Chapter Six
Donovan
“Thank you and good night,” Tulya said without looking at me, stomping off to her room.
After I’d gone and mentioned her being an occupational hazard, she’d barely looked at me, let alone said anything more than the tuna roll was delicious and asking to try my salmon sashimi.
After I paid the check and she finished her wine, we walked back to our hotel in the same silence we’d shared earlier.
It wasn’t until she closed the door to her bedroom that I told myself the rift was for the best. I needed to get this done and over with, and back to Rubia. My mother had her own relationship visions for me, and I had a plan to stop it. Eyes on the prize, I told myself.
Padding back to my quarters, I opened my laptop and checked my email, smiling when I saw the signed contracts. I hadn’t been worried, but wanted my vision tied up tight.
Our family had long been invested in housing and hotels in the States as silent partners. Our real estate portfolio was expansive when it came to outright owning apartment buildings, mostly because we hired a manager or two. My father believed hotels needed more onsite supervision from the owner.
Originally, I disagreed. And then I changed my mind, seeing it as my out. Which was why I was in the middle of buying my first hotel and moving where it was located. My mother could never argue with my deceased father’s ideals, could she?
I was close to being off to Hawaii…far away from Rubia, where the expectations and rules to perform or obey were squelching.
I loved the place, and it had all the amenities I needed, but it had grown old in the way the citizens thought.
Business was better when it was bigger where I was concerned. I wanted a more gigantic existence.
Of course, I didn’t plan to fall in love with a human or marry one or bring anyone back to Rubia like Magnum—I’d forever be mostly a rule follower—but I did intend to avoid the marriage my mom was arranging for me. If I was away most of the time, no one would want me.
Falling for a woman, creating a family, and living happily ever after wasn’t high on my to-do list.
As I slid in between the covers, I tried to hush the Tulya rush both my mind and body were experiencing.
My palm slid down my thigh and over to my heaviness on a path it had traveled many times before, but I had to stop myself.
It was disrespectful to Tulya. And more so, torturing to me.
I’d never wanted anyone the way I wanted Tulya, and we just couldn’t ever—
My phone buzzed on the nightstand, dragging me from my illicit thoughts.
Knowing it was either my mother or Magnum, I snagged it off the table and hit answer call without looking. “Hello?”
“Asleep already?” Magnum asked, a hint of something sinister in his tone.
“Yeah, I’m heading to bed…before I take care of your problems.”
“I’m asking you not to do this, as my brother, Don,” Magnum pleaded. “I love her, man. She makes me stronger.”
A long breath escaped me. My brother was under some serious delusions.
But all I said was, “You know I have to, Mag. She will eventually weaken you, or us,” before disconnecting the call.
It wasn’t because I was afraid of our mother and the havoc she’d bring if I didn’t. It was the Rubian legacy on the line. Our family, namely. The House of Malachite was in the balance. Tulya’s family might hold the direct line to power, but ours captured the economy.
We couldn’t commingle with humans, or the auras and powers would cease to exist, and then it wouldn’t matter how much damn money we had. We’d be dead in the eyes of the Minister.
My unique ability wasn’t one I enjoyed or cared to pass on, which was why I didn’t plan to procreate—unless I honed something better. As we acted and served in the best interest of Rubia, we acquired enhanced skills.
Slamming my eyes shut, I willed sleep to take me before my thoughts went too dark and sinister, my own morals failing me when it came to the redhead across the common room.
“Rise and shine.” I spoke over the brim of my cappuccino as Tulya made her way out of her room, her robe cinched too tightly around her waist. I worried she was cutting off her air supply.
She looked my way and stared right through me.
“I ordered some food and coffee,” I said as a peace offering.
Tulya nodded, making her way to the cart. Her hair was tied back in a bun at the nape of her neck, face devoid of any makeup. She’d never looked more beautiful. In another world, I would wake up next to her every day.
Now, I watched each of her actions like a Peeping Tom, as her lithe fingers lifted the silver coffee carafe—I was both amused and titillated. I scolded my brain and urged my heart to get a hold of itself.
She poured a hefty mug full before taking the pitcher of oat milk and adding a touch of it to the steaming hot liquid.
Without another word, she turned on her heel, mug in hand, and walked back toward her bedroom, her ass swaying underneath the plush robe.
My hands tingled, wanting to touch and do things they were not permitted to do.
Taking a slug of hot liquid, I told myself to hurry up and find Valerie and extract myself from this situation.
Already in my suit, as if I was here to do official business, I plodded to the cart and snagged a piece of turkey bacon, wondering how I could summon my partner in crime to start our mission.
I strolled to the large floor-to-ceiling window and caught the sun in the sky, the ocean in the background, and wondered what the fuck was wrong with me.
I could be on a run or sitting by the pool—why did I always have to be so stringent when it came to my mother?
