Killing Me Softly (8 page)

‘What does your tattoo mean?’ she asked, gesturing to the one on his wrist.

‘It’s Celtic for Brotherhood of the Sidhe. We all have one. A kind of blood oath.’

‘Oh?’ She sipped her tea, shifted again.

To hide his smile, he pursed his lips, blowing on his coffee before taking a sip.

As the steam rose upward in an enticing curl, she shivered. Wetting her lips with her tongue, her gaze darted away. ‘How are you settling in?’

‘Good. Great. Everything’s very comfortable. As good as home, actually.’ He sat forward, leaning his arms on his thighs as he spoke. ‘The boys are relieved they won’t be travelling for a while and I know Melissa is treating the place like home; you know, eat a home-cooked meal, do the domestic goddess thing. She’s in nesting mode at the moment, being pregnant and all.’

‘How far along is she?’

‘Only four months and she’s not even showing or been sick or anything. If it wasn’t for Phil treating her as if she were porcelain, you wouldn’t be able to tell.’ He chuckled. ‘They had a fight this afternoon because when she saw the stables, she said she wanted to go for a ride and he wouldn’t have it. I’ve never seen Phil look so fierce. He’s usually the easygoing one. But I bet Lis will get her way.’

‘I look forward to meeting them both.’ She swallowed hard and looked away. ‘Now, we should talk about work.’

Daemon wanted to protest. He’d answered her questions, given her information about himself and the band and before he could ask her anything personal, she’d pulled her business persona over her like a cloak. It was maddening.

He itched to know more about her, and not from Nigel. Why couldn’t she open up to him, even a little? She’d probably read all about him by now, especially lately. But even if Darla hadn’t spilled his secrets to the press, Alexia would have heard his triumphs and failures in his music. Any gaps left had probably been filled in by Billy and Craig.

So, wasn’t it only fair he found out about her?
Quid pro quo
and all that.

And why was he questioning himself about this? Was this guilt about going behind her back? He shrugged off the nasty thought, ignored the bitter aftertaste. If cosy middle-of-the-night discussions with her did this to him, he’d better avoid them in the future.

‘ . . . in my experience that’s always the case. Is that all right by you?’

He had no idea what she’d said. ‘That sounds fine to me.’

‘Good. So the mornings will be for personal time and we’ll work in the afternoons and into the evenings. I insist on having good breaks. No one does their best work when they’re overworked and tired. If I say it’s time for a break then that’s what we do.’ She looked at him as if expecting him to argue.

Daemon smiled slowly. ‘You’re the boss.’

She sat back and looked at him, and he could see uncertainty flicker in her eyes. ‘That’s right. I am. I’m glad you agree.’

Even though he’d asked to start over and had determined not to antagonise her again, the devil seemed to have taken over him suddenly. Frustration riding him, he tipped his head, gaze taking a slow, precise wander down then back up her body before settling on her face, just as she had done to him before.

‘Now, is there anything else you need from me?’ She bit her lip.

She couldn’t possibly know how sexy she looked. Or maybe she did. The thought made him want to rile her even more. ‘Not right now. Maybe later.’

She stood, her face flushing. ‘I’m not one of your groupies, Daemon. If you try to treat me like one, our working relationship will come to a short, sharp end.’

She marched off but he couldn’t make himself stop her, even though he knew he should to apologise.

God! What was wrong with him that he had to act like a completely irrational dick around her?

No. It wasn’t him. Alexia was the problem here. He still couldn’t figure her out.

She was full of contradictions. Her movements weren’t seductive, yet there was something in her manner that drew a man’s eye. Sober and serious seemed to be her main demeanour, yet in the right company he was sure she had a wicked sense of humour. She was secretive about anything personal, and yet her music was unfailingly honest and open. And boy, had she hated the fact he’d seen that part of her! Almost as if she was afraid he could hurt her just by knowing a little of what she held inside.

He had never met someone who could shut down and withdraw as quickly as she could.

Musicians were usually far more emotional.

She was a mystery. He shook his head. He didn’t like it.

Thank Christ Nigel had called this morning and told him he’d found out some interesting things about Alexia and her sister. He hadn’t wanted to elaborate over the phone but said he’d come out on the weekend with Lyall. The only problem was, Daemon didn’t know if he could wait. He’d barely slept in the past two weeks, worrying over it. He’d hoped Nigel would come up with the goods before they started work.

The weekend couldn’t come fast enough.

Yawning, he looked at the clock and realised he’d been up nearly the entire night. He rose from the couch, washed up their mugs and headed out of the studio. It was still dark, but a faint glow peeped over the hills in the distance. A bird chirruped, greeting the coming day.

