Shadow Light (Beautiful Beings #3) (2 page)

“Hey,” I said as I came up to him.  “Since when do you stay until the last class?”

“Ever since another attack happened.  I wanted to stick around and make sure you were okay.”

“Thanks.  I’m fine.”

“Want to hop on?”

I felt the involuntary grimace that came to my face and hoped Asher hadn’t noticed.

“What,” he said with a smirk.  “Are you afraid of getting on a motorbike?”

“Of course not.”  I set my hands on my hips and glanced at the narrow little seat behind him.

“It’ll get you home a lot faster.  Come on, Miss Slayer.  We don’t have much time to waste.”

I knew he was right.  “Fine.”  Grabbing a hold of his shoulders with one hand, I gathered my pleated navy blue skirt and swung my leg over and snuggled up behind him.

“That school uniform has never looked better.  Nothing says sexy like a school uniform on a Harley.”

“I’m sure the people of St. James would be delighted to hear that.”

I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed. 

“Hmm, I could get used to this.”

Loosening my hold, I said, “Just drive already.”

He glanced over his shoulder, reached back for my hand and pulled it tightly across his hardened abs.  “The roads can get a little bumpy, so you gotta hang on.”

Whatever fear and trepidation I felt at the thought of riding a motorcycle disappeared the moment I set my head to his shoulder.  Warmth exuded from him and I felt safe.

“I’ll hang on if it makes you feel better, but even if I did fall off the bike, I know you’d be there to catch me, wouldn’t you, my Guardian?”

The bike roared out of the parking lot, thundering past Porsches, BMWs and Jaguars that purred in tame comparison.

“Always and forever,” Asher said.

Though his voice was lost in the roar of his bike, I still managed to hear the soft and potent promise. 

Before long, he turned down my street.  Looking at the picture perfect houses, lined up in pretty colors, with pretty shutters and pretty gingerbread trims… it was almost impossible to believe the ugliness that lay in the city’s underbelly.

“Told you I’d get you home fast.”

“And safe.  Thanks.”

He’d become so familiar with my home, that he didn’t wait for me to let him in, but he just walked in as if he’d always lived there.

“Hi, Mom,” I called out.

The house smelled of cookies and breads, the perfect homecoming after an ugly day at school.

“When did you have so much time to bake?  Weren’t you at work today?” Mom was a director at the museum at Golden Gate Park.  She wasn’t the baking cookies type, but since Asher began coming over, she became more motherly.  He had that effect on women, and for me at first when I met him. With his ink black hair and blue eyes, and the way he always looked at me; I wished I felt the same about him as he did for me.

“I went in early this morning, took care of a few things and decided to come home early.  You kids have a nice day in school?”

 “Let’s just say a nice homemade meal with nice folks is going to be the perfect end to this day.”

“Precisely what I like to hear.  Dinner will be ready in an hour.”

“Great,” I said.  “Thanks, Mom.”

“I look forward to another great meal, Mrs. Collins.”

I could have sworn Mom blushed.

I led Asher up the narrow staircase to my room.  A brief wave of embarrassment swept through me as I caught sight of the tornado that’d passed through my room.  I’d neglected my room for days and was loathed to ask my mother to pick up for me.  Clothes I’d worn the week before still lay on the floor and three pairs of shoes mingled together in a pile by the closet door.

None of this bothered Asher much.  As soon as we were alone with the door closed, he pulled me into his arms.

“Asher.” I set my hand to his chest, but he pushed on and kissed me.  “Asher,” I protested.  “What’s gotten into you?”

“I don’t know,” he muttered softly as his lips brushed across my cheeks.   “With everything that’s been going on… I feel…”

I leaned my brow to his, wanting to understand, but knowing it was wrong for us to be together.  “Asher, you’re my guardian.  We can’t.”

“Nothing’s been confirmed yet. I may be your guardian.  I may not.  As far as I’m concerned, I’m just a normal everyday guy, who is really and truly attracted to an extraordinary girl. Lux, I can’t help what I feel for you, guardian or not. I felt this way even before this whole guardianship began.”

“Well,” I said as I patted his muscular chest.  “You certainly are sweet.”

“Don’t let the secret out.”

“Right.  Wouldn’t want to dent your bad boy image.”  Although I tried to be playful, I could still see the intensity in his eyes.

