The Zeuorian Awakening Read online

  “Sorry. I forgot.” Angie lowered her head and stared at the cement. “It would be easier if I could discuss your secret in front of Tyler since he’s always around you, watching you,” she said, hinting Lexi should tell Tyler the truth since he had to be her Watcher.

  Lexi rolled her eyes. “I already told you, I don’t think he’s my Watcher.”

  No way could he be her Watcher after he kissed her and made her lose control. Her Watcher would never place her in jeopardy of exposing herself to the other half-breeds looking for her.

  Angie shook her head, “Have you ever thought that he could be your Watcher, but kissed you to keep Everett away from you so you won’t expose yourself to him.”

  “Or he wanted to get me alone to make out with me.”

  However, Lexi hated to admit a very small part of her questioned if there had been more behind Tyler’s kiss other than trying to keep Everett from dating her like he was trying to protect her. That would explain why Tyler went out of his way to personally protect her after the school caught on fire instead of letting Everett.

  “Fine, you win,” Lexi said. “But I’m questioning him at the beach and you’re coming with me so he has no excuse to touch me, if my first impression of him is correct.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to stay at home? If he does end up being your Watcher, he would make a perfect boyfriend.” Angie was in full matchmaker mode. “Then you wouldn’t have to worry about hiding your abilities from him. He would help you stay hidden from the others and I bet he’s a great kisser.”

  Lexi let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m not going to chance making another catastrophe happen.” She walked over to Tyler and said, “I changed my mind. I’m going to the beach party. Wait here while I put on something warm to wear and then we can all go together.”

  She ran upstairs before Angie took another opportunity to push her to spend the night alone with Tyler. Then she threw on her jeans, thermal top and mother’s hoodie. She was ready to handle freezing weather and crush any possible excuse Tyler could use to get close to her. She ran downstairs, slammed the door behind her and stopped.

  Angie had gone.

  “Where did she go?” Lexi demanded.

  “To the party.” Tyler walked toward his Hummer parked next to the curb. “I need to stop by my house and change my clothes before we go.”

  “I’m sure she didn’t put up a fight and volunteered for you to drive me.”

  “Something like that.” Tyler opened the passenger door. “But I suggested it so we could have a chance to be alone before we go to the party.”

  Great. Angie picked the worse time to trick her into being alone with him. She slumped into the leather seat, wiped the perspiration from her brow as the clouds turned a darker gray color.

  15 STORM

  Ten minutes later, Lexi stepped out of Tyler’s Hummer parked on a gravel road several feet from his beachside mansion. Marble pillars surrounded the two large wrought-iron doors that led inside the glass structure. The dark clouds in the sky mirrored the nervous storm brewing inside her.

  “I’ll wait out here while you go inside and change out of your swim trunks,” she said, shivering despite wearing thermals.

  “You’re freezing. You should wait inside.” Tyler wrapped his arm around her shoulder and drew her close to his bare chest. “If you like, I’ll take you on a tour of my house.”

  This was no time for sight-seeing with him and ending up alone in one of the many rooms of his mansion, especially since he seemed determined to make out with her. “Maybe another time.” She slipped out of his hold. “I don’t want to be late to the party.”

  “Oh, you have time for a short tour.”

  Tyler grabbed her wrist and pulled her down the paved path. It twisted around a large water fountain centered close to the front door. He pulled her through the wrought-iron doors and into the foyer.

  The walls were decorated with custom paneling and famous paintings. In the center of the room sat a mahogany table with a beautiful arrangement of long-stem red roses. To her right she saw a grand staircase that led up to a landing with a cathedral-style window. To her left she saw a hall that curved and disappeared out of view. But not once did she notice anyone else inside his mansion.

  “Are your parents home?” she asked.

  “No. I haven’t seen my mother since I was a kid and my father is staying in California for the next six months.”

  She took a step back. “He left you here alone.”

  “I’m an adult. I turned eighteen a month ago.” He tugged at her hand and put his foot on the first step of the staircase. “Come on, I’ll show you my room while I change my clothes.”

  Go to his room while he took off his clothes, no way. She ripped her hand from his. “I’ll wait here if you don’t mind.”

  He cupped her chin in his hand. “You have nothing to be afraid of. I’m not going to do anything to you unless you want me to.” He winked at her, hinting that he was more than eager to fulfill any requests she might have. “But you can wait in the kitchen and when I get back we can have something to eat.”

  She didn’t want to spend a second longer than necessary in his house. She offered instead, “We can eat at the party.”

  “Oh, you don’t want to eat that food. Mine is so much better.” Tyler pulled her into the kitchen and over to the double wide refrigerator. He removed a container and put it in the microwave. “I’m going upstairs. I’ll be back in a minute.” He left before she had a chance to protest.

  Dammit. She had to find a way to escape before Tyler made another pass at her. She scanned the kitchen outfitted with custom mahogany cabinets and oversize appliances. Through the large window next to the sink she spotted an Olympic-size pool with a large waterfall.

  He must be worth millions. No wonder why Dillon said Tyler always got what he wanted, no matter what. Tyler just had to ask for his father’s credit card and he could buy anything he wanted. Well, almost anything. He couldn’t buy her.

