Ancient Guardians The Legacy of the Key Page 19

  With that, she turned, avoided eye contact with everyone, and made her exit from the room. She turned down the corridor, and for some strange reason, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She needed to get outside. She turned and walked toward the doors that led out to the Palace gardens.

  She quickly made her way away from the Palace, and struck off in a direction she hadn’t taken before. She followed a fence, which led up into a thick forest. Without hesitation, she trekked into the unexplored area. The thickness of the dense forest had covered most of the sunlight, only allowing small patches through.

  When she came up to a small creek, she heard a noise from deeper in the forest, and then saw the horses on the other side of the fence she had followed in. She leaned against it, looking for the colt. As the horses started to move farther into the forest, she saw him standing still and watching her. She held out her hand, and he trotted over to her.

  Reece petted his nose, and ran her hand along his neck. “Well, it looks as though I have to say goodbye to you, little guy.”

  “Have you chosen a name for him yet?” A deep voice asked from behind.

  Reece spun around. “Levi?” She flattened a hand over her racing heart. “You need to clear your throat or something before you come up on me like that.” The colt shied away from the fence.

  Levi’s eyes didn’t have their usual brightness. “I’m sorry I startled you. It wasn’t my intent.”

  She didn’t know what to say to him. He wasn’t acting like the Levi she had come to know. His features were darker, and even his smile was formal, with nothing behind it. He looked intimidating.

  She looked back at the colt, which was edging closer now. “I haven’t spent much time with him…You don’t have to use the name I picked.”

  Levi rested his arms on top rail of the fence, and one foot on the bottom rail. “So, you have named him, then?”

  “Sort of. It’s not very special, though, it’s just what I call him in my thoughts.”

  He smiled, and this time his smile looked genuine. “Would you care to share the name with me, or must I guess?”

  She looked meekly back at him. “Arrow. Like the bracelet you bought for me.” She shrugged, and smiled back at him.

  “Arrow will be his name then.” He returned his attention to the colt, which had lost interest in them, and was heading back to the herd. Levi watched the horses make their way through the thick bushes, moving farther up into the forest.

  “How did you know I was here?”

  He pushed himself up from the fence, and turned to face her. His eyes were darker and more mysterious than she had ever seen them, and a small smile pulled up one corner of his mouth. “After I saw you exit the Palace gardens, I decided to follow you.” His eyes never pulled away from hers. “I must confess something to you, Reece, although I don’t wish to startle you.”

  Unsure about what he could say to startle her, she responded. “I’m sure I won’t be as startled as I was when you appeared out of nowhere. What is it? Is something bothering you?”

  He looked at her as if he were begging her to read his mind. “I don’t know how to approach this, but I feel I must. Harrison and I will leave in the morning, and I may not have another opportunity to speak with you.” He stared deeply into her confused eyes. “Reece, I came to ask you not to return to Earth.”

  She frowned, trying to understand why he would ask that question. “Levi, I have to go back.”

  His face became troubled as he searched for more words. “You really do not. You may stay for as long as you like.” He looked at her hopefully.

  “Levi, I don’t belong here. You know that. You shouldn’t tempt me.” She was beginning to be annoyed. If he meant what she hoped, he was going to have to be a lot more forthright. “I’m not sure why you would ask me this.”

  Levi’s eye’s penetrated through her, “Reece, I believe you know exactly why I would ask you to stay.” He said quietly. He lifted her chin gently with his finger so her eyes would meet his.

  Reece stared into his eyes and swallowed hard. Her head was spinning and her heart was racing. Was this moment really happening? “I do?” She managed in a soft, nervous voice.

  He tilted his head to the side, his eyes still intently studying hers, “Yes, you do.” He smiled briefly. He then softly spoke. “Reece, can’t you see? I’ve fallen in love with you.” He grinned. “I could not leave tomorrow without knowing if you might be able to love me in return.”

  Chapter 19

  “Please, say something,” he looked down to her, his eyes bright and hopeful.

  She stared up at him. “You…love me?”

  “More than you could ever know.” He smiled at her, his eyes glowing in his anticipative face. “I was inquiring about whether or not you could possibly feel the same,” he said, teasingly.

  Reece knew she had given herself away completely, “Levi, I can’t…I can’t let myself do this.”

  He looked confused, all trace of humor gone. She tried to walk past him, but he stopped her by gently holding her arm. “Please explain. Why can’t you?” Reece looked down and away from him. “Reece, please look at me.” When she did, he went on. “I could understand if you did not return my feelings, and I would respect that. But I will not stand here and listen to you tell me that you cannot.”

  Of course she loved him, and she wanted to stay in Pemdas more than anything. But in reality, she knew a relationship with Levi could never work.

  “It’s not—it’s not right. It’s been made very clear to me that we are from separate worlds. And not only are we from separate worlds, but you will be the Emperor of this place one day. I’ve been told your people won’t accept anyone from outside of Pemdas at your side; especially someone from Earth.” She closed her eyes, unwilling to watch his reaction to the truths she reminded him of.

