Lust (7 page)

“Not any more than you.” He

pulled me up on top of him. “You

are so much better than all of my

dreams and memories. I don’t know

if it’s because you’ve gotten even

better, or if my imagination and

memory are lacking.”

“I’ll go with the first.”

“I thought you’d say that.” He

wrapped his arms around me.

“You know I can’t actually sleep

this way.”

“Why not?” He moved

underneath me. “Are you trying to

say I’m not comfortable to lay on?”

“Not if I’m trying to keep my

thoughts and actions clean.”

He laughed. “Good point.” He

gently rolled me off him to the side.

I rested my head on his chest.

“This is perfect.”

“I’m never going to be able to

sleep alone again.”

“You barely need to sleep.”

“Even so.”

“You’re not the only one.” I

draped my arm over his body. “I’ve

never felt as safe and comfortable

as when I’m with you.”

“It’s a good thing we’re going to

be spending all our nights together

then, huh?”

“I guess so.” I smiled.

“Try to get some sleep.”

“I will. You’ll stay here?”

“I thought the kiss got

everything across. I’m not leaving

you.”

“Good,” I replied sleepily. I let

my heavy eyes close, and I yawned.

He went back to rubbing my

back. “Sleep well, my love.”

“You too,” I mumbled as I

drifted off into sleep.

6

OWEN

“Owen, what’s the matter?”

Daisy’s voice was higher pitched

than usual. She stood at the foot of

the bed wearing only a t-shirt.

“Nothing.” I sat up in bed and

rubbed my eyes. “You sound

different.”

“No, I don’t. You’re imagining

things again.” She crawled up my

body slowly before straddling me on

top of the sheets.

“Are you sick?” I studied her

eyes. They were glazed over, as

though she were high or something.

“No.” She shook her head. “Stop

worrying.”

“I can’t.” I closed my eyes.

“Yes, you can.” She brushed her

lips against mine. “You can stop

feeling anytime you want.”

I opened my eyes. “Daisy? Is

that even you anymore?”

She laughed a laugh that wasn’t

hers. “What do you think? Aren’t

you the expert on me?”

I woke up with a start, glad to

see the first signs of sunlight

through the sheer window shades. I

ran my hands down Daisy’s back

while she slept peacefully. She was

still Daisy. We’d find a way to stop

the change. I refused to believe the

dreams were anything prophetic.

They were only manifestations of

my fears. They’d eventually go

away once we got rid of the Allure

in her once and for all.

She stirred beside me.

“Good morning.” I wanted her to

wake up. I needed to hear her voice

and see her eyes. I knew the dream

wasn’t real, but it was difficult to

shake.

“Hey.” She opened her perfectly

normal and beautiful hazel eyes

slowly.

“Sleep okay?”

“Yes. You?”

“All right.” I didn’t like lying to

her.

“What’s wrong?” She sat up.

I pulled her into my arms. “A

nightmare. Nothing to worry about.”

“What kind of nightmare?” Her

brow furrowed.

“Nothing worth repeating.”

She sighed. “We need to find

Energo. We have no time to waste.”

“I know.”

A loud knock on the door had us

both jumping.

“It’s me,” Levi called. “Allie sent

some clothes for Daisy. I’ll leave

them out here. Georgina is already

up and about.” Allie was good at

making sure people had what they

needed. She’d made a great

impression on Daisy, and I hoped

they’d have a chance to get to

know each other under better

circumstances soon enough.

I waited until I heard his

footsteps disappear before opening

the door. I retrieved the bundle of

clothes and set them down on the

bed.

Daisy looked through them

while I hastily got dressed.

She picked up a dress. “Why

don’t you head on down? I’ll meet

you down there.”

I assumed she wanted privacy,

so I didn’t argue. I kissed her gently

on the lips before heading

downstairs to wait for her.

I paced the room while I waited

for Daisy to get ready. I didn’t want

to rush her, but I was anxious to

get moving.

“Leviathan, will you be coming

with us?” Georgina floated into the

room in the way only she could.

“As long as I’m invited.”

She swatted at his arm. “As if

the king needs an invitation.”

“To impose on you does require

one.”

“I want you to come. My feeling

is these two will be leaving for a

new destination once we are done

at Mayanne’s. I will need you to

escort me home.”

“Of course,” Levi replied quickly.

I tried not to dwell on it, but what

kind of destination would Energo

be? Why wasn’t it on any of the

maps?

“Sorry!” Daisy hurried down the

stairs wearing a knee length blue

dress.

“Do not apologize. A lady never

should when she takes the proper

time to get ready, and you look

lovely.” Georgina shot Daisy an

uncharacteristically bright smile.

“Allison’s clothes fit you nicely.”

“I’m sure this dress is a little bit

shorter on her, but it works.”

“I went through the clothes

before Levi delivered them, and I

noticed she gave you several

options. I am glad you chose the

dress rather than the slacks for

today, but you may need the pants

where you go next.”

“Does that mean you know

where we’re going?” Daisy asked

hopefully.

“Not necessarily, but I do

understand a dress isn’t suitable for

all occasions.”

“You look beautiful.” I took in

how she looked in the form fitting

dress. It was the type of dress Allie

wore a lot, and by how comfortable

Daisy looked in it, it was probably

her style too.

“Thank you.” She beamed and

walked over. “It’s definitely nice to

be in clean clothes.”

“I will make sure you have

everything you need for your trip,

but let’s see Mayanne first.”

I wanted to question Georgina

about the trip, but I kept my mouth

closed. She’d tell us when she was

ready, and rushing her would only

get us on her bad side. We couldn’t

afford that.

