The Beckoning of Beautiful Things (The Beckoning Series) (24 page)

“Not happening, dude. Go away.”

“You’ve sure gotten bossy since you started dating this new guy. What did you say his name was again?”

“I didn’t. Now go away.”

“Mr. Brown?” Cara’s voice sliced the air like a sharp knife.

“Mr. Brown? So you’re Mr. Brown now?”
Marissa just bet Cara was grimacing at Jason as she said that.

“Right-o.” He leaned over the cube wall and whispered to Marissa, “She is one hot babe. I’m going to do her before the night is done.”

“Help yourself. She’ll eat you alive. Will it keep you away from me?”

“Mr. Brown, would you join us please?”

Marissa could hear the frost in Cara’s voice. She smothered a snicker.

“Roger that. I’m there.”

Marissa regarded his retreating back. There was something odd about this arrangement -
a coffee grower just mysteriously walking into that sham of a music store and asking for Jason?
Cold dread iced her veins.

“Here is our wonderful graphics department,” Cara said.

Marissa pictured the fake smile plastered on her boss’s face as she said that.

“And this is Marissa Engles, one of
the layout specialists.”

Marissa whirled around in her chair and smiled.
The chill in her veins spread to her fingers and toes.

“It’
s my pleasure to meet you. Jason has said so many nice things about you.” Mr. Díaz stood regarding her politely. He wore an expensive-looking brown wool. His graying black hair was pushed back from his forehead, greased back with some gel product. He stood about 5’8” and occupied every square inch of his powerful, compact body. He extended a hand in her direction.

His eyes appeared to be warm but there was something behind them that gave her the
jitters.
He looks like Beelzebub, noticing everything.
“Did he? That’s nice.” She reached out to touch his hand. When her hand made contact with his, an eerie sensation snaked up her arm. It ran up to her elbow and then stopped, as if it had hit a wall.

Mr. Díaz’
s smile faltered slightly. Recovering, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. His eyes sought hers. “Breathtaking.”

Marissa’s gut twisted into a knot at the eye and lip contact. There was something
disturbing about the man. When he released her hand, she wanted to scrub it with Lysol.

“Would you honor me by joining us for dinner tomorrow night? Where did you say we were going, Cara?”

“Encantada,” Cara replied. “Yes, Marissa, why don’t you join us?”

T
he disdain dripping off of Cara’s tongue almost made Marissa laugh.
And it drips to the floor like hydrochloric acid, creating chemical burns in the cheap tile.
A small scorch mark appeared on the floor. Marissa quickly moved her foot on top of it.

“Yeah, baby-doll, that would be super.”

Marissa stared at her desk. “I don’t know. I believe I have plans.”

“Such a pity,” Mr. Díaz said, in an iced coffee kind of manner.

Yup, the guy’s is a bona fide creepazoid.
Marissa scanned her mind for excuses.

“I’d be thrilled if you could join us. I’m only in town for a couple of days
, and I’d love to hear more about this woman Mr. Brown has spoken so highly of.”

“I don’t know. I’m pretty busy lately.”

“She’s got a new beau,” Jason offered conspiratorially.

“A new beau? That’s wonderful. Love is always a wonderful thing, especially when it’s fresh and strong.” His nostrils flared as if he was sipping the air.

Fresh and strong? Like coffee?

“I thought Mr. Brown was your beau?” Mr. Díaz gave her a snake-like smile.

“We broke up.” She glared at Jason.
This is getting awfully none of your business-like, Mr. Díaz,
she thought.

“More like we’re taking a break to see other people. We’ll work things out.” Jason slung his arm over Marissa’s shoulders.

Marissa plucked his arm off of her and picked up her purse. “I’m expected somewhere right now. I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Díaz.”

“Call me Alexander. Will we have the pleasure of your company tomorrow? You can bring your date.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Marissa,” Cara said, in her “I hate this too
, but this is an important account to land” voice. “I’m sure you can find the time to join us.”

“I’ll have to check my calendar.”

“I insist. Please join us.” Cara didn’t even pretend to smile.

“Yes, Marissa, please join us.” Mr. Díaz beamed at her.

Her eyes narrowed. “Alright then. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Wonderful! I look forward to it!”

After they’d wandered off, Marissa sprinted out of the office, struggling to keep her fingers from sparkling. As she passed Crazy Betty, the old dear called, “Beware the dark to seize the light. Beware the light to blind the night.” She waved a white handkerchief in Marissa’s direction and dabbed her eyes. “Say a prayer for Buddy,” she chimed, as the door closed behind Marissa.

“Gah!” Marissa exclaimed. She fumbled for her car keys as she ran toward her car. Once the car purred into action, she called
Daniel. He picked up on the second ring.