  Of course, everything she learned about this situation was from Simone and her friends, but Reece wasn’t ignorant either. Simone was only one small voice in an entire dimension. Reece understood very well that this would only cause problems for Levi in his world. He needed to find the right woman for him, and Reece knew she was not that woman.

  Levi gently put his index finger under her chin. When she opened her eyes, he said, “Reece, those are ridiculous excuses. Do you think I care about other people’s opinions? The only opinion I care about is yours. I will ask you again, will there ever be a chance for you to return my love?”

  His eyes danced with amusement.

  She couldn’t tell him no. “You know the answer. I’ve already fallen in love with you. But it’s against everything that’s right for you. It’s against everything that’s right for me—”

  His lips silenced her. At first, his kiss was soft, his hands gently cupping her face. There was no way she could, or would, fight this. She had longed for this moment, his lips on hers, and it was more intoxicating than she had ever imagined it would be. To taste the sweetness of his kiss, to feel the softness, yet power, in his smooth lips…made her yearn for more. She stood on her toes, and reached under his arms to pull him closer. She spread her hands over the thick wool of the back of his greatcoat, feeling the impressiveness of his muscular frame for the first time. She marveled at the power she felt in him as her hands continued to trace along the steely contours of his broad back. He was perfect, and she hungered for more of his kiss. He answered her desire, and responded by kissing her more urgently and passionately than she had ever been kissed before. Not a fun kiss. Not an experienced kiss. If she had to put a word to it, this was a devoted kiss. A kiss that seemed to mean something, perhaps far more than she knew. It sent shivers through her body, and her head became light. She slowly pulled away from him, and he finished by kissing her softly on her nose.

  As she leaned into him, he pulled her close into his chest, and rested his chin on the top of her head. “I should say I’m sorry for that, but it would be a lie.” She could hear the smile in his voice. He lowered it to a whisper. “I hav
e so longed to hold you like this. I have been waiting for you.” She felt his chin move away from her head, and something soft—a kiss?—replaced it.

  She pulled herself together, stepped back, and looked into his bright blue eyes. She reached up to caress his cheek. “I think we’ve made our lives pretty difficult.”

  He brought his hand up and placed it over hers, then closed his eyes, and slowly turned his lips into the palm of her hand. When his eyes opened, they were darker, almost smoldering. “Reece, you must believe me when I tell you that I love you, and I will not allow anyone, or anything, to stand in our way.” He brought his strong hands to her face, cradling it, while his thumbs gently caressed her cheekbones. A tiny smirk played on his lips, and then he became serious. “You must promise that you will trust what I say. There hasn’t been much time for me to prove myself to you, but I beg you, for now, to trust me.”

  She could not help but laugh in response to the memory of the first day he had spoken to her. He had made the same request then.

  He smiled back, in what seemed to be perfect comprehension. “There will be more than one opinion of me and you, but it will not affect my love for you. I am prepared for it.”

  Doubt must have been apparent on her face. “Come with me.” He said as he reached for her hand. He led them away from the fences and upward to where they could see past the trees, down to the enormous Palace, and the gardens surrounding it. She stared at it and immediately felt as if it stared back, reminding her that a relationship with this man was impossible. The Palace was beautiful, but she wasn’t part of it.

  She stood there, defeated, and slowly shook her head, searching for words to explain that this love could never work. He, too, stared at the view in front of them. Reece wondered if he realized what she did.

  “It is beautiful, is it not?” He said.

  “Yes, it is.” But it’s not for me.

  “I have battled with my feelings for you, and I have already questioned the issues you have brought to my attention. I am no stranger to the reasons why I should not love you.” He slowly turned to her, his face serious. “When Harrison and I were instructed to guard you, I had to force myself to view you strictly as our assignment. It was difficult, but possible, until the day your eyes met mine in the airport. Then I began to see everything differently. I found myself longing to be in your presence, though I didn’t know why.”

  He took her hand. “Then we brought you to Pemdas. And having you here, in my home, was almost more than I could bear. I found myself battling my emotions. I knew what was expected of me; I could not allow myself to have feelings for you. But I constantly found reasons to be in your presence. I told myself it was only to make sure you were properly taken care of, and I assured myself that there was nothing wrong with enjoying the company of a new person. But I found myself needing to watch you smile, or to hear you laugh. Your smile—”

  She looked up at him in wonder, and smiled.

  His breath stopped for a moment. “Yes, that smile. What it does to me—I can’t explain.”

  His own smile—open, unsought, reaching eyes as well as lips, did something to Reece, also. He lightly stroked her jaw with the back of his hand. She leaned into the caress, and he laughed softly. “I have more than anyone in my world could ask for. But what I want, Reece, is you.”

  His thumb tenderly caressed her neck as he bent to kiss her. Her heart was beating rapidly, and each stroke of his thumb sent shivers through her. She didn’t know how she did it, but she managed to pull her lips from his, and exhaled. She wanted to taste the sweetness of his lips again. She had to make it clear to him, “But Levi—”

  “I know. I know better than you.” He interrupted her. “When others find out, most will be intent upon destroying our feelings for each other. I will not be inclined tolerate any of it. I will leave this place with you, if that is what is required. If you do not to wish to live in these lands, then we will live together where you will be most comfortable.”

