Tribes of Man: The Beginning [Tribes of Man] (Siren Publishing Classic) (3 page)

Gideon shook his head at his wayward thoughts. She wouldn’t ever see his closet. She couldn’t see anything. That was the point. He briefly thought about the way her head seemed to follow the spray of the water then just shrugged it off as coincidence.

When he returned with the towel, he gave it to Bryce rather than putting the cloth on her head himself.

Bryce laid it over her forehead and talked softly to her. Gideon was just about to call for an ambulance when Raina’s eyelids began to flutter.

* * * *

Awareness came to Raina in layers. She was acutely aware of lying on her couch, but the cloth and Bryce’s touch took a few extra moments. Her head ached and her eyes burned. When she opened them, she was greeted with the same darkness she had seen for the past ninety-eight days. The only respite she had from the unrelenting darkness was the vivid and disturbing dreams that sometimes happened when she was awake. Today, however, she had seen more than just fantasies. Today she had seen her living room. The colors were muted and the light was off somehow, but she’d still seen it. Strangely, she had seen the side of the room her back was to. She’d seen herself as Gideon had seen her.

“Gideon?” she asked.

The man stroking her hair stiffened perceptibly. “No, it’s Bryce,” he said gently.

“I know,” she said. “I recognize your touch. I mean is Gideon still here?”

The two men had opposite reactions to her words. Bryce was pleased, as well as a little surprised, that she knew the feel of his hands. Gideon was not. He knew he had to face the realization that Bryce and Raina were, or had been, lovers.

“I’m here.”

“Did you see it? Or was it just me?” she asked.

He didn’t seem to even need to ask what she meant. “I saw it, too.” He took a deep breath. “Can you see now?”

“No.” She wasn’t forlorn, just thoughtful.

“Maybe your sight is coming back,” Bryce offered hopefully. He wasn’t quite sure what they were talking about it, but he gathered that she had a flash of sight and it scared her. He couldn’t imagine what Gideon had to do with it.

Raina hesitated a long moment before speaking again. “I did see something in the water.”

Bryce jerked. “The water I spilled?” At her nod he continued, “You could see it?”

“No,” she said. “But I could see something in it.” She pushed Bryce aside and stood shakily to her feet. She turned in the direction she had last heard Gideon’s voice. She said, “Something’s coming. Something evil. I think you feel it, too.”

A heavy blanket of silence fell for a moment. “I don’t know about evil, but I know something big is going on here.” Gideon wasn’t a fanciful man, and it took one to immediately buy into the idea of evil. He’d seen evil, but it always wore the mask of humanity. This time he couldn’t see the evil in the eyes of a perpetrator, but rather he felt it coming like the heavy moment before a thunderstorm.

Raina took a step toward him. “Can we try it again?”

“Try what again?” Bryce asked.

Gideon took an instinctive step back.

“Please,” she said softly when Gideon didn’t answer.

“Try what again?” Bryce repeated.

“She had a flash of sight before when I took her hand. I don’t think it was anything I did.” Gideon wasn’t ready to admit that he may have been responsible for her vision. “Sit on the couch, I’ll come to you.”

Raina sat back down. Bryce sat immediately next to her. Gideon took up his seat on the coffee table and took her hands. He knew immediately that Raina couldn’t see. However, neither of them could claim that nothing happened.

Gideon felt a rush of tender desire like he’d never experienced before.
What the hell is going on?
he thought.

Raina’s voice answered in his head
, I don’t know, but it’s amazing.

This time Gideon jerked his hands away and stood.

“What happened?” Bryce asked.

“Nothing,” Gideon answered quickly. Raina just sighed again.

“What do we do from here?” Raina’s question broke the silence.

Gideon felt deep down that she was in extreme danger. There was something going on, something he couldn’t really explain, but she needed protection. All of his primitive instincts were screaming at him to stay with her. To claim and protect. Asking Bryce to stay with her when he was unsure if they were lovers was very difficult, but he refused to give in to the urge to stay. He tried to tamp down on his unreasonable jealousy when he asked Bryce to stay the night.

