Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
“That must be nice. My parents died in a car accident when I was little. I came here to live with Wilson. I was lucky because he never, not once, made me feel like a burden. He was happy to have me.”
“I’m sorry you lost him.”
“The man lived to eighty-six, so again, I was lucky to have him as long as I did. He loved my parents very much, so we grew really close when we were both grieving.” He looked around the room. “I spent a lot of time in this room with him.”
“Even though you said it makes you feel…off?”
“That didn’t start until my teens. It was like something changed in here, and I never could figure out just what was different. It probably sounds crazy, but it’s just a…feeling.”
Dax narrowed his eyes, studying him. “Do you often have those unusual feelings?”
Everett didn’t want Dax to think he was crazy, but he also didn’t want to lie to him. Ever. So he slowly nodded. “Yeah, I do. It’s not something I can explain. I just sometimes know when something is…off. It happens at odd times but mostly when I’m out in public. I’ll be somewhere like a post office when this brush of something just seems to go over my skin.” He shrugged. “That probably makes me sound a bit crazy.”
“Not at all. You could be sensitive to…vibes. Or a person’s intentions or emotions. Neuroscience and evolutionary biology have scientifically proven that empathy is a real trait. It correlates with activity in the insula—” He broke off, his cheeks flushing as he cleared his throat. “There are many studies on it.”
“The insula, huh?” He grinned, then looked around the room. “I just wish I could figure out why I feel this way in this study. It used to be my favorite room in the house.”
It had to be something in here, though he kept that to himself. How could some inanimate object give him the creeps?
He’d have to believe in magic for that to be true.
Chapter Eight
Dax
It was two o’clock in the morning, and Dax was having no luck quietly going through the office. Again. He’d been sneaking down here every night the two weeks he’d now been here. There were just so many…things. Holding each book and concentrating on it took time, as did picking up each and every knick-knack. The whole time he searched, Everett stayed on his mind. Dax was positive that whatever was putting out this dark-feeling magic was why he’d been attacked. He had no explanation for how he knew—it was just a gut feeling. Nothing else had happened, but they’d stuck close to this house, so maybe whoever was after Everett just hadn’t gotten a chance at him again.
He picked up yet another small figurine of an angel and closed his eyes as he held it. Nothing. Growing frustrated, he thought of calling Xavier, who was often up late, but probably not this late, so he held off.
There was a cracking noise, and he looked down with dismay to see he’d broken off one of the angel’s wings.
“Shit,” he murmured softly as he set the pieces on the desk and opened the top drawer to look for glue. It was hard to see without much light coming into the room, so he flipped on a small lamp on the desk. There was a tube of superglue in the top drawer, so he sat down to glue the figurine back together, feeling just awful that his big hands had ruined it. He’d been so careful with all these small treasures, too.
He would still have to tell Everett about this, but he worked to piece it back together, then carefully laid it out to dry.
Sticking with books, he methodically went from shelf to shelf, holding each one and concentrating, which was difficult when his thoughts were full of how much he wanted Everett. He’d loved every moment of being around him during the past weeks. Once he’d learned of Everett’s work, a lot of their conversations had turned to plots, and he found the way Everett’s mind worked fascinating. Dax had also been reading his work and found it intelligent and extremely well-written.
He was just completely fascinated by the man. He’d never felt this way about anyone before. He’d loved twice in his long lifetime. He’d had his heart broken both times, but even then, he hadn’t felt this kind of obsession. Everett ticked all his boxes. Intelligent conversation, chemistry through the roof, and a warm and caring personality that appealed to Dax so very much. He wanted to introduce the man to his parents, who would no doubt love him. He wanted to get to know more about him. And fuck, he wanted to touch him.
Dax looked down at his big hands that had just broken something fragile. He curled them into fists and closed his eyes. All this thinking was ridiculous. Everett didn’t see through his glamour. He couldn’t be a soulmate. It was just that Dax felt like he was. That he was the one. Felt it in his soul. His conclusion to all the research he’d done proved that a soulmate would take on traits that complemented the preternatural. Everett would become stronger. It wasn’t that Dax couldn’t be with him otherwise, but there would always be that worry. He’d seen the unfortunate results of an ogre who’d lost himself to passion with a human.