TWISTED (Eternal Guardians Book 7) (35 page)

“Um.” Cynna ran her free hand down the thigh of her jeans, not sure how to respond because…yeah, that was exactly how she felt. And why the hell wasn’t she splitting
right this very moment
?

“Don’t worry, you’re not the first.” Isadora sighed. “People gravitate toward Elysia, even those who don’t like babies. I’ve suspected for a while that she has the gift of psychokinesis, but I haven’t had the heart to tell her father that she’s not just cute, she’s a master manipulator. He thinks she can do no wrong.” She knelt on the floor beside Cynna and held out the bottle. “Here. Something tells me she wants you to do this, not me.”

The baby squeezed Cynna’s hand tight, and before Cynna could say no, her own fingers were reaching for the bottle. Elysia gurgled a happy, excited sound.

Isadora leaned forward, scooped Elysia into her arms, then handed her to Cynna. “Tip her up just a little.”

Cynna felt more awkward than she had in her whole life, but she sat back cross-legged, cradled Elysia in the crook of her arm, then held the bottle to her lips. Not missing a beat, Elysia grabbed the bottle with both hands and started noisily sucking down the milk as if a total stranger feeding her was no big deal.

“She likes you.” Isadora rested her hands on her thighs. “She only lets a few people feed her. I’m hoping that’s a good sign.”

Somewhere in the back of Cynna’s mind, she knew they made a bizarre scene and that she needed to get up and leave, but she couldn’t seem to make her body obey her mind’s commands. Watching as the baby drained a quarter of the bottle, she found herself amazed at the way Elysia’s little lips moved and her tiny fingers gripped the bottle so fiercely.
 

“Nick said you helped him escape from Zagreus’s lair.”

The sound of Isadora’s voice seemed to snap Cynna from whatever trance the baby was putting her in, and she glanced toward the queen. Isadora’s white-blonde hair was rumpled, dark circles bruised the skin beneath her bottom lashes, and her light-blue pajama set looked a full size too big. But it was her eyes Cynna focused on. The same eyes Elysia shared. The same ones Cynna knew so well.

The awe and calmness she’d felt earlier, when she’d picked up the baby, trickled away, bringing back that agitation that had pushed her out of Nick’s bed. “Yeah, I did. Do you have a problem with that?”

“No. No problem. In fact, I want to thank you. For bringing him back to us.”

Cynna looked back down at the baby, hating the little wedge of jealousy pushing its way between her ribs. “It’s my understanding
here
isn’t somewhere he especially likes to be.”

“No.” Isadora’s gaze drifted to Elysia as well. “No, it’s not. I meant here to his family.”

 
“I thought his people were his family.”

“They are. But so are we. More his family than anyone else. And we protect those we care about. Fiercely.”
 

There was a warning laced in with that declaration. One that set the hairs on the nape of Cynna’s neck to attention. “I’m pretty sure Nick’s capable of taking care of himself.”

“I’m sure he is. But after everything he’s been through, I think it’s safe to say his…judgment…might be a little skewed. I just wouldn’t want to see him put his trust in the wrong person, especially now when he’s dealing with so many changes.”

Anger and disbelief pushed their way into Cynna’s chest, mingling with that jealousy that was now a raging hurricane inside. This female didn’t know the first thing about her. Didn’t know why she was here or what she’d done in her past. All she knew was that Cynna had helped Nick escape from Zagreus. And yet she was sitting here, making judgments about
Cynna
being bad for Nick, when
she,
with her little sickness and soul mate issue, was continually tormenting him.

“Maybe you’re the one whose judgment is skewed,” she said before she could stop herself. “After all, I hear you’re not feeling so hot.”
 

“No, I’m not. But that doesn’t change the fact that I care about Nick and don’t want to see him hurt.”

Cynna glanced sharply up. “Care about him or want to use him?”
 

Surprise spread over Isadora’s already pale face, making her skin look even whiter. “Of course I care about him. He’s my daughter’s uncle.”

Cynna narrowed her eyes and used her gift to search for the truth in Isadora’s words. Yeah, the queen was being honest. She did care for Nick because he was her husband’s brother and her child’s uncle, but there was another reason too. One that Cynna’s gift screamed was rooted in the soul mate curse. One this female would manipulate and use to her advantage to get what she wanted, even if it ultimately destroyed Nick.

Cynna’s heart beat fast, and she looked back down at the baby in her arms, no longer seeing the adorable infant but Nick’s future if she left him. He’d said she kept him centered. That when she was close, he could focus on her, forget about everyone else, forget about what they wanted from him, and fight the darkness from Krónos so he could stay in control. If she left now, he wouldn’t be able to do that. He’d be pulled in a thousand different directions by a hundred different people, and this female would be at the forefront, preying on his weakness for her because of the soul mate curse, slowly tormenting him in a way even Zagreus had never been able to do.

Arms shaking, Cynna quickly handed the baby to the queen and pushed to her feet.

“Where are you going?” Isadora asked, looking up.

“Back to bed. I’m suddenly tired.” And anxious to see Nick. To keep him balanced.
To keep him from you.

Frown lines formed between Isadora’s eyes as she jostled Elysia and righted the bottle. “I don’t mean to pry, but you don’t exactly seem comfortable here at the castle. Nick mentioned you have relatives at the settlement. Maybe—”

Oh no. This chick was not kicking her out of the castle. Not now. Not when Cynna had finally decided to stay. “I’ll be fine.”

Not that you ever worried about me
.
Not that you ever worry about anyone besides yourself.

Cynna fought back the anger and resentment, then turned before she said more and headed for the hall. Working for calm when she felt anything but, she muttered, “Good night.”

“Good night, Cynna,” Isadora said softly at her back. “I’m sure we’ll see more of each other.”

