Chapter Seven

Alex watched Eve sleep for the better part of an hour until he finally got up. He was done tormenting himself. He stared down and watched as she stretched, extending her arm over her head. The movement was innocent but it turned sultry when it caused her breasts to lift and push against her T-shirt.

Shit! There it was again, that need to touch her. He took one step back, keeping his eyes on her face. There was something about Eve that turned him on. The feeling had come out of nowhere, catching him off guard and he silently wished he was in his body, so he could feel if her skin was as soft as it looked.

He took another step back. This was not him. He didn’t allow himself to become attracted to a woman he didn’t know. He didn’t feel much for the women he did know. And Eve was not the type of woman he slept with. She wasn’t what he wanted in a woman. He liked them tall and leggy, with straight hair. Eve wasn’t short but she wasn’t what he would call tall and those auburn curls. Curls always reminded him of a mess and he liked things orderly. She was also a mother. She had an attachment in her life, a family, families were a distraction, they could be used against him, and that was something he would not allow.

No attachments. No feelings. It was a self-imposed rule and one he had kept. He only slept with woman that wanted what he wanted, sex. No more, no less. None of the women he spent the night with had a family or kids, and none of them would pose a threat to him. He made sure of it by researching each one of their backgrounds before he took them to his bed.

No, Eve was not his type and the sooner his body realised it the better off he would be. He turned from Eve’s still form and moved to the door. Why was he feeling anything? Emotions, sure, but his body was turned on. He had felt his cock swell at the thought of Eve’s naked body wrapped around his…except he didn’t have a body for her to wrap around.

Stopping at Eve’s bedroom door, he sighed. There didn’t seem to be any clear cut guidelines for a median. He felt emotions, which he guessed were generated from the soul, and could feel the physical stir of his body yet he wasn’t a solid mass. He could walk through doors when Eve shut them on him, or in the case of her trying to lock him out this morning, all he did was think about being in her house and he was. Yet, he could sit on the floor or lean against walls and not fall through them, like he imagined a ghost would.

Slowly extending his arm, he reached for the door handle and watched as his hand floated right through it. He pulled back and tried again, with the same result—nothing. Annoyed, he stood back and studied the handle. There must be more to it. He thought about the day. Every time Eve had closed a door on him, he had been irritated enough that he had walked through to her. Everything he had done today had occurred when he’d had an emotional response to Eve’s comments or actions.

He turned back to Eve and remembered the shaky way she had exhaled after he had said he would come back and pay her a visit, once he was whole again. He meant it too, even though it went against his normally strict practices. And it pissed him off that he knew he wouldn’t be able to fight the urge. He would come back here all right and spend a very long, very sweaty night getting to know her body. If she knew what was good for her, she would hurry up and merge him and get away from him a-sap. But she was so damn stubborn.

He shook his head. Why couldn’t the only person that could merge him be willing to help him instead of fight him? And why did she have to be so damn sexy? With agitation, flowing through his veins he reached for the door and turned the handle. It swung open and he stalked down the hall.

* * * *

“So doc, what’s on the agenda for today?”

Eve groaned loudly when she heard Alex behind her. “I’m not a doc. And I thought I told you to go away.”

“And I thought I made it pretty clear last night when I said I wasn’t going anywhere.”

Eve sighed. “Really, I must have tuned you out.” She turned to face him and found him leaning against the counter next to the fridge.

He crossed his arms, displaying the well-developed muscles of his biceps and shoulders and gave her a smile that only curled up one side of his mouth.

Eve almost allowed her mouth to drop open. He looked so casual and sexy and before she could stop it, her body reacted. Her skin heated, her arms and legs felt tingly and her insides twisted into a hot eager knot. Oh man, this couldn’t be good. Getting turned on by a median or…dead soul…maybe dead, maybe not. This might be easier if she knew what clues to look for in the dead but she didn’t because there weren’t any. Oh Lord. She groaned, hoping he wasn’t dead, because, if that was the case and he was, not only would she be out of her mind but what kind of fulfilment would she get? Nothing. And it certainly wouldn’t be like her dream. A vivid image popped into her head of Alex making love to her on the floor. Of his hot, sweat covered body pinning her against the rough carpet, his hand slipping between their bodies, fingers teasing her moist lips and clit, his mouth nipping and licking, covering every achy, wet inch of her.

