Chapter 23
23
P ari’s jaw dropped. “Say what?”
He took her by the hand and led her to the chaise lounge. Her hand was so small in his, almost like a child’s. Pari was surprised his skin was soft, yet… not. She sensed the power in him, and knew without a shadow of a doubt, he could crush her windpipe with one of those hands. No matter how graceful and beautiful they were.
“Where are we?” she asked sounding calmer than she felt.
He sat, and they were almost at eye level. “We are on what you would refer to as the West Coast of the United States.”
Hadn’t Halden said as much earlier? “I’m not in New York? Not even upstate?”
“No. This is the West Coast, the Pacific Northwest, to be precise, or it was.”
Her heart dropped to her toes. “What do you mean, was?”
He gave her a sympathetic look, his eyes reminding her of a big sad puppy’s. “There was a war among your race. It caused considerable damage. Not to mention a change in weather patterns and climate.”
She blinked in disbelief. “What are you saying?”
He took her hands in his, and she wondered if it was to keep her from bolting from the room. “Pari, Kahtala Miah, you are in the far future. In the year 3698 to be exact.”
Yup, okay, it was a good thing he had a hold of her. She caught sight of the floor coming up to smack her in the face, but he caught her, pulling her against him. “Kitten!”
Her head lolled to one side as black spots assailed her vision. “No…”
“I’m afraid it’s true. This is where much of my race and a few others, reside. There is so much to tell you, I’m not sure where to begin. But first, you should spend time with Raina, get cleaned up.”
Pari realized she was on his lap, and looked at his face as he cradled her against him. “I’m not home.”
His eyebrows knit as he gazed at her. “That depends on who you’re asking.”
“What?” Pari blinked as she began to feel faint again. “Help…”
Melvale held her close, tucking her head against his chest. “It’s all right, Kitten. You’re safe here. Nothing can hurt you.”
“What about my uncles?” she asked against his chest.
He stiffened. “Raina and Halden spoke with them. They know you’re with me, and that you’re safe.”
She looked up at him. Her heart pounded in her chest. Partly because she just learned they’d time traveled, and partly because she was being held in the arms of the hottest guy ever. “Are we prisoners here too?”
The concern in his eyes almost did her in. “No, little one, of course not. This is my home.”
She swallowed hard as tears filled her eyes. She didn’t know why she was crying; other than the fact she was at this man’s complete mercy. “Am… I a prisoner?”
He held her tighter, his face drawing closer to hers. “No, my beautiful heart. You are free to roam the palace as you please.”
She gasped. “Palace?”
He ran his fingers through her hair. “Yes, Kitten. Palace.”
“Are… are you royalty?”
He giggled. “That also depends on who you ask.” Melvale’s eyes locked on hers and began to turn blue. “Know this, my delicate one. You are safe with me. Should anyone dare touch you, their lives are forfeit. My sole purpose is to make you happy, see you are protected, cared for.”
Her tears started again. “But why? I don’t understand.”
He brushed her bangs to the side. “What I’ve said has shocked you,” he whispered. Melvale put his face to her hair and sniffed it before resting his head against hers. “There’s no need to be afraid.”
“I’m… n-not afraid.”
“You are my beautiful heart.” He held her closer. “Do not be. I am here.”
Before she could stop herself, the words slipped out. “Bondrah Miah?”
“Yes, Kahtala Miah.” He held her closer and to her utter surprise, began to sing.
His voice was beautiful, the music pleasant, like a lullaby. Pari couldn’t help but close her eyes as he gently rocked back and forth. He sang a few moments longer, stopped, and whispered to her in another language, his own, she guessed.
At this point, she didn’t care. Between his singing and his whispering in his own tongue, she’d gone limp as a rag doll.
She was far from home in more ways than one and should be scared out of her mind but wasn’t. Instead she was being rocked to sleep by a big, sexy, hot alien man that from all outward appearances had a thing for her. But for the life of her, Pari couldn’t figure out why. And that was the scariest thing of all.
“My little one, my heart,” he whispered into her hair. “Raina is waiting.” He loosened his hold on her and gazed into her eyes. “Refresh yourself, you’ll feel much better.”
“I dunno,” she said, voice weak. “I feel pretty darn good now.”
He smiled down at her, blue eyes searching hers, and ran a finger along the edge of her ear much the same way she’d done to his earlier. “You are beautiful beyond compare; do you know that?”
She swallowed hard and met his gaze. “Bondrah…”
“Yes?”
“It’s you.”
He smiled. “Yes.”
“Why do your eyes change color?”
He smiled again. “I will tell you later.” He ran a finger down her nose. “Now go. Before I am unable to release you.”
Her eyebrows shot up. She wasn’t sure what that meant, but decided she’d better do what he said.
Pari slid off his lap. She was still a little unsteady, and he held her arm until she straightened.
Pari took a deep breath, and without a word, headed for the big room with the pool.
She found Raina sitting next to a pile of towels, her dress pulled up to her thighs as she swung her legs back and forth in the water. “I’m here,” Pari announced. “Sorry, we were talking.”
“Yes, I know.” Raina pulled her legs from the water and got to her feet. “Are you okay? Did he tell you?”