“Hello, beautiful.”

“Daniel, I just met the strangest man. He’s some coffee grower guy who Cara is showing around town. And get this – he asked Jason to show him around town. Jason! Can you believe that?”

“Slow down, dulzura. Take a breath. What did he look like?”

“He just looked…I don’t know, he looked non-descript. But there was something in his eyes that creeped me out. And when he took my hand, I felt this weird shivery feeling go up my arm. It stopped at my elbow.”

“
That’s thanks to the soul binding. It protects you from unwanted energy.”

Marissa rolled her eyes.
“Oh, so then it’s okay that you did that. Why would his energy be unwanted? Who do you think he is?” Silence greeted her ears. “Daniel? Are you still there?”

“Yes, sorry, mi amor, I was consulting Tom.”

“You have to teach me how to do that. Either that or get me those earrings right now! I’m starting to freak.”

“
Now can you see why that soul binding was essential?”

The stirs and purrs of longing inside of her began reaching for him
, despite her protesting mind. “Perhaps.” A heady, pleasurable quietude passed between them.

After several seconds Daniel continued in a low voice. “Marissa.
Are you in your car?”

“
On my way to your house. I’m coming as fast as I can.”

“
Be safe, dulzura. You said this fellow just asked for Jason? That sounds suspicious. What’s the man’s name?”

“Alexander Díaz.”

“The name doesn’t ring a bell, but that doesn’t mean anything. El Demonio is a master of disguise.”

“
He invited us both to dinner tomorrow.”

“
That’s great!”

“What’s great about it? I don’t want to go.”

“Well, for one thing, I’ll be by your side. He’ll see our alliance. Second, it will give me time to sense his energy.”

Marissa tensed. “What does that mean?”

“A predator always knows his prey. He’s been hiding. No one knows what he’s been up to.”

My lover is a predator.

“Marissa? Did I lose you?”

“No. I’m still here.”
Talking to a predator.

“Don’t worry, cariño. We’ll deal with this. Everything’s going to be okay. But first, I’m going to make you forget all about tomorrow night.”

Her arousal jump started to on, on, on. “Are you?”

“Absolutely.” His voice snaked through the phone like a purr.

She swallowed. “What did you have in mind?” Her attention landed right between her legs.

“It’s a surprise.”

“Will I like it?”
I’m in love with a predator. A sexy, sexy predator.

“You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?”

“I won’t have to wait that long. I’ll be there in 20 minutes.”

“I can hardly wait,” Daniel purred into her ear.

The connection dropped, and she whizzed along the streets, one thing only on her mind – Daniel.
I have no self-control, I have no self-control, I have no self-control.

The door to Daniel’s house was ajar so she let herself in. The din of shouting from the kitchen and the racket of something tearing, like sturdy canvas being ripped in two by strong, sure hands greeted her ears. Blasts of darkness emanated from the kitchen doorway in billowing puffs as if it had been released from captivity, and it sought to voraciously consume the rest of the house.

She tiptoed into the front room. Sober bounded off the deck to greet her, twinkling like a huge firefly. “Shhh. Good boy. Good dog. Be quiet,” she whispered. She crept into the dining area and strained to hear.

“What do you mean, you did it for my protection? My protection? Mine?” Daniel bellowed. “She was just a child, for Christ’s sake! You nearly cost her everything! You nearly cost her to lose her life!” Loud footsteps echoed through the room followed by a clang and a clatter as if Daniel had struck his hand on the stove, rattling the pots and pans. “Goddamn it, Father, can you hear what you’re saying? You tried to suppress her abilities because you knew I was destined to be with her and you wanted to keep me safe? What about Josephina? What was all that bullshit about Josephina being my star-crossed soul mate?”

The pacing of footsteps continued, followed by more ragged ripping and more weird bursts of darkness. “And how in hell did that work out, exactly? We’re together now and Josephina is locked away! Yes, that’s right, I’ve bound Marissa to me so you, nor anyone in your luminous organization
, can get to her. The Numina has become a corrupt organization.” The leg of a chair scraped across the floor followed by more tearing noises and more sudden darkness. “I don’t care what you think about my actions. I haven’t cared for a long time, in case you haven’t noticed.”

Marissa crept to the doorway and peeked around the corner. Her hair stood on end. As he patrolled the kitchen, he’d wave his hand and flick his fingers. A split in the atmosphere appeared where his fingers moved, as if he was tearing apart space and matter. Strange shadows and darkness issued forth from the breach, absorbing all the light in the room and then, just as quickly, disappeared revealing the light again. It was as if the room was breathing
darkness, taking big gulps of it, filling its lungs, and then resuming its light-filled appearance.
What the hell is that?

