Taken (Breaking the Darkness) (26 page)

It was so hard to think straight when I was around him. I made my way over to the table, and a young girl dressed in a logoed tank and khaki shorts, carrying a tray of beverages and pastries, approached.

“I hope you don’t mind.” Kaden waved his hand toward the tray. “I took the liberty of ordering for us.”

I nodded. “Sure.”

“I got you a honey blueberry scone and a black lightning coffee.”

“Yummy. My favorites, how did you know?”

He winked at me and put his hand on top of mine.

“I have missed you. I have been waiting for you. Where have you been?”

“I’ve been kind of tied up.” I laughed to myself “I had some running around to do.”

“You seem different, somehow more relaxed. It looks good on you.”

We sat and filled our bellies with warm drinks and sweet confections. Even though I was eating, my stomach growled at me, begging for more.

“I can’t believe how hungry I am. I could eat like ten of these things.”

“I can make that happen. I can give you whatever you want. I just need you to tell me everything.”

A chill came over me.

“Everything? What do you want to know?”

“About your life. Tell me about your parents. Where did you grow up? Tell me about the gifts you got growing up.”

“Gifts?”
Is he asking about my gifts, the powers I have? How would he know about that?

“Yes, like what was your favorite birthday present or the sweetest Valentine candy you ever had the pleasure of tasting. I want to know what makes you happy. I want to know what pleases you. Helping you find pleasure in life is what will fulfill my desires.”

A giggle escaped before my cheeks flushed. “I don’t know about my favorite Valentine’s candy, but I just love having caramel apples dipped in chocolate and rolled in nuts.”

I just said nuts.
I wouldn’t mind biting on his apple. It would at least be a good spot to start before I worked my way down to enjoy his treasures.

He looked at me, possibly wondering if I was thinking about how delicious he is. A giant grin grew, showing me his pristine white teeth. I loved the way a small dimple appeared just south of his right cheekbone.

“Maybe we should get out of here. My home is a short walk from here,” I offered.

I OPENED MY eyes to find Kaden watching me sleep. His green crystal irises sucked me right in. There was nothing around me but him. He smiled down on me, melting away all my walls.

He pushed my hair away from my face. “Good morning! Did you sleep well?” He gently placed two tender kisses on my eyelids.

“Yes, of course I did. I was dreaming about you. How can it not be a good night of sleep with you there with me?”

“Very nice,” he purred. “I love being with you,” rolled off his tongue in a hoarse whisper.

I rolled into him and put my hand upon his smooth chest. His skin felt cool to the touch, like a piece of unpolished marble. Strangely, the sensation of touching him made my body heat from the inside out. I was so hot for him I wanted to rip off the covers and whatever else might separate us.

“Tell me about your dream. What were we doing?” he asked.

“We weren’t doing anything except being us. We were at the coffee shop where we first met. You told me about how you wanted to fulfill my deepest desires and spoil me with the sweetest treats.”

“That sounds like it wasn’t really a dream. How about you tell me how I can please you right now?”

The creases just outside Kaden’s eyes crinkled. They hungered for me. His body seemed to grow so he could get closer to me. A sound erupted from deep within him. There was something so familiar about the sound. I had a flash of déjà vu.

“Kaden, do you dream about me? I mean, do you think if I’m dreaming about you, you’re dreaming about me too?”

He pulled away from me, his face suddenly flat, and everything around me went black.

MY EYES FLUTTERED open to the darkness. This time I knew for sure I was awake and alone. What a strange sensation—dreaming about dreaming. I didn’t think I’d ever woken up in a dream to only still be dreaming.

Even though it was just a dream, I had an unsettling sensation about the look on Kaden’s face just before I woke. At least the rest of the dream was as sexy as always. It would be nice if my dreams could last long enough to actually take our fake relationship to the next level. How could I not laugh at myself?

I hoped I wasn’t sleeping too long. I would hate to have missed a visit from Graven, my real-life knight in shining armor, or should I say stone? Maybe I was just projecting my feelings for Graven toward this Kaden guy while my mind was at rest. Except Graven was a more mature and refined piece of sculpted hotness.

Time with Graven had been so fleeting. I wondered what it would be like to actually be in his physical presence. I hoped I didn’t make a fool of myself with my awkwardness and continuous tongue-tied actions.

Oh, I just realized… He just saw me for the first time. His first eyewitness experience of Kasha in the flesh, and I was covered in grime with matted hair and a filthy face. How disappointed he must have been with me compared to my polished astral version. I suddenly found myself embarrassed.

Gram wouldn’t want me to ever think less of myself, even if I was a bit of a mess. As Patience told me, I had to keep my chin up. If you don’t believe in yourself, how can anyone else? Confidence is like sales: the more you believe in what you’re selling, the better you can sell it.

Speaking of selling it… I needed to make sure I could still sell the idea to Ziona that I was just some clueless college girl. Even though I’d handled the revelation that there are supernatural beings with an assortment of varying powers, my face needed to show astonishment at whatever Ziona threw at me next.

