Embrace (The Gryphon Series) (12 page)

With that he
kicked the beast to life.  The roar of the engine startled me, and I clung tighter to him.  My body brushed against his.  So close, yet barely touching.  I inhaled his scent.  Soap, leather, and fresh air.  A wonderful combination.  This was my first time on a motorcycle.  The appeal of them suddenly made a lot more sense.

“What
do ya want tah do?”  He yelled over the noise.  “I was thinkin’ dinner.  Any nice rest’rants nearby?” 

Obviously
he’d never been to Gainesboro before.  “We have a bar and grill, a greasy spoon or a McDonald’s.”

He
revved the engine again.  The tips of my fingers raked across taunt abs as I gripped the front of his shirt in my fists. “Not much of a selection, aye?  What else is thar tah do?”

I grinned
under my helmet as an idea came to me. 

CHAPTER 15

The bike rolled over the gravel until Caleb brought it to a stop at the far end of the
parking lot.  I dismounted the steel steed, yanked off my helmet and ran my fingers through my hair.  Caleb set his helmet on the seat of the motorcycle, and whistled through his teeth. 

“Reminds me of home.”  He murmured.

“Ireland?”  Stupid question, I know.

“Aye.”

“How long has it been since you’ve been there?”

“
Too long.”  He said softly. His tone left no doubt that was all he was willing to share.

He
shook off the melancholy that had crept over his face, then held out his hand out for the backpack flung over my shoulders.  It contained the food we picked up for our impromptu picnic.   I slid the straps off my arms and handed it to him. 

“The
path’s over here.”  I motioned. 

Caleb glanced
down at my feet as he shouldered the bag.  With a playful quirk of a coal black eyebrow, he grinned.  “Should’ve reconsidered the shoes, lovey. Not that they aren’t delightful.”

I completely forgot about
the Mary Jane heels Keni forced on my feet.  Not the ideal footwear for a hike, by far.  I toyed with the idea of taking them off and going bare foot.  Thanks to my nifty rapid healing and heightened pain tolerance, hurting myself wouldn’t be a problem.  However, if I did slice myself on a stick or sharp rock there would be no way to explain how my foot could be bleeding one second and perfectly fine the next.  To keep up pretenses I left them on.  No other choice really.

Caleb
misinterpreted my hesitation and put a protective hand on the small of my back.  “Don’t worry, I won’t let ya fall.” 

“’Kay.”  I peeped.  I didn’t have an ounce of cool in me around this guy. 

Together, we walked along the dusty trail that lead into the mountains and up to the clearing.  All throughout our hike Caleb kept his hand upright behind me, as if to catch me if I stumbled.  If he noticed any obstacles on the path he called them to my attention.  Some girls may’ve been put off by his old-school chivalry, but I reveled in it.  My calling made it mandatory for me to pummel demons and engage in bloody battles.  Not a very “girly” pastime.  It was a nice change of pace to feel like a delicate, little flower instead of a battle scarred warrior. 

W
e enjoyed the scenic splendor in silence.  The forest was adorned with its autumn finery.  The trees—clad in reds, golds, oranges and even some deep purples—stood tall and proud for us to admire them.  The chilliness under the canopy of trees made it mandatory for me to keep the jacket Caleb gave me on. 

“Not too shabby, huh?” I
asked as I glanced over my shoulder.

“It’s lovely. 
Can’t compare to Ir’land though.”

“Can’t compare
!”  I spun on the heel of my Mary Janes as I gestured to the explosion of color around us.  “Look at this!”

I couldn’t help but notice that his eyes stayed locked on me instead of the landscape. 
“Thar’s no denyin’ the beauty.” We weren’t talking about the mountains anymore.  I bite my lip and turned my head so he couldn’t see the blush that filled my cheeks.  “But ya’ve ne’er seen the Emerald Isle.  Thar’s nothin’ like ‘er on earth.”

