Pisces: Book 1 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series) (7 page)

Chapter Eight

The book made no sense at all. It didn’t speak of true love and happily ever after. It spoke of opening and surrendering. I had no idea what that meant. I threw it across the grass and blinked to clear my vision. The sun had set and the sky had turned navy. The cold air suddenly filtered through the blanket I was wrapped in. My whole body shivered and I hadn’t even noticed.

‘Dinner time, love,’ Bev announced through the kitchen window.

The swing moved as I got up and retrieved the book. I was being stupid when it came to Antony but I couldn’t help it. My ego was easily bruised and his careless words had hit home.

‘Did Father find the person that shot Antony?’ I asked as I came into the dining room.

Derek and Bev were waiting to eat so I sat quickly.

‘No, he got away,’ Derek replied, digging into his roast beef.

‘Why was he trying to kill us?’

Bev hit Derek on the arm with her spoon. He looked down at his plate and carried on eating.

‘It’s best that we’re left out of the men’s world. What’s important now is that Antony recovers. We don’t want him getting an infection, so after dinner, you will spend the night in your room with him to make sure he doesn’t get a fever.’

My eyes must have popped out of my head. I hadn’t considered that Antony would stay in my room, or that I would have to be in there with him.

‘Have you got something I can sleep on?’ Arguing would be useless.

Bev smiled and nodded. ‘It’s already done, dear.’

The sigh that escaped me didn’t go unnoticed. I was nervous about spending the night in the room with a man that—

‘How are you getting on with the book?’ Bev asked.

‘What book?’ Derek interrupted before shoving a Yorkshire pudding into his mouth.

Bev looked at me. I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. She shrugged as Derek turned back to his food, interest in the book quickly forgotten.

‘I’m not that far into it yet. I’ve read a few chapters but…’

The small woman smiled when my sentence trailed off. ‘It will all become clear soon.’

‘What if it doesn’t?’ I blurted, allowing my fear to show.

Bev reached forward and put her hand on mine. ‘It will.’

It fell silent as I tried to finish my food. I usually loved roast dinners but the day’s events had thrown my appetite out the window.

‘Go to him,’ Bev said.

Thanking her, I left them to it. As I walked up the stairs, I heard Derek speak. ‘What the hell are you lot on about?’

My head was buzzing as I entered my bedroom.

‘I’ve been waiting for you,’ Antony said.

I didn’t respond at first. Instead, I put my book away and turned to him once the drawer was closed. ‘Are you feeling okay?’

‘Where’s the warm, fun Pisces gone?’ He gestured for me to go to him.

‘She only comes out on special occasions,’ I snapped, grabbing my pyjamas and escaping to the bathroom.

I stared at myself in the mirror. My brown eyes were extra dark. I wondered what depths lay beneath them. I didn’t know how far down the soul was. It felt like Antony was trying to push his way inside and I didn’t like it. My skin was pretty smooth, until I looked up close. When you focus on things, they seem to conjure up all sorts of problems. My eyebrows were naturally bushy. Cancer plucked them for me. I never had the patience.

Looking down at my hands, I studied my dainty fingers. If only my hips were as small as my extremities.

‘Is someone in there?’ Derek shouted from outside.

Being harassed when I was in the bathroom was something I was used to. I put my hair into a ponytail and went back to my bedroom.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with your hair up,’ Antony said.

Going to his bedside, I picked up his pills and helped him to take them. He was able to hold the glass of water to swallow them down. I tried not to make eye contact but he stared at me as I took the glass back.

‘Are you seriously going to sleep down there?’ he asked as I turned to my makeshift bed.

I didn’t answer him as I eyed the jumble of blankets that were thrown on the floor.

‘There’s plenty of room on the bed,’ he said quietly.

My back was turned to him. I glanced over my shoulder.

‘You are kidding?’ I laughed as I shook out the first blanket and laid it on the floor.

‘What have I done to upset you?’

Making my bed kept me distracted as heat travelled over my skin. A flashback of the day he had almost kissed me on the train came into my mind. The feel of his arms around my body in the lake shot through me and I vigorously shook the blanket.

‘Nothing,’ I said eventually as I lay on the floor and faced away from him.

‘Fine. When you come out of your sulk, let me know.’