I considered giving her some kind of hint or clue that I knew something. If they got to a point where they believed the veil of lies I’d hung, I would be in trouble. If I had nothing to offer them, my stay could be ended, literally. Phaela and Patience warned me against showing any of my cards and to make sure I didn’t attempt to practice accessing the elements. I wasn’t sure there was a right answer.

Patience. Phaela. Axel. How could I forget? How did I not mention to Graven that I needed him to make sure no one went after them? They were my friends, the closest thing to family I had left. I had to do something. I needed to find a way to protect them.

A nagging sensation started at the pit of my stomach, one other than the hunger pains to which I’d become accustomed. I worried about them sitting there plotting over how and what they could do to the
story keepers
. Heaven forbid they brought them here and… I couldn’t stand to think about what they would do to them. They were so old and frail. I’m not sure how long they could survive these conditions or any kind of physical attack for that matter.

I needed to go to Graven; I needed to tell him right away. I wondered if I could find him on Ziona’s desert property. All this time I couldn’t find a way to see where I was. Maybe my link with him would be strong enough that I could locate him.

What if I was unsuccessful in finding him and he was trying to sense me. He needed to find my physical location so I could get out of this living nightmare. I needed to ask him to figure out how to get the door open. Whatever abilities I possessed, I was pretty sure walking through walls wasn’t one of them, at least not while I was in the flesh.

I walked over to the door and again, for the umpteenth time, checked the perimeter. I prayed, as I had every time I’d preformed the same ritual, that I missed something. Maybe there was a secret button or keypad that would unlock the door from the outside. I knew it opened. Anton walked through it twice. Thank goodness he never had the opportunity to make it a third. I wasn’t sure I could have survived another incident with him.

The door and the jamb around it were as smooth as could be. I guess in theory it was a possibility there was a spot that could register a fingerprint or a retinal scan. It seemed these people had access to whatever technology they wanted. And what didn’t exist, they had the means to manage using some kind of enchantment or sorcery to create.

I felt the hair on my body do a little dance. It was subtle, but I couldn’t deny the tingling sensation coursing over my flesh. I turned around slowly, not sure what might be staring down my back.

A shimmering orb dropped down from the ceiling. The form became clear within seconds. I let out a sigh of relief. I started to run to him and then I realized what I was doing. Like a total spaz, I just kept running and even threw in a few jumping jacks for good measure.

My breath was fast and my heart rate hit a good cardio level. I plopped down on the bed, rolled over, and disengaged my consciousness as fast as I could.

Graven was laughing. “What are you doing?”

“What? I—I don’t know. I was so excited to see you and started to run over to you. I forgot they watch me. So I just kept running. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve tried to do some exercise in here.”

“Oh, okay.” He smiled, trying hard not to explode in laughter.

“Although, this is the first time I started running around in circles like a dog chasing its own tail.” We both laughed out loud. “I’ve mostly been doing some stretching or yoga.”

“I think that is great. It says something about your character. If you don’t let adversity keep you down, that shows inner strength. You are going to need it if you want to fight this fight.”

“There’s just no way out, is there?” My lower lip pouted out enough to show my disappointment.

“Oh, there is a way out. I am your way out!” His grey eyes honed in on me. I could feel them take hold of my soul. “I am your way!”

I think I stopped breathing while he spoke. My heart may have just grown a pair of wings and started to flutter around my chest, taking quick dives into my stomach. I wasn’t sure to where he would be my way, but I wanted nothing more than to find out.

“I have been working on scanning the compound while having
dessert
with Ziona. I have found where they keep the security room and I was able to decipher the map on one of their screens. I won’t forget how to navigate this compound.

“All of my traveling, both on land and in flight, has perfected my ability to never forget where I’m going or how to get home. Some of it might be a little genetic, but I like to think I worked hard at improving those skills.”

“How are you able to keep projecting yourself if you’re in the middle of a meal with Ziona?” Before he could answer, my mouth continued on faster than I could think about what I was saying. “Oh, please tell me you meant you were sharing cake for dessert and not each other.”

I cringed at the thought of anyone I remotely had feelings for, or even knew for that matter, having any kind of relations with her. Not that I couldn’t see why any man wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to ravish such an exotic woman. I was also a little embarrassed I inquired about his sex life, as if it were any of my business.

“Take it easy. It is more like a fire and some cognac. I am keeping her busy with conversation. Mostly work talk.” He shook his head.

“How has she not noticed you keep losing consciousness?” I asked.

He cocked his head and flashed me a confused look. “What? You don’t know yet, do you?”

“What? Know what?” Again another thing I was left in the dark about.

“You don’t need to have your eyes closed to project yourself.” He informed me. “At least I don’t. But then again, I have been doing this a really long time! Actually, I was born to do this.”

“Really? I guess it’s so dark in here that there are times I’m not sure if my eyes are open or closed. Not to mention, I’ve only been doing this for several days. Even if your eyes are open, how do you pull off being here while you’re sitting in the same room with someone else?” I inquired.

“With, again, a lot of practice. I can sit and have an entire conversation with someone and project at the same time. No one knows I’m doing it. It is very useful from a business perspective. It is how I am able to always know what is going on in my clubs. I can be in two places at once.” He flashed his proud smile at me.