  Money, expensive cars and a big house just weren’t her style. Her parents’ house in the middle of the redwoods was more like it. His place was too extravagant for her taste. If she wanted to be rich, she was already going to be once she turned eighteen and inherited her parent’s estate and engineering firm. But she would give it all up to have them back.

  The buzzer on the microwave went off. “Perfect timing,” Tyler said as he strolled into the room wearing a sweater and jeans. “Here, sit by the counter.” He patted the bar stool. “You’re going to love this.” He scooped up a bite with a fork, blew on it for a few seconds and held it out for her. “Go on and try it.”

  What the hell? If it meant leaving a minute earlier, she would eat the damn food. She grabbed the fork and polished off the chicken piccata in three bites. “I’m done,” she said with her mouth full, moving toward the door. “So, are you ready to go?”

  “Not yet.” He stood in her path. “The party won’t start for another hour and I wanted a chance to convince you to reconsider staying here for the night instead of hanging out with our friends. And give me a chance to convince you to be my girlfriend.”

  A thousand reasons why she should tell him no flashed through her mind, including the storm brewing outside, her rising temperature and the low grade pain in her head, but what if he was her Watcher and this was her only chance to question him?

  She rather get it over with now instead of having to wait another day to find out whether or not Tyler was her Watcher, because he wouldn’t answer her questions at the beach party.

  “Okay, I’ll stay, but,” she crossed her arms over her chest, “just to talk and nothing else.”

  “Unless you change your mind.” He leaned against the counter and winked at her, hinting he’d make sure she changed her mind.

  Lexi shook her head. She better hurry and question him before he attempted to convince her to do more than talk. “So what are you keeping a secret from me?”

  A tiny sm
irk danced on his lips as he moved slowly toward her. “Kiss me and I’ll tell you my secret.”

  Several flashes of lights lit up the kitchen and a loud thunder exploded above the house. He wanted her to kiss him. Forget that. But if she didn’t kiss him would he tell her the truth?

  Dammit. “I’ll give you one kiss.” She lifted her index finger to emphasize her point. “But you have to tell me your secret first.”

  He took his time before saying to her, “You got a deal, but no backing out of it.”

  “Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “Now tell me your secret.”

  A bright light flashed outside as she leaned in close, eager to hear what he had to say. Whatever he intended to tell her, he blocked it out of his mind so she couldn’t get a sneak preview.

  He shifted his weight from one leg to the other and glanced outside the large kitchen window before facing her with a wry look on his face. “I lied. I’m not hiding anything from you. I wanted an excuse to convince you to go out with me.”

  Her mouth dropped open as a loud thunder rumbled above. “You lied to get me to go out with you.” Her voice raised an octave. “Did you also lie about us hanging out during the summer my parents were murdered?”

  “Define lie?”

  She shot him a dirty look. “So we didn’t hang out during the summer.”

  “Not the entire summer,” he said, with a smug tone to his voice. “We only hung out while my father worked with your parents.”

  He wasn’t her Watcher. She needed to get out of there right away.

  Before she moved an inch, Tyler pushed off the counter and stood in front of her. “Okay, I told you the truth now you owe me a kiss,” he said, sex dripping from every word.

  No way was she going to kiss him. ”You can forget the bet. I’m not kissing a scheming liar,” she said, rushing toward the kitchen door.

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” He grabbed her arm and spun her around toward him. “You’re not getting out of kissing me.”

  He pulled her closer to him and kissed her with all his heart, soul and passion rolled up into one powerful kiss.

  The French doors shook and rattled, the windows whistled and the sky groaned as it mimicked her feelings, but she didn’t stop him. His kiss. It was indescribable and somehow made all her worries, pain and questions fade away into a glorious abyss.

  A strange feeling in the pit of her stomach radiated through her body and into his as a gust of wind blew open the French doors and knocked over jars on the counters. His heart beat against her chest as if it was about to explode.

  He pulled away and stared at her, panting. “I never felt a kiss like that before.”

  What did he mean? Did it have something to do with her abilities?

  “Tyler,” she said, taking deep breaths. “I think we should stop and go to the—”

  The words got stuck in her throat as a tingling sensation swept over her body and every desire that had been bottled up inside her came to life.

  She tore off her hoodie and then his sweater and pulled his face close to hers, hungry to feel his lips again, but then she stopped.

  This wasn’t her. Something was off.

  “I knew deep down you wanted me as much as I wanted you,” he said. Then he kissed her hard and feverishly.

  A cool gust of wind beat the French doors against the walls as the storm strengthened and the room darkened. Her mind clouded over as another spell of desire washed over her. She frantically ran her hands down his bare chest and over his abdomen, feeling every curve.

  What was she doing?

  She yanked her hands away. This was definitely not her. Maybe her attraction to him had to do with a new ability. One that allowed her desires to mimic Tyler’s or could it be some kind of spell pushing her to be with him. Whatever it was, she needed to make it stop before they went too far.

  With all her will power, she pushed Tyler away as every light bulb exploded in the room.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, looking around at the dark room.