“Look, I just want to take my chances while I still can.  You haven’t made a commitment to Braxton or Moore.  I have to at least take a chance and try to persuade you to consider me.”

Chuckling softly, I ran my hands over the breadth of his shoulder and down his arms.  Even through his leather jacket I could feel the power and strength harbored there.  Sweet, yes, I thought, but oh so dangerous and strong when called for. He was my new guardian, who turned out to have angel blood in him. He was also the bad boy of St. James Academy, who was staring at me with his intense blue eyes, willing me to take a chance with him. “Lux, we’re going to be together a lot, and this…being this close is going to be the hardest thing for me, as your guardian or even being one of your demon slayers.” He touched my cheek gently, his thumb grazing the bottom of my lips. I closed my eyes because I did feel an attraction to him.

I knew I had a connection to Asher, just as I did to Moore and Braxton.  Fate had brought us all together, just as it had brought me to my destiny as a demon slayer when I was two years old.

Asher sighed and pulled back.  With a faint grunt of resignation, he shoved his fingers through the thick dark waves of his hair, raking stray locks off his face.  “I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but, hey, I had to try, right?”

“I guess.”

“But, I promise you, when all of this is said and done, you’ll realize that Moore is not what you need, and Braxton is not what you want.” He looked at the ground and back up at me. “It’ll only break your heart Lux. Now that you know what they are, and what we are.”

“Time will tell.  We’ll just have to wait and see,” I said with a teasing grin.

“We might end up seeing you slaying one of them… or both.”

Frowning, I glared at him, virtually daring him to explain himself.  His grin faded, but he said nothing in his defense. 

“Let’s move on to more serious business.”  I turned to my grandmother’s special chest and turned the key.  “Good thing I at least have this safely tucked away.”

Asher smiled as I pulled out the thick and heavy Book of Angels and plopped it down on my bed.  With a boyish grin and playful cock of his brow, he fell back onto the bed.

“A little night time reading?”  He patted the book.

My cheeks heated up, and I couldn’t understand why I was so flustered.  “I’ve been reading a lot about angels lately.  I’m almost finished with another one I have, but need your help with this one.  I’m curious and want to know as much as I can.  Hopefully in all this I’ll also be able to find out what I am.”

He reached for my hand and held my fingers tenderly in his.  “I know you’ve been going through a rough time lately.  I know how difficult it is to wake up one day and realize you're not what you thought.  It takes some getting used to.”

“I know, and to a large extent I appreciate and accept whatever it is that I am, but I want to know.  I want some confirmation.”

“Look, I’ve been there.  I’ve asked the questions you're asking and I’ve had the doubts and confusion.  I also went through a phase of anger and resentment, something you’ll probably go through after this first phase fizzles.”

“Great,” I said with a sarcastic smirk.  “Give me something to look forward to.”

“Just know that I’ll be there for you, no matter what happens, and no matter what you find out.”

I sat beside him and looked at the length of his stretched out form. I pulled the heavy book onto my lap.  “Thanks.  I already knew that, but it’s good to hear all the same.”

In that moment I wanted nothing more than to stretch out along side of him, to feel the warmth of his body and to just curl up in the safety of his arms.  Looking at him, I couldn’t resist reaching out to run my fingers through his hair.  The thick dark waves were soft and alluring.

“You certainly are a handsome guardian, aren’t you?”

“I think that’s the first time you’ve actually come out and complimented me.”

“Naw,” I said with a smile.  “I’m sure I’ve told you before.”  I curled a lock around my thumb.

“No, you never have.  I’d remember.”

“Well, then, I’m telling you now.  I’d admire you Asher, not only for your looks and strength, but there’s something free about you.  You don’t seem to care what people think and you go ahead and do what you what you want with no apologies.”

“I wasn’t always so confident, Lux,” he said evenly, “but there comes a time when you realize you have to be your true self.  You can’t live your life based on what others expect of you.  I sure got that message when I realized my parents would never really be happy with my choices, no matter what.  So I decided to let them be unhappy with me, all the while making sure I was happy with me.”

“Did your art help you?”

He shrugged.  “A means to express yourself is always good.  I guess you could say that I vent my soul through my drawings.  A few years back I painted something so ugly and raw, so painful to look at, I realized it was the fear and uncertainty I felt inside that had come out through my brush, and through my choice of colors.”

