Chapter Six
Savannah
As I stood in front of my closet in my underwear, I put my hands on my hips and swore beneath my breath.
“How in the heck did I get myself in this darn mess?”
Okay, so I couldn’t bring myself to swear, even though I wanted to. My grandmother hated curse words with a passion and always threw a fit whenever she heard me cuss. Now that she was gone, I found I still adhered to the habit she ingrained in me out of love for her and her memory.
Satchel mewed from the bed and I looked at her over my shoulder. The look she gave me conveyed her considerable boredom with this process. Rhys was meeting me in half an hour and I still had to put on make-up. When he’d asked me to help him with something a couple of days ago, my heart did a strange twist-leap in my chest. For some crazy reason, I’d automatically wondered if he was going to ask me out.
Silly me.
Instead, he’d asked me if I knew a good place to buy a car. To my surprise, he didn’t have a vehicle. I agreed to drive him around to a few dealerships on my next day off, which was today.
“What is Mommy supposed to wear to shop for a car with her stupid hot neighbor, Satchel?” I asked her.
Her only reply was to turn her back on me and start licking her paw.
“Thank you. You’ve been very helpful.”
With a sigh, I decided to ignore my cat and try to focus on my outfit. The weather was beautiful, warm and sunny. It was a gorgeous spring day, the kind of day that made me want to wear one of my maxi dresses with small straps and bright colors. But this also wasn’t a date and I didn’t want Rhys to think that I thought it was. Wow, that was a mouthful. Or a brain full since my entire conversation was in my head.
“God, now I’m confusing myself,” I mumbled. Annoyed with my own wishy-washy behavior, I reached into the closet and grabbed the first dress I saw. I would wear what I usually wore. Would he even notice what I was wearing unless it was aggressively sexy? The thought made me laugh. Nothing I owned could be classified as aggressively sexy. Or even sexy at all.
The purple dress in my hand had a halter neckline with slender straps. The dress had a high waist and fell in voluminous folds to my ankles. I loved it because the color flattered my pale skin and dark hair and it was one of the most comfortable outfits I owned.
I slipped into the dress and slid my feet into flat tan sandals. A quick look at the clock made me wince. I didn’t know Rhys very well, but he struck me as the kind of person who would show up five minutes early.
I hurried into my bathroom to finish getting ready. I pulled the sides of my hair back and pinned it in place with bobby pins. Then I put on a light layer of make-up. I brushed a little lavender shadow on my eyelids, applied mascara, and put a tinted balm on my lips. I had no sooner finished the final swipe before the doorbell rang.
“I knew he’d be early,” I muttered to Satchel.
My cat followed me down the hall to the front door and sat on her rump, staring intently at the front door.
Pointing a finger at her, I admonished, “Don’t even think about it. No clawing or biting my sexy neighbor. I want him to stick around for a few minutes.”
Her imperious look told me to mind my own business.
“I mean it, Satchel,” I said, pointing my finger at her.
She yawned.
“Dissed by my own cat,” I grumbled. Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself before opening the door. It might have been crazy, but I felt like I needed a moment to prepare before I looked at him. If I took the time to ready myself, maybe I’d be able to string three words together without embarrassing myself.
I opened the door and immediately realized that I was wrong. Any words I planned to use vanished from my mind. Rhys stood on the porch wearing jeans, a t-shirt that hugged his upper body, and a pair of dark sunglasses. His dark blond hair was messy, as though he’d been running his hands through it, and his goatee looked fuller as though it needed a trim.
My brain cells didn’t scream as they died, they swooned. The light spring breeze carried his scent into the house and my legs suddenly felt weak.
After we stood there staring at each other for a long moment, Satchel meowed. I jumped and gave myself a mental slap. “Hi, Rhys. Why don’t you come in for a minute while I get my bag?”
I stepped back from the door to let him in and gripped the knob tighter as he passed me, his arm brushing mine. I had to get over my body’s crazy reaction to his proximity. This was ridiculous and worse than any crush I’d had in middle school.
