Chapter Nine
Donovan
Ifound Tulya sitting on the chaise outside on the balcony, a bottle of wine and an empty glass resting on the table, her head tilted back, eyes closed.
I’d wanted to talk or maybe be close to her. She was equal parts soothing and forbidden; I had no idea what to do when it came to this woman.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, not wanting to disturb her peace.
Opening her eyes, she spoke, her voice raspy.
“It’s fine. I was just thinking. Come, sit,” she beckoned, pointing at the chair next to her.
“You doing, okay?” she asked me while running a hand over her cheek, before leaning forward and snatching her glass and pouring a little more wine in.
“I’m not, which is why I’m hiding out here with this. ” She waved the bottle in front of me.
I felt myself nod. “I spoke with Magnum. He is going to arrange for us to meet with Valerie.”
She raised an eyebrow, and I watched a small piece of her red hair fall in front of her eye. More than anything, I wanted to brush it away, to touch her with my finger…to kiss her again. And again.
“I don’t know if I believe that,” she said softly.
I couldn’t help but smile. I secretly adored how she didn’t mind challenging me.
“He isn’t the type to roll over like that,” she went on.
“I know, that’s reserved for me. I’m the family pushover,” I replied.
“Hardly, but you know that you’re not. You do what is expected, when you know it’s the right choice.”
“Or the only one…”
“Tomato, tomahto,” she quipped. “I’m under strict orders to transfer the pain. My mom expects you to bring Blake back and I’m guessing your mom has made it known Magnum and Cinder will raise her.”
I nodded. That was the plan our mothers had concocted. “It’s my best guess that Magnum thought he’d bring Valerie and Blake back to Rubia, and with their daughter there, no one could say a word to him. But we certainly blew that by coming here and discovering his secret.”
Leaning forward, Tulya touched my knee. I was sitting in the straight-backed chair kitty-corner to her, and this slight touch wasn’t enough. I wanted more, to move closer and run away all at the same time.
“Is this all right?” Of course she asked if her gesture was okay, because she was Tulya, and she did mostly everything right.
I gave another nod.
“I’m worried for that little girl. I don’t want them looking into her power or capabilities too much, pressuring her, or anything that will take away her spirit. She’s going to have enough change coming to Rubia, you know?”
Swallowing all the emotions lumped in my throat, I searched for the correct response. Only Tulya would consider the child’s feelings. I suspected hers were typically overlooked, like they were being now.
“You will be there,” I said.
“We don’t know. I’ve never done this type of transfer…and to a human.”
“Why? It’s not like our powers don’t work on regular people. They do. We know but choose not to use them…often.”
She just stared at me as if this was information to her; she truly believed we never tried our magic on humans.
“I don’t know. I’m worried. That’s all.”
I’d wanted to mention the kiss in the car, but now we’d gone to this dark place, and I wasn’t sure what to say—
“I’m hungry,” Tulya rescued me by stating. She stood up from the lounge and nabbed the bottle and glass to take inside.
Like a lost puppy, I followed behind.
Inside, I found her leafing through a room service menu.
“Do you want to go out?” I didn’t know why I asked. Last night ended horribly, and this afternoon was even worse.
“Don, what do you want? We’re here to do a job for our mothers, that’s all. Eating is for survival.” She smoothed her hair back into a low ponytail while keeping her gaze on me.
Every ounce of intelligence I had fled my body as my feet took me closer to the woman questioning me.
“I’m sorry. Again. I know I’m upsetting you.
A lot.” My words came out stilted and unsure, which was unlike me.
But then again, this woman unraveled me.
“I don’t want to upset you. In fact, I want to do the opposite.
I want to make you happy and…feel good…more than good.
But we are here on a task, and I don’t want it to get all muddled.
You, me. Your aversion to suffering, my ability to dole it out—we are a strange combination. ”
I left it at that; I wasn’t sure how much Tulya understood about commingling our skills.
Except in this moment I was standing directly in front of the woman, and while we were no longer at the holiday party, alcohol running through our veins (well, she’d had her wine), want and need pulsed through me.
“I want to make you happy,” I repeated. My hand rested on her shoulder, and she didn’t shove me off. “It doesn’t seem right in this instance, but it feels more than right,” I continued.
“You confuse me. One moment, you’re shamelessly flirting and the next pulling back and bossing me around. Another minute, you’re kissing me, and then…”
I didn’t wait to hear what she said next. My mouth found hers and I grumbled, “May I?”
She nodded against my forehead as our lips mashed together with a feverish need.
I wasn’t sure whose tongue entered first, but now they tangled together, the tannins of her wine making me heady.
The room service menu flitted to the floor as my hand roamed up her back and her palms slid down my sides, coming to rest on my hips as we made our way backward to the wall.
“Tulya,” I moaned.
“You feel so good,” she mumbled back. Her palms ran the length of my back, and I could feel her letting go of any reservations she had.
In this moment, I hoped Magnum took a while to show up with Cinder. There was nothing I wanted more than these borrowed seconds, minutes, hours, maybe days with Tulya.