Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (218 page)

He exhaled slowly and dropped back in
his seat. “I’ve never seen him before tonight.”

My
shoulders sank. “I—I tried to ask who he was but…”
You barged in.

“
He wouldn’t have told
you.”

“
Probably not.” I pulled at
a string attached to the comforter. “I may’ve found out
something.”

Straightening in his chair, Aiden’s
gaze never left mine.

“
He has, like, a thousand
abilities.” I shook my head, hoping I didn’t look as scared as I
felt. “He had me levitating. He communicated with me telepathically
and screwed with my vocal cords so I couldn’t talk; I could barely
breathe.”

Aiden’s brow furrowed. “Telepathy’s a
Drea’s gift. No one—Drea, Kember or Rygon—can have both physical
and mental abilities. The mixture’s…”

“
Impossible, right? Either
there’s something we’re missing or the Devil’s on vacation from
hell.”

“
Everything you told Ian:
the fire, the disappearing…it’s all true.” He still seemed unable
to wrap his mind around the concept of both abilities.

“
See. I’m not
crazy.”

He nodded, slowly. “I
know.”

Everything we were both taught had
been challenged and proved wrong by this discovery. He’d need a
moment to process it, I knew that.

“
You’re sure it’s the same
guy?”

“
Positive. I even asked
about the girl—the one in the forest. He knew who I meant, but he
wouldn’t answer.”

He stared across the room. “I’ll call
Ian in the morning. See what he knows. This is way beyond my
knowledge.” He got up and paced the room a couple times. “Anything
else happen?”

I hesitated, not wanting to bring up
the man’s words regarding me or my parents—it wasn’t true. So, why
waste his time? The weird sensation I got when he touched me had to
have been one of his abilities. No big deal, either. “Not really. I
only had a few minutes.”

“
It seemed a lot longer
than that.” He frowned.

Yeah, tell me about it. I unzipped my
bag and grabbed my tank top and shorts. “What about you? Hear
anything worthwhile?”

He nodded and leaned back against the
door. “Sable Gage has quite the reputation in Portland. A few of
the Rygons talked about him, but…the way they referred to him. The
things they said…he has to be a Rygon.”

“
Well, keep in mind the
Kember has a bazillion abilities, too.”

“
That’s the thing…They
didn’t mention anything about him being a Kember or having any
physical gifts. It was all mental abilities and seeking
energy.”

“
Guess we’ll wait and see
what info Mountain Man dug up, huh?” I tried to smile.

“
I don’t
know how much more
Herman
could tell us.”

“
Yeah me either, but hey,
people can surprise you.” I stood and walked to the
bathroom.

“
Taylee.”

I stopped in the doorway and leaned
back, smirking. “Captain?”

“
Leave the door partially
open.” He paused. “Please.”

“
Don’t be paranoid.” I
rolled my eyes, wishing I felt as confident as I acted, and closed
it, making it shut extra loud.

Once inside, I leaned against the door
and covered my face with both hands. . An unsettling feeling danced
in my mind, something that wouldn’t let me feel peace. Which seemed
stupid. I was safe and Aiden acted as eerie as ever.

Twisting my hair in a loose knot at
the back of my neck, I brushed my teeth. Once finished, I untied my
halter top strings and let the shirt drop to the floor. One hand
reached for the tank top on the counter, while the other adjusted
my black strapless bra.

My hand stopped midair as I glanced in
the mirror. I blinked. A long, slightly curvy black line ran along
the inside of my left hip bone, like I’d gotten carried away with a
marker or something. Except, I didn’t sit around sketching in my
underwear, despite what guys liked to think. I hadn’t even used a
marker on a drawing since I was, like, two.

I unbuttoned my jeans. The straw sized
line began right above the thin strap on my underwear and continued
up until my hip bone began to arc. I licked my finger and rubbed
it. Nothing washed away.

My heart accelerated, and I wiped
harder. Didn’t even smudge. “What the—?” I said under my
breath.

I stared in disbelief for a few
moments then put both palms on the countertop and looked down into
the sink. My chest heaved. A sick feeling stirred in my body. I
squeezed my eyes closed and felt around for a washrag.

“
Everything okay?” Aiden
asked from outside the door.

When my fingers brushed the soft
material, I turned the faucet on and submersed the rag in cold
water. “Yup.” My voice wavered.

The
washrag dripped all over, drenching my pants, as my shaky hands
scrubbed the discolored skin vigorously.
Come on. Come on.
It wasn’t coming
off—not even fading.

The door creaked, and Aiden poked his
head cautiously around the corner. His jaw dropped, and he shoved
it the rest of the way open, handle hitting the wall. Snatching the
blood-tinted washrag from my hand, he tossed it into the
sink.

“
What’re you doing?” He
stared down at the mangled, bloody skin, cocked his head and
dropped to his knees. “Your file didn’t say anything about a
tattoo.”

Hysteria built in my chest. “H-He did
this to me!”

Aiden glanced up, eyes wide. “What?
What do you mean?”

“
When the Kember touched
me, I-I felt all funny—weird. What did he do? Why the hell isn’t it
coming off?”

“
Calm down.” The
uncharacteristic concern in his expression didn’t invite serenity.
He grabbed both my arms and helped me sit on the toilet. “Does it,”
his intent eyes fell to the strap on my underwear, “go
lower?”

My hands shook as I pushed the strap
down a little, double checking.

He looked away.

“
No. I—it ends
there.”

“
It’s nowhere else? Just
there?”

“
Not that I’ve
seen.”

Aiden stood and leaned over me. His
fingers brushed against my back as he swept my hair over my
shoulder.

Goose bumps surfaced on my skin and I
swallowed hard, trying to breathe.

