Until Darkness Comes (22 page)

“Anything will be fine.” Even now, it was difficult to keep his eyes off her, and the longer he stayed here, the less he wanted to leave.

“So, how long have you known Liam?” she asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“Forever.” A reminiscent smile spread across his face. Ashley looked at him questioningly. “We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember. Hey, do you want some help?” he asked, as she continued to stare at him. “It looks like your bacon’s burning.”
“What? Oh shit!” She slid the smoking pan of hot grease off the burner.
Balen laughed as she flustered to keep their breakfast from burning.
“You laugh now, but you have to eat this,” she teased, dishing two plates of eggs and bacon and setting them on the table. She sat across from him and reached over the table to pour him a glass of orange juice. They ate in comfortable silence. This was nice, he decided, being here with her. It didn’t matter that he hardly knew her. Their connection made him feel like he’d known her for her whole life.
“What did Liam tell you when he asked you to come by this morning?”
Balen paused a moment and set his fork down. He brought his napkin up to his lips and cleared his throat before speaking. What she really meant was what did he know about her and Max? Her growing apprehension hummed in his veins as she waited for his answer.
He struggled to keep the anger from his voice. “He told me Olivia’s ex-boyfriend was giving you a hard time and he asked me to stop by this morning to check on you because he was busy with some other stuff and couldn’t make it over himself.”
“That’s it? That’s all he said?”
“Well, no. He also said Max was an ass and a few more unpleasant words, but I don’t care to repeat them in front of a lady. Besides, I’m pretty sure you’ve figured that out for yourself.” He gave her a teasing grin, trying to ease her tension.
She returned his smile. “Thanks again for being here this morning. I don’t know what I would have done if you wouldn’t have come by when you did.”
“Someone’s here.” As the words left his mouth, the door handle of the kitchen turned and Olivia walked in, pinning him with that green-eyed stare.
“Hey, Liv,” Ashley said casually.
“Hey, Ash, Balen…Is this an okay time? I can come back if you want.” Balen watched her closely, trying to get a read on her emotions. She was clearly upset about something.
“Sure, come on in. You’re not interrupting anything. You want some breakfast?”
“No thanks. I ate before I left.” Olivia took a seat between him and Ashley.
“Are you okay, Liv? You seem upset,” Ashley asked.
“Hey, Ash, would you think it was terribly rude of me if I talked to Balen alone for a minute?”
“No,” Ashley said, looking a little surprised.
Balen stood up on cue and followed Olivia out the kitchen door.
“You should give Nate a call,” Olivia said over her shoulder. “He stopped by to see you this morning.” As soon as she pulled the kitchen door closed, she spun toward him.
“What’s on your mind, Olivia?”
“Liam got called to court.”
“I know.”
“It’s because of me.”
“I know,” he said again.
“This is bad, and don’t you dare say ‘I know’ again, because I’m really worried here.” She anxiously bit her lower lip. “Liam acted like it was no big deal, but I think he just didn’t want me to worry.”
“Olivia, you can’t hold yourself responsible for Liam’s actions. He knew full well what he was getting into when he came here.”
“Do you know what you’re getting into, with Ashley?” she challenged.
Ouch.
“We’re just having breakfast,” he said flatly.
“Were you ‘just having breakfast’ when you ran Nate off this morning?”
“I told him he could come back,” he replied innocently.