“You’re accent gets thicker when you talk about
Ireland.” I pointed out, then brazenly added, “It’s cute.”

“Well, if me lass thinks it charmin’, I’ll play ‘er a wooden flute an’ we can do a fine Irish jig.”    He illustrated his point with a couple of dance steps.

“Maybe next time.”  I laughed, then tried—and failed—to muster a mock look of seriousness.  “I never jig on the first date.”

“A respectable rule.  We’ll stick tah the picnic for now
, yeah?” He motioned for me to lead the way.  He didn’t have to ask twice.

A frightening thought occurred to me as we crunched our way over the leaves and sticks that littered the path. 
I like this guy.

“Ah, crap.” 

I didn’t realize I’d said that out loud until Caleb asked, “What?”

“Huh?  Oh.  Scuffed my shoe.”  I lied.

I knew firsthand how badly this could end, so why was I even considering it?  Glutton for punishment?  Probably.  Heck, I didn’t even know if the feelings were mutual.  Of course, I could always take a quick peek and find out. Sure, it could be viewed as cheating in the dating scheme of things, but as the Conduit it was a professional necessity. Wasn’t it? However, what kind of fair shot was I giving this relationship if I started prying? I couldn’t suspect every guy of being evil just because he asked me out. My self-esteem wasn’t
that
low. 

No
, I couldn’t do it.  Whatever happened or didn’t happen between us, I wanted it to be pure and genuine—free from all things mystical.  I would suppress my urges to pry, and let things unfold naturally.  Like a
normal
girl.

This train of thought was cut off when I saw the low hanging branch that marked the
entrance to the clearing. 

“We’re here.”  I
sped up just so I could watch his reaction when he saw it for the first time. I made it there a moment before he did and turned to watch him enter.

He ducked under the branch and gasped. 
“Wow, it’s a bit of heaven.”

I smiled. A perfect description
.  The break in the trees.  The bubbling brook.  The beautiful rocky terrain.  The clearing was my favorite place in the mountains.  But I couldn’t see any of it right then.  My vision tunneled.  I could only see Caleb.  A beam of sunlight streamed down on him and completely altered his appearance.  His eyes glowed an intense, surreal green.  Like white opalescent marble his skin glittered in the light.  The sun reflected off his hair creating the effect of a halo around his head.  My hand trembled as I covered my mouth.  He wasn’t just beautiful.  He was enchanting.  Otherworldly.  How had I not noticed it before? 

He
took a step forward, and the halo disappeared.  Or, maybe it had never really been there at all.  I squeezed my eyes shut and ran my hand over my face. 
Fantastic.
  Now my own freaky experiences were making me see the supernatural where only existed the beauty of the natural.  
Shine a light on
any
one and they “glow”, idiot.  Get a grip.

“It’s like
somethin’ out of a storybook, in’t it?  I half expect tah see a garden nymph go flutterin’ by.”  Caleb mused.

“As long as it isn’t a garden gnome.  Those
things scare the crap out of me.” My eyes snapped open wide. Did I just voluntarily reveal such a thing?

“
Garden gnomes?”  A half-smile curled one side of his mouth.  “Those wee statues people put in thar flower beds?”

I
looked down at my shoes.  I hated it when I opened my mouth and my crazy fell out.  “Yeah.  I think they’re creepy.  Like they come alive at night or something.” 

Why are you still talking about this? SHUT UP!

His posture straightened. “I’ve ne’er given ‘em much thought.  But the idea of ‘em movin’ ‘round on thar own
is
frightenin’.” 

I
figured a subject change was in order before I felt compelled to tell him any of my other unjustifiable phobias.  “Do you want to sit by the creek to eat?” 

“Aye.”   

We settled next to the trickling water.  Caleb took off his jacket to give me something to sit on, then unzipped the backpack and pulled out the food.  Chicken salad on croissants, grapes, sodas and cookies.  After he laid out the smorgasbord, he dug in.  Nerves made it impossible for me to eat.  Instead I picked apart a croissant. 

