Trefoil (9 page)

“Will, please. I’m begging you to stay with her. Make sure he’s not going to hurt her if he finds out about our Calling.”

“He’s not going to hurt her, Nate. He—” Will struggled as if he shouldn’t continue.

“What?” Nathan barked.

“He’s in her, too, Nate.” His words gushed out. “Not the same way, but when I looked deeply, he was there.”

Nathan ceased to breathe.
He’s in her too, Nate. He’s in her too.
Emotion rose up in him, hot and ugly. “Just keep her safe until I can reach her,” he said to Will, and hung up. With shaking fingers, he punched Dante’s number. The instant his friend answered, Nathan spilled the entire story, voice growing in volume until several people in the vicinity skittered away.

“Why is she fainting?” he asked Dante, pinching the bridge of his nose and struggling to hear any words except the ones Will had imparted about John LeClair’s mark on Lillian.

“I can’t say for certain, Nate, without seeing her,” Dante said. “The two immortals marking her soul must be causing a physiological uproar. But I don’t know. Find her, Nate, with all haste, and bring her to me. I need to see her.”

Yeah, so do I, he thought, scrubbing a hand over his face. With half an ear, he caught the announcement for his plane to board.

Shouldering his bags and sprinting toward the gate, his mind whirred with the day’s revelations. His need to find her was never so great. As he edged down the airplane aisle to his seat, resolve filled him.

He was going to Call to her.

* * * * *

“Graceland Cemetery,” John told the taxi driver over Lillian’s head. She rested against his chest, drawing his familiar scent into her lungs. His hand traveled the length of her spine again and again, raising the flesh there. The electric shock simultaneously calmed her and stimulated her lust.

She placed her lips against his throat. His beard raked her face, and she pressed her cheek against his, wanting to feel it cut her. Her fingers worked over the front of his body—the lines of his immortal tattoos, sculpted chest, carved abs, to his waistband.

Having reached his limit of attentions he could receive in the back of a Chicago cab, John’s hand closed over hers, breathing hard. He turned his mouth into her ear. “Lily, you’re killing me. I want you desperately.”

“Please.” She had never begged before, not even the night in the car, and she knew it would be his undoing. His gaze held hers, black and fogged with passion. She saw his mouth move when he issued new directions to the driver, but didn’t hear the words.

In minutes they were in the hotel lobby. Lillian clung to him, pressing her breasts against his hard body. Uncaring of their surroundings, John swept an arm beneath her knees and tilted her weight against his chest. He shot past the elevators and took the stairs with gusto. He navigated the turns without a falter. And all the while, he never released her eyes.

Inside their room, he trapped her against the wall, kissing her until she gasped. In one swift motion he yanked her sweater over her head and spun her so her tattoo faced him. She quivered as he nuzzled the length of her spine and then back up.

“Lillian, what has gotten into you?” he murmured at the knob of her neck. “You’ve been merciless. Maybe we should go on vacation more often.”

She shook her head, panting. “I want to go home, John. After this, let’s go home.”

He unzipped her skirt and let it drop. His hands kneaded her hip bones in a way that drove her wild. When he turned her to face him, she ripped at the cotton of his shirt, exposing his chest, letting her palms glide into the opening and into the sleeves of his shirts. His tattoos shocked her, but it wasn’t enough. She dropped her mouth, tonguing the dark Celtic knots. The flavor of his passion rose through them.

He cupped her jaw and kissed her, tongue plunging into the soft opening of her mouth. When he pulled away, his eyes were wild. Holding her gaze, he walked her slowly to the bed.

“Lillian, your gaze is a storm. Let me calm you.” His words trickled into her, spreading warmth through her belly and down her thighs. She barely had time to register them, and he was with her, his hips sinking against hers, long, thick cock parting her pubic lips and filling her, mouth swallowing her sounds. Her knot of need tightened as he stroked her deepest core.

Lillian.

