Binds (20 page)

We exit the car and Spencer motions for Trey, Blondie, and the woman to go in one direction, while the two of us take off the opposite way. We walk silently for about ten minutes, and I’m beginning to wonder exactly what we’re doing out here. I don’t see anyone; in fact, I’m starting to wonder why that is. This area is normally highly guarded and we haven’t even come across one of the normal rent-a-cops who circle around the capitol mall. You’d think with all of the crap going down tonight that the Chancellor would have beefed up security, but maybe he didn’t think any of us would be so brazen as to come directly to the seat of his power and challenge him. I wonder how Reece and his group are faring over in the entertainment district. As much as I believe that we need to bring this fight to the Brands, I hope it’s quiet over there, too. I could use another day of planning and preparation for this miniscule revolt, I hate feeling unprepared.

Just as I am musing about what might be happening with Reece, Spencer grabs my hand and pulls me behind a covering of bushes and trees. I was too busy contemplating Reece’s situation to be faithfully monitoring ours and didn’t notice the twin beams heading in our direction. Headlights of a slow moving sedan that could quite possibly be one of those rent-a-cops I was wondering about earlier. As it makes its way closer to us, I am suddenly realizing how close Spencer pulled me into himself to hide us both behind this foliage. I’m tucked into his chest with my head pressed in below his chin. After being stuck next to eau de toilette of Blondie in the car earlier, I can honestly say that Spencer smells wonderful. It’s not cologne, just his own natural scent mixed with the clean smell of his clothes and the fresh fragrance of one of those manly soaps or maybe it’s his deodorant, I don’t know, but the mixture works. I am having a hard time forcing myself to not stick my nose up into his neck and get a proper whiff, I can’t help it … it’s one of those scents that once you get one sniff of it, you want more.

The headlights are directly by us and Spencer reaches his hands around me, pulling me into a tight embrace. I don’t move or try to wrangle myself out of the situation because it’s exactly what I was hoping for a moment ago. I’m definitely close enough that the smell of his skin is enveloping me now, and also, I figure he is just trying to hide us from the approaching car and I don’t want to do anything to alert them of our whereabouts … yeah, that’s why I’m feeling completely relaxed in his arms, the only reason.

As the car passes us by, I feel Spencer’s chest rumbling and he breaks the embrace with a chuckle. “You really enjoyed that one, didn’t you?” he says as he steps back from me. I can already feel the cool night air replacing the warmth that his body left on mine. I look to his eyes to give him a biting retort, but see something there … a longing? It can’t be. His eyes betray the humor he is trying to project from them because I could swear that I see the same kind of hunger that is probably blatantly evident in my own.

I can’t allow this. It’s Spencer. The person who has tormented me for the past couple of weeks, the person who knows all there is to know about me—the good, the bad, and the horrifically ugly—and still somewhat wants me around. The person who has protected me from my husband even when all of his people wanted to hand me over, and the person who has helped give me back my natural born powers. He’s an arrogant ass … but do I really hate him? No, I don’t and seeing that look in his eyes makes me wonder about his true feelings for me as well.

Reece… I think to myself, remember Reece. If it weren’t for him, I might still be with Donovan right now. Cass told me Reece was defying Spencer’s orders when he took me from that dinner those few weeks (that now feel like years) ago. There must have been a change in my expression as I think these thoughts, because Spencer captures my chin with his hand and locks his eyes with mine in an attempt to bring me back to the previous moment.

“Ophelia,” he starts, “I enjoyed it too.” His eyes convey an honesty that I haven’t seen from him since the day he took me to see the reformatory and broke the news that his child had been taken and his wife murdered at the orders of my father-in-law. It takes an infinitesimal second for the expression to break before he adopts a goofy look, but I can’t deny that I saw it. “It’s not every day that I have a beautiful woman inhaling me like a giant scratch and sniff sticker,” he jibes, but I can tell that he only tacked that last bit on to save face and I allow him to do it. As much as I feel this draw to him, I can’t trust him or his motives when it comes to me. He could be trying to control my emotions so that he can use me for his own purposes, and there is no way I am going to allow another man to have that kind of power over me again.

