Bound by Legend: A Bound Novel (17 page)

His cell phone rang. Insistent, it vibrated across the top of the island as it continued to ring. Lucian growled and pulled her closer, but the spell was broken. The sanity that had been trying to resume control came roaring back to the front.

Morgan pushed against his shoulders. He responded immediately. One second they were so close fabric barely separated them and then he stood next to the island. Breath ragged, he stared at her with passion and lust filling his tawny eyes.

What had they done? Almost done? A confusing kaleidoscope of emotions and feelings tumbled through her. Unsure how to react to any of it, Morgan jumped off the table and ran for the front door, snatching the keys to Lucian’s car off the end table in the living room on her way by.

She yanked open the door and fled down the driveway. Inside the car, she didn’t even bother with a seatbelt before throwing it in reverse and tearing out of the drive. With no idea where to go, she took off for Denver proper, needing to clear her head.

Goosebumps pebbled her skin again and the locket felt like ice. What the hell was wrong with the damn thing? Or, more appropriately, what was wrong with her? Practically having sex with a guy she’d only known for few weeks? Her dark angel no less. Never mind that it had felt great, that wasn’t the point.

Her mind insisted on dwelling on the sensations. Morgan wasn’t a stranger to sex, she’d tried it out a few times and it had been okay. Not the mind blowing stuff she’d read about in novels, just okay. What she’d just shared with Lucian though…her previous encounters with physical relationships were nothing like that. It was so intense, so…her mind couldn’t come up with an appropriate adjective and instead took off imagining what it would have been like if the phone hadn’t interrupted.

“Geez, Morgan. Stop it,” she groaned.

It wasn’t long before she was in familiar territory. She pulled the car into a space at the park and made sure to lock the doors before shoving the keys in her pocket and setting out at a brisk walk. A shiver ran over her. The day was cool despite the sunshine, especially without a jacket of some kind. Stupid. Should have at least grabbed her coat. Not that she was going back to get it. In fact, she may never go back at all.

How could she be in the same room with him after that? Obviously, there were forces at play stronger than sanity. It would help if her heart would quit agreeing with her body in this matter. Lucian was a complication she didn’t need in this life. A complication she didn’t
want
. If she allowed herself to get close to him and then lost him, it would be more than she could take and Morgan sensed Lucian wasn’t someone she could have just a physical relationship with. Her heart, her very soul, seemed to recognize him. It would break down all of the walls between them.

Morgan walked the whole park and then started off down the tracks before cutting into a neighborhood that was a strange mix of homes and industrial. She walked several blocks past houses, some that appeared well taken care of and others with peeling paint and raggedy lawns.

The distinctive reek of cat piss wafting from one house was like a banner announcing meth lab, as was the too skinny, sunken-faced woman who watched her from the front porch.

Then she left the houses behind and walked past the industrial-type buildings. She didn’t even realize what she was looking for until she stopped in front of him in one of the alleys between buildings.

Jake sat leaning against a wall with his duffle bag on one side and a large metal dumpster on the other. He looked up at her with concern in his gray eyes. “You okay, Morgs?”

Morgan let out a sigh and flopped down on the other side of his duffle. “I don’t know.”

“Looks like you’ve come up in the world.” He gestured to the new boots and clothes.

She snorted and dug her cigarettes out of her pocket. After pulling one out and lighting it, she blew a cloud of smoke into the air. “Yeah, kind of. Don’t know if I’m going to stay.”

“Why not? Was I wrong and this Lucian isn’t good for you like Arabrim was?”

Morgan took a long drag and gazed at the brick wall opposite them. “I think he’s too good for me, Jake.”

“No one is too good for you. I’m sure you deserve better.” He frowned. “Did he say he was too good for you?”

Morgan laughed darkly. He had completely misunderstood what she meant. “I don’t mean he’s too good for me in station or whatever. I mean, he’s
too
good for me. Lucian is…more than Arabrim.” She shoved a hand through her hair. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“I’m not quite following you here, Morgs.” Jake lit a cigarette and took a drag. “You’re not making a whole lot of sense.”

“I know I’m not. Arabrim was always like a friend or a brother. Nothing more, ever. Lucian… It’s not like it was with Arabrim.”

Jake’s scowl smoothed out as understanding bloomed in his expression. “You feel more than friendship or brotherly love for this Lucian.”

Morgan took another deep drag and nodded. “I don’t know if I can let that happen.”

“Why not? Why would you ever pass up love?”

“Love hasn’t been particularly kind to me. Every time I love someone, they die. I even let down my guard enough to love Arabrim like he was family and look what happened. In fact,” she glanced at Jake, “you’re probably the only one I’ve ever loved that didn’t die and that scares the hell out of me because I keep waiting for something to happen to you.”

Jake’s expression turned stunned. “You love me?”

“You’re the only thing I have that’s even close to family, Jake.” She took another drag and shoved his shoulder. “Quit looking at me like I’ve sprouted another head.”

“I just never thought you cared about me that much. I know we’re friends, but you always kept a good distance.”

“Well, now you know why. If I didn’t keep a distance then you would have died.”

Jake snorted, blowing smoke through his nose. “I never took you for stupid, Morgs. If I die it won’t be because you care for me. You shouldn’t hide from whatever you’re feeling for Lucian. Especially if you think he might feel the same way.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure he does.” Her mind flashed to the feel of Lucian’s mouth kissing its way down her throat and the feel of his hand...

