Bound, An Arelia LaRue Novel #1 YA Paranormal Romance (9 page)

“
Arelia,” he smiled. His
eyes vividly danced, as if he were genuinely happy to see me.
“Would you like some cognac?” He held out a crystal glass with
brown liquid inside.

“
I’m fine,” I made my tone
as icy as possible. I wanted him to know that I meant business.
“What did you do to Sabrina?”

“
Why don’t you come in and
take a look for yourself?” Graciously, he moved to the side, so I
could enter the room.

Immediately, the sound of Sabrina’s
epic snores greeted me. I walked over to the bed where a
kimono-clad Sabrina was drooling on a silk duvet. Relief flooded
over me. She was okay, not murdered or anything.

“
She walked in and promptly
passed out. She also rolled off the bed a minute ago, so I
apologize if you were disturbed by any strange noises,” Lucus
explained. He intently examined the expression on my face trying
his best to read it.

“
Oh, thank God. I
thought…”

“
You thought what?” His eyes
focused on me daring me to say what I really thought.

“
I thought…”

“
You thought we were making
loud, passionate love?” He joked.

“
What? No! Well maybe, or I
thought you had killed her, what guy says loud, passionate, love
anyways?” I did need a shot of whatever he was drinking after all.
I grabbed the glass out of his hand and chugged down the rest of
its contents. An action that I immediately regretted as it slid
down and burned my insides. “Gross! What is that?”

He looked fascinated as he took the
glass out of my hand. “Henri IV Dudognon Heritage cognac, meant to
be sipped.”

“
Okay, whatever that means,
I don’t drink. Anyways, aren’t you supposed to be drinking beer
like the rest of the guys your age?”

“
Is that what guys my age
are supposed to be drinking?” He asked in what sounded like sincere
surprise.

“
A Bud Light twelve pack and
a parking lot, that’s how guys at school do it.”

“
Really?” He walked over to
the corner of the room where an intricately carved table held
bottles of exotic spirits, and poured himself a small shot. “Tell
me more.”

“
You’re not interested,” I
said, as I examined the bottles. They looked ancient. They weren’t
the kind that you found at Bed Bath and Beyond. Some were decorated
with diamonds, others with rubies and jade. They were definitely
real.

“
I’m not?” He pretended he
was wounded by my words, as he placed his hand on his chest and
took a step back. “Why is that?”

“
I know your type. Spoiled,
rich, thinking the world revolves around them. You use girls like
Sabrina because it makes you feel good and entitled. They hang on
your every word and make you feel smart and successful. You’re not
interested in what I have to say because it’s too much of a
challenge to stop thinking about your hair. Sure, one day you’ll
marry a girl like her because it’s easy. You’ll have a couple of
kids, a few mistresses on the side and live out the rest of your
days in denial. Don’t get me wrong, I love my friend, but I know
her all too well, and I have a feeling that you two will make a
perfect couple.”

“
You think so highly of me
don’t you?” He wasn’t angry which made me feel a little bad for
saying the things I did.

“
Why should I think highly
of you? We just met, and my best friend is half-naked in your bed.
What have you done to make me think that you’re so awesome?”
Sometimes, I had a bad habit of saying exactly what I
thought.

“
Your friend chose to be
here, I didn’t invite her and had no intention of doing anything
with her,” Lucus explained like it was the most normal thing to
have Sabrina there.

“
Sure, you’re just Mr.
Perfect, aren’t you?” What the hell was wrong with me? I had a
slight buzz from the cognac. Was I an angry drunk? “I’m sorry. I
think it’s the cognac.”

“
No need to apologize.”
Lucus sounded like he actually enjoyed being yelled at by an
irrational girl in a nightgown who had barged into his room in the
middle of the night.

“
So do you like her?” I
asked. “For some reason, she’s crazy about you. You better be nice
to her.” Why had I just asked him that question? It was really none
of my business.

“
Why is it so hard to
believe that someone could be crazy about me? Do I smell terrible?”
He sniffed his armpit.

“
No.”

“
Well in that case, would
you be offended if I were crazy about her?”

“
Why do you think I would be
offended?” I asked.

“
If you didn’t care, you
wouldn’t keep asking me what I thought,” he said in what sounded
like a rather smug tone.

“
I was only asking because
of Sabrina” I felt myself getting defensive again.

“
It was really amazing what
you did tonight, helping Ben like that and healing his snake bite.”
He changed the subject.

“
I told you not to talk
about it,” I hissed in case Sabrina woke up and overhead us
talking.

“
Don’t worry, I won’t but
your friend clearly isn’t waking up anytime soon, so I think we’re
safe talking about it.”

“
Did it freak you out?” I
asked. “Seeing something like that?”

“
No, I’ve seen it many times
before.” He stated it like it was an everyday
occurrence.

“
Like where?” I was
beginning to find this new world grotesquely
fascinating.

“
Right here in Darkwood. In
New Orleans, the spirits are alive and well.”

“
How did you know that I
would be able to heal Ben, you hear them too?” I was excited at the
possibility that maybe he was just like me.

“
Sadly, I’m not as a gifted
as you. I figured that because your aunt Mae is a powerful voodoo
queen that would make you one too.”

“
Oh.” I tried to hide my
disappointment. “Hey, wait. How do you know that Ms. Mae and I are
related?”

“
She speaks of you
often.”

“
So she knew I would be
coming here. She knew that Sabrina would accept the invitation all
along.”

“
I suppose, she did. How
does it feel to have so much power?” He keenly asked.

“
Power? I don’t have any
power. It’s a curse really. It sucks being constantly targeted by
things that you can’t talk about with your friends. It’s like being
trapped in some kind of bubble. You don’t want to let anyone else
in because you’re afraid of spreading whatever disease you
have.”