It’s in this circumstance that I realize that I have picked my pony, and the pony’s name is Reece. He may be the type of man who thinks I need saving and I don’t want to be saved, but he is also the man who has stood by me through all of this and answered every question I have had honestly. He seems to care about my wellbeing and me as a person, not just as some tool that may be used in the future, but as someone that wants me in his life.

I step away from Spencer with a slight shake, trying to brush off any feelings I might have been beginning to develop for this guarded man in front of me. “Did you see what the car looked like?” I ask. “Was it the NWO or a guard?”

Spencer must feel the shift into more formality between us because his face hardens and his voice is clipped when he responds. “No, it was a white convertible. Probably just a straggling tourist who doesn’t know about the new mandate or doesn’t sense the danger of being out. Come on, let’s head back to the others, there’s nothing going on here.” He turns away from me and begins to march back to where we left the car. He’s keeping a good three feet of space between us with his hurried pace, so I barely catch the gentle sound from the walkie talkie and Jinx’s voice.

“Come in, Boss Man, this is Jinx, over.”

“What is it, Jinx?” Spencer replies gruffly, perhaps annoyed by the interruption of his fit.

“There’s something going down with the other crew,” Jinx says. “I just caught communication from Cass, but it was too loud in the background to get much of what she said. From the little I heard, it sounded like a riot, people’s voices yelling, and I could hear a megaphone or something in the background. The only thing I heard from her was that there were commons about. Thought you guys might want to check it out, if you’re not too busy over there at the capitol.”

“Thanks, Jinx,” Spencer replies. “We’ll regroup and head over there. Let me know if there are any further attempts at communication in the meantime.” He radios the other members of our group to meet back at the car and tells the other car to do the same, then puts the walkie-talkie back in the pocket of his coat and turns to me. “Well, I guess I chose the wrong stakeout. I should have known that Oberon would strike at a place full of innocent commons to get a reaction out of us.”

We are by the car now, but the others haven’t made it back yet. I can’t help but let slip the question that I’ve had since getting the message from Jinx: “Why would there be commons out? They’ve been pretty good about following the Chancellor’s mandates so far. What would bring them out on a night like this?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Mrs. Brand,” Spencer replies. The way he says my name feels like a blow. He knows how much it bothers me, so I guess we’re both back to square one now, him regarding me as formally as possible and me keeping him farther than an arm’s length away at all times. It’s for the best. I can’t give anything more to this man, and I can’t afford to be wrong about his intentions for me.

“Why wouldn’t Reece have radioed to us himself if they’re in trouble?” I suddenly have a very bad feeling about this. Cass is not the leadership type, even if they weren’t able to reach us, it should have been Reece who sent the message out to Jinx. If it wasn’t him, there has to be a reason for it. God, I hope he’s okay.

“We’ll know soon enough, here come the others. Ophelia…” Spencer turns back to me before the three get close enough to hear and sternly says, “Listen, I know we’ve had our differences, but I need you to stay by my side no matter what happens over there, okay? If Reece’s ass is in trouble, you have to stay away. I will try to aid him as much as I can, but you getting in the way will only cause more problems for everyone involved, and even worse if you run off after him. Your undying devotion for your knight in shining armor will only add more trouble if I’m distracted by looking for you. You understand?”

Like hell I do. I’m about to open my mouth and give his wanna-be babysitting ass a piece of my mind, when he cuts me off, “Oh, how I wish you knew everything … I’d love to see that indignant expression on Reece’s behalf wiped off your pretty face.” His expression betrays the smugness in his voice. He looks haggard, as if this night has aged him a couple years and this conversation is adding more as each word emerges from our mouths.

