Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (219 page)

My chest
tightened. A warm flush radiated through me. The gawking wasn’t
anything new—I just would’ve
never
expected it from Mr. Stoicism. I stared back, very
aware of our situation and my apparel. The sudden urge to push back
the hair that, so often, hung in his face itched. I always knew he
was good-looking. I did have eyes, but something struck me about
him. Maybe it was because he listened. Or maybe the fact he never
made me feel as pathetic as everyone else did.

No, no,
no!
In a hurry, I realized what I’d been
thinking and even more, feeling. I cursed myself, not caring about
rules. No. There weren’t even regulations about Kember and Drea
attractions. It didn’t happen. It was unnatural. Then what the hell
was this?

“
Committing me to memory?”
I groaned inwardly. Of all the things I could’ve said.

Like I’d kicked him, he blinked and
averted his gaze. I could’ve sworn a flush spread over his cheeks,
but he stood and strode to his suitcase before I could be sure.
“Get some sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.”

I bit my lip. Sleep. Right.

Chapter 15

I scooted to the middle of the bed and
stared at the ceiling. This would be the longest night of my life.
Even after the night’s events, I was wide awake. Only now, the
distractions were gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Exactly
what I didn’t want. The barely audible hum of the air conditioner
buzzed through the still room.

Aiden crawled into his bed on the
floor, and a few seconds later a soft glow rose from his phone as
he tapped on the screen.

I pulled
the blankets to my chin and strained to keep my mind on a leash.
A
very
short
leash. Some things the Kember said refused to leave me
alone.

The stuff about Delmari lying almost
made me laugh. If I knew one thing, it was he never lied to me.
Even though it had been a dead end, Delmari devoted weeks and weeks
of time to help me dig up information on my parents. If he hadn’t
known them, I doubted that psycho had.

“
If
Delmari told you everything, like you’re convinced he did, why
didn’t he mention Aiden?”
Of all the
Kember’s in the world who could’ve taken Delmari’s spot, Ian
decided to nab my new one from the Guard? I’d never realized, until
now, the peculiarity of it. They couldn’t pull a Kember from a hat
to replace Aiden. I bit my tongue, hearing those repeated words. I
didn’t want to think it, but what if there was the teensiest
tiniest possibility the Kember knew something about
Aiden?

“
Question.” My voice
cracked and I quickly cleared it.

Aiden took a moment to
answer.

Had he fallen asleep?

“
Yes.”

“
Did you know him?” I
swallowed hard, and my next words came so quiet I barely heard
them. “Delmari, I mean.”

He sat up, and even though I couldn’t
see his features, I knew his eyes were on me. “Yes, of course I
did. You didn’t know?”

“
Everyone
knows
of
him. I
just didn’t know if you actually knew him, knew
him.”

Aiden hesitated. “Well, we’d never
officially met until my last week at the academy. He assisted Ian
and Favian in giving us our eligibility assessment so we could
graduate and take the oath.”

“
Oh…I remember that.”
Delmari had done lots of random things for Ian and vice versa. I
still didn’t recall Delmari mentioning Aiden. Ever. “Not very well
though.”

He paused. “Didn’t you know? Didn’t he
mention me?”

I rolled to my side to face him. For
some stupid reason, my heart accelerated. “I, um… should he
have?”

“
I’d think so. He had this
all worked out so if something happened to him, Joshua or I would
be assigned as your Kember.”

My eyes widened and suddenly, I
couldn’t breathe. It stung, like taking a slap to the face. How did
he forget to mention that to me? “He-He probably didn’t get a
chance to tell me.”

“
You were eleven.” He
cleared his throat.

Wham
! Slapped all over again.
“What?”

“
He asked me at
graduation.” Aiden talked like he was trying to trigger the memory
in my head. “He knew I’d been offered a position in the Guard and
that I’d be available if—”

“
You
said
yes
?” He
dropped his Guard title, incredible pay and tons of action to
follow
me
around?
No wonder he was so offish the day he picked me
up.

“
Delmari Aiken, one of the
most respected Kembers around, asked me, of all Kembers. It was an
honor.”

I didn’t want to hear any more about
Delmari. I couldn’t. Kicking back the comforter, I hopped out of
bed. Delmari had been the most stubborn person I knew. He always
tried to protect me in more ways than just physically. I knew
exactly why he didn’t tell me about Aiden. He didn’t want to ruin
my blissful, stress-free life by clouding it with worry. He thought
he was only taking precautions. I bit my lip, upset he hadn’t told
me. Right now, there were bigger things to worry about. Is that
what the Kember had been referring to? Aiden and Delmari’s
arrangement? How was it possible for him to know when I
didn’t?

No shoes, no coat. I just needed
air.

A brackish breeze wafted around me as
I opened the back door and stepped onto the silent beach. The sky,
clear of its normal clouds, allowed masses of stars to shine. The
full moon’s reflection glowed in the undulating waves, lighting up
the entire seashore.

So, the Kember knew. Big deal. It
wasn’t like it was a secret. It definitely didn’t mean he knew
anything else. I kicked the sand, and it sifted through the air.
The Kember most likely wanted me to ask Aiden, knowing I’d
second-guess myself. I wasn’t that gullible. He didn’t know
anything about me or my family. Hell, no one knew anything about
them. Not the Authority. Not me. No one. Only a few steps away from
the tide, I dropped down on the sand. Just like in life, I had no
clue where I was going.

Aiden sat, a lot more graceful than I
had, next to me. He extended his long legs out in front of him and
leaned back on his hands. Staring straight ahead, he stayed silent.
Never questioned me. Never nagged because he was cold or tired.
Somehow, he knew I needed to think.

I don’t know how long I vacantly
watched the waves crease the moon’s reflection. Maybe an
hour.