“
There’s nothing on your
back.” Without meeting my gaze, he walked to the sink and turned on
the water. He wrung the washcloth out a few times and handed it to
me. “Here, hold this on it. Don’t rub.” Then he walked to the
door.

The small kernel of composure I’d felt
vanished when he did. “Wh- Where’re you going?”

“
To call Ian.”

I jumped up and hurried after him.
“Ian? What? Why?”

He grabbed his phone off the
nightstand. “To ask him a question.”

“
You’re not gonna tell him,
are you? About this—me?” I motioned to myself.

He seemed to make a conscious effort
to keep his gaze locked on the wall. “I don’t know what that is,
Taylee. It could be—”

Your
potential.
The man’s words echoed in my
mind, sending a surge of panic through me. “Dangerous? You
think
I’m
dangerous?”

“
No.” He
sounded a little shocked by my blunt question. “It could be
dangerous
for
you.
We need help—we need to tell someone.”

“
No we don’t. We can figure
this out.”

He shook his head and scrolled through
his phone. “This is serious. Way beyond us both.”

“
You think I don’t know
that?” I yelled. “That doesn’t mean we have to go running to
Ian!”

“
Nothing bad can come from
telling Ian. Worse things can happen if we don’t.”

I threw my hands up. “Are you serious?
Ian controls my life. At the snap of his fingers, I’ll be locked
up.” I shook my head, voice like ice. “Not that you care, though.
You’ll get rid of me, and all your problems are solved.”

Finally,
he looked at me. Anger flashed in his narrowed eyes. “I
don’t
care? I’ve done
nothing but try to help you.”

“
Help me
or help
you
? For
all I know, you brought me down here, hoping to pawn me off to
Rygons.” It was an irrational accusation, but they kept coming. “Or
maybe, you knew that man was in the bathroom with me, but you were
biding your time, hoping he’d take me off your
hands.”

He stepped forward, our bodies inches
apart, and stared at me, eyes dark and tone tight with control.
“That’s what you think? That’s how you perceive me?”

I tried
to shove him away, but he caught my wrist and held it firmly in his
strong grasp. “I can’t trust you—I won’t.” I tried to pull free.
“Not if you’re gonna run like a
little
girl
to Ian every time something goes
wrong.”

“
I
haven’t told Ian a negative thing since the funeral.” Aiden spoke
through clenched teeth. “The things that happened in the forest, I
could handle. I knew nothing bad would come of any of it. I
knew
you
were
safe. But something’s going on, and I don’t know how to help you
this time.”

Fury rushed through my body. I
thrashed against him, voice falling short of a scream. “I don’t
need help. I don’t need you.” Aiden grabbed my other wrist like he
suspected my urge to punch him. Tears welled, blurring my vision.
My anger hit an all-time high—bad for even me.

A stabbing pain ripped through my hip.
Heat, like boiling water, seared my veins, burning me from the
inside out.

Aiden released me and took a huge step
back, hands stretched out toward me. “Taylee, calm down. Take a
deep breath.”

I cried out, slapped my hand over the
mark and slumped back against the wall. I slid down until my butt
hit the floor; the sting radiated through my whole body. Pulling my
knees to my chest, I rested my head against my legs and
trembled.

He knelt next to me, sounding a little
panicked. “What’s wrong?”

“
It—it hurts.” I held my
breath.

“
The mark?”

I nodded.

He seemed to make a decision quickly.
“Sit on the bed. I’ll be back.”

I lifted my head and grabbed his arm.
“Aiden…please don’t. Can’t—can’t you give us a few days before you
tell him? I mean, it may go away.” Though, I seriously doubted it
and given his uneasy expression, he did, too.

“
It could get
worse.”

“
Please.” I half-surprised
myself. He couldn’t tell Ian. Ian would lock me away.

Aiden must’ve felt my desperation and
fear. He stared at my hand gripping his arm, seeming conflicted. At
last, he let out a slow breath and lifted his gaze to mine. “Damn
it, Taylee . . .”

The tense feeling left my shoulders,
hearing his defeat. I leaned my head back against the wall in
relief. “I know. I’m a pain in the—”

“
You’re right. You are.” He
stood and walked to his bag, leaving me wondering if he was kidding
or not. “We’ll see how things go over the next few days. If
something else happens, I’m calling.”

I nodded, taking deep breaths, and
gradually the sting dissipated as my adrenaline did. Now, however,
heat rose to my cheeks. Sure I had some anger problems, but I never
remembered feeling so out of control…or screaming like I had…it
came on so quick. So violently. Then again, it’d been a very long
night.

When Aiden came back, black kit in
hand, I’d managed to climb on the bed. “Here.” He unzipped the
case, revealing: gauze, tape and some sort of ointment. He tossed
it next to me. “Do you need help?”

I glanced up.

His eyes were soft, sincere. His
expression let me know my earlier freak out was behind us.
Good.

“
I think I’ve got it.” I
squeezed a dime-sized amount of cream on my skin, conscious of
Aiden watching me. As carefully as I could manage, I dabbed the
raw, red skin. I flinched. “Guess I should leave tattoo removal to
the professionals.”

“
Or get a clue when it’s
not coming off.” He knelt in front of me and examined it closely.
“It’s bigger.”

Sure enough, the line above my
underwear now loosely coiled upward. If I wasn’t totally and
completely weirded out by it, I’d say it was kind of
cool.

What did it mean? How did the Kember
place the mark on my skin? In a creepy way, it reminded me of the
energy veins Rygons had on their faces.

I finished putting the bandage over it
and looked up. “I…” I stopped breathing.

Aiden still knelt in front of me, but
the concern momentarily left his features. His intent eyes
brightened as he watched me, studying me in a way he never had
before. His gaze wandered over my face…my curves.