Page 42 of Blue Embers
“I’m just going to,” she said, pointing to the restroom.
I took in a deep breath of her sweet, feminine presence. She smelled wonderful. Desirable. Buttoning her pants, she pushed a few loose strands of hair behind her ear and walked to the bathroom, shaking her head. She shut the door for a few moments, leaving me alone.
When Persephone returned, her hair had been redone and her clothes straightened. I let my eyes glide over the length of Persephone's slender figure, realizing how unhappy I was to have not taken her in that moment. I found myself with the taste of her on my lips, but all I wanted was more. All I wanted was to taste the rest of her. I wanted to feel more of her. See more of her than she’d shown any man.
The growing sense of possession was almost frightening. She’d come up looking for a little relief from her troubles and judging by the cold lack of expression on her face, she was unsatisfied.
The two of us lingered, neither of us sure what to say. Well, I knew what I wanted to say, but how it would be taken was a different story. I saw a brief flash of shame on Persephone’s face, but she burned it with practiced confidence before I could study it. I most definitely didn’t want her to feel embarrassment for what we almost did.
“Let’s, um,” Persephone said. “Let’s not read too much into this. I’m having a rough time. What we almost did. I mean, what might have happened. It doesn’t mean anything, right? It’s nothing, yeah? You would have done that with anyone, just like we did at the museum.”
“Of course,” I said, somewhat sarcastically. “Anyone. It’s nothing.”
Persephone nodded and spun around, grabbing the door handle and pulling to let herself out. Despite everything in me shouting to let her go and to not read too much into things, my palm jutted out anyways, flattening on the door and pushing it closed again. I cursed myself for the thoughts that were brewing. The desires that were twisting inside me, begging to unravel and be free of their binds.
I caught a whiff of Persephone’s hair and that sweet scent of her shampoo mixed with her raw, natural aromas, all of which had my cock standing at the ready again beneath the confines of my jeans. Now it was my blood that was racing. I heard her heart flutter when she realized I wasn’t letting her go, but it wasn’t fear she was feeling. It was the sense of exposure because I could feel that she wasn’t done with me either. She wanted more, even if she was denying it.
“You’re not anyone, Persephone Grant,” I whispered to her, stepping in until her shoulder was against my chest.
My heart thrummed against her and answering me was the drum of her own pulse like a soft whisper to my hungry growl. I closed my eyes, reveling in her presence and fighting my urges to pick her up and take her again against that same wall. As she pressed her forehead to the door, I could hear her breath tremble from her mouth as if she was holding back tears again. I didn’t want that. I reached around, gently grasping her shoulder to turn her toward me. Regret had hardened her beautiful face when she looked up.
“I shouldn’t want you like this,” she muttered. “You don’t need these kinds of emotions attached to the woman you’re screwing. It’s not right. It’s not fair to you.”
“It’s not fair to you to be thinking of me right now,” I said to her. “Don’t think about what I need or what I want. I have everything.” I smirked, raising my brows toward my oversized room. “I have plenty to give,” I whispered, stepping closer, my lips nearly touching Persephone’s. “To the people of my choosing.”
“Then what do I do?” she asked.
It took most of my control not to wrap Persephone in my arms when I heard her speak like that. This was caring. This was affection that I wasn’t prepared to feel for a woman. Something in me wanted to keep her close in a way that I had vowed never to do again. I searched my thoughts for an answer that would soothe her. One that would not scare both of us away with suggestion.
“This information we’re gathering today,” I sighed. “Let’s finish it. Get all the answers we can and then...” I looked down briefly, gathering my words. “Tonight you stay here.” I raised my eyes to hers. “With me.”
I could see Persephone going over the different ways my words could be taken in her head, but she chose not to ask me to clarify. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to if she did. All I knew was that the idea of her leaving was an uncomfortable one. I wanted her there that night, even if I was unsure what would happen if she stayed.
Letting the idea brew, Persephone straightened her shirt and turned around, slowly heading out, this time without my intervention. I listened to her boot soles trail down the hall and descend the stairs. By the time she reached the bottom, I walked back to the nightstand and picked up the old book I had originally come up to retrieve.
Part of me doubted that little, fleeting experience with Persephone was real. My heart tapped at my sternum every time I thought of her. That, unfortunately, would become a problem if it kept on, but I couldn’t dismiss her. Not like I had so many other women before. Persephone had a hold on me that I was certain she didn’t even know about. She had a control over me that she wasn’t aware she had.
Walking toward the door, I took in a deep breath to compose myself and headed back down to meet the others. The book I carried with me was a journal. One I’d kept for over three centuries. Thoughts littered the pages. Observations. Research. All of it having to do with our banishment from Kumir and the war that ravaged that world. In my many years I couldn’t remember every detail of my life there, but that was why I’d written it down. Something in that old journal had to help, even if just a little.
Downstairs, Saxon was outside on the deck near the pool, leaning on a glass railing that barely came to his hips as he stared over the beach down the hill. Malice sat on the sofa, one foot up on the coffee table and his head leaned back like he was about to fall to sleep. Persephone stood near the front foyer, heavy with thought, her arms crossed over her chest. She stared blankly ahead at the unlit fireplace, but her eyes were looking past it. Whatever she was thinking about, I hoped it had nothing to do with regretting what we’d just done.
Persephone’s eyes glimpsed my way when I came down the steps. I tossed her a brief look as I strolled past, heading for the deck to talk with Saxon. I slid the glass door open, drawing his attention as I stepped out. The man was deep in thought. I could see he was contemplating something important and I was eager to hear where his mind had taken him.
“So?” I said, slipping a hand into my pocket, the journal hanging in my other. “What are your real thoughts on all of this?”
Saxon was a master at keeping any telling expression at bay. The reserved Ash Bringer had centuries to practice and even with my skill in reading emotions, I couldn’t tell what was going on with his.
“The halfbreed Zephyr’s name was Aleksa,” he said. “She was seventy nine years old. That means there has to be more like her. She was expendable.”
“That presents a problem.”
“This all seems very familiar,” he said, his eyes looking off toward the open waters past the beach. “Draven made himself known as the Archon after Valerio died. Draak are starting to react. Humans will become fearful, if given the time. Zephyre have been breeding and we know now that they have young Draak at their disposal. They’re inexperienced and can be manipulated and she doesn’t care if they die, which they will if they face any of us.”
“None of this is a coincidence,” I said. “We’ve been here for almost two hundred years and for all we know, the Zephyre have as well.”
“Zephyre are smart. If they’re making themselves known, it’s because they’re confident they’ve become strong enough to pose a threat.”
“They could have been preparing all these years right under our noses. They have weapons that can hurt us. Human zealots under their power. Draak. Pikes. All they need is--”
