Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (200 page)

Simple
shades of beige colored the walls, mixed in with wood and brown
leather furniture. My gaze caught on the six tall windows facing
the lake. The lack of style inside the cabin disappeared by staring
out those windows.

“
I’ll get a fire going.” He opened a brass ornately decorated
box and started to toss the wood into the brick fireplace. He had
the logs snapping and flames dancing in moments.

Taking
my hand, he pulled me over to the couch.

My legs
barely touched the leather, and he leaned in to kiss me.

I
returned with frantic kisses while his hands roamed down my back,
his fingers finding their way to rest along the spaces between my
ribs, his nails scraping against my shirt. Everywhere he touched
shocks of longing started on my skin and ran through my blood to my
heart. I swear I was going to explode.

Groaning, Michael gently, but firmly, pushed me away. I
didn’t want to stop, he tasted like I needed more of him. I leaned
in to fill the space between us. The fire’s reflection danced
against his bare shoulders.

“
Rouge,” he whispered, “we need to talk. If you keep doing
this, we’re not going to get anywhere.”

“
I really don’t have anything important to
say.” If we talked, something would change. Don’t know why I knew
it, but I did.
Couldn’t I just have this moment -- for like ten
minutes?

“
Rouge.” The warning tone in his voice made me straighten and
watch him. He was right. We needed to talk.

Michael
stared into the fire, resting his elbows on his knees and rubbing
his hands together. He sat quiet, both of us trying to catch our
breath.

Finally,
he sighed. “What did Damon want?”

I
shrugged. “He doesn’t like your family much.”

Michael
sat rigid. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

“
It was stupid. Total loser. He acted all
worried about Simon. Then he looked at me like
I
scared him.” I paused, waiting for Michael
to stop clenching and unclenching his hands. “The guy's psycho. I
thought he was going to steal the necklace.”

Michael
inhaled and exhaled loudly, his nostrils flaring.

Something about Damon’s comments gnawed at
me. I tapped a finger against the top of my knee, not sure if I
should ask Michael or just ignore Damon’s useless babble.
Honesty or
nothing.
I
took a deep breath. “He said he knows what you are. What the heck’s
he talking about? Is Caleb part of some sort of
mafia?”

Michael
snickered then covered his mouth. “Sorry. That was rude of me.
Trying to picture Caleb eating spaghetti like some TV mafia-guy...”
He shook his head. “If you knew Caleb, you’d get it.” He moved, and
shifted me as well, so we sat facing each other. He took my hands
and rested them on his knees, laying his on top.

More strange talk
. Maybe there was something wrong
with the water here. I pulled a hand out of Michael's and touched
the pendant. “What is this necklace?”

Ignoring
my question, Michael stared at the window behind me. “Damon knows
what the pendant stands for. He knows who we are.” He removed his
hands from mine and began picking his perfectly clean
fingernails.

Why the sudden nervousness?
“What?” I’d get
answers tonight, if I had to shake them out of him. “Whose necklace
is this?”

“
Mine,” he whispered, not looking up.

I slid the pendant along the chain.
Not really a
surprise, is it?
“What’s inside?”

“
Blood…my human blood.”

Wha-?
I didn’t expect that as a reply. The pendant
dropped with a clunk against my chest. “If it’s you’re blood, why
wouldn’t it be human?”

Michael rubbed his face. “It’s
complicated. Grace has one as well. We all do. It’s called a
Siorghra.
”

“
Siar—a what?” Crazy alert -- again.
Get out of the cabin
and start running through the forest.
Nah, you know what happens in horror
movies.
I
ignored my own warning, too curious about the necklace and what
Michael might say. I held my tongue, waiting for Michael to wrestle
with whatever demons he was fighting and explain what on earth he
was talking about.

“
The
Siorghra
was created as a link. It’s Gaelic, a term for
eternal love. Sarah and Caleb wear each others. Once on, it can
never come off.”

I reached for the pendant.
I’d be wearing this
for the rest of my life?
“What! Never?”

“
I didn’t put it on you, so it can be taken off.” Michael
sighed. “I meant it won’t fall off or be broken unless specific
things happen.”

“
Like what?”

“
I have to put it on you, it’s my blood.”

Freaky—but kind of romantic at the same
time.
“You’re
sister’s pretty gutsy.”

“
Yeah, she likes pushing me when she can.” He chuckled and
relaxed. They obviously had sibling affection I’d never
experienced.

“
Is this something Caleb’s family created?”

“
In a way.”

I hated
how he was answering my questions with bits and pieces. Sighing, I
blew the bangs away from my forehead. “What’s going on? You want to
talk, but you’re not really telling me anything.”

Michael
pushed off the couch and began pacing in front of the fire. His
costume clinked and sparkled against the flickering light. I kind
of hoped it would irritate him and he’d pull the top off. He paced
back and forth about ten times. Just when I was about to suggest we
head back, he began talking.

“
That—” He pointed to the pendant on my neck “—is the last bit
of me that still holds life.”

“
What?”

He
stopped pacing. “I’m not who you think I am.”

Ah,
double crapper. I didn’t know what was going on, but after seeing
that beast a few months back nothing would seem unbelievable. “You
acted all scared about the book I got, but then got ticked when I
asked if you were one of those Grawlics.” I started laughing, the
nervousness inside of me escaping.

“
Grollics,” he corrected. “I’m not one. We are in no way
related. But… we are the same in a sense.”

