She was lovely, with smooth, flawless skin the color of Melanie’s favorite chocolate bars. Eyes as dark a brown as his own filled with anxiety as they rose to meet his.
He guessed her height to be in the neighborhood of five feet five inches. Her thick black hair was drawn back from her face in intricate braids he had heard Cliff call cornrows, until about the place where some women and girls wore headbands. Then it sprang free in an Afro that looked as soft and fluffy as cotton candy.
Narrow shoulders bared by a tank top stiffened as she braced herself and clenched her jaw, gearing up for a fight. Her slender arms ended in hands that gripped the door and doorframe so tightly he could see the tendons in her knuckles. Small breasts. A barely there waist. And full hips clad in yoga pants that clung to shapely legs.
“You know who I am,” Aidan stated again.
She gave him an abrupt nod. “You’re Aidan. I’ve seen you around at the network.”
“And Cliff has mentioned me.”
She seemed to debate the wisdom of answering that one. “Yes,” she responded, voice neutral.
“As I said, we need to talk.”
After hesitating another moment, she stepped back and opened the door wide enough for him to enter.
Aidan stepped inside and glanced around while she closed the door behind him, leaving it unlocked. They stood in her living room. Small, but tastefully decorated. Beyond it lay a modern kitchen and a breakfast nook that housed a treadmill instead of a table and chairs.
“So?” she prompted, folding her arms just under her breasts.
“So,” he parroted and wondered how to begin. “You’ve been seeing Cliff.”
Something flickered in her eyes, and he could almost hear the debate waging inside her. Should she deny it? Feign ignorance? Brazen it out?
“How did you know?” she asked finally.
“Cliff is my friend,” he told her. “I sleep at the network during the day and have spent a lot of time with him since transferring to North Carolina.” How could he put this delicately? “You know that immortals and vampires have heightened senses.”
She nodded.
“Well, I couldn’t help but notice that, on the nights Bastien takes Cliff hunting with him and lets him roam alone for a few hours, Cliff always returns carrying a woman’s scent.”
Her lashes lowered as she looked down at her small bare feet.
“I catch the same scent each time I pass your office at the network. And even if I didn’t, I’m telepathic and see you in his thoughts.”
A muscle twitched in her jaw. “If you’re here to tell me not to see him anymore, you can—”
“That’s not why I’m here,” he interrupted, cutting her off before she could tell him to go fuck himself. Cliff had chosen well. This woman would fight long and hard to remain by his side. “Because I’m telepathic, I also know that Cliff is always in better shape mentally after spending time with you. He’s calmer. More at peace.” Aidan shrugged. “I’m his friend. I wouldn’t take that away from him.”
She lowered her arms, all defensiveness fleeing. “He says I quiet the voices.”
“You do.” Damn, he hated to be the bearer of bad news. “But Cliff is struggling, Emma.”
Her throat worked in a swallow. “He’s been struggling for a long time now.”
Aidan shook his head. “Yesterday was different.”
Fear and dread returned to her brown eyes. “What happened? He didn’t come by last night. Did he have another break?”
“No,” Aidan told her. “But the voices clamoring in his head were so loud that they woke me from a sound sleep. And when I went to him…” He really hated to tell her this. “He was contemplating ending it.”
All strength seemed to leave her legs.
Aidan hastily grasped her upper arms to keep her from sinking to the floor.
Emma gripped his forearms with desperate hands, fingers twisting the material of his sleeves. Moisture welled in her eyes. “Is he…? Did he ask Bastien to…?”
“No,” Aidan hastened to assure her. Cliff must have told her about Vincent.
When Vince’s madness had progressed enough that he had flown into a rage and hurt several network employees, he had asked Bastien to end it before he lost himself altogether and hurt anyone else.
Though it had torn him up inside, Bastien had broken into network headquarters, fought his way to Vince’s side, and decapitated his friend.
Bastien still relived that horrid moment in his dreams.
“Cliff is alive,” Aidan told her.
Tears spilled over her lashes as her chest rose and fell with harsh breaths taken to hold back sobs. “I thought you were going to tell me…” Shaking her head, she swallowed hard. “He’s okay then?”
Aidan guided her over to a sofa. “Let’s sit down, shall we?”
She nodded. Releasing him, she sank down on the soft cushions and swiped at her tears.
Aidan retrieved a wingback chair from one corner and plunked it down across from her so he could face her. Seating himself, he leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees. “I tried something new yesterday that I hoped would help him. I teleported him to a sunny meadow on my estate in Scotland.”
Her eyes flew wide. “You hurt him?” she demanded furiously. “How could you? He’s been helping you—”
Aidan held up a palm. “I didn’t hurt him. I’m a powerful healer and kept my hand on his shoulder the entire time, healing the damage the sun wrought so quickly that he didn’t feel it.”
Her brow furrowed. “You can do that?”
“Yes. I tried it first on Ethan, an immortal who is only a century old and can tolerate very little sun exposure, to confirm it would work.”
She still looked skeptical. “So Cliff was able to stand in sunlight without it hurting him?”
Aidan smiled. “Yes. And we discovered that sunlight silences the voices as effectively as you do.”
Hope brightened her features. “So he’s better now?”
“He’s better,” Aidan confirmed.
She smiled. Reaching out, she took one of his hands. “Thank you.”
“I was happy to do it.”
“Do you think—if it gets bad again—that maybe you could do it again?”
Aidan patted her hand. “I’ve already told Cliff I’ll take him into the sunlight every day he continues to fight.”
Her eyes filled with hope. “Really? You would do that for him?”
“Of course.” He had taken him into the sunlight a second time today. “He’s my friend.”
“But doesn’t it hurt?” she asked, face pensive. “I thought immortals healed others by absorbing the damage into their own bodies.”
Aidan shrugged. “I told Cliff it’s a mild discomfort at most.”
She smiled wryly. “It hurt like hell, didn’t it?”
He laughed. “Yes. The longer we stood in the sunlight, the worse the pain grew. But I can tolerate it for Cliff. He’s a good man, well worth saving.”
Her lips turned up in a sad smile. “I wouldn’t love him if he weren’t.”
Cliff had chosen well indeed.
“Did you know he saved my life?” she asked.
Surprised, Aidan shook his head. “No.”