With a jerk at her soul like a great shepherd’s hook, Nathan Called to her.

She convulsed with the pain of it. She bucked beneath John and he mistook it for passion. Two men mingled in her soul, and she felt sickened, tainted and anguished.

She slammed the door to Nathan, but not before he got a glimpse into her. John thrust once, twice, slamming into her pussy, and then he stiffened and poured his hot come into her.

He collapsed forward. She lay frozen, remorse eating her soul.
What have I done? What will I do?

John delivered nibbling kisses beneath her jaw. “I love you.”

She laced her fingers into his hair. “What I said about going home, I’m serious.”

“I know,” he said, tasting her lower lip. “We’ll get a flight tomorrow. We’ll make a stop at home before heading on to Salem.”

She nodded, fighting her tears. She hoped it would be enough to go home, that Nathan would stop following her.

John rolled off her and she watched him prowl about the room, gathering their scattered clothes and dressing. He leaned over Lillian and pressed a kiss between her brows. “Are you too tired to meet the gallery owner I ran into at the museum?”

“Yes,” she said. “Go without me.” Let me die, she thought.

He hesitated, and then brushed a lock of hair from her eyes. “I’ll come back for you at dinnertime and we’ll go to Graceland together.” He pressed gentle kisses to the crest of each cheek before capturing her mouth. The tears she withheld made her mouth salty, and his was sweet in comparison.

He withdrew from her arms, crossed the room on soft feet and closed the door. Lillian was alone. Not even Nathan inhabited her soul, and who blamed him?

She began to cry, really sob. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks and into her temples to wet her hair. Her chest jerked with her attempts to silence her wails. After her encounter with Will Cochran earlier, and the sudden bomb drop that Nathan’s mark was on her soul, she had wanted an escape with John, but at what price?

She flopped onto her stomach and spent a desolate hour, wishing she could escape her problems, return to her comfortable Virginia home and her beautiful gardens. She climbed dizzily from the bed and stumbled about the room, putting herself in order. She was about to untangle her messy braid when a rap at the door made her cry out.

She lurched forward and shoved her eye against the peephole. She fell back with her hands at her throat, gasping for breath.

Flinging open the door, she said, “What are you doing here?” And yanked Will Cochran inside.

His eyes popped. The door clicked behind him and he took in Lillian’s swollen eyes and dripping nose. “What’s happened?”

She made a slashing motion. “What are you doing here?”

“Did he hurt you?”

She gave him a look that she hoped reflected her pure self-loathing. “I think you should ask which one I hurt.”

He exhaled heavily, stepped forward and drew her hand into his. “Lillian, I’m here because I can help you.”

She was shaking her head, mangled hair flying about her face. “No. No one can help me.”

“I can. I will. I want to. Come sit down.”

“No.”

“Okay. Tell me what’s happening.”

“You’re the one with the x-ray eyes, Will. You tell me.”

He smiled a sad, crooked smile. “Does this man you’re with—?”

“John.”

“Does he know about Nathan?” She shook her head frantically. “Okay. That’s good. I’ve spoken with Nathan, and he wants you to stay put. Wait for him.”

She blinked at him. He looked normal. Sane. “Are you fucking nuts?” she burst out.

He started to laugh, but at her murderous expression, silenced it.

“Will, I can’t just go off with Nathan, whoever he is. I don’t know him. I don’t want him in my life.” As she yelled this last, she broke, knowing it a severe blasphemy. She fell to the bedside in fresh sobs.

Will sat beside her, stroking the back of her hand, her shoulder, wiping the damp hair from her eyes, and whispering. When she had finally quieted to the occasional hiccup, he said, “You didn’t mean that.”

“No.”

“And you do know him, Lillian. Look closely and you’ll know the truth.”

“But Will, I’ve been with John for over sixty years. I can’t just put him aside.”

Shock washed across Will’s boyishly handsome features. He went perfectly still.