  She hadn’t thought of that. This was a whole new set of issues. “Another part of Pemdas? Or—you would live on Earth with me?”

  He nodded once. “If that is what you are most comfortable with.”

  She looked at him quizzically, with more challenging questions lining up one-by-one in her mind.

  He shook his head and laughed. “You don’t have to decide anything this instant. We’ll have plenty of time to discuss it when I return. Now,” he offered his arm, “let’s head back to the Palace.”

  As they walked back to the Palace, they decided jointly that they would tell no one of their feelings for each other, until Levi returned. If there were to be hurtful comments, they would face them together.

  Once they arrived at the house, they parted ways. Levi would probably not be at dinner that evening, but he promised to try and see her before he departed the next morning.

  The rest of the afternoon dragged. Reece missed him the moment they parted. She became frustrated by her new weakness, knowing this would only make his time away seem like forever. At least I’ll have Elizabeth, she told herself.

  After dinner, they spent the evening in the sitting room. Reece was hoping to see Levi, and she forced her eyes to stay open to read. After reading the same sentence a dozen times, she pulled herself from the large chair she sat in, and placed her book on the table. It was pointless to keep fighting sleep, so she stood and said her goodnights. There was no sound of the men anywhere in the house.

  She was halfway up the stairs when a deep voice softly called, “Retiring so soon, Miss Bryant?”

  Levi stood at the bottom of the staircase with one hand on the banister, and one foot on the bottom step.

  Her heart immediately reacted. “Oh! I thought I wasn’t going to get to see you tonight!”

  He started up the steps to where she stood. “Our meetings went longer than expected. We were waiting for reports from a couple of our men, but we seem to have lost communication with them.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Everything is fine. It happens every now and then. Although, having to make plans without their information was an inconvenience. It took more time to make arrangements, and frankly, I was in no mood to be away from you.” He offered his arm. “Would you care to join me on an evening walk in the gardens?”

  “I would love to. Let me get a jacket.” No longer sleepy, she raced to her room, and returned wearing a warm, wool coat. They strolled together leisurely on the small path where they had walked on her first evening in Pemdas.

  It was Levi who opened up their conversation. “It is odd, is it not?”

  “Odd?”

  A smile played in the corner of his mouth as he looked down to her. “The last time that we walked this location together, you were about to become helplessly lost. That is, until I came to your rescue.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “My rescue, was it? I was never lost, Levi. Maybe you just wanted a reason to follow me.” She teased him.

  Levi guided her to a bench near the small pond he had shown her on her first evening in Pemdas. He sat beside her with his arm around her shoulders, and brought his other hand to her cheek. Reece’s head spun wildly as he kissed her lips. Then he pulled back and studied her. “You’re right, of course. Angry as I was with Simone, Catherine, and Lillian for allowing you to wander off, I was actually much happier for it. While Harrison stayed to scold them, I stole a few moments alone with you. At the time, though, I did not admit it, even to myself.”

  She chuckled. “I remember thinking that you looked really upset about something at dinner that night.”

  “What? Why?”

  She laughed. “Well, I don’t know. You seemed like you had a bad day or something, I didn’t know what your problem was.”

  “Reece, I was completely taken by you. I had never believed anyone’s presence could be so…intoxicating.” His eyes sparkled reminiscently. “Did you realize how astonishing you looked?”

  “Really? Because I n
oticed you checking out my dress and you seemed to have had problem with it.” She laughed. “You’re lucky I didn’t change back into my tracksuit!”

  “Is that what you were laughing to yourself about?”

  Reece smiled, “Oh, you noticed that, too?”

  He smiled. “Reece, you have always fascinated me, though I never believed there would come a day when we would ever speak. In the few short years that we watched over you on Earth, I saw your beautiful eyes sparkle with excitement toward so many other people. I learned to decipher your moods, to tell whether you were happy, sad, nervous, upset, or excited. I can discern your many smiles, the ones you give your close friends, the smile you display when you are embarrassed, and the ones when you are thrilled…and recently, I learned of the particular one for me. I watched your excitement illuminate every room you were in. I have watched you entertain those around you with the charming personality that only you possess.”

  She smiled at him. “I would have never believed that you felt that way about me. I have to say—you did a really good job of covering up your feelings.”

  Levi smiled mischievously. “I did, did I? You never questioned my constant concern for helping you study? Or finding an excuse to take you on a horseback ride in order to get you out of the house, alone with me?” He finished with a soft laugh.

  She shrugged. “I thought you were being a gentleman. You all are very courteous here.”

  Levi gazed at her with amusement. “Reece, if that had been the case, Harrison and I would have shared those duties.”

  Reece laughed. “Well, you had me fooled.”

  He grinned at her, with the stunning grin that always took her breath away. She traced his lips with her fingertips and studied his eyes. “This smile…”

  Levi pressed his lips into her fingers, giving them a small kiss, “Yes?” His eyes shimmered as he remained staring at her.