The Inner Circle, Book 3 of the Glass Wall ( A YA Urban Fantasy Romance ) (26 page)

As he scribbled in his notebook, my mind
began to wander.

Was Rafael right? Was Earth really on a
course of destruction?

I couldn’t feel it. But I didn’t know if that
was because I was holding onto hope, or if I was just in denial
because the obliteration of Earth was just too foreign a concept to
ever feel real.

“Where is your mind, little green-eyed
pixie?”

I jerked and whirled to see Rafael leaning
against the railing with his arms folded across his chest.

I didn’t know how long he’d been there,
watching me.

He pushed himself off the railing and joined
me. And, as his lips curved into a smile, his eyes softened.

“You need to rest, Sydney,” he advised
gently, sliding a long finger under my chin. “Your body needs to
heal.”

I knew he was right. I was tired and sore,
but I didn’t want to admit it.

And then he leaned down and kissed me
lightly, first on the cheek and then on the nose.

“Come,” he said. “Ajax and I will walk you
over.”

“Ajax?” I said, looking over my shoulder as
the Doberman trotted out onto the porch.

Reaching down, Rafael absently stroked the
dog’s ears and smiled. “Ajax will be staying with you until the
Brotherhood is no longer a threat. He’ll see that you won’t come to
harm.”

I didn’t mind that at all. I felt completely
safe with Ajax.

Rafael slipped his hand over mine, and we
walked across the street, but once I was certain I couldn’t be
overheard, I began, “I’m sure Melody’s doing something horrible to
Jareth.”

He didn’t appear surprised at the sudden
switch in subject. “It started some time ago,” he murmured. “I
thought at first that she was researching how the Mesmers actually
control their victims, but now I believe she’s up to something
else. But what that is and exactly what she’s done to him … I can’t
fathom.”

I felt a ripple of fear at the very thought
of the damage Melody might do should she learn how to
mesmerize.

But then I focused on Jareth. “Whatever she’s
doing to Jareth, it’s getting worse,” I said.

And then I told him how I’d stumbled upon the
thought of creating a good tulpa to destroy the mutant one.

His gray eyes widened upon hearing it.

“What an astounding thought, Sydney,” he
said, genuinely impressed.

I couldn’t help but smile back at him.

“Well, I’m discovering I’m not very good at
creating good tulpas yet,” I admitted gruffly.

“Still, it’s something worth practicing,” he
said, but then added, “But for now, it’s not something we should
mention to Jareth.”

I could only agree as we stepped up onto Al
and Betty’s porch.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked, waving my
hand in the direction of the Fae Mission Control Center. “What can
I do?”

He didn’t hesitate. And he replied with
conviction. “Nothing.”

“What?” I burst out in outrage. “I want to
help
—”

Interrupting me, he put his fingers on top of
mine and gave them a reassuring squeeze. “Doing nothing is the best
way to help right now, my green-eyed pixie.” He continued, “And
doing nothing is a dangerous mission. Both Melody and Marquis will
be watching you. You can help the most by acting as if nothing
unusual has happened.”

I scowled, highly suspicious that he was only
trying to protect me. Pointing across the street, I said, “Do you
really think they’re not going to notice that Mission Control
Center? That’s pretty unusual.”

“We’ve got to find Melody,” he replied, and I
could hear the sincerity in his tone. “If you return to work, you
just might draw her out of hiding enough so we can track her down.
She won’t be expecting you to act as if all is well. She might even
follow you.”

I saw his point then. But the thought of
Melody showing up at the coffee shop and trying something
nasty—like unexpectedly demonstrating her new ability to
mesmerize—was an unsettling one.

“Then you want me to act kind of like an
undercover cop,” I said. And then finding a better analogy, I
voiced it. “Or, more like the bait in a trap.”

“We’ll be watching over you closely,” he
reassured as he slipped a comforting arm around my waist and guided
me into the kitchen. “But enough of this for now. Now you must eat
to regain your strength. You’re far too pale for my liking.”

I
was
kind of hungry. Once I thought
about it, it was kind of surprising that I could still be hungry in
spite of everything that was going on.