“
You’re kidding.”

“
I wish I was.” He sat down beside me.

The
sadness in his eyes tore little bits off my heart. “What’re you
trying to tell me?”

He
stared at the necklace. His eyes were bright blue against the
reflection of the fire, almost aqua-green in color. “I’m not like
you...anymore.”

I
couldn’t get my head around this conversation. “It doesn’t make any
sense. You said this is your blood.”

His eyes
closed. “Grace and I, we were…like you… about a hundred and forty
years ago. The man I knew as my father wasn’t my… my biological
father. Grace and I never knew.”

This was jacked up
.
“What happened?”

“
Our…My mother was raped before she married my father. On the
day of their wedding, just before they took their vows. She never
told us, we learned about it after her death.”

My mouth
fell open. “That’s awful.” What a secret to carry. “Maybe your dad
really was your father.” I felt I was grasping at straws. “You
know, fifty-fifty chance.”

“
No,” he spoke sharply. “Mother was raped by someone you could
never imagine.”

“
What do you mean?” I couldn’t believe I was actually having
this conversation, and believing it.

“
You know those Greek mythology stories about the gods coming
down and having children with humans?”

My eyes
grew huge. “You’re the son of Zeus?”

“
No.” He shook his head and dragged his fingers through his
hair. “Shit! I’m screwing everything up. I was trying to use it as
a comparison. The Greeks used these folklore stories because they
are partially true, they just got the heavenly participants mixed
up.” He waited, obviously wanting me to guess.

“
Okay,” I said slowly. “You’re a soul returned back to earth.
Or, you’re living some reincarnated life?”

“
No. I’m part…” He began pacing again.

Something clicked in the back of my mind. “Angel?”

“
Sort of.” He threw his hands in the air. “This is so hard to
explain. Grace used to joke about angels, saying we were distant
third cousins, once removed.”

“
An angel raped your mother?” That didn’t
make sense.
Impossible.

“
I know what you’re thinking, but not all angels are good. They
come from both ends of the spectrum. We’re not angels. My mother
was not an angel. We still don’t know the entire process or what
exactly created us. We think it may have something to do with
fallen ones but aren’t completely sure. One thing for sure, Caleb
is different than us.”

“
Caleb’s one, too?”
This was
unbelievable
.

“
We all are. Sarah found Grace and me. She met Caleb later and
they gave each other their Siorghra.” He tapped his head, as if
trying to knock out a noise.

I thought about how similar Sarah, Grace
and Michael looked with their tanned skin.
Except Caleb’s so… so
dark
. Well,
he was pale, but he seemed… I didn’t know. Maybe he came from the
bad guys. The only thing he had in common was –“You all have blue
eyes.”
So
they’re some kind of immortal.

Michael’s brows went up in surprise. “Grace and I had brown.
They turned blue when we died.”

“
What? Dead?” I rubbed the heel of my palm against my forehead.
“Slow down a bit. I think I’m missing something here.”

He
sighed. “Grace and I didn’t know until we were killed.”

Killed?

Chapter 8

“
What?” My back burned near my left
shoulder blade. I reached behind and rubbed the muscles.
Could this
conversation get any stranger?
Was I actually starting to believe
him?

“
That’s the worst thing about being one of us, being a slightly
Nephilim. You don’t know until you’re dead.”

“
Nympho?”
Wait. That didn’t sound
right
. My
cheeks went hot.

Michael
laughed. “I’m not a nymphomaniac – at least, I don’t think so.
We’re sort of Nephilim. Fallen angels. Only a small, tiny part,
we’re also something else.” He paused. “It’s really
complicated.”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came
out.
What
could I say?

“
You know, I’ve never told anyone.” He swallowed and rolled his
eyes at the ceiling. “Caleb’s going to peel a layer of skin off me
when he finds out I’ve told you.”

“
That’s horrible!” Caleb was a monster, probably related to the
Grollics.

“
Not literally. He’s just going to be pissed.”

I stood,
feeling the need to get my bearings. Everything felt backwards. I
rolled my shoulders trying to get the burning muscles on my left
side to relax. “This is way too much.” I rubbed my eyes, not caring
if my makeup smudged.

“
I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. The world’s
complicated enough and I just threw more confusion into it.”
Michael checked his watch. “It’s getting late. I guess we should
probably head back to the house.” He pulled his ear. “Sheesh! Grace
won’t let up. She wants to know where we are and if everything’s
all right.”

“
Say what?”

He chuckled, breaking the intensity of the
moment. “Might as well spill it all. It’s different between Grace
and me. We’re twins, born
and
killed at the same time. Caleb’s never seen it before. And
he’s seen a lot.

I
basically filed most of what he said into my brain to try and think
about later. I stuck to the basics. “So, you can read her mind
because of it?”

“
Sort of. Grace and I are kind of unique - like talking on the
phone without the phone. We can tune each other out whenever we
want. I can’t read Grace’s private thoughts anymore than she can
read mine.”

Despite
the seriousness of the situation, I giggled. “I got a feeling you
tune her out a lot more than she does you.”

“
A little.” He smiled, his eyes flashing.

“
Why do you all have the exact same eye color?”

Michael
glanced at the pendant around my neck. “Caleb figures when we die,
our blood loses its oxygen. Blood turns blue without
oxygen.”

Like our
veins. “You don’t age? If you’ve been around for a hundred and
forty years and Caleb’s been around for, like, forever…”