Eternal Envy (The Seven Sin Sisters 2) (2 page)

Not watching where she was going,
Eloise caught
her heel on something and fell to the ground. The shadow moved quickly towards her then
at a
nearly flashing speed. She knew then he was Breed.

“What are you doing out here?” the man’s deep voice vibrated through her bo
dy. He should’ve terrified her—he was Valendite Breed—
but something in his voice lulled her frantic heartbeat. “Are you all right?” He squatted down next to her, his hand landing on her shoulder when she tried to stand.

Suddenly frozen in place, unsure whether to move towards this man or away, Eloise felt paralyzed. A fluttering center
ed
in her chest. Should she insist he remove his hand? He was
even
larger now so close to her. His scent was amazingly crisp and warm. Drinking in her fill,
she shifted
her focus to his hands fisted in tension. The muscles in his neck and arms appeared tense, taut,
and
delicious. Clearly, he was holding himself back. And if this was
him
restraining himself, she so wanted to see him unrestrained.

“I need to stand up. I just tripped on something.” Eloise attempted to stand
,
but again his hand on her shoulder restrained her. Her eyes scanned upwards, perused his deeply tanned skin.

Eloise wanted to reach out and touch him. She placed her hand over his fingers still resting on her shoulder. They were so warm, strong and large. Eloise followed the landscape of his arm until he
r
hand wrapped around his bicep and she marveled at how small she seemed beside him. His shoulders were solid and the corded muscles beneath his worn t-shirt were flexing.
His low-slung jeans showed a peak of his happy trail and left her wondering just what she would find if she went walking down that path.

“Damn it. Your eyes, they’re lit up. And your scent…who are you?” The man lowered his voice at the question but she heard
it
deep inside. He didn’t just want her name. He suspected what she was coming to wonder herself but
had
dismissed as wishful thinking. He couldn’t possibly be her mate
,
c
ould he?

“Do you speak, woman?” The man was growling
;
his sculpted cheekbones hollow
ed
even further to give him a sharper appearance
,
but he didn’t scare her. Eloise didn’t move away
;
she
wanted the connection to him as deeply as she needed her next breath.

“My name is Eloise. I’m one of Layla’s sisters.”

“Eloise,” he repeated her name with reverence. His hand reached for her, cupped her cheek and soothed her with gentle strokes. He leaned in to kiss her lips
,
and when the current rose between them as eyes locked
and
lips fused, Eloise knew. She melted into his touch because there was nothing else in the world she craved now that she had this man.

The kiss was brief and before she knew it, he was pulling away to look down at her.

“Name’s Caedon,” he spoke no more than inches from her. She could feel his breath on her skin and wanted more of this man. Though for the first time in her memory, she didn’t crave this because someone else possessed it, she simply desired Caedon.

It was her soul sin.
She was destined to feel envy
,
of all things
,
until she felt herself truly fulfilled by her mate, the one being
who would be
able to make her complete.
 
Now that she
had
found him, first as only a shadow in the vineyard, she moved towards him instinctively
as if she somehow recognized him though never having met before.
 
Eloise was all too aware that
,
as legend told it, envy would be left behind when she laid eyes upon her mate on a night brightened by a full moon.
 
It was finally her time.

Caedon rose, dropped his hands
to
his hips and looked down at her. He was huge, larger even than he looked in the shadows, but so incredibly gentle as he reached down to lift her.
Since he was w
ell over six feet, Eloise came to his shoulders with her own 5’8” frame
,
and for the first time, she felt small and delicate.

Carefully
,
she placed her weight on her foot and winced. Caedon immediately picked her up again. Eloise’s entire world shifted in his arms. She closed her eyes to absorb the moment and when she brought her eyes back to his, she saw him wet his lips before swallowing.

“You feel it too, right?” His insecurity was as charming as everything else about him. Should she play with him? Surely not, she thought to herself.

“Yes. I feel it.” Eloise smiled and Caedon returned the gesture before pulling her to his chest again and ducking his head into her neck. His breathing was labored, but he seemed to be working to steady his breaths.

“So
,
Eloise, what were you doing wandering the vineyards?”

“I don’t remember,” Eloise shrugged, unclear about what had led her here in the first place. “I decided on a walk once the ceremony ended
.
Wait, why
were
n’t you at the ceremony?” Eloise suddenly realized she knew nothing about this man who was holding her. His
grasp
on her changed from warm and safe to frightening. Memories of Layla and Gracie’s kidnapping assaulted her mind.

“Relax,” Caedon reassured Eloise. “I work with Madden. I run the
comm
room, which meant I had to hold back today.
Someone had to watch the compound.”

“So why are you out here now?” Still
doubtful
but unable to pull herself from his hold, Eloise look
ed
him directly in the eye, challenging him to lie to her.

“I saw someone heading this way. Since it wasn’t in the direction of the wedding party, I thought I’d check it out.”