I no longer care about keeping my distance, I put my face in his and jab a pointed finger into his chest. “I’m getting so tired of you bashing Reece with no cause. You say you wish I knew everything, well … here’s your chance … tell me. What is it that I don’t know? This isn’t the first time you’ve dangled half-information and truth in front of me like a carrot. Stop playing games and give it to me, here I am … what’s the hold up, huh?” I push him a little but he doesn’t move an inch except for his face that stretches closer towards mine, if that is at all possible. We are now sharing angry breaths and shooting daggers at each other with our eyes.

“It’s not my truth to tell and even if it were, you may not believe me, but I’d be unwilling to break you in that way.” He steps back with a repentant shake of his head and weariness enters his tone. “The next time you’re alone, ask Lover Boy for yourself what he’s keeping from you. I’ll be surprised if he has grown the balls to tell you, but look him in his eyes when you ask and you’ll see something there. He’s really not a bad person, I know that for sure, the same way I know about you, so his conscience should be vividly displayed in those green eyes of his. Just look for it.”

“Convenient, Spencer … really convenient. It’s easy to accuse Reece of being secretive when he isn’t around to defend himself.” I grab hold of his shirt right at the chest. The fabric balls in my fist and I pull his torso closer to me so that I can feel his heartbeat when I say what’s next. “Even though you don’t seem to have any boundaries when it comes to taking them, most people have secrets that they don’t want anyone to know. Just because you have the ability to learn them all, doesn’t make you the number one decision maker of who tells who what. You know what I think?”

Spencer is so close to me now that his lips rub along mine when he says, “No, I don’t know what you think. If you haven’t noticed, I haven’t known what you think since that first day when you allowed me to … and yes, you DID allow me to do so, just as Reece did before you. But go on, Princess. Enlighten me further. I’m enjoying this.”

“Oh you smug … arrogant... no, those words are too good for you. I think that it’s you who is keeping something from me and everyone. I think you go to bed at night relieved that you were the one given the power to see us all naked to the core because if it was you who we were given a flash of, you would be sorely lacking.”

I raise my eyebrow to indicate that I’m not just talking about his past or his secrets, but before I have the chance to even laugh at my own joke, his lips are on mine and his hands are pulling me into his body. I can feel them as they slide down my back and draw my hips into his groin.

The joke’s on me. He’s not lacking there. Not at all.

I should be fighting this. I know I don’t want this. There was someone that I was supposed to remember, but at this moment, it all goes to the wayside because I am lost in this kiss. His soft lips contrast with the urgency I feel from him. It’s as if it is the last moment of the last second of the last everything before the end of the world and we are both trying to make it count. I bring my hands up to his face, cup his cheeks and run my fingers over the stubble while our tongues intertwine in graceful strokes that are becoming softer and more purposeful with each passing moment.

Okay, so the world is not going to end, but now that I have been kissed by Spencer Donnelly, my outlook of it might. This is a life-changing kiss, something that I have not felt in all of my twenty-seven years. My life will forever be split into before the kiss (BK) and after (AK).

My ridiculous thoughts and our mouths are stopped by the sound of the rest of our group approaching the car. I jump away from him as if he has just bitten me (I guess he kind of has) and look down as if there is some important detail that I just can’t get enough of on my boots.

Our party is silent as they reach the car and begin piling in. Yep, they were definitely privy to at least some of that tonsil hockey. Awkward.

I’m thankful that it’s dark and the tomato color that has no doubt enveloped my face all the way to the tips of my ears is not evident. Still finding my boots fascinating, I hear Spencer’s low chuckle before he says, “Get in the car, Ophelia. We’ve got a riot to attend … that is unless you need more honesty from me. In that case, the riot can wait.”

I don’t even give him the satisfaction of a dirty look. I just steal into the car, grateful that I was left the seat behind the driver’s so that I can slink down low, look out the window, and try to be invisible for just a little while.