"No, Lorelai. I'm not coming to the pool."
"Why not?"
"You know why," I growl into the phone, annoyed at having to stretch all the way across the bed to reach the old-fashioned rotary phone that rests on my nightstand. I thought I was done using these things in the 80s.
"Oh, fuck. Your sun rash. I forgot," she groans, shame filling her voice.
I just woke up from a glorious dream in which I was exploring every curve of Cordelia's perfect body, so I'm in a decent mood. Therefore, I'll let her carelessness slide without giving her a hard time.
"It's all right, Lore. I'll have dinner with you and Cordelia later."
I practically hear her eyebrows raise through the phone. "Cordelia?"
Grinning, I click my tongue. This is the perfect time to tell her, but I decide to keep her in suspense until she can see the two of us together. "You're nosy, siren."
"Forgive me for wanting to know what my—"
A light knock sounds at my door and I take this opportunity to cut her off. "Sorry, Lore, gotta go. See ya later, have fun today."
I get to my feet and throw on my robe, wrapping it around my naked body before answering the door. And thank the goddess this is a thick terrycloth robe because for fuck's sake...I have an instant fucking hard-on as soon as I see who's behind it.
Seeing Cordelia from the window in this rose gold string bikini was nothing compared to seeing her right in front of me now. It should be considered indecent for a woman with a body like hers to wear so little. She could cause a person to experience whiplash or stumble over their own feet. It is impossible to concentrate on anything but the way the triangles cup her breasts or how the high cut of the bottoms sits on her round hips. When she opens her mouth, I think she speaks, but I can't be sure. She may have caused my brain to malfunction.
I shake my head and rip my gaze from her exposed curves. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"
"Are you coming to the pool today? The event should be fun. We're learning how to make our own signature drinks," she says with a bright smile that is as stunning as her body in the bikini.
I hate turning her down, but I know it's necessary. A day lounging in the water could do me some good, but the sun...I could temporarily cure my reaction to it and join her, but it's not a door I want to open. Not when I'm struggling to hold it together around her.
And that's more to the point. I cannot allow myself to get close. Not when I've already accepted my fate and not when I have no business attempting to find what I've always been searching for in a human.
"I actually have plans to stay in today."
Her face falls and even though I hate it, I force myself to keep my stoic, unfeeling expression.
"Oh. Plans with...?" Her voice trails off and I realize she thinks I have plans with another woman.
I smirk and cross my arms over my chest. "Jealous?"
Her lip curls and she places her hand on her hip, cocking it to the side. All that does is pronounce her hourglass figure even more, and I cannot keep my eyes off of her. Fuck, I am in trouble.
"Jealous? No, I—"
"Relax, Ashling. My plans are with a book and movie."
She runs her tongue over her top teeth and leans against the door frame. "Oh. Well, that's lame. Bring your book to the pool and how are you watching a movie in this place when we can't even make phone calls?"
"Evermore is wired with its own server. The movie and television selection is out of this world."
She shrugs a shoulder. "Then we can watch a movie tonight."
I don't miss the we in that sentence, but I don't comment on it. I know I could just tell her about the sun rash, but for some reason, I don't want her to know my weaknesses. I want her to see me as someone who can protect her at any time, no matter what.
As if she can read my mind, she says, "Aren't you supposed to be protecting me? How can you do that if you're in here and I'm out there?"
"It's the daytime, Cordelia. You'll be fine. And Lorelai will be there. She's not useless by any means. And if something goes wrong, I'll hear you. Don't forget your inhaler."
She pats her bag. "I have it," she mutters. "Well, I guess I'll see you later then."
"I'll be down for dinner. We have to make sure Lorelai sees us together."
"Yeah," she says, waving over her shoulder.
Sighing, I close the door and barely crack the blinds, dragging the settee over to the window. I need to be able to see out but let in as little light as possible; I have to keep an eye on her somehow, and I happen to have a perfect view of the pool from the window opposite of the one I watched her from yesterday. Despite what I told her, there won't be much reading happening today.
It takes a few minutes for me to catch her walking through the garden toward the pool in the back. Her delicate sandals slap against the soles of her feet as she sways her hips with each step. No doubt, I will spend the day watching the other males making a move on her. By both human and supernatural society standards, Cordelia isn't the most beautiful woman here. But she has this self-confidence and light-heartedness that pulls one in like a magnet. The pull is intense and rapid and leaves me feeling like I can't get away.