“
A disease, what makes it so
terrible?”

“
You wouldn’t understand.” I
wanted to tell him everything. I had a feeling that somehow he
would understand, but I’ve never been the type to pour my heart out
to strangers.

“
You never know, people can
surprise you if you let them in. Maybe I will understand.” He
seemed genuinely eager to listen.

“
Yeah right, I’m sure that’s
exactly what you want right now. You really want to listen to some
girl you just met ramble on about how she’s supposedly a voodoo
queen.”

“
It would be much more
interesting than a majority of the conversations I’ve suffered
through.”

I noticed a book lying open on the
table and picked it up. “You’re actually reading this? The Count of
Monte Cristo.” I held up the book, conveniently changing the
subject.

“
It’s my favorite book.” His
eyes brightened with enthusiasm.

“
Why?”

“
You’re not interested,” he
shrugged as he used my line.

“
Okay fine, don’t tell
me.”

“
Have you read the story?”
He inquired gently as he came closer and took the book from me. His
hand brushed against mine. It was smooth to the touch.

“
No.” I replied in a voice
that sounded too weak to be mine.

“
It’s the story of Edmond
Dantes, wrongly accused of a crime and imprisoned in Chateau d’If
for fourteen years.”

“
Doesn’t sound that complex
to me,” I mumbled.

“
It’s not the fact that its
complex, it’s Edmond’s character, he never stops believing that he
will get of prison, and one day be free. Even though, he faces
countless challenges along the way,” he stared at me in
anticipation hoping I would understand. If I were Sabrina, I would
have gone on about how smart he was and made googly eyes at him,
but I was me.

“
So, you can relate to it
because you’re rich and have everything in the world and to you
that’s like prison? I’m sorry I don’t get it.” I expected him to
get angry like most guys did when they were challenged. Maybe say
that I was stupid and kick me out of the room.

Instead, he said, “I guess everyone has
their own perspective of the world. What’s your favorite
book?”

“
If I tell you will you
laugh?”

His arched eyebrows furrowed in
confusion. “Why would I laugh?”

“
It’s Charlie and the
Chocolate Factory,” I blurted.

“
Why is that?”

“
I guess I like the fact
that Charlie is the underdog but still comes out on top at the end.
I can relate to being an underdog. Plus, he gets an unlimited
supply of chocolate, and I live on chocolate. Although I can’t
really afford any luxurious brand like Godiva or anything,” I
caught myself rambling. I was interrupted by an embarrassing growl
that came from the pit of my stomach.

“
I don’t think I’ve heard
anyone’s stomach growl so loudly.” Lucus was clearly impressed by
the fact that my stomach probably woke up the entire
house.

I looked away in embarrassment. “I
haven’t eaten anything since this morning,” I confessed.

“
Well, we can’t have you
walking around like that, now can we? How about I fix you
something?”

“
Um, you can cook?” I was
skeptical that he even knew where the kitchen was.

“
Yes, I can cook, does that
surprise you?” He acted offended that I had questioned his supposed
culinary skills.

“
I’m sorry. I won’t believe
it until I see it.” I challenged him.

“
Come with me,” Lucus
ordered. He grabbed a plain white t-shirt from his closet and
opened the bedroom door.

“
But, we can’t leave
Sabrina.” I eyed the bed.

“
Judging by her snores,
she’ll be okay for a little bit. Just a quick snack and we’ll be
back. I’ll make anything you want.” His eyes gleamed as he tried to
tempt me.

“
Fine.” I reluctantly gave
in and followed him to the kitchen.

The kitchen was dark and silent when we
got there. Lucus flicked on the lights and opened the refrigerator
door. “You name the dish, and I’ll make it for you,” he offered
regally.

I glanced inside the refrigerator and
for some inexplicable reason had a craving for chocolate chip
pancakes. “Chocolate chip pancakes,” I demanded with
authority.

Lucus examined me. Speculation crossed
his face. For the first time, I noticed how his high cheekbones
were in stark contrast to his generous lips. It was an odd but
enticing combination. “I can do that, but are you sure that’s what
you really want?”

“
No, how about fried Oreos?”
It wasn’t the healthiest option, but hey, he said
anything.

“
I can honestly say, I have
no idea what that is.”

“
You said anything,” I
reminded him.

Lucus rapidly tapped his fingers on the
counter. “I did say anything. If you instruct me, I’m sure I can
whip up some fried Oreos for you.”

“
Great!” I clapped my hands
in anticipation of the scene that was going to play out in front of
me.

“
What do we need?” Lucus
asked as he headed towards the pantry beside kitchen.

“
Well, Oreos of course. We
need some Bisquick, powered sugar, an egg and oil,” I rattled off
the list.

Lucus gathered the ingredients and
placed them on the counter. He scratched his head, as he examined
them. “What next?” He asked cautiously.

“
Mix the Biquick and egg,
dip in the Oreos, and fry them,” I instructed.

Lucus hesitated before starting the
procedure. Watching him was entertaining. His eyes were focused on
the batter, as he made sure that each Oreo was coated perfectly.
“No good can come out of this,” he warned. The oil sizzled and he
started expertly frying.

I grabbed one as soon as it came out of
the pan and shoved it in my mouth. “So good!” I ecstatically cried
through mouthfuls. “You have to try some.”

“
No thanks,” Lucus kindly
refused my offer. He observed me gobble one down after
another.

“
Come on, it won’t kill you
I promise,” I pestered. I hovered an Oreo in front of his
face.

“
Fine, one bite.” Lucus took
an Oreo from the batch. As he chewed, repulsion filled his
eyes.

“
So?” I asked. I was eager
to know what he thought.