Allegiance (Causal Enchantment #3)(22)
“Wow,” I murmured under my breath. Sofie teetered on one four-inch-heeled foot on a ladder rung, reaching up to hang a dazzling bronze bulb, her face set with deep concentration.
I watched her precarious position for just a short moment, quickly shifting to the most important element of the room: Caden, leaning up against the white frame structure that held this room of glass together. He had changed into dark blue jeans and white T-shirt that revealed the muscular curves of his shoulders and back. An angel against the snow. An angel deep in thought, based on his side profile; trouble furrowed his brow.
“Caden?” He didn’t respond. “Caden?” I asked again, this time my voice a little shaky, a touch uncertain.
His head snapped in my direction, those jade eyes widening slightly before settling on my face. Slowly, he shifted his body toward me.
With some hesitation, I walked over to him, forcing a smile when everything inside me screamed worry. Again, that inkling that something was not right between us. I cast a wayward glance in Sofie’s direction. She took that as her cue. “Now, where did I put those seventeenth-century nutcrackers,” she exclaimed, leaping from the ladder to give Max a smack on the rump.
Fine, he grumbled, taking the hint and reluctantly following her. They disappeared from the room, Sofie throwing a quick warning glare to Caden on her way out.
I stopped less than a foot from Caden and my breath hitched, feeling his proximity through my entire body.
Gently, he reached up toward my face. He wrapped a finger around a thick lock of my hair and pushed it back off my face. “How’d you sleep?”
“All right. How’s Bishop?”
Caden looked over to a spot behind me. I turned to find our broken friend in a corner, in exactly the same position that he’d been in last night. Same expressionless stare. Same lost Bishop. I felt my shoulders sag under the weight of his despair. Caden gave my arm a light squeeze before letting go. When I turned back, he was staring out the window again, his back to me.
“What else is going on?” I finally asked.
Caden turned back. “Not too much,” he sighed, adding with a chuckle. “Sofie’s gone a little overboard with the whole festive thing.”
I giggled. “I know … where is everyone else? Where is Amelie?”
His voice turned sober. “I haven’t seen Amelie. She’s been … busy all night.” I caught a hint of something in his expression—I don’t know what it was. Displeasure? Worry? It made no sense. He should be happy that Amelie had found someone new. He should be happy that she wasn’t alone anymore. He couldn’t be unhappy that it was Julian. He had no idea who Julian was … I cast my focus downward as my stomach constricted over the secret I was keeping from Caden, from them all. Could Amelie have discovered Julian’s secret by now? Had he listened to me and kept himself covered? Yes, yes. He must have. I would’ve heard Amelie’s screams, otherwise …
I looked up to see Caden’s brow knitted as he stared at me. He opened his mouth, hesitated, but then asked quietly, “I can’t help but feel like there’s something you’re not telling me … about Julian.”
“What? No!” The lie flew out of my mouth without any thought. I clenched my teeth together before I could say more, dropping my gaze to the floor again. Kittens and clowns … Kittens and clowns. The calming mantra began. Wait a minute … they can’t read me anymore. Caden knew that I was guilty and stressed over something, but he didn’t know what, thanks to the Tribe’s magic. I needed to relax!
Taking a deep breath, I looked up again and met his eyes dead on. Somehow, using every ounce of skill I had, I pushed a dazzling smile into my face and held it there, frozen stiff.
After a moment, his lips pressed together and he nodded. He hands slid to my shoulders and he spun me around to face the tree. He pulled me against him, his chest pressed to my back. Warmth spread through me from his affectionate gesture, the comfort of being in those strong, broad arms indescribable. Everything would be all right, as long as I could have those arms around me … forever.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” he murmured, his chin resting on top of my head.
“Yeah,” I answered breathlessly. “I never thought this day would come.”
“What, Christmas?”
“Well, that too, given my penchant for being attacked. But no. This … you and me, here. Safe.”
I felt his fingers dig into my shoulders. “I don’t know if safe is the right word, Evangeline.”
“You know what I mean. Remember how worried you were that you’d kill me the second you stepped foot on Earth?”
His tone turned deadly serious. “I almost did, Evangeline. If it hadn’t been for Max and Sofie, we wouldn’t be standing here right now.”
“I know,” I said softly. “But after that. Now. Everything’s okay now.”
He said nothing, leaning in to nuzzle his nose against my earlobe, sending spastic shivers through me. I half turned into him, brushing my mouth against his jawline. I felt a rumble in his chest as he groaned. Deft fingers under my chin tilted my head back and his mouth closed over mine. Normally he was so gentle. Now though, his lips forced mine apart, kissing me deeply, buckling my knees.
Just as suddenly, he broke away, directing my body back toward the tree, leaving me panting and lightheaded. “Bishop,” he whispered.