  “I’m sorry.” She slowly backed away from him. “But I don’t want to do this with you.”

  “It’s okay.” He cupped her face with his hands. “I’m only going to do whatever you want me to do and if I go too far, just tell me so and I’ll stop.” He kissed her once again, more passionately.

  Several flashes of lights illuminated the room and the thunder made a loud cracking noise right above the roof. None of it distracted her from being with him, not while the strange spell overpowered her will to pull away.

  It pushed her, controlled her and forced her to continue.

  Tyler unbuttoned his jeans and exposed his navy briefs. “I want you. I never wanted anyone as much as I want you, but if I’m moving too fast, tell me now and we can go back to kissing.”

  She didn’t say a word. Instead, she pulled him toward her and kissed him hard on the lips. Lightning bolt after lightning bolt struck close to the house. All the windows in the kitchen exploded and glass sprayed the room.

  He gripped her jean’s zipper and lowered it to the metal stop as he said under his breath, “I love you.”

  Her entire body ached and wanted to melt into his arms, but she had to make him stop before they went all the way and something worse happened outside.

  She fought the unnatural force pushing her to let him continue and lifted her hand, reluctant to let go of him. A loud crash startled them both and water rushed into the room, knocking them onto the hard tile floor.

  The spell overpowering had disappeared. She leaped to her feet, sprinted outside and ran across the beach toward the rocks along the shore.

  16 RESCUE

  “Lexi,” she could hear Tyler shouting in the distance, but she kept running across the rocks toward Harris Beach. She didn’t care what it took; she couldn’t let him come near her again. The whole coastline would be destroyed if she did.

  A wave crashed on top of her and knocked her to the ground. She rolled along the jagged rocks as her legs and arms repeatedly hit the sharp edges. When the wave receded, Tyler ran across the rocks toward her.

  “Get away from me,” she said, sprinting toward the beach on the other side of the rocks.

  Just before she reached the beach, Tyler tackled her on the sand. “What the hell’s gotten into you?” he demanded.

  “I have to go home. It’ll be safer there,” she said just before a wave crashed down on them and dragged them out to sea.

  Her body twisted and turned under the water. She kicked as hard as she could, but the undertow rolled her along the sandy bottom until she washed onto the shore like a limp rag doll.

  The rain beat down on her face and she called out, “Tyler.”

  But he didn’t reply.

  She sat up straight and scanned the beach for him while she fought the urge to pass out. A few seconds later she spotted him along the shoreline as he attempted to lift his body on the rocks.

  Further down the beach lightning struck everything in sight as wave after wave crash down on the tiny houses along the shore, breaking them apart bit by bit as families fled for their lives. She couldn’t believe the mass destruction the storm caused.

  “Lexi,” she heard a boy shout from the darkness of the beach.

  Wiping away the wet hair stuck to her face, Lexi tried to see who had called to her, but her vision started to blur and body swayed. Oh, no. She was about to pass out.

  Before she hit the sand, strong arms caught her and lifted her up. She glanced up at her rescuers face with angular jaw and ruggedly handsome features. Her eyes locked onto his gray ones. “Everett, thank heaven you’re here,” she said.

  “Can you stand?” he asked.

  She fought her eyes closing and shook her head. “I don’t think so. I can barely stay awake.”

  Everett pulled her close to his chest and carried her across the sand, up the side of the cliff to his Mustang. He opened his passenger door and sat her down. She struggled to buckle her seat belt as Everett sat do
wn in the driver seat.

  Within a few seconds, his engine came to life and he threw the stick shift in first gear. He tore out of the parking lot and onto the highway, traveling south toward her house.

  He glanced over toward her, his knuckles bright red from gripping the steering wheel. “I saw Tyler chasing after you. Did he do this to you?” He motioned toward her torn thermal top and her jeans, which were covered with blood.

  “No, I did this to myself when I fell on the rocks.”

  She closed her eyes and her body trembled. This was her fault. She single-handedly made it happen: The lightning, the waves that tore apart the homes along the beachfront, injuring who knew how many people and maybe even killing someone. Oh, God, kill. She fought the tears burning her eyes.

  “It’ll be okay.” Everett patted her hand and parked across the street from her house.

  Lexi stared at her house through her tears as her head spun. She hadn’t remembered telling him her address. “How did you know where I lived?”

  “You told me in class don’t you remember?”

  She couldn’t think straight. Exhaustion from over using atomkinesis played havoc with her memories. As far as she could recall, she hadn’t told him where she lived. Her eyes narrowed. “I never gave you my address. How do you know where I live?”

  “You got me.” He lifted his hands in the air as if surrendering. “I asked Angie.”

  That sounded plausible. At least it did in her current state of mind.

  “Now can we go inside before you bleed to death?” He brushed his hand along her forehead and showed her the blood on the palm of his hand to make his point.

  It took her a second to register what he was showing her. “Damn, I am bleeding. Come on let’s go inside.”

  She stumbled out of the car and Everett rushed to her. He threw his arm over her shoulder and helped her across the street to her house. He took her keys and opened the front door. Then he escorted her inside.