“You get everything you need?”
She squealed like an idiot and whirled around to see him smirking at her. “JeSUS!” She glared at him and brushed past him, ignoring the sparks that shot down her arm where their bodies met.
Thumping down on to the sofa, she grabbed at the food tray and began digging in, glaring at him the whole time as he took the seat opposite her. She swallowed when he refused to look away. “You know this is all just a little too Virginia Andrews for my liking.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Meaning?”
“The clothes, the accessories, the shampoo!” Avery shook her head in disbelief. “It’s creepy, Brennus.”
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. Her eyes widened a little. Was he embarrassed?
“Perhaps I went overboard.” He shrugged sheepishly, no longer meeting her eyes. “I just wanted you to be comfortable.”
For some inexplicable reason Avery felt bad for upsetting him. “I know. The thought was nice… if poorly executed.”
Brennus frowned, looking up. “The things weren’t to your liking?”
“Of course. It was just… doing what you’ve done… it’s alarming and a little… gothic.”
He surprised her by chuckling, the sound tugging at her belly. She flushed. God, Josh had never made her feel this way. Sex with him had been perfunctory and boring. Somehow she knew with Brennus it would different. When she looked back over at him, his eyebrows were raised speculatively and she had the weirdest feeling he knew what she had been thinking. Avery blushed even harder and he responded with a wicked grin.
“Sorry, if I ‘freaked you out’, as you kids say today.”
She snorted ignoring the heat in her cheeks. “Could you sound any older?”
“Yes.”
Rolling her eyes at him, it took her a minute to remember she was supposed to be pissed off at him. She stopped smiling and dropped her gaze.
“Avery,” he moaned softly as if her coldness physically hurt him.
Ignoring his plea, she shrugged and continued to eat. When she was done, she leaned back and concentrated on his scar, waiting for the ripples of revulsion she had first felt when she saw him. She bit her lip, telling herself she still felt them. She thought of Sarah and Jemima and how freaked out they’d be if she started seeing this guy. Even the knowledge of their humiliating judgement didn’t bring on the ripples. How long had she been here? It felt like forever.
“So what’s on the agenda tonight?” She asked softly. Giving in.
Brennus stood up and held a hand out to her. “For one night only… I’m going to show you my world.”
I Wonder What it’s Like…
Walking by your Side
The last place Avery expected to end up was the hospital. One minute she was shrugging on a jacket (this gorgeous leather bomber… so soft… she wanted to die – if her aunt saw her in it she would) and taking Brennus’ hand. The next minute, the whirlpool thing happened and they were standing in a brightly lit hospital corridor, nurses and doctors rushing by. Not one of them looked at them and when a short, flustered-looking doctor headed straight toward her as if she were invisible, Avery yelped and pushed Brennus aside so the doctor didn’t walk straight into her.
“What the hell…” she snapped, glaring at the doctor as he hurried off. She was all for not being centre of attention but that was just ruuudddee.
She stiffened at the sound of Brennus’ chuckle and spun around slowly to pin him to the wall with a ‘ferocious’ look. “What?”
He smiled at her, the scar stretching up on his cheek. It seemed more prominent under the fluorescent lights. It must have hurt when he got it, she thought, feeling a pang of pain for him. “Avery, no one can see us.”
Her eyes widened incredulously. “We’re invisible?”
He nodded, the smile slipping from his face as he sobered. “We’re here for the dead.”
Once more he held out his hand and tentatively she took it, tears prickling painfully in the back of her eyes for some reason. Despite everything inside her screaming for her to run in the opposite direction, Avery followed Brennus as he wandered into the ICU. His shoulders seemed to hunch over as they walked into a private room. A teenage girl lay broken on the bed. An older man and woman were curled up together on the sofa against the wall, their faces strained with terror even in their sleep. As she stood there with Brennus, an icy cold descended on the room and the heart monitor by the bed went crazy as the waves on the screen flat lined. Nurses and a doctor rushed into the room, pushing paddles on a trolley, and Brennus pulled Avery out of the way, guessing she wouldn’t enjoy the sensation of someone running right through her. They worked in a calm hurry to save the girl’s life, her parents held back by a nurse as the doctor attempted to stop the inevitable. Brennus stepped forward through the medical team and brushed the girl’s hair off her face. Gently he bent down and pressed the softest, sweetest kiss to her forehead.
>“Stop it.”
“I like touching you.”