“Where else would I be?” He built the light quiet notes of the piece into full sensual chords. No. She shouldn’t be there. It was a trick. He should go, or pretend a bit longer and enjoy the illusion of having her close.
As she sat beside him on the bench, the mountains of Mazree crystallized again. “What are you playing?”
“Rachmaninoff’s ‘Piano Concerto No 3.’ It was my grandfather’s favorite.”
“It’s beautiful.” She slid closer and her leg brushed his. “Did he teach you about music?”
He could tell her everything here. All the things he’d never told another woman about his life but information he wanted to share with her. Would share with her if she were really there. “Yeah. He could play anything, jazz, blues, popular songs, but he loved classical. It surprised people. Here was this tall, lanky rocker sporting a beard and a ponytail down to his ass mastering concertos on piano, violin, or guitar.”
“He sounds wonderful.”
“He was. He adopted me when I was eight months old. My parents were still in high school when they found out I was on the way. They hid the pregnancy. My father’s family didn’t see me as his responsibility. My maternal grandmother had her own issues. She’d split from my grandfather when my mom was really young. I was a minute from a foster home when he showed up and fought to adopt me. He played keyboard in a rock band. Being on the road didn’t mix with taking care of a baby, so he switched to teaching music. Performers from all over the world sought him out.” Sadness and resignation swept in. “When he died, I promised to honor his sacrifice by living a good life.”
“You have, but don’t forget, your grandfather loved you. He didn’t see that as a sacrifice.”
“Some people don’t until it’s too late.” Like his ex. He took his hands from the keys. “Why are you here?”
Her hand rested on his thigh. “Because I care about you.” Tears misted her eyes.
“I care about you, too.”
“I want us to be together.”
“We are, beautiful. We can stay right here forever.” Reid kissed her and need hit like a punch. Sweetness, goodness—with her he could lay it all down and just be. He massaged her breast and squeezed her nipple. An arousal grew with the desire to suck and tease the hard peak.
She pulled back but he chased down the kiss, exploring the smooth warm hollows of her mouth.
Lauren held him back. “Reid, wait.”
If the great outdoors wasn’t her style, they could take it the bedroom or any place she wanted. “Let’s go back to the cabin.” He swept kisses down her cheek and moisture wet his lips. Alarm shot through lust. He’d made her cry. She might leave if he pushed too hard. “If you don’t want to make love, we don’t have to.”
“I do.” More tears leaked from her eyes as she grasped his arms. “But I want it to be real.”
“What I have with you is more real than I’ve had with anyone.” He cupped her cheek, hating the bleakness in her gaze. Somehow, he’d caused it. “How can I prove it to you?”
“Let this go and come back to reality with me.”
Kell. A trick. Mazree wasn’t safe. He had to get to Virginia, but he couldn’t leave her here. “You should go.”
“Not without you.” She glanced over her shoulder at the Blue Ridge Mountains shimmering in the distance. “No. Reid. It’s okay. Please. Think about it. You were hurt, but now you’re not. Why? Because Dalir healed you. You’re not with Kell. You’re in The Drift. We all are—Thane, Celine, me. You don’t have to protect us anymore. ” She clutched his hands. “Dalir sent me. I’m here for you. Please. Come back.”
The clouds above the mountains shifted to a silvery gold mist.
He wanted to believe it. Home, the team, Lauren all waiting for him. “Have you been to the maze?”
She nodded.
“What’s in the maze?”
“A circular pool with a stone shaped like a triangle in the center.”
Kell wouldn’t know that. Hope intensified. “What’s the symbol on the stone?”
She held his hands tighter. “An infinity symbol.”
A fog obscured the mountains.
Reid rose from the bench and walked to the edge. Was it real? Could he go to The Drift with Lauren?
She came to his side and intertwined her fingers with his. She smiled through tears. “Let’s go home.”
Home.
The silvery mist shimmering with gold swirled faster. He couldn’t take his gaze from it or Lauren. Both of them were so damn beautiful, and he belonged with them.
He wrapped his arms around her. “Hang on to me and don’t let go.”
She squeezed hard and laid her head to his chest. “I won’t.”
Holding her close, he leapt.
She floated in a cocoon of quiet and mist into moonlight. It poured through the sheer curtains floating over the window, casting an ethereal glow over the room. She sat up on the bed. Reid lay beside her, unmoving, eyes closed, fingers loosely intertwined with hers. It hadn’t worked. A hollowness opened up, engulfing her with sadness. She kissed his shoulder. Smoothed her hand over his chest. So much warmth, but he wasn’t there. He’d stayed, heading into a place where they’d never find him.