After Sundown: Illumination Read online

  Vlad nodded his head slowly.

  “My specialists are specifically chosen by me based on their abilitity to succeed in each case, Mr. Vanderhoss. And they are very committed to protecting their clients at all costs, including their own lives.”

  Vlad glanced at Jason, waiting expectantly.

  Jason nodded.

  “We’re very devoted to our client’s protection, Mr. and Mrs. Vanderhoss. You can trust that your granddaughter will be safe with me. I give my clients my all when ensuring their safety. You could say that’s almost my mission in life.”

  Mr. Vanderhoss nodded his head. “Good. That’s exactly what I want to hear. I want no harm to come to Rebecca. She’s been through enough.”

  “I understand,” Jason said. “But how will I be able to get close to your daughter if she’s at this facility?”

  Vlad answered for the couple. “We’ve arranged for your employment in Rebecca’s unit. Upper management knows about your significance but everyone else is unaware. You will be assigned as Rebecca’s night attendant. Her initial attack and a following attempt were at night so we want you close to her from sundown to sunrise.”

  “What about during the day?” Jason asked.

  “A unit attendant and staff nurses, as well as her doctor, will be present in the sunlight hours so we’re comfortable that she’ll be safe then. In fact, a few of her supervising staff members are part of the Wiccan community. Besides that, her time will be accounted for during the day as she engages in different activities and sessions the facility routinely supervises and runs for patients.”

  Jason thought about this for a minute.

  “Uh, what exactly does an attendant do?”

  Vlad explained his duties to him and Jason cringed a little inside. He would have to remain very close to Rebecca. The thought of it sent a sense of premonition through him. He wondered about it, not discounting the feeling due to his gargoyle nature. He trusted his instincts, as all gargoyles are taught to do. Something was going to happen with this woman but he wasn’t clear on what it was. All he knew was that it was going to be something significant. He had no doubts about that. And he would be there to protect her. Nothing would happen to this woman filled with light and laughter.

  He would make sure of it.

  Rebecca could only stare.

  No words came to mind. She knew her mouth was probably hanging open but she couldn’t help herself. The man standing in her doorway took her breath away.

  “I’m Jason. I’ll be handling the night shift.”

  His voice was deep and sexy. Rebecca couldn’t respond. Her mind just didn’t want to wrap around the idea of speaking. It was too busy wrapping itself around the hunk in front of her. She had woken up a few minutes earlier and discovered she had slept for quite a while, when a soft knock had sounded at her door.

  She had called out a welcome without another thought. “Come in.”

  As the door opened she had gotten an eyeful of one incredibly good-looking man. Unfortunately she had also somehow lost the ability to form coherent thought in the process, as if the very sight of the guy had caused her to become a bumbling idiot.

  Jason’s expression grew puzzled. He looked back at the room number on her door then returned his gaze to her.

  “You are Rebecca, right?”

  Rebecca wanted to answer, she really did, but she just couldn’t seem to bend her lips to form the words she wanted to say. She finally managed to nod her head silently. The man was absolutely gorgeous. That was the only word she could think of, and one she had rarely used when referring to a guy. His midnight black hair, hanging just past his very broad shoulders, surrounded a face made up of hard angles. His face was all male, hard and firm everywhere.

  There was one exception.

  His lips.

  Just looking at them made Rebecca wonder at their soft lushness. Those full lips were made for kissing a woman, and not just on her lips. All over her body, over and over again if she had her way about it.

  What was she thinking?

  A slow heat crept up her neck.

  Great. She was blushing. Now what would the guy think? That she was acting like a silly schoolgirl instead of an adult woman, that’s what. She needed to get a handle on her libido, and fast.

  Rebecca tried to clear her mind, wondering how it had gotten lost so quickly along this wayward path, especially considering her situation, but at that particular moment the man shifted slightly, leaning his weight against the doorframe.

  Her attention was immediately drawn to Jason’s body.

  And if she had been getting heated up before, now she was downright boiling.

  His muscular build bespoke many hours of hard work, yet he moved with an unusual grace, belying his size. He was taller than most men, especially next to her petite five-foot-four-inch frame. She had to look up and up and up to meet his gaze. And what a gaze it was. His unusual silver eyes shone so bright it almost hurt to look at them, yet she was drawn back to those liquid silver pools again and again. His searching stare called her closer while delving into her very soul. The end result left her feeling attracted, restless and vulnerable all at the same time.

  Her stomach filled with butterflies and her legs turned to wet noodles. Suddenly lightheaded, she staggered backward. As the back of her knees hit the side of her bed her legs gave way and she sat down.

  Jason walked to where she sat, squatting down in front of her. Despite this she still had to look up to meet his stare. His brows knit in concern.

  “Are you okay, Rebecca?”

  As their gazes met Rebecca felt a tingling sensation shoot through her that started at the top of her head and ran down to the tips of her toes. It was as if she had gotten a light electrical shock. She could tell Jason felt it as well because his eyes widened with awareness and his jaw clenched tightly. He searched her face then. It wasn’t a casual glance either. It was intense, as if he thought he would find the solution to some great puzzle in her features. When his piercing silver stare ended on her lips, they began to quiver. It felt like fingers were lightly skipping along them, tauntingly, teasingly, causing them to swell with anticipation of a deeper touch.

