Pandora's Box (25 page)

“You played me?”

She felt, more than heard his wince.
Honestly, Mina, my
intent was not to hurt you. This was supposed to just be a bump in
the road for you that could have meant everything for me. But
things got complicated.

Mina remembered all the times Teague woke her from a sound sleep. So coincidental it had seemed, but maybe not. Often, he’d
interrupted dreams. Of Riordan.

Other times, he’d made an appearance—even declared his love for her—after an encounter with Riordan or intimate thoughts of
Riordan. “Those were all on purpose, weren’t they.” It wasn’t a question. “But what if I’d fallen for Teague? What if your
plan had worked so well that I fell for Teague and wanted you out badly enough to break the curse? What then?” But she knew
the answer. “Obviously, Teague would disappear from my life as well.” Her stomach felt like lead.

Yes, he would be gone as soon as I was free. But you misunderstand.
I didn’t intend for you to lose your heart to him. Just be interested
enough to want to be free to explore possibilities.

“But then why did you have Teague say he was in love with me after I confessed my love to you?”

I didn’t want you to fall in love with my magical half either,
Mina. That was only heartbreak for you. I tried my damnedest to
get you to associate me with animals—remember the ears and tail
when I first shifted to human? You weren’t supposed to focus on
me. And once you did, I was so tempted. It was so damn hard. But
I had to muddy the waters, keep you from focusing too long on me.

“Ah. So that’s when you sent the straight man in. Teague. Or would that be the stunt double? And when that didn’t work, you
turned Jackson loose on me.” How humiliating. She fisted the sheet higher.

Yes. I thought he could distract you from me and from Teague.
But more importantly, he could stay behind to be a husband to
you after I was gone. I didn’t want to leave you alone, Mina.

“But you promised that you would never abandon me. You, not Jackson. Were you trying to get out of that promise?”

No. But for your own sake, for the sake of the normal life you
wanted to lead, I wanted to give you a human man to love. One
who could stay with you, give you children and relate to you completely
in your world. I wanted you to have everything you deserved.
I’d still give it to you if I could.

“So what happens now?” A sudden thought had her glancing up in alarm. “
Teague
. Where is he and what’s happened to him now that you’re like this?”

I thought you didn’t love Teague.

There, finally, some jealousy. A woman could feel like a regifted fruitcake, passed around from man to man like this. “Well,
for pete’s sake, I cared about him. I liked him. And now that I know he’s part of you . . . Tell me. What’s happened to him?”

Gusty sigh.
He’s lapsed into an altered state of consciousness.
His visions are constant now. He and I are connected.

“But what does that mean? For him, I mean. He’s not dead, is he? He can’t be.”

No, he’s fine. His condition would be interpreted as a coma. By
everyone, that is, except his friend Janelle, assuming she can keep
the faith and continue to believe what he’s told her for years now.

“Is she with him? Is she taking care of him?”

In secret, yes. He was able to tell her what was happening to
him before he passed out completely, and she’s been prepared. His
family believes he’s out ofthe country on vacation for the next two
weeks. Meanwhile, she can provide help to him herself and hire
more help if need be.

Mina buried her face in her hands. “So, essentially, he’s a vegetable because you and I made love.”

You feel guilty? You shouldn’t. Increasingly, he and I have become
one and the same. I am him and he is me. Unconsciousness
is actually a relief to him right now. Ever since you inherited
guardianship, the fragmentation has grown increasingly uncomfortable
for him. For me.

“But his family. My god, his poor parents. What if—”

I told you. They’re not aware of what’s happened. Come November
first, even should the worst happen, he will come out of it,
continue his life, and I will be back in my cornerstone. This is just
time out of time for him. He’s okay.

Mina groaned. “This is so freaking involved. With the you-are-him-and-he-is-you thing.”

I know.

“So what can I do now? Can I still break the curse? It’s not completely hopeless, is it? It can’t be over yet.”

