Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I caught up to him as he opened the door to his room, pushing past him breathlessly, then reclining on the bed. “Come here.” I beckoned with a finger.
Wald leaned against the door, with an amused smile. “Damn you, you are a temptress, but I think we should at least get to Aunt Agatha’s before we ravish each other. To let you know, I have no intention of sleeping with you—to get it over with.”
That left me breathless and wordless. Fucker was still reading my mind.
I’d considered that if we screwed, then it would notch down the raging out-of-control hormones.
I crossed my arms. “Fine, if there’s not going to be more kissing, then tell me about the curse—and explain without all the cryptic ‘I don’t need to know’ parts. ”
He studied me as if deciding what to say, then approached the bed.
My blood thrummed as he settled on the mattress close enough to touch.
“Part of the curse that doesn’t allow the illusion to change my eyes also affects my interaction with others.
Physical contact with people lessens my strength.
The more contact, the more it weakens me. ” He took off the sunglasses.
I swallowed as his golden eyes crinkled at the edges. “So that’s what the gloves are for?”
“Yes.” He took a glove off and examined his fingers.
I placed mine over his. Softer than cake flour and almost as white. “And that’s why kissing me is bad?” It came out as a whisper.
He slid his hand under my hair and cupped my head sending tingles down my spine. “Kissing you is everything but bad, Tails.”
My insides melted as his lips devoured mine. His tongue trailed down my chest, and then he was nipping, and oh my God, the sensation of fine sandpaper on velvet turned me boneless.
He pulled back. “And we should pack now before this becomes—more.”
I grabbed him, tugging his head back down. “How about we do the more part first?”
He studied my face, like he was seeing it with the filtered glow of flickering candles.
“So beautiful.” He brushed a kiss on my forehead, whispering, “While ‘more’ is exactly what I want, I suggest for the best chance we have to get the ring fixed and you out of danger that we somehow manage to control ourselves. Although you aren’t making that easy, Tails. ”
The moment arced between us. “Yeah, same here,” I replied, but the words rose barely about my breath.
He licked up the side of my cheek, and I caught his lips. The kiss answering my overflowing passion.
But the moment I had my hands on his belt, he pulled back again and got up.
I huffed, annoyed he was calling the shots, even if he probably was right. What made sense to my brain was the diametrical opposite of what my body was screaming for.
Stripping off his suit jacket, Wald walked over to the armoire.
I appreciated the effortless way he hauled out a suitcase.
Black, of course. He threw it on the end of the bed, then moved fluidly from dresser to bed, packing black clothing in it.
At least he didn’t have to worry about underwear.
I puddled, thinking about the ridge of his pants.
Yeah, I needed to control myself. “Speaking of clothing…”
“I wasn’t speaking actually.”
“I can’t wear this dress all the way to Vegas. I need clothes,” I said as he zipped up the case.
“Really?” He turned and took a determined stride toward me, backing me up to the bed.
He fingered the pink bra strap, looking down at me with his stunning gold eyes.
The way he delicately trailed the back of his hand down my neck and across my chest arched my back.
My breath hitched and his elongated pupils dilated.
“I thought we weren’t doing this now?” I batted his hand away playfully, and he stepped around me and walked into the bathroom.
God, he was an excellent tease.
I followed him. “Really, I need clothes. Do I have time to take a shower?” I asked as he pulled out a black toiletry case.
“I like the way you smell,” he said matter-of-factly, sniffing the air as he walked past me to go back into the bedroom.
That was it. I was showering. I closed the door and locked it, double-checking the integrity of the lock.
It was solid. I sat down on the cold tile and pulled off my boots, my exhale releasing a little of the tension.
The weight of the absolute shit show that had landed me here dropped on me.
Tears burst out of nowhere, and I leaned my forehead on my knees.
I hardly ever cried. The best thing about all this was Wald, and although the sexual attraction was clear, what did I really even know about him?
Fuck this. I had worked hard to be in control of my life, and now I was everything but in control. That had to change. We’d go to Vegas and get this ring fixed, but it would be on my terms.
Standing up, I tugged off the feather-light sundress and dropped it to the floor, then stomped on it with a bare foot, disappointed it didn’t make me feel better.
The shower’s knobs and spray heads addled my brain.
I twisted things until I got water, spraying myself with jets of ice before I managed to get the main ceiling one working.
The water poured out from it like intense rain, but it was colder than I liked.
Naked as the bar of soap on the tile shelf, I stepped into the crazy cross-sprays from the walls.
It was like showering in a car wash. The shampoo was scented with something between forest greens, mowed lawn, and crushed berries.
A damn weird scent for a guy like Wald, but it foamed in the right places.
Clean and dripping, I twisted knobs until the water stopped, freezing myself with one of the last handles.
I reached out for a towel and found one had been thrown over the door.
“What the hell? Get out.” I hugged myself as I grabbed the towel and wrapped it around me, then opened the shower door ready for a fight.
The bathroom was empty. Rushing to the door, I slid on the tile, grabbing the door handle for support.
It was locked from the inside, just as I had left it. Did he have a key?
Keeping a side eye on the door, I admired the over-sized towel that actually allowed me to wrap it around me without the danger of it falling off.