The sound of running water from above snapped Eve back to where breakfast was waiting to be made, and the hottest median she had ever come into contact with, smirked knowingly at her. Heat spread though her face again when she realised she still needed to get the milk for Noelle’s cereal. Alex gave her a wink when she sighed again. He had the ability to irritate her and make her blush at the same time. Fantastic.

She walked over to the fridge, despite the close proximity, and withdrew the milk. Straightening, she faced him and gazed into deep pools of blue. Alex had the most vivid blue eyes she had ever seen—they were beautiful—considering he might actually be dead. He gave her a playful wink, hinting that he knew exactly what he did to her insides. Her stupid stomach fluttered in joy and annoyed she quickly turned, placing the milk on the table. Remembering the door to the fridge was open, she turned to shut it but was too late, it was already closing.

Eve froze, watching the door to the fridge being pushed closed. She shifted her eyes to Alex, who was staring back. “Guess what I can do?”

Oh shit! He had done that, he had shut…the…door. She exhaled a slow breath, an eerie chill causing the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end. Medians couldn’t touch…stuff. The dead, well they were different. Her Gran had told her about the different things she had seen the dead do. Some weren’t able do anything, others could move objects or open and close doors. The rare few had the ability to appear to the living. And a very select few were able to talk and move as if they were still living. Gran had explained to her when she was young, that the abilities the dead had were directly related to the age of their soul. Young souls were the weakest, with little or no experience at living, only dwelling in one or two bodies, they could do very little. The older, more experienced souls were stronger, having lived many lives in many different bodies and therefore had the ability to do more once they passed.

She should probably talk to Gran. Make sure she wasn’t wrong. Make sure Alex was what she believed him to be, an old soul. A dead, old soul.

Noelle arrived shortly after Alex displayed his new trick. So he never got the chance to ask Eve why it scared the hell out of her. Instead, he stood back and watched mother and daughter. He listened as they talked about the day ahead.

“We have gym today with Mr Larson.” Noelle said, before scooping more cereal into her already full mouth.

“Chew first please,” Eve commented, and then asked, “Who’s Mr Larson?”

“He’s our new gym teacher.”

“I thought Miss Penny taught you gym?”

“She does. But she broke her foot playing for her soccer team. So she can’t.” The girl shrugged.

“Oh that sucks! Tell Miss Penny I hope she feels better soon.” Eve took a sip of her coffee and licked her lips.

Alex felt a tug in his groin and he clamped his teeth together, annoyed that the simple gesture could do that to him.

“I will.” Noelle blinked up at Eve with wide hazel eyes. “Hey! You should help her mum. You can fix anybody.”

“Honey. You know I can’t.”

“But you help all those sick soldiers. You make them better. Why can’t you help Miss Penny?”

“For one, I’m sure she already has a very good physiotherapist, and two I have a contract with the Military saying I will only treat soldiers.”

“What’s a contract?”

Eve sighed. “Well, it’s a—” She paused, struggling to find the words.

Alex didn’t want to interrupt, and though he knew Noelle saw him, he never spoke when in her presence because he didn’t want to frighten her, but Eve looked as though she needed the help. “It’s like a promise,” he suggested.

Eve shifted her eyes slightly in his direction but then focused back on Noelle’s questioning stare. “It’s kind of like a promise. I promised the Military that I would only help soldiers.”

“That’s because they’re really special, right?” Noelle asked shovelling in another scoop of food.

“Yup. Some of them are,” Eve confirmed, taking another sip of her coffee. “So what’s this Mr Larson going to be teaching you?”

“Football.”

“Gran’s version of football or American football?”

“No, not soccer. Real football.” The girl put down her spoon and looked serious. “I don’t know how to play football. Do you Mum?”

“No, I’m sorry honey I don’t.” Eve reached forward when Noelle’s frown didn’t disappear. “It’s okay.” Alex could hear the calming lilt to her words. “We’ll sit down together tonight and look online. We’ll read up on it, okay?”

“Okay,” the girl sighed, and stood, taking her dirty dishes to the sink. “I wish I had an uncle.”

Eve turned to face her daughter. “You do?”

