Whisper Cape (22 page)

“What?” Cael looked up, his eyes heavy with fatigue.

“I just remembered something. The day of my dad’s funeral, I was in his study, wanting to be alone. I found a note on his desk scribbled in his handwriting. It scared me when I read it. I didn’t know what it meant but it sounded as if he was afraid for me. I crumpled up the note and stuck it in my pocket.”

“Do you remember what it said?”

“Yes, I still have it. It’s in here.” She reached into the closet and when she turned back around, she held out a mosaic box.

He stood and took the box from her. “Where did you get this?”

“I’ve had it all my life. My father gave it to me when I was little. He said it had belonged to my mother. I keep all my valuables in it, not that I have many. Why?”

He took the box from her, sat back down on the sofa with the box on his lap and stroked his hands over the top, fingering the intricate details in the wood with reverence.

“Call me crazy, but this thing looks familiar, a picture I’ve seen. Not only that, but I can feel … something. A kind of muted energy, maybe. I’m thinking maybe it housed the book at one time.”

“What? No it didn’t. It’s my keepsake box. Look.” She flipped open the lid and pulled out the note. “See? Here’s the note, my gold bracelet, and oh look, my mother’s watch and my parents’ wedding rings ... what?”

He took the note from her and read it. “Come on, grab your stuff, we need to go back to the beach house with the security system. Bring the box.”

With her bag draped over her shoulder and holding the box in her hands, Cael teleported her back to the rental house.

Chapter 22

It had been a long day. Cael poured two glasses of wine while Addison lit the fire. Relieved to be back at the beach house, they relaxed in front of the warm flames. He downed his wine and poured another. It was his first drink of the day and he hoped the wine would dull the ache in his shoulder. He and Bart had shared a pizza and Cael had settled for a soda since Bart was out of beer. He didn’t think it was wise to hang out at the Cliff Hanger the whole time Addison was working. It just didn’t look right. He knew she’d be safe there. As long as there were other people around, Eidolon wouldn’t dare try anything. Cael wished he knew what shape the bastard had taken. The possibility of him masquerading as some sort of animal or lurking undercover as an ordinary human being had him wondering about her friends and he tried to remember if any of them seemed suspicious.

“You’re being mysterious again and scaring me.”

He took the box and sat next to her on the sofa, reading the note again.

“Well, I’m sure you know what this is about now,” he said.

“Yes, but who do you think it’s to?”

“Well, me of course. He obviously didn’t get a chance to finish it, or maybe it was a note he wrote to remind him to tell me about you.”

“Ha, you really are full of yourself, aren't you?”

He took a firm grip on her shoulders, firmer than he intended. He turned her body to face his and looked into her eyes. “Why do you continue to doubt me?”

Her smile faded and she gulped. “I don’t doubt you. You just ...”

“Just what?” His voice sounded deep and weary. He was exhausted.

“Sometimes your arrogance can be a bit exasperating.”

“Well, I’m sorry you find me so annoying. It’s not something I normally think about controlling and I’m sorry my mood offends you. I don’t relish the thought of your father putting all his trust in me like this, but he did.” He frowned, finished another glass of wine and poured more. He was still in pain and irritated by her remark.

“I’m sorry, I’m not offended. You don’t offend me.” She touched his shoulder and he winced.

“Oh, God.” She covered her mouth with her hands. “I’m sorry; I didn’t realize you were still in pain. I wonder why it still hurts so much. Let me see.” She unbuttoned his shirt and examined his shoulder. “It looks completely healed. Why didn’t you say something?”

“Maybe you need to fine-tune your healing ability. Why do you think I’m guzzling wine?”

“I’m sorry. It was the first time I’d ever done something like that. I didn’t know. Let me see what I can do.” Her voice was sultry as she slipped his shirt off and showered him with soft kisses. First, his shoulder, then grazing over his collarbone, she moved to his neck, up to his mouth, and her teeth nibbled his lower lip before she pressed her mouth to his. He pulled her tighter. She tasted sweet and he forgot all about his shoulder, the book, everything but her.

“I thought you were in pain.”