“Did you sleep well?” Georgina

asked.

“Yes.” Daisy smiled. “Thank you

for the hospitality.”

“My pleasure. You are a guest in

my home. I hope next time you are

visiting under different

circumstances.” Georgina seemed

to be trying to bite back a smile.

She wasn’t the type to smile so

much. Maybe she’d mellowed out

now that Levi was king, and he and

Allie had had an heir.

“Leviathan, if you don’t mind, I

would prefer you drove. I don’t

want to trouble my driver.”

Georgina would have never been

concerned about troubling an

employee. That was her excuse for

not wanting the driver to see where

we were going.

“Absolutely.” Levi took his

grandmother’s arm. “You know how

much I hate letting someone else

drive me around.”

“It’s your mother’s fault. She

didn’t properly expose you to

genuine royal life.”

Levi let out a heavy sigh. “Could

we please avoid any criticism of my

mom today? I thought you two

were finally getting along.”

“We are.” Georgina adjusted the

strap of her purse on her arm. “But

that doesn’t mean I won’t point out

her inadequacies.”

Daisy gasped. Georgina turned

to her. “Do you disagree?”

“No. Sorry.” Daisy looked away.

“Very well, let’s go.” Georgina

headed for the front door. Once out

on the porch she handed me the

key to lock the door. I did it without

complaint. I wasn’t surprised by any

of Georgina’s idiosyncrasies any

more. I handed back the key.

Daisy and I settled into the back

seat of the car, as Levi pulled back

out onto the long country road.

“Did you talk to Mayanne?”

Daisy asked as soon as the house

was out of view. It was as though

she waited until it would be difficult

for us to cancel the visit.

“Yes, and she’s expecting us.”

“Does she know anything about

Energo?” Daisy asked. “Did she

have any solutions to my problem?”

Georgina didn’t turn around.

“She knows something about it, and

she thinks she can delay the

change.”

“Really?” Daisy asked excitedly.

“That’s awesome.”

“She can’t stop things

completely, but it appears that your

biggest obstacle right now is time.

If we can get you more of that, you

will have a far better chance of

success.”

“Absolutely.” Daisy’s entire body

relaxed. She wore a real smile on

her face for the rest of the trip. I

hoped Georgina hadn’t gotten her

hopes up for nothing. How

disappointed would she be if it

turned out Mayanne couldn’t help? I

kept my concerns to myself, or I

tried to.

“Stop.” Daisy put a hand on my

leg.

“Stop what?”

“Getting discouraged. I can feel

it, which makes me angry, and

that’s not a good thing.”

“I’m sorry.” I quickly apologized.

“I’m going to bundle myself back

up in the happy, relieved thoughts.”

“Focusing on the good doesn’t

get rid of the bad.” Levi kept

glancing at her in the rearview

mirror.

“Let her have her comfort.”

Georgina patted Levi’s arm. “She

deserves it.”

“You don’t have the urge to

manipulate, do you?” He asked

suspiciously.

“You think I want to mess with

people?” Daisy laughed dryly. “You

think I want to hurt them?”

I touched her leg gently. “It’s

okay. Ignore him.”

“Ignore me? Ignore the king?”

Levi slowed the car. “If she can’t

handle me asking questions without

getting upset, she’s bound to go off

if you guys hit any real trouble.”

Daisy sighed. “You think I don’t

know? I wish I could stay calm.”

“Try harder.” Levi’s hands

tightened on the wheel.

“She’s trying as hard as she

can.” I ran my thumb over her

hand.

“I hate what’s happening to me.

I have no control.” Daisy grazed her

lip with her teeth.

“We know.” Georgina turned

around. “But hating something

doesn’t make it go away.”

“Don’t I know?”

“Leviathan will hold his tongue

until we get to Mayanne’s.” There

was a warning in her tone.

Daisy closed her eyes. I

unbuckled my seatbelt so I could

move closer to her. As much as I

liked to pretend I was doing it for

her benefit, I was also doing it for

my own. I wanted to be near her. I

needed to know she was real and

right there next to me.

“Turn right up ahead,

Leviathan.” Georgina pointed at the

windshield.

“Has Mayanne moved?”

“No, but we need to stop for

breakfast.”

“Stop for breakfast?” Levi asked.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Of course I can be, and I am.

We can’t start a busy day without a

good breakfast.”

“But we’re running out of time.”

Daisy spoke softly, as though she

were worried about upsetting

Georgina.

“A good breakfast is worth the

time. You can’t face today without

it.”

Levi turned right as directed.

“What if you dropped me off at

Mayanne’s and then had breakfast?”

Daisy sounded desperate.

“Nonsense. You need the

nourishment more than any of us.”

Georgina shifted in her seat. “There

is a lovely diner right up this street.

You will see it on the left.”

“A diner? You eat at a diner?”

Levi laughed dryly.

“Is there anything wrong with

that?” Georgina turned to look at

him.

“Not specifically, but it’s

surprising.” Levi was one of the few

people brave or stupid enough to

talk to Georgina that way.

“The food here is up to my

standards.”

“If you say so.” Levi pulled into

the gravel lot of a diner that

seemed to be called exactly that.

Diner. The lot was packed full of

cars and trucks. That didn’t bode

well for quick service.

“It’s going to be okay,” I

reassured Daisy. She hadn’t said

anything since asking to be dropped

off, and I knew that wasn’t a good

thing.

She waited until we were out of

the car to reply. Levi and Georgina