I wanted to snipe back that it was hell to see him again, that his nearness and energy-sucking touch drained me. But it took all my strength to keep driving.
“Am I scaring you? Sorry, that’s not my intention. It’s just I couldn’t find any other way to get you alone. So I followed you.”
“Stalked,” I spat out in a furious whisper.
“It was necessary so we could talk.”
Times like this, a girl could really use an eject button to fling an unwanted passenger out of the car. It was hard to think straight, especially with the white lines on the road wavering like wiggling snakes. Fields and trees and paved road blurring, I drifted away, fading like smoke …
“Watch out!!” Gabe released my shoulder as he lunged over the seat to steady the wheel.
“I can drive just fine!” Without his heated touch, I could think more clearly. “Keep your poisonous hands off me.”
“Sorry — I forgot how my touch affects a Temp Lifer.” He sucked in a deep breath, then blew it out and leaned away from me. “I promise I won’t touch you unless you want me to.”
Like that would ever happen—
I kept my gaze on the road and spoke coolly, “What’s this all about?”
“You have every reason to hate me, and I don’t blame you. I simply want to talk.”
“So talk.”
“Not in a moving car. Find somewhere to stop — choose a public place if that will make you feel safer. You can trust me.”
Trust him? Never. But I was all for going to a public place where I could yell for help. I thought fast, knowing that his Dark Lifer touch was as deadly to me as a loaded gun. Playing along with him seemed like the best idea for now — until I could sneak to my GEM and report him to the Dark Deposal Team.
“I’ll pull over in that park.” We’d driven into a suburban area with large homes that practically bumped into each other. There was no space left for yards, but it offered a few acres of lawn and shade trees in a community park.
He didn’t argue, so I took that as acceptance.
I was relieved to see little children swinging and whooshing down a slide while parents sat nearby on benches. If Gabe pulled anything, a shrill scream would activate the mother-warrior instinct and playground moms would punch 911 on their cell phones.
As I pulled into a parking spot between two SUVs, I kept a hand poised on the door handle, debating on whether I should give into my curiosity and listen to him or try to escape.
But Gabe must have guessed what I was thinking because before the car even came to a complete stop, he sprang from the passenger seat, coming around to my side to open my door. With a sweeping gesture, he said, “Allow me.”
I didn’t thank him.
I pocketed Alyce’s car keys and stepped out of the car.
“This way, please,” he said, with such gentlemanly charm that anyone listening would think we were on a date.
Now that I could see him better, his body was still hot looking: long, muscular legs in snug blue jeans; a dark-blond ponytail; and a golden tan that I knew was sprayed on to hide the Dark Lifer grayness of his hands. He had a subtle style, too, which seemed modern at first — jeans, a button-down shirt over a T-shirt. But a closer look revealed that the large silver watch he wore was obviously an antique and his boots were heavy leather, more suited for sailing than hanging out at a mall.
“What’s this about?” I insisted, facing him with my hands on my hips.
“It’s complicated.” He pointed beyond the playground to a rose garden. “Let’s go over there.”
“Why?” I demanded. “Because it’s remote and deserted?”
“No, because flowers are beautiful — I’ve always been a great admirer of beauty.” He gave me a significant look.
I felt myself blushing and had to remind myself that I was talking to the enemy. “So why go to all this trouble to talk to me?”
“Would you have met with me otherwise?”
“No.”
“My point exactly.” He moved slowly and I fell into step beside him, walking down a worn dirt path between rows of brilliant blooming and budded roses. “Aren’t you going to ask how I found you?”
“Why bother? You’ll eventually tell me.”
He chuckled. “You’re right, of course, but then I expected no less from you. You’re unlike any girl I’ve ever met.”
“Nice line, but it won’t work on me. I know your history of leading girls on, then breaking their hearts. I know better than to believe anything you say.”
“Aren’t you curious why I still wear this body?”
Well, duh. Of course I was, but I wasn’t about to admit it to him. With a shrug, I stepped ahead of him over a green hose stretched across a dirt path between the roses. Inhaling soft flowery scents mingled with damp earth, I pretended nonchalance as I reached out to brush my fingertip across a lavender petal.
“Who can resist a rose?” he said with a wry twist of his lips. “As D. H. Lawrence said,
“I have no idea what that means.”
“It’s about appreciation and living life to its fullest.” He sighed. “But no matter how many lives I live, I’ll never regain my own.”
He spoke in a voice raw with emotion; the dark hopelessness in his eyes made me feel as if I was staring into his soul. I could imagine his endless cycle — stealing a body every moon, decades passing in a whirl of wars and technology. Yet he’d chosen to live as an outcast.
“I should have already moved on. I need to find a suitable host to inhabit before the full moon next week.” He stared wistfully at the roses. “But I wasn’t ready yet.”
“Why not?” I asked quietly.
“Because of you.”
“Oh, please. You don’t even know me,” I pointed out. “Most of the time we were together, you thought I was someone else.”
“Appearances mean little. It’s your soul essence that sparked emotions in me I thought were long dead — curiosity, interest, and a longing to see you again. I stayed in this body so you’d know me when we met again.”
“That’s a dumb move. Aren’t you afraid the DD Team will find you?” I thought of Monkey Bag tossed casually on the floor of Alyce’s car, with the GEM zipped inside. All I had to do was get to the car, open the book, and report him to the DD Team.
“You were worth the risk,” he said simply.
“That’s crazy.”
“No crazier than discovering you’re a Temp Lifer — only one of the intriguing things about you. And the way you stood up to me, fearless. I’ve thought of nothing else but finding you since we last met.”
Had that only been a few days ago? I could hardly believe so little time had passed since the drama on his boat, where he’d barely escaped the Dark Disposal Team.
“You should never have found me,” I told him. “It’s my duty to turn you in again and I will, if I get the chance.”
“I know … and I find it strangely exciting. You probably have a GEM in the car. If you want to report me, go ahead. I won’t stop you.”
“Why not?” I asked suspiciously.
He arched a dark brow, studying me. “Perhaps I have more trust in your good nature than you have in my bad nature.”
“Doubtful.”