I can hear everything going on outside, but it's a dull roar because the entirety of the group is out there, and everyone seems to be talking at once. Closing my eyes, I drown out the voices until I get to hers and Lorelai's. When I focus in, she's all I can hear. Even Lorelai is quieter, more subdued. Everyone else is just white noise.
"I don't know why he didn't come. He said something about reading and watching movies," Cordelia is saying, and I don't miss the note of disappointment in her tone.
Lorelai's explanation is brief and cursory, and after a bit of conversation, she excuses herself to talk to the bartender who is teaching everyone to mix drinks. Cordelia is left floating alone in the shallow end, and when she climbs the concrete steps to exit the pool, water is cascading down every curve and ripple of her body. Damn, I wish I could be out there with her so every fucker on this island knows she's mine.
Well, that she's pretending to be mine.
I need to keep that straight in my head. This is nothing but a business arrangement. A simple bargain between friends—not even friends, really, but acquaintances. A mutually beneficial deal.
There's nothing more to it. In fact, she probably isn't even thinking of me right now. She's probably making new friends as I sit here and pine over this.
I look out the window to prove my point to myself, only to find that she isn't there. Standing so fast I almost knock over the settee, I scan the area, coming up empty.
"Fuck," I mutter, closing my eyes to listen for her heartbeat or her voice. I can't hear the latter, and her heartbeat is very faint, as if it's getting further and further away. "Goddamnit."
I rip off the robe and throw on a pair of shorts and my undershirt from last night, the closest thing I can find at the top of the laundry basket. Thundering down the stairs, out the door, and into the midmorning sunlight.
My body immediately regrets my decision, even though my mind knows I wouldn't be able to just sit there and not look for her. All the exposed skin on my body begins to sting, and as I run toward the pool area, I pay no attention to any of the other people looking in my direction or even Lorelai calling out to me. My sole focus is finding Cordelia.
Listening for her heartbeat, I breathe a sigh of relief when I hear it getting stronger. I run onto the path that leads to the small grove of orange trees to the side of the pool, and right there, in the middle of the secluded area is Cordelia. In one piece and totally fine, picking an orange.
Meanwhile, my body feels like it's going to burst into flames.
"Cordelia, fuck, you scared the shit out of me."
Her head snaps in my direction and she drops the orange. "Persephone's pomegranate, Elias, what the hell are you doing out here?"
I'm clawing at my bare skin, the rash getting redder and redder by the second. "Looking for you! What in the actual fuck are you doing?"
She bends over, giving me a delicious view of her tits. "Uh, picking an orange? My blood sugar felt a little low, so I thought I'd grab me a little treat. Is there a problem?"
I vigorously shake my head and back into a patch of shade. It takes the edge off the burning, but my skin still feels as if it is blistering. Even worse than the rash is my embarrassment. How do I explain to her that I ran out of the house because I was keeping an eye on her, and when she was one second out of my sight, I panicked?
My palm moves of its own accord over my chest, wanting to scratch my skin and pull away my shirt at the same time. "I just thought I'd come down and check on you, and when I didn't find you by the pool, I got a little worried. I see I overreacted. You are well, and I'm going back to my book."
I take a step back, eager to make my escape and return to the comfort of my dark room.
"No, wait," she says, closing the distance between us and capturing my wrist, pulling me closer to her. "Something's wrong, you—" She gasps as her silver gaze dances across the exposed skin above my collar. "Elias! Your skin! What is that? Are you okay?" Her concern is evident, and she doesn't hesitate before reaching up and running her fingers across it, her touch so gentle that it genuinely shocks me. "Oh, fuck, I'm sorry. Did that hurt?"
"It's an allergy. I'm fine; I swear."
I let her touch linger on me until I can't take the feeling of the sun anymore. Taking her hand in mine, I guide it away from my irritated skin. She doesn't fight me, but her fingers wrap around mine for a second before I force myself to let her go.
"Please don't wander off by yourself. Lorelai will watch over you, but she needs to know where you are in order to do that. Just be aware of your surroundings, got it?"
"Yes, Elias."
Send my soul to the fiery depths of the underworld and let me burn now. The way she sweetly submits to my request has an entirely different type of burning searing through me. I'm nanoseconds away from going up in flames. I manage to get myself under control before the orchard lights on fire.
"Thank you. I'll see you tonight at dinner."
One side of her mouth lifts like she knows what she is doing to me, and no doubt the woman does. I will have to find a way to repay her for the number she has done on both my body and mind later tonight. And I vow to make it just as torturous for her.