Penelope gave a cynical laugh as she stepped towards the bed “That’s just it, isn’t it? You’ve been going behind our back for weeks, why stop now?”
Gemma’s face flamed with shame. She dropped her gaze to their hands. Harrison squeezed her digits as the Harts’ exchanged a quiet look.
Defeated, Penelope nodded once and looked to the ceiling.
Alistair sniffed and stood tall. “We set up these rules to protect you, Gemma.”
“I don’t need—”
“Let me finish.” His sharp command silenced the room. “Your mother and I want you to be happy, but this relationship of yours needs boundaries.”
Gemma squeezed his hand. Harrison could sense her dark mood take flight. She looked up at her parents with bright eyes that were dimmed slightly by her mother’s sharp voice.
“Meaning no more traveling for Harrison.”
He forced his lips to remain straight. That wouldn’t be a problem. He wasn’t overly keen on experiencing that again.
“You can spend the day together at school obviously and are allowed one date per weekend.”
“One date? Mom—”
“You will tell us exactly where you are going and what you are doing. Your curfew is eleven o’clock, without exception.”
“Mom, can we negotiate—”
“There’s no sleeping together.”
Gemma’s face turned instantly red. Harrison felt Alistair’s eyes hot on him. He glanced up at the man and was so singed by the brief encounter that he had to look away.
“And lastly, this has to end when you leave for college.”
Harrison’s stomach coiled.
“Forget it. You can’t dictate that!” Gemma snapped.
“You either accept those rules or we start looking at boarding schools.” Alistair’s voice was laced with a stern warning.
“Stoneridge Academy in Maine has been highly recommended to us.” Penelope smoothed her right eyebrow with her pinky finger.
Gemma pressed her lips together and shot her mother a dark look.
“Take what you can, darling, and smile. You’ve won this round.” Penelope squeezed her daughter’s forearm then stepped back to let Alistair kiss Gemma’s cheek.
A half-hearted smile flickered across her face as she murmured farewell to her parents. The room lay in silence after their departure and Harrison didn’t want to fill it. He could see Gemma’s mind hard at work as her fingers ran up and down his arm, stopping to fidget with his watchstrap at varying intervals.
“Maybe by the time we graduate they’ll see why I love you so much and be willing to bend the rules a little further.” Her hopeful voice made him smile.
“I’ll do my best to persuade them.”
She looked exhausted as she forced a smile. Her tired eyes turned his way. “I guess I should be grateful they’re not keeping me under lock and key. I was so expecting them to say I could never see you again.”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, I think they knew you were going to put up a pretty vicious fight if they tried.” He stilled her fidgeting hand with his own. “You should rest, Gem.”
He caressed her forehead and she closed her eyes with a sigh. Frown lines soon appeared on her brow.
“What is it, babe?”
“I hate feeling this way. Like I have no control.” She drew in a shaky breath. “I mean, I’ve won this battle, but ultimately I’m going to be paired with someone else and how can I stop them? I can’t escape this life. Dad controls everything.”
Harrison sensed the stress creeping up her body.
“I love helping people, Harrison, I do! But I want my own life. I want to be with you and for that to be okay. I want my say to count for something.”
“Hey.” He touched her face, needing to end the worry before it started taking a physical toll. “Look at me.”
She reluctantly turned toward him.
“We just had our say and they’re letting us enjoy the rest of high school. You probably thought they were going to kill me when they found out about us. Who knows what they’ll say in another year or so. Don’t focus on the lack of control. Focus on the hope of this summer and a great senior year.”
Her body relaxed as he finished his little speech, but her eyes remained unsettled.
“I just don’t ever want to lose you.”
“Then don’t.”
Rising from his chair, he leaned over the bed rail and kissed her. Her lips were warm beneath his, the flames simmering through his senses.
Pulling back, he looked at her face and watched her lips pull into the smile he had fallen for.
“Tu es ma stella del mattino. Tu es ma gioiello.”
Her tired eyes lit with wonder. “What does that mean?”
“I’ll tell you some time.” He kissed her nose. “For now, you need to get some sleep.”
