“When they don’t understand why I would choose the form of an old man, this is what I tell them. Most don’t see the old, they don’t stop and stare and say, ‘Who’s that?’ They hold the door for them and help them on their way. Why? Because the old aren’t a threat. They’re just something to be pitied. But it is the young who deserve the pity, for they have no clue what is heading their way.”
And then he was gone.
Chapter TwentyFour
I’d been lying on our bed as I tried to convince myself that the pain I’d been feeling was nothing. That Paddy, or whoever that thing was, feeling unwell at the same time was merely a coincidence. After all, it didn’t hurt right now. It was simply growing pains.
But still, it might be time to voice my concerns.
The bedroom door swung open and Fate, the man I needed to talk to, was standing in the threshold looking like he’d just shot a Givenchy print ad. Black suit, black shirt and sunglasses; you had to wonder what it would be like to walk around the Earth looking that perfect.
“Where are you heading?” I asked, once I remembered not to stare and then took another several seconds forcing my eyes to stop doing exactly that.
“Where are we heading.” He laid a garment bag down beside me on the bed where I’d been hiding, or for appearances’ sake, pretending to read a book. “We need to meet an old acquaintance of mine. Put this on.”
“I’ve got clothes.”
He shook his head. “Not the kind you need.”
“Who cares what I wear?” I asked as I sat up, eyeing the bag and wondering what delicious outfit lay inside while pretending I didn’t care. Fate had good taste, maybe even great. Whatever was in there was probably really pretty.
“The people at the place we’re going, they’ll be insulted and less likely to help if you aren’t dressed to a certain standard.”
“Who are they?” I asked as my fingers ran over the garment bag. Fate didn’t run fools’ errands and he definitely never cared what anyone wanted. The fact that he’d just supplied me with a dress for this? It was important.
“Some old acquaintances. People you’ll want to meet. Be ready in thirty minutes.” He turned and left.
Old acquaintances. It was hard not to be curious. I was fairly certain old to Fate didn’t mean something as frivolous as twenty or thirty years.
A piece of Fate’s past hovering within reach?
I unzipped the bag as soon as he left the room and only because he walked quickly was I even able to wait that long. Once I’d decided to go I couldn’t wait to see what pretty things I was getting to play dress up in.
I looked down at the dress that was now fully out of the bag. There was nothing I could outright complain about. It wasn’t ridiculously low cut or short in the hem. It was only that I knew what it would look like on. I wasn’t built the way I used to be. This new body had come with some curves that my self-esteem didn’t quite know what to do with yet.
I looked at the clock and knew I had to get moving.
I stripped off my shorts and t-shirt and the fabric of the new dress practically slithered over my skin. I didn’t need to look in a mirror to know it was clinging to every nook, hollow and curve I had.
Solid black, and with a hem just shy of indecent, it had a high neck but it clung to the point that cleavage wasn’t necessary. My low-heeled sandals looked ridiculous so I swapped them out for a pair of strappy heels I hadn’t been able to resist at the boutique.
I threw on some make up, ran a brush through my dark hair until it was lying in some semblance of thick waves around my shoulders and then hesitated. I wanted to look good but I didn’t want to look like I’d tried to look good.
The house was quiet a half hour later when I stepped out of the bedroom, somewhere in between natural and glam girl. Fate was standing by the glass doors, staring out at the ocean. His arm rested above his head and his back was to me.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, as I click-clacked into the silent room and stopped by the couch. Fate hadn’t moved yet.
“Everyone went scouting for more pop-up armories or a lead on Malokin’s base. The Jinxes are on the roof keeping watch,” he answered.
He hadn’t bothered turning around yet, which made me feel slightly lighter and took the edge off. I’d been getting ready as if this had been a date but it wasn’t. The tension eased from my shoulders and I walked over to the bar and poured myself a drink.
“Who are we going to meet? You didn’t tell me.”
“Some old…” I heard Fate start to say before his words trailed off.
“Some old?” I took a sip and turned, glass in hand and nearly choked on the whiskey.
His arm still rested on the door but his face was turned toward me. Sometimes I thought I imagined the amount of heat this man could generate until I saw it again. His arm dropped and his eyes took in every bit of me. He started toward me, and I wasn’t sure what he was going to do once he reached me but I had hopes.
And then he stopped halfway and I had to force my legs not to close the gap.
“We have to make dinner,” he said and the heat I’d seen written all over him seemed to be retreating, or was at least being held in check.
“I’m ready.” My voice came out breathier than normal, and my lips felt incredibly dry as I stood there, wondering what might have happened if he hadn’t pulled back at the last moment.
“So am I but we have to go anyway.” He was back under control again and closing the final distance between us.
His hand went to the small of my back and the pressure there brought me closer, just shy of full contact with him. We could all be gone next month, next week, or maybe even tomorrow. Why was I avoiding this?
I tilted my head back as my lips parted.
“Don’t do this to me right now,” he said, his voice much deeper and softer than normal.
“Do what?” I asked, and I couldn’t stop thinking about what it would feel like if he took me right now.
His lips closed over mine. His hands cupped my ass, dragging me against him and showing me just how ready he still was. And then he was pulling my arms down from where I’d wrapped them around his neck.
“If it was any time but tonight,” he said, with a deep timbre pulling away and taking a few steps back. “Stop looking at me like that or we won’t make it anywhere.” He motioned toward the beach. “I ordered a door. We should go.”
After a slight hesitation he started heading toward the back of the house, which would lead us to the beach. I looked out and beyond him to see the door starting to glitter in the distance, along with the guards on either side.
The sight of the doors drove the hormones from my brain like a broom to a cobweb. “Oh no.” I took off in the direction of the kitchen and started frantically opening the lower cabinets.
“What are you doing?” he said. “We’ve got to go.”
“Don’t you have any metal polish?” I asked, digging out every bottle he had and dumping them on the floor.
“I don’t know. I’ve always had a crew that came in and did everything up until they all went crazy.”
I groaned and loudly. “This is very bad.”
“Is this about the guards? They aren’t going to care.” He stood at the end of the kitchen, looking at me as if I were mentally deranged.
“Oh yes, they are. I might get relegated back to swamps if I see them empty handed after all these weeks.” I got to my feet, scanning the kitchen for any other possible offering. “Towels, at least let me take them towels,” I rushed past him to the hall closet.
Fate watched, leaning on the breakfast bar as I moved around in a panic. “They barely talk, and they only started that when you came around. I think you’re putting too much thought into this.”
“You know, for being the almighty Fate, who’s lived forever, sometimes you seem scarily like every other male I’ve known in my human life.”