Daemon stood at the door of the studio and watched night’s shadow lift its dark hand from the land. He could see outlines of trees and fences, the pastures dotted with horses, long-haired cattle and sheep. The sun rose in the sky, a pink glow sending distorted shadows across the land. A bird flew from the eaves of the studio and out over the main house. Following its passage, his eyes settled on a lone figure standing on the flat rooftop of the castle-like structure, leaning against a crenel. Even though he couldn’t see much more than her outline, he knew it was Alexia.

He moved forward, staying in the shadow of the building behind him.

As the sun climbed higher, her features were touched by the golden glow. She wiped her face. Was she crying? Had he made her cry? She stood, her face bathed a golden orange by the sunrise.

She looked so alone. Just like him.

He curled his fingers into his palm at the thought. As the pink faded into a yellow glow and light blue tinged the sky, she turned and walked away.

Daemon stared at the place she’d been, a hot burn building inside.

He watched from the shadows as Daemon turned away. He’d almost been caught out when Daemon had come out of the studio. What the hell was the Irish bastard doing in there in the middle of the night? Did the man never sleep?

But in the end, almost being caught had worked in his favour. He’d seen her! And she was becoming just as fragile as he’d hoped.

Lyndon had told him the Lord was on his side and Lyndon never lied. This was proof. The whore would soon be his.

Turning away, he began to smile. He couldn’t wait.

The alarm rang shrilly in the quiet room. Lexi groaned, reached out to hit the off button. Opening bleary eyes she stared at the clock face. Six-thirty. Time to get up. She rubbed at her aching head, then slumped back on the pillow. She’d been working stupid hours over the last few days since the band arrived in an attempt to stop the dreams. Exhaustion usually worked.

And it had. Kind of.

The nightmares had lessened but had been replaced with a different kind of dream. All featuring an annoying Irishman. She wasn’t quite sure what was worse – to be haunted by violent dreams of what she’d felt of Cat’s trauma or to lose control of herself time and time again to Daemon in her dreams.

Closing her eyes against the dawn light filtering in through the curtains, she thought maybe she just needed a few more minutes of shut-eye. Surely five minutes more wouldn’t hurt? She burrowed into the comforting warmth of her bed with a little sigh. Darkness folded over her as consciousness slipped away. She floated for a moment, a lovely sense of serenity and peace covering her like a warm blanket – or a lover’s caress.

A lover’s caress . . . 

BEEP . . . BEEP . . . BEEP.

Lexi rolled over with a groan as she slammed her hand against the alarm clock. Breathing heavily, she fell back on to her pillows. She felt so . . . so . . . unfulfilled? No, that wasn’t quite right. She felt empty, her body full of unwanted flutters and twitchy nerves. She wanted . . .

Daemon?

No! She didn’t want him. That was just something her mind had conjured up because of how he’d made her feel when he played her music.

Damn him! Damn her stupid mind, making something of nothing, making her all hot and bothered and feeling the way she’d not felt since she was a teenager with a stupid crush on Matthew Wilson.

Punching her pillow, she rolled over and opened her eyes. It took a moment to register the slant of sun on the end of her bed that hadn’t been there before. She peered at her alarm clock.

‘Eight o’clock! Shit!’ The alarm must have malfunctioned. She could have sworn she’d only pressed the ‘sleep’ function, which should have given her another fifteen minutes not two hours.

She pushed the covers back, scrambling out of bed. She’d promised Billy some time off this morning so he could drive into Newcastle. She was surprised he hadn’t come up to check on her.

But then again, maybe he had, and saw her sleeping and left her to it.

If that was the case, she’d read him the riot act. She wouldn’t let him kill himself trying to be everything to everyone.

That was her job.

Fifteen minutes later, having pulled on clothes, brushed her hair and teeth, and grabbed an apple and a piece of toast for breakfast – only succumbing to this because of Bev’s complaints about her not taking care of herself – she was about to run out when Bev said, ‘Take a jacket. It’s cold out and Karl thinks another storm is coming. There might even be snow.’

Lexi laughed. ‘There’s always another storm coming. It’s why I love it here.’ But she turned and grabbed a jacket from the hall stand before running outside toward the walled garden where Bev said Billy and Cat were taking a walk.

The scent of Bev’s roses drifted on the air; despite the recent unpredictable weather, they were blooming, announcing the coming spring. Taking a deep breath, the delicious perfume comforting her soul, she headed down between the rows of apple and plum trees in the small orchard between the house and the walled garden. As she walked, she couldn’t help but admire the hardiness of these fruit trees. The winter had been harsh and yet their spindly branches, like hands reaching up to the sky, were newly covered with spring green leaves and the tiny buds of blossoms about to burst into bloom. Picking a half-opened bud, holding it to her nose, she entered the garden through a mossy gate in the grey, pockmarked wall and soon heard Billy’s voice.

‘Look Cat. Can you see the two robins there on the branch?’

