Shadows of the Past (15 page)

Amethyst was done with her appointments and couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched by Zack, who managed to remind her of Carl. She was so unnerved that she decided to take off early.

A swim would do her good. She could find her center, and just let go of all of her worries.
Being in the water was the one place she didn’t mind being a nymph, the one place she didn’t feel like a freak.

She made her way to the dock and pulled her shirt off as she went. Then
she shimmied her jeans and leggings down and kicked them off with her shoes. The sun felt good on her naked skin.

Tipping her head back, she closed her eyes and relished the warmth a moment before stepping to the edge of the dock and diving in.
Just before the cool water enveloped her body, she felt Hayden’s eyes slide over her in a secret caress.

His gaze felt so good that she immediately twisted in the water to swim to where she knew he
was hiding. If he wanted to watch, she was going to give him a show to remember. She came to a stop and floated up to the surface with her eyes closed.

The sun warmed her skin, and she could feel Hayden’s eyes move over her body like a
sensual tease. That familiar ache started between her legs and she moaned low. She’d never been turned on so much from watching eyes.

Did he not know that a nymph could
sense desire among other things? His eyes traced up her thighs, over her hips. She brought her fingers to follow the path his gaze took to her breasts. His desire kicked into overdrive and his gaze became more tangible, more like a light squeeze.

She plucked at her already tightened buds and gasped when she heard him suck in
a breath. Her hearing might not be as strong as his, but she still caught it on the wind. Her back arched as she twisted and tugged her nipples, imagining his teeth lightly scraping against her sensitive flesh before his hot mouth closed over her pebbled tip.

He wanted her, and she could feel his need pounding just under the surface, urging him to tear his clothes from his hard body and stomp into the lake to lay claim on her. Damn her to the
Abyss and back, but she wanted him to.

Amethyst could almost hear him panting as his eyes caressed back down to where she ached for him. Her fingers followed his gaze and parted her
folds to glide over her sensitized bundle of nerves.

Oh boy, could she feel him now. She whimpered as she pressed
harder and teased herself into a frenzy. This was a dangerous game and she was so close to losing control of herself and calling Hayden to her.

She slid her fingers into her depth
s and her hips bucked. She needed more, she needed him, she wanted him. It took no time at all to bring herself over the edge and tumble into ecstasy. His name was on her lips as she let herself sink to the bottom of the lake to hide that from him.

It took a long moment for her to calm herself
. Guilt started to dance around her head. Should she tell him she knew? He would only feel guilty and she didn’t want that. She didn’t want to lie either. There were too many questions so she didn’t bother to surface until she had the dock before her.

Fallon startled the hell out of her
as she pulled herself out of the lake. “Amethyst, you out here?”

“Yes,” she gasped,
and quickly scrambled onto the dock. “You’re early.” Crap, she was breathless from the pleasure still ringing through her body. She still felt his eyes on her.

One of Fallon
’s scarlet eyebrows arched as Amethyst hastily yanked her clothes on.

Fallon
smirked. “I’m not even going to ask.”

Oh thank you
.
Amethyst glanced away. “I didn’t expect you out here.”

“Next time
, I’ll yell sooner.”

Amethyst couldn
’t help blushing, “Sorry, I uh….” She didn’t have a clue what to say.

“Don’t apologize. I’ll give you more warning next time.” Fallon
rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m sure I know who was on your mind anyway.”

“Why’s that
?” She pouted.

“Oh, let’s see, the way you lit up when he walked into the shop with de
ssert just for you.”

Will I ever stop blushing?
“He’s sweet, and patient, and he’s not pressuring me, letting me decide.” Amethyst sighed, he was just spying on her, and it shouldn’t turn her on, but obviously she was a freak.

“
What are you going to do?”

She lowered her voice. “Oh, I’m going to make my move tonight. I thought it would take me longer to be ready, but I was wrong.” She bit her lip before adding. “
I’m just a little nervous. He’s so Big-and-Grr that I’m just not sure I can handle all of him.”

Fallon laughed out loud,
“You’re a nymph, sweetie. You would be enough for any creature out there, besides maybe satyr, and then you might have your work cut out for you. Horny devils, every one of them.”

“
I can deal with the horns, but they have fur from the waist down and goat legs. Eww. No thanks.” She giggled and followed Fallon back down the path.

* * * *

Hayden was frustrated beyond anything he could imagine. After leaving the shop he had gone home to see if his background check on Zack had come back with anything. There was nothing prior to him showing up in Edenton. Nada. He didn’t get much back on Carl, but it looked like the council had pulled some strings to lock most of the info down. That was typical, but if he dug hard enough he would get some kind of an answer in the next few days.

Then he went for a run
. On his way back he heard someone on the dock. He stepped behind a tree and watched as Amethyst dove into the water.

Like the ass he knew he was, he moved
as close to the lake’s edge as he could get and stay hidden. It was like she knew and was purposefully taunting him. She had swum right to the edge and unknowingly showed him what she liked.

Fuck, he was the worst kind of prick for that. He should have said something, should have let her know he was there so she could cover up but he was frozen, rooted there and unable to tear his gaze from her.

The thing that drove his guilt deeper was that he was sure it was his name she’d called as she went under. If she ever found out she would hate him. He was sure of it.

He slammed his hand against the door of his SUV before making his way into In
2 Deep. He wasn’t sure how he was going to keep himself from chasing her at this point, but he wouldn’t bail on her again. Not without work interfering.