I’ll still have a judgment day, if that’s what you’re asking.
But his voice was flat, even hollow as it sounded in her head. He’d given up hope.

“Oh, no you don’t. Don’t you give up now. I’m still mad at you and you damn well owe me an end to this argument in person.
I’m going to break the curse just so I can strangle you.” And then jump your undeserving bones . . .

I’d love that. It would be worth strangulation to have you jump
my bones again.

She groaned.

I’m just trying to be honest.

“You waited long enough.” Angry, heartbroken and confused, Mina still found herself believing him. He really would give her
everything if he could. But all she wanted was him.

Even now?

“Yes, even now. Although, I’m telling you, buster, once I get you out of there you are so living in the doghouse. I’ll make
that cornerstone look like the Ritz.”

I’d love nothing better than to give you the opportunity to abuse
and mock me. Really. Laugh at me, throw vegetation at me, do
anything you want to me. Just give me a chance to make it up to
you. That’s what I want more than anything.

More than anything?

More than my powers, more than my freedom, more than my
life.

That’s alarming. Don’t do anything stupid.

I already did. Remember?

She sighed and slumped down on the bed. “Oh, boy, do I. And now that we’ve done the wild nasty, it’s only going to be torture
hearing your voice.”

Think so?

“I know so.” Sighing and exhausted, she slipped back under the covers. Tomorrow she’d seek more answers. Other solutions.
Obviously, curse-breaking was not the solution anymore. What was? As she wrestled the problem, she felt a soft, soothing voice
humming in her mind. Trying to . . . getting sleepy . . . was it . . . Riordan . . . ? And she drifted.

“Mina mine.”

“Mmm?” Stretching and feeling her bare skin slide across
satin sheets, Mina lazily opened her eyes.

To find herself stretched out beneath a softly fluttering weeping
willow tree. “Pretty.”

“So are you.”

She turned her head toward the voice. And saw Riordan. With
Teague’s face, and yet more. It was all of him. “Riordan.”

“And, as you said, Teague. Yes, I’m here.”

“But how?” She sat up, pulling the sheets with her until he
plucked them away from her.

“You’re asleep. I came to you in your dreams. It’s all I can give
you now. Speaking in your mind and coming to you in dreams.”

“But you came to me.”

“I couldn’t stay away. You can send me away still if you want
to and I’ll go. It’s up to you and you have every right to be angry
with me.”

“Oh, Riordan. Like I could stay mad at you. I’m too damn
glad to see you. However it happens.” She traced his face with her
gaze, let it drift over his bare shoulders and lower, over his strong
chest and rippled abs, only partially concealed by the sheet. They
were both reclining on a pallet of satin, amid grass and the sweeping
fronds of the tree. She could smell blooms nearby. Feel the
warmth of spring on her skin. Lovely. What if they never saw a
real spring together? Judgment day . . . was only a few days from
now. She could lose him forever.

Squelching that thought, she tried to move closer to him. “So,
how does this work? Can I touch you?”

“Only if you wish it. This is your dream. You get to dictate
what happens.”

“Oh, really, ” she whispered, letting her voice lilt just a little.
“That’s fitting. Did you make up these rules?”

“No. You did. Like I said, this is your dream. I’m at your disposal.”

Carefully, she reached out to touch his shoulder, warm and
hard and only barely substantial beneath her fingertips. He was
there and he wasn’t. Much like the feel of his blurred face before
they’d made love. Energy and just a hint of form. Warmth, definitely.
She smiled at him. “So this is my dream and you are at
my disposal. I kind of like that power balance.”

He smiled, eyes twinkling wickedly. “Completely at your disposal.
What would you like me to do?”

“Oh, baby.” She growled at him. “I want you to start in the
kitchen, scrubbing the floor, since you made such a wreck of it as
Teague. Then you can vacuum all the BobGoblin dog hair off the
area rugs and couch in the living room and—”

Riordan looked completely crestfallen. “Really?”

She pondered, eyes narrowed. “It’s what I should make you do.”

