Chapter 27 #2
“Hang on a second, rewind. So, that’s a griffin,” I say, pointing at the half-eagle, half-lion smashup, “and there was no way I was ever going to escape here.” My mind whirring with possibilities of his confession.
“No, you were never going to be able to leave. There's no way out of the entire compound even if you made it to the edge of the property. As you saw when we first got here, it has several feet of concrete walls keeping the humans segregated from the village,” he says.
I nod my head and pull my hand from his, needing a moment to collect myself. “Okay, and what about these two?” I ask him, crossing my arms over my chest and waiting for him to tell me the rest.
“Perseus and Pegasus here come and go as they please. They have magical ways of leaving undetected but are attracted to the stable when the flowers are in bloom,” he explains.
I back away from Frank when the griffin comes closer and chirps loudly.
“Didn't bring any snacks this time,” Frank says, reaching out to touch Pegasus’s gigantic beak. The griffin just squawks again and nips at Frank's fingers before turning away.
“So, you bought this place to protect the animals in it, and the unicorn?” I ask him, my heart puddling onto the floor.
“I did. It was more out of necessity than want. Brom draws too much attention, especially when he’s in a mood. But Brom and I are alike in that we don’t like very many people,” he says with a sardonic raise of his brow.
I snort. He could be talking about a completely different animal, because that’s not the Brom I know. “He was about to roll over and let me pet him that day.”
“You’re the exception to every rule,” Frank murmurs under his breath.
A sudden warmth radiates across my face and neck, along with the heavy desire to kiss him.
“We’ll head back to the house, there's more to see if you want,” he says, before I can react on my impulse and throw myself at him.
“What more could there be?” I bite my lip, as little thrills of anticipation and excitement begin to course through my veins.
He laces our hands together like he doesn’t want to stop touching me, and I smile up at him as we start back toward the exit, leaving the griffin and unicorn alone.
“When are you going to tell me what you are?” I ask once we reach the doors.
“Has anyone ever told you, you have no patience?” he asks.
I laugh and launch myself at him unexpectedly, happy when he opens his big arms and catches me.
My lips caress his and we meet in a wet, hot slide, sending licks of electricity pulsing inside me as he angles my mouth for a deeper kiss.
I come up for air and hug myself to him, trailing kisses along the side of his wide jaw to his ear.
“Yeah, all the time. It’s one of my better qualities.
You wouldn’t want me to be boring, would you?
Now come on, where are we going next?” I say, pulling back and liking the soft look on his expression.
Best day ever.
A fire breathing horse, a freaking griffin, and a unicorn. This place is beyond magical, and I’ve seriously hit the fantasy motherload.
FRANK STEIN
After we arrive back at the mansion, I lead Bernadette through the front door and move to close it behind her as she looks around expectedly.
“This way,” I tell her, taking her hand in mine, liking the way her skin feels against mine. Her touch is like a mild sedative, and while she’s touching me, I feel somewhat like my old self before my power went berserk.
We walk through the foyer and under the grand chandelier, heading toward the hidden secret wall underneath the large staircase. I keep her hand in mine and press my opposite palm to it, noting her reaction as her gaze brightens with excitement as the stone wall slides away.
“There’s secret passageways?” she half squeals.
“Just this one,” I laugh uncharacteristically, and guide her down the stone steps to my underground quarters.
The automatic lights come on the further we go, illuminating the room.
“Down here is where I spend most of my time while at the mansion, but this is also my longest visit. I usually never stay the night and instead head back to the city after visiting Brom,” I say as the electrical pod designed to fit my frame comes into view.
“What’s that?” she asks.
“I’m an energy being, and that’s the machine I use to siphon my power and fuel the village,” I answer.
“What does that mean exactly, energy being?” she asks, seeming more interested than perturbed.
“My body produces its own power and substance that manifests in an electrical current. I don't need to sleep, eat, or drink, although I can,” I say, pulling a spark into my hand to show her.
She looks down at my hand and nods as she lets out a sigh. “So, you were awake the whole time when I was leaving your room.”
I grin, forcing my power away and taking her hand in mine when she still doesn’t seem like she wants to run.
“Come here and I'll show you how it works,” I tell her, pulling her toward the pod filled with soft leather. “It’s surrounded and cocooned by reinforced steel when closed, and the insulated stone houses the piping structure that contains the power until its put into use anywhere electricity is used on the property.”
“That’s cool, but what about all the storms popping up lately?” she asks.
“Yes, on occasion, I can influence the weather, but it's exceedingly rare,” I tell her honestly. The last few weeks have been the most unusual with my power displaying itself in a way it hasn’t before, but that’s common with mate bonds.
“Doesn't seem very rare,” she mutters under her breath. She pushes her glasses up her pert nose and peers around.
I watch as she peaks inside the two rooms that are located downstairs, one that's my closet and the other a shower.
Once she's done, she makes her way back to me, shaking her head as she does.
“So, let me get this straight. You sit in the huge egg-shaped thing, feeding your energy into it, and you can control the weather?”
“Yes, and any electrical grid,” I answer.
She gasps, her brows scrunching together on her face as she scowls. “No wonder I couldn’t take over Talbot that day. You asshole, did you watch me the whole time?”
“We did. I even let you have your freedom to see who you were working with, until we figured out the truth of it,” I confess.
“I’m guessing that’s why I never found any electronics in the house either,” she says, as if putting it all together.
“Like I said, I'm not here often, and before you arrived, I'd not been here in months. The mansion has never been lived in since I’ve owned the property. I stop by often enough to keep Brom from setting the fields on fire and attracting unwanted attention.”
She laughs, and the twinkling sound tickles my eardrums and sends a flutter flow in my belly.
“What’s through there?” she suddenly asks, pointing behind me to the large steel double doors.
“That leads to the train.”
“You have a freaking train?” she asks, her jaw dropping a little as she rushes toward the access.
I watch, amused when the doors fall open from her proximity and she bounces in place like an excited child discovering sweets for the first time.
“Would you like to take a ride?” I find myself asking, noting that Jekyll did say to romance her, and she seems excited enough at the idea.
“Yes!” she shouts.
We make our way through the doors to the small white maglev train.
“It’s a maglev train built to carry only a handful of passengers.
It was originally made to transport the electrical pod underground, but now I use it to travel between my place and the lab,” I tell her, wondering what information she would find interesting.
“You have a lab?” she asks, her gaze telling me I’ve somehow piqued her interest again.
Once she takes her seat, I settle in beside her, careful to give her space on the cream-colored leather. I’ve never ridden in the train with anyone, and the close confines makes me keenly aware of my size.
“Would you like something to drink?” I ask, remembering there’s a compartment fridge somewhere I’m sure is still stocked as I’ve never taken anything from it. If I can find the button.
She raises a brow and presses at a button near the edge of the chair arm, and out comes a cooled refrigerator with bottled water wine and champagne. “I’ve seen some articles online about the ridiculous things celebrities buy, but this takes the cake,” she announces, grabbing water from the console.
“I’m hardly a celebrity,” I say, uncomfortable with the term that humans seem obsessed with.
“Either way, this had to cost a fortune,” she says, glancing around the opulent railway as we begin to move.
“Actually, less than you think. Because I’m a superconductor on my own, I don’t have to outsource the energy required to generate the magnetic fields needed for levitation and propulsion,” I tell her.
She frowns and purses her lips before settling back in her chair, and I can practically see her brain humming with questions.
“What are you thinking about?” I ask
A smile spreads across her mouth, revealing a glimpse of her tongue piercing as it swipes over her bottom lip. “I was trying to decide if you’re more like Thor or Raiden,” she says with a small laugh.