“Stop it.”
“I like touching you.”
“You’re a creep.”
“Avery,” he warned.
She shrugged, still refusing to look at him.
“It’s my turn you know.”
Despite herself, Avery whipped her head around to glare at him. “Your turn to what?”
“To ask the questions.”
She shrugged. “Fair is fair. Go ahead.”
His smile slipped and he was glaring at her again.
“What?!”
“Why on earth did you date Josh for three years?”
Avery groaned and flopped back on the sofa, not caring if her head was cushioned against his arm. She should have known his question would be related to sex and relationships somehow.
My Name is Yours…
Can I Sleep on your Floor?
He interrogated her for what seemed hours. Avery was surprised by the things he knew about her life. After she stumbled through a clumsy explanation of why Josh had been perfect for her in high school, Brennus nodded, telling her he knew about her fear over being centre of attention. He said he still remembered her freak out at her junior prom when the prom committee told her she had been nominated for prom court. She had urged Josh to leave, practically prostituting her way out of the situation by promising him a chance to go to third base with her if he did. Brennus glared and she glared back, demanding to know if he had stuck around for the rest of the show that night. His face mottled red with seething anger but he shook his head. “I for one am a gentleman,” he said, reminding her that Josh had humiliated her anyway by telling all his friends the next day that he’d gone down on her the night before. Come to think of it, she couldn’t believe she’d stayed with him as long as she had.
Among his seemingly never-ending questions, Brennus apologised for embarrassing her when he danced with her at 4.0. Immediately she felt ashamed because he seemed to know she had been humiliated to be seen with him and his scarred face. Somehow she found herself apologising back, telling him she couldn’t help it, her fear of being noticed by crowds of people was some psychological bullshit she’d picked up after the death of her parents. But they both knew that was only half the truth. Suddenly, Avery wondered why he wanted anything to do with her. She wasn’t the nicest person.
When he was done unravelling her little mysteries, Brennus finally let her drift off into sleep just as the sun broke the horizon.
Avery awoke hours later, the vast darkness beyond the glass windows telling her she’d slept all day. It had been a wonderful, dreamless sleep. She felt refreshed for the first time in a long time.
A throat clearing above her head shot Avery upwards, and she found herself gazing into the grey eyes of Ames.
“Miss.” He nodded his head congenially at her. “Sir has asked me to show you to your room where you can freshen up, have a bite to eat and get dressed for tonight.”
“Tonight?” she queried slowly, rising to her feet to follow Ames who was already heading out the door. “What’s tonight?”
“Sir has plans for you both.”
That sounded ominous. Shivering in her pj’s now that she was no longer near the fire, Avery hurried to follow Ames through the gorgeous modern house straight out of Interior Design Magazine. He took her up this huge, wide staircase with chunky oak banisters to the second floor. At the end of the hall was a double set of doors. He thrust them open with a flourish and Avery gaped as he led her inside the bedroom suite. It was bigger than her and Caroline’s apartment in Brooklyn. A king-size bed dominated one side of the room, sitting on a massive circular dais. The other side of the room had an ornate fireplace to equal the one downstairs. Avery shivered deliciously. It was lit. There were sofas and chairs, an entertainment unit. Her eyes widened as they passed over the open doors to a walk-in closet bigger than their Brooklyn sitting room. The bedroom must have faced the same way as the sitting room downstairs, for another glass wall dominated, leading out onto a balcony that looked over Brennus’ estate.
“Through that door is the bathroom, miss. Why don’t you freshen up? There are some clothes that should fit quite well in the closet. I’ll have a tray of food sent up.”
Avery was in a complete daze as Ames left, shutting the doors behind him. She numbly followed his directions and wandered into the bathroom.
“Holy moly…” she breathed.
Correction. The bathroom was bigger than her apartment.
Floor to ceiling, the bathroom was decked out in lavish travertine and gold. There was a spa in one corner, a claw footed tub in the middle of the room, and separated by a tiled wall, a wet room at the back. Before she had time to think about it she was stripping out of her clothes and heading with excitement towards to the wet room. Three shower heads came on automatically as she stepped inside and Avery gasped at the shock of the beautifully warm water hitting her skin. She sighed happily and leaned back against the wall. That’s when her eyes fell on the shelving unit built into the wet room. It was like something out of a his and hers catalogue. The top shelf had men’s shampoo and conditioner, aftershave, deodorant, razor, shaving foam, shower gel. All of it used. The bottom shelf had her favourite shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, coconut shower gel, shaving foam and the Gillette Venus razor she preferred. None of it used. Her heart thudded in her chest and she struggled to draw breath.
This was Brennus’ bedroom suite.
And clearly he had been waiting for her to join him in it for a while.
His harsh face flashed before her eyes and she shuddered, confused and disgusted for the way she felt about her would-be kidnapper.
“You’re only nineteen,” she whispered to herself, ripping the shampoo down off the shelf and popping it open. She began lathering it into her hair in jerky, angry motions. “You’re just a girl, being manipulated by a much older man. Well… he is only twenty.” She bit her lip and then shook her head, sending stinging shampoo foam into her eye. She groaned. “Twenty give or take a couple of thousand years. He has a lifetime or thirty on you… he knows how to play the game.”