  Rebecca’s eyes closed without thought and she tilted her chin up, closer to his mouth. Just one kiss, that’s all she wanted. All she needed. If she didn’t get it she would die, she was sure of it.

  Jason moved closer.

  She could feel his warm breath brush her face as he whispered words she didn’t understand.

  “M’Tali. Ti sa movra.”

  His voice was filled with wonderment and surprise. It was as if he couldn’t believe he was saying the strange words. She didn’t recognize the language he spoke yet the sound of it resonated deep inside her as if she had been waiting a lifetime to hear it. She let the feeling flow through her, the rightness of his words filling her with intense happiness. Startled by such a strong reaction, Rebecca opened her eyes to stare into his beautiful gaze once more, only to find Jason gone.

  She was alone again.

  Jason’s absence left her feeling cold and empty. But why? She had just met the man. Why did she suddenly have the urge to run out into the hall and call him back?

  She didn’t have time to figure it out.

  Dr. Everett strolled into the room with a warm smile on his face.

  “I see you’ve met your new attendant,” he said, looking behind him over his shoulder. “Jason’s one big fellow. You can definitely feel safe with him around. And he’s very well-qualified. I feel confident you’re in good hands, Rebecca.”

  Rebecca was confused. She focused on the word she needed the most answers about.

  “Attendant? You never said anything about an attendant.”

  “It’s a formality your family insisted on. They wanted to make sure you were well cared for and had someone there for you when or if you needed it. Jason is here for your welfare and protection.”

  “I see,” she said.

  And she di
d.

  Leave it to her family to try to overprotect her. They had done that her whole life, never quite trusting her on her own.

  Where did that memory come from?

  How had she known that?

  “Are you all right, Rebecca?”

  “Will it continually be this way?”

  “What way?” he asked, curiosity written all over his face.

  “Will my memory only come back in bits and pieces, driving me slowly insane because I can’t remember the rest?”

  Dr. Everett’s eyes softened with kindness and he gently patted Rebecca’s shoulder.

  “I know it’s difficult but you will get through this. At the rate you’re remembering things, I’m positive you’ll regain your full memory sooner rather than later. Just give your mind a chance to do it at its own pace. I believe there’s a reason for everything, and your mind is only giving you bits and pieces right now because that’s the best thing for you. Just let it happen, don’t fight it, don’t try to figure it out. Just let your memory slowly come as it will.”

  Rebecca sighed. “I’ll try. But when you say sooner rather than later, what kind of time frame are we talking about?”

  The doctor chuckled, shaking his head. “You definitely are persistent. There’s no way to tell with something like this, Rebecca. The mind and how it functions are still great mysteries to the medical community. It will work as fast as it works. That’s all I can tell you.”

  “I understand,” Rebecca said dejectedly.

  She felt like a pouty child but couldn’t help it. She didn’t like this feeling of limbo, not knowing where she was going or where she had been. She wanted to know—she needed to know—so she could move forward with her life.

  Dr Everett gave her shoulder a soft squeeze.

  “Hang in there, young lady. It will happen, and when it does you’ll be ready.”

  Hours later, restlessly tossing and turning in her bed, Rebecca wondered about the doctor’s words. What had happened in her past? What had been so serious that no one would tell her who she was? What did the future hold for her?

  Throwing back the covers, she climbed out of bed and paced back and forth along the length of her room. She suddenly felt claustrophobic. She had to get out. She had to go somewhere.

  Throwing open her door, she flew out into the hall.

  Straight into a brick wall.

  Okay, so it wasn’t a brick wall but it felt just like one as she bumped into a very muscular, very hard chest and fell backward onto her bottom when she bounced off it. Glancing up, and up and up from where she sat, her gaze meandered over snug, faded jeans that stretched over large, firm thighs leading to a place his pants only emphasized. Rebecca swallowed hard as her heart rate sped out of control and her body started heating up. His black t-shirt stretched over the flatness of what she imagined were washboard abs and the words Staind stretched in bright yellow across the material covering his broad chest. By the time her perusal reached his incredibly striking face and she saw that the obstacle she’d run into was none other than her brand-spanking-new attendant Jason, her libido was already skyrocketing.

  Spanking?

  Where did that word come from and why was she suddenly blushing at the thought of using it in the same sentence as “Jason”?

  Get a hold of yourself girl. He’s nothing special. Just a man, just like any other man.

  The voice of reason rang loud and clear in her mind but her body was having none of it. As Jason reached down to help her up, her body went into overdrive. She scooted back on her butt, just out of his reach.

  “No, don’t. I, um, I’ll help myself up.”

  “Are you all right, Rebecca?”

  No, she wasn’t all right, dammit! Her body was reacting like a teenager’s at the peak of a hormone surge but there was no way she was going to tell him that. The man probably thought she was strange as it was. She was in a mental care facility after all, what else would he think?

