Lust (6 page)

change that. And neither will you.

In fact your presence in his life will

make him more dedicated to the

cause. He will have the motivation

and focus he needs. The woman

plays a very important role in the

man’s career.”

“That sounds sexist.” My lack of

a filter was going to get me in

trouble.

“But it’s not sexist, is it? I am

simply saying that in a relationship

each partner advances the other. I

have no doubt that he will help you

achieve your goals, whatever they

are.”

“That’s not how all relationships

work.” I’d witnessed plenty that

were nothing like that.

“If a relationship doesn’t work

that way, it is useless. Rubbish.

Appearance and tradition are

important, but more important is

that each member of a couple feel

supported and important. Mark my

words, Daisy. One day you will

understand.”

“Hopefully. I mean if we can’t

stop this change I probably won’t

understand because I’ll never have

a real relationship.”

“Do you truly doubt you’ll be

successful? Even after watching

Owen’s optimism and

determination?”

“There’s only so far that can go.”

“It won’t be easy. It’s going to

be difficult, and like all truly

important journeys in life it is

equally likely to kill you as save

you, but in the end you will have

given it your all.”

“You talk about death as though

it’s nothing.” Death was the

ultimate end. It had such finality

that it couldn’t be shrugged off.

“Is losing your humanity, your

propensity to feel, not worse than

death? What do we have if not our

emotions? They are what guide us.”

“I don’t want to die.” I could

hear the fear in my voice. Death

terrified me, but would it be worse

than becoming an Allure? Neither

sounded appealing.

“Of course not.” She crossed her

legs. “And the hope is you don’t. I

am merely reminding you that there

are things worse than death.”

“I’m hoping in all of this you

have a plan.”

“Of course I do. I always have a

plan.”

“And what is this plan?”

“First, we all get some rest.

Then first thing in the morning we

pay a visit to our friend Mayanne.”

“You know her?”

“Of course. Didn’t Owen tell

you? She is one of my oldest

friends. She lives near here.”

So that’s where we’d been. I’d

never figured out exactly where the

house was. I’d been more

concerned with losing blood, and

Owen. “But she wasn’t able to get

rid of the paste’s effect last time.”

“Because she didn’t quite know

what it was. I will speak with her so

she has time to prepare.”

“What about the guys? What if

they found something?”

“They aren’t going to find

anything.”

“Then why did you tell them to

read?”

“Because we needed time to

talk.”

I laughed. “Do you do things like

that a lot?”

“Often. I am sure Levi figured it

out quickly.”

“Should we go find them?”

“You go do that. I will see to the

preparation of the guest rooms.”

“I don’t want to put you out.”

Not that there was really a choice

other than sleeping in the car. It

would be pointless to drive back

and forth another time.

“It’s no trouble.” She stood up.

“Levi will know where to go. Sleep

well, and I will see you all in the

morning.” She walked out of the

room.

“Oh, thanks.” I belatedly

responded after she left the room.

She definitely knew how to make

an exit.

I wandered around the first floor

until I found the library. Both Owen

and Levi looked up as soon as I

reached the door.

“Learn anything?” Owen asked.

“We’re going to see Mayanne

tomorrow.”

“She thinks there is more she

can do?”

I shrugged. “Evidently. She

knows more too, but I get the

sense she’s only going to reveal

things one step at a time.”

“Some sleep would be good for

you.” He smiled.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“I might try.”

“My bet is she’ll put you in

separate rooms, but I also know

she won’t mind if Owen visits. Just

be on good behavior.” Levi grinned.

“Of course.” I put a hand to my

chest. “I’m not crazy. I respect the

rules of someone’s home.”

“You are very concerned with

being polite.” Levi shifted his

weight from foot to foot.

“It’s how I was raised.”

“Allie is too, but in a different

way. Less southern.”

“Are you going to go home?” I

felt bad about him leaving his wife

alone for so long.

“Yeah. I’ll fly home and be back

in the morning. I am sure Owen can

take care of anything you need.”

Owen shook his head. “Go

already.”

“You know where the rooms

are?” Levi asked.

“Upstairs and to the left.”

“Great. Good night you two.” He

strolled off toward the front door.

“Ready?” Owen asked.

“Not quite yet.” I walked further

into the library.

“You are a very curious person.”

I turned back to look at him.

“You think? I spent years searching

for you.”

“Was it for me, or what I

represented?”

“Oh no. None of that. I had

enough psycho-analysis from

Georgia.”

“Oh? In what way?”

“Just about there being things

worse than death, but I was

searching for you because I wanted

to find you. Not because of well,

what you are.”

“But would I have intrigued you

as much without the wings?”

“Why are you doing this? Aren’t

you supposed to be reassuring me?”

“Humor me.”

“I wanted you before I saw your

wings. Before you saved me. Call it

love at first sight or whatever, but

one glance was all it took.” I

remembered the first moment I saw

him in the bar. He’d blown me off

afterward, but it didn’t matter. I still

couldn’t get him out of my head.

“Yeah, you’re still there.” He

grinned.

“What?”

“I wanted to see if your

emotional memory was affected.

Clearly it’s not. You don’t doubt

your feelings for me.”

“It’s the only feeling I truly know

is real.”

