Read Online Only in Her Dreams by Christina McKnight - Free Book Online

glass from hand to hand. More questions were coming, he could feel it.
    “So, were you born in Erebos?”
    “Yes.” He loved the way she looked so unsure of herself as she asked the question. He’d answer anything to keep her talking and looking at him in this way.
    “What about family? Do you have any?” She averted her eyes after asking the question. “I don’t mean to pry.”
    “You’re not prying in the least. Actually, yes. I have two brothers. My mother died giving birth to my brother and me. My father passed away years ago.” He’d never shared the details of his past with anyone. There were no secrets in Erebos--except the secret he’d helped Guy keep all these years.
    Lucessa stiffened at his answer. “I’m sorry about your parents’ passing.”
    “It was long ago--almost a life time ago,” he said.
    “A life time ago? How old are you?”
    Would she view me as a creepy old guy if I told her the truth? “I am thirty-five, which is very young for my kind.” Try closer to sixty.
    She looked closely at him. He took a sip of his wine to cover any sign of dishonesty.
    “You don’t look a day over thirty.”
    “You’re too kind, Lucessa.” He spoke her name aloud again.
    A melancholy smile spread across her face, and despite the sadness it brightened the room. “My dad is also dead. In a car accident when I was eight. The same accident you said you saved me from.” She tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips.
    “I, too, am sorry for your loss.” He hoped she wasn’t connecting the dots.
    “As you said, it was almost a life time ago.” She shifted on the couch, drawing her legs under herself. “So...you’re a twin? That must’ve been fun growing up.” Her attempt to lift the mood in the room was welcome.
    “At times. When we were very young it worked in our favor, but as we grew, my twin, older by seven minutes, was taken away most days for training.” Maxim remembered that time with a great sense of emptiness. A piece of him went missing, a relationship altered, when Darius started spending his time with their father.
    “What type of training?” she asked with a lift of her brows. Maxim could look into her inquisitive dark blue eyes all night.
    “He was to lead Erebos.” The conversation was getting a little too close to home. He needed to stop admiring her eyes, her lips and the tilt of her head and focus on steering the conversation in a safer direction.
    “Was?”
    Damn, wrong answer.
    “Our eldest brother took over Erebos after our father died. He’s a much more suitable leader.” Careful, Maxim.
    “Okay, I get that. Tell me more about your twin.”
    He’s why you’re now in danger . Instead he told her about the constant competition between Darius and himself.
    She also asked about Erebos, which was a safe enough topic. Maxim talked about the easy flow of life in his world and the people he loved. “There is neither disease, famine, nor poverty.”
    “That must be wonderful,” Lucessa’s enthusiasm was a little biased, but she’d only heard the good things about Maxim’s home.
    “Do not get me wrong. There is still crime and death. While it is not as prevalent as on Earth, it does exist.” He didn’t enjoy dampening the good mood that’d settled between them, but he must be fair in what he told her. No place is all good or all bad.
    “On that note, I think it’s time for me to head off to bed. Here on Earth, we have to be up early for work,” Lucessa smiled. She stood and reached for his empty wine glass. Slowly, she walked into the kitchen. He watched her firm bottom as she walked away. He heard the flow of water as she rinsed the glasses. Was that humming coming from the kitchen?
    As she went upstairs to prepare for bed, he walked the lower floor, locking doors and windows. This wouldn’t keep the Melas out if they wanted in, but he’d awaken if they tried to enter.
     
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    Lucessa hurried upstairs to change the musty sheets for a crisp,