Halcyon

C H A P T E R T W O: VIOLENT PETALS

      I watched, feeling the blood drain from my face as he stepped forward, the glow from the pool light shedding illumination onto his angular face. His nose was long and straight, set proudly atop lips with such a perfect Cupid's bow that I wondered if it'd cut me when we kissed. I shook my head hard and backed to the other side of the hot tub. What was I thinking? There'd be no kissing he was trespassing on our property!

      He suddenly crouched next to the edge of the water, so quickly that a gasp left my lips and I absently noticed that his shoulders were heaving as if he'd been running. His eyes burned through the steam that curled into the night sky, blacker than the heavens above and jet locks of hair fell over the two searing orbs making me want to brush it from his face. He was handsome. Very handsome in a sharp, frightening sort of way. Separately, his masculine features were quite pleasing but put them together on a body that rippled with muscle and the effect was unsettling.

      A movement behind him caught my attention and I whipped my head up, feeling myself start when I realized two other people stood behind him. A younger boy, possible eighteen or nineteen, who stood shirtless in the freezing cold with his hands stuffed into his pockets and a grin on his face. The girl stood a little farther back, long tan legs poking out of tiny shorts with blonde hair that reached her waistband. She smiled at me kindly and gave a little wave, as if she'd done this many times before and we were good friends.

      "Hello there!" piped up the boy, stepping forward so I could get a better look at him. His dark red hair was littered with snow flakes and a silver earring winked at his left ear. "I don't suppose you have a telephone we could use, do you? We were out hiking, you see, and one of our friends has been injured." He pointed across the yard and I followed his direction, feeling my heart rate pick up when I saw three more of them standing behind the garden fence, the older two supporting a young man between them who seemed unconscious, if not nearly so. How had they gotten so close without my hearing them? I thought, panicky, as I jerked back to face the speaker. The big one was still crouched at the water's edge, his unblinking stare beginning to make me squirm.

      "I'm Jax," introduced the red-head, before hiking a thumb over his shoulder at the girl, "and that's my cousin Nadya." Nadya waved again, stepping closer as well.

      "This here's Django," Jax seemed to add as an afterthought, laying a hand on the shoulder of the man. My gaze flickered to him, then trailed down, where under his black coat he was bare-chested, moisture from the water accumulating along an abdomen that was rung with muscle, and a line of dark hair that descended into hi . . . Look away! Unconsciously, I shifted as attraction bloomed in my lower belly, before I quickly glanced up, feeling a flush heat my cheeks. He must have noticed my perusal because something flashed in his black eyes and all his muscles tensed like a bowstring.

      My gaze flickered back and forth between each of them, heart a drum against my rib cage. After a moment of my silence, Jax raised his brows and shared an amused look with Nadya who grinned back at him.

      "The phone, little one? It is rather important."

      I glanced again at the three men standing outside. Crossing my arms over my chest I cleared my throat and replied, "Y-yeah it's inside, hold on a second."

      Feeling my hands shake slightly, I turned and gripped the side of the basin and hauled myself out, water sluicing from my form. For a moment I was sure a low growl had sounded behind me but when I turned around, Jax and Nadya were still smiling blissfully. Django's face, as it had been for the past minute, was blank.

      With an inward shake, I hurriedly made my way to the gate and opened it, standing aside for the two men as they dragged their companion through. Steam rose from my skin as it cooled and I began to shiver violently, hurrying back to Nadya, Django and Jax with the other three in tow. Their stares on me were almost as uncomfortable as my red hair, which now clung cold and wet to my shoulders and back. It was only after a moment that I realized they could see my scars in the dim lighting and that made my pulse skyrocket.