Chapter 9

(Mason)

I watched Eva's face as we walked onto the plane to head back to New York. We were on my smaller jet this time as a few members of the crew had needed to leave for New York this morning to start getting ready for the next concert. Her eyes lit up with the same awe and delight as they had with the larger one. I loved seeing her reaction to everything I introduced her to. Thankfully, we had a different flight attendant working this jet, and not Eliza again. I needed to remember to move Eliza to somewhere else so I could avoid more awkward run-ins with her. I had never minded having my former fuck buddies around, but now that Eva was in my life, I wanted to avoid that as much as possible. She had definitely suspected something had gone on with Eliza, but had been sweet enough not to give me a hard time about it on the way to California yesterday.

Beckham had pulled me aside when she was grabbing things from the room she stayed in, to tell me that she knew what we were. I had known that she had heard us this morning, and the fact that she hadn't run screaming from the house had made me confident enough to be more open with some of my abilities in front of her. It was still a relief however that Beckham was the one who had the conversation with her. Beckham had a way of making everything seem better and nicer than it actually was. I would have fucked it all up. I was also grateful that he hadn't told her what I was. I felt like once she knew, she would want nothing to do with me.

It didn't inspire much confidence in my ability to be a stellar boyfriend when a girl found out that I was an incubus. It was partly why I had never been able to be a totally faithful boyfriend in the past, not that I had ever tried to be one. I hadn't found a female supe that I could tolerate for more than a one-night stand, and a human girl couldn't have survived how much energy I needed if she was with me all the time. It was one of the reasons why Courtney had been perfect. I could get what I needed while on the road, and could see her just enough to be able to feed on her without hurting her.

Eva was different though. I had told Beckham that her energy level was similar to his, just on a higher frequency, but I hadn't told him just how high her energy level actually was. I hadn't encountered anyone with the kind of energy levels she was giving off. I could actually feed off her energy quite easily just being around her, I didn't even have to touch her. I hadn't come across someone with that kind of energy before. Those kind of energy levels seemed to suggest that she was going to be very powerful when she came into more of her powers.

I wanted her to be able to trust me while I played the Europe leg of my tour. One of the reasons that I always chose to be a musician in whatever era I was living in was that I could feed on the crowd with the emotions that my music stirred in them. It would be a little rough not also getting energy from sexual sources, but it was possible. I would just be weakened. Eva would be worth it though. And hopefully I wouldn't have to go the whole tour without seeing her.

There wouldn't be time for me to come back in between shows, but I didn't know if I could make it three months without seeing her. Not because I needed to feed, but because my soul felt like it had withered just being without her this afternoon. Ugh, I sounded like a fucking sap… Maybe I could surprise her and fly her to my Paris show, and she could stay for a few days. I knew Rothmore had some kind of fall break, I would have to find out from Damon what it was.

I groaned inwardly. Maybe I wouldn't find out from Damon. I knew there was something going on between him and Eva even though she had tried not to mention it. I had known it as soon as she mentioned that Leslie's was her favorite place to have coffee. You didn't find a place like that in New York by accident. It had to have been Damon who introduced it to her, and Damon had never brought a girl there before. It was bad enough that Beckham seemed to be ready to marry her, but it made my stomach sick to think about Damon and I falling in love with the same girl. I had called him my brother for what seemed like a millennium and I never would have dreamed that anything could get between us, let alone a girl. I thought about how lost Damon had been when I had met him. He had never been truly happy since I met him, always pining away for the paradise that he had lost. Of the three of us, Damon was the one who needed Eva the most. But with the way I felt about her…I just couldn't bring myself to let her go.

I looked over at Eva. She had been quiet since her afternoon with Beckham. She was staring out the window as we took off, seemingly lost in thought. I decided I needed to talk to her about the tour and see where she stood with things. She had been kissing me back, but she hadn't instigated anything, and I knew I was competing against Beckham now and probably Damon as well. I just hoped she would let me have a chance to win her heart. I took a deep breath.

"Eva, we need to talk about my tour."

She looked up at me alarmed.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" she asked hesitantly.

"I have the European leg of the tour still to go. I'll be gone for at least three months," I said nervously.

