Seducing Destiny (Brothers of Fate Book 2) (6 page)

Luci knew the entire conversation was an excuse to distract her, and she couldn’t summon a reason to complain. It was a struggle to push aside how many people had died tonight, even just enough to keep herself sane. Blake’s behavior was sweet and comforting and exactly what she needed. He tensed under her when she asked about his other brother. No reason to sour the mood by going down that path. “What about your bit in all of this?”

He trailed his fingers through her hair. “It’s a little vague, the way fate tends to be. The world is yours, as you search for your soul. No lover shall bind you to the land. The one you discover, who quiets your might, will bring your journey to an end.” His voice had taken on an almost musical tone, laced with melancholy. Each time he spoke, his chest vibrated against her ear and cheek.

“It’s pretty.” She wasn’t sure what else to say.

“I suppose. I’ve always just seen it as being there.”

“It must be disconcerting, though”—she tried to choose her words carefully, as to not derail the calm—“having your future laid out for you like that, from the moment you’re born. Or created or whatever.”

He paused his hand’s attentions on her hair, and then resumed again. “‘Born’ is as appropriate as anything. And it’s not as if it’s my entire life—just one portion of it.”

“One of the more important portions.” Why had she said that? After her past, she’d convinced herself falling in love was a luxury she could live without. Traces of her dream rushed back. Not just the physical sensations it left, but the love Beth had felt when she saw Henry. A pure and complete adoration that still lingered in Luci’s chest.

“Maybe.” He shifted beneath her, and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Since you’re letting me air my thoughts, I meant what I said earlier.”

Her entire day was more emotion than detail. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

“You’re beautiful. Not because I’m trying to trick you or manipulate you, but because you are.”

Embarrassment heated her face. “Thanks.” An empty pit still lingered. A bottomless gaping hole lined with despair. But having Blake there, regardless of the words exchanged, helped her step around it. She couldn’t figure out why someone she barely knew was so comforting, but despite the mess that had been her day, sitting with him like this felt familiar and right.

Neither of them spoke. She wasn’t sure what else to say, and he seemed to have run out of confessions. She wanted to spend all night talking to him, but at the same time exhaustion was staking its claim.

“Hey.” He nudged her gently. “It’s so late it’s early. You need more sleep.”

“I guess.” She stumbled, as he helped her to her feet and stood next to her.

He wrapped an arm around her waist again and guided her toward the stairs. She was conscious enough to walk straight. His grip was too tempting to refuse, though. He stopped in front of the guest room he’d set her up in. “Get some rest.”

She intertwined her fingers with his. “Stay, please?” It was a selfish, childish request she didn’t want to take back. She wasn’t ready to surrender that sense of safety yet.

He hesitated, and for a moment she was afraid he’d tell her no. Instead, he guided her toward the bed. “All right.”

Still dressed, she lay on her side, and he took the spot behind her. He drew the blanket over both of them, and then rested a hand on her hip. Even through her clothing, she knew he traced circles over the spot where her birthmark sat. The same one Beth had in her dream.

The thought vied for her attention, but she was too tired to grasp and decipher it. With his chest pressed to her back, their breathing falling into sync, sleep took her quickly.

****

Grace giggled in delight when Blaine swept her off her feet, one arm under her knees and the other at her back. She encircled his neck and pressed her lips to his. Kissing him still felt new. Exciting. She hoped it always would. He stepped into the hotel room, still holding her, and kicked the door shut behind them.

He took a few steps before setting her on the ground, back to him. “Ancestors, you’re gorgeous, Grace.” He dropped a row of kisses along her neck. Each new touch sent pleasant shivers running through her, and anticipation pooled in her gut.

He dragged down the zipper of her wedding dress, and the fabric loosened around her torso. Nervous excitement joined her jumble of emotions. She’d wanted to wait until their wedding night to be with him. She knew it had been tough on him, but he’d respected her wishes. Now that it was finally happening—they were married and she was his—a sharp longing ached between her thighs.

“We’ll take this slow.” He drew her close and rested a hand on her hip. Her skin hummed from the gentle caresses. The soft, teasing touches. He traced her pelvis with his finger, on top of a birthmark she’d always hated. She knew he wouldn’t mind when he discovered it. There was no doubt in her mind he loved her as much as she did him.

His breath flowed over her skin, hot and enticing. “I’ve looked for you for ages. I’m not letting you go again.”

Luci’s eyes flew open, but the dream didn’t leave her. She gasped as it continued to skip forward in her head. That was Blake. Again. And...

Grace lay in the hotel bed, enjoying the breeze on her bare skin. They’d have to return to real life soon, but the honeymoon had been amazing. Blaine stood next to her, gorgeous and naked. Blond, tall, muscular. All hers. He climbed on the mattress and pressed his lips to hers. He sought out her breast and squeezed lightly.