“Because it is.” His arms moved

around me from behind, and he

pulled me back into his chest. “I’m

sorry this is how things turned out. I

never should have walked away

from you that night. I should have

stayed. I thought I was doing you a

favor by staying out of your life.”

“None of this is your fault.”

“If I’d searched harder or asked

Levi for help finding you, we could

have fixed things earlier.”

“But maybe that wouldn’t have

made a difference. We’ll never

know.”

“I want you to get some sleep.”

He nodded toward the doorway.

“Abrupt change of conversation.”

“I know you’re wide awake, but

you need sleep. Who knows what

tomorrow is going to involve?”

“Will you stay with me?” I didn’t

want to be alone. I’d never get

sleep that way, and I wanted Owen

as close as possible.

“Yes. Levi said it himself.

Georgina won’t care.”

“Good.” I took his hand. “Then

let’s sleep.”

We walked up the sweeping

stairway, and Owen led us to one of

the bedrooms.

“Are you even going to pretend

to sleep in another?”

“Nope. I don’t want to let you

out of my sight.”

“You did twice tonight.”

“Technically yes,” he admitted,

“But only when I had to.”

“Do you think it’s okay if I

showered?”

“Of course. There’s a bathroom

through there.” He pointed to a

door.

“Thanks. I need it.” I kissed him

gently on the lips before stepping

into the bathroom and closing the

door.

He knocked seconds later. “Hey

Daisy, Georgina left this out for

you.”

I opened the door and found

Owen holding a night shirt.

“Great, I was thinking I’d love to

sleep in something else.”

“I’d love for you to sleep in

nothing, but that’s not an option.”

“Nope, not in this house.” I

accepted the nightshirt. “Be right

out.”

“Take your time.” He gently

closed the door.

I stripped off my clothes and

turned on the shower. I felt dirty

and exhausted, and if the shower

could take care of the first, the bed

would be ready for the second. I

stepped underneath the warm

stream, trying to wash away the

grit and grime of the past few days.

It felt like so much had changed so

quickly, but more than anything I

had knowledge. I knew what was

happening to me, and as helpful as

that was, it also terrified me and

made things tons harder to handle.

I could have stayed under the

warm water forever, but that meant

staying away from Owen. I craved

him like I craved nothing else in

life. Staying away from him would

be like a moth avoiding a flame.

Impossible.

I got out and dried off, eagerly

slipping into the old fashioned

nightgown. I couldn’t have cared

what it looked like, even if Owen

was going to see it. It was clean

and soft, and those were two very

important characteristics to me at

the moment.

I opened the door to find Owen

lying on the bed in pajama pants

and a t-shirt. “Did you get pajamas

too?”

“Yes.” He smiled. “And the funny

thing is, Georgina left them in the

same room with yours.”

I laughed. “I don’t know why she

would have assumed we’d wind up

in the same room.”

“Me either.” He slipped under

the covers and held open one side.

“Going to join me?”

I ran a hand through my wet

hair. “If you don’t mind getting

wet.”

He waggled an eyebrow. “With

you, never.”

“Clean thoughts tonight.”

“The cleanest. We’re talking

about water. You can’t get cleaner

than that.”

I slipped in beside him. “I’m

exhausted.”

“You’re finally admitting it?”

I nodded before snuggling in to

his side. “I can barely keep my eyes

open.”

“The beauty is you don’t have to

keep them open. In fact you need

to keep them closed.”

“Maybe Mayanne will be able to

do more this time.”

“Maybe.” He ran a hand down

my back. “And you said it yourself,

Georgina knows more. She’s making

us wait because we need to. She

could see how tired you were

before you even could.”

“She’s perceptive but also

calculating.”

“She has our interests at heart.

Don’t doubt that.” He traced small

circles down my back. The touch

felt great even through the silky

material of the nightgown.

“I need you to promise me

something.” Georgina’s words about

the danger in all journeys ran

through my head.

“What?’ He stopped the motion

of his fingers.

“If saving me means risking

yourself, you’ll walk away.”

“Absolutely not.” He took my

face in his hands. “That’s

ridiculous.”

“But you are healthy. You have

nothing to fear. Why should you

walk into danger for me?”

“Because I love you.” His eyes

pleaded with me to believe him. I

knew he was being honest, but was

that enough?

“But is love worth sacrificing

your life?”

“Yes.” He kissed me hard on the

lips. I didn’t respond at first, ready

to follow-up with all my arguments

for why his life was more important,

but he drowned them out by

pushing for access to my mouth. I

greedily sucked in everything he

was willing to give, letting his taste

and touch overwhelm my senses

until I couldn’t concentrate on

anything else. The kiss seemed to

suspend time, and it felt as though

we’d lost ourselves in each other’s

arms. Neither of us pushed for

anything else. It wasn’t the time or

place, and we didn’t need more.

The kiss expressed everything we

wanted to share.

Finally, we broke the kiss and

lay in each other’s arms.

“Did that clear up all of your

questions and concerns?” he

whispered against my neck.

“Yes. I don’t want you putting

yourself in danger, but nothing I

can say is going to change your

mind.”

“I’m a Pteron. I’m strong, and

we have each other. I’m not going

to get hurt, and neither are you.”

“You’re too good to be true.”