Eva's face had gone blank.

"So we probably won't see each other again you mean," she said stiffly. "I didn't expect for you to even talk to me past the after-party the other night. I understand how it is."

"Wow…no, shit...that's not what I meant," I said, stunned at how little she seemed to care. "I want to talk to you as much as you will let me. I would bring you with me if I didn't know how much starting school meant to you," I said meaningfully.

Eva's eyes had filled with tears, and her face had softened.

"Oh," she said. "I didn't expect that."

"Eva, I'm crazy about you. Surely you had some clue of that? You've turned my whole life around," I told her.

She shuddered a little bit and I stood up and scooped her up in my arms, walking us over to one of the many couches situated on the plane. I sat down and she cuddled against me. I smoothed her hair back, she still hadn't said anything about how she felt.

"Do you like me at all, love?" I asked, immediately feeling stupid for sounding so insecure and vulnerable.

She looked up at me. "I like you a lot…I just have no experience with this sort of thing," she said hesitantly. "But I need to tell you something," she continued.

I tensed up, expecting the worst.

"I am starting to have feelings for Beckham as well…and Damon," she said, looking ashamed.

I hated the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. I wanted her to love just me, but I couldn't say that to her.

"I just want a chance to win your heart, Eva," I said softly. "The feelings I'm starting to have for you are once in a lifetime, give up everything you have, do anything you want me to do kind of feelings. I'm in this to win it."

She sat up and looked into my eyes. I held my breath, waiting anxiously for what she was going to say or do. She held my eyes as she leaned in, pressing her lips softly against mine. I took that as a good sign and immediately strengthened the kiss, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her tight against me. I licked at her lips until she opened her mouth so that I could taste her. I groaned. She tasted so sweet.

Eva tentatively brushed her hands through my hair, pulling it out of the bun I had thrown it up in. My hands slid down her sides, careful to stay in safe places. I didn't want to scare her even though I wanted her so bad it was hard to think.

I lost track of time as I kissed her. I savored each brush of her lips against mine, knowing I would have to survive without it for what would feel like an eternity. Finally, she pulled away, smiling shyly at me. I leaned in for one more kiss.

"Are you hungry?" I asked her, realizing it had been hours since she had probably eaten anything.

"Yes I am," she said, looking surprised at the thought.

I laughed at her look, and then pressed an intercom next to the couch to ask for an attendant to bring us dinner. Within minutes, one of the staff came in with two trays. Eva politely thanked the man as he set down the trays. He blushed profusely, and almost dropped everything.

"It's not a problem, miss," he said with a slight stutter.

He hurried away after seeing the warning look on my face. I sighed.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to everyone's reaction to you," I said exasperatedly. "I try to take it as a compliment rather than being jealous, but fuck…you are too pretty for your own good."

She blushed charmingly in the way she always did when someone complimented her.

"I don't know why they look at me," she said.

I stared at her stunned.

"You're kidding right? You must know how gorgeous you are. I've never seen someone like you."

She was quiet for a moment.

"I've always known that there was something about me that caught people's eye, I'm not completely oblivious," she said. "But its never been a good thing. The people that I was with before this…they told me that the devil was inside of me. That I was responsible for all of the bad things that men…and sometimes women…wanted to do to me. I haven't ever been able to think good things about myself."

A rush of hate so great that I could have choked on it flowed through me. It had been obvious to me since I met her that she had a past. The more I found out, the more I wanted to rip apart everyone who had ever hurt her. Eva should have been worshipped her entire life, and instead she had obviously been abused and mistreated in the worst kind of way.

I tipped her chin up so that she would look at me.

"You are a gift Eva. The whole world should be grateful to receive even a glimpse of you, and should be bowing at your feet. I feel like I have been blessed a million times over to have even gotten to spot you in the crowd at the concert. Even if I had never seen you again, it would have remained the most significant moment of my life up to that point."

I kissed her again softly and tasted the tears that were now streaming down her face. She didn't say anything in response to my statement, instead picking up her fork and beginning to pick at her food. After eating, she curled up next to me, and we watched a movie that I had put on one of the screens. I soaked in the moment, wishing it would last forever.