The second he stepped inside, his eyes were drawn to Amethyst
whose hair fell against the pool table when she leaned over and drew her cue back. His breath caught in his throat as she paused and looked over her shoulder, locking gazes with him.

A seductive smile twisted her lips. She gave him a slight nod and turned
back to take her shot.

Tomahawk shook his head
, and gave Brody a smirk. His voice carried across the room. “Why is it we always lose to beautiful women?”

“Hey, you
just going to stand there?” Slater slapped him on the back and let out a chuckle.

Hayden shook his head
as he looked over at his old friend. “Sorry.”

“Come on, I’ll buy you a drink, and you can tell me why you’re standing there like you’ve just found the meaning of life.”

His eyes narrowed and he grunted, but he followed and even took a seat next to Slater.

“
Amethyst just got started, and it doesn’t look like she’s done clearing the table just yet. I know she can hold her own against Fallon so there’s no telling how long before she’s up here.”

One brow arched as Hayden glanced back over at Amethyst who was setting up another shot.
He already knew she was good and had no doubt that she was just as good as Fallon, who always kicked his ass.

Amethyst was facing him this time. She
looked up. Her grin shot through him like quicksilver, and then she licked her lips and he groaned. Her dimple only got deeper before she dropped her gaze to take another shot.

Slater laughed out loud. “I have never seen you like this.
Ever.”

Jess slid a Guinness his way. “
Ame was sort of mopey until you walked in. Looks like you cheered her up.”

Hayden’s eyes snapped to
Jess, but then he remembered the lake, and he didn’t know what to say. Her eyes went wide before she moved down the bar. He had to wonder what in the Abyss she saw, and if it was going to come back to bite him in the ass.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s up?” Slater asked.

He shook his head. “What am I supposed to say?”

“I don’t know, but you best think of something because she
’s headed this way with her sights set on you.” Slater turned back to his beer and hastily drank half down.

Amethyst stepped close, but not quite touching. “Are we still on for that game of pool?” Her voice had a sensual qual
ity to it, more so than normal.

He turned toward her and struggled to take a real breath as he took in her appearance. Her hair fell in tumbled waves around her shoulders,
and her subtle makeup only enhanced her features. Her black wrap dress was sleeveless and clung to her body until just past her hips where it flared to her knees. There was a hint of cleavage but it left most of her body to the imagination in a classy and very sexy way. She stood taller with a pair of peep toe heels.

Her dimple
s deepened as one brow arched. “Should I take that as a compliment?”

He nodded dumbly, and Slater laughed out loud. Hayden cleared his throat and managed to
get his eyes back on hers. “You’re breathtaking.”

She never broke his gaze, and amusement made her eyes sparkle.
“Thank you. So, about that game?”

“You’re on.” He stood and she started for the table.

Slater caught his arm. “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”

“Yeah.
I’m not sure how I’m supposed to give her space with the way she is tonight.” Hayden swallowed hard.

“Space?”
Jamie quipped as she butted into the conversation. “Honey, she doesn’t want space. Trust me, she’s getting her flirt on with you because she wants you.”

He hoped so. “
That’s not what she said the other day.” And if she knew about him watching she would change her mind in a hurry. Without waiting for a response, he walked over to their table and joined the whole group. She had stopped to take a drink of something fruity and smiled back at him.

“
Should I throw the game for you? Let you win once?” Her tongue swept across her lips.

Hayden
nodded before shaking his head. He couldn’t remember ever being this speechless before. “Oh no, I don’t mind. You take your turn.”

Her face lit up as she spun around to break. He was mesmerized.
The night before had been light and easy, tonight she seemed to be aggressively taunting him.

Brody nudged him.
“Never thought I’d see you like this.”

Hayden looked back at Brody. “I remember thinking that about you not so long ago.”

“This is true.”

He nodded, and noticed the outline of a new tattoo covering Brody’s right arm. He waved his hand at it with a smirk. “When did that happen?”

“Today. Fallon will color it in tomorrow.”

Hayden shrugged
. “You told me that you wanted full sleeves on both arms over a decade ago. Why are you just now going through with one?”

“It was one of those, sounded like a good idea, but didn’t have any true motivation. Adam wasn’t up here yet. He didn’t open
up the shop until just after I was a werewolf. You know I can’t draw for shit, so without an artist to draw what I wanted, I just didn’t.” Fallon dropped into Brody’s lap and kissed him deep.

Hayden looked back over at Amethyst who was bent over the table lining something up that didn
’t even look feasible from where he sat. She sank the damned ball and glanced up with an impish smirk.

“Nice shot
.” He told her. He barely bit back his groan as she moved in front of him and bent over the table, putting that luscious ass right in plain sight. He could just imagine fisting her hair in one hand, holding her hip with the other as he drove into her tight little body.

* * * *

Zack floated back out of the bar after watching Amethyst blatantly seducing the Earth Fae. He’d overhead a phone conversation, and Hayden was indeed related to Xenu, which only sweetened the pot.

Amethyst wanted
the other fae, and he wanted her. So he had to find a way to keep them apart. Their emotions would only fuel him, giving him enough power to manifest so he could take her life and recreate his original form. First he needed to harvest her hate, her pain, her loss, all the worst emotions before he could remain in a solid shadow form long enough to carve her heart from her chest and drink the blood that would recreate his true body.