The muscles in my back tightened. I fought the urge to get up and stamp out of the room. I had no idea why he affected me so much.

There was only one thought in my brain as I tried to force myself to sleep. It was time I made the effort to get out so I could meet my twin flame and forget about Antony.

*

The sound of glass shattering jolted me awake. I scrambled up and tried to look around. It was pitch black. Rustling bed covers alerted me that Antony was awake.

‘Are you okay?’ I whispered.

‘I knocked the glass over trying to get a drink. I’m cold.’ His teeth chattered.

It would be just my luck that he had a fever. How was it even possible in this day and age? Of all the lifetimes I had lived, I was sure that this was the best one for medicine. I blinked as the thought flashed through my mind. It had been a while since I had thought about my past lives.

‘I’m going to turn on the light.’ I tried to feel my way to the lamp on the dressing table.

Somehow I made it without bumping into anything. When light flooded the room, my eyes traced the glass on the floor. A big chunk was next to where my head had been. I stepped around it and went to the other side of the bed. Antony watched me but his eyes were glazed.

‘Shall I ring for an ambulance?’ I whispered.

He shook his head. ‘No, there’ll be too many questions. Just do what the doctor said.’

I touched his forehead, and although it felt hot, he still shivered.

‘He said to look out for a fever. He didn’t say what to do if you had one.’ I knelt on the bed next to him.

‘Just hold me. Use your body heat to warm me,’ he whispered.

I hesitated. I had never been that close to a man before and the thought of it scared me.

‘Do you want to help me…or not?’ His teeth chattered.

Sliding under the cover, I wrapped my arm around his waist. He lifted his good arm and I nestled into the crook of his shoulder, resting my head on his bare chest. His heartbeat vibrated against my cheek.

‘That’s better.’ He sighed as my body heat started to sink into him.

His skin was hot against mine. I was glad he felt warmer. I swallowed, trying to stay completely still. It didn’t take long for his breathing to become shallow. How was I now in bed with Antony? I needed to find my twin flame, and there I was, cuddling up to an ordinary man that worked for my father.

Finding sleep was hard. I drifted in and out of consciousness for hours. Being so close to someone I hardly knew, didn’t help me rest easily.

The feel of his breath on my cheek made my eyes flicker open. His head was turned towards me, his face inches from my forehead. I should’ve stayed completely still but in my grogginess I tilted my head back to look into his face.

He was much closer than I realised and his eyes were open. My arm tightened around him without my consent. The light from around the curtain told me it was morning. Our breath mingled together. We were so close. He brought his head forward slightly and our lips met. The caress sent tingles flying over my body. A rush of air pulled through his nose and into his lungs as he held me against his side. The kiss deepened and he licked my lips, requesting me to open my mouth. In my sleepiness, I couldn’t deny him. He couldn’t hold my head with his good arm but he didn’t need to. I opened to him and his tongue touched mine. I gasped at the unfamiliar caress but didn’t pull away.

Tracing my hand up his chest, I cupped his jaw. He squeezed me against him and kissed me hard. My head was bent back. Our breath grew heavy and after a moment, he let go.

‘Sorry.’ He panted.

My senses reeled. My body hummed with a vibration that I had never felt before. He set me alight. I was relieved that he had pulled away. I wasn’t sure if I could have resisted if he had chosen to take things further.

‘It’s okay,’ I replied, going to move away.

He held me tight. I couldn’t move. I nestled into his neck. My nose brushed against his skin and the smell of him made my heart beat even faster.

‘I…’

He couldn’t speak and I didn’t want to say anything. The kiss had blown me away but it shouldn’t have happened. He was my bodyguard. We weren’t supposed to be in bed together. The thought didn’t worry me enough to move. I felt comfortable and cosy lying with him.

‘Don’t speak,’ I whispered.

‘But there’s something I have to tell you.’

My muscles froze. His words sent shock through me. I knew it was bad. The way my stomach clenched told me that whatever it was, it was going to sting.

‘I can’t be your soulmate.’

The words confused me. I had been convinced that he would say that he had a girlfriend, or something. I pulled away and looked into his eyes. He winced as the movement hurt his wounded shoulder. He looked a lot better with only a light sheen of sweat covering his forehead.