“Look, Balen, I’ve known Ashley my whole life. I know her better than anyone. She’s going to fall for you, and I just don’t want her getting her hopes up for what can never be.”
Heartache etched Olivia’s face.
“Is that what Liam told you, that you couldn’t be together?” Maybe Liam had finally decided to let her go, but it was hard to believe he would ever willingly part with her. Admittedly, he didn’t really understand it at first—his attachment to Olivia, but if the connection he had with Ashley was anything similar to Liam’s bond with Olivia, then it was easy to see how fast things could get out of hand.
“He didn’t have to,” she said sadly. “I know we can’t ever truly be together, it’s a physical impossibility, and I won’t be responsible for him losing his wings. I couldn’t live with that, Balen. I have to love him enough to let him go.”
“Do you think he loves
you
enough to let
you
go? It’s not like I haven’t tried to get him to do it before now.”
Olivia’s eyes welled up with tears. Perhaps that had been a bit too candid. He wished there was something he could say to help her. “Have you talked to him?”
She shook her head.
“I think this is something you two really need to be discussing.”
She lifted her hands and wiped her tears off her cheeks. “I will when he gets back. Shit, I’m such a mess. I’m worried about Max—It’s only a matter of time before he comes after me. I’m tired of feeling afraid, and now he’s bothering Ashley.”
“Don’t worry about Ashley,” he interrupted. “She’s going to be just fine.” Olivia’s eyes locked on his, and he knew she heard the possessiveness in his voice.
“Well, she certainly seems much better than she was yesterday.”
“That’s because my presence is comforting to her. Just like Liam’s is for you. It’s the bonding.”
“I think it’s more than that. Look, I know she needs you, and I’m not trying to give you a hard time about it. I just don’t want to see her get hurt, and after what Liam told me this morning, it seems like a pretty big possibility. She’s already been through so much.”
Olivia turned away to walk back to the house, leaving him there to contemplate her parting words. “Hey, if Nate comes around, and you’re…
here
, be nice to him. He really likes Ash, and he’d be good for her.”
Balen’s face pinched into a frown, but reluctantly nodded his head in agreement.
“Thanks.” She gave him a sad smile. “For everything…”
Ashley stood at the sink, washing dishes when they walked back in. She smiled at him, a warm beautiful grin. Olivia was right. If he wasn’t careful here, he was going to break this girl’s heart.
“You call Nate yet?” Olivia asked.
“No, not yet. I will later.”
“Hey, I’m going to take off,” Olivia said, walking up to Ashley to give her a hug.
“Oh, I was hoping you’d stay.” She sounded disappointed.
“I have some stuff to do, but I’ll come back later. I think Nate was planning to stop by this afternoon.”
She shot Balen a pointed glare. He met her eyes and looked away, feeling a little sheepish for giving the guy such a hard time this morning.
“When are your parents coming back?”
“This afternoon.”
“Well, if you’re up to it, you’re more than welcome to join me and Nate tomorrow. We’re going kayaking around two.”
“I doubt I’ll feel ready to kayak, but thanks for inviting me.”
“I should get going too,” Balen said, following Olivia’s lead. He could feel her disappointment, and if he let himself, he could come up with a thousand excuses to stay, but he had to go. He needed the dimensional barrier between them or he was going to find himself in the same mess as Liam.
“Will you stop by again?”
Balen glanced over at Olivia before answering. “Sure,” he heard himself say. He should have told her no, but he didn’t want to feel the weight of her disappointment—at least, that’s what he told himself. She gave him a radiant smile that nearly stopped his heart. Lord, she was beautiful. Too beautiful for him to be hanging around.
