Geomancist (Seven Forbidden Arts 5)

“Thanks.” She closed her eyes.

He wiped a drop of water from her bottom lip with his thumb. “Are you in pain? Do you need more medicine?”

She shook her head.

“Was it a nightmare?” He knew all about those.

She opened her eyes, regarding him quietly.

He couldn’t resist smoothing down her wild hair. He needed to brush it for her. It would make her feel better. “Was it about the island?”

She leaned out of his reach.

He dropped his hand. She didn’t want to talk about it. He got that. He never wanted to talk about his dreams either. But not knowing what was tormenting her was killing him. Had she dreamed about Juan? About whatever the hell had played off in the plane? About the crash? Getting shot? There were a hundred and one images he could torture himself with and not a damn thing he could do to take them away.

“I could stay,” he offered, needing the choice to be hers. He wasn’t going to push her too hard too soon.

“It was nothing. I’m sorry I woke you. You can go back to sleep.”

Rejecting his offer to provide the little comfort he could made it clear how she felt about him. Patience. He’d promised himself he’d give her space no matter how hard it was for him to walk away and leave her like this.

It took enormous willpower to get to his feet. “I’m next door. Call if you need me.”

When she remained silent, he left and closed the door.

He got back into bed and lay awake for a long time. When he finally woke up, it wasn’t with his dream. After dressing, he walked out onto the landing and bumped into Eve who was exiting Asia’s room.

“How is she?” he asked.

“Fine. I think a bit of fresh air and sunshine will do her good.”

“How can I help?”

She gave him an encouraging smile. “If there’s anything, I’ll let you know.”

With a last glance at the closed door of Asia’s bedroom, he went downstairs. Breakfast was set up on the pool deck. Alfonso, the butler, oversaw the serving of the meal. Lann and Kat were seated next to Emily and Matthew. Bono was playing with Thomas, folding paper planes and sending them flying over the deck. Joss held his son on his lap, feeding him pureed food while Clelia broke off pieces of a croissant and fed them to Joss in turn. Maya was reading a tablet on Tim’s lap. The latter had his arms wrapped around her. The setup was too happy and cozy for his state of mind. After a quick cup of coffee and scrambled eggs that Alfonso placed in front of him, Sean hurried back upstairs.

Pushing open the door of Asia’s room, he took in her sleeping form. Her hands lay on top of the covers, her nails small and pink. Eve had probably cleaned them before the surgery. He missed the blue nail varnish and dainty flowers. All her things had been destroyed with the island and in the plane crash. She didn’t even have a passport any longer.

He closed the door quietly and went in search of Cain. The commander was working on a laptop in the lounge. When Cain noticed him, he closed the screen.

“I need to go into town to buy a few things for Asia,” Sean said.

Cain adjusted his shirt sleeves. “Of course. Anything she needs. We have a car and driver available. Two security guards will escort you, just in case.” He got to his feet and handed Sean a plastic envelope. “In fact, I was just on my way to bring you this. New bank cards and some money. I realize everything was destroyed.”

“We’ll need new passports.”

“I’m on it. With my connections, it won’t take long.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s the least I can do.”

Sean didn’t answer.

He left to take care of the shopping and returned shortly before lunch with his purchases. They were small things, but he hoped they’d cheer up Asia.

When he placed a bouquet of daisies in her room, she didn’t wake up, so he sat down in the chair next to her bed and took her cold hand in his. Meticulously, he applied the blue nail varnish he’d bought. He had one nail left to paint when her hand jerked in his grasp. Her eyelashes fluttered and lifted, revealing those intoxicating spearmint green eyes.

She glanced at the brush he clutched between his forefinger and thumb. “What are you doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” he asked with a smile. “I’ve never seen you without blue nail polish. I miss it.”

A shutter dropped in front of her eyes. “That belongs to a different life.”

Her words stung. He wanted his kitten back, the one with the daisies on her nails and the twinkle in her eyes. He wanted her back the way she’d been, not because he wouldn’t love who she’d become, but because he couldn’t live with himself for having ruined her lust for life. That first day when she’d marched down his street, he’d known her innocence wouldn’t last. He’d known someone would crush it. He just hadn’t wanted it to be him.