‘I didn’t think you could,’ I said.

He wasn’t my soulmate. There was supposed to be an amazing feeling of butterflies and an instant recognition when we first met. I didn’t have that with Antony.

‘That’s good, then. I promise this won’t happen again. We’ll start to look for your soulmate today.’

I was still, not sure whether to get out of bed, or stay where I was. It surprised me how much his words stung. He had just kissed me and now he pushed me away.

‘Yes, I better get started,’ I replied.

He pulled me down so that we were face to face. ‘I would really like to be friends, Pisces. Let’s forget this ever happened.’

Forcing a smile, I climbed out of bed. I wasn’t going to show him that my heart burnt at his words. Was I that insignificant? Did he just take advantage because I was a woman in bed with him? As I picked up my things, I vowed to never let a man do that to me again. It felt like crap and I had to bite my lip. It betrayed me as it started to tremble.

‘The doctor will be here soon. I’ll send Derek in to see if you’re well enough to get up.’

I left without looking back at the bed. I didn’t want him to know how hurt I was by his rejection. It was ridiculous really. I needed to find my soulmate, not waste time with Antony. It was time to distract myself from my bodyguard by going back to London to start my search.

Chapter Nine

The music thumped through me as I swayed my hips in time to the beat. I had only been to the clubs in London a few times. I figured I had to start somewhere. Father had agreed that I didn’t need Antony to protect me whenever I was with my brothers so I had left him at the house.

‘Here’s your boring drink,’ Leo shouted as he handed me a bottle of water.

‘You know I don’t like alcohol,’ I replied, punching him on the arm when he stuck out his tongue.

Cancer was on the dance floor. She grinded against a stranger. His hands were all over her and I wondered how she could stand it.

‘I got Cancer another wine,’ Leo shouted in my ear.

I jumped back as the over loud sound hit a nerve. Cancer was drunk. That was why she let men touch her. She had guzzled at least four glasses of wine. Aries joined us. He had a grin on his face and lipstick on his mouth. He laughed as I shook my head at him.

‘You pulled already, mate?’ Leo pointed to his own lips.

Misinterpreting him, Aries leant in and pretended to give him a kiss. Laughter escaped me as Leo shoved Aries away, causing him to bump into a short girl. Aries apologised as he looked down at her. She melted under his gaze. Reaching up, she wiped the lipstick away from his mouth and pulled his head down for a kiss.

‘How does he do it?’

I couldn’t answer Leo. I really didn’t know. Leo had his fair share of women so I didn’t know what he was worried about. He was antsy and I suddenly realised why. He tapped his foot on the floor and looked around.

‘Leo…go dance!’

He glanced at me and then back to the dance floor. He was so lovely. He didn’t want to leave me on my own but his dancing shoes called him. He was useless at dancing but he loved to get lost in it.

‘Go on! Scorpio will be back in a minute,’ I called.

He nodded once and plunged into the crowd. The air around me was too hot. I turned to go to the bathroom. As I pushed through the heaving bodies someone bumped into me and I tumbled to the floor.

‘I’m so sorry,’ a voice shouted as arms reached around me and hoisted me up.

I came face to face with a pair of green eyes. His hair was dark and styled into a French crop. He wore a suit, which was odd.

‘I’ve come straight from work,’ he shouted, obviously noting the way I looked at his clothes.

His gaze travelled down me. I glanced down at my long bare legs. The dress I wore was Cancer’s. She was shorter than me so the dress looked elegant on her. On me, it looked short. Very short. The black lace over the top half of the dress had made me feel bare at first, but the longer I wore it, the more comfortable I felt. Until now.

‘Nice dress,’ he said, grinning at me.

My heart triple jumped and I gripped my water bottle.

‘Do you want to dance?’

We were idle in the middle of the dance floor. Others dancers were gyrating to a sexy song I didn’t recognise. I rarely listened to the radio, or kept up with the trends. I loved to dance but didn’t usually have the confidence to let loose.

‘Yes!’ I shouted.

He took my hand and tugged me deeper into the throng of people. He started to sway his body. I was surprised that he could dance well. He grabbed my hips as I moved them. I couldn’t help but let the music overtake my muscles. He pulled me against him, putting a thigh between my legs as our hips moved in rhythm together. My eyes closed briefly at the heady contact between us.

