Beautiful Beings (17 page)

He nodded and I could see how concerned he was by the whole affair.  “He’s a very powerful man.  No doubt getting the authorities to believe whatever he wanted them to believe was a breeze.  Throw enough money at any problem and you quickly find a solution.”

I tried to squelch the sense of alarm that was slowly working its way up to my neck.  I thought of my father.  What kind of man was he really working for?  Kingsley had deliberately sought my father.  Why?

My father was knowledgeable, conscientious, responsible and he had a passion for his work like few people I’d ever met. No doubt any employer would be proud to have him, but….  Dad had been appointed Dean of Antiquities just days after I’d been expelled.

At the time we’d all applauded the perfect timing.  Now I couldn’t help but wonder if that perfect timing was more calculated than any of us had assumed. Dad got a new job, I had a new school… a new school with another potential demon hunter… and he just happened to be the supposed nephew of the man who’d set it all in motion.

I tried to shake the notions from my head, but the more I thought about it, the more clearly defined the whole plot became.

Kingsley was playing us all like puppets, and we were all gleefully going along.

Gazing up at Braxton, I considered mentioning the book his uncle had been reading when we were unexpectedly interrupted. Certainly, Mr. Kingsley’s choice in reading material was no coincidence. He brought Braxton and me together for a reason.

But what?

“There you kids are.”

Startled, we turned to see Dr. Kingsley on the back patio.

As we approached him, I knew the blush on my cheeks would divulge my adolescent embarrassment at being caught red handed with my teenage love… not my suspicions of his actions.

Kingsley’s gaze, indulgent and amused, skimmed over my face. “Ah,” he sighed. “Young love. What a delightful pair you make.”

The blush on my cheeks intensified.  “Thank you.”

“I’ve a meeting in town,” Dr. Kingsley went on.  “I trust you’ll continue to be a gentleman in the presence of such a lovely young woman.”

“As always, Uncle.”

“The cook can prepare a small feast for you if you kids get hungry.”

“Thanks, but we were planning on eating out.”

Dr. Kingsley nodded.  “I bid you both good night, then.”

The moment he disappeared I tugged on Braxton’s arm. “Come on,” I ordered. “I want to show you something.”

He reluctantly followed, each step hesitant and heavy.  When we came to the study door, he stopped.  “Lux, what are you doing?  This is his private study.  You shouldn’t…”

I yanked on his arm and pulled him in.  “Just get in here.”

He snickered. “Man, I love a woman who knows what she wants.”

I threw him an amused grin and turned my attention to the shelves. “Your uncle was quick to shove a book back on the shelf.” I passed my fingers over the volumes, a sense of defeat quickly working its way through my consciousness.  Twain was there.  Verne was there.  But the book of angels was nowhere to be seen.  “Damn it,” I muttered.

“Lux,” Brax said.  “What are you looking for?”

“Your uncle owns a book he has no reason to own,” I blurted out as I turned to him. “Why would he be interested in angels?”

Brax shrugged.  “I have no idea.”  His gaze scanned the shelves. “Lux, there are hundreds of book in here and just as many subjects.  He’s obviously a man of many interests.”  He came to finger Verne.  “I wouldn’t have thought he’d be the kind of guy to read
Around the World in Eighty Days
either, but there it is.”

“Brax, had we been planning to run away and travel the world, I would have been suspicious of that as well.  As it so happens, we’ve been brought together, not as coincidentally as I would have believed, to fight demons.  We’ve been brought together by…” I stared wide-eyed at him.  “… Angels, Brax.  We were brought together by angels.  Coincidence that your uncle not only owns an old and rather important looking book on angels, but he just so happened to be going through it when we surprised him and…” I turned to point to the space between Twain and Verne. “… now that very book is gone.”

Brax seemed reluctant to believe what I was trying to tell him.

“You said yourself you don’t even know how he’s related to you.  For all you know he’s a pure stranger who perhaps knew the powers you’d one day come to have.”

I glanced around the shelves, hoping to find further evidence of Dr. Kingsley’s penchant for the supernatural.  Several bibles lined one shelf while many books regarding the apocalypse lined another.  The top shelf held a few books on myths and folklore, even one or two about demons.

Then my eye caught on a shiny new black binder.  It didn’t fit in with the rest of these important looking books.  I reached up to pull it out from under the few books that lay atop it.  My hand almost shook with excitement as I brought the binder to the desk.

Taking a deep breath and swallowing the growing lump in my throat, I opened the binder.

“Newspaper clippings,” Brax muttered.

My heart thundered painfully in my chest. “All about bodies that have been drained.”  I flipped through the pages, all neatly placed in plastic page protectors.  “These go back as far as the 60s. My God, what is he doing with this?”

Brax pushed my hand away and looked more closely at the most recent entry in the binder. “This one is from just two years ago. Did you notice where they found the body?” He pointed to the article.

“St. James Academy,” I muttered.

“The young female body was found at the far end of the field behind St. James, her body drained and dried up like a mummy,” he read.

A chill traveled down my spine and the sting of tears burned my eyes.

“What does my uncle have to do with all this?”

Chapter 16

T
he moment Brax saw me he let out a long and slow whistle.  “You never cease to amaze me, Lux.”

I indulged him and spun around, showing him every angle of the beautiful black velvet sleeveless dress my mother had loaned me. The floor length dress was elegant and exactly the touch of class I’d hoped for while best showing off my curves where I had them.

“You like?” I asked.

He cocked his head to the side. “A little too much,” he said.  “I’m likely to skip this charity ball altogether and find a nice quiet place to ravish you.”

“Mind your manners,” I chastised as I grabbed Mom’s little clutch and joined Brax at the door. “This dress is all class, not crass. My mom even wore this to the opera when we were in Seattle.”

