After rolling away from him, Simone switched the clock off and smiled at the truth behind that statement. She really did get attached to the oddest things and Xypher had to be the strangest of all her attachments.
He yawned as she returned to bed, "You sure you want to go back to teaching today? We didn't make much progress yesterday on training you to conceal your powers."
"Well, I'll have to mix with normal people eventually. Do you think it'll be worse today than yesterday?"
He brushed her hair' back from her shoulders. "Have you learned your body's signals for changing?"
"It's a weird burning behind my eves before they go weird."
"Then you should be fine. When you feel that, then you know to get out of public view as quickly as possible. If it happens in class, tell them you have a stomach bug and you have to run to the bathroom."
She wrinkled her nose at the thought. "That's gross."
"Well, then wear sunglasses and tell them you have an eye infection."
She nibbled the stubble along his jawline. "You know, that's not a bad idea."
"Of course die glasses won't be much use when the horns pop out of your head or the wings out of your back, but-"
She shrieked at the thought. "No they won't!"
He smiled evilly. "No. But that look on your face was worth it."
Laughing, she pushed him back on the bed.
"That's it, I'm going to beat you down and make you sorry."
Xypher froze as he braced himself for her attack.
But instead of her giving him pain, she tickled him. It took him several seconds before he realized her intent. By then she was pouting.
"You're not ticklish. Well, that stinks." She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest, hiding the breasts he loved to tease.
"I'm sorry," he said, trying to cheer her. "If it'll make you happy, I'll pretend to be."
"No, it's okay. Can't have everything, I suppose." She paused at the edge of the bed. "But you come darn close."
"Close to what?"
"Being perfect. Only you're more than that, Xypher. You're wonderful."
Xypher couldn't move as she left him to go to the bathroom. He couldn't breathe as those words sank into his consciousness. She thinks I'm wonderful . . .
No one had ever thought such a thing about him before. Pain in the ass. Rude. Violent.
But wonderful. . .
That knowledge hit him like a punch in the gut.
As he started to get up, Jesse appeared in the doorway with a stem look on his face. "What are your intentions?"
"I was getting out of bed to shower and dress."
Jesse's eyes narrowed. "Not that. Toward my girl. You two have been locked in here like two horny bunnies all night long, and before you break Simone's heart, I want to know if you intend to do right by her. Or do I need to go recruit some demons to lack your ass?"
He'd like to see Jesse try-in fact he'd pay for that entertainment. But while he was offended the ghost would think that of him, he would expect no less from Jesse who was only trying to protect Simone.
"I would never hurt her, Jesse. Or you. But I can't stay here and you know it, so don't make me feel any worse about leaving than I already do."
Jesse frowned at him. "You really are decent up under all that bluster, aren't you?"
"No. I'm still the same angry bastard who'd sell his own mother's heart to make Satara pay. Nothing has changed."
"Except you love her."
He had to bury the surprise deep inside before he betrayed himself. He wasn't about to give that knowledge up to Jesse or anyone else. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Jesse snorted. "Yes you do. I can sense it and you know I can."
And he hated that. But mere was nothing to be done for it. So he narrowed his gaze on Jesse. "Don't you dare tell Simone."
"Don't worry. It's not my place. But if I were you, I'd let her know before it's too late."
That was so much easier said man done. "What do you know about it?"
"I'm a ghost, Xypher. I thought I had all the time in the world to tell the people around me how I felt about them and to build my future, But in one heartbeat, a cement truck driver looked down to change his radio station, weaved into my car, and in the blink of an eye, I lost everything."
He glanced away, but even so Xypher saw the pain in his eyes. "The last memory I have is my girlfriend holding me while the rain poured down on us, mixing with my blood as it ran over her. She was telling me that she loved me and begging me not to die. I didn't want to go."
His voice broke from the emotions he was trying not to show, but Xypher felt and saw them anyway. "There was so much I wanted to say to her, but the wreck had crushed my windpipe and I couldn't make a single word come out. I tried so hard to stay with her, but it wasn't meant to be ... I couldn't even lift my arm to touch her one last time."