He stopped next to my cat, looking down at her. I couldn’t read his expression because of the sunglasses he wore, but I could feel the slight buzz of his emotions, mainly curiosity and amusement. It seemed that with each of our interactions, small hints of what he was feeling would seep through the barrier that surrounded him.
“Who is this?” he asked, his mouth curving up slightly.
Surprised by his smile, I forgot my awkwardness. “That’s my cat, Satchel.”
His smile widened, nearly blinding me with its beauty. “Satchel? Like a bag? How did she get that name?”
“Uh, I found her, um, when she was a kitten and brought her home. She fit in my bag, so I, uh, named her Satchel.” God, his smile should absolutely be illegal. Then I realized what he said. “Wait, how did you know she was a female?”
He chuckled. “She holds herself like a queen.”
I sensed there was more to it than that, but I didn’t press. “Well, let me go grab my stuff and we can head out. Do you want something to drink or anything while you wait?”
He shook his head, his face still downturned toward my cat. “No, thanks.”
I walked out of the living room and into the kitchen, where my bag hung on a hook. I took a moment to make sure all the lights were off and Satchel had plenty of food and water before I went back into the living room.
When I entered, I stopped dead. Rhys was seated on the sofa with Satchel lying across his chest. While my cat wasn’t mean or violent, she was aloof toward new people. Especially men.
Rather than ignoring Rhys as she usually did when a new person came to the house, she was cuddled up to him, her head tucked against his chin, purring so loudly I could hear her from several feet away.
“Your cat is very friendly,” Rhys said, running his large palm over her back.
“Apparently, she is,” I replied dryly.
“Are you ready?”
I nodded.
With one more stroke down Satchel’s back, he gently set her to the side. “Bye, Satchel,” he murmured.
Despite my attempts to remain strong, I melted at his farewell to my pet. Satchel shot me an annoyed look when we headed out the front door, letting me know that there would be retribution for me taking her new friend away.
When we climbed into my car I had to bite back a laugh when I saw that his legs were folded up nearly double. He seemed completely clueless on how to fix the issue so I pointed at the base of the seat. “Just reach underneath and pull the metal lever then slide the seat back.”
He figured it out quickly, but didn’t buckle his seatbelt after I started the car.
“Be sure to buckle up,” I stated.
Rhys smiled, small but amused. “Why? I’m basically indestructible.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to pay a fine if we get pulled over.”
His smile widened, revealing long creases in his cheeks. Vaguely I wondered if they would be considered dimples but decided I didn’t care because they were attractive regardless. “I’ll pay the fine,” he replied.
“Yeah, but it’ll be on my record,” I retorted.
Though he didn’t say anything, his grin didn’t fade and he reached for his seatbelt without further argument.
“Thank you,” I murmured, putting the car in reverse and backing out of the driveway. “So, you weren’t specific when you said you wanted to look for a vehicle. Did you decide if you want a car or a truck? Or maybe an SUV?”
“I think I’d like something larger than this. But I have no idea what you mean by SUV.”
“Sports Utility Vehicle,” I explained, struggling to keep my expression neutral. Ava said that Rhys was different and probably older, even centuries older, but he seemed somewhat ignorant of modern technology.
“What’s that?”
I tried to think of the best way to explain it. “It’s a cross between a car and a truck, but the rear area isn’t open. The roof extends over the cargo space and there is a door in the back instead of a tailgate.” I knew I wasn’t using the correct terminology, but it was the best I could do.
“That sounds more like what I would want,” he stated. “I don’t care for trucks and most cars are too small for me.”
“Okay, do you have any idea what make and model you want?”
His look said it all. I bit back a sigh. This excursion would likely extend into several days rather than one. I despised shopping for cars and only did it when I’d driven my previous vehicle into the ground. My current car was nearly a decade old and I intended to keep it for a couple more years if I could. I hated all the people and the smugness that rolled off the sales person when we finally agreed on a price. A price that was more than I should be paying.