“I can stay. I don’t mind,” Bryce answered eagerly.

“I have an extra room. I would feel better if someone stayed.” Raina was making it clear that Bryce would not be sharing her bed. Gideon wondered if she was informing him of it or Bryce.

“Why don’t you go to your apartment and get what you need for a day or two. I’ll stay with Raina until you get back.”

Bryce jumped eagerly to his feet. “Sounds good. I’ll be back in a half hour.” He left through the front door, shutting off the alarm then turning it back on once he was through. It reminded Gideon of a question he had forgotten to ask.

“About your security,” he began, “how many people have your security code?”

“Only Michelle and I had it when the attack happened. Since she died, I gave it to Bryce. And, of course, the security company and the cleaning company.” She hadn’t moved off the couch since their odd connection.

“How does it work?” Gideon was looking around the room for cameras.

“If a door or window is open when the alarm is set, it goes off. You have five seconds after opening something to shut the alarm off before a piercing wail goes up. There are also motion cameras on the outside of the house. A few times they’ve turned on and taped, but there was nothing on the disk when the security company reviewed them. They just assumed it was a cat or something that set it off.” Raina paused in her recital to take a calming breath. “There are three keypads, one by the front door, one by the back, and one in the upstairs hallway.”

“It’s excellent security. I saw in the file that you’ve always had electronic security. When did you first get it?”

“Actually my parents always had it. They insisted I use it all the time. It became a habit after that. I’m a nut about security since the break-in.”

“I bet.” Gideon took a few final notes on the pad then got up to wander around the room.

After a few minutes of silence, Raina said, “Do you know what’s happening between us, Gideon?”

“No, I don’t.” His tone was implacable.

“Can you come here and touch me again?” Her voice was soft, and Gideon felt the almost overwhelming need to gather her up in his arms, to use his hands and his mouth on her.

It was a combination of tenderness and lust that made him edgy and rough. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Why?” She sounded husky when she got up from the couch and walked directly toward him. Gideon was once again amazed at her ability to find him in a room without being able to see him.

She reached for his hand. “Touch me, Gideon. I need you to.”

He put his hand in hers, and she pulled it to lay it on the skin exposed by the V of her shirt. Gideon saw the colors sharpen again like it did the first time. He felt her heart beat faster.

“Yes!” she cried out as though in ecstasy. She moved her head to look around, and the scene didn’t change. She looked back at him.
Turn your head
. She instructed silently.

He turned and looked at the door.
Like that?

Yes
. She could see the door. The light was dim, but she could make everything out.
I can see it
.

Gideon could feel her joy, and his heart leapt. He’d never wanted to kiss someone more in his life. He had a sudden image of pushing his fingers into her soft hair and plundering her mouth. That thought led to the image of him plunging deep into her body.

Yes, kiss me now,
she answered his desire.

He could no more resist her than the sea could resist the pull of the moon. He leaned down and closed his eyes a moment before their lips touched. She moaned in the loss of the view, but the moan changed to one of passion when his lips touched hers. He pulled her onto her toes to align their bodies.

My God, you feel like heaven. I want you so badly.
He wanted to pull her to the floor and take her.

Yes. Take me here, now!
She ran her hands up his body until they were cupping his face. Her body jerked when she felt the scars.
The pain!

As soon as Raina cried out, Gideon got the image of the explosion in his mind and pushed her away abruptly.

They were both breathing in heavy, gasping breaths. Raina was crying. “You were burned in an explosion,” she said. “How bad was it?” She reached for him. He moved away.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine now. It’s good that you can’t see me, I’m a bit scarred up now.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Not a pretty sight.”

“The pain was enormous. You still suffer.” She was still crying silently.

“Save your tears. I’m alive when three other members of my team aren’t.” He was harsh in reaction to the riot of emotions he felt. Pain, lust, rage, guilt, embarrassment, and even tenderness swirled in him like a maelstrom.

She wiped her face. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known the warehouse was going to blow up. You couldn’t ignore a tip like that, and you know it.”