Snooping in the cupboard for something quick
and easy, I spied a box of generic corn pops on the top shelf. And
standing on my tiptoes, I tried to pull it down by grasping the
bottom of the box between my fingertips, but to my disappointment,
I only succeeded in pushing it farther from my reach.

And then Rafael’s strong arm stretched past
me, and I felt his hard chest against my back. I held still as he
easily snagged the cereal and handed it to me, but he took the
opportunity along the way to smell my hair.

I caught my breath, surprised at the
intimacy. Excitingly surprised and highly aware of every physical
inch of him. But it did feel a little strange to relax enough to
think of such things.

I supposed I was learning to live in the
moment just a bit. Maybe because at the moment, there was some
advantage to that.

After a few seconds, he moved away, leaned
against the kitchen counter, and tapped his fingers.

I was a bit flustered and not really sure
what to say, so I concentrated on shaking the cereal into two
bowls. But then he defused the tension by casually reading the back
of the box as if it were the most interesting thing in the
world.

“Simply natural corn pops, so tasty, they’re
tops,” he read aloud, sending me a look of veiled amusement.

Pouring the milk, I grabbed two spoons,
thinking that I could listen to the soft lull of his voice forever.
I’d just set our bowls on the table when I realized that I’d gotten
him a spoon.

Feeling a bit foolish for forgetting so
easily that he couldn’t touch it, I quickly replaced it with a set
of Al’s chopsticks.

It only served to remind me that though he
looked
human, he truly wasn’t.

There were a lot of differences between us.
But then who is to say what differences are good and bad?
Differences should be viewed for what they really are: unique
strengths.

Biting my bottom lip, I wondered if a
relationship with him could truly work.

One look at him in his black coat, and the
glimpse of a gray-netted tank top underneath which revealed
tantalizing muscles made my heart say ‘
Yes’
with a capital
‘Y’.

He was breathtakingly gorgeous. And kind. And
trustworthy.

And he wasn’t perfect.

I liked that. It leveled the playing
field.

He had downsides just like the rest of us. He
turned frosty when he was mad,
and
his family was even more
dysfunctional than mine.

Not to mention that he was a tad obsessed
with his looks. Although I’d noticed lately he hadn’t been looking
into as many mirrors. I studied his face. And, he was definitely
wearing less eyeliner. But I honestly kind of missed it. I thought
he was handsome with just the right amount.

None of us were perfect, so who cared if he
wasn’t human?

There wasn’t a single good reason to prevent
me from falling completely in love with him.

He surprised me by reaching over to tweak my
nose. “Where has your mind gone, little pixie?”

I blushed in a dead giveaway to what I’d been
thinking. Rattled, I said the first thing that came to mind. “What
about love?”

Immediately wincing, I jumped to my feet
under the pretense of placing my bowl in the sink.

Why had I asked him that? And why could I not
control my mouth in these situations? Searching for a way to
recover, I turned, but then drew back sharply.

He’d followed me.

Raising a curious brow, he repeated, “Love?”
And his gray eyes smiled.

I swallowed. Averting my eyes, I attempted to
move sideways, but he planted his palm on the countertop and
blocked my escape.

“I mean, your home-and-family type of love,”
I said quickly, a little pleased that my thinking abilities had
returned. “Your mom, and that kind of stuff. It’s important for a
girl to know that about a guy, you know.” I scowled. Even though
true, that last sentence was better left unsaid.

Someday, I was going to learn the art of
slowing down and organizing my thoughts
before
speaking.

“Home and family,” he repeated gamely enough.
He pursed his lips a moment as if in thought, and then said, “I’ve
never felt at home anywhere, really. At least not what I think you
mean by that word.”

He looked a little sad, and I felt a twinge
of sympathy.

“I can relate,” I said. Or could, anyway. Of
late, I’d actually
found
a home.

He gave me a wan smile. “My mother loves
duty. And to her, I’m a duty to her bloodline. Nothing more. To be
honest, I believe the only being that truly loves me is Ajax. I
would consider him to be the extent of my family.”