“Well, the closest dealership sells Nissans. We could go check them out first.”
“Let’s do that,” he agreed.
Five hours later, I was a bit shell-shocked. Rhys surprised me when we pulled into the Nissan dealership. Since I knew he would want a larger SUV, I parked near a group of Armadas. Within ten minutes, a man came out of the building behind the lot and introduced himself as Chris. I watched with concern as Rhys walked up to the white Armada with all the bells and whistles. Chris looked as though he wanted to turn cartwheels as Rhys circled the vehicle. I could feel the glee radiating from his body.
As they talked, I sidled toward the window and took a peek at the sticker. When I saw the asking price, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. He was looking at an SUV that cost more than my last three vehicles combined. Chris headed back into the building to get the keys and I stepped up next to Rhys.
“This is probably the most expensive SUV on the lot,” I murmured.
Rhys looked down at me and smiled. “You think so?”
He seemed completely unconcerned and, considering he lived in a tiny rental home, I worried that he wouldn’t have the funds for a vehicle like this.
“And the sales guy is practically salivating at the idea of you buying it.”
“I know,” Rhys replied, his grin growing wider. When he saw the worry on my face, he tilted his head. “I’ll make sure he gives me a good deal.”
Considering he’d told me that he’d never bought a car before, his words did nothing to soothe my concern. I had enough experience to know that haggling over a sticker price rarely ended up well for the buyer. “Okay,” I said reluctantly. I decided to wait and watch.
The test drive was hair-raising, to say the least. Rhys seemed determined to test the vehicle’s ability to handle turns at top speed. At one point I thought the SUV was up on two wheels. To my shock, Chris didn’t say a word, though I did spot a few beads of sweat along his hairline. As Rhys made his way back to the dealership, he wove in and out of traffic so quickly that my stomach felt as though it were about to flop out of my body. I bit my bottom lip hard to keep myself from screaming in panic. I nearly sobbed in relief when I saw the dealership a block away and my heart was still pounding when we returned to the lot. Negotiations began in earnest then. The longer I watched Chris and Rhys interact, the more suspicious I became.
There was something slightly off about Rhys. I’d been so distracted by his blinding good looks before, but now that I wasn’t the focus of his complete attention, I was beginning to notice things about him.
When Chris spoke, he listened intently, which I’d come to expect. However, even after the salesman stopped speaking, Rhys still seemed to be listening to something. He was also very in tune with what Chris was thinking and feeling. The longer I watched him, the clearer it became.
Rhys was some sort of telepath. I wasn’t sure if he could read thoughts or emotions, but I knew he saw beyond the surface.
At the realization, I had to fight the urge to curl up into a ball in the corner or maybe find another place to live. It was highly likely that he knew how attractive I found him. He had to. My private feelings were out there, whether I liked it or not.
I was in a daze for the rest of the process, barely paying attention as Rhys negotiated with Chris over the purchase price.
Now, he was following me back to our street and I had no idea what to do. I felt as though my trust had been betrayed. But I also understood why he would keep it to himself. Even among the supernatural community, telepaths and empaths were considered outsiders and avoided. It was dangerous for anyone to know our secrets or to understand our innermost thoughts.
I should know. I’d been on the receiving end of suspicion and even disgust.
As I pulled into the driveway, I was struck with an epiphany. If I began avoiding Rhys because of his abilities, I was no different than the witches, vampires, and shifters that shunned me. He didn’t ask for his gifts, and if he was anything like me, he probably thought of them as a burden.
I didn’t want to be that kind of person. I wanted to be the kind of person I often wished to meet. Kind, compassionate, and accepting. Even with my abilities, I did the best I could to avoid invading someone’s privacy. I didn’t know Rhys very well, but he struck me as that type of person as well.
I needed to give Rhys a chance to do the same.
