Read Online Everlasting (Night Watchmen, #1) by Candace Knoebel - Free Book Online

three times.
    I’m every shade of red when his eyes snap to mine and he says, “You’re staring at me.” He’s somehow returned to himself, returned to his composure and state of control while I’m still stumbling to find mine.
    I shake my head, trying to shake the fog away, trying to find the words to match his statement. A sensible answer or even a witty reply isn’t there because he has me so rattled. Instead, I fall back on a random fact that passes through my mind, the kind that always appears when I’m nervous. “Did you umm…know that stress heightens sexual attraction?” I palm my forehead the moment it slips out, wishing I could disappear.
    He cocks his head to the side, looking at me oddly. For a brief moment, as fast as a shooting star, a smile unfolds on his lips, unleashing two perfect dimples. “Is that your way of saying you’re attracted to me?” he muses, his words followed by a short chuckle.
    If mortification had a specific ‘look’ it would be the face I’m wearing. “I uh… I don’t know why I said that,” I sputter, desperately seeking a way out of the awkward statement. “I kind of ramble when I’m nervous. And state odd facts, not that you make me nervous. I mean, this whole situation makes me nervous.” I exhale and offer an awkward shrug. “You know?”
    He nods ever so slightly as if he agrees with me, and I see a hint of a smile hidden behind the confident lines of his lips.
    My face goes tight, as does every muscle in my body. I should carve the letter S for Stupid right onto my chest. “And now I look like a total idiot,” I trail off, shaking my head as I bite my lip and look away.
    “Really though, what should you feel nervous about? If you think about it, you just watched a crowd full of highly trained Watchmen cower behind their seats because of a power outage.”
    I look back at him. His brow quirks up and a smirk appears. There's a softness in his tone, an understanding that passes between us as he attempts to make me laugh away the embarrassment. I can feel my lips tilting to match his, and something breaks open inside of me. A ray of confidence filters out of its holding cell that's been buried deep inside my chest.
    He shifts in his stance, like he’s uncomfortable with trying to relate to another human being, and tucks his smirk away. “I’m Jaxen. Jaxen Gramm.”
    “Faye,” I breathe out, finding it hard to tear my eyes from his.
    “Faye,” he says, testing…tasting my name. A glitch of a smile appears and disappears. Something flickers through his eyes, something like restraint and sobriety. “Come on,” he says, his voice closed off, suddenly cold. “Maddock wants you in his office.” He points to something behind me.
    I turn and find we’re standing at the intersection of concrete paths that lead to twelve different four-story buildings surrounding a central courtyard. The sight is breathtaking, exhilarating, and slightly paralyzing. Blossoming trees with pink flowers kept pristine under the hands of the gardener’s magic are placed between buildings adorned with gargoyles perched on arched roofs. Large-paned windows take up the front of the building, reflecting drifting clouds.
    I’m so caught up with the beauty before me, I almost don’t realize Jaxen’s walking away from me. His footsteps are so quiet, so light. It’s like he walks on a cushion of air instead of the ground. I scramble after him, my eyes drinking in every detail they can as they try to find a piece of my parents within these walls. A gilded sign with the name of the building gleams in the sunlight. We’re heading for the Divine hall that sits in the middle of the grounds.
    Sunshine spills into the arched tunnel that runs down the center of the building. As I walk behind Jaxen, I run my hand over the smooth stone, wondering if my parents had done the same thing. The further into the tunnel we get, the colder the stones feel under my fingertips. I pull my hand away when