Betrayal 2012 (13 page)

Now he laughed.  “Just wondering if you’re telling me the truth or not.”  Crap.  I had forgotten about that little ability.

“Yes, I want you to leave now.”  That really was the truth.  I certainly wasn’t going to change in front of him.  There had been just a few too many awkward moments.

“Alright then, tart.  Meet me out back in five.”  Graham bounded out of the room and I didn’t move until I heard him running down the stairs.  How he had this much energy in the morning, especially after drinking all night, I would never know.  Succumbing to the idea that he was being serious, I got dressed, brushed my teeth and headed downstairs.

Last night had been a little too much for me and my self control, so I was slightly hesitant to delve right into physical combat again with Graham.  Seeing him warming up with side stretches and fast jumping jacks nearly set my heart into overdrive.  Why was I reacting this way?  Apparently I was most attracted to what I should not have.  First it was Brendan, although he wasn’t a bad boy per se, he was just not what everyone wanted for me.  Now it was Graham; the prodigal Council member who loved his women and his booze.  Not to mention that he had immense powers no one single merman should have.  He was dangerous.  And I was smitten.

He caught me staring, so he turned to face me and lifted both of his hands up over his head enough to show the lower part of his bare stomach.  It was muscular and fabulous and I quickly walked past him.  If he wanted to play, then I was willing to give him a show as well.

“What are we going to do?” I asked.

“I thought we’d go boot camp style today.”  He reached over and squeezed my bicep lightly.  “You could use a little more muscle.”  I bent over to touch my toes, showing him the best muscle on my body.  When he hissed in a breath, I knew that I’d gotten the reaction I’d intended.

He must have seen my smirk because he suddenly let out a laugh.  “Oh no you don’t, tart.  You do not even want to start playing that game.”

“Why, whatever are you talking about?” I asked innocently while bending from side to side, being sure to get in a good stretch of the hamstrings.  He slapped my rump and jogged past me.  I jumped up, rather taken aback by his boldness, and started to yell at him.

“I am the master of seduction.  Don’t you ever forget that little syrenka.”  He was running backwards now waiting for me to catch up.  “You’re playing with fire.”

I totally agreed with him on that one.  Sprinting at almost full speed, I finally caught up with him, but that had pretty much ended our flirting session.  For the next several hours we ran on the beach, ran in circles, and ran in place.  He had me doing all kinds of squats, pushups, sit-ups, and weight training.  Somehow, he found two fairly identical pieces of beach rock and I was mercilessly doing shoulder presses and bicep curls.  He barked out commands and wouldn’t let me rest.  In all fairness, he did most of the workout too, but if this is what it was going to be like every morning, I didn’t know if I really wanted to train with him anymore.

We made it back to the house with just over an hour to spare before I needed to meet with Jeremiah.  Graham told me to go shower and he’d cook us some breakfast.  Surprised at the offer, I ran upstairs before he could change his mind.  I was also happy to see that my suitcase from California had arrived, giving me a much better selection of outfits.

Throwing on a pair of jeans and a tank top, I came down the stairs following the smell of fried eggs and fresh orange juice.  Graham was facing the stove, leaving his back towards the kitchen entrance.  He had removed his shirt and it was now thrown over his right shoulder.  His baggy gray sweat pants were hanging low on his waist, giving me an ample view of his defined back muscles.  There was simply no denying how gorgeous this man really was.  He moved around the kitchen with ease, causing me to wonder if he had yet another talent that didn’t involve mind control.  When he finally turned around and spotted me, he didn’t seem surprised.

“Here.  Eat up.”  He handed me a plate and I sat down at the counter across from him.  There were potatoes and egg whites and something green that I assumed was spinach.  It was definitely a power breakfast.  Fixing a plate for himself, he pulled up a chair next to me and we ate in silence for a while.  It was delicious and I told him as much once I nearly finished eating everything. 

“Thanks.  I like to cook.”

“That’s good because I don’t.”  I didn’t realize what that actually sounded like until he laughed and shook his head.

“Good to know.  Perhaps I can just be the stay at home dad and you can run the world,” he said with a smile.  I blushed again.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“No?”

“No.  I was just thinking that you can keep cooking breakfast for me after each horrific training session.”

“Horrific?”

I gave him a look.  “I don’t think that I’ll even be able to get out of bed tomorrow.”

“Well, that’s okay because I’m actually not going to be here tomorrow.”  My stomach plunged in disappointment at the realization I might not get to spend more time with him.

“Why not?”

“I just need to go take care of something while I’m nearby.”  He smiled crookedly at me and added, “I’ll be back tomorrow evening.”

“When do you leave?”

“As soon as we’re finished here.  My ride is on the way.”  I wanted to ask him more about what he was doing, but I didn’t want to sound like a jealous or insecure teenage girl.  If he was going to meet one of his many girlfriends, then there wasn’t anything that I could say.  Nor did I really want to.  I had Brendan.  At least I hoped I did.

My skin suddenly shivered with chills and it was like I knew the moment Jeremiah entered the kitchen behind us.  His presence alone was enough to send my senses on high alert.

“Ah, Master Forrester.  So nice of you to take care of our Eviana.”  He walked to the stove and lifted the lid off of a frying pan.  His dark red robe hung freely over a bare chest and tight pair of jeans.  He’d braided his long blond hair and it fell gracefully down the center of his back.  “Any left for me?”

