Page 6 of Bound By Destiny
“Yeah,” I respond slowly, nonplussed. “That’s what my mom would say when she made up stories at bedtime.”
He nods. “Well that explains things.”
Definitely crazy.I shake my head, willing myself not to be distracted by that silver gaze that makes my pulse race.
“Listen, these introductions were charming. But to be honest, I’m not up for company right now.”
And with a firm goodbye, I close the door to this ridiculously attractive yet decidedly unstable man.
Dane
“Oh no you don’t,” I hiss, painfully wedging my foot inside the opening. “I didn’t spend nineteen hours and fifty one minutes in a plane to get the door slammed in my nose.”
Unfortunately, the days where us phoenixes could fly freely are long gone. The skies are too monitored in this era, and we only ever splay our wings in the most isolated places. Which is why the ranch in Australia, where I live with my brother and sister-in-law Lucia, is perfect for us.
At my words, the woman’s eyes widen.
They’re a peculiar shade of bluish-grey, a color nothing like mine apart from the denomination. In fact, I’d say her irises are violet, if that’s possible. Where mine are a cold and pale hue, hers are darker, warmer, incredibly unique.
So unique that I can recall the single time I saw another pair of eyes that tint of periwinkle, at a party some four hundred and fifty years ago.
“What company did you happen to fly with, if I may ask?”
I rack my mind, puzzled. “Infinite, I think. Why?”
I have no clue why my travel information sparks such interest in Destiny Evans, but at least it makes her relax her death grip on the door. I was fearing she would break a few bones in my toes if she didn’t relinquish soon.
“What did you think of the safety instructions onboard? Did you find the drawings clear?”
This woman seems to have a knack for wasting my time. I haven’t even so much as uttered the word ‘phoenix’ yet, and I’ve been stuck at her doorstep at least ten minutes.
“I don’t pay attention to that kind of stuff.”
She sends me a stern glare, and for whatever reason that sends a zip of desire through my veins.
“You should, you know. No-one is immune to an untimely death.”
I smirk at the irony of her words. “Actually, I am.”
“Are you going to tell me that you have the secret to immortality if I give you my credit card number? I’m not buying that.”
She tries to close the door again, but my foot doesn’t budge. I can see the panic seeping into that violet gaze.If only Aleixo didn’t come up with a name that sounds like a quack religious group, maybe we could have avoided this.
“Listen,” I sigh in aggravation. Patience and tact have never been my forte, so I decide to delve right into the thick of the subject. “I’m a phoenix, and you are too. Which basically means that now you can live forever, you can fly and you can heal instantly. Got it?”
It doesn’t look like she got it. Underneath her toffee skin, she takes on a distinctly ashen hue. Her eyes go even more round, and her lush lips part.
That last detail shouldn’t make my pulse quicken, but the fact is – and I hate to admit it – Destiny Evans is really pretty.
That’s a severe understatement. She’s drop dead gorgeous. Probably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And in my long time on Earth I’ve crossed many. Not a single female so much as caught my attention since I lost the slight mortal who snatched my heart nearly half a millennium ago.
But Destiny has me looking. And if I’m honest, I’ve stolen a glance at her shapely curves more than once.
The mere thought fills me with shame.Isobel was lovely in her own way too, I argue angrily with myself.
Yet the truth is, with Isobel, it was never about her looks. Not that the sight of her didn’t fill me with joy, or that I didn’t adore every inch of her body. But it was her spirit, her humor and her courage that made her so damn charming. I became so enraptured by Isobel’s beauty until I wondered how I could have possibly found her homely the first time I clapped eyes on her.
With Destiny, there’s no learning involved. She’s stunning, period. From the raven spirals tied into a loose updo down to her dainty bare feet, she awakens all my most basic instincts. My blood rushes every time those thick lashes sweep across her high cheekbones, my crotch grows tighter whenever she utters a single word in that honey-like voice of hers.