“Sometimes.” The girl stared thoughtfully at her mum. “Then I would have someone to show me how to play sports like Kylie’s uncle. He plays soccer with her in the park when he comes to visit.”

Eve stood and wrapped her arms around the girl. “You never told me you wanted to do that. I’ll play soccer in the park whenever you want.”

Noelle pulled away and shrugged. “It’s not the same. Is my lunch ready?”

Eve nodded. “Yup, it’s in the fridge.” She checked her watch. “Get your shoes on, time to go.”

Noelle grabbed her lunch and went to get dressed.

Eve began cleaning the kitchen.

From where he stood Alex could see the hurt on her face. “Kids are fickle.” He began not knowing where he was going with his statement. “They always want what the other has. If Noelle had a father or an uncle or even a brother, she probably wouldn’t even spend time with them.”

“Says the man, who’s a self-confessed killer. Had a lot of experience with kids have you?”

Straightening, Alex gave her a hard look. “I’m saying the grass is always greener on the other side. Even us self-confessed killers know how kids think, even if their mothers don’t.”

Clearly insulted, Eve turned and left the kitchen.

Eve ignored him for the next two days. Not even when they were alone did she answer his questions or respond to his comments.

Only at the end of the second day when Noelle was asleep did he finally get a reaction from her. He was pissed off enough to do the only thing that would guarantee a response. He stood, walked over to her bedroom door and slammed it shut.

Eve shot up onto her knees and hissed. “Are you crazy?”

“Little bit,” he conceded. “I’m glad I finally have your attention.” He stopped when he heard Noelle call out to Eve in fear.

“Mummy? What was that?”

Eve glanced at him questioningly.

“Answer her, she’s scared.”

Eve narrowed her eyes at him and called out, “It’s okay honey, I slipped. Go back to sleep.”

“Okay, night Mummy.”

“Night, honey.”

Still scowling, she hissed at him again, “What is the matter with you?”

Alex calmly walked back to her bedside and stood looking down at her. “I don’t like being ignored.”

“That’s bullshit.” She stared up at him defiantly. “I’m not giving you what you want and that bugs the hell out of you.”

He shrugged but agreed. “True. But you haven’t answered one of my questions and like I said, I don’t like being ignored.”

“I don’t really care what you like or don’t like. You came into my house, unwelcome by the way, and you expect me to be courteous to you. Buddy you are living in a dream world if you think this is going to change.”

Alex felt his teeth clench together, the muscles pulled in his jaw. He wasn’t used to being told what he could and couldn’t do and he wasn’t used to being called buddy. Buddy? He honestly didn’t know which was worse. The one thing he did know was that Eve’s attitude was about to go through a serious overhaul. He wanted the woman he had spoken to two nights ago, not a brat having a hissy fit.

He purposely leant down, closing the gap between them. “Is that right?” He spoke coolly.

“Yes that’s right,” she answered, her voice wavering slightly.

“In that case I think we should invite Noelle into my dream world, see what she thinks about it?”

Straightening to his full height, he turned and walked towards the door. It flew open before he reached it and passed through. Eve jumped out of bed.

“No,” she whispered. “Please don’t.”

He kept walking. Eve needed to know that he wasn't a man to be challenged and he never made idle threats. Reaching Noelle’s door, he entered the room.

“Please Alex. Please. Don’t scare her.” Her words were whispered once again but her voice was calmer this time.

Alex instantly recognised what she was doing. He could hear the flowing musical undertone to her words. He stopped and turned back to her once he was standing at the foot of Noelle’s bed. “I can handle any insult you throw at me, but I will not stand by and let you chastise me when all I was doing was trying to comfort you. Do not talk to me like that again.”

Eve stood in the doorway, hands clenched together, anguish on her pretty face. Then he saw them—the tears. They pooled quickly in her huge eyes and slipped over her lashes when she blinked at him.

“Have I made my point?”

She gave him a tearful nod.

“Not good enough,” he said a little louder. He knew Noelle could see him, but he never pushed the issue because he recognised she was ignoring him for her mother’s sake. And he didn’t want to wake her now but if he had to in order to make his point, then he would.

“Yes.” New tears slid down her cheeks. “I’ll answer your questions. Please don’t hurt her.”

