Secret Heir (Dynasty #1)(56)

I reach the shore and if I thought I was cold in the water, the feeling of the chilly breeze against my already frozen skin, is even worse. I’m seriously thinking that I’m going to get hypothermia. Raph reaches the shore a few seconds later and although the sea is Baron’s element, Raph himself looks like some kind of ocean god as he emerges from the waves. He belongs to the elements and they belong to him—every ray of sunlight, every crashing wave, every gust of wind, within his control.

The image is swept from my mind though, when Raph opens his mouth.

“Nice bra, Jaz.” He smirks as he fixes his eyes directly on my chest. I look down and to my horror, I find that my light pink bra is clearly visible through my soaked white school shirt. I can feel my face flame in embarrassment when I realize that the lollipop pattern on the bra is clearly visible, too. I kick myself for choosing to wear this bra today of all days and seriously, I wonder for the hundredth time, who the hell Magnus got to stock my wardrobe. But it’s not like I had any idea that I’d be ocean diving off a cliff today instead of going to class.

“Stop staring at my bra, you asshole,” I reply through gritted teeth. But it just makes Raph’s smile grow even wider.

“Urgh. You’re such a pig!”

He chuckles as he shrugs off his school blazer, and he surprises me by dropping it around my shoulders, over my own blazer. I’m even more surprised to find that although his blazer is soaked, it’s as warm as a heated blanket. I pull it tighter around me instinctively.

Raph notices the fine tremor which is now racking my body and wraps an arm around me as he guides us back to his car. I want to push him away, but he’s so goddamn warm, that my heat deprived body protests at the very thought. I’m horrified at myself when I feel my body snuggling closer to his. The infuriating grin on Raph’s face tells me that he senses both the snuggling and the horror.

“Just so you know, I’m only doing this to stop myself from turning into an icicle,” I snap.

“Sure, Jaz. Don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you.”

My apprehension eases a fraction but his next words just make my temper rise again.

“But I can’t promise that I won’t make fun of you for it.”

“I think I preferred it when we hated each other,” I grumble.

“Aww, are you finally admitting that you don’t hate me anymore?” he teases.

“No. I still hate you,” I reply quickly, although I know it’s not true. There’s no doubt that Raph still irritates the hell out of me, but as much as I’d still like to think so, I know I don’t hate him anymore. I let myself admit that maybe I’d been wrong about him. He’s still a spoiled prick and an insufferable asshole most of the time, but the other parts of him that I’ve glimpsed tell me that there is so much more to him than the shallow, self-centered prick that he seems to want everyone else to see. That maybe our worlds aren’t so far apart after all. It’s a heretical thought, and not one that I want to entertain, so I shove it away quickly, because letting myself believe it feels dangerous.

“Well, I don’t hate you,” he replies, as we reach his car.

He turns to me then. His arm is still around me and I’m suddenly aware of how close we’re standing, so close that I can feel the warmth of his breath on my chilled skin and when those vivid blue eyes lock onto mine, I feel the heat in them, too.

“I don’t hate you at all.” His voice sounds strangely husky, and I can feel alarm bells ringing in my mind.

Our eyes lock and for what seems like an eternity, yet no time at all, I see him. Not the heir to the throne of Eden. But a contradiction, wrapped in a puzzle, topped with riddle, and all over it are warning labels telling me to stay the hell away.

I force myself to step back, cold panic replacing the chill racing through my flesh.

“We should go,” I manage to say, although I can hear the tremor in my own voice. I tell myself it’s the cold.

His eyes burn into me like twin flames for a moment longer before his golden lashes sweep down, shielding the intensity of his gaze.

He nods finally, and as I get into the car, I try to remind myself of the lines I’ve drawn between us, but somehow, I can’t see them anymore and although my feet are now firmly on the ground following the earlier cliff dive, somehow, I feel like I’m still falling.





19





“Watch this,” Keller says as she dips her fingers into the large lake. It’s a few days after the insane cliff dive and Keller has taken me deep into the forest at the far edge of Regency Mount Island.

I watch wide eyed as something forms on the surface of the clear blue lake, a pattern like fine white lace. Starting from the spot that her fingers are touching, then spreading out to the rest of the lake.

“What the hell …” I hear myself saying, but my voice sounds distant, even to my own ears because I’m too busy gawking at Keller freezing this lake over with just one touch.

“That’s amazing,” I add.

She stands back, surveying her work proudly.

“Know how to ice skate?” she asks.

Before I can answer, she gestures to my leather boots and I watch in astonishment as blades of pure ice materialize at the soles.

“Thanks for offering to help me out by the way.” I realize then that although we’re on our fifth session, I haven’t even bothered to thank her yet.