“
Did he tell you anything
about me?” My voice wavered. Hopefully he thought it was from lack
of speaking.

Aiden pulled his knees up and rested
his forearms on top of them. “Not much. You were young. You didn’t
even have your ability yet. I learned everything about you through
your file and word of mouth.”

What if
my parents were bad people?
What if
there’s a reason I don’t know who they are?
My eyes widened. To my horror, I hadn’t just thought those
words but said them.

“
You don’t know who they
are?”

What the heck was wrong with me? For a
moment, I only wished for a shovel. After I buried myself, I
wouldn’t have to worry about sounding so whiny and pitiful. “I’m
sure you know more than I do. There’s gotta be a section labeled
‘bastard’ in that file somewhere.”

“
It said your mother,
Aileen Pierce, was a Drea. There was nothing, not even a name, for
your father.”

I slid my feet back and forth in the
sand, burying them. “Maybe she got around and didn’t know who he
was.”

“
So you don’t know if he
was a Drea or anything?” He sounded a little surprised.

“
Nope, I don’t know
anything about him.” I shrugged, trying for nonchalance. “We kinda
figured he didn’t have a gift and ran off when he found out my mom
did.” Not many Dreas or Kembers mingled with the Norms, but it did
happen. I’d heard of them marrying Norms just because they wanted a
chance at normal kids. “That Kember, he talked like he knew
them…That can’t be good.”

Aiden stayed quiet, like he was
contemplating. “I wouldn’t worry.”

“
You’re right.” I laughed
under my breath. “It’s not like their bad choices would affect who
I am.”

“
It doesn’t matter who your
parents were.” He spoke confidently, almost defensively. “They
don’t define you. Only you decide who you want to be.”

A soft breeze fluttered by. Finally, I
looked in his direction and pushed my wild hair behind my ear. “The
Kember, he told me he felt something inside of me and…”

Aiden’s eyes narrowed slightly as he
measured me for a few moments. Still appearing to be deep in
thought, he reached his hand toward my face.

I froze. My heart accelerated from the
mere memory of his touch.

Goose bumps spread over my body as his
fingers lightly brushed my jaw. He rested his palm against my
cheek. “I don’t feel anything.” His hand lingered across my skin
and I stared at him, staring at me.

He dropped his hand, as if he realized
what he’d done. “If you’re unsure, ask Skyler.” He averted his
gaze. “He’s better at determining people’s intent.”

My skin stopped its ridiculous
burning. I frowned. Skyler? The paranoid old lady? Hah. “Great
idea, Captain. I’ll get right on that.”

“
You’ll worry if you
don’t.” He obviously caught my sarcasm. “I think it’s a good
idea.”

“
I’ll
think about it.”
When I have nothing else
to think about.
“Like you said, it doesn’t
matter anyway. Only I decide who I wanna be.”

He shook his head. His gaze fell to
the bottom of my shirt where the mark was embedded. “I didn’t say
it doesn’t matter. Something’s going on. The faster we find out the
better.”

We sat there for a few more minutes. I
didn’t know if he was right, but it made me hopeful to think that
even if I was the spawn of Satan, ultimately, I could choose
whether or not to follow the same path. He sounded so wise.
Experienced. It made me wonder…“What about you? Your parents set
you out to be a profound Hercules?”

“
No.” Aiden’s sudden dark,
short tone made my eyes widen.

I briefly wondered if I’d overstepped
my boundary. “Are they still…alive?”

“
They live in Montana. My
mother doesn’t have an ability.” He stared straight ahead, his
posture rigid.

I tried to hide my astonishment, but
my mouth dropped open a second too soon. No need to ask questions.
I could figure out the rest. Kembers have flings. Their famous
excuse for having sex was to keep the Kember race going. It was a
lot like horse breeding. The best, most respected Kembers got
together in hopes of creating offspring to follow in their
path.

Then there were the Kembers who “got
with” the Norms.

Those were the Kembers who didn’t take
the oath; the ones who didn’t want anything to do with Dreas and
Rygons.

The shamed.

Awkward. Anything else on that subject
and my earlier wish of hiding ten feet under would probably be
carried out—by him. Not knowing what else to do, I chewed the
bottom of my lip and rose to my feet. “I’m beat.”

“
Yeah, you should get some
sleep.” Aiden stood and, without another word, led the way back to
the room.

“
This is Aiden Oltman. I
need to speak with Authority Alvarez immediately.”

I groaned, opened my heavy eyes and
peered at the glowing red numbers on the clock. Six a.m. Slowly, I
blinked and squinted against the lamplight shining from the corner
of the room. Aiden paced in front of the bed, phone held to his
ear.

“
Are you freakin’ serious?”
Of course he was. Grasping the blankets, I pulled them up over my
head.

“
Do you know when he gets
back?” Aiden sounded exasperated.

Stringing together a long line of
profanities, I lifted my pillow and shoved my head beneath
it.

“
When he gets in, tell him
to call me.” Aiden exhaled.

“
Not that I care,” my voice
was smothered beneath the bedding, “but aren’t there three head
honchos?”

“
This isn’t Favian’s or
Xander’s area.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Guess
we’ll have to figure it out by ourselves.” Yawning, I sprawled out
my arms and legs.

“
I need to report that the
Kember was in the bathroom. That he pursued you.” The bed moved and
I felt him sit. “Turn over. Let’s take a look.”

“
Right now?”

“
Yes, if you get up now, we
can stop for breakfast before we leave.”

I popped my head out and my hair rose
with static. “Breakfast? Like pancakes, bacon, hash
browns…”

He raised an eyebrow but
nodded.

I rolled onto my back and kicked the
blankets off. Shielding my eyes with one hand, I lifted my shirt
with the other.