Hurt her? Alex turned to the girl and saw the same mixture of colours that formed her mothers’ eyes. Those eyes were wide in fear and he guessed the kid had heard what her mother had said. He responded to Eve’s plea, “I would never hurt a child and I’m insulted that you would think so.” Yet in all fairness, he had told Eve about his occupation, it would be only natural for her to assume he would ‘hurt’ to get what he wanted.

He studied Noelle’s face, taking note of every feature that was similar to Eve’s. She blinked up at him, eyes still wide. He should probably apologise for scaring her, but he wouldn’t.

“Okay. I’m sorry,” Eve whispered. “Please come out of there. I’ll answer anything you want.”

Alex almost sighed when he heard the delicate undertone to her words. “What would you like to talk about?”

Giving Noelle a smile and a wink, he turned from her and moved back towards the door. He passed Eve, knowing full well she would want to check on Noelle before coming back to her bedroom. Alex stopped, blocking her path and said loud enough for Noelle to hear. “Don’t worry she didn’t hear a thing, she’s a sound sleeper.” Let’s hope the kid got the message and closed her eyes before Eve went in. Now was not the time for Eve to find out her daughter shared her talent for seeing medians.

* * * *

Eve closed the door to her bedroom and climbed on top of the bed. Alex was already sitting in his normal spot next to her bed, on the floor. Sliding under the covers, she reached over and flicked off the light. Strips of orange light filtered through her blinds from the street lamp across the street.

“What are you doing?”

“I don’t need the light on to answer your questions.” Eve exhaled slowly as she rested back against her pillow. Her fear wasn’t gone, but there certainly was less of it. Alex was a ruthless man or rather ghost or dead person. The fear she felt when Alex walked into Noelle’s room was so intense she had been reduced to tears and begging. She would have done anything, given him everything, just to get him away from Noelle. And then he had to flip things around and become insulted when she begged him not to hurt Noelle. The look on his face and his words actually sounded genuine. But it didn't matter now, he was away from Noelle and she had promised to answer his questions. “Okay, what do you want to know?”

He chuckled. “Guess I found your weakness.”

Eve clucked her tongue. “That’s the stupidest observation I’ve ever heard. Of course Noelle is my weakness. She is my child. I would give my life for her.”

“You’re pretty ballsy saying that to me.”

“And you’re an idiot for pointing out the obvious.” She sighed and did her best to sound apologetic. “Okay look. I said I would answer your questions and I will. So ask away.”

Alex chuckled again. “Your apologies are almost as bad as mine.”

“That’s because I’m not used to having to apologise.” Eve smiled to herself, she couldn’t help it.

“Me neither. Okay, first question. Why were you scared when I closed the fridge door?”

“You shouldn’t be able to close doors. That’s what scared me.”

“Why shouldn’t I be able to do that?”

She could picture a frown on his face as she stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t know.” She shrugged. “That’s what I was told.”

“Couldn’t any of the other medians you ran across do that and you just didn't see it?”

Eve seriously thought about it, then finally guessed, “I don’t think so.”

“But you don't know for sure.”

“No, I don’t. But they felt different from you.”

“How so?”

Eve wasn’t sure she should tell him her theory about him being an old soul, not only would it give him a boost to his ego but it may give him more leverage over her. As for telling him, she thought he might actually be dead! Well, that wouldn’t be any fun either and his reaction to that might become violent. If that happened, she had a feeling she would see what Alex was capable of.

“I’m not sure. How were you able to find me when other medians can’t leave their bodies?”

“I did what needed to be done. I didn’t think about anything else.”

“Then maybe that is why you can move things too.” Or maybe it’s because you’re dead!

“Who told you about medians, your mother?” he asked.

“Yes.” She cringed when she dragged the answer a little long. He would know she wasn’t telling him the whole truth.

“And who else?”

“My gran,” she answered him honestly.

“She can see medians too?”

“Yes.”

“And merge them?”

“Not anymore. She’s too old.” Eve shook her head.

“How old?” Now why would he ask that question? Did he know more than he was letting on?

“Old.”

He paused and she could feel him looking at her but she refused to meet his stare. “So you, your mother and your grandmother can all see and merge medians?”

“That’s us. Welcome to the Sinclair family curse.”