He nodded slowly. “Yeah. But there wouldn’t be much point to
it. Your house would be clean, but only in your dreams.”

She laughed. “Oh, I get it. Like it always is. Clean only in my
dreams.”

He grinned. “I’m afraid so.”

“I’ll have to figure something else out then. But right now, I’m
feeling a little drafty. Why don’t you cover me up?”

He leaned close, tugging the sheets higher, past her breasts and
over her shoulders.

“You misunderstood. I meant cover me with
you
.”

“Thank God.” And he pounced, mouth and hands and tongue
touching her everywhere. He was already hard, his erection
straining and flinching with every point of contact. His chest
heaved into hers with his breath, and her legs moved restlessly
against the sheets.

“Riordan. Oh, yeah. Just like tha—mmph.” She sighed into
his mouth, felt him coming into her. Again. And again and—
Pound-pound-pound—

Huh?

Pound-pound-pound! “Mina! Answer the door! I know you’re in there, and you have to stop avoiding me sometime.” Pound-pound-pound!
“Not returning my calls is one thing, but outright ignoring me when I know you’re in there is just rude and hurtful. I won’t
stand for it.” Pound-pound-pound! “Mina!”

Clambering off the bed, Mina stumbled to the front door and swung it open. Her mother. “Sorry. I was asleep.”

“But it’s almost noon.”

Noon? Mina eyed the clock in surprise. She rubbed her eyes. “I didn’t realize.”

“What’s going on in here? I can’t believe you didn’t hear me knocking and yelling. Are you sick?”

Mina, still dazed and seriously unwilling to leave her dreams behind, backed up so her mother could enter. “I’m fine. Just
give me a moment.”

“What’s wrong? Where’s your puca? Does he zap himself back into his cornerstone to sleep?”

Mina closed her eyes again, feeling the aching dread weigh down her heart and soul.

I’m here. I haven’t abandoned you. I’m dying of frustration,
thanks to your mother’s timing, but I’m here.

She choked back a sob of laughter then, stronger, opened her eyes again. “Mom, please. Give me some privacy to get dressed
and use the bathroom. Then we’ll talk. Okay?”

Lizzy, obviously still alarmed, studied her shrewdly. “I don’t know if I should leave you alone.”

“Wait in the living room. I’m fine and I’ll be right out.”

Sighing, her mother tossed her hands over her shoulders, fingers fluttering. “All riiight. Blame a mother for worrying.”

And she sounded just like a real mom.

She is a real mom, Mina. You know she is. Open your eyes.

You’re becoming quite the nag in your disembodiment.

That’s not what you were thinking just a moment ago.
His voice, even in her mind, had deepened to a sexy rasp.

Tease. She rifled through nearly empty drawers—when was the last time she’d done laundry?—for a T-shirt and underwear. Jeans.
Then she brushed her teeth and finger-combed her ratty mess of curls.

It’s not ratty. It’s beautiful. I love it tousled.

You can see me?

Only in my mind. Your face is always right in front of me. I
like it that way.

Lord, but you’re living up to your gifts now, my sexy poet.

I’m trying.

Smiling a moment, she turned to the door and, bracing herself for confrontation, opened it.

Her mother sat on the couch, knees locked primly together and hands gripping each other. The woman looked uneasy. More uneasy
than Mina had seen her in a long, long time. In fact, the last time Lizzy had looked this nervous was on her wedding day,
when she married the very nice, very loopy man who was so obviously the perfect mate for her.

Lizzy cleared her throat. “You haven’t returned my calls.”

Mina studied her mom. “No, I haven’t. I’m sorry.”

“Are you?”

Mina looked away. “I guess I just didn’t know what to say to you. I’ve been trying to get Riordan free and I’ve been dealing
with some . . . surprises on a more personal level.”

Her mother’s big gray eyes met hers evenly. “You’ve figured everything out now, haven’t you?”

Everything . . . what everything? That Mina had made love to her puca and damned him back to his hellish cornerstone? Surely
her mother didn’t know that much.