Unbuckling my seatbelt, I crawl over the console and sit in Reed’s lap. Wrapping my arms around his neck I press my forehead to his and look in his eyes. “Thank you,” I say in a gentle tone. “I know that this outing is a stretch for you. You’re probably fighting the urge to pick me up and take me back into the house, or at the very least, to drive the car yourself, so that you’ll be absolutely sure nothing will happen to me.”
A small smile touches Reed’s lips. “I marvel at how well you seem to know me. If only I could know you as well. You seem to know what I’m thinking, whereas I have no clue most of the time of what you’ll do next,” he says.
“You’re wrong…I don’t know what you’re thinking most of the time, but you seem to have a theme going on lately. It’s that ‘Evie’s Continued Survival List’ except you seem to have thrown out the con side. Now you’re just focusing on the pros,” I say, snuggling closer to him and kissing the place just beneath his ear tenderly.
“There are no cons,” he breathes into my hair, and for a second, I believe him. I press my teeth to his earlobe and nip him gently.
“How about now?” I ask, smiling at him and hearing him groan.
“Okay, one con, but I’m sure that will not be a problem much longer,” he says, referring to our inability to act on our desire for each other until I’m safely sturdy enough to handle it. “I think Zephyr is waiting for us to go,” Reed says, reminding me that we’re holding them up. I look over to the other vehicle to see that Zephyr has rolled down the driver’s side window and is waiting for us patiently.
“Oh,” I say, blushing. “Time to go.” I crawl back into my seat, buckling my seatbelt again. I follow the black Range Rover out and we get on the road to the resort. “How long until we get there?” I ask Reed, while watching the road ahead.
“Depends on how fast you drive. It shouldn’t take more than three hours, if you drive the speed limit,” he says blandly because I can tell that he thinks driving slowly is a waste of time. There is no danger in it, no thrill. I can also tell that Zephyr agrees with this philosophy wholeheartedly because I have to keep the pedal almost to the floor to keep up with him on the highway.
“You said that I know you very well. On some levels I think you’re right. But, on others, I hardly know you at all,” I admit as Reed holds my hand casually, not even aware of how perfect he is.
“What would you like to know about me?” Reed asks somewhat guardedly, probably because he thinks I’m after some of his trade secrets that he’s not allowed to reveal.
That isn’t what I’m after. “Relax, I’m not going to make you tell me why archeologist have found dinosaurs bones if Creation is a true story,” I say, smiling at him and watching as his smile travels all the way to his eyes. I love that. “No, I was just after a story from your life. Something about you.”
“I told you, Evie, I didn’t really begin to live until I met you,” he says. I roll my eyes at him, not buying it. “You don’t believe me?” he asks me, scanning my face.
“No, you’re an artist. I’ve seen all of the beautiful carvings you’ve created, so I know you’ve at least had something going on before me,” I reason.
“Most of those carvings were done while sitting in some desolate hole somewhere waiting for my prey to arrive,” he replies, looking out of the window at the scenery flashing by. “It was something to do when I couldn’t read one more sonnet I didn’t understand because I had no basis for the emotions being discussed. I travel through human civilizations on the fringes.” He glances at me then, probably trying to gauge my reaction to what he’s telling me. I school my face, trying not to let him know just how my heart hurts because of his lonely existence.
He is quiet for a little while before he continues. “For the most part, I watch civilizations rise and I see them fall. Once in a while, I try to participate, like I have recently here, but that’s not my purpose. I have to be careful that I remain guarded about what I am,” he says. “I could tell you about my impressions of Sparta, of the warriors who were torn apart when their civilization was overrun. I can tell you about the Spanish Inquisition and the atrocities all perpetrated, supposedly in the name of God, but I’m merely an observer of the deeds of men. I cannot participate to any great extent, even when I would’ve felt justified to tear some of those men to shreds.” His smile is grim. I shiver, thinking of all the evil he has witnessed.
“I’ve had to take time off from humans, after seeing some things that have disturbed me.” My imagination goes wild thinking of what must have been so bad as to disturb an angel whose sole purpose is to kill and tear apart other angels. I am ashamed when several things come to mind, some events in the not so distant past. “Sometimes, I’ve been able to stay out of human societies for decades. It’s more difficult now, than it used to be, but not impossible.”
“When I do participate more closely with humans, I can’t form any lasting friendships with them. Sometimes people form an attachment to me for whatever reason.” He pauses to glance at me for a moment. “Take, for example, JT and Pete. They don’t know why they like me, they just do,” he says, smiling despite the grim life he describes. “But, I will only be able to hang around with them for a few more years at the most because they will notice that I’m still nineteen, while they’re older.” He laughs humorlessly. “So I’ll move away and start a new life somewhere else…but now I have you. You can come with me. We can go wherever we desire, wherever you desire,” he says, bringing my hand to his lips and kissing it. I place the palm of my hand to his cheek and watch as he closes his eyes, savoring the feel of my skin on his.
Contact… needs… no wonder he always looked so lost when he was near me, when we first met. He was lost… and I found him… and I’m keeping him, no matter what, I think.
“I love you. We can go wherever you want, just as long as we’re together,” I say plainly, so that there won’t be any misunderstanding between us. I have to tear my eyes away from his radiant smile, so that we won’t get into an accident.
“It is so strange where my mind goes these days…how I sit and dream about things that may never be,” he says.
“What do you mean?” I ask in confusion.
He glances at me for a moment like he has said too much. Like he has revealed something embarrassing and I think he is not going to answer me, but then he says, “I can sit for hours now and dream about all of the places I can take you and how you might react to them. Then I think about what we could do if we went there, but I discard one place for the next dream…it’s so satisfying,” he says almost apologetically.
“You’re saying you daydream about me?” I ask, blushing a little when I think of this fierce warrior thinking of me that way.
“Yes,” he says, watching me. “I’ve never done that before. When I make plans, they are wholly based on strategy, such as where I will find the most damned. How I can manipulate a terrain to best entrap my prey. How I can turn my enemies against one another. Or, how to comprise the most lethal alliances,” he says with assurance. “But now, I find myself thinking about how I can make Evie smile, or what your reaction will be to seeing the pyramids of Giza, or how your hair will look while spread out on the pillow tonight in your room…” he trails off, and my blush deepens in ecstasy.