“You’re making me forget.”

He tugged her pants loose, letting them fall to the floor and she kissed his neck. Cael lifted her hips, positioning his body between her thighs. She wrapped her legs around him as he unbuttoned her blouse revealing her wonderful firm breasts. He covered a breast with his mouth, teasing her nipple with his teeth. He kissed her stomach, moving his hands over her thighs before his fingers slid between her legs where she was wet and warm.

“Cael, let me touch you.”

“Later, baby.”

Her hips rose as his fingers tantalized her, and she shivered under him. Her fingers tangled in his hair as his tongue glided down her skin, over her stomach to her most sensitive spot, a taste as sweet as the first apricot of summer.

He wanted—needed to arouse her beyond reason, to hear her moan and feel her pulse against his touch. Her hips rose with the swirl of his tongue and he felt her body tremble. He watched as he brought her to climax after climax, each one more intense than the last.

He tuned in his senses to hers, her orgasm intensifying his erection, and it throbbed.

He moved off her, unzipped his pants, and pushed them to the floor, kicking them aside.

“Now, baby, now.”

She wrapped her fingers tightly around him, but he wanted to be inside her.

“I can’t stand it anymore.” Ignoring his shoulder, he picked her up so her legs wrapped around his waist and moved to the wall, pinning her against it. “Guide me in,” he begged, unable to control the urgent, desperate sound in his voice.

She did, and when he thrust into her, he thought he would explode right then as her tightness surrounded him. His mouth covered hers with the heat of his passion and he held her against the wall as he thrust deeper inside.

He pulled her tight against him, then carried her to the sofa and she straddled him, sending him into an orgasm unparalleled by any he’d ever experienced before.

***

Sprawled on the floor next to the crackling fire, bodies tangled, Cael and Addison still worked at catching their breath after the miracle that took place on the sofa. Stroking his finger down her cheek, Cael marveled at how beautiful she was with the light of the fire dancing in her golden eyes. His gaze drifted to her locket—did it just glow? Grasping it between his fingers, he thought it must have been the fire reflecting off the metal.

“Listen, Addison, I’m sorry about before.”

“Shhh.” She brushed his lips with hers.

He glanced at the box they brought from her apartment. He sat up, bringing it to his lap. “Let’s see what we have here.”

“I told you it’s nothing more than a box I keep my stuff in.” She sat facing him with her legs crossed.

“Yes, but ...”

He pulled everything out of it, placing her treasures on the floor. He turned the box upside down, shook it and the bottom of the inside loosened.

“Hey, you broke my box.”

He smiled at her accusation.

“No, look. It has a false bottom.”

He lifted out a four-by-six inch leather book, roughly a half-inch thick, bound and secured with a black leather cord held in place by a small button.

“It’s the journal.”

“But the pictures I looked at ... there wasn’t a picture of this box.”

“I know. That picture went missing shortly after your father showed it to me.”

As he held the book out for her to see, her locket glowed again.

“I wasn’t imagining things! Well, well, look what we have here. Your locket, the stone is glowing as if it likes the book. Take it off.”

“No!” She closed her hand over it.

“Trust me, I’ll put it right back on.” He struggled with the clasp. “Damn, it’s stuck. Can you get it over your head?”

“No, it’s too short. I’ve never tried to take it off before. I guess when my father put it on he meant for it to stay.”

“Apparently.”

“He said it would keep me safe.”

“Hmmm ... does it open?”

“Yes, there’s a photo of me as a baby, my mother, and my father.” She opened it and showed him the picture.

“Why is it so thick and still glowing? Wait.” He got up and went to the kitchen, returning with a safety pin. He knelt down in front of her and using the pin, pried the picture out, exposing am amber-colored object with a yellowish tint to it. It glowed with a brilliance that illuminated the entire room.

They stared at it in awe.

“Clever man. It’s the crystal. You’ve been wearing it this whole time. It must be reacting to the journal.”

Addison glanced in the box. “What’s that?”

A white envelope lay inside the box where the book had been. Cael picked it up and turned it over. The envelope had Cael’s name on it.

