Unfaithful (4 page)

“To claim my soul through seduction. That’s how they do it. They fog your brain.”

“They use sex to steal souls?”

“They use
desire
. Lust is one of the most underestimated sins and the one most often committed. The seductive power of a Witch is so strong it’s hard to resist.”

“But you did,” I pointed out, relieved.

Evan nodded. “It’s as though each of us has to atone in our own personal way for original sin by resisting temptation like Adam couldn’t.”

“Then what happened?” I asked, curious.

“Actually, I still hadn’t realized what was going on. I saw the girl vanish and thought I’d taken a nasty blow to the head. I started walking home, thinking about my mother. In my mind, I relived what had happened with my father. I was anxious to tell her about how I’d stood up to him. I wanted to reassure her that from that moment on I’d take care of everything, we’d move away, she’d never be subjected to his humiliations again. Circumstances had forced me to grow up quickly, taking care of the family and the shop when I was still little more than a child. I felt ready.

“Then something caught my eye, something hidden in the dim light at the end of the alley. I moved toward it and began to make out a shape lying on the ground. A body. I ran to help, but when I neared it I saw a pool of blood around the body. There was nothing I could do. Whoever he was, it was too late.

“I was just about to leave when a strange instinct compelled me to move closer. I reached out, turned the body over and saw his face. It hit me like a bolt of lightning right in the chest. It was me. And I was dead.

“I knelt there staring at my corpse, paralyzed, powerless to react and unable to find the courage to leave it and walk away. The bullet had passed through my heart. The shot must have been fired from close range, but it hadn’t been the boy beneath me who pulled the trigger.”

I cringed at the thought of such cruelty.

“And yet I was too horrified to stay there either. My body was a piece of dead meat lying on the ground. I got up and ran away as fast as I could. I had a strange knot in my throat I couldn’t ease. It was as if all my tears had suddenly dried up: tears not for myself, but for my mother. A single thought hounded me: who would take care of her? I had no choice but to leave her to her sad fate, living out her life with that good-for-nothing worm of a husband.

“I was amazed when the following months proved me wrong. My aggressive reaction taught Father a lesson and that was the last time he ever stayed out until dawn. My passing helped bring them together again and their marriage was saved. I couldn’t have been happier. They couldn’t see me but I watched them whenever possible. They were united in their grief over losing me, but at least they were
united
. If I had to die, I can’t imagine a better reason. The happiness in my mother’s eyes cancelled out everything else. For years that was all I’d wanted. My wish had come true.” Despite Evan’s words, his face was stony.

“I think it’s best not to think about the past any more,” I said, hoping it would improve his mood, and added with a wink, “Let’s focus on the future.” I was resolved to break down the walls of reserve he’d just talked about. Actually, since I’d known him I’d found his attitude to be anything but reserved.

He laughed, almost as if he’d read my mind.

“What ever happened to that good boy?”

He drew closer, his gaze turning sly. “I’m more of a good boy than you imagine. It’s not easy being around you and not . . .”

“And not what?” I asked provocatively.

“And not allowing myself to be consumed by the fire.”

“After three centuries, you should have learned to keep that fire under control.”

“For three centuries I was surrounded by shadows and ice.
You’re
my fire. And whenever I’m near you I risk being consumed.”

“Then I might get burned too. I’d better keep my distance.”

“Who says I’ll let you? We’re not in the seventeen hundreds any more. If we’d met back then, you certainly would have had to keep your distance, and only after I’d seen approval in your eyes could I have asked for your hand.”

“Right, sure. I just can’t see you acting like a fine young gentleman!”

“That’s how I would have acted by day,” he said, a wolfish look on his face as he sensually drew nearer. “But then I would have tapped on your window every night.” He whispered the words directly against my mouth and then kissed me. A long, warm, deep kiss. “No. I don’t think I could have managed to stay away from you even by day.”