It all sounded good
,
but Eloise couldn’t help but be skeptical.
There had been s
o many years of wanting
,
of envying-other
s
’ happiness
;
to have this man who was her mate holding her was simply too good to be true. She had spent so much time envying others
and
she had not considered ever getting her own complete joy. Without a doubt, this is what it was. She had not a single drip of envy
.
It was as if suddenly she could breathe more deeply. S
he wanted nothing more than Caedon
and he was hers.

When she looked back up at him, he was staring at her
,
and Eloise realized she must’ve zoned out
and gotten
lost in her own thoughts. Caedon was smirking at her. “W-were you saying something?” Eloise’s cheeks must’ve been scarlet
;
she was so embarrassed.

“I was noticing the outrageous shoes you’re wearing. What possessed you to wear these to walk through a vineyard? You’re lucky you didn’t break your ankle,” Caedon admonished her.

“
I wore these shoes for my sister’s Pronouncement. And I’ll have you know
,
these are the very
lat
est in my line.” A shoe designer might not be an admirable profession but Eloise was very proud of her accomplishments. And this shoe was one of her best-selling designs.

“I’ll have you know
,
you won’t be wearing
that
type of
heels
anymore.”

Eloise pushed away from Caedon’s chest and gave him her most rebellious look
.
“I will not be told what I can and cannot wear. I have a closet full of shoes that I love more than anything and I plan to wear them each and every day as I’ve always done.”

“
Ostinata
,” Caedon mumbled to himself as he began to move in the direction of the wedding.

“Where are we going? I can walk
.
” Eloise struggled to get out of Caedon’s
grasp
but it was like cutting through steel. Resigned, she sank into his hold, “
Ostinato
.”

Caedon looked bemused, “You speak Italian.”

“Perhaps.”

“Are you always this challenging? This stubborn?”

“I am independent. I
’
m not stubborn. Though if you continue to call me stubborn, I can certainly show you just how much challenge I can provide a bossy man like you.”

At her words, Caedon let out a roar of laugh
ter
, “Oh,
Ostinata
, you are perfection.”

“Do not call me that as if it were an endearment!” Eloise controlled her grin by just an inch. She was not going to let him know just how right he
was. How could he know her so well already?
She only knew the term
Ostinata
because her mother and father used it so often with her.

They continued making their way back towards the party. Eloise became all too aware of
what
her family’s reaction
would be
if she showed up in Caedon’s arms. “You need to put me down,” she told him.

“Why? You can’t walk. You likely sprained your ankle.”

“My family will be worried if they see you carrying me.”

“I can fix that,” Caedon balanced her easily with one arm as he reached
for his earpiece. S
he hadn’t seen i
t
until he feathered his hair away just then.

“It’s Caedon. I’ve picked up one of Layla’s sisters wandering the vineyard. A possible sprained ankle. Right. Be there in five for you to check. Got it.” Eloise listened to Caedon’s half of the conversation and wondered who he spoke to. And she so didn’t appreciate being assessed by the man like he was a medic when he’d
only looked at her foot briefly enough to complain about her shoes.
“How do you have any idea what’s wrong with my foot?” Eloise’s voice was strained.

“You can’t place your weight on it. It has swollen up like a plum. And I can feel the pain you are in.”

Eloise was prepared with a comeback until the last words he
had
spoke
n
registered, “Wait. What? You can feel my pain?”

“Yes. I have no idea why
,
but I can feel the pain you’re in.”

“That’s not part of the, you know, the…” Eloise stumbled over her words.

“The mating. You can say it. I’ve never heard of this ability either
,
but there’s not a doubt in my mind that’s what I’m feeling.” Caedon’s voice softened, all teasing escaped, “Look, Eloise, let Donovan take a look. Then you and I can talk. I know your sister had a difficult time with the Assimilation but it doesn’t have to be that way for you.”

“I know. I do not intend to let
it
be
difficult. You have no idea,” Eloise stopped herself from spilling all her secrets, clamped her mouth shut and gave Caedon the smile that had always warned her sisters she was up to no good. Poor Caedon didn’t have a clue what he was getting.

*
*
*
*

Eloise sat in the chair
where
Caedon had gently placed her with the warning not to get up until he returned. He was off to find Donovan while Eloise found herself surrounded by her sisters.

“Where on earth did you escape to
, a
nd why was Caedon carrying you?” Layla asked.

“Who is Caedon? Where did he even come from?” Paige demanded.

Layla hushed her sisters who were now all talking at once, “Be quiet so Eloise can tell us what she’s gotten herself into this time.” Layla raised her brow at Eloise and waited.

“I didn’t get into anything. I took a walk after the Pronouncement ceremony and tripped on something. Luckily,” Eloise rolled her eyes, “Caedon came along to bring me back.”

“How badly is it hurt?” Gracie asked, moving in to gently lift and inspect Eloise’s ankle.

Eloise lowered her voice, “I definitely can’t walk on it
, but
I don’t want Conan the Barbarian over there to know.”

“Well, whispering isn’t going to help you. The Valendite Breed
has
an extraordinary sense of hearing. You know that, El,” Layla reminded her sister.

“Arg
h
,” Eloise growled in frustration, “I know. I can’t think straight.”