Page 38 of Rock Bottom
When he’d first seen me as a male, the first thing he’d said was to ask if I’d cut my hair, and I’d worried it was a sign he wouldn’t be able to accept me as a man, but that never happened. He’s fully accepted me every minute, no matter how far I was into being either male, female, both, or absolutely neither.
Julian was a walking contradiction — towering, gentle, slightly androgynous, and yet achingly male in every way that mattered. And Marco was right that I understood more about him than probably most other people, and maybe that’s why we’re so drawn to each other. Two in-between souls finally finding someone who truly gets them.
I looked up and met Marco’s gaze, and realized he knew everything I was thinking. “That’s creepy,” I told him.
A shrug. “It’s who I am. Cora, Kirsten, Nathan, and Mordecai can block me. Our security isn’t allowed to do so, and I’m not comfortable allowing guests free rein of the property unless I can see into their heads.”
Speaking of guests, “Julian told me Mikey is here?”
“He is, but he’s otherwise occupied at the moment.” He grinned. “He’s fine, and quite enjoying himself.” He looked at me a few seconds, analyzing, and I looked away this time. I couldn’t hold his gaze. It bothered me, but every instinct I owned told me to look away, so I did.
“This is a power spot,” Marco said. “And you’ve absorbed an unusual amount of it, for a human.”
I shook my head but didn’t look back at him. “Somehow, I already knew that. Not in words, but in my skin. In my gut. I didn’t feel it while I was climbing, but once I sat at the top there was no way to keep from feeling it. Some kind of feral power.” I let out a shaky breath. “It wasn’t just the view. It was in the stone. In the air. The electricity in the air before a thunderstorm. I thought I imagined it. But if you say it’s real, I believe you.”
“I can levitate you down, or you can climb down. Either is fine. You need to hydrate, and I believe some food is in order, as well as a good quantity of salt. You gave blood today, and you’re not really supposed to have the kind of workout you did directly after donating.”
“Is that what you do? Levitate. It looked more like flying.”
“I can fly because I’m a vampire. I can levitate because Cora can, and she and I share powers.”
“Wolves can levitate?”
He tilted his head. “You’re going to know many of our secrets if you stay at Homewood often to spend time with Julian, and I hope that’s the case. Kirsten can levitate, and she and Cora are bound, so Cora gets the power through Kirsten.”
“Wait, I thought Kirsten and her men were a poly group, and you and Cora were a couple.” I hadn’t known they were all one big polycule.
He shook his head. “Kirsten and Cora are best friends. No sex. I won’t share how they bonded, suffice it to say it’s most unusual, but it’s strong.”
He stood and offered his hand to help me up, but I stood on my own before taking his hand.
“I don’t have to hold you for you to stay up. It’s enough for us to hold hands.”
I put my hand in his, and we lifted off the boulder like dandelion fluff — slow, steady, impossible. The meadow tilted beneath us when we moved forward, and then grew closer on our way down. My heart grew lighter. It felt like a dream, but my hand was firm in his. It was real.
We came to a gentle landing, drifting slowly to the ground, and Marco released my hand.
“Thanks for that,” I told him. “I still don’t know how it works, but I could feel something. Like reversed polarity. The way magnets push each other apart if you line them up wrong — or right, I guess, depending on what you’re trying to do.”
He nodded. “Yes. The most difficult part of mastering the skill is in learning how to turn it up and down, to control how far you are from the ground, and how fast you rise and fall. Also, in stepping off a high place and feeling for the ground below. Most don’t pick up on that from a simple ride off a low boulder.”
I shrugged. “I mean, part of learning to be comfortable with my body was in being athletic and learning how it reacts to different environments — the ocean, mountains, buildings, a dance floor. A lot of what Benji does is outdoors, and he let his little sister come along on his adventures when we were young.”
“Some souls are attached to each other, and I sense that’s the case with your Benji. Sibling souls. I’m happy you have someone like him, someone who’s known you since childhood, who can help ground you during life’s ups and downs. Having Julian in your life is going to be complicated, since there will be so many things you can’t share with your Benji.” He took a breath. “I can’t stress enough how important it is that you don’t try to find a way around the oath. If you try hard enough, you’ll either lose the knowledge, or will be enslaved. Those aren’t my rules, but rules I must enforce. To not do so would put all my people at risk.”
I skipped over any thoughts about that, knowing he’d see what I was thinking, and told him, “When I first found out Hailey and Ghost were stepsiblings, I had a lot of trouble with it. They act like, just because their parents divorced, it’s okay for them to fuck, but it isn’t.” I sighed. “Or, it wouldn’t be for me and Benji, but I guess it is for them. Still seems wrong, but I can’t deny they’re perfect for each other.”
“They are. As are you and Julian. He’s finishing a project and then needs to go into a video meeting with me, and I believe I’ll be able to give him another hour to spend with you when we finish. There is almost always food in the Crockpot in the kitchen, and you’re welcome to it unless there’s a note on the chalkboard stating otherwise, which is rare. Today, you’ll find a chicken pot pie recipe in one slow cooker, and macaroni and cheese in another.”
“Oh, wow, that’s like, my biggest comfort foods.”
“Is it?” he asked, and I stopped and looked at him.
“Did you tell them what my comfort foods are?”
He shrugged. “We want you to feel at home here. Comfort food is powerful. I won’t apologize for knowing what’s in your head and memories.”
“Julian says he’s stayed out of my head.”
