Lucian held it against his shoulders. The fabric was heavy and soft against his skin. "What do you think?"
"Much better." She nodded approvingly. "Less conspicuous. Way easier to coordinate." She turned and dove into a bin of dress shirts.
He draped the suit over his arm and watched in amusement as she shoved through the white and pastel colored shirts. She dug into the bin until her head was nearly submerged in the sharp, crinkling plastic.
"Here!" she cried finally. She held a cobalt blue shirt up. "This one. This one will match your eyes."
He laughed at her enthusiasm. "Is this all I need?"
"Almost." She pointed Lucian toward a curtained area in the back corner of the store. "Go try that on and I'll look for a tie."
He carried the shirt and suit obediently to the dressing room and ducked behind the curtain. He hung the clothes one of the hooks, and then peeled off his t-shirt.
As he stood in the dim light of the dressing room he realized that unlike the small mirror over Duncan and Sofia's sink that only showed his head and shoulders, the gleaming three way mirror in front of him let him see his entire body. He twisted his torso from side to side and looked at himself in the mirror.
He heard a rustling beyond the curtain and quickly buttoned up the dress shirt and slipped on the coat Samara had selected. He was trying to decide if the shirt did indeed match his eyes when he heard her voice.
"Aren't you ready yet?" she teased, her voice brimming with mock impatience.
He peeked around the edge of the curtain and saw her sitting on a chair, twisting the end of a rolled up tie in her fingers. When she spotted him her eyes lit up, and she sat straighter in her chair. He stepped out of the dressing room and turned in a small circle. He waited for a response, but when she didn't speak he turned hesitantly. "Do you like it?"
Samara sat frozen, staring at him, so still he wondered if she was still breathing.
"Yes," she said finally. She stood and walked slowly over to stand beside him. "It's perfect."
She straightened his jacket, brushing her hands down his chest and arms before she handed him a delicately patterned silver tie. "I thought this might look nice with the shirt."
He took the tie from her, and it dangled awkwardly over his fingers. "Can you help me?" he asked. "I don't really know what to do with this."
Samara stepped in front of the mirror and faced Lucian. He tried to ignore the warmth of her body as she slid her arms around his neck and pulled the ends of the tie over his shoulders. "First you put it around your neck," she said.
She turned the edges of the tie flat and let her hand linger on the back of his neck. He could hear her breathing faster and see the throb of her pulse in her neck.
"Then you cross the ends and loop this bit back under." She bit her lip in concentration. "Back up again, then down through the loop…." She tightened the knot and straightened Lucian's collar over the tie. "It looks great."
She stepped to the side so he could see his reflection in the mirror, but his eyes followed her. "I think you're right," he said. "Perfect."
Chapter 34
After a brief detour through the shoe department, Lucian checked out and carried all of his bags to the truck. He piled them behind his seat and turned to Samara. "Well that's done," he said. "And more fun that I would've imagined."
He twirled a strand of her hair between his fingers. "Ready for lunch?"
She nodded. "Are you in the mood for anything particular?"
"I thought I was at your mercy," he teased. He tugged her hair gently. "What about a picnic?"
"Sure. Do you want to stop at a sandwich shop?"
"Nope." Lucian turned and pointed to the floorboard behind her seat. "Sofia packed us a basket." He winked. "Just in case."
He drove across town and turned into a large park that Samara had only been to a few times. Picnic pavilions and fountains were scattered across the grounds, and a winding narrow path led down to a small lake. Lucian pointed to a jetty that extended out into the shimmering water. "I thought we could eat there," he said.
He hopped out of the truck and jogged around to open Samara's door. He lifted her out, then pulled an oversized picnic basket and a quilted blanket from behind her seat. Together they wound their way across the park and down a narrow wooden boardwalk to the lake.
Lucian took Samara's hand as they stepped off the path. She clung to him as they picked their way across the sharp boulders at the water's edge, and when he stepped onto the flat ground at the top of the jetty he raised his arm high and swung her across the last few inches. They were both laughing when she landed next to him, half staggering into his arms.
"Here it is," he said. "My favorite place."
"It's beautiful."
Samara closed her eyes and stood basking in the warmth of the sun. The cool weather had given way to a rare spring-like day. Lucian shook out the blanket and smoothed it over the grass, and she flopped down and kicked off her shoes.
Lucian settled beside her and opened the basket as she wiggled her toes in the sunshine. "Let's see what Sofia made us." He pulled out two bottles of water and a large, oblong shape wrapped in foil. He tossed the foil package to Samara and continued pulling small containers, plates, and utensils out of the basket.
She tore the edges of the foil away and discovered a hollowed out loaf of French bread stuffed with meat and vegetables. "This is quite a spread," she said. "For just in case."
They ate in comfortable silence, listening to the waves crash against the rocks below them. Samara relaxed as a gentle breeze slipped around her and ruffled her hair, and she curled her legs beneath her.
"So tell me about your family," she said. "Is Sofia one of your guardians?"
Lucian nodded. He wiped his mouth with a napkin before he answered. "Yes. She and Duncan. I'll be staying with them as long as I'm in Wimberley."
