Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. Even as the thought crossed her mind, she knew she couldn’t let Gill talk to her behind Lathan’s back. That’d be like plucking the feathers off an eagle. It would diminish his beauty, his grace, his strength.
She unlocked her seat belt and scooted forward toward Lathan. His attention turned to her. She couldn’t read the exact message his gray eyes sent her, but she could translate enough to know that Gill’s action had been a betrayal. The kind that carved to the bone and took a long time to heal.
“Gill didn’t say anything important. Just that he wanted me to attend the meeting.” She left out any attitude. Didn’t want to make the situation worse. “You know how much I don’t want to be here, but I am here. Maybe the OIO can give me some answers about what’s going on with me, tell me how to make the dreams stop. That would be worth it.”
No words came from Lathan, but he reached for her like a parent reaches into the backseat for a kid. Somehow, she found herself in his lap in the front seat, his nose buried against the skin of her neck. She could hear the rapid sounds of his breathing as he tried to calm the fury—hurt—Gill had caused him. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly to her. She sensed the anger shadow fracturing into a thousand harmless fragments. His breathing slowed. His lips brushed her in a gentle kiss that zinged all the way from her neck to her toes and then back up to the top of her head.
Gill didn’t say a word, just shifted the car back into gear and drove them the fifty remaining feet to the massive arch overhanging the front door.
Evanee didn’t let go of Lathan, and he didn’t let go of her until Gill parked the car. Lathan helped her out of the vehicle, then exited himself.
All the anxiety, the shame, the embarrassment she’d felt minutes ago had vanished. Now her number one priority was Lathan. She could handle everything else as long as he was all right.
Lathan tucked her body into his massive one. Her hip just below his, the side of her body touching his, his arm a crossbar of safety across her back. Energy and strength galloped through her system, fortifying her to deal with what was in front of her—Matt’s brother. Dr. Alex Stone.
He waved a welcoming hand from the porch. She was struck by how different the brothers appeared. Both had wide faces with sharp features and the muscular build of a quarterback. That’s where the similarities ended. Matt’s brother had gray hair and wrinkles earned by age, while Matt fought aging with Botox and collagen and plastic surgery.
“Evanee. So nice to meet you.” Dr. Stone’s words sounded friendly. Friendly? Had Matt told his brother about her? She searched the doctor’s face for any hint of deception or mockery. Only honesty stared back at her. Weird.
Dr. Stone turned his attention to Lathan. His tattoo to be exact. “A feather. Usually representing healing. But this one is a blood feather. The most powerful. And it’s broken.” A smile identical to Matt’s, with the left canine tooth slightly overlapping his front tooth, stretched across the doctor’s mouth. “Brilliant symbolism. You must be Lathaniel Montgomery. I’ve heard many things about your exceptional work. You are certainly distinguished in your field. I’m Dr. Stone.”
Distinguished in his field? What was his field? Human lie detector? Real-life James Bond? Maybe. Evanee felt kinda stupid. Everyone knew what Lathan did except her.
The doctor extended his hand to Lathan. As they shook, Dr. Stone examined Lathan’s gloves. Another thing she’d never asked about. Was he a germophobe? He didn’t seem like the type.
“You wear synthetic gloves. Is it by touch that you—?”
“Sir,” Gill interrupted, stretching his hand out to the older man—an invitation only rudeness would refuse. “I’m Gill Garrison. We spoke on the phone.”
“Ah, yes. Mr. Garrison. Very nice to put a face with the voice.” Dr. Stone pumped Gill’s hand, then stepped back and gestured toward the front door. “Welcome to the Ohio Institute of Oneirology. And my home. I’ll give you the penny tour before we get started.”
They followed Dr. Stone through the magnificent arched doorway that she could imagine more on a castle portal than a mansion in Ohio. She expected to see Matt inside but couldn’t muster up the nerves to care. Lathan was with her. She could handle anything.
But no one was there. Only a vast and spacious space that reminded her of a cathedral. The vaulted ceiling spanned up, up, up, so far up it could almost classify as part of the sky. The room—but dear God, it was so much larger than the word room implied—was decorated with cozy seating areas that made her yearn to curl up with a good book and read away an entire afternoon.
To the left was a wide-open gourmet kitchen that looked straight out of a magazine. Straight ahead on the other side of the room was a spiral staircase leading to a second-floor loft that overlooked the great room. On either side of the loft, two open-to-below hallways ran along a balcony with three doors on either side. Bedrooms, she supposed.
“I designed the place myself. I wanted my home and the Institute to be under the same roof. Makes for a pleasant commute in the mornings.”
“If dream research doesn’t work out for you, I think you might have a bright future as an architect.” Gill’s voice was filled with the same wonder Evanee felt.
“Makes my place look the size of a Cracker Jack box,” Lathan said. “My whole house could fit in this room. Twice.”
“I was simply trying to design a place worthy of the woman I loved.” Dr. Stone looked around his home. Love remembered shone in his eyes.
“Xander’s mom?” Evanee couldn’t help but ask. She’d gone to school with Xander, but they’d run in separate circles. Hell, she’d had no circle.
Dr. Stone’s face clouded over with sadness. “No.” He spoke the word on a breath. “Follow me.” He turned and crossed the expanse of living space.
Gill gave her the why-the-fuck-did-you-ask-him-that look. She stuck her tongue out at him.