He pulled me into his arms and gazed lovingly down at me. “Lux, I have nothing but respect for you…and this burning desire to ravish you. I never tire of looking at you.” His fingers lightly touched my arms, sending thrills up my spine. “I will never tire touching you, too. Your skin is so touchably soft.” He bent down to place his warm lips on arms, kissing his way up to my cheeks, eyes, and then lips. I was kissing him back when he pull away. His eyes swept up the staircase and I knew he was looking for my parents.

“Yes, they’ve already made their way to the ball, but don’t get any more funny ideas, Mister. We have to be there too, remember?”

Pouting like a child, he grabbed my hand and led me out to his car where he opened the door for me.

“You're the most darling petulant little boy I’ve ever seen,” I said as I got in.  “That pout and that tuxedo make for a rather oddly attractive combination.”

He nodded before solemnly closing the door and walking around to get in the driver’s seat.

“Are you going to pout throughout the entire ball?” I asked with a teasing grin.

“Seeing how attractive you find my pout, how can I resist?” Biting down on an irrepressible smile, he started the car and headed to the Hatchett mansion.

We entered the ball and quickly became the focal point of everyone in attendance. Eyes, envious, jealous, proud and enchanted, followed our every step. 

“Feeling like a caged canary yet?” Brax whispered.  His hand lay possessively on my hip as he guided me in.

“Darlings,” Shayne sung out as she approached us, her brother not far behind. “What a cute pair you guys make.”

A vision in exquisite white silk, she shimmered with every step.  She’d let her long hair fall about her face, giving her a wild appeal only slightly reined in by the classic lines of her gown.

“Braxton,” she rasped. “Before the auction begins, I thought you might like to see a particularly interesting piece. I thought of you the moment I saw it.”

He was torn from my side by her well-manicured fingers and after a quick glimpse back at me, he disappeared into the crowd.

“I guess that leaves me to tend to you.” Moore took my hand and hooked it onto his forearm. With slow and elegant strides, he led me to the patio.

I didn’t resist. If there was one thing I wanted to get out of him, it was how he’d managed to get such a spellbound hold on me.

“These grounds are among my favorite places in the world. Did you have a chance to visit the gardens when you last came?”

“Not really. It looks lovely.”

Beautiful statues, elegant fountains and Greek columns gave the soft and flowery garden structure and definition. The balance was perfect, bringing harmony and peace to any soul who had the privilege to stroll amidst such beauty.

I glanced up at Moore, wondering how his soul responded to it all.

He reached out to pluck the perfect blossom and twirled it between his fingers a moment before holding it out to me. ing it eAny bloom pales in comparison to your beauty.”

“How poetic,” I said with a charmed smile.

“Not at all. It’s exactly how I feel about you.” He reached for my hand. “I want you, Lux.  I want to possess you, your body, your heart, your soul.”

A part of me wanted to back away. I knew how dangerous it was being so close to him.  But the part of me that wanted to be close, get closer, won out.

“Brax is a nice guy, maybe even too nice. He’s far too tame for a woman like you, Lux. You have to know that.”

“And you're more man?”

He chuckled, a sound that was amused yet filled with such passion, a ripple of pure pleasure coursed through my body. Moore oozed sexuality. Passion dripped from his fingertips. Wicked fantasies played on his lips. And his eyes… endless desire filled his gaze.

“I can challenge you like no other man would even dare. I can make your blood boil, shake you up, rile you up. I can play you gently, but I can also delight you with savage abandon.”

He cupped my chin, but I knew I had to resist him. “You have an effect on me,” I said defiantly.

“I know,” he said with a sly grin.  He came in close, his nose brushing mine.

“I mean in an unnatural way. Every time Brax gets close to me, kisses me, your face is all I see and you're all I think about.”

His laughter sang out into the cool night air. “Don’t you see, my dear Lux?  Despite your apparent attraction to the nice, clean guy Braxton Kingsley is, it’s me your heart truly desires.” He ran his fingers up and down my arm. “Your head may be telling you that Braxton would make a more… appropriate mate for you, but in your heart, in your soul, you know I’m the only one who can truly satisfy you… all of you.”

The play of his fingers had an incredible effect on me and I could feel my body relax and give in to him.

“Why do you insist on fighting it, Lux?  This is meant to be.  Just let go and let the emotions you really have for me take over.  Together we’d make an invincible pair. Just let go and let us do what our hearts truly desire…” he whispered into my ear, “all night.”

My reaction to him was strong and violent. I wanted him. His skin was heated against mine, and his lips, so close, so luscious and so tempting, had me seeking for one exquisite kiss from him.

Moore picked up on my weakness for him and took full advantage of it.  His finger s worked their way up to my shoulders and to the tender spot at the base of my neck.  An audible sigh escaped me and through the haze of lust that suddenly enveloped me, I heard Moore’s pleased snicker.

His mouth closed in and my lips parted in anticipation of tasting him, sucking on his tongue and driving him to heights of desire that outshined any other woman he’d ever known.  I wanted to belong to him, to succumb, but I also wanted him to fall to his knees for me.

“Get away from him, Lux.”

The command beat through the thick fog of desire, but with little effect.

“Lux,” the strong male voice said with forceful authority.

I pulled away from Moore, though not yet certain why.  My desire to be with him was so strong, but the pull of that familiar voice was stronger.

“Asher?” I said as I turned to the friend who was meant to protect me.

“Great,” Moore groaned. “Biker boy rides in to save the day. Who the hell invited you to this event anyway?”

“Your lovely sister, remember?”

Moore shoved his hand back through his hair with a grunt of annoyance. “Yeah, she was just being polite. No one really thought you’d have the balls to actually show up. I mean, you might be able to throw on a tux like the best of them, but this isn’t exactly your scene, dude.”