56: A Confession…of Sorts

Quincy St. Martin

I open my mouth to say something, but then I close it again. I don’t know what to say to that.

Gideon leans forward to look me in the eye.

“When I first saw you in that cell, the pure hunger in your eyes was beautiful to see. You were so mesmerizing I couldn’t keep my eyes off of you. The more I see of you, the more captivated I am. You’re beautiful, intelligent, fearless, and powerful, all the qualities that attract any males, especially lycans.”

Okay, I totally don’t know what to say to that, nor do I know what to do with that information.

“Don’t worry, I’m not trying to seduce Prince Caspian’s erasthai and my future queen. My loyalty is with the prince and the palace. Taking you away from the prince could bring the whole monarchy down, and I thrive on the monarchy. I don’t know if you understand how much power you have, Quincy.”

He sits back again, putting a bit of distance between us.

“I’m sorry if I was too forward, talking about my feelings like that and scaring you, but I’m just stating things the way they are.”

Talking about his feelings for me doesn’t scare me, but talking about my power and about bringing the monarchy down does. I’m not sure if I’m ready for that kind of responsibility.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand,” I tell him. “How could you be attracted to me when you have Helen as your mate?”

He has that sexy, stunningly beautiful bombshell, Helen. Why would he be interested in me?

Despite what he said, I’m really nothing special. In fact, I’m still trying to understand why Caspian is interested in me at all.

“How could I not?” He raises an eyebrow. “Helen is not my mate. She’s my companion. Lycans can travel alone, but we prefer to have at least a companion, sort of a pack of two. At least until I meet someone that I’m interested in for more, someone special enough for me to want to mark as my mate.”

“An erasthai,” I state.

He tilts his head and smiles wryly as if he finds the word funny. “Maybe, but I’ve been traveling for hundreds of years. I haven’t met her yet. “Not all of us are lucky enough to meet our erasthai. I might be one of many who is destined not to meet mine. So, I’ll settle for someone I’m very attracted to. Somebody, in time, I see myself falling in love with.”

His eyes trail my features. “Provided that she’s not spoken for, especially by a lycan prince, of course.”

“Of course,” I agree as if we’re talking about the weather. I think this is one of the weirdest conversations I’ve ever had with anyone.

If Caspian wasn’t in the picture, I think I could be attracted to him, too, but now that I’ve met Caspian, I know how deep and intense this feeling goes.

Nothing could compare. Mere attraction is too weak a feeling.

“How long have you been traveling with Helen?”

“For about five years now,” he answers candidly.

“Is she aware that you’re never going to make her your mate?”

He sits back, and his eyes travel to a big bouquet of fresh flowers on the front desk. He absently slides an index finger over his bottom lip. That little gesture reminds me so much of Caspian when he’s mulling something over.

“We had a mutual understanding on the subject when we agreed to be companions. We agreed that this is not a permanent arrangement.”

For his sake, I hope Helen still remembers the agreement.

The glass door of the hotel slides open, and Caspian walks in. His golden hair is windblown, less than perfect. It makes him seem very young but a little wild and dangerous.

The air seems to crackle in his presence. Behind him steps in Helen Rabbit. Her jeans are so snug they look painted on. The smug smile on her red painted lips makes me angry all over again. Caspian’s eyes lock on me. His steely expression is saying that I’m in deep trouble. My heartbeat speeds up, and my stomach clenches.

I feel like stalked prey as he comes straight for me, barely controlled aggression in his every step. He slides an arm under my knees and another arm behind my back. Effortlessly, he lifts me up and carries me into an empty conference room.

He kicks the door closed with his foot and sets me on my feet, where I’m trapped between his hard muscular body and the solid oak door.

“Tell me what you’re doing alone with Lord Archer when I specifically asked you not to encourage him.”

“Tell me what you’re doing with Helen Rabbit first,” I growl at him.

“I asked you first.”

“I asked you second!” Yeah, okay, so that doesn’t make much sense.

“Goddess please grant me endless patience,” I hear him growl before he grips the back of my neck and tugs me to him.

He buries his nose in my neck and takes a deep breath like he’s in dire need of it to calm himself down.

“Tell me, baby,” he says. His teeth nip the skin of my throat warningly. His breath warms my neck. “Who is Oliver?”

What? How did he know about Oliver? “Nobody,” I answer him without thinking.

His fingers dig into the nape of my neck. Not hard as to hurt but enough to serve as another warning. “Don’t lie to me.”

I contemplate how to tell him about Oliver without embarrassing myself, but he probably thinks that I’m not going to answer him. Because the next thing I know, he pushes me back, pulls opens the door, and storms out, slamming the door behind him. His footsteps are leaving me.

I think he broke the hinges.

I stand there gaping at the closed door for a few seconds before I hear footsteps coming back. The door swings open with a loud creaking sound. He walks right back in and hoists me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes then strides out again. I’m stunned speechless. I feel like a retrieved possession.

He carries me out to the front lobby, where he sets me down in front of the chair I was on earlier. I’m relieved to see that Gideon and Helen Bunny Rabbit aren’t there anymore.

Caspian picks up the gray coat that I left on the chair earlier and drapes it over my shoulders.

Jonah and Jorden choose this time to show up in the lobby with their bags.

Both of them raise almost identical eyebrows up when they see Caspian pulling my arm through the sleeve of the coat, but they wisely decide to keep their mouths shut.

They still manage to keep their mouths shut and expressions blank when Caspian picks me up again and carries me out to one of the SUVs, where everyone else is waiting.

Everybody is watching us with open amusement.

He deposits me right beside Genesis and Constantine before climbing in himself. As soon as he gets in, he pulls me up into his lap and wraps his arms around me.

He keeps his steel hold on me the whole ride to the airport. His beautiful face remains cold, aloof, and sullen, and nobody dares to say anything.

I can sense Genesis’s struggle to keep her mouth shut the whole way to the airport. I feel her pain. Halfway through the journey, I hear her humming softly under her breath.