Beautiful Beings (5 page)

The young man seemed oblivious of Braxton and continued to hold my gaze with interest, a move that appeared to cause Braxton’s jaw to tighten. Could the green-eyed dream boy be a rival?  Braxton made no move to introduce us, leaving me to the task.

“We just moved from Seattle.”  I extended my hand which he greedily took in his.

“How lucky for us.” 

His grin was intoxicating, taking my breath away and sending my blood rushing to parts of me I didn’t even know I had. 

“I’m Moore, by the way… so much more.”

“We’ll have to see about that.” I dared a wink as I took my seat.

“Lux… that’s an absolutely beautiful name, a name that suits you to a tee.”  He shoved his half eaten sandwich aside, leaned forward and intensified his gaze.  “And what brings a Seattle girl to San Fran?”

“If you must know,” Braxton cut in as he squeezed in beside me. “Her father is the new chair at the antiquities department at the university.”

Moore smirked at Braxton. “How convenient.  Guess that’s how you weaseled your way to such an exquisite creature so quickly.”  He turned his eyes to me.  “I can’t say I blame him. I would jump at the chance to spend my days escorting you from one class to another.”

He was unabashedly flirting with me, despite Braxton’s fierce and possessive glare. I felt the blush rush to my cheeks and cast my gaze to my salad. 

When I chanced another glance at him, I melted under his unwavering gaze. Startled by my reaction to him, so violent, so deep, and so strong, I couldn’t help but wonder what spell he was weaving. A slow and heated tingle worked its way over my skin, luring me closer to him, and leaving me with the heartfelt desire to feel his touch.

He smiled, a smile meant only for me, and I was lost in the pools of green bliss.  Though I sat across the table from him, I felt the warmth of his touch, his face close to mine as we danced together in a fragrant rose garden.  His gaze pulled me into another world, a world of love, passion and desire so strong, I felt dizzy.

My eyes dipped down to his hands, powerful yet gentle hands capable of wicked and wild embraces. Every breath was shallow and difficult as his fingers traced a line between the nape of my neck and my spine. Keeping my eyes open became impossible.

“You gonna eat anything?” Braxton said as he tapped my elbow with his.

I shook the heated images from my head and noticed that Moore still stared at me, hungry and captivating, a knowing grin on his sensual lips.

“How cute,” Shayne groaned, her gaze cold and unwelcoming.  “It certainly didn’t take you long to make an impression on my brother.”

I should have known. “You're siblings?”

“Twins, actually.” She pressed a sweet smile, but bitterness oozed through her lips. “Fraternal.”

“Oh.” For some reason, I felt relieved… for what? For not being a rival for Moore?

“Moore is a little older than me.” She rolled her eyes towards him. “Though you’d never know it by watching the way he acts sometimes.”

“Don’t mind them,” Braxton shot in, his hand once again coming to brush over mine. “They’re just a couple of millionaire brats who have little adult supervision. Their favorite pastime is playing with people’s head. Don’t get caught up in it.”

Shayne picked up a stick of celery and chomped loudly on it. “Considering what we’ve been through, I think we’re doing a pretty good job of raising ourselves, Brax. Our parents might have left us a huge mansion to roam around in, but we didn’t have the luxury of an extended family to help us.” 

Her harsh emerald eyes softened slightly as she turned to me.  “Our parents died a few years ago.”

“They didn’t die,” Moore interjected, his tone harsh and pained for the first time.  “They were murdered.”

Shayne barely batted an eye.  “We were left to fend for ourselves, which might seem like a big old luau to some…” She glanced furtively at Braxton.  “But it’s been more difficult than anyone can imagine.”

I shook my head thoughtfully, my heart aching for both of them.  The devastation of losing one’s parents; it was indeed unimaginable.

“Believe me,” Shayne went on, “I’d much rather live in a modest home with Mom and Dad there every night than walk into that mammoth chunk of cold bricks and mortar.”

I detected a shimmer in her eyes that hadn’t been there moments earlier.  The subject obviously affected her greatly and I couldn’t resist the urge to reach across the table and take her hand.  “I’m so sorry for your loss.  It’s positively dreadful, and it’s sad to know people can be so insensitive as to believe you're living it up when you're both living with such pain and loss.”

She didn’t pull away, but actually brushed a finger along the side of my hand.  Her eyes were once again on her lunch, the control of keeping the tears in check evident in the tightening of her jaw. 

“You know, every once in a while I have a band of girlfriends come over… you know, for tea, manicures and late night movies.  Maybe you could come over some time.”

“I’d love that,” I said, pleased by the turn of events.  I released her hand and returned to my sandwich.

“Under any other circumstance, I’d be hollering about the injustice,” Moore said.  ” MooI mean to be in that house with a dozen or so frantic, frenetic, shrill girls who make a big deal over the perfect pink nail polish or the slightest frizz in their hair is not really my idea of a good time.” His lips curled into that delicious smile.  “But if you’re going to be there…” Bobbing his head slowly and deliberately, he winked.  “Then, there’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be.”

Shayne gave him a solid elbow in the ribs.  “Oh, will you stop it.”

Despite the banter, it was obvious they loved each other.

“Don’t worry, if you come over I won’t let him bother you.”

My desire to befriend this beautiful girl butted heads with the novel notion of socializing with someone of her standing.  I’d never been much of a girly girl, biting my nails instead of getting a manicure and pulling my hair back into a quick ponytail rather than spending hours putting it into perfect place.

“I think that would be awesome,” I heard myself say with a false note of formality.  Why the sudden need to put on airs, I wondered.  The answer was quick in coming…  I’d never been invited to spend time with a girl like her and a part of me wanted to impress her… to be like her.

Chapter 5

T
he evening sun poured into the dining room, turning the wall of unpacked boxes into a veritable eyesore.

