Forgiven (Book 3, The Watchers Trilogy; Young Adult Paranormal Romance) (4 page)

“Can I suggest,” Abby said, “that we not tell my father about Malcolm’s… demonstration?  Their relationship isn’t the strongest as it is.
  Plus, I really don’t want to
have to
tell my boyfriend his father just
got me completely flustered in a good way
.
”

Angela was waving a hand in her face like she was trying to cool herself down.  “I agree.
  That information should remain between the four of us.
”

“I’m not going to lie to Brand,” I quickly said.

“Well
,
you don’t have to lie exactly,” Abby said.  “Just don’t
offer the information
freely
.  Surely you’re allowed to keep some secrets to yourself.”

“I have to say I agree with Abby on this one
.
”
Tara
nodde
d.  “We don’t need to add gas to an already burning fire.  Though, I can’t say I minded seeing
the big boy strut his stuff
up there
.
  And boy howdy
,
do I mean
big
.
”

Tara
’s admission soon had us all
remember
ing the
one stand out feature of Malcolm’s act
.  I think Angela was the first to start giggling which soon became contagious.

After that we all decided to go eat at the Bellagio hotel.  Of course
,
they had a buffet big enough for a king and Tara tore into it.  I never understood how such a small
person
could eat so much food and not weigh fifty more pounds afterwards.  I st
u
ck to the crab legs and shrimp for the most part only allowing myself a sweet treat at the end.  I did after all have to fit in a couture wedding dress in less than a week.

As I was battling with myself on whether I wanted the strawberry shortcake or the fruit tart, I heard a familiar voice say, “I would go with the fruit tart myself
:
s
weet and ta
ngy
, just like me.”

I turned to face a fully clothed Malcolm.  He only wore the
slim
f
itting tailored black
pants and
white
shirt
open at the chest but that was definitely more than
the last time I saw him.

“What were you thinking?” I said, pulling him off to the side before the other girls could see him.  “Have you completely lost your mind?  Brand will go ballistic when he hears about
what you did
.”

Malcolm smiled.  “I’m not really concerned about what he thinks.  You should know that by now, dearest.  But I would love to know what you thought about it.  Or do I even have to ask from the way you were breathing at the end?”

I took a deep breath and tried to wipe the picture of a virtually nude Malcolm
straddling my lap
out of my mind.

“You know you’re gorgeous,” I told him.  “And I’m still half human.  It was a natural reaction.”

Malcolm took one of my hands into his and twined o
u
r fingers together intimately.

“I would be more than happy to give you a private show on our day together,” he said
, his voice full of
suggestive
overtones
. 

I closed my eyes
no longer able to look at the promise of sensual delights in his gaze
and whispered, “Stop.”

“But do you really want me to
?
”
H
e press
ed
his body in closer to mine.

“I need you to,
”
I si
ghed
, opening my eyes and looking into his handsome face.  His jet black hair fell like a curtain shielding us from
those around us.  H
e bent his head
down
even
closer to mine.

“Why deny yourself the pleasure you know I could give you,
dearest
?  You know how much I care for you.  I would make it a moment you would never forget.  Even you can’t deny you have feelings for me.”

“Malcolm, please,” I begged.

“Lilly,” he murmured
,
saying my name
as he placed a
gentle
finger under my chin to tilt
my face
up, forcing me to look at the desire he held in his eyes for me.

He made to lower his lips to mine.

I stepped away trembling.  I stared at him for
the
space of a second and quickly turned
my back to him no longer able to
stand looking at the
desperate longing
in his eyes
.

When I got back to the table
,
I told
Tara
I needed to go to the bathroom.  As is the unspoken rule among females,
Tara
stood to join me.  Once we reached the bathroom, I pulled her into the same stall as me.

“What’s going on?”
Tara
asked.  “Are you sick?”

“
Tara
, I almost let Malcolm kiss me,” I confessed
, feeling
as though I
might faint
.

“When?”

“Just now.” I went on to explain the scene.

“That man will not give up,”
Tara
said
,
shaking her head.  “Listen, you’re only human Lilly Rayne Nightengale. 
Hell
,
I’m not sure I wouldn’t drag that man to my bed after the show he put on
in front of you
.  And I know you love him in your way for your own reasons.  But
girl, you
’
r
e
in
love
with
Brand.  Of that
I have no doubt in my mind
or I wouldn’t let you marry the man
.”

“But why did I almost let it happen?”