“’Fraid not, mate.”  Graham shoved the last bite in his mouth and began to clear our plates.  Jeremiah watched him with a smirk on his face but didn’t comment.  Something was going through his mind but I had no idea what that could possibly be.  It just seemed as if Graham was the most amusing thing in the world to him right now.

Graham walked back around the island counter and grabbed his shirt off the chair.  He quickly rubbed the top of my head, effectively creating a jumbled rat’s nest.  I pushed his hand away and he laughed. 

“See you tomorrow night, tart.  Try to get some cardio in if you have time.”  I watched him leave and wondered if I should beg him to take me too.  A snort from across the room brought my attention back to Jeremiah.

“Interesting,” he mumbled.

“What’s so interesting?” I snapped back.

He pulled in a deep breath and pushed himself away from the stove.  “It would appear that you have been able to tame the beast.”  He shuffled his feet back and forth and looked at me curiously.  “That is rather unexpected.”

I had no idea what he was talking about and I really didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of asking.  So instead I said, “Are you ready?”

He raised an eyebrow and I thought he might continue speaking in riddles, but he simply nodded.  “Let’s get started.”

I followed him out of the kitchen and down the long hallway towards the indoor pool in the back of the house.  I had feared this day since Mistress Lyonetta sentenced me to this place.  Jeremiah had a flock of human’s here and I was sure that I would be forced to practice on them.

We walked through the double door entrance and into a steaming room.  It was almost like an arboretum with the artificial warmth and numerous plants creating a jungle-like atmosphere.  There was soft drumming in the background that I attributed to one of Jeremiah’s exotic albums.  Just like last time, at least two dozen humans lined the walls and stood in silence.  I was surprised that I hadn’t seen more of them around the house.  In fact, I hadn’t really encountered anyone other than Graham and his protectors.

“Where do they all stay?” I asked distractedly.

“Who?” Jeremiah turned around to face me and saw where my gaze had fallen.  “Oh, their quarters are next door in the guest house.  The sprites stay in the pool.  Or the fountain,” he said with a wink, letting me know he was referring to Abhainn.

I cleared my throat.  “All of the humans live here?”

“Yes.  Their quarters are quite large, don’t you fret.” He smiled at me in such a condescending way it made me wish I could slap the grin off of his face.  “Now,” he clapped his hands together, “let’s begin.”

We moved to the center of the deck surrounding the pool then he raised his arms, gesturing to all of the humans standing around at attention.  “Show me what you can do.”

“What should I command?”  Even saying those words made my stomach cringe in disgust.  I did not want to be able to take over the minds of other people.  It just wasn’t right.

Jeremiah’s face sparkled with evil.  “You could make them go for a swim,” he suggested, knowing how much that would anger me.  I couldn’t help my response.

“You are the most despicable person I know.  You aren’t even a person.  You’re a…a…” I couldn’t think of the right insult.

“A king?  A god amongst men?  A bastard?  A genius?”  He turned in a circle flaring out his robes and extending his arms.  “This is who we are, Eviana.  This is what it means to be one of us.” 

I watched as three females walked to his side and stripped the robe from his back.  He hadn’t said a word and he’d been talking to me while giving a silent command.  As much as I hated to admit it, Jeremiah Williams was probably the best one for me to learn from.  I would tolerate his lessons and fine tune my skills, but I vowed that I would never be as careless with others’ minds like he was.

“Now, do something,” he commanded.

I closed my eyes and envisioned the tiny light balls again.  It was so easy that I realized belatedly Jeremiah wasn’t trying to keep his hold over them.  I’m sure those types of lessons would come later.  One by one, the humans dropped to their knees and when I thought that I had them all, I opened my eyes.  Jeremiah wasn’t impressed.

“You forgot one.”  He jerked his head to the corner and I turned to see a man hiding in the shadows.  His dark skin and shaved head did little to reveal his true identity, but I could tell who he was instantly.

“Malcolm?”

“Hello again, Miss Eviana.”  He stood and walked over to me, extending his hand.  I reached out towards him only to watch as he gently lifted my fingers up to his lips and placed a kiss on the top of my hand.  “I am surprised to see you here again.”

I sighed and nodded over my shoulder to Jeremiah.  “It wasn’t my choice.” 

“Yes, I can see that,” Malcolm smiled.  There was something so innately familiar about him.  His smell.  His demeanor.  The way he moved.  Malcolm was a selkie just like Brendan and my heart begin to ache.  I had literally grown up with Brendan and often felt more comfortable around his kind than mine.  I missed playing in the ocean with him or arguing over the name of a fish.  We’d shared so much that I really didn’t feel whole without him anymore.  Malcolm’s presence was only going to exacerbate that pain.

“I won’t control him,” I whispered to anyone who would listen.

“You will,” Jeremiah replied.  I snapped my head around and took the two steps needed to invade his personal space.

“I will not control a selkie.  I can’t.”

“Lucian has an army of selkies and without their control, you will fail.  My job is to make sure that you can stand against him.  So that means learning how to use your gift to its fullest potential.”  He was right, but that didn’t mean that I had to like it.  

As soon as I accepted that fact, the easier the day got.  Well, relatively speaking.  Jeremiah taught me how he could almost see the aura of a free mind glowing around the subjects.  A human mind was white, or blank as he liked to call it.  A selkie’s mind glowed red.  They were a bit harder to command, but always ultimately succumbed.