“How about breakfast tomorrow? I promise not to burn it next time.”
“Can I call you?” he asked, reluctant to commit to anything, especially in front of Olivia, who looked just shy of pissed off.
“All right.” She pulled open a drawer and grabbed out a pen and paper. She wrote down her cell number and handed it to him. “Call me.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” he said, stuffing the paper into his pocket. His gaze lingered on her another moment before he forced himself to look away. “Olivia,” he said, nodding curtly.
“See ya later, Balen.”
He walked out the kitchen door and immediately crossed over, turned around, and walked back into the house. He didn’t like having Olivia’s eyes on him in this dimension. He was tempted to block her, but that would be outright rude.
“O—M—G!” Ashley exclaimed, grabbing Olivia’s arm. “Is he not totally gorgeous or what!”
He smiled, and Olivia looked away. “He’s very attractive,” she conceded. “You know who else is hot? Nate.”
His amused smile fell, and Olivia sent him a triumphant one of her own.
“I don’t know,” Ashley said. “I like Nate and all, but we’ve been friends for so long. I just don’t know if I can see him as anything else.”
“Well, maybe you should try.”
“What’s with the matchmaker stuff, Liv? Are you trying to replace cupid or something?”
“Very funny. Nate’s a good guy. I just think that maybe you should give him a chance.”
“All right, all right, enough already, point taken. Now tell me more about Balen.”
Olivia sighed. “I don’t know very much about him, Ash, honestly. He’s Liam’s best friend, that’s about it. I’ve only met him twice before today.”
“Huh.”
“What’s “huh” supposed to mean?”
“I like him,” Ashley announced matter-of-factly.
“I knew you would.”
Ashley’s phone vibrated on the kitchen table and she picked it up to see who was calling. “It’s Nate.”
“Well, answer it.”
Ashley looked hesitant, and paused a minute before accepting the call. “Hello?”
“Hey, Nate.”
“No, I’m not busy.”
“Sure, you can stop by.”
“That was Balen, Liam’s friend. He stopped by for Liv.”
Balen didn’t even try to hide his displeasure when Olivia looked over at him. She mouthed the words “be nice.”
“This is a good thing,” she whispered. “Don’t get too attached.”
“That’s what I told Liam about you,” he grumbled, irritably. “It didn’t change anything.”
“No, we’re not dating.” Ashley put her hand over the bottom half of the phone and whispered, “I wish. I totally want him.”
Balen laughed and shot Olivia a triumphant grin. She rolled her eyes.
“Sure, I’ll see you in an hour.” Ashley closed the phone and laid it back on the table. “What?” she asked, turning to look at Olivia innocently.
“Get used to wanting, Ash, cuz he’s not yours to have.”
“We’ll see about that,” she challenged.
“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”
“WTF, Liv? I really like him and you said he was a good guy.”
“He is…”
“Then I don’t understand what the problem is.” Ashley snapped. Her temper spiked, sending a rush of heat simmering through Balen’s veins. His own emotions piqued in response to hers.
“It’s just complicated, that’s all,” Olivia sighed.
“Whatever,” Ashley said dismissively. “I’m gonna go get cleaned up. Nate’ll be here in an hour.”
“All right,” Olivia said, standing to leave. “Call me later?”
“Yeah, sure,” Ashley called down the stairs.
Balen felt bad for Olivia as he watched her walk out the door. Ashley didn’t understand that she was just trying to protect her from her own heartache. Maybe he shouldn’t have stayed this morning. Maybe he was getting in over his head. Maybe he underestimated the pull she already had on him, and just maybe things were about to go from bad to worse in a hurry.