The fact she put up no fight, gave away her sheer exhaustion. Tipping his head, he studied her fondly before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and lightly kissing her once more.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida - 2011 AD
The early morning sand felt cool between her toes. Gemma buried her feet beneath the grains, feeling a slow contentment build within her. Summer was coming. The searing heat, the hours in the ocean, the freedom of no school, the chance to spend that unallocated time with her boyfriend… She couldn’t wait.
Peeking to her left, she bit her cheek then asked, “So we’re good then?”
“Yeah.” Ruby rocked to her side and nudged their shoulders together. “I guess I won’t kick your ass.”
Gemma laughed.
The walk at dawn had been Ruby’s idea. The beach was practically empty and the still air was soothing. Gemma had been out of hospital just over a week and had been restlessly waiting for Ruby to make the first move. When she’d shaken her awake, Gemma had been too surprised to kick her out of her room.
Ruby’s apology had been simple and sweet, Gemma’s forgiveness swift.
“You want to know the whole truth, Gem?”
“Always.” She kept her eyes on the ocean, not sure if she actually did.
“It wasn’t just the fact you shared our secret that made me mad. I was…jealous.”
“Jealous? Of me?” Gemma gaped at her sister. “Why?”
“Because you’ve got this boyfriend who treats you like a princess. It’s so obvious you love each other.”
Gemma blushed as she reached for a handful of sand.
“And then you told him what you are and he stayed. He doesn’t think you’re a freak. You get to be one hundred percent yourself around someone who isn’t family…and I want that.” Ruby’s eyes were moist as she glanced at Gemma. “You’re not the only one who gets tired of lying.”
“Acting,” Gemma corrected with a smile.
Ruby sniffed out a chuckle.
Gemma shuffled closer in the sand and wrapped an arm around her sister.
“Please don’t give me the 'your time will come' speech. I don’t think I could stomach it right now.”
Gemma pinched her lips together, gulping back her words.
“I’m glad you’re happy.”
“Thanks, Ruby.”
Drawing in a shaky sigh, she pulled her shoulders straight and wiggled out of Gemma’s embrace.
“We should head back. I want to drive down to Orlando today and get some serious shopping done.”
“Still looking for the perfect prom dress, huh?”
“Of course,” Ruby’s smile was dazzling. “Thanks to you breaking the rules and kicking up a big stink, I don’t have to hide the fact I’m going to prom. Of course I won’t advertise that I’m going with the most gorgeous guy in school.”
Gemma giggled.
“But since I am going with the most gorgeous guy in school, I don’t want him to look better than me.”
“Someone look better than you? I don’t think that’s possible, Rube.”
Her sister giggled sweetly. “Wanna come?”
“No,” Gemma shook her head. “You and Mom go ahead. I’m just gonna—”
“Make out with your boyfriend?” Ruby rolled her eyes while Gemma blushed up a storm.
“I was actually going to say, that I might stay and go for a run before the day heats up.”
“Oh.” Ruby looked disappointed as she stood and brushed the sand from her shorts. “Well, have fun.”
“You too.”
Gemma watched her sister glide over the sand as if it were flat glass. Rising from her spot, she headed to the water’s edge, stretching her arms high and preparing her muscles for a work out.
“How far do you usually run?”
The voice behind her was rich and smooth like melted chocolate. She spun on her heel and found herself facing a tall man, his hands casually tucked into his fraying jeans. His black, wavy hair was lined with fine strips of grey and his face looked tanned and weathered. His eyes were so clear and serene she felt an easy peace trying to find a good perch within her. It was the magnetic pull he seemed to have on her that was keeping the peace at bay. He felt familiar.
“Four to five miles,” she tried to keep her voice casual as she pulled a tie from her wrist and began shoving her hair into a ponytail.
“That’s pretty good. Sand is great resistance training. You need that in your line of work.”
The wary caution inside her jumped to full alert as she felt the particles in her blood start to run cold.
“Who are you?”
“That’s not important right now, Gemma.”
Her blood turned to ice.
“How do you know my name?”
“I know a lot about you, putus unus.”
Gemma scoffed before she could stop herself. “I’m not a pure one.”
Her body jolted with the realization that she’d just given away the fact she knew exactly what he was talking about.