“What is it?”

Shaking his head, he opened it and removed a letter, unfolding it carefully. “It’s a letter from your father; he must have put it in there when he realized his life was in danger.”

He started to read the letter silently as Addison looked on, biting her bottom lip.

“Please, I know it’s addressed to you but ... what does it say?”

“Oh, sorry.” He spoke softly. “It says, ‘
Dear Cael, If you are reading this letter, then you must have found my daughter, Addison—and I am dead. Please forgive me; it was necessary to hide her existence from the Sectorium in order to keep her safe from Eidolon, a madman the likes of which this world could never have imagined. His hunger for power goes beyond reason, and he will stop at nothing. He is the treacherous murderer of our good friend Stefan and his wife Claire, as well. You must stop him before he gets control of the book and the crystal, and before he kills my daughter. By the time you read this letter, Addison will just be beginning to realize some of her powers. You must guide and protect her
.’”

Cael stopped reading and looked at Addison. Tears ran down her cheeks. He wanted to comfort her but, consumed with guilt, he only stared into her eyes. He had just made love to her, knowing she was Ristéard’s daughter but only now, after reading the words written by Ristéard confirming it, he felt compelled to put his feelings for her aside.

“Addison, I ...” He wanted to say he was sorry. Sorry for what was happening, sorry for her loss and for the sudden changes in her life, but most of all sorry for the irrepressible feelings he had for her and the simple truth that he had no control over them.

Instead, he continued to read.

“‘I never told Addison about the Sectorium and her powers, and knowing my daughter, she will resist. You must help her to accept her destiny. I have trained you well and I have faith you will do everything in your power to guide and protect her. I have loved you as if you were my own son. Tell Addison I love her and my spirit will always be with you both.

Your friend, Ristéard.’”

Confusion clouded his mind as a dull ache welled in his chest. He tried to fight off the knowledge of what he would have to do. Addison was Ristéard’s daughter. What had he been thinking, anyway? She would need to center all her energy toward learning her abilities. He had to find a way to make her understand, he must. He knew what he had to do.

***

When Addie awoke, she reached for Cael but her hand found his side of the bed cold and empty. She brushed her fingers over his pillow where his head had left a dent. Drawing it close, she hugged it, inhaling his scent still lingering there. The morning haze hid the sun from the room. Rolling over, she smiled at the memory of last night, how wonderful Cael had made her feel when he made love to her. His sensitive touch drew her into a world she never experienced before. Her smile turned to a frown as she remembered the letter from her father. How would Cael deal with that? How would she deal with it? She glanced at the red display on the clock beside the bed and jumped up, tossing the covers away. She had slept late and needed to get to work. She ran to the shower, tossing the letter out of her mind just as easily as she had tossed the covers aside.

***

Cael sat at the table in the kitchen, the journal and the letter her father had written in front of him.

“There’s coffee,” he said without looking up.

Addison poured a cup and after taking a sip, stared at him. He stared back, feeling her strong sensual energy. Right now, she had a beautiful aura. A mixture of red, yellow, and pink—confident, powerful, passionate and sensual. He also noted a bit of gold, the color of divine protection, and he hated himself for what he was about to do.

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? You’re asking me what’s wrong? You know damn well what’s fucking wrong.” His rough and stinging tone shocked even his own ears, and he hated himself.

“Well, other than my life being in danger, and yours as you know it about to be destroyed, I mean.”

“Yes, other than all that. You need to stop taking this so lightly. It’s time for both of us to stop kidding ourselves. You have responsibilities now and you are going to be a very powerful woman. We need to concentrate on the development of your powers so we can destroy Eidolon. You can’t go around acting like your flighty trouble-free friends, not having a fucking care in the world, because if you do, maybe there just won’t be a world for you. Damn it!” He slammed his fist down on the table, and she flinched.

Addison placed the cup on the counter and stood stiff, hands at her sides. Her aura changed to a mixture of muddied colors—blue, forest green and blood red—indicating her fear, confusion and anger. He hated how nasty he sounded and wanted to take back everything he had just said, but it was too late.