“I can’t answer that for you,”
Tara
said.  “But don’t start doubting
your love for Brand.  He’s the right man for you.  Malcolm’s just a hormonal accident waiting to happen.
My advi
c
e is to stay as far away from
that man
as you can
for a
day or two.
”

“But
what if I’m not able to do that?
  The night of the Halloween dance I promised him I would spend one day alone with him before I married Brand.”

“What the
h
ell
for?”
Tara
almost shouted.

“I accused him of something he didn’t do and he said
if I spent a day with him before I was married he would forgive me
for it
.”

“Can’t you get out of it?”

“I promised him,
Tara
.”

“And you don’t break a promise,”
Tara
sighed, knowing me all too well.
 
“Well girl, the only
other
advi
c
e I can give you is take a cold shower before you go off with him because he’s not going to
make things easy for you
.
  I can tell you that right now.
Now that he knows he can have an effect on you, he won’t give up so easily next time.”

“Next time?” I asked in alarm.

“Girl, you know there’ll be a next time.
That’s just a fact of life.
You just need to figure out
what you’re going to do
when it happens
.”

Soon after I was instructed to phase us back to
Tara
’s house.  When we reached it, Will and Malik were just stepping out of the front door with what appeared to be empty cardboard boxes in their hands.

“Are y’all done?”
Tara
said, walking up to Malik and giving him a kiss on the cheek
so naturally it almost didn’t register in my mind
.  It w
as the first time I ever saw her do such a thin
g
with him
.

“Everything is as you instructed,” Malik said, beaming down at her
like she was the most important person in the world
.

When we brought
Tara
home to recover from her injuries, Malik had been instrumental in her care. 
Since he was a fairy, h
is knowledge of herbal remedies helped her heal faster than she would have naturally.  He even found a poultice which would diminish the scar from her wound to almost
be
unnoticeable
in time
.  But
,
I would always see it.  I would never be able to forget how close I came to losing my best friend.

“Don’t blame me for the decorations,” Will said to me
,
seeming to want complete absolution for the decor
.  “I just did what I was told.”

“See you later?” I heard
Tara
say to Malik.

“Just call me when you’re done and I’ll be right over,” he answered
before giving her a chaste kiss on the lips.

I raised an eyebrow at the pair not realizing their relationship had progressed so far
in such a short amount of time
.

When Malik saw me staring at them, he said, “I promise Lilly.  She made the first move
,
not me.”

Tara
slapped Malik playfully on the
arm
.  “
W
hy did you have to go and tell her that
?
  Now I can’t pretend it was all your idea.”

“Because I made a promise to Lilly that you would have to make the first move,” Malik said, putting the box in his hands down and bringing
a
playfully reluctant
Tara
into his arms.  “And I always keep my promises.”

“Well
,
I’ll forgive you this time,”
Tara
put her arms around Malik’s neck.  “But just remember who butters your bread.”

“I didn’t need to hear that,” I said.

Tara
giggled before giving Malik a full on kiss in front of God and everyone standing around her.  It was one of the few times I’d seen
Tara
so
unabashedly
happy.

While
Tara
was otherwise engaged, I walked over to Will as he was putting his cardboard box in the trunk of his car.

“So,
do you
have an answer for me yet?” I asked him.  “
The w
edding
i
s only a week away.”

Will looked up at me.  “I don’t think I can give you away at the wedding, Lilly.  I want to make you happy but that’s the only reason I would be doing it.”

“I wish you
w
ould be happy for me.”

Will sighed.  “I wish I could to
o
,” he said, closing the lid of the trunk and leaning back against it.  “But, I still think it should be me and you getting married
, not you and Brand
.”

“Will…” I began to protest before he held up a hand as if asking me to hear him out.

“It’s not just because I’ve known you pretty much all your life,” Will said.  “But the fact is I could provide you with a more normal life than Brand can.  I can grow old with you.  I could give you children.”

“What do you mean? 
I thought you said your kind couldn’t have children with humans
?”

“Lillith was able to give birth to children from my kind.  If you’re her
descendent
, then that means you should be able to
also
.  Don’t you see how much more sense it makes if you and I are together?  You loved me once not that long ago, Lilly.  I think you could learn to love me like that again if you gave us
half
a chance.  I would treasure you just as much as Brand.  Better probably because I know all of you.”

“What is it with you and Malcolm today
?
” I muttered.

“Malcolm just wants to get in your pants,” Will s
tated
hotly
.  “I want to see you have a full
,
happy life. 
Our motives are
completely different.”