I dried my hair with a second black towel, then, I filled the sink and dropped my underwear in it.
In about fifteen minutes, I had cleaner, dryish underwear and almost non-frizzy hair.
I got dressed and a whiff of the lingering mowed grass hit me.
Did he wash all his hair in it? That singular thought turned me wetter than the shower.
Stop it, Harlan, this will not improve your situation.
Tugging the straps of the sundress, I threw on my boots and unlocked the door.
Wald had his back to me, doing something with the bed that was blocked by the curtains on the four-poster.
“Did you give me the towel?”
“Towel?” he asked, turning. I gasped. On the bed was the most amazing collection of sexy club wear I’d seen outside of magazines.
Two corselettes, a leather skirt, a leather jacket covered with chrome, and a long dress with a deep square neckline slit up the front with a red gusset from hem to bra-line.
A red satin bra with corset detail, a black shrug jacket with red velvet ruffles, and a pair of fishnets.
“Where the hell did you get all this?” I held up the black corselette. “I thought you liked pink?”
“He does. I like black and red,” Britannia replied. I swear to God she hadn’t been in the room a moment before.
“Where the fuck did you come from?” I asked as my brain caught up. “Hell no, I am not wearing Britannia’s clothing. I draw the line.” I tossed the corselette back onto the bed and crossed my arms.
Wald flashed a rakish grin. “It’s only temporary. I’ll buy you some lacey pink things along the way.”
My blood boiled and I wanted to stomp out, but where the hell would I go? “Since I’m obviously not getting a vote, both of you get out, while I find something wearable in this pile of ragged cast-offs.”
Britannia shot me a withering look but allowed Wald to herd her out the door. I locked it behind them, rushed over to the bed, and fondled everything.
The leather skirt and the black and red shrug were better suited for a vampire dance club than a ride in a stolen car to Vegas, but they fit.
Paired with the low cut V-neck shirt, the red satin of the bra showed underneath.
The shirt really needed a vial of blood hanging between my breasts for full effect.
I chuckled as I carefully pulled on my boots over the fishnets.
Britannia was a bitch, but I had to admit she nailed the emo-goth aesthetic, and obviously had an exorbitant credit limit.
I felt damn sexy. Still, when someone knocked on the door, my stomach did a double flip.
It wasn’t pink, but I was hoping Wald would like the aesthetic.
I unlocked the door and stepped back, striking a pose.
The door flung open, and Britannia strutted through in an outfit I would have given my left kidney for.
It was exactly the kind of thing I would love to wear if money was no object, a silky black catsuit underneath a red plaid miniskirt.
Close to the skin, held in the hanging-out bits, and made movement easy.
“No need to show me your goods. I’m not interested,” she said, flinging a black duffel onto the bed. “Wald asked me to come get you. He’s got the car packed, and it’s time for us to leave.”
“Wait, us?” I turned to Britannia. “Hell no. You’re not coming.”
She smirked at me, a hand on her hip. “Wald and I kissed and made up. Think you can find your way to the garage?” she asked, striding away before I could reply.
I used every curse word I could come up with while stuffing her clothing into her suitcase. I threw in the sundress and the pink bra, as well as my leggings. Shrugging my leather jacket over the bolero made my outfit less drafty.
When I got to the door, I was suddenly nostalgic.
At some point, I might not remember this room or the things that might have happened in it.
The bookcase I’d perused was stacked two deep with books on mysticism and thaumaturgy—and a much thumbed copy of The Golden Ass which I’d chuckled over.
I turned to give a wistful last glance at the enormous, curtained bed that should have belonged to a lord or a duke.
The carvings were antique and beautifully depicted leaves and animal heads.
The gold mirror over the dresser was positioned so you could see the pillows on the bed.
All the furniture had the feel it had been chosen to be here and had history.
Had Wald selected them himself? A fly-fishing rod was mounted to the wall in the corner.
That was it. Patience. Wald had patience and a core of stillness.
Like he could stop in time and savor it.
I envied that. Since my aunt died I’d been in constant motion to pay bills, eat, and keep a roof over my head.
Stopping to breathe, I imagined a strong mountain stream and a future that held that kind of stillness.
Holding that flicker of what that might be like, I shouldered the duffel and walked into the hall.
When I got to the stairs, Victoria was standing on the landing.
“Harlan, I’m glad I caught you before you left.
I want you to give this to Agatha for me.
She’ll understand. Please don’t show it to Britannia, for she will not understand.
” Her violet eyes crinkled at the edges and the waves of her coiffed hair trailed over the shoulders of a lavender cardigan.
Her delicate hand touched mine, and I raised an open palm.
She placed a leather box in it, and then she began to fade as if she were the outline of water, and then she disappeared altogether .
“Holy crap.” The duffel slid off my shoulder, and I grabbed the stair rail to steady myself. I looked down at the leather box in my hand. Old and black with powdery brown edges. Large enough for a pendant, but with some heft to it.
Britannia appeared at the bottom of the stairs. I turned so she couldn’t see, stuffing the box into my jacket pocket while I picked up the duffel.
“Wald is about to leave without you,” she taunted.
“Not bloody likely,” I said under my breath, racing down the stairs.