to my wrist, a whisper soft touch that left a tingling trail behind it. He opened his eyes back up and stared into mine.
“Why does it feel almost orgasmic to touch you?”
I stayed quiet. But he was right. It was almost orgasmic. Picking up my shawl, he wrapped it around my shoulders and then lifted my chin with one finger. He kissed my lips, gently and briefly.
“That’s how I really wanted to say good morning,” he admitted, pulling me to him. The length of his body was long and hard against mine and I found that I wanted to stand here forever, just like this. Leaning forward, I rested my forehead against his chest, feeling the beat of his heart.
What was wrong with me?
This was not like me at all. I didn’t need anything or anybody. But I literally felt as though moving away from him would possibly cause me pain. Physical pain and definitely some mental anguish.
Lifting my face, I whispered, “I’ll tell you everything.”
“Wasn’t that already the plan?” he asked softly, tucking a tendril of loose hair behind my ear. I found that I wanted to lean into his hand, but restrained myself. I really, really hated appearing weak.
I nodded. I didn’t bother to tell him that I hadn’t really planned on telling him everything. But now I found that I wanted to, regardless of the consequences. The only way we would get to the bottom of whatever was between us was surely to have complete honesty- a concept that was fairly foreign to me in my current on-the-lam situation.
Gathering every ounce of strength within me, I pulled away from Brennan and stepped out of his radius of warmth. The separation instantly made me feel chilled.
“Okay. Where are we going?” I asked shakily as I grabbed my purse.
“It’s a surprise,” he answered. He sounded stronger than I felt.
Striding past me, he held the door for me – a perfect gentleman. Although he wasn’t touching me, his eyes were locked with mine in a gaze as intimate as a caress.
“Thank you,” I murmured, trying not to inhale as I passed him. I wasn’t exactly sure how far I could trust myself just yet. I wanted to make sure that his soul stayed right where it belonged- inside of his body.
We stepped out into the morning light and quickly walked down the wooden steps that led to my house. The beach was serene this morning, without another soul in sight. The water lapped quietly at the shore, the sea gulls flying in circles overhead. Their cries were the only thing interrupting the silence of the scene surrounding us.
“So, we have to drive to your picnic spot?” I asked curiously as we walked. He nodded.
“Mm-hmm. Do you want to know why?”
I didn’t answer, but stared at him expectantly.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said wryly. “We have to drive there because it’s the best picnic spot in Michigan, maybe even in the world.”
“So, you like to exaggerate,” I observed. “Good to know.”
He laughed. “I’m serious. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Harbor Pointe Hotel. It burned to the ground in the 1920’s, but the ruins are still there on the edge of the lake. People say it’s haunted. I don’t know about that, but it definitely has an intriguing quality about it.”