When I pulled into my driveway and parked, I got out of my car and watched Rhys turn his new SUV into his own drive. He climbed out and walked across the street toward me. My heart beat a little faster in my chest as I watched him. His walk was smooth and loose, as though he were in complete control of his body and he knew exactly what it was capable of. The underlying confidence in his every move was sexy.
He smiled as he approached me. “Thanks again for helping me today. I didn’t realize driving a car was so much fun.”
I found myself returning his smile. He sounded so sincere and serious. “It wasn’t a problem. Honestly, I’ve never been on such a short car shopping trip. Usually it turns into an all day event.” Then I comprehended exactly what he said. “You didn’t realize driving a car was so much fun? Haven’t you driven before? How did you talk them into letting you drive without a license?” I asked, my eyes wide.
Rhys laughed. “I recently learned an expression. Money talks. When Chris found out I was planning to pay cash today, he was willing to…overlook a few things.”
“Oh my God,” I gasped. Well, that certainly explained the test drive and the fact that I’d been strongly tempted to throw myself out of the SUV every time we stopped at a red light. I had to bite back the urge to recommend that he practice his driving skills. Or take a driving class.
He continued to chuckle. “I’ve ridden enough to learn a few things. But I’m glad you came with me today.”
“I am too,” I replied. I was also glad he hadn’t gotten into an accident. He might be indestructible, but I certainly wasn’t.
“I appreciate it. I’ve never—” He stopped speaking before he finished his thought.
I understood then that Ava had been right. It was unlikely Rhys knew anyone well enough to call them a friend. I might spend a majority of my time alone, but I did have friends and family. I had people in my life that cared about me and were willing to do things for me. Somehow I got the impression that Rhys did not. I didn’t need empathic abilities to see that Rhys wasn’t used to people helping him.
“It was fun,” I said. It was a semi-lie. I enjoyed watching Rhys negotiate with the salesman and watching how animated he became when he haggled. The test drive and the process of buying the car, not so much.
He grinned. “You don’t have to lie.”
I recognized the teasing glint in his eyes and shot him a narrowed look. “Are you telepathic?”
Rhys shrugged. “Not exactly.”
“Where exactly do your talents lie?” I asked.
I watched as the smile melted off his face and felt a pang of guilt. I hadn’t meant to upset him, but his face revealed that I had. “I don’t think I want to tell you,” he replied.
Unable to stop myself, I reached out and touched his arm. I wasn’t prepared for the sharp buzz of awareness that shot through my body, nor the subtle swell of his emotions. When I touched him, I had a stronger sense of what he was feeling. He was still muted and difficult to read but it was no longer impossible to discern his emotions. “Why not?”
His eyes locked on my fingers as they rested against his skin. “You won’t want to talk to me anymore.”
His honesty surprised me and left me breathless, like a blow to my belly. “Rhys,” I whispered.
His gaze lifted to mine and I saw the pain there. I wasn’t used to this. The barrier between us meant that I couldn’t rely on the usual emotional cues to help me navigate our conversation. Instead, I was going on instinct.
“I’m not a good creature, Savannah,” he declared quietly. “I’ve done things. Hurt people.”
It was clear that it haunted him. I could feel the faint echoes of guilt and sadness resonate within him. Without thinking, I slid my hand down his forearm and laced our fingers together. “I don’t believe you’re a bad person, Rhys,” I replied. Tension wound tighter inside him, so I decided to shift the topic a bit. “Look, I’m starving. I usually eat lunch earlier than this. Do you want to order a pizza and hang out for a little while longer? You might be able to convince Satchel not to murder me in my sleep.”
Some of the pain cleared from Rhys’ expression and he hesitated for a long moment. Finally, he said, “I enjoy pizza.”
“I’ll even share my wine with you,” I offered.
Finally, his lips curved in a barely there smile. “If you insist.”
Satisfied that I had pulled him out of the dark place in his head, at least for the time being, I released his hand and gestured for him to follow me. “Let’s go inside. It’s hot out here and I’m starving.”