‘Is she actually looking at them?’ asked a soft, feminine voice with an American twang that she recognised as Melissa’s asked.

‘It’s the first time she’s noticed anything in days.’ Billy’s voice was filled with quiet, happy relief. ‘Although it shouldn’t surprise me. She used to call them lovebirds when we were little. She was so disappointed when she found out what they actually looked like. She said robins were true lovebirds because with that splash of red, they looked as if they wore their hearts on their chests.’

‘That’s so true,’ Melissa said, laughing.

‘Cat always had a great way of looking at the world,’ Lexi commented as she turned the last bend in the path to see them congregated by the fountain, looking at the robins fluttering around.

‘Good-morning, sleepyhead,’ Billy smirked. ‘Cat’s watching the birds.’

‘I can see.’ She stepped up beside her sister, took her hand in hers, chafing her cold fingers, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. ‘Good morning, Cat.’

Cat didn’t acknowledge her but kept watching the birds.

Billy gripped Lexi’s hand and pulled her close to whisper in her ear, ‘What’s wrong? You’ve not been sleeping.’

Melissa and Phil kept Cat engaged as Billy pulled her slightly away from them.

‘I’m fine.’

‘No, you’re not. Are you going to tell me about it?’

She shook her head. She couldn’t tell him about the dreams about Daemon and she most definitely wasn’t going to mention the letters. He worried about her enough as it was.

‘You can’t shut out those that love you, Lexi.’

‘I’m not.’ She sighed, exasperated. ‘I need a friend, Billy, not a mum. Can you just be my friend and trust me when I say I’m fine?’

He touched the darkened smudge of skin under her eye. ‘It’s hard to believe that with the hard evidence suggesting otherwise.’

A twig snapped behind them.

Relieved at the distraction, Lexi turned to see Daemon and Craig walking towards them.

‘What are you all doing here? Was there a meeting and why wasn’t I invited?’ Craig asked.

‘As if you need an invitation,’ Melissa said, giving them both pecks on the cheek. ‘We were just keeping Billy and Cat company and exploring this wonderful hidden garden.’

Alexia became uncomfortably aware that Daemon’s gaze had flickered between her and Billy and then returned to her.

Ignoring the strange sensation his gaze ignited inside her – probably a remnant of this morning’s dream – she turned to Melissa. ‘You’re welcome to come in here at any time. And Daemon tells me you’re interested in horseriding. I can show you down to the stables now and introduce you to Karl or one of the hands and they can get you fitted up.’

‘I don’t think—’ Phil began, but Melissa waved her hand at him.

‘Oh, stop fussing, you worrywart. I’m pregnant, not sick. Besides, I called my ob-gyn and he said some gentle horseriding would be fine. I’d love to go,’ she said, turning back to Lexi, completely ignoring the fact her husband did not look at all convinced. ‘Shall we go down now?’

‘That would be great. Cat loves it down in the stables.’ She looked at the others. ‘Are you coming?’

‘One of us better go,’ Craig said, slapping Daemon on the shoulder. ‘To stop Lis from killing Phil if he gets between her and the horse she wants to ride.’

Daemon nodded, but his gaze didn’t leave Lexi. He watched her with such an intense expression, it made her remember the way he’d looked at her in the dream.

Heated, filled with want.

Hastily turning away, she hooked her arm through Cat’s and turned to Billy. ‘Thanks for letting me sleep in – not that I asked for you to do that,’ she narrowed her eyes at him. ‘But don’t you have to go?’

‘I’m not in a hurry. I’ll walk you down to the stables.’

She nodded and they all set off in a little group, Phil and Melissa in front, Cat between Lexi and Billy, and Daemon and Craig following behind.

As they walked, Lexi was aware of Daemon’s gaze burrowing into her from behind. She wished he’d walked in front with Phil and Melissa.

‘So what brings you two out here this morning?’ Melissa asked Craig and Daemon. ‘I thought Dae was holed up in the studio with you as hostage trying out some new songs.’

Craig chuckled. ‘We were. But I wanted some breakfast and a break so I dragged him out here with me.’

‘So how’s it been going?’ Billy asked.

‘Really great,’ Craig said. ‘Lexi is brilliant.’

She turned around and flashed him a cheeky smile. ‘You’re only saying that because I can hear you.’

‘You’re right. She’s really a bloody ogre.’

‘Sounds right to me,’ Billy agreed.

‘Hey! You’re supposed to stick up for me!’

‘When did we agree on that?’

Daemon didn’t join in their playful banter. Lexi would have assumed he was preoccupied, except that every time she turned his way, he was staring at her.

No. Not staring. Almost glaring.

She had no idea what she’d done. If anyone should glare, it should be her. Work was fine, but outside work, every interaction seemed to mirror the one they’d had the night the band arrived. The night he’d played her music and opened some locked-away part of her.

