Yolanda Sfetsos - Alex Wales - Promise

When the water started up, he headed for the armchair with his armload of hardback books. He paused when he noticed Alex’s bag sitting on the seat. He could clearly see a picture tucked into the mesh pocket at the front but decided not to touch it. He didn’t want to disturb her things, didn’t want to pry. She might be keeping some things from him, but he refused to find them out by spying on her. Not like Elroy was determined to do.

As Damon headed for the bed, with the light of day now filtering in through the large window behind him, he noticed a patch of dirt and leaves on the tiled floor. When he leaned over, it became obvious that they were actually half-made footprints leading to the bed.

Damon placed the four books he hoped to find answers from at the foot of the bed and inspected the sheets. There, he found several dark patches as well. “Levi!”

He ran into the room. “Yes, Damon?”

“Did anyone come into this room while I was gone?”

He looked away, shaking his head. “No, I stood by the door the whole time, and no one approached.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay, thanks. You can go home. I’ll stay here, now.”

“What happened to her this time?” Levi asked.

“Bad dream.”

Without saying anything else, Levi lowered his head and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. Damon had no idea what was going on, but he was sure someone had come into this room. He trusted Levi when he claimed he hadn’t seen or heard anything, but that didn’t change the facts. Judging by Alex’s reaction, he was sure something strange had happened. She didn’t strike him as the kind of woman who scared easily or ran away from her problems. Yet, he could feel her tension from here.

What happened to her?

He decided it was best to grab his books and read about men who turned into animals. After all, even if the only explanations he found were old folktales and myths, at least it would give him somewhere to start. From his experience, a lot of myths were more truth than story.

Damon glanced at the thin book right on the bottom: Priestess amp; Goddess.

He hadn’t intended to grab this one, but what Alex had pointed out about Aleena bothered him for some reason. Why hadn’t he ever thought to question who their Priestess worshipped, if anyone? Who were the population of Eden secretly devoted to, through her? Maybe, he never bothered to ask, because everything was so efficiently run. The problems in Eden were minimal. The population of 700 all lived in harmony and managed to produce one generation of offspring after another. This was as close to utopia as anyone could get, so why would he dispute it?

It wasn’t until Alex appeared in his life that he started to challenge anything around him. This society was all he’d known. His whole life’s memories were made on this beautiful part of the planet, led by the strong and caring Priestess Aleena.

He’d been the only one to roam outside the walls and discover every inch of the planet, returning to report his findings to the Priestess. Sometimes, he took others with him, and they didn’t come back because of the birds or the lake, but no one ever went out without him. They couldn’t.

Every new experience had helped carve him from a curious boy into a man hungry to learn more and see new things. He’d always secretly wanted to learn why he was different.

Every time he looked in the mirror, he wondered why he wasn’t blonde-haired and blue-eyed like everyone else. Still, it hadn’t been enough to make him question anything.

Not until Alex came along and he’d felt a small well of magic within her. He’d been positive he was just an anomaly. He simply believed he looked physically different, because the gift of magic and his constant use of the arcane had somehow altered him. An idea he’d discussed many times with Aleena, and she’d reinforced.

Yet, Alex wasn’t blonde, and even though her skin was darker than the others on this planet, it still wasn’t as dark as his.

Somehow, I think Alex holds the key to my true origins.

After the library, he’d passed by the latest crime scene and had been saddened and repelled by the violent emotions he’d sensed. Whoever was terrorizing the population wanted to get a message across, and the fact that something belonging to Alex had been dumped next to what little was left of the bodies had to be a clue. After all, hadn’t he also found a wound on her hand he couldn’t heal? He’d felt the dark energy radiating off it, as if something were embedded beneath her skin and was sending signals out to someone.

Maybe everything Alex remained tight-lipped about was what they needed to investigate in order to find their killer. He’d do this his way, though, because he still believed her to be innocent. Someone was using her as a pawn in a much larger game. He was sure of it.

Damon rolled his shoulders.

As much as he knew he needed sleep, he couldn’t bring himself to rest right now. So, he closed his eyes and spent a few minutes drawing strength from the arcane, just enough to give him the stamina he needed to survive another sleepless day. It flowed from the warm air around him, creeping in through his fingertips and extending until he felt it stir the energy his body craved deep within him.

He opened his eyes, grabbed his books from the bed, and dropped them onto the storage rectangle pressed against the end of the bed. He decided to start his research with the obvious choice: Werewolves and the Moon.

Alex felt as clean as she was going to get.

She hadn’t come to any conclusions about a single thing, except that she now knew exactly who was stalking the residents of this bizarre ‘village’. Still, she had no intention of speaking about it with anyone. Not even Damon. If any of this got out, who knew what Elroy would try to do to her? He might lock her up and throw away the key.

There was only one thing to do. She had to find a way off this rock. If it meant trying to fix the ship herself-as improbable as that was-then, she was prepared to at least try.

In the meantime, there was a very attractive man waiting in the room.

With so many things throwing her off track and making her feel as if she’d lost total control of her life, the only thing that would help keep her sane would be to finish what they’d started. All the flirting, teasing, and innuendo would end. Right now.

She walked into the room completely naked and gave her hips an extra sway, loving the way the ends of her wet, curly hair touched the tops of her shoulders. Beads of water dripped from the ends and down her back.

“Is everything okay?” As soon as Damon looked up, his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. The look in his eyes confirmed she’d already succeeded in her seduction.

“I feel a lot better, now, thanks. Is that what you’re asking?” She released a quick breath. She’d decided to let every thought go for now, so she could concentrate on the one thing always guaranteed to make her forget all of her troubles. For a while, all she wanted to do was feel Damon’s body next to hers.

“I can see that.” He put his book aside, as his green gaze swept over her-from head to toe, and then back up.

She put her hands on her hips. “What’re you reading?”

“It’s not important.” He stood up. “What’s important is that you’re okay.”

She couldn’t help but smile as she slowly made her way toward him, and he didn’t move-remained as still as a statue. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. Such an innocent gesture was ruined when one of her nipples grazed his bare chest. Still, she made a move to step back.