Jake didn’t seem to notice that her mind had wandered for a moment. “You know what they say, better to have loved and lost than to never—”

“Don’t give me that bullshit, Jake. I didn’t ask for cliché platitudes.” She took another drag and shot him a disgusted look.

“It isn’t bullshit.” He glared back at her.

“Oh really, and you would know this because?”

Jake’s face softened and sadness crept into his eyes. “Because I had a life before I ended up like this. I had a fiancé once and I loved her with everything I had.”

“You had a fiancé?” Morgan stared at him. Sirens blared as an ambulance and a couple of police cars charged down the street at the mouth of the alley. When they had moved far enough away the noise became part of the background she asked, “What happened?”

“She was killed during a robbery of a convenience store.” He stared at the ground as he took another drag and let it out. “It tore my heart out. Emily,” he smiled as he said the name. “She was so beautiful and sweet. The nicest person I ever knew. She didn’t deserve the broken man she got back when I returned. I almost blew my head off the first time I realized the bruises were from me. She tried to help me, she truly did. When she died, what little I had together fell apart. I attempted suicide. As you can see, it didn’t work.”

He felt into his hair and then separated the stringy strands until she could see the scalp a couple of inches above his ear. The scar of a bullet hole was easily visible. Jake let his hands drop. “There’s a matching one on the other side. I was too drunk to do it right. And somehow the stupid bullet went straight through my head with minimal damage. The doctors thought it was a fucking miracle. Personally, I think it was God’s practical joke. Either way, I guess I still had something do here.”

Jake looked at her then, his gray eyes warm. “I think that thing was you. Let’s face it; if I had succeeded, then you would probably be dead by now.”

Morgan crushed out her cigarette and lit another, using the moment to collect her thoughts. Jake had never opened up like this before and his story was just as tragic as hers if not more so. At least she had known her real parents, had known the love of a family and home. Taken from drug-addicted parents at the age of four due to neglect, Jake had spent the rest of his childhood bouncing from one foster home to another.

“The fact that it tore you apart when she died and you tried to kill yourself doesn’t bode well for love,” she finally said.

He chuckled and ground out his cigarette. “The point is, no matter how much it hurt, no matter that I tried to kill myself, I wouldn’t give up the memories I have from my time with Emily for anything. If an angel came down and offered me the chance to do it over again, I would in a heartbeat.”

Morgan raised an eyebrow. “Even knowing how it would turn out?”

“Absolutely. Being with Emily,” he paused and cleared his throat, the sheen of unshed tears in his eyes, “it was an experience worth having, memories worth keeping.”

Morgan took a drag as Jake lit another cigarette. They sat in silence until their cigarettes were spent. Morgan played with her lighter, flicking the flame on and then letting it go out over and over. “So you think I should give this Lucian thing a chance, huh?”

“I do. Just my thoughts. Do whatever you got to do, Morgs and know that I’ll always be here if you need me.”

He stood as Morgan got to her feet. She hesitated, then reached out and gave him a hug. Jake was one of the only people she was comfortable having in her personal space. And now it appeared, so was Lucian. Jake hugged her back.

“I guess I should head back, Lucian is probably wondering where I am and thinking I’m nuts.”

“Why is that?” Jake dropped his arms and stepped back.

“We, um…kissed,” that was an understatement, “and I kind of freaked out and ran out the door.”

Jake laughed. “Well, if he’s going hang around you, he’d better get used to a little craziness.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. The locket suddenly burned cold. A deep, sharp pain shot through the middle of her chest. Morgan placed her hand over her heart and tried to draw a breath around the sudden ache. “Unnggh.”

“Morgan?”

Jake’s face swam across her wavering vision as the pain increased. Black crept around the edges and then she stared up at the red eyes of a demon as its claws dug into her chest.

LUCIAN SAT ON
the couch with his head in his hands. The smell of cooling Chinese food filled the house. Lucy lay at his feet. She gazed at him with steady brown eyes. A low whine issued from her throat and Lucian dropped a hand to scratch behind her ears. “I don’t know where she went, girl. And honestly, I’m afraid to call her.”

The dog pricked her ears.

“Yes, you heard that right. Big bad Lucian is afraid of a woman. Afraid she may run and never return and scared as hell that she
will
return.” He rubbed his other hand over his face. “How could I screw this up so badly?”

Lucy wagged her stubby tail slowly and whined again.

“I know. I’m an idiot.” He continued to pet her.

Suddenly Lucy sat up with a growl that turned into deep barks. Her barks filled the living room as his phone began to ring. “Lucy, quiet!”

Lucy subsided but still continued to growl.

He grabbed the phone. Morgan’s number. With a sigh of relief, he tapped the screen prepared to apologize, to promise it would never happen again, even if he wasn’t sure he would be able to keep it, to convince her to come back. What he wasn’t prepared for was Jake’s voice on the other end.

“Hey, this is Jake from the soup kitchen. Something’s wrong with Morgan.”

“Where are you?” While Jake relayed the information, Lucian stood and walked quickly through the house to the sliding glass door.

Jake’s voice filtered through the phone as Lucian stepped onto the patio and unfurled his wings.
“I don’t know what happened. One minute we were talking and the next she went down like a sack of bricks and clutching her chest. Her pulse is fast and erratic and her color isn’t good, I wasn’t sure who to call first you or 911.”