Avery snorted at herself. She was talking crap. To herself.
Suddenly scared Brennus might decide to show up Avery rushed through the rest of the shower and hurried back out into the suite, wrapped modestly in a huge bath towel. She was still alone. Except now there was a tray of gorgeous smelling food on the table by the sofa. Stomach grumbling she sauntered into the walk-in closet and her towel promptly dropped.
“Holy hell…” Her fingers brushed the rows of folded jeans, t-shirts. The skirts, all colours, all lengths, hanging on the rails. Dresses, coats, jackets. Drawers that opened to reveal underwear, pretty underwear… sexy underwear?!
There were even drawers with jewellery and perfume. Racks of shoes, sneakers, boots, belts, bags, purses, hats, scarves... All in her size, all to her taste.
“I think you should be a little more creeped out than you are, Ave,” she whispered shakily, drawing on a pair of panties, bra, black jeans and a shirt. Her gaze fell on the other side of the closet where the layout matched this side. Except it was filled with what was clearly Brennus’ stuff.
“You get everything you need?”
She squealed like an idiot and whirled around to see him smirking at her. “JeSUS!” She glared at him and brushed past him, ignoring the sparks that shot down her arm where their bodies met.
Thumping down on to the sofa, she grabbed at the food tray and began digging in, glaring at him the whole time as he took the seat opposite her. She swallowed when he refused to look away. “You know this is all just a little too Virginia Andrews for my liking.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Meaning?”
“The clothes, the accessories, the shampoo!” Avery shook her head in disbelief. “It’s creepy, Brennus.”
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. Her eyes widened a little. Was he embarrassed?
“Perhaps I went overboard.” He shrugged sheepish
ly, no longer meeting her eyes. “I just wanted you to be comfortable.”
For some inexplicable reason Avery felt bad for upsetting him. “I know. The thought was nice… if poorly executed.”
Brennus frowned, looking up. “The things weren’t to your liking?”
“Of course. It was just… doing what you’ve done… it’s alarming and a little… gothic.”
He surprised her by chuckling, the sound tugging at her belly. She flushed. God, Josh had never made her feel this way. Sex with him had been perfunctory and boring. Somehow she knew with Brennus it would different. When she looked back over at him, his eyebrows were raised speculatively and she had the weirdest feeling he knew what she had been thinking. Avery blushed even harder and he responded with a wicked grin.
“Sorry, if I ‘freaked you out’, as you kids say today.”
She snorted ignoring the heat in her cheeks. “Could you sound any older?”
“Yes.”
Rolling her eyes at him, it took her a minute to remember she was supposed to be pissed off at him. She stopped smiling and dropped her gaze.
“Avery,” he moaned softly as if her coldness physically hurt him.
Ignoring his plea, she shrugged and continued to eat. When she was done, she leaned back and concentrated on his scar, waiting for the ripples of revulsion she had first felt when she saw him. She bit her lip, telling herself she still felt them. She thought of Sarah and Jemima and how freaked out they’d be if she started seeing this guy. Even the knowledge of their humiliating judgement didn’t bring on the ripples. How long had she been here? It felt like forever.
“So what’s on the agenda tonight?” She asked softly. Giving in.
Brennus stood up and held a hand out to her. “For one night only… I’m going to show you my world.”
I Wonder What it’s Like…
Walking by your Side
The last place Avery expected to end up was the hospital. One minute she was shrugging on a jacket (this gorgeous leather bomber… so soft… she wanted to die – if her aunt saw her in it she would) and taking Brennus’ hand. The next minute, the whirlpool thing happened and they were standing in a brightly lit hospital corridor, nurses and doctors rushing by. Not one of them looked at them and when a short, flustered-looking doctor headed straight toward her as if she were invisible, Avery yelped and pushed Brennus aside so the doctor didn’t walk straight into her.
“What the hell…” she snapped, glaring at the doctor as he hurried off. She was all for not being centre of attention but that was just ruuudddee.
She stiffened at the sound of Brennus’ chuckle and spun around slowly to pin him to the wall with a ‘ferocious’ look. “What?”
He smiled at her, the scar stretching up on his cheek. It seemed more prominent under the fluorescent lights. It must have hurt when he got it, she thought, feeling a pang of pain for him. “Avery, no one can see us.”
Her eyes widened incredulously. “We’re invisible?”
He nodded, the smile slipping from his face as he sobered. “We’re here for the dead.”
Once more he held out his hand and tentatively she took it, tears prickling painfully in the back of her eyes for some reason. Despite everything inside her screaming for her to run in the opposite direction, Avery followed Brennus as he wandered into the ICU. His shoulders seemed to hunch over as they walked into a private room. A teenage girl lay broken on the bed. An older man and woman were curled up together on the sofa against the wall, their faces strained with terror even in their sleep. As she stood there with Brennus, an icy cold descended on the room and the heart monitor by the bed went crazy as the waves on the screen flat lined. Nurses and a doctor rushed into the room, pushing paddles on a trolley, and Brennus pulled Avery out of the way, guessing she wouldn’t enjoy the sensation of someone running right through her. They worked in a calm hurry to save the girl’s life, her parents held back by a nurse as the doctor attempted to stop the inevitable. Brennus stepped forward through the medical team and brushed the girl’s hair off her face. Gently he bent down and pressed the softest, sweetest kiss to her forehead.