  That thought made her suddenly start giggling. She couldn’t help herself, and once she started she couldn’t seem to stop. Her laughter got louder and louder until she was actually snorting along with each giggle.

  She was snorting!

  Snorting!

  She needed to stop now.

  Rebecca tried to stand up but she was laughing too hard at that point. She looked up helplessly and saw that Jason’s face was dead serious. Not one emotion showed in his stone-cold expression.

  For some reason that pushed her over the edge. Her snorting laughter turned into downright guffaws shaking her whole body. Tears rolling down her eyes, she had to hold her stomach because the force of each laugh was starting to hurt. She tried to catch her breath but it suddenly was impossible.

  She couldn’t breathe!

  As she continued to meet Jason’s gaze she felt fear replace the humor but still couldn’t stop laughing. She suddenly understood what it truly meant to be hysterical.

  Jason must have sensed what was happening because he reached down without another word, grasped her by the shoulders and lifted her off her feet. He gave her a little shake that made her dizzy but she kept laughing and gasping for breath. He shook her again, this time harder, so hard her teeth clicked painfully together and her neck snapped back.

  “Get a hold of yourself, Rebecca. Come on. Come back to me.”

  His actions calmed her slightly but she still couldn’t catch her breath as hysterical laughter continued to bubble out of her. The sound of it gave her the chills. It was creepy, not like her natural laugh. It had a demented, evil sound.

  The next thing that happened stunned her. Jason set her on her feet, slid one hand down to her waist and the other up to the back of her neck. Before she knew his intentions he pulled her body against his and lowered his face to hers. Grasping a handful of her hair, he held her in place while touching his lips to hers.

  The feel of his warm mouth had her opening her lips wide, voicelessly asking him to deepen the kiss, while melting against him. Her hysterical laughter ceased immediately but she still needed to breathe. Rebecca struggled to free herself so she could take a breath but instead of letting her go Jason inhaled deeply through his nose then blew air into her mouth. Desperate to breathe, she sucked in the oxygen without hesitation, filling her aching lungs with what they needed.

  Still he didn’t release her.

  Holding her tightly against him, their lips pressed together, Jason alternated between lightly kissing her, almost sipping from her lips, to breathing air into her mouth so she could fill her lungs. She became acutely attuned to the rhythm of Jason’s breathing and his heartbeat. Her heart pumped as his, her lungs expanded with his. It was as if their bodies suddenly started functioning as one.

  Calm settled over her like a warm blanket on a freezing cold night.

  The hysteria passed, disappearing into the ether as if it had never been.

  Rebecca felt peace.

  Her eyes fluttered closed and her body sagged with relief against Jason. Her muscles, which had been tight with fear, now loosened to the point that she could barely stand. She gave herself over completely to him and let him lead her body where he would.

  He must have sensed her complete surrender because only then did he loosen his hold on her. Grasping her shoulders, he pushed her slightly away while still supporting her. She knew without a doubt she would have slid to the ground like a blob of Jell-O if he had completely let her go. As his lips broke away from hers Rebecca sucked in a deep breath of fresh air, but instead of relief that her mouth was free she felt a sense of loss as he put some distance between them.

  “Can you stand?” he asked, his voice little more than a hoarse whisper.

  The husky sound of it caught Rebecca’s attention. Her eyes snapped open and she glanced up at Jason’s face. His expression was stone-cold, his face tight, and he was clenching and unclenching his jaw. But it was his eyes that held her stare and almost made her lose her breath again.

  They were on
fire.

  His silver eyes were so bright it burned, almost like looking directly into the sun. The metallic color appeared fluid, like hot metal in its liquid form before a blacksmith shapes and cools it in water. The silver actually appeared to be moving within his irises, slowly swirling, reflecting the light with every move.

  He had the most beautiful eyes.

  M’Tali. Ti sa movra.

  Those strange words that Jason had spoken earlier suddenly whispered through her mind. But it wasn’t her voice whispering them. It was Jason’s. How could that be? She let the sound of each syllable flow over her, somehow finding comfort in them. But what did they mean? And had she actually heard his voice in her mind like that?

  The silver in his eyes swirled faster and Rebecca was drawn closer. She felt like she was losing herself in the shining twin pools. Yet she wasn’t afraid. She wanted to lose herself there. She wanted to swim in his silver waters and let his mind speak to hers.

  Jason closed his eyes for just a moment. Yet when he opened them again they weren’t the same. The silver looked dulled and dark, almost tarnished. And the swirling had stopped, leaving nothing but still, murky, gray puddles in its wake.

  Rebecca tried to find her way back to herself.

  “Rebecca, can you stand?”

  “Wh-what?” she asked, confusion muddling her brain. “Um, yes. I think I can.”

  “Okay,” he said with an encouraging nod. “I’m going to let you go. Ready? Here goes.”

  Jason slowly released her shoulders. Rebecca tilted a little to the side at first but managed to catch herself. Squaring her shoulders and bracing her legs slightly apart, she regained her footing. His expression turned carefully watchful. He stared at her a second or two longer then with a nod stepped back.

  “Good. You found your footing. You seemed off balance there for a minute,” he said unnecessarily,