“
It was nice tah meet ya’r gramma and sis.”  He said between bites.  His back was against the fallen log that borders the creek.  “Is that it for ya’r siblin’s or do ya have a big, menacin’ brother I should look out for?”

I nodded
and took a swig of my soda before answering.  “I have a brother.  But don’t pull a muscle glancing over your shoulder for him.  He’s too hung up on his new girlfriend to worry about anything or anyone else.”

“
He still worries.  It’s his job.”  If only Caleb knew how much truth that statement held…

“
Yeah, I guess.”

“’Course he does.”  Caleb polished off his
sandwich, then plucked a handful of grapes.  As he popped them in his mouth, he scooted down until he was leaning back on one elbow with his legs stretched out.  “Tha’s as it should be.  So, where are ya’r mum and da?  How come they weren’t there tah give ya’r date the once over?” 

T
here it was.  The painful topic that cut its way in every time I met someone new.  Next would come the look of sadness and pity as I revealed the awful truth.  He would tell me he was sorry, although I never understood why people say that.  It wasn’t their fault, what do they have to apologize for?

Hoping to skip out on the sympathetic look part,
I cast my gaze down to the ground.  “My mom’s in Michigan.  She’s gonna move here soon.  But my dad…he died in an accident almost two years ago.”

Silence.

Then, “I lost both me parents when I was four.” 

My head
whipped up.  Written plainly on his face was the same pain I wrestled with every, single day.  “I’m so sorry!” 

Hmmm, what do you know
?  It’s a reflex.

“Right af’
er that I was taken out of Ir’land and haven’t been back since.” 

“You lost your family and your home at the same time?” 

A strand of hair tangled with his lashes as he hung his head and nodded. 

“That’s terrible.” 
I wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him in some way.  But I didn’t know quite how, or if it would make him feel worse rather than better.  Instead, I folded my hands and mashed them into my lap.

H
is smile didn’t quite match the pain in his eyes.  I knew that look well.  I often wore it myself.   “I din’t tell ya this tah gain ya’r pity.  I just wanted ya tah know that it gets easier with time.”  He laid his hand over mine.  “The pain ne’er goes away, but after a while ya build up a tolerance to it.  It gets easier tah think—tah breath.”

His
frankness and understanding unlocked an emotional flood gate I didn’t even know I harbored.  My mouth opened and pent up feelings gushed out.  “Once in a while I wake up and forget what happened.  There’s a split second when everything’s okay.  Dad’s downstairs sipping his coffee.  His jacket’s thrown over the back of his chair like always, and he’s getting ready to leave for work.  Then I remember.”  My voice cracked.  Without a word, Caleb sat up and moved beside me.  He brushed the hair off my face, and softly ran his hand down my back.  “It all comes crushing back.  I relive the whole thing.  The phone call.  The hospital.  The funeral.  The days that followed.  Dad was gone, and we were shattered.  Broken.”  I glanced at Caleb.  His concern etched deep creases between his brows.  “The hope that it
will
get better is all that gets me through those moments.” 

He curled his index finger under my chin and tipped my face
up toward his. The understanding in his eyes comforted my soul.  “Sweet, Celeste.  Ya’r young heart already bears so many scars.” 

H
e leaned in so slowly it almost hurt.  In seconds, I would delight in the touch of those perfect lips.  I felt the warmth of his breath on my face and closed my eyes. 

“Promise you won’t cause another one?”
I knew I had spoken those words.  But had no idea why.  Perhaps my long suppressed vulnerability decided it was done being ignored?  I pulled my eyes open, almost afraid to see how he would react.

Caleb
hesitated.  Being this close to him I could see flecks of amber weaved into his emerald eyes.  I didn’t want him to stop.  I wanted him to bridge the gap between us and press his lips to mine.  As he pulled away, it become obvious that wasn’t going to happen.