Suddenly, Cynna was sure they would too. And she hated that fact.

Heart pounding, she moved quickly back to Nick’s suite, closed the door behind her, and scanned the darkness. He was still asleep on the gigantic bed, only he’d shifted to his back and was now lying with one hand over his chiseled bare chest, the other resting palm-up on the pillow near his head.

Her skin warmed. Her pulse turned to a roar in her ears. She wasn’t leaving him to that…female. Wasn’t about to let the queen prey on his emotions, his vulnerability, his goodness. She knew in the pit of her stomach that he wouldn’t ever say no to his soul mate, but she could help him stay centered. She could be his distraction. And this time, her desire to help him had nothing to do with guilt for what she’d done while she’d been in Zagreus’s lair. It had only to do with these feelings for him that were already rooted so deeply inside her.

She toed off her shoes and slowly climbed over him on the bed. Her knees brushed the outsides of his hips, and she braced her hands on the mattress on each side of his head. His soft brown eyelashes feathered the skin beneath his eyes, his thin masculine lips were slightly parted and, she knew, whisper soft. She let her gaze dance over him, over every freckle, every scar, every play of bone and angle of his features. And as she did, her heart took a hard, slow tumble in her chest.
 

He was right. Their being together might be wrong in every logical way, but it felt so incredibly right. And for now, that would be enough.

Carefully, she leaned down and brushed her lips against his. He didn’t move. Didn’t respond, so she did it again. Tipping her head to the other side, she kissed him once more. Softly. Gently. Just a feather of flesh against flesh, loving the sweetness of his lips, the heat of his body, that intoxicating lightheadedness she always felt when he was close. But he still didn’t wake, and disappointment slowly slinked in.

Sighing, she lifted her head and was just about to ease away when he groaned, slid his hand up into her hair, then opened to her kiss and pulled her mouth back down to his.

Ecstasy. Danger. Perfection. The words tumbled in her mind as his tongue stroked hers and his other hand drifted to her hip, then slid across her lower spine. She sank into him as he kissed her, letting him explore every inch of her mouth, kissing him back with everything she had in her. His muscles flexed as his kiss grew needy, demanding, as he tasted her deeper, and she groaned when he rolled her over and pushed all his delicious heat against her, driving her back into the mattress.

Her legs fell open. Her hands wound around his shoulders and up into his hair. She fisted the silky soft strands between her fingers and kissed him again and again, not able to get enough, needing to wash Isadora and their conversation from her mind with his intoxicating mouth.
 

When she was breathless, when she was ready to tear his clothes off so she could have more, he drew back and looked down at her with those sexy amber eyes. The ones that had always entranced her. Even when he’d been nothing but her prisoner. “Hi.”

Heat rushed to her cheeks. It was such a normal thing to say. But they’d never had any kind of normal. And she wasn’t sure how to respond. “H-hi.”

“You’re wearing a lot more than you were a few hours ago.”

Damn. She’d forgotten to take off her pants and jacket. “I am.”

His eyes narrowed. Just a touch. Just enough to tell her he was on to her. “Should I ask?”

Ask about Isadora and what they’d discussed? Um. Hell, no. “I’m surprised you didn’t just look into my mind to find out.”

One corner of his lips tipped up. “It doesn’t work that way. I can’t read your mind. I can only see your memories…if you project them.” His eyes narrowed even more. “Which you’re not doing at the moment.”

Thank the Fates.
She rested her hands against his sexy, muscular shoulders. “You’ll have to teach me how to keep from doing that on a regular basis.”

“Something tells me you’ll be a quick learner.”

Her lips curled as she focused on a tiny scar near his collarbone.
 

But instead of kissing her again like she wanted, he stared at her. And in the silence, her cheeks grew even warmer.

“What?” she finally asked.

“Nothing.” His eyes softened. “Just… Thank you. Again.”

“For what?”

“For coming back.”

Her chest squeezed so tight it pulled the air right out of her lungs. And in that moment, as she stared up at him, she knew she was in love with him. Crazy, head-over-heels in love with a man who would never truly be hers.

Don’t think about that now. Don’t—shit… Just focus on the moment.
 

She swallowed hard. Dammit. She was going to get her heart broken here. There was no way around it anymore. “Don’t make me regret it.”

He reached for the hem of her shirt and pushed it up to her breasts, his rough fingers grazing the skin near her belly button, sending shivers of excitement straight into her sex. “Trust me, female. You won’t. I promise.”

She closed her eyes and fought back the sting of tears as he pressed his wicked, talented lips against her belly. And though she prayed with every ounce of her soul that he was right, her gift screamed he was telling the biggest lie of all.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

N
ick felt better than he had in days. No, weeks. No…months.

He was rested. Focused. Invigorated. And he knew it was all because of Cynna and the fact she’d come back to him last night when she could have so easily run and left him for good.

He’d wanted to ask what had changed her mind, but didn’t. Yeah, it was crazy. Yeah, it made no sense. But he trusted her. And he was so freakin’ thankful that she’d returned to him, he didn’t want to do anything to scare her off.

The halls were quiet as he made his way to the ground floor and headed for the main kitchen at the back of the castle. He’d left Cynna sleeping. After he’d thanked her with his hands and mouth and body, she’d curled into him and fallen asleep. He’d held her like that most of the night, loving the way she twined her leg between his, loving the weight of her hand against his chest, loving her heat seeping in to warm the cold places left inside him. It wasn’t like him to want to snuggle, but with her he found he couldn’t get enough. Because she didn’t want anything from him. She wasn’t waiting for him to break like Zagreus. She wasn’t pulling at him like Isadora and the soul mate connection. She wasn’t waiting for him to fix things and make the world better like his people.