“I should have gone in first. I was the team leader,” he argued.

“Then you’d be dead.” She shuddered.

He didn’t question how she knew the details of the explosion. It just seemed right that she did, as though the memory of the scars transferred to her.

When he didn’t answer, she sensed that he was not going to be open to talking anymore. “I’m going to bed,” Raina said. “Have Bryce give you the code to the alarm so you can come and go.”

She walked toward the stairs. One foot on the bottom stair, she turned again. “When will I see you again?”

“I’m going to see if I can talk to my friend in the morning. If I can, I’ll be here by afternoon.”

She just nodded and dragged herself up the stairs. She looked so defeated he wanted to go hold her. He turned his back on temptation.

* * * *

Raina had a ritual when she got ready for bed. Not being able to see didn’t change it. Just before going to sleep, she sat in the lotus position on the plush carpet. She then closed her eyes and took several long deep breaths while imagining a white wall. She’d been in the habit of meditating before bed since she was plagued with nightmares as a little girl. It was rare for anything to interfere with it. That night, however, she couldn’t concentrate on her white wall. She heard the front door twice, once, she imagined, for Bryce to get back, and once for Gideon to leave. She let out a long sigh when she thought of Gideon.

She was amazed at the connection between them. When she touched him, she could literally feel him in her head. It was more than just being able to hear his thoughts. It was as though they shared a mind. Even now, not touching in any way, she had a sense of him. She couldn’t say exactly where he was or what he was doing, but she could tell that he was as confused as she.

Giving up on the meditation, she lay down and closed her eyes. She didn’t expect to fall asleep, but did so immediately.

Hours later, she dreamed about looking into a bowl of water, a candle illuminating it, and seeing a flower, a bird, and a cup.
You must find them.
Suddenly she saw a face looming over the bowl. He had sharp, almost brutally handsome features. His hair was platinum blond and his eyes an ice blue. Then he smiled. His grin grew to reveal long canines dripping with blood, his face bathed in it. He picked up the bowl and threw it against the wall. The crash of the bowl sounded like a scream. Raina was once again plunged into darkness. She woke up gasping.

She knew immediately that she wasn’t alone in the room.

“Who’s there?” Her voice quivered. “Who’s there?” she demanded again with more authority.

A voice came through the darkness. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

Raina scrambled out of bed and moved to press her back against the dresser. “Who are you?”

“I’m a friend. I was just checking on you. I don’t want you to worry. Nothing’s going to hurt you.” His husky voice was low and intense.

Raina knew one thing. It was absurd, but it was true. “You’re not human.”

She sensed that she’d surprised him. “No,” he said. “I’m not.”

Raina heard footsteps in the hall. So did the stranger. “I have to go. He’s not part of this.”

“Wait!” Raina whispered. But it was too late. He was gone.

“Raina,” Bryce’s voice came from outside the door. “Are you OK? I thought I heard something.”

“I’m fine.” Raina didn’t sound fine. She didn’t feel fine either.

“Can I come in?” Raina heard the door open before she could answer.

“Come in,” she said. She sat down shakily on the side of the bed. After a moment, she felt the mattress shift as he sat next to her.

“Did you have a bad dream?” he asked.

Raina could feel the heat from Bryce’s bare leg next to hers. It made her uncomfortable. She stood and turned to face him. She couldn’t see it, but she could
feel
his frown.

“I had a dream, and when I woke up, I thought someone was in the room. There’s not though.” She didn’t know exactly why she was lying. The man had said that Bryce wasn’t part of this, and if that was true, she didn’t want to involve him. Of course she didn’t know what
this
was to know if Bryce was a part of it or not.

Bryce pulled Raina into a hug. He had only a pair of shorts on. She tightened her grip for a second then stood up and moved away. He also stood and put his hands on her shoulders. “Raina,” he began.

“I’m fine. Thanks for checking on me.” She didn’t want him to say anything. She had known for awhile that he was interested in her, but she had never considered him more than a friend.