"What about your parents?" She blurted the question out, then decided it was too forward and tried to backpedal. "If you don't mind talking about it…"
"There's not a lot to say."
Samara rolled her eyes.
"Really," he said. "I know I haven't told you a lot about myself. I'm not trying to be mysterious or anything like that. My family is just complicated. I needed to come to Wimberley, and Duncan and Sofia were willing to take me in."
"My family is kind of complicated too," she said. "It wasn't always, but it is now."
"What happened?"
Samara took a deep breath and shredded the edge of her napkin with her fingernail. "Last year my dad disappeared. We haven't heard anything in months. The police think he's dead."
Lucian scooted closer to Samara and rubbed her hand with the back of his thumb. "What do you think?"
"I don't know."
She pulled her legs up and dropped her head to her knees. "Some days I think he's dead too, but most of the time I can't believe it. I try to stay positive. For my mom.
"I think Bell was right," she continued, "about staying connected, no matter what separates you from someone you love. I'd like to believe I'd know, somehow, if I could never see him again. Do you think that's possible?"
Lucian nodded. "Lots of things that seem impossible aren't." He slipped a finger beneath her chin and coaxed her head up until he could just see her eyes. "Have a little faith."
Samara gave a tiny nod, then lay her cheek against her knees and looked out across the water. Lucian lay back on the blanket and stared up at the clouds. They hovered over the lake, almost close enough to reach out and grab. He could feel Samara beside him, lost in her own thoughts. They weren't touching, but she was so near he could feel the heat coming off of her skin.
He pushed himself up on one elbow and stole another glimpse. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing deeply, her long eyelashes resting against her cheek. He resisted the impulse to brush his lips against hers; instead he looked away and fought to regain control of his emotions.
&nb
sp; His feelings for Samara were growing deeper. He knew he was already in over his head; she occupied all of his dreams and most of his waking thoughts. He was trusting Sofia's guidance, but what if he was going down a path with no return?
How can we ever be together? he wondered. He struggled with the thought. He was infinitely older, an immortal. Members of the Host had developed feelings for humans before, but he had always secretly found the idea of a true, meaningful connection beyond comprehension.
Now, he had Samara. He could barely imagine Time without her.
Samara's eyes fluttered open as if she was able to sense his turbulent thoughts. Did it feel like this for her? Lucian wondered. His troubled eyes met hers and he waited for her to speak, but she simply smiled, and his doubts evaporated like mist before the sun.
Part of his mind was flashing an alert. But such a small part. Not enough to matter. All that mattered were her eyes. She was looking at him with such openness that he felt like he was seeing straight into her soul.
She turned to face him. A few strands of her hair blew in the breeze as she crossed her legs at the ankle, and she rocked forward on her hips. She seemed completely comfortable with his scrutiny. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.
He could feel her energy. She was focused on him with every cell of her being. He felt like she could read his thoughts as easily as if they were words spread across a page. He looked over her shoulder to a point on the distant shore, and refused to answer.
He refused to voice the fear that they weren't meant to be together. Instead, he pushed every thought that threatened to take her away to the back of his mind and buried them beneath the sounds of the lake, the feel of the breeze caressing his skin, the delicate scent of her perfume.
She reached for his hands and pulled them onto her knees. Her thumbs rubbed tiny circles across the backs of his fingers as she cradled them between her own. "Have you ever wanted to memorize a moment?" she asked. "Learn it by heart and hide it forever?"
She reached out with one hand and stroked her thumb over his eyebrows, down his nose, and around the curve of his lips. "Maybe longer?"
Lucian felt like Time was standing still. Seconds had to be marching by. He knew they did; that was the way of the human world. But for the first time, he couldn't sense them.
Chapter 35
Jack lounged in a massive overstuffed chair and pretended to watch football on TV. He had a clear view of the indoor pool through a glass wall that separated the swimming atrium from the den, and he could see Desiree's toned arms slicing through the water as she swam laps. After twenty minutes she climbed out of the pool. She shook out her hair, wrapped a towel around herself, and came into the den.
"Quit brooding," she snapped. "You're acting like a child."
She perched on the edge of one of the leather couches and glared across the room at him. "I know coming across a human girl impervious to your many charms has been quite a shock to you, but she doesn't matter."
Jack snorted. "Are you sure?"
He refused to dignify Desiree with a glance. "If I didn't know better," he said, "I'd swear you were jealous."
Desiree narrowed her eyes and her nostrils flared. "We both know," she hissed, "that if she wasn't with that Dominion, you wouldn't be interested in her."
"That's probably true. But since I have to follow the Dominion, I'm forced to watch them make googly eyes at each other every day."
Abruptly he sat up and slammed his hand into a side table. The table rocked, and his water glass fell to the floor and shattered against the tiles. "I can't believe she turned me down!"
"That is a mystery." Desiree smiled at Jack with mock sweetness. "How many times has it been? Twice?"
She ignored Jack's murderous look and strolled across the den. She rested her arms on the back of his chair. "I think," she taunted, "that you're losing your skills. You can't find out what the Dominion is doing. You can't even catch the attention of a lowly little girl. Maybe you've been one of them for so long, you're going soft."
