Page 32 of Destined for Shadows
Chapter 10
Bartol
It was half-past ten o’clock in the morning. Bartol had spent the last two hours putting a fresh coat of wax on his wood floors, doing it by hand since he found that gave the best results. It didn’t slip by him that none of his visitors ever noticed, but he didn’t do it for them.
After living in a stone cell that constantly leaked freezing water onto his head and body for a hundred years, he wanted his home to look nice for his benefit. He’d already memorized every blemish in his wood floor and allowed each flaw to replace the cracks and fissures of his former prison. It wasn’t taking as much time to drive away the memories of that place when they assaulted him as it did even a couple of weeks ago. His mind had begun to wander to other things lately. He couldn’t say whether or not that was a good thing since certain persons of interest could only lead to trouble for him.
Bartol stood and took a good look at his hands. They were filthy from the wax. Not wanting to upset Cori by being late but also not wanting to go near her while he was covered in filth, he took a quick shower and put on a fresh pair of clothes before flashing over to her cabin. Instead of going to her door as usual, he’d gone to her living room. He’d done it without thinking, which proved he needed to be careful where Cori was concerned. She was beginning to consume his mind.
Since he was already there, though, he inspected the room. It was a comfortable place with soft couches, a large throw rug, and a massive entertainment center against the wall. More than once, he’d heard her playing music loudly. His sensitive hearing could pick it up easily despite the forest of trees and distance between their homes. He didn’t recognize any of the songs from his time on Earth before, but he’d secretly begun to like a few of them—not that he’d ever admit that to Cori. As far as she knew, he hated her music. She also had a couple of shelves on the far wall with books and picture frames on them.
He started to move that way and take a closer look.
“Bartol!” Cori shrieked. “What are you doing here?”
He spun around and caught her coming out of the bathroom with her hair dripping wet and a beige towel wrapped around her. This was the first time he’d ever seen her without makeup, especially the dark eyeliner she always wore. He found he liked this cleaner version of her. She had the most lovely skin and though it was clear she exercised often, judging by the tone of her muscles, she still appeared softer without the armor of her clothing.
“You usually leave at eleven,” he said.
Her hazel eyes flashed. “I’ve still got ten minutes, and if you take me I’ll be early.”
“You can be ready that soon?” Perhaps the world had changed in his absence, but he’d never seen a woman during his time who could get dressed in such a quick manner.
“Well, no.” She clutched her towel to her chest. “I’m running late this morning, but I’d planned to at least be dressed before you got here. Since when are you willing to come into my home unannounced?”
Bartol still didn’t have an answer for that. He hadn’t thought about it much before leaving and had simply envisioned her living room when he’d decided to come over. It had been pure instinct. Perhaps it was because he’d stopped by a couple of times while she was at work to make certain she didn’t have any intruders sent by Griff lurking in her home. In those cases, he’d only gone inside long enough to check for them and left quickly after that, but maybe he’d already grown used to coming into the cabin uninvited.
“My apologies.” He took a step back, embarrassed by his behavior. “I will give you time to prepare yourself and return shortly.”
She sighed. “No, just wait here. There’s no point in you flashing back and forth. I won’t need long.”
“Very well.”
“Take a seat and make yourself comfortable,” she said, then headed for her bedroom.
He watched her go, catching a glimpse of her back where the towel sagged lower. There was the hint of a large tattoo that the cloth didn’t quite cover, but he couldn’t make out what it depicted since not enough showed. Bartol had an unsettling urge to remove the towel so that he could find out. What would Cori do if he did? More than once she’d indicated that she’d welcome intimacy between them, but that didn’t mean she would at this moment. Not only that, but while Bartol found himself becoming more curious about the woman, he knew he could never touch her in a meaningful way. Looking was the most he could do.
Cori returned twenty minutes later dressed in blue jeans, a black tank top, and a pair of boots with silver buckles. She’d also dried her hair so that it hung in soft curls to her shoulders, and she’d put on makeup. This was the woman he was used to seeing, and it made her somewhat easier to resist.
A mischievous twinkle entered her eyes. “So I was thinking after you left last night, and I’m willing to let you take me to work on one condition.”
“What?” he asked, narrowing his gaze.
“Kiss me.”
Bartol took a step back. “No.”
Cori rolled her eyes. “I’m not asking for full tongue action. For this first time, you can even just give me a peck on the cheek.”
“First time?” His chest was already tightening at the thought of any kind of intimacy. She had absolutely no idea what she was asking of him, and he couldn’t bear to explain why it was such a problem. No one except Kerbasi knew the exact nature of Bartol’s torture.
She nodded. “From here on out, you have to give me a kiss each time you want to flash me anywhere. If we’re going to ever work out your issues with being near people, I figure you might as well practice on me. You’ve already handled holding me twice. A little kiss here and there won’t kill you.”
Bartol was still envisioning the idea of putting his lips anywhere near hers. He had a thousand false memories of what happened when he did that with other women—horrible things that ended in blood everywhere and his mutilated body. Couldn’t she have asked for something else? Anything else? At this point, he would agree to crawling on his hands and knees to her place rather than kiss her.
“You can handle this,” she said in a soothing voice, coming closer. She paused for a moment when she saw him stiffen, but then she continued forward. “I’ll even do it for you the first time so you don’t have to move.”
He closed his eyes, unable to watch her advance any closer.