Sober shook his coat out, causing his dog tags to jangle. Daniel whirled to face the doorway, stopped, spying Marissa, and blinked rapidly several times. “I have to go,
Father,” he snapped into the phone. “Marissa’s here.” He tossed the phone on the counter and ran a hand through his hair. He resumed his agitated pacing. “My father is a menacing, meddling, dangerous prick. He called me back just after I hung up with you.”

Marissa entered the kitchen slowly, cautiously, and made her way over to one of the chrome bar stools at the island. The stool had a swoop of gleaming blue plastic, like a wave, as the seat. She balanced at the edge, without really committing to sitting, and noted the gleaming stainless steel everything, the solid wood top of the massive island before her and the bowls and cooking implements arranged on the counter. A large, pink slab of meat that looked like salmon lay on top of shiny brown butcher paper. “I see.”

“I can’t cook in this state. I’ll need to calm down first.”

“Can I help?” Marissa eyed his reddened face and corded neck.

“I’m not sure,” Daniel said, facing her. “What did you see?”

Marissa ran a hand along the wood. It was covered with minute slices. A wooden knife holder held several polished knives with deadly looking edges. “Well,” she began.
Don’t look at him.
“I saw you doing something with your hand – flicking it. I heard a ripping sound and it would get all dark for a minute and weird shadow things would issue forth and then quickly disappear.” She brought her eyes up to his and tilted her head. “What was that?”

He sighed and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and fingers. He came up behind her and massaged her shoulders.

Her shoulders dropped away from her ears.

“This helps me relax.”

“Massaging my shoulders?”

He kissed the top of her head. “Yes,
cariño, taking care of you comforts me. You looked like prey, frightened into stillness. I never want you to look like that when you look at me.”

Marissa took a deep breath. “It was a bit freaky to witness. What were you doing?”

He pulled a stool close to hers, sat down and reached for her hand. He gently ran his thumb back and forth across the palm, brought it to his lips and planted a soft, feathery kiss in the center.

Marissa settled into the stool. She allowed her knee to relax and fall against his thigh.

He looked at her for a long, hard moment. His mouth worked as if he was trying to decide what to say. A deep breath left his lungs. “I was pissed at my father as I'm sure you could tell. I was instinctively practicing a skill I’ve practiced for most of my life.” He cocked his head and pursed his lips, studying her.

“I’m listening.”

“At this point, I don’t even think about it when I do it. I told you I am a Night Numen. I can shape the darkness. I can call it forth at will. I can summon dark, dangerous creatures to do my bidding if I choose.”

Marissa’s eyebrows furrowed. She tensed and withdrew her leg from Daniel’s thigh. “What kind of dark creatures?"

"The darkest of the dark. I never want you to see them if I can help it."

“Why would you need to do this?”

“Because, unlike most people, I acknowledge that I live in a world of chaos and danger. I live in a world where magic is real and there are people who wield it with evil intent. I use my skills as needed.”

Marissa bit her lip. “So, you’re one of the good guys?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. I’m just one of the guys.”

Marissa pursed her mouth and slowly nodded. “I see.”

Daniel tilted his head and scrutinized her with cautious eyes. “Guys like me are dangerous. Guys like me are deadly. Guys like me are necessary to protect the people whom they love.”

“Guys like you,” Marissa repeated.

“Guys like me failed to protect someone whom they loved very much. They won’t let it happen a second time.” He rubbed his beard stubble with his hand.

She picked at a dried substance embedded in the wood until it was freed and swept it away with her fingers.

Daniel frowned. “I’m going to have to have a chat with Karin. This kitchen needs to be spotless when she leaves.”

Marissa stared at the warm terracotta tile covering the walls. Looking askance
, she noted that Daniel was staring at her. “So, my soul is bound to a dangerous man.”

“Yes,” he said simply. “A dangerous man who loves you and wants to keep you safe.”

“Why did Javier say you were a kind man?”

“I am a kind man, where kindness is warranted. I treat my staff very well. I have every intention of treating you with love and kindness until my end of days.”

Marissa’s breath caught in her throat. “Do they know of your abilities?”
Don’t look at him. Whatever you do, don’t look at him.
She focused on a colorful switch plate in the wall.

“Some. They don’t know the whole of it. They know I am a
Night Numen. They know my father is a Night Numen. They know we’re fairly estranged from one another. And they keep what little they know to themselves. They have good, good jobs with me, and they are very loyal.”

Marissa nodded again. She loosely crossed her arms in front of her belly, rubbing her elbows with her fingertips.