Great. Ajax. But I supposed I should be
grateful that at least Rafael’s closest family member no longer
loathed me entirely. At least I’d graduated to the next step of
begrudging tolerance.

When Rafael didn’t say anything else, I
realized that he really was done. He’d pointedly avoided mentioning
his father. Of course, I couldn’t blame him.

“I don’t have a very big family either,” I
said then. “I just have Jerry. Or, I did, I suppose. Now, I’ve got
Al and Betty, too.” That made me smile. It made me feel warm and
fuzzy inside to actually verbalize how I felt about them. They
really were my family now.

“We’ve a lot in common,” he said softly, and
then the look in his eyes changed, and the corner of his lip
curved.

I knew what it meant.

He wanted to kiss me. And even though I
wanted nothing more, I was suddenly tempted to run.

He must have read it on my face.

I hadn’t even moved an inch before he placed
his hand on the other side of me and effectively boxed me in.

I held still then, holding my breath as he
pressed me back, slowly trailing his fingers up my arms to cradle
my head between his hands. And then looking directly into my eyes,
he leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine in the
lightest, most gentlest of touches.

“I shall no longer fear what my fate brings
me,” he whispered in my ear. “I don’t believe I could have done
better. And now the fates have judged me and moved on. There’s no
reason for me to deny it or to run anymore.”

I just stared at him.

And then the smile fled from his lips, and
his expression grew serious. “Let’s stop this.”

Those words made my heart sink in an
instant.

But he was still speaking, “Let’s stop
pretending.” He paused, and then said, “I love you, Sydney.”

Just a moment ago, my heart had plummeted,
but now it soared. Higher than I ever could have imagined as my
lips parted in surprise, but no sound came out of them.

Rafael smiled, clearly reading my emotions
easily enough. And then lowering his long lashes over his eyes, he
murmured, “When a Fae asks another to ‘take their hand’, it means
they’re asking them to share their life, to walk with them.”

I froze.

And then he looked deep into my eyes. “Will
you take my hand, Sydney?” he said in a soft voice.

My mind went numb.

I wasn’t sure how long I just stared up at
him, and then he dropped my hand to caress my cheek and thread a
finger through my hair. The gesture was so simple, yet so intimate.
So loving. He dropped his head, and his warm breath on my ear made
me shiver.

“I’m going to kiss you.” His voice was a mere
whisper now. “But I’ll give you fair warning. I’ll count to ten.
You can leave before I do, if you want.”

He stepped back then, and slowly began to
count.

There was plenty of space.

I could easily dash away.

But I didn’t. I stood still, struck by the
sudden, undeniable revelation that he was right. It was time to
stop pretending. Time to stop lying to myself that I could let him
go. That was impossible. I already knew that I was going to love
him forever.

His velvet smooth voice had only reached the
number five before I sealed my fate.

Closing the distance
between us, I put my hands into his. And l
ooking up at him,
I asked, “Will you promise not to let me go?”

There was raw emotion in his gaze. “I will
never let you go,” he swore.

It was the most natural thing in the world to
lean back and kiss him. I ran my hands over his
sculpted biceps and into his hair as he deepened the
kiss.

And then I heard,
“Rawrrrrrrrr.”

I jerked back as Ellison entered the
kitchen.

Grace was right behind him. Grinning, she put
a finger to her mouth and pretended to throw up.

It was impossible to prevent the hot flush
spreading across my cheeks.

“We were just leaving,” Grace said
quickly.

“We were?” Ellison asked, looking down at her
in confusion.

Grace elbowed him in the ribs.

“I’m afraid that it is I who must go,” Rafael
said, resting a gentle hand on the back of my neck.

He leaned down and murmured, “I’ll speak with
you later this evening.” And then with a light kiss on my cheek, he
bowed and left.

“Ok,” I managed to say as the front door
clicked shut behind him.

Ellison snorted at my delayed reaction, but
Grace sighed and fanned her cheeks, “How romantic!”

At that, Ellison’s brows yanked up, but then
in a loud stage whisper he said, “Then I’m afraid to tell you that
it is I who must go next, Lady Grace.”