She trailed her fingertips up his jaw line and over his cheekbones, and Jack felt his breathing grow ragged with rage. He longed to leap up and pin Desiree against the wall, but he knew she would enjoy it too much. Instead he flung his chair around and seized Desiree's wrists. He jerked her close to him, forcing her head back.
"Don't underestimate me," he growled. "I can take care of this. I don't think even Lucian knows what he's doing, but I'll know if he figures it out. If he ever does. That girl is a better distraction than anything I could've devised.
"As for the girl," he continued, "we'll have our moment. When the Dominion finds himself otherwise occupied, I'm going to swoop in, and I'm going to break her."
Jack shoved Desiree away from him and stalked out of the room without giving her a chance to respond. Samara should never have turned me down, he thought. She didn't know it yet, but it was the biggest mistake of her life.
Chapter 36
Lucian spent the week rocketing between feelings of elation and nausea. Every moment that he was away from Samara dragged by pointlessly, but when they were together, time hurtled past. Lucian was disoriented by the strange way that time seemed to be morphing around him. Instead of staying orderly and linear, the way it was supposed to, it was adjusting itself around her.
The key, his elusive task, faded into the background. He knew he had to find it. And he would. Just not now. All he could focus on now was keeping her near.
He was in his room getting ready for the dance when Sofia rapped lightly on his bedroom door. "Come in," he said.
Sofia pushed the door open, and he could see Duncan standing in the hall behind her. She drifted into the room and perched on the edge of his bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine," Lucian said. He gritted his teeth in frustration. "Except for this stupid tie." He pulled fiercely on its ends and tried to remember how Samara had gotten it to cooperate, then whipped it off and threw it onto the dresser.
When he looked in the mirror he could see Duncan and Sofia watching with bemused expressions. "I'm nervous," he admitted. "I know in the grand scale of things this isn't a major event, but it feels important to me."
Sofia stood up and scooped the tie off the dresser. "It might be," she said. She draped the tie around his neck and pulled it into a smooth knot.
Lucian gave himself a final once over, then turned to face his guardians. "Any advice?"
"Follow your heart," Sofia answered.
Lucian sighed. "That's the same thing you always say. I was hoping you had something a little more specific to the situation."
"Nope." Duncan grinned at Lucian's consternation. "Quit waiting for all the answers, and just go with your gut. Things'll come together. They might even be working their way around right now."
Lucian looked doubtful. "Maybe."
Duncan glanced at his watch. "Even if they're not," he said, "you've gotta go." He pushed Lucian toward the door. "Cinderella might go to the ball without you."
Chapter 37
Samara opened her front door before Lucian even had a chance to knock. She was wearing a pale blue dress that swirled around her body, and her hair flowed over her shoulders and framed her face.
"Ready?" she asked. She stepped out and locked the door behind her. She teetered on her high heels and grabbed Lucian's elbow as she reached the first stair. She lifted the hem of her dress and slowly lowered herself onto the second step.
Without warning, Lucian's arms wrapped around her. He scooped her up easily, like she was a child, and carried her down the driveway. He opened the door with one hand and slid her into the seat.
Samara laughed, breathless. "Are you trying to sweep me off my feet?" she teased, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Absolutely," he said. He tapped her on the nose. "I can't have you breaking a leg before we leave the house."
He climbed into his own seat and started the engine, and Samara was surprised to h
ear soft music coming from the radio. "Classical?" she asked curiously.
"You can change it if you want," he said.
"No, I like it." She listened closely and was able to pick out the low, resonant sound of a cello. "I've just never met anyone who listened to classical music for fun before."
"This music can tell you everything that really matters."
Samara leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. She relaxed and let the music wash over her as Lucian pulled out of the driveway. She was listening intently when she felt the truck swerve. Her eyes flew open, and she realized that Lucian's eyes were closed too.
"Open your eyes!" she shrieked. "The driver always has to keep their eyes open!"
Lucian jerked the truck back into the right hand lane, and Samara was seized with uncontrollable giggles. "I can't believe you just did that," she snorted. She pressed her hand against her chest and felt her heart racing.
Lucian glanced at her, then quickly turned his attention back to the road. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine!" Samara took deep gulps of air as she tried to stifle her laughter.
Lucian gripped the steering wheel with both hands and glanced over at her again. "I didn't get a chance to tell you that you look absolutely beautiful," he said softly.
"Thanks." She self-consciously smoothed her dress over her knees as they pulled up to a red light.
Lucian turned to face her and took one of her hands in his. "Truly," he said. He pressed her hand against his chest and toyed with her fingers, "You are beautiful."
He was studying her so intently, the sensation of his touch overwhelmed every other thought. "So are you," she stammered.
"I'm beautiful?" he asked.
She peeked at him from beneath her eyelashes. "Don't take it the wrong way," she said, "but for a guy, you kind of are."
The light turned green and Lucian looked away as he hit the gas, but he continued holding onto her hand. It was a short drive to the school, and they could hear music throbbing from the gym as soon as he turned into the parking lot.