A Necessary Evil (Book 1)

Chapter 36

Andreas let me hold onto him as long as I needed to convince myself that he was alive and well. I finally pulled away. “What happened?” I asked him once I had put a comfortable distance between us. I needed space to be able to think clearly.

He took in a deep breath and laid down on his back, exhaustion written all over him. “I was attacked because I was distracted.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Someone was about to sneak up on you? You of all people!” I said, uncomprehending.

Andreas chuckled and it was a sweet sound, not the usual harsh one he used. “I’m not untouchable, little witch. And things do preoccupy my mind, just as they do other people. I may be powerful, but that doesn’t make me as immune to ordinary human feelings as I act like I am.”

“So you do have a heart,” I commented dryly.

He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “It turns out I do. I thought I lost it a long time ago, but you are showing me that it’s still there, buried under all the shit I have built up over the years.”

“I’m showing you it’s still there?” I prompted. My eyes were fixed on him. He was gazing up at the ceiling, so he didn’t notice the way I looked at him. I was grateful for that. My realization about my feelings for him put me in a very difficult position. I needed to understand all of this. And more importantly, I needed to understand how Kalen fit into all of this.

“Yes.”

Sometimes it was really frustrating when he wouldn’t offer information willingly. “Are you going to make me ask you to explain everything?”

He smirked. “Perhaps.”

I curled my legs to my chest, resting my chin on my knees. “Fine, if you are just going to give one word answers, I’m not going to talk.”

He shut his eyes and it took a moment for him to open them again. When he did, he turned on his side so he could look at me. “I’m not very good with talking to people, especially not about myself. That is why the only people who know anything about me are the ones that were there when it happened.”

“But I wasn’t there. And you are going to have to tell me if you want me to know you.”

He groaned and rolled back onto his back. “Fine. What do you want to know?”

“Everything.” I gave him the same answer I had given Kalen not too long ago.

He abruptly turned to me again. “Really? You cannot be more specific?” he commented dryly, his eyes narrowed.

“I can’t, because I actually do want to know everything.”

“That is not how this conversation is going to work. You want to know something, ask a specific question and I will answer it. I do not offer information freely.” Again, I could see the striking differences between him and Kalen. Getting information out of Kalen was easy, all I had to do was say I needed it. With Andreas it was like pulling teeth from an unwilling patient. He only gave information if he absolutely had to and for that reason he was still a mystery to me.

“You almost died today and you still can’t let anyone in?” I asked, unable to hide my shock.

“I never let anyone in for a good reason: everyone I have ever gotten even remotely close to, that I have allowed myself to care about, got hurt. No exceptions.” His tone darkened, his expression far away.

“Fine, let’s start with that then. How do they get hurt?” I asked, finally feeling like this conversation was going to go somewhere.

“Start with something else.”