I smiled and rested my forehead on his. “Weren’t we supposed to focus on the future?” I asked, still provocative, biting my lip to subdue the fire that burned inside me whenever our bodies touched.

“I’m thinking about the future right now,” he murmured, moving his lips closer.

“And what do you see, pray tell?” I whispered, enchanted by his seductive gaze so close to mine.

Evan looked me straight in the eye. “It’s right in front of me. You’re my future. Nothing else matters.” He brushed his lips against my chin, light, tiny kisses that slowly moved to my mouth. “Gemma Naiad Bloom, you’re like the sun to me,” he whispered.

“You mean you can’t look at me for more than a few seconds without your eyes hurting?” I teased.

Evan smiled, his lips so close they tickled mine. “I mean your light is so bright it eclipses everything else.” Another kiss, longer and more delicate, at the corner of my mouth. “Not even the stars, no matter how dazzling, how radiant, can shine in the presence of the sun, so they hide, fearing comparison. My sun is you. Your light blinds me and I see nothing—” he whispered under his breath, touching my lips ever so lightly, teasingly, “—but you.” Every part of my body trembled from the stolen contact. “You are my sun and my fire. Being near you warms my soul. Without you, I would be relegated to the cold, the dark. I would lose myself forever.”

As I was still melting in Evan’s warmth, he unexpectedly pulled back and looked me in the eye, smiling like the cat that ate the canary. “Time’s up,” he whispered, puzzling me.

A loud noise woke me with a jolt.

I opened my eyes groggily. Sadness crept over me as I gradually made out the ceiling overhead. My alarm clock was still blaring, announcing that the day had begun, when I turned and met Evan’s dark eyes. He was leaning against my bedroom window, looking vaguely amused. “Good morning,” he whispered sweetly, not even trying to hide the smile on his face. Before I could say a word he was lying at my side, his hand brushing a lock of hair from my cheek. My eyes were immediately drawn to the dog tag that glinted on the dark-red, long-sleeved shirt he wore.
Gevan
. My heart still skipped a beat every time I read our names engraved together on the metal.

“You’re such a liar!” I punched him on the shoulder, frowning and trying unsuccessfully to sound annoyed. “Why do you keep messing with me? You should warn me when we’re inside my head. But then again, why would you, since you’ve realized that teasing me is more fun than anything else in the world?”

“I didn’t just ‘realize’ it. I’ve always known it,” he said with a grin. All at once his expression grew more serious, verging on sadness. “I’m sorry. It’s the only way I can read inside you, Gemma. Plus it saves you the embarrassment of having to hide your feelings. You know it’s useless. When you’re aware we’re in your dreams you’re never completely comfortable because you know I can detect all your emotions.”

“You should tell me anyway.”

“I’ll try to remember that. But this time it really was necessary. I needed to sense your feelings while I told you about my past. I didn’t want to upset you too much.”

Evan’s explanation stopped me from replying and I accepted his apology with a simple glance. He grinned at me cheerfully. “You’d better get ready. You wouldn’t want to make me late for my first day back at school, would you?”

I couldn’t believe time had flown so fast. Five months had already gone by since the beginning of my second life, the night I’d called a truce with death. But a dark feeling inside me made me suspect it wouldn’t last forever, that my covenant with fate was destined to be broken. Although the last few months had been the most intense period of my entire life, I’d never stopped jumping at every sound and wondering when Death would come to take me. I’d never lowered my guard and I knew Evan hadn’t either, though he tried hard to hide it. Wherever we were, I could sense the concern in his watchful glances. I’d always been good at that, as if Evan were part of my body. And so I drank in every moment, savored every sensation, every breath, afraid it might be my last. I forgot my fears only when I sought refuge in my books, hiding away in other worlds. But then I had to return to reality—a reality where, despite all my fears, there was Evan. I couldn’t have wished for better.