Each new sensation in the dream—memory?—flushed Luci’s skin. She struggled to push it away. She saw Blake’s guest room, registered the familiar ceiling, and smelled his scent on the sheets, but it overlapped with something else. Visions that were hers but not. She struggled to move. To pull away from the man behind her, though she didn’t know why.

A crash shattered the playful mood, as the door exploded from its frame and clattered into the room. “There you are.” A woman stood in the doorway. Her pale blue gaze locked on Grace’s, satisfaction and death burning in her irises. “You did a good job hiding her this time.”

Morrigan. The name passed through Grace’s mind at the same time Blaine said it.

“You remember me.” Morrigan’s smile radiated destruction.

No. The word repeated over and over in Luci’s head. She didn’t want this. It needed to go away, whatever this vivid vision was that felt as much a part of her past as waiting in line for coffee yesterday morning. A whimper rose inside, but she couldn’t force it out.

There was no way Grace remembered this madwoman. She’d never seen her before. Morrigan raised her hand, thumb and forefinger together, as if to snap. Blaine cleared the short distance between them faster than Grace could blink, and slammed Morrigan into a far wall. He growled. “Never again.” A glow radiated out from him, engulfing both bodies.

Morrigan looked over Blake’s shoulder, smirked at Grace, and snapped her fingers.

Agony shredded through Grace, as if she were yanked apart in a million different directions. She tried to scream, but her vocal chords didn’t work.

“Luci.” Blake’s concern cut through the foul memory. She focused on him leaning over her, concern painting his face.

Her entire body still screamed in agony, though part of her knew she was fine. She struggled to draw in another breath.

“Love? Are you with me?” He brushed a strand of hair from her face.

She sucked in another desperate gulp of air, more grateful than she should be that it was an option. Reality displaced the memory and left confusion in its wake. “I was...” She didn’t know. What was that?

“It’s okay.” He helped her sit, shifting so he could support her. “You’re here, not somewhere else. It was just a dream.”

Except it wasn’t. She looked at him and saw the face of a man who had worn four different names. But they were all him. She dropped her hand to her hip. “You knew.” Her voice rasped out past dry lips.

He furrowed his brow and studied her. “Knew what?”

That was a good question. If those men were all him, and what she’d dreamed was real, how did she know it as though she’d lived it? And why was she so convinced it wasn’t just a waking nightmare? A voice whispered in her head. An insistence she not write this off like she always had in the past. That meant she
was
those women. She always figured it out too late. Just as Morrigan killed her. But that didn’t make any sense.

No more sense than the fact she was sitting in a god’s guest bedroom, wondering how much he’d kept from her. She wrenched away from him and stood. “You knew who I was.”

“No.” Even the single word had a waver to it. He held her gaze. “I didn’t.”

Except he did, because he knew what she was talking about. Rage and betrayal roared inside, carried on the lingering agony of remembering her own death three times over. “You did. And you lied to me about it.”

Blake didn’t know what Luci had seen, but for several minutes it hadn’t been him. He’d awoken to her whimpering and shivering, but couldn’t shake her from her glass-eyed gaze. Whatever had been in her head, she knew something now. He could feign innocence and try to draw the details out of her, but he had a pretty good idea what she was talking about. “I didn’t know until tonight. And even then, I wasn’t certain. It’s what Marley came to tell me.”

Luci stepped back from the bed, fury and confusion warring for dominance of her features. “It’s true, then. I’m the living embodiment of those women you were married to.”

How much did she know? He wanted to sit and talk it through with her. Find out what she’d seen. That probably needed to wait. “Maybe. Probably. Apparently. I wasn’t sure, even after Marley showed me. I wanted to find out before I said anything to you. You’re already dealing with enough discovery.”

“Maybe it should be my decision what is and isn’t enough. You sat there and prodded me. Feeding me names. Nudging me, to see how I’d respond to stories about your past.”

“That’s not what I was doing.” Or maybe it had been. “I wanted you to know who I was. And if it’s true, if you’re them, I need to figure out how to stop this from happening again.” He kept his voice firm.

“I’m not
them
.” She clenched her fists. “I’m me! I refuse to be a walking memory, so you have something to cling to rather than move on with life. So your fucked up associates have another ghost to hunt down. You want to know how to keep me safe? Stay away from me. Maybe they’d have lived to see forty if you’d done that.”

“You have the birthmark, don’t you?”

She rolled her eyes, jerked up the hem of her shirt, and tugged down the waistband of her jeans. A splotch of a crow glared back at him, distinct against her pale skin. “Really? That’s what you care about right now? Do you even like me, or do you just see shadows of your past every time you look at me?”

“That’s not a fair statement.” Now probably also wasn’t the time to argue the logistics of reincarnation with her and point out she was them, even if she had a different face, name, and childhood. “I was attracted to you before I knew. While you were a stranger in a coffee shop, not a mysterious link to the gods.”

She didn’t want to hear reason. “I’m done with this bullshit.” She backed toward the door. “With hiding and whimpering and waiting for you to find a way for me to be safe. Seems to me the safest place I can be is where you’re not.”