Now you’re being fanciful!
He’d just played her music and she had to get over how intimate it had seemed. How uncomfortable that had made her. How she now couldn’t get him out of her dreams.

Straightening her shoulders, she tried to ignore him.

But it was really hard to ignore someone when they were looking at you like that.

They entered the stables and she breathed in the comforting smells of hay and horse, and couldn’t help but smile. Still trying to ignore Daemon, she introduced Melissa to Karl and involved herself in the discussion about the best horse for the pregnant woman to ride. Billy took Cat over to say hello to her horse, Kelsey.

Lexi didn’t miss the moment Cat lifted a hand to stroke Kelsey’s nose.

A bittersweet pain filled her chest. She was glad Cat was responding to things, but just wished that, for once, Cat would see her too.

Billy brought Cat back over to her, saying he had to go. Giving her and Cat a kiss on the cheek, he waved goodbye to the others and headed up to the garage.

‘Well,’ Melissa clapped her hands together. ‘I’ve just realised how much I’ve missed riding. Can I go out now?’

‘There’s a storm coming, but you’ve got maybe an hour or so before it rolls in.’

‘Oh, I don’t care about a little rain.’

‘We don’t get little rains here,’ Karl said, smiling. ‘There might even be a touch of snow. But if you promise not to go far and are rugged up, I’ll get some horses sorted for you.’

Phil tried his best to dissuade her and then hovered around her as their horses were being saddled. Craig decided to go with her, laughingly telling Phil he was only doing it to save the drummer’s neck, seeing as his hovering was obviously driving Melissa insane.

Melissa’s gentle smile of contentment gave the lie to his statement, but she said, ‘The more the merrier. Are you going to come?’ she asked Daemon.

‘You ride?’ Lexi asked, surprised.

Daemon nodded. ‘When I was eleven, I went to live with my da in a small country town in Ireland. There wasn’t much else to do but ride.’ He looked her up and down. ‘Do you ride?’

‘Yes. But not right now. I need to get Cat into the gym.’

‘Do you need help with that?’

For a moment she didn’t know what to say and then, ‘No. We’ll be fine. You go out for a ride.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘I’m sure.’

He looked at her, considering for a moment and then nodded. ‘A ride sounds good.’

She stayed long enough to wave them off, aware that the entire time, Daemon had kept looking at her as if he was trying to figure something out.

That look – it made her throat go dry and her hands shake.

She was relieved when they were finally gone, riding down the road that led to the woods and the river.

She spent a frustrating hour in the gym with Cat being completely unhelpful, even though they were exercises she did every day with Billy, not helped by the fact Lexi’s mind kept wandering back to Daemon and the way he’d been looking at her. And when the storm broke with a loud crash of thunder that echoed across the fells, wind whistling around the manor, rattling the windows, she couldn’t help but worry and wonder if Daemon and the others had made it back in.

Unable to concentrate, she decided to take Cat upstairs and give her a bath – they were both sweaty and in need of some soothing, warm water.

But that appeared to be a bad idea, too, because Cat wouldn’t lift her limbs to help Lexi get her out of her workout gear. A snarling headache pressed around her temple and on the fifth attempt to get Cat’s tracksuit pants off, Lexi ran out of patience. Frustration caused by the swirling, unwanted images of an annoying Irishman made her snap.

‘Are you being difficult to torment me? You can’t blame me forever, you know, so just bloody well stand up!’ She winced as the unfair words caused by guilt and anger and too many sleepless nights rang around her.

Leaning her head against her sister’s knee, she whispered, ‘I’m sorry, Cat. I know this isn’t a choice for you. But please, help. I can’t do this without some help from you.’ She looked up, but there wasn’t so much as a flicker in Cat’s eyes. ‘Please, Cat. I need your help.’ She was no longer talking about the pants.

After a long moment of staring, Lexi trying to engage her sister’s gaze, Cat staring at some point that always seemed just over Lexi’s shoulder, she turned and kicked the wall.

‘Shit!’ Toe throbbing, she began to hop around, rubbing at her now-sore foot. ‘Idiot!’

‘Do you need any help, love?’

She turned to see Bev standing in the doorway and lowered her foot, feeling foolish. ‘I’m okay. She’s just being a bit uncooperative.’ Swallowing the hysteria rising in her voice, she bent to try to lift Cat’s foot again, pulled, lost her grip and fell back. Dropping her aching head into her hands, embarrassed because she couldn’t cope with her own sister, she mumbled, ‘I need some help.’

Bev walked into the room and put her hands on Lexi’s shoulders, gently pulling her up off the floor. Exhausted and emotionally drained as she was, Lexi gave in to her gentle insistence. ‘It’s all right, love. She can be difficult at times. And it’s so much more draining on you than us.’