“Yes, you are. You’re the only one left.”
His intense gaze had her stepping back. She felt the salt water lick around her ankles, but couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. Who was this man? And how did he know about the electus, the original pure ones? Fear coiled in her stomach as she waited for the sense of danger to swamp her, but she couldn’t reach past a quiet caution. There was something so calm about him, and she found it attractive.
She resisted his pull and stepped further into the water. Her mind ran with distant thoughts of stranger danger and she urged them to the forefront.
Her parents’ horror stories of their kind being harmed by people just like this fired through her brain.
“Leave me alone.” She managed to say, feeling a small sense of relief as she built a wall between them. “Stay away from me.”
The water swallowed her feet as she raised her hands and backed away.
A flash of deep sorrow lit across his face, but it was so fleeting Gemma wasn’t sure if she’d seen it or not.
“I haven’t come here to hurt you.” He raised his palms in a gesture of peace. “But it’s time you knew the truth. Bad things are brewing, and if you want to survive them, you’re going to need to be prepared.”
Reaching into his pocket, he extracted a small flip phone. Her heart was thumping like a boom box as she caught the phone with shaking fingers.
“Mine’s the only number on there. Try not to use it in front of an audience.”
His easy manner was calming enough to make her nod, but she could feel the slow pulse of shock beginning to thread into her system. The idea of a carefree summer crumbled to dust as she struggled to keep her legs from buckling.
“I’ll be waiting for your call.”
His eyes caressed her face before turning and walking up the beach, his feet negotiating the lumpy sand as if it were flat glass.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Keep reading for find out more about Black Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #2)
BLACK BLOOD
Gemma's parents have put enough rules around her relationship with Harrison that she feels like she's living on parole. But she wins one battle—a summer job working for Harrison's step-father. It’s the perfect chance to spend the steamy, hot Florida days with her boyfriend. It's also a great distraction from the cellphone hiding in her underwear drawer—her only contact with Gabe, the mystery man who's stalking her.
When she confronts Gabe, he tells her that her parents are not who she thinks they are, and Harrison has the gall to believe him. Surrounded by conflict, Gemma doesn't know what to believe, and it takes a trip back in time for her to glimpse the sickening truth.
Thanks to her parents, she returns to the present to find the love of her life no longer exists. His family line was broken and now, so is she.
This betrayal forces her to seek out Gabe. Setting aside her fear of the truth, she must trust this man and learn what he can teach her... otherwise, she'll never get her boyfriend back.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have so much support from family and friends that pursuing my dream is made easier. I want to specifically thank a few key people who have helped me get through this project.
Brenda - thanks for making me start writing in the first place and for all your technical support, you're a wiz. Pete - thanks for listening to all my doubts and constant drivel as I worked and fretted. Mark - thanks for encouraging me and giving me the idea to self-publish. Alivia - thanks for the stunning book cover. You guys are all amazing.
ABOUT MELISSA PEARL
Melissa Pearl is a New Zealand author who trained as an elementary school teacher but has always had a passion for writing and finally completed her first manuscript in 2003. She has been writing ever since, and the more she learns, the more she loves it.
She writes young adult and new adult fiction in a variety of romance genres—paranormal, fantasy, suspense, and contemporary. Her goal as a writer is to give readers the pleasure of escaping their everyday lives for a while and losing themselves in a journey…one that will make them laugh, cry, and swoon.
OTHER BOOKS BY MELISSA PEARL
The Time Spirit Trilogy
Golden Blood — Black Blood — Pure Blood
The Space Between Heartbeats
Plus two novellas: The Space Before & The Space Beyond
The Fugitive Series
I Know Lucy — Set Me Free
The Masks Series
True Colors — Two-Faced — Snake Eyes — Poker Face
The Elements Trilogy
Unknown — Unseen — Unleashed
The Mica & Lexy Series
Forbidden Territory — Forbidden Waters
The Songbird Novels
Fever — Bulletproof — Everything — Home — True Love — Troublemaker — Rough Water — Geronimo — Hole Hearted
Coming in 2017: Rather Be
Find out more on Melissa Pearl’s website: www.melissapearlauthor.com
CONNECT WITH MELISSA PEARL
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