When I opened them, I looked straight into eyes. He wasn’t much taller than me but his gaze was intense. We didn’t speak. There was no need for words. Our bodies were dancing the talk for us.

‘What’s your name?’

Smiling, I debated whether to tell him. The amount of people that found my name odd, made me not want to ruin the moment.

‘Pisces.’

His eyebrows rose but he smiled. ‘I’m a Pisces.’

I almost stilled. His hands on my hips kept me swaying. He pulled me closer. I felt the warmth of his breath on my face. Was he going to kiss me? I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to.

‘Pisces!’ someone shouted.

Pulling away from my partner slightly, I turned to see Scorpio close by. Was he going to interrupt my first ever dance with a handsome man?

‘We’ve got to go,’ he shouted when I made eye contact with him.

I shook my head as my dance partner tightened his grip on me. Scorpio towered above us as he drew level. He wore a tight T-shirt that emphasized his strength.

‘Do you know him?’ my dance partner shouted.

Nodding, I stepped out of his embrace. I wasn’t sure why I moved away from him. I just knew something was about to happen. The gunshot was drowned out by the music. No one else noticed but it had only been a week since I had last heard the sound. The crowd didn’t realise that there was a gunman in the club.

‘We have to go,’ Scorpio shouted again.

My new friend held my hand. The music cut off suddenly and the DJ told everyone to evacuate.

‘Is everything okay?’ the man asked.

I nodded and squeezed his hand. Another gunshot sounded nearby. Everyone heard that one. Screams rang out as people started to run for the doors.

‘What’s going on?’ I turned to Scorpio.

He eyed my friend and saw that our hands were joined. His throat moved. I looked down to where my fingers were being held. It had felt amazing to be in his arms. And now there was trouble.

‘Pisces, get out of here,’ Aries called.

He came into view as the crowd thinned. To my horror, he was wrestling with a man that had a black mask over his face. My new man steered us out of the crowd. Scorpio followed closely behind.

‘Your friends are…’ His sentence trailed off when Scorpio caught his eye.

I watched him as we made our way outside. People pushed but he managed to find a way through. A part of me wanted to stay and make sure that Aries was okay. Had he been attacked? Was anyone shot?

‘We’re her brothers.’ Scorpio growled behind us.

‘That explains it,’ the man said, pushing open an emergency door.

We fell onto the street. Scorpio ripped my hand away from the stranger as soon as we came to a stop.

‘What are you doing?’ I exclaimed.

‘Mate, if she’s taken, you should’ve said inside.’

What the bloody hell did Scorpio think he was doing? He wouldn’t get away with ruining my evening. The man could be my twin flame.

‘She’s not taken but I’m very protective of my sister.’

My new man’s green eyes were no match for Scorpio’s intense gaze. Scorpio stared until he backed down. Lifting his hands in surrender, my man started to back away.

‘You’re nice but I only wanted to dance,’ he said as he spun and jogged away.

How could Scorpio do that to me? My dance partner was the first man that had taken an interest and Scorpio had scared him away.

‘Why did you do that?’

In general I wasn’t a violent person but an urge to kill him overtook me. He grabbed my arm as I went to hit out. He shook his hair from his eyes and looked down at me. ‘If he’s the one, Pisces, he’ll find you.’

I gritted my teeth but the hot bubbling energy drained from me. He was right. If we were meant to be together, the universe would make sure we came into contact again.

‘I still can’t believe you did that,’ I muttered, turning as Aries and Leo fell out of the door behind us.

‘We need to go.’ Aries puffed, grabbing my arm.

Sirens sounded nearby so we made a run for it. Father had said that the Dysfunctionals would try to stop me from being with my twin flame. I really hoped the shooting wasn’t because of me. The thought of more gunfire heading my way whenever I was with my possible twin flame made me sick to the stomach. I never imagined falling in love could be so dangerous.

‘I can’t keep up, wait up!’ I shouted as the others ran ahead.

They couldn’t hear me. It sounded like the police were nearby but I couldn’t be sure. There was no way I was able to catch up to them. They had forgotten I was even there. Their adrenaline had taken over. I watched as they rushed on ahead.

‘There you are!’