“I love that shirt on you.”

Marissa inclined her head slightly and regarded him from the corner of her eye. “Buttoned or unbuttoned?”

“Both. Probably off, too, on the floor somewhere.”

“Geez, that was a dumb move to fly out of the house without buttoning my shirt.”

“I rather liked it.”

Marissa shyly smiled and met his eyes.

“You’re back. Good.” Daniel smiled back at her.

She sighed. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“The Night Numen stuff?”

“Everything. I’m going to need some time to absorb this.”

He nodded glumly. “I understand. Now do you see why I never dated much?”

Marissa laughed. “Oh, I can kind of tell, yeah.”

“Now can you see why I’ve waited for you?” His eyes sought hers.

She looked at him for a long moment. “If I’m who you say I am, then yes.” She glanced at her dog, curled at her feet. “How did you and Sober get on today?”

“We had a most excellent day, didn’t we, Sober?”

The Doberman’s head lifted to look at Daniel
, thumping his tail on the terracotta tile floor.

“You’ve got a great dog.”

“We do.” Marissa smiled warmly at Daniel.

He looked at her, caution clouding his features. “Are you saying you’re not going to run?”

“I’m not running. I’m scared, I’m confused, but I’m not running.”

“Thank you.” He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you,
cariño. Thank you for saying that.”

“So, can you see him sparkle?”

“Absolutely.”

“Do you think other people can see him sparkle?”

“Probably not. The world of the mundane prefers to see a mundane reality around them. The world is based on perception, you see. I perceive more than most. You will, too, soon, I hope.”

“I’m sure starting to.” Marissa shifted in her seat. “Tell me what you learned from your father.”

“Oh. That.” Daniel lips pressed into a rigid line, and he looked away from her. “It seems it was prophesized that you and I would meet someday.”

“Get out! Really? By whom?”

“I don’t know, but my father said it was a big deal – powerful omens or something – kind of like the kestrel who marked your birth. I would have asked more questions had I not been so pissed. Anyway, we would have met sooner, but my father but an end to that. When your parents died, he seized the opportunity by creating an amnesia concoction. He’s good at that – seizing opportunities, I mean. He’s been working things from the sidelines like a puppet-master.” His face furrowed into a scowl. “All that bullshit about Josephina and I being star-crossed lovers was just that – bullshit. My father fabricated that story so that I’d feel compelled and duty bound to be with her. He did
not
want me to be with you. He thought I’d be better off with Josephina.”

“I thought you loved her.”

“I did. Very much. I would have spent my whole life with her.” He brought his blue eyes to hers. “But she wasn’t you. She’d never be you. She had no abilities whatsoever other than being devoted to me. All that nonsense about El Demonio seeking her power was a lie. He wanted her for his own selfish reasons. I would have spent my life protecting her from harm. I’d prefer to be well met by an equal.” He gave her one of his pointed, hypnotic looks, his blue iris nearly obscured by his black pupil.

Her breath caught. “And you think you are well m
atched with an untrained Light Rebel.” She said this as a statement, rather than a question.

“I believe I am well
matched with you. I didn’t bind my soul with yours lightly. I have to live with the consequences, too, you know.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

“I did it to protect you from harm, dulzura. I did it to keep you safe until you could find your powers. I did it because I…” His voice faltered. “I did it because I don’t want to lose you.”

“And you didn’t think I’d want the same thing too?”

“I didn’t know. Not when you found out what I’m capable of.”

“I still don’t know. Not really. You could have given us a chance to grow into this soul binding.”

“True. I could have. But hearing what you told me today, I’m glad I followed my instincts. If you weren’t soul bound to me, and if that man truly
is
El Demonio, I would have lost you already.”

Marissa shuddered. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. That sensation you felt crawling up your arms was his invasive energy. He’d have sent it up your arm and embedded a part of him inside of you so he could keep track of you…sort of like placing a listening device in a room.”

“Ew, are you kidding?” Marissa rubbed her arms vigorously.

“Not at all. He wants to source you. He’s been looking for you for years. As much as it pains me to say it, in some ways my father did a good deed in hiding you from me. He also hid you from El Demonio.” Daniel reached for Marissa’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “I’m sure the bastard got a sense of you when you opened that box of your mother’s. He’s on the hunt now. Did he try to smell you today?”

Marissa frowned. “Well, yeah, I saw him taking tiny sniffs standing next to me.”

Daniel nodded in affirmation. “Since he couldn’t embed inside of you, he’s trying anything he can. He knows what you smell like now. You won’t be able to hide your own scent unless you have some skills that we don’t know about.”

“Other than being a sparkler?” She held up her hand and willed light from her fingers.