“What is it?” she cried.

“He’s immortal? John, I mean?”

“Of course he is.”

Will hooked a finger in the collar of her sweater, pulling it down to the top of her left breast. She leapt away like he was on fire. “What the hell was that about?”

“Nothing. Nothing. Listen, Lil. I’m going to stay with you.” She sputtered in protest, but he put a finger to her lips. “I’m going to shadow you and make sure you’re all right until I can get you to Nathan. I’m here to be your friend.”

He extracted a cell phone from his jacket pocket. “Take this. It’s how we’ll stay in touch.”

She looked at it like it was a viper waiting to strike. “You can’t be serious. How am I meant to hide it from John?”

Will shrugged. “Hide it on your person.”

She stared at him. “John touches me. You don’t think he’ll notice a mysterious cell phone in my pocket?”

His golden hazel eyes skimmed her body. “Wear it on your inner thigh.”

She leveled him with her gaze. “I said John touches me.”

Will caught her against his chest, holding her in an undemanding, brotherly fashion. “It’s all right. Is that what happened?”

A sob broke through the barrier of her control. “Yes,” she said into his shirt. He smelled of fresh laundry and a trace of sweet cigarette smoke. “He Called to me, and I was with John at the time.”

“With as in…with?”

A choked cry escaped her.

“All right, Lil. We’ll make it okay. I’ll help you sort through it. When is John returning?”

“Dinnertime. After that, we’re going to Graceland Cemetery.” Realizing she’d made a mess of Will’s shirt, she moved away. He caught her back, lifting his hands to her waving hair and dislodging the rubber band. He stroked the length gently again and again until it was free and smooth down her back.

“I’ll follow you. In the shadows, I’ll be there. I’m not going to leave you.”

“Why? For Nathan?” She met his eyes.

He nodded slightly. “That’s part of it. But mostly I’m here because I want to help you. It’s obvious you’re in distress, and you don’t deserve to be.”

“Don’t I?”

“No,” he said forcefully. “You’re not purposefully hurting the men you love. But they’re pulling you in two directions and causing you tremendous pain.” His words, so easily assessing the situation, grew a lump in her throat.

 “How am I going to Call to him now?” Her teeth clamped upon her trembling lip.

Will handed Lillian a tissue. “Call to him and let him see into you. He’ll see your pain. You can’t hide from him, Lillian. It will torment you further. Let him in. And be easy on yourself.”

She drew a deep, shuddering breath and began a new journey. A cautious journey toward Nathan, rather than running away.

* * * * *

The little arts and crafts chapel grew out of the cemetery grounds, enveloped with vines. Graceland Cemetery was the kind of place that gave Lillian the impression of walking the countryside. Rather than seeing only monuments to the dead, she saw the beauty of nature.

John left her at the Columbarium Wall, which was a semi-circular wall fitted with plaques marking the remains of the dead. Lillian heard the scuttle of dry leaves and lifted her face to the chapping wind. Here, there was always wind, as though ghosts rushed through at high speeds.

She shivered and huddled deeper into her sweater. John’s dark shadow disappeared on his way to find their old friend from the post-war Chicago days. Days of excess had ended that friend’s life. Tears would be shed, but John hated for Lillian to witness them.

As soon as John was out of sight, Will slunk to her side with a grin. “This is fun,” he said. “Very James Bond.”

She groaned. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.” She looked at him, her lip caught between her teeth. “Will, I need to be alone for a while. I’m going to Call to him.” Her words were quiet and the breeze muffled them further, but she hoped he heard well enough.

He kneaded her shoulder and pointed to a location a short distance away where he could still see her and come quickly if needed. “I’ll be over there. How long will John be?”

“An hour, maybe.”

“Will it take an hour to speak with Nathan?”

She was reminded of the single time their voices had met in that unfamiliar realm and she had lost all inkling of time. She chewed her lip. “I don’t know if he will talk to me.”