“Maybe I should take up painting.”

“Why not?  I’d be more than happy to give you a few private lessons.”

I let out an amused snort and ruffled his hair.  “Yeah, can you just imagine it?  The rebel tough guy tutoring the demon slayer in, what, of all things?  Art.”

My gaze fixed on his torso, on the tightness of his t-shirt and when I met his eyes I knew it was going to be hard staying out of his arms.  We were so similar in so many ways, and I knew I could learn so much from him by  spending more time with him.

“How ‘bout you start by tutoring me in Latin.”  I flipped through the thick yellowed pages of the Book of Angels.  Each page was crisp and dry, threatening to crack if pulled back too far. Even the scent spoke of ages.  “Was Latin a natural part of your transformation?  I mean, did you just automatically understand it, or did you have to learn?”

“Ha, nothing comes that easy.  No I had to learn, and I had to work hard to learn.  I’ll admit I’m not the greatest student, but really, Latin is not easy.”

I frowned and felt defeated before I’d even begun.

“You need a hand understanding something in there?”  He sat up and looked over my shoulder at the book.

“I went online and picked up a few words and I get the gist of some of this, but there’s so much.  I can’t keep up.  Every time I find enough words to get by on, I come across a whole new batch of words and turn of phrases that I don’t understand.”

“Let’s take a look.  What, exactly are you hoping to find in here?”

“A way to break the curse that was put on Brax and Moore.”

He looked at me and bit his lip, and for a moment I thought he’d refuse to help me.  “I don’t know if something like that would be in a book like this.”  He took the book from my hands and carefully turned the pages.  “But we’ll take a look.”

“Hey, Lux! Asher!” Mom called from downstairs.

I left Asher’s side and went to the top step of the stairs.  “What is it?”

“Your dad just called.  I’m going to go meet him for dinner.  We’re going to meet the replacement for Dr. Kingsley… a Dr. Fitzpatrick.”

“Fine, Mom.  Don’t worry about dinner.  I’ll fix something.”

“Well, at least you’ll have fresh baked cupcakes for dessert.”

“Thanks, and have a good time.”

I turned to get back to Asher and the Book of Angels, but instead of hearing my mother walk out the door, I heard her come up the stairs.  I grabbed the book from Asher’s hands, threw it on the bed and tossed a cushion over it.

After a quick rap on the door, Mom pushed it open and popped her head in.  “Hey, Asher.  I know it’s Thursday and I’d promised you a home cooked meal, but I do have to run.”

He stood and went to kiss her cheek.  “That’s fine, Mrs. Collins.  I already appreciate everything you do for me.”  He held her hands in his.  “I haven’t eaten so well since… well, I really can’t remember when.”

“It’s always a pleasure to have you Asher, and I promise, I’m going to make it up to you tomorrow.  How does lasagna sound?”

“Perfect.  I already look forward to it.  And don’t worry about dinner tonight.  I’ll help Lux whip up some great homemade smoothies.  I’m not just a pretty face you know.  I am handy in the kitchen.”

“I don’t doubt it.”  Mom patted his cheek.

“That’ll be perfect,” I added.  “So we’ll have something homemade after all.  Practically gourmet.”

She came to give me a hug.  “Sorry I have to run off like this, but your Dad is waiting for me.  There’s some dinner or something to welcome the new dean.”

“Yeah, I heard,” I said with a nod.  “Have fun, Mom.”

“I will, honey, but don’t you kids have too much fun.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t.  We have a lot of studying to do.”

“Great.” She kissed my forehead and turned to head for the door.  “I’ll see you later.”

Asher and I gazed at one another as we listened to her go downstairs, gather her purse and keys and walk out.  Only then did Asher speak up.

“She doesn’t know?”

“No, neither of them knows.”  I returned to sit on the bed and pulled the Book of Angels out from its hiding place.  “I haven’t been able to find the way to tell them I’m sprouting wings.  How do I explain that to them, especially since they don’t have any?  Where did I get it from?”

He sat beside me and pulled me into his arms.  “Don’t worry.  Things’ll work out.  At least you have open and honest communication with them.  I’m sure when you're ready to talk, they’ll be ready to listen.  You're really lucky, you know.  Your parents are great.  I can’t even begin to imagine having such understanding parents.”