Avery tended to cry if someone else did and as the man and woman sobbed hysterically when the doctor pronounced, ‘Time of death, 20:16,’ Avery felt a hot tear score her cheek as her throat muscles clenched together, determined to hold back her answering sob.
She felt the brush of Brennus’ fingers on her cheek and she looked up at him. He stared back with such love, she felt her knees buckle.
*
For the rest of the night he took her from pillar to post, answering the call of the dead. Each person he treated gently. Respectfully. Sombrely.
He was the most beautifully sad thing she had ever seen.
I’m Gonna Kiss the Parts
that you have Lost
After such an exhaustingly emotional night, Avery was surprised when Brennus suggested they go dancing the next evening. Her first instinct had been to flinch inwardly at the thought of being seen at 4.0 with Brennus. As soon as the thought floated out into the verse she berated herself. When had she grown into such a shallow, hateful person?
“I didn’t mean 4.0.” Brennus shook his head. “Your friends might be there.”
She wanted to tell him she wasn’t ashamed to be seen with him. But she wasn’t sure if that was true or not. God. She was disgusted with herself.
Seeming to read her mind, Brennus smirked. “You are remembering that you consider yourself my captive, right, Avery?”
She straightened her shoulders and nodded at him. “Yeah. Right. Forgot about that.” She felt a little better about herself.
But Brennus was grinning that wicked grin that did funny things to her insides, the kind of funny things that made her wish he would just grab her and kiss her already. “Forgot hmm? I’ll call that progress.”
Avery grimaced. “That’s not what I meant.”
She had to admit that choosing an outfit for going dancing was difficult. Brennus had great taste. Understated, classy. In the end she chose a pair of skinny jeans and a silk top that tied into a gorgeous floppy bow behind her neck, the wide ribbons sliding sensually across her back as she moved. Her stilettos were emerald green to match the colour of the top. Her clutch matched too. She shook her head. Where had he gotten all of this stuff? She wondered, shrugging on a little cropped jacket a lot like the one she had at home.
Avery tried not to shiver at Brennus’ approving regard as they got ready to leave. He wore a black cashmere jumper that moulded to his well-defined body. With all the delicious things she was starting to notice about him, the scar was beginning to fade into the background. She wasn’t sure if she even saw it now.
They ended up at a club downtown she had never gone to before. It was a lot smaller than 4.0 and it was in a basement, but the DJ had good taste in music. At first she felt awkward walking into the club with Brennus. People stared and Brennus had to hold her hand and infuse that calm over her so she wouldn’t hyperventilate. Inside, the staring continued, following Brennus as he left Avery at the edge of the dance floor to get drinks. He was back in record time and she shook her head in bemusement as her gaze took in the crowds around the bar. I’m not even going to ask, she thought as she sipped her JD and coke. As they watched the people on the throbbing dance floor, the music teasing Avery, twitching its fingers on her hips and urging her towards the main floor, she wondered if Brennus even enjoyed this kind of dancing. Sure, he liked holding her close and swaying to the lilt of good old Paul Weller… but R&B, hip hop…?
When she finished her drink, Brennus took her glass and dumped it on a nearby table with his own. Then he was taking her hand and leading her into the throng of figures. His strong arms caught around her waist, nudging up the silk of her shirt so his fingers brushed her bare skin. She sucked in her breath as goosebumps exploded in ripples across her flesh. Her heart raced harder, faster as he drew her into the heat of his body. She had her answer.
Brennus
knew how to dance.
The music was like a drug. She forgot who she was. Who he was. That he scared people. That people were staring. Instead she slid her arms up across his chest to lock around his neck, enjoying the way his eyes flared with heat. It was enthralling to have someone with his power in her control.
Seconds later Avery wished she had never dared that arrogant thought.
As his hips caught hers, their bodies sliding across one another, she realised he wasn’t in her control.
His head dipped and he brushed a tentative kiss across her lips.
She was in his.
Avery groaned and tugged him back, pressing her lips harder against his gorgeous mouth, widening her own invitingly. He took the invitation with a dangerous growl that shocked her, his kiss deep, his tongue dancing with hers in the most carnal make-out session she’d ever had. As she felt the press of him, felt his excitement against her hip, Avery curled into him, her fingernails clawing into his skin as if afraid he wasn’t real. She deepened the kiss. It was wet. Hard. Aggressive. So not her. Yet she’d never felt more like herself. His hand slid down her back, stroking the sensitive dimples on her lower back, his other sliding up, his thumb stroking the underside of her breast. Her needy whimper purred against his mouth and Brennus broke the kiss abruptly. They both stared wide-eyed at one another, struggling to draw breath. Avery’s whole body was on fire and she knew by the heat in his dark eyes, Brennus’ was feeling that burn.
Oh my God, she stumbled back a little. What the hell was she doing?!
“I um… I’m going to get a drink,” she muttered, knowing somehow he could hear her.