“Ready. Let’s go,” interrupted my thoughts.
Despite her tone being terse and sarcastic, I was thrilled at the reprieve from my own brain.
“I think you’re going to be hot” was all I got from her as we walked toward the elevator.
“Well, if I could wear a skirt like you, I’d do that, but my legs never look quite right in a dress.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please, no reason to act like a jerk. I was simply saying a suit isn’t necessary.”
I didn’t get into how this was my armor against my rapidly beating heart and pulsing emotions. A pair of chinos and a golf shirt would have made this feel like a date, and this way, I was dressed for a business appointment.
“Thank you for the worry,” I came back with, not wanting to insult Tulya any further.
“Not concerned, just stating a fact.”
“It’s December, not July,” I grumbled and she ignored me.
With that, the elevator opened and we rode down in silence, Tulya sliding a pair of sunglasses on as we exited.
Outside, we waited for the valet to bring the car around. We slid into our respective seats, and I connected my phone with the GPS and put the car in drive.
“Do you have a plan? Or are we going to aimlessly cruise around?” She didn’t turn to look at me but kept her shaded eyes looking ahead.
“Listen, Tulya, I’m sorry you have to be here.
I don’t want to be doing this either, but we both know the wishes of our mothers come before anything else.
” I felt the lie all the way to my gut. I did want to be here; I needed to right my brother’s wrong and I didn’t mind the time with Tulya. These were stolen moments.
“You’re not the one whose power is going to be compromised, and we all know you don’t have to do what your mother wants. I do. Your mother isn’t related to the Minister.”
I felt myself nodding, but not able to agree verbally. “My family’s name is on the line. I can’t stand around and watch Mag destroy everything my dad built. And you and I both know if he goes through with this love affair with Valerie, the Minister will darken our name. He’s your uncle, not mine.”
Her lips pursed together; she had no rebuttal because I was right.
Darkening was a real thing in Rubia. If the Minister felt you disobeyed him or the rules, he’d cast a spell on your family, turning all your wealth and happiness into nothing.
We continued on in silence, Tulya cracking a window and allowing the air to flow over her face. The GPS guided me to what I thought should be our first stop.
“Is this where she lives?” Tulya asked as I slowed the car in front of a small bungalow in Fort Lauderdale. The white house sat on a small parcel of land a few blocks from the beach, and I knew for certain Valerie couldn’t afford to live here on her own.
I nodded and explained, “This is where she grew up and still lives with her mom. Her dad apparently passed a year or two ago.”
Tulya shrugged. “I still live with my mother…”
Fuck, I can’t catch a break when it comes to this woman.
“Hardly. You live on your own. You support yourself.” It was the first time I’d mentioned her career to her.
“You know about me?”
Putting the BMW in park, I turned toward her. “It’s not a secret, is it? You should be proud.”
She shook her head. “No. No, it’s not a secret, but Mother would prefer I not do it. Mostly, I’m proud I make my money.”
“Well, looks like I’m not the only one who doesn’t have to do what their mom wants.”
Without responding, she opened her door and stepped out into the sunshine. I took a beat and wondered why her mom didn’t care for her writing. I’d never heard anything about it.
I watched Tulya stride in front of the car, the light fracturing off her sleek hair, I got out myself.
Maybe her inner secrets and mysteries were best kept from me.
“Brothers or sisters?” she asked as we walked up the pebbled path.
“One. Brother.”
“Do you expect to find her here? Just waiting to be reprimanded by you?”
“No. I suspect worse,” was all I gave her. I hadn’t shared with Tulya that my brother likely told her about our plan, the powers involved, and to run.
Pulling her shoulders back, giving the appearance she had no such fears, Tulya rang the bell.
In the background, I heard a woman say, “Let me get it, Blake.”
I knew the brother was Van—rolling my eyes at them both having names starting with V—so I had no idea who we would find named Blake until the door swung open, and staring at me was a small girl, maybe five or six years old, with the same fucking green eyes as myself…and my brother.
Feeling like the air had been squeezed from my lungs, I breathed in and out as Tulya’s hand came to my shoulder, trying to steady me as best she could.
“Hi,” the small child said to us as a woman in her late fifties rushed up behind her.
“Blake, go wait in the kitchen,” the older woman stated, her tone part authority, the other half love and adoration.
I felt my mouth still hanging open. And for someone who considered themselves unflappable, it was a strange sensation.
“Hi, I’m Tuvy and this is Donovan. We’re looking for Valerie.” Tulya took over, a slight smile on her face, her eyes directly on Valerie’s mother…and the grandmother of my brother’s baby?
“She is not here. I’ll let her know she had some visitors…”
With a frown on her face, she went to close the door. All of a sudden, I was less worried about Valerie and more concerned over the child. I needed access right now.