“Right.” I gave a resigned sigh. “Here we go again!” I pressed my lips together and tried to summon up a little enthusiasm. It was annoying to have to concentrate on anything that distracted me from Evan. We’d become inseparable. We were together all day and at night he would sneak into my dreams. I’d sensed the strength of my connection to him when we’d first met on that March afternoon that was destined to change my fate. It felt so long ago and yet whenever I looked back I found the past following me like a ghost.

“You know, at first no one understood me,” I confessed out of the blue, “but I could feel it. I felt deep down that something in my life was about to change, that pretty soon something was going to turn it upside down.” I looked him in the eye. “No, not something.
Someone
. I always knew, from the moment I saw that strange light—and then you appeared.”

Evan studied my face, puzzled. “What light?”

“The burst of light that lit up the sky just before I met you in the woods,” I said, recollecting the memory that I’d thought he shared.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said, almost amused.

I blinked in confusion. I hadn’t expected Evan to contradict me. He threw his head back and his spirited laughter rang out. “Gemma, there are millions of us and we’re constantly moving around. There’s no strange flash of light heralding our arrival. If there were, the sky would be an endless fireworks show.” His reply threw me so off guard it left me wordless. I’d always been convinced the light was somehow connected to their arrival in Lake Placid.

Evan laughed again, probably amused by my expression. “Don’t be silly. It must have been a UFO. Besides, Angels can’t fly, didn’t you know that?”

Disoriented, I decided to drop it. Footsteps outside my door put me on alert. We exchanged a fleeting glance and he vanished the second my mom came into the room.

“Morning!” she chimed. “Awake already? I came to check. Just wanted to make sure you didn’t oversleep on the first day of school.”

“Thanks for reminding me,” I mumbled, throwing myself back onto the bed and pulling the covers over my face. Actually, I was hoping she wouldn’t notice my cheeks were still aflame. Feeling the mattress sag beneath her weight, I uncovered my head. She was sitting beside me, looking at me with a doting expression that made me cringe. My God, Evan was somewhere in the room. I hoped she wouldn’t say anything embarrassing.

“Eighteen years old! I still can’t believe you’ve grown up so fast,” she said with a sigh.

“Mom, it’s not my birthday yet!” I protested, blushing with embarrassment.

“But you’re already so
different
,” she insisted, almost with regret. “You’ll be graduating this year and you already have a boyfriend . . .”

I stiffened. My face must have been crimson. Evan was probably getting a kick out of my expression. Unexpectedly, he reappeared behind my mom. I cringed and shot him a disapproving look, but he continued to move closer, forcing me to make a face that would stop him in his tracks.

“Gemma, are you all right?” Frowning, Mom glanced over her shoulder and turned back to look at me. Instead of worrying about Evan’s presence, I should have been watching my reactions.

Evan continued to shake his head, clearly finding the situation hilarious. Then I noticed his eyes glowing like a diamond of ice. For some strange reason neither of us understood I was the only person capable of seeing him in his ethereal form.

The situation at home had gotten simpler since Evan’s endless requests to meet my folks had finally worn me down and I’d introduced him to them, albeit reluctantly. He was used to following a different etiquette. Since then his brother Drake had had to take on my physical appearance and replace me a lot less often but, given his willingness to help, we frequently took advantage of this power of his, especially at night.

Before meeting Evan and his family I’d never seen a bond as strong as the one they all shared. It was a deep, unconditional affection that had instantly extended to me. I could feel it under my skin. For the first time in my life I felt I was part of something. They treated me like I was a member of their family too.

Ginevra in particular had turned out to be the sister I’d never had, probably because she was the most aware of how intense my feelings for Evan were and his for me, which in some way made them her own. Whenever I remembered how convinced I’d been that she was my rival I felt stupid and hoped she wasn’t around, otherwise she’d have managed to read it in my mind. It was a relief not to have to compete with Ginevra’s exasperating beauty, even though she was always trying to boost my self-esteem. Out of kindness, of course.