The words burrowed deep, slicing at his core. She had a good point. “I shouldn’t have brought you here, but you can’t go home. It’s not safe.”

“I don’t have a home, remember?” Hysteria surged into her question. “Some psychopathic bitch who thinks I’m part of an ancient prophecy blew it up.”

Right. “I mean you can’t just go wandering out into the streets.”

“I won’t. I’m calling a cab and checking myself into a hotel long enough to figure out where to go next, but with any luck, not long enough for any of them to get hurt because I’m there. I need to be anywhere that’s not near you. Someplace
they
can’t find me until they realize I’m not a part of this.”

Was it really that simple? He hated to think so, but if she wasn’t a part of his life, his fate wouldn’t impact her. “You’re right.”

Her shoulders slumped, though fury still spilled from her. “Of course I am.”

He nodded toward the door, hating what he was about to say. It was the best way to do this, though. He hadn’t known with Sayuri or Elizabeth, but he’d been selfish with Grace, thinking he could hide the truth from her and keep her to himself. Letting Luci leave was the only solution. “I won’t look for you. We’ll do whatever we can to keep Morrigan away from you. Go live your life.”

She worked her jaw up and down, shook her head, and spun away. Seconds later his front door slammed shut, rattling the entire house.

He dropped back onto the bed with a grunt. Every inch of him ached over watching her walk out. From her perspective, he barely knew her, but that wasn’t true. He’d already lived three lifetimes for Luci.

This was the best solution, though. The only way to keep it from happening again. He lay there, replaying everything in his head, as the sun crept into the sky and light spread across the room. Empty longing grew inside. Emotions he’d locked away ages ago and never intended to let free again played on an endless loop in his head.

He bolted straight up. Fuck, he shouldn’t have let her leave. Morrigan already went after her once, and that was before Blake had any idea who Luci was. Even if Luci never forgave him, he wasn’t going to let this happen again. He’d move heaven and earth to save her. He sprinted to his study and grabbed his phone.

“What’s up?” Eli picked up the other end.

“How long to tell me if Luci’s used her credit card to check into a local hotel today?”

“Ten minutes, tops. You let her leave?”

“‘Let’ is a strong word. Call me back when you have an address.”

Blake paced. A million solutions jockeyed for his attention, each discarded as quickly as it formed. He needed to get to Luci now.

*

Luci sat at the desk in her hotel room, staring at the wall. Take a flight back to Utah or rent a car? Either way, she would be paying for this unexpected trip for a few months. She’d better find work as soon as she got back. And a new place to live. The deposit on another apartment wouldn’t be cheap either.

She used her irritation with Blake to suppress an onslaught of memories that weren’t hers, but her resolve grew weaker with each new image that slipped through the cracks. She wanted to hate Blake for lying to her, but she understood his reasons. ‘Hey, you might be the fourth reincarnation of my dead wife,’ wasn’t exactly casual conversation.

Or she was just getting sucked into someone else’s life too quickly, and was guilty of the same thing she’d accused him of—seeing his past instead of her present. The longer she thought about it, though, the more she realized it wasn’t that simple. Grace, Sayuri, and Elizabeth weren’t separate people; they were all her. They knew things about Blake, and now she did too. They’d fallen for him, and she could see why.

A pit echoed inside her and resonated with a painful combination of longing and realization. She’d loved him, more than once. It pinged in her chest and twitched in her fingers and filled her thoughts. And she wanted to find that again. Was it possible? Marley had gained immortality. Maybe all Luci needed to do was stay alive long enough for that to happen. Death obviously wasn’t the right course in her case, but survival might be.

She should call Blake. Or maybe she should wait until she was back in Utah. The distance would give them time to know each other.

“Boo,” a female voice said in her ear.

Luci jumped to her feet and whirled, heart hammering in her chest. Her pulse increased several more notches when she saw Morrigan standing in front of her, a smirk on her face.

“How’d you shake the bodyguard?” Morrigan asked.

Luci tried to swallow past her fear and couldn’t. “I left.” She finally managed to speak. If she could convince Morrigan she didn’t care about Blake, would the goddess leave her alone?

“Aww...” Morrigan gave her an exaggerated pout. “Lovers’ spat?”

“We’re not lovers.” Luci dredged up more resolve. “We’re not anything.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong. You may have convinced yourself of that, but your heart knows otherwise.”

“How do you know?”

Morrigan stepped closer, mouth hovering near Luci’s ear. “A goddess can tell.” She pulled away again and studied Luci. “The question is, what’s it going to take to keep you from coming back again?”

“Not killing me?” Luci needed a weapon. She didn’t know if it would do her any good, but trying to figure out what she could grab made her feel better. “Let me life a long, fruitful life away from all of you, and destiny will be done with me forever?”

“No. I don’t think that’s the answer.” Morrigan’s smirk grew, until she showed teeth. “Nice try, though. I’m looking for something a little more immediately permanent.”