“It’s likely to take us weeks to get through all those boxes,” Mom lamented as she poked her plastic fork into her take-out salad.

“I’ll try to find the kitchen boxes tonight, hon.” Dad tried to cut into his chicken breast, but the thin plastic knife failed to succeed, leaving him to use his fingers.

A mix up in box labels had left us with an unusable kitchen; no utensils, no dishes, no pots and no pans.

“I’ll give you a hand, Mom.  I didn’t get any homework, so I’m all yours.”

“How’d your first day go?” she asked.

“Not bad.” I munched happily on my cheeseburger, secretly thrilled with the notion of eating take out for a few nights.  “I met Braxton.”

“Really,” Dad said, a mischievous twinkle burning in his eyes.  “Is he as handsome as I’ve heard?”

“He is, but then again, the entire school body is drop dead gorgeous.  I didn’t see a single student with a weight problem, with acne, with frizzy hair, with a big nose or with knobby knees.  They were all annoyingly perfect.”

“Hmmm,” Mom sighed.  “Sounds awfully nice to me.  I thought you were coming here to deal with the ugliness of the world, not beauty.”

“Well.” I set down my burger and wiped my hands with my paper napkin.  “The morning did start out kind of rough.  I spotted a devilish shadow, but it turned out to be this amazingly, I mean unbelievably gorgeous guy, Asher.”

“Not such a bad start,” Mom said with a flirting grin.

“Yeah, if only all dark shadows could end up like that.  Unfortunately, the next one I saw was indeed a demon of the ugly kind.  He was surprisingly small and compact, but he could sure pack a punch.  I think I might have initially underestimated him, thinking he’d be easy to overcome, but it turned out to be quite a battle.”

“Don’t get too cocky, Buttons,” Dad warned.  “I don’t want to see you hurt in all this.”

“Don’t worry, Dad.  I didn’t even break a nail.”

“I’d hoped you’d at least have one day to get accustomed to the new school before having to battle demons.”

“Me, too, but Lothario warned me; there’s a lot of work to do here and it can take quite a while.  I hope you guys don’t mind.”

“Mind?” Mom said.  “Of course not, honey.  I have to admit I was a little reluctant to come to San Francisco, but I truly loved my first day at work.  The staff is great, the museum is impeccable and the commute wasn’t as bad as I’d anticipated.”

“And I want you to let us know if there’s anything we can do to help, whether it’s the transition to this new school, your new friends or your teachers.”  Dad grabbed my hand and held it, his eyes solemn and earnest.  “We’re there for you.”

Smiling, I patted our clasped hands reassuringly.  “I know, Dad, and I really appreciate it.  It’s cool that you guys take this all so well.  I doubt many parents could be as understanding and cooperative as you’ve been, what with the constant moving, new schools and all.” 

“It’s a minor inconvenience compared to what you have to endure, dear,” Mom said, her eyes filled with tears of pride.  “If there’s anything at all, let us know.”

Dad nodded his agreement as he returned to that task of tearing his dinner apart.  “I’m also happy to hear you’ve hit it off with Kingsley’s nephew.  It’s a bit of a relief to know you’ve befriended such an amazing young man.”

“He certainly was helpful in getting me around school.”  Hopefully Braxton would remain the good friend he’d shown himself capable of.  I needed a good friend. 

Of course there was also Asher; the odd vision I’d had of him, the dream he’d had of me, and his mysterious warning.

Smiling as I picked up my burger, I stared out the back window and thought of Moore.  The desire to kiss him, to touch him enveloped me, just as surely as if he’d stood there before me.  The hold he had on me was strong, almost overpowering.  I’d thought of little else the remainder of the day, his face coming to smirk at me as I fumbled through math, his flirting wink distracting me from my geography lesson.

“You okay, honey?” Mom asked as she reached out to put the back of her hand to my flushed cheek.

“Yeah,” I said as a wistful smile worked its way to my lips.  “Yeah.”

Chapter 6

O
nly a week at school and we already had a day off.  I was ecstatic.  I wanted to explore San Francisco, visit the Golden Gate Park and take a trolley. It was a magnificently perfect day with a warm autumn sun, the occasional cotton ball cloud and just the slightest whisper of a breeze.

After a brisk walk along the bay, I headed to the museum where my mother worked. She’d raved so enthusiastically about the exhibit, I had to at least go take a peek.

“Lux,” she exclaimed as I entered her office.  “Dear, your timing couldn’t be worst.  I absolutely have to go meet with Josh Torn, my new assistant director.  It shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes then I’ll give you a personal tour.”

“Don’t worry, Mom.  I’ll stroll around and meet up with you later.”

While archaeology fascinated both my parents, I had to admit that interest had not been passed onto me.  I viewed the exhibit with idle and minimal curiosity, but was far from enthused.  After an hour of roaming the museum and still not a hint of my mother, I headed out to the garden.

By comparison, the garden was far more interesting.  Fragrant flowers, a pleasantly meandering walkway and…

I froze, my step suddenly halted as I focused in.  In the distance, sitting on a low retaining wall facing the enormous statue of an angel, was Asher. 

His hand flew across the page of a sketch pad while his eyes repeatedly went from statue to paper.  Lost in concentration, he remained unaware of me, even as I slowly and silently came up behind him.

“I didn’t know you were an artist,” I whispered.

Despite the gentle approach, he still jumped at the sound of my voice, his hands quick to flip the page of his sketch pad, hiding his drawing.  “Hey, what are you doing here?” he said with a surprised smile.

“My mother works here. Thought I’d see what she’s up to.” I held back, reluctant to show him just how happy I was to see him.  He intrigued me and I longed to talk to him again about his strange dream.

After a long and uncomfortable pause, I pointed to his sketch pad.  “Can I see your drawing?”