She went to the stack of towels. “Uh, yeah. We’re no longer in New York.” She pulled off her top and tossed it on the floor. “And we’ve time traveled like a thousand and some years into the future.” She striped off her sleeping shorts. “Is there shampoo?” Before Raina could answer, Pari jumped in the pool. The water was cold, but she didn’t care.
Raina began to take off her clothes. “I could do with a swim.” She folded her dress and some sort of petticoat she wore underneath it, and got in. “The water spilling out of the fountain is warm.”
Pari swam toward the huge three-tiered fountain in the middle of the pool and put a hand beneath the water spilling from the top tiers into the bottom one. “Oh, that’s nice.”
Raina swam around the fountain. “Everything you need is over here.”
Pari followed. The water was over their heads, but as she swam around to the other side of the fountain, it grew shallower. “I have to get me one of these.”
Raina had climbed into the bottom tier of the fountain itself, the water up to her chin. “This water is hot.”
Pari marveled at the ingenuity of Melvale’s race. “This is wonderful.” She smiled and climbed in too. “The fountain is the actual bathtub, right?”
“Yes, the pool is for swimming.”
Pari giggled as she took in the beauty of the room. There were plants and flowers everywhere. Some climbing up the near thirty-foot walls. The fear that gripped her earlier hadn’t struck again. Maybe she was in shock and didn’t realize it.
“I’m not losing my mind, am I?” Pari asked Raina.
“No. And if it’s any consolation, I had to ask myself the same question. So did Halden.”
Pari noticed bottles and vials of different colors on a stone shelf built into the fountain. “Which is which?”
“The blue one is for your hair. I was told it’s shampoo. The reddish one is also for hair. It makes it soft.”
“Conditioner,” she said and looked Raina in the eyes. “Do you believe any of this?”
“Yes. I had to.” She reached for what looked like a round bar of soap. “Halden is… well, he’s part… of what Melvale is.”
Pari stopped pouring the thick blue liquid in the vial into her hand. “He’s part alien?”
“Yes. A fourth they say, possibly a third. He’s rather proud of it.”
Pari trembled then put the vial back. Maybe washing her hair would help. “I hope this doesn’t make the pink fade.”
“What?” Raina said then looked at her hair. “No, it won’t. That’s… the color of your hair now.”
Pari stopped spreading the lather she’d worked up through her hair. “What? This isn’t color?”
Raina stopped washing herself. “No, Pari. It’s not. You’re… you are Kahtala ulnah. His heart.”
She noticed her breathing was coming in short pants. “What does Bondrah mean?”
Raina shook her head. “I don’t know. No one will tell me.”
Pari closed her eyes. “His heart. His Pari… his…” she rolled her eyes. “Kitten.”
Raina smiled.
“It’s not funny,” Pari said. “I’m not anyone’s anything.” Her eyes misted. “I never was, never will be.”
Raina’s eyes filled with sympathy.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve screwed up too much, Raina. He just doesn’t know it yet.” She scrubbed her hair, hard, fast, as if she could wash all the shame she’d caused herself over the years away.
“Pari, give him a chance.”
“My hair’s pink!”
“Pari…”
“And look!” She held out an arm. “All my tattoos are gone, Raina. Gone! It’s as if they were never there!”
A sob escaped, then another. “What’s happening to me?”
Raina looked at the water streaming down from the fountain. “Sit under the water, rinse your hair before the suds get in your eyes.”
“It’s already in my eyes,” she squeaked. “Why else would I be crying?” Pari scooted under the nearest wall of water coming from the upper part of the fountain and sat under it.
She rinsed her hair, sputtering and let the tears come. Okay, now she was freaking out.
“Pari?” Melvale called from somewhere in the room.
“She’s fine!” Raina called back.
“Pari!”
Raina cut through the water to her. “Tell him you’re fine. Hurry.”
“I’m okay,” she croaked.
“Pari!” There came a splash, and Melvale swam around the fountain.
He was no longer wearing his robes.
Raina yelped and disappeared under water.
Melvale’s eyes were glued to Pari. At least he hadn’t climbed into the fountain. “Are you hurt?”
“No!”
“Are you sure?”
She slipped out from beneath the waterfall she was under. “Yes.”
He came to the edge of the fountain, his eyes locked on hers. “I smelled your tears, Kahtala Miah. Felt your despair.”
Her lower lip shook. “How do you do that?”
“I do it for you. To keep you safe.”
She sighed. “I’m fine. Now please leave before Raina drowns.”
Her friend broke the surface of the water, sputtering, her hair in her face “Is he gone?”
Pari sighed and realized Melvale really was gone. “Yes.” Her heart sank at the thought. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact he was here at all.” She turned her confused face to Raina. “He said he smelled my tears. How is that even possible?” Speaking of tears, hers were flowing freely again. “Why am I here, Raina? I don’t understand why I’m here.” Her lip trembled again, and this time she didn’t care. She not only cried, she sobbed.
Raina came alongside her, wrapped an arm around Pari, and let her cry it out. Pari half expected Melvale to come swimming back, but maybe he figured out that he was part of the reason she was upset. It was hard enough to accept where and when they were. But to accept the rest? It was just as unbelievable in her time as this one. She was a nobody, a loser. People like him didn’t associate with people like her, alien or not. He just hadn’t figured it out yet.
The sooner he did, the better. Then she could go back to her humdrum life and stay hidden from the world just as she’d always done.