The shout made me yelp.

A man in a black mask came out of the shadows. I backed towards the railing and stopped when I bumped against it. At least we were near the river. I didn’t want to swim in the Thames after dark but it looked like I didn’t have a choice.

‘What do you want?’ I squeaked.

He approached me slowly, each step measured. ‘We can’t allow you to be with your soulmate,’ he said, his voice muffled by the material over his mouth.

‘Why not…?’ It was a stupid question but I was intrigued.

‘Because if you succeed, we’ll no longer have a purpose. Some of us like the violence and greed in the world. Makes life much more interesting, don’t you think? Poor Pisces. So clueless about what’s actually going on. All of you are.’

His words found their way into my soul. I had been around a few times. Something about the man’s energy was familiar.

‘You don’t remember me, do you?’ he asked when I refused to answer.

He was powerful, whoever he was. I could feel his dark energy from across the street. With my back against the railing, I started to slide away from him. I didn’t want him to get too close. There had to be enough time to jump when I needed to.

‘No, I don’t,’ I replied.

I gulped suddenly as a flashback entered my mind. A man with grey eyes towered over me. We had met in a past life somewhere. He had stopped me from being with my twin flame then.

‘There’s always been this back and forth between us, Pisces. I’m the head of the team that takes care of you and your siblings every lifetime.’

He edged closer. I moved further away.

‘Why is it so important to you that we don’t complete our mission?’

He took off his mask. His jaw was strong, and his grey eyes were hypnotic, even in the dark.

‘This is my planet. It’s fun when humans feel crap about themselves. It’s much more entertaining to watch them destroy who they are.’

A part of me wanted to keep talking to him. He could tell me more about why we were there. Our life purpose had a lot to do with the man but I knew nothing about it.

‘It’s entertaining to watch people fall in love, isn’t it? Feels good,’ I crowed.

He grinned and stopped pursuing me. I countered him by stepping forward. His eyes narrowed. A distant part of myself was annoyed that the boys hadn’t come back for me. But they knew I could handle myself. I didn’t want them to get hurt. It was best they stayed away.

‘Ah, but that’s the thing. In this world, fear is what rules people and I want to keep it that way.’

Other masked men started to come out from the alleys nearby. It was time to finish the chat.

‘Well, good luck with that,’ I said, stepping forward, spinning and vaulting over the railing.

Someone fired a gun. The air beside my ear whistled as I hurtled towards the surface of the river. I prayed that the tide was high enough for the water to catch me. When my bare legs sunk into the river, my breath was taken away. I allowed the water to swallow me, not fighting the descent into the murky darkness. There was a shout above but I didn’t panic. I allowed my lungs to fill with water and blew it out again.

When I was low enough, I started to swim downstream. I couldn’t believe I was in the River Thames again. The amount of times I had swum in the capital’s river was beyond counting. I hoped I wouldn’t hit any debris. There were all sorts of things in the grimy river and at night, visibility was impossible. There was a ringing in my ear as I moved with the flow, allowing myself to float along.

After a few minutes, I came up to the surface to see where I was. The London eye was right next to me. I climbed out and sat by the big attraction. It was the middle of the night but it was London. I worried that someone would see me wringing wet in a short dress. As the adrenaline in my body wore off, I started to shiver uncontrollably. I had left my bag at the club so I didn’t even have my phone to ring the boys.

‘Are you okay?’

The voice sent a shot of relief through me. I turned with a huge smile on my face, knowing who had come to rescue me. The smile froze when my gaze landed on the joined hands of Antony and a pretty girl. She was petite and dainty, unlike me.

‘Pisces…! I didn’t realise it was you,’ Antony said, letting go of the girl and taking off his coat.

‘What are you doing here?’

He just happened to be at the London Eye when I climbed out of the river? Was the universe seriously helping me by sending Antony? Why couldn’t it be one of my brothers? It wouldn’t bother me if I had seen one of them on a date. Not that I cared if Antony was on a date either.

‘You know this crazy lady?’ the woman asked him.

I laughed. The bark came out of me. They both frowned. Antony pulled me up as he wrapped his coat around me. ‘Let’s get you home.’

‘Shouldn’t you ring the police, Ant? She’s just tried to commit suicide.’