He locked gazes with Xypher. "So, yeah, I have a better understanding of your situation than you do. Been there, done it, and it still aches deep inside me that I never once told Julie how much I loved her. Three seconds was all it would have taken. Three seconds I wish to God I had back. Think about it." He vanished from the room.
Xypher sat in silence as he realized that for a kid, Jesse had a lot more sense than he'd given him credit for. But the problem was, it wasn't that simple. What good would it do to tell Simone he loved her when he couldn't stay? It would only hurt her more and that was the last thing he wanted to do.
No. It was best to keep his love to himself. Locked inside him, it would hurt only one person-him. He preferred it that way.
Pushing himself up from the bed, he went to join her in the shower.
"You didn't dream again last night, did you?"
Xypher paused in his shaving to look at Simone in the mirror. "How did you know?"
"I was thinking of it while I was in the shower, I'm not sure why, but I had a thought. Did you dream while you were in Tartarus?"
"No. Hades took that from me so that I couldn't use it as a way to escape my torture."
"Do you think that's why you haven't dreamt here?"
He rinsed His razor in the sink. "Jaden returned all my powers to me. I should be able to dream without a problem."
She paused by his side. "Did you try to dream?"
How could he explain to her that he was living the best dream of all just by being here with her? "Not really."
"Maybe that's it then. Maybe you just need to try."
How he wished it were that simple. There was something more to the fact he wasn't dreaming, but he didn't want to think about it right now.
All he wanted to focus on was her. Kissing her hand, he returned to shaving.
Even though they were no longer joined by the cuffs, Xypher spent the rest of the day with Simone. He told himself that he'd go after Satara tomorrow. He just wanted one more day with the woman who made him laugh.
A woman who thought he was wonderful. . .
Even Jesse and Gloria came out after the classes to hang with them while they walked around the French Quarter and had dinner at the Alpine Restaurant.
"Have you lived here your entire life?" he asked as they walked along the shops on Royal Street, back toward her condo.
She smiled. "I have. Except for the time I spent in the children's home after my father died."
"You don't speak much about your foster parents."
She hooked her arm in his as they walked. "Carole and Dave. They were wonderful people. They'd wanted their own kids, but Carole had been unable to have any. Originally, they wanted to adopt a baby, but finally they gave up and decided to take in older children. I was the youngest of four they adopted."
"So you have siblings?"
"Not really. My adopted siblings were out of the house by the time I came along. We exchange Christmas cards, but honestly we're barely more than strangers. The only thing we had in common was the O'Learys. And I do miss them a lot. Any time I was ever sad, Carole used to take me down to Fifi Mahoney's to try on wigs and to play with their makeup. She had a smile that could light up an entire room."
"Like yours."
She paused to look up at him. "You think so?"
"Absolutely."
Simone was warmed all the way through by his compliment. They walked on, arm in arm, joking and teasing until they reached her condo.
"So what happened to your foster parents?"
She took a deep breath at the sadness that question conjured. "They died in a car wreck my first year of college."
"I'm really sorry."
"It's okay. It was a long time ago, but it left me scarred for years. I kept thinking that I was cursed to lose everyone I ever cared about." She shook her head. "There for a time, I'd even get up in the middle of the night just to make sure Jesse was still with me."
Xypher drew a sharp intake of breath. And now he was going to have to leave her, too . . .
No, he could never tell her he loved her. It would be cruel.
Simone opened the gate to her condo, then paused as she saw Someone slumped over at the end of the small walkway. Rushing toward the person, she was stunned to find Kyle Peltier there. He had a vicious wound in his stomach. Blood was steadily pouring out of him.
Trembling, he reached up and grabbed Xypher's shirt. "The gallu are attacking Kerryna in her condo. Help her. Please!"
Xypher shot to his feet. "Get him to Sanctuary." Simone swallowed. "What about you?"
"I have a fight to join. Jesse, go with Simone and make sure nothing happens to her. If she needs me, get me immediately."