Radiating light shone down on Liam as he passed through the towering gates.
Home…
He stretched his wings to their full eight-foot length. The ache in his back was finally gone, only to be replaced by an even greater ache in his heart.

“Liam, good to see you,” Tate welcomed, clasping his hand tightly.
“Tate, how’ve you been?”
Tate shrugged and fell in step beside him. They walked into the center of the city toward the High Court. He needed to make his presence known to the elders. The sooner he saw them, the sooner he could get back to Olivia. He glanced over at his friend, who wore a troubled frown on his face. “Something on your mind, Tate?”
“Rowen’s been here,” he said quietly, “making deplorable allegations…”
“Such as?” It would probably be best to hear it from his friend first. At least this would give him an idea of what to expect from the court.
“Are you partaking in relations with that mortal?”
Liam stopped abruptly and stood there motionless, surprised by his friend’s bluntness. After taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he resumed walking. “I have not engaged in consummating relations with Olivia.”
Tate looked relieved. His face softened a touch, his shoulders relaxed. “You refer to her by her given name. It may serve you better in court if you call her as the court names her.”
“Thanks for the suggestion.” Liam knew full well this simple answer would not appease the High Court as easily as it did his friend. They walked in silence for a few more minutes before Tate spoke again.
“If you want to talk about it, you know I’m a good listener.”
“I’m not sure you’d want to hear what I have to say.”
“It can’t be any worse than what Rowen said.”
Liam chuckled sadly. “I suppose it couldn’t.”
“You love your mortal, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. Don’t all guardians love their mortals?” It felt odd to refer to Olivia in this context. She was so much more than just a mortal.
“You know what I mean,” Tate said dryly.
Liam sighed heavily, stopped in front of the stairs leading to the High Court, and turned toward Tate. “Yes, I love her. She’s a part of me. I don’t expect you to understand this connection, but I’m completely torn. Her life depends on me, and the responsibility I feel toward her—there are no words.”
“More powerful than your connection here?” Tate challenged.
“Not more powerful, just different.”
“You can’t have them both. The court will make you choose, you know that.”
“I know.”
“So which will it be?”
Dread filled his heart, squeezing the air from his lungs. Shit, that was the million dollar question, wasn’t it? “I don’t know.”

***

The doorbell rang, and Balen resisted the urge to cross over and answer it. Ashley came bounding down the stairs, her golden curls bouncing off her shoulders. She wore a pair of low-rise flare jeans and a floral sleeveless button-up. She grabbed a sweater at the bottom of the stairs and pulled it on before answering the door.

“Hey, Nate, come on in.”
“How you doing, Ash?” Nate stepped inside and gave her a quick hug. “Your friend said you had a rough night. I was worried about you.”
“My friend?” Her beautiful face squished into a puzzled frown. “Oh, you mean Balen?”
“So that’s his name? He wouldn’t give it to me this morning.” Nate walked into the kitchen and sat down. “Are you sure he’s not your boyfriend? He acted like an ass this morning when I came by.”
An ass? Nice. This guy was lucky he’d shown as much restraint as he had. Balen watched him from across the table, waiting for Ashley to answer him. Would she tell him about this morning, about Max?
“You want a cream soda or something?” she asked, pulling the refrigerator door open.
Was she purposely avoiding the question? Nate frowned, and Balen shot him a glare.
“Sure,” Nate sounded frustrated.
Ashley sat down at the end of the table. Balen was on her left and Nate on her right. She turned toward Nate and opened the can, pouring it between two glasses. “Balen’s not my boyfriend, he’s just a friend. I don’t know what was up with the attitude he gave you. He’s really a nice guy. Maybe he thought you were somebody else?”
“Who else could I have been?”
“I don’t know,” Ashley answered evasively. “I suppose you’d have to ask him.”
“No thanks, I think I’ll pass. Hey, do you want to go grab some lunch? It’s already after noon.”
“Lunch sounds great. You want to drive?” Ashley stood up from her chair, suddenly seeming anxious to leave.
“All right,” Nate stood up to follow her out. “Where do you want to go?”
“How about The Bistro? They have tables outside and it’s such a beautiful day. I just want to soak up all the sun I can get.”
Ashley’s smile was radiant. She reached out and grabbed Nate’s hand, leading him out of the kitchen and through the front door. Jealousy flared. Balen leapt up and his chair fell back, crashing into the wall behind him.
“Did you hear that?” she asked, her voice tight— anxious.
Balen picked up the chair and put it back against the table. This is ridiculous. He was supposed to be protecting her, not haunting her.
“Yeah, I heard it. It was probably your cat or something.” Nate took the lead and pulled her to the door.
“I don’t have a cat,” she said, reluctantly following him outside.
Balen was thoroughly cranky. Trailing after Ashley like a little lost puppy while she cavorted around with her wannabe boyfriend was not his idea of a good time. He walked across the street from The Bistro and sat down on the park bench—yes, sulking. He folded his arms over his chest and crossed his legs at the ankles, stretching out in the sun. He closed his eyes, refusing to look at her, and tried to regain some sorely lacking perspective.