I Am an Invisible Stalker (Guardians #2)

Chapter 10

Vincent's POV

"Hello, Eliza," Charlie greets the Guardian sprawled across his desk. He keeps his voice low and his mouth unmoving in case any of the students already present inside the history classroom might turn in his direction.

"I knew it." Eliza's lips stretch into a grin as she glances at me. "Your work I guess?"

I incline my head in a nod, yet keep my mouth shut. I always knew this day would come; I'm actually surprised how long Charlie and I lasted. What I hadn't anticipated, though, was that after all of those years someone like Eliza would be the first to catch onto us.

With my eyes fixed on Eliza's face, I ask, "What are you going to do now that you know?"

"Who cares." Eliza shrugs. "Your charge seeing Guardians has nothing to do with me."

Her nonchalant attitude leaves me a step behind. I scan her expression, struggling to read what she is thinking. Eliza, though, reveals nothing. She scoots to jump off Charlie's desk, but before she can, I take a step forward. Once again I rest my hands on either side of her thighs and lean closer; close enough to inhale the unexpected scent of vanilla wrapped around her. As I lean in my thighs press against her calves. I have to fight my every instinct to wipe away the image of Eliza parting her legs and wrapping them around my hips, and instead focus on the issue at hand.

"Aren't you surprised?" I ask. "It's not every day one learns that a human is able to see us."

While most of Eliza's expression remains unchanged, her eyes slide down to my lips. Though it is nothing but a fleeting glance, it is enough to let me know that I'm not the only one whose heart sped up the moment I leaned closer to her. At the same time, though, I conclude that my intimidation tactic isn't going to work on her. This is the third time I tried to use my proximity to make her uncomfortable, yet all it caused is to distract me.

"Isn't it obvious?" Eliza asks, forcing me to focus back on our conversation. "Your charge's not the first human I've met who's been able to see us."

"You mean Olivia, don't you?" Charlie asks.

For the first time since Eliza plopped onto Charlie's desk her poker-face changes as she furrows her eyebrows and turns toward my charge. "How do you know about Olivia?"

By Olivia, they mean the girlfriend of Charlie's older brother, Nick. Over two years ago she had been saved by a Guardian, which granted her the ability to see us. While I had been at first unsettled to learn that someone close to Charlie was also able to see Guardians, I wasn't as surprised when I later learned that Olivia is no longer able to see us. Humans, after all, aren't supposed to know about our existence, let alone be able to see us.

"I've known for years," Charlie smirks. "Or did you forget that I was there when she lost her ability?"

"Oh, right. You're the one she jumped to save that night."

Instead of asking any further questions, Eliza turns back to me. She narrows her eyes and wordlessly motions for me to move away from her. A little reluctantly I take half a step back. While Eliza crosses her legs, I remind myself that there is a crucial question I have yet to ask.

"How did you figure out that Charlie is able to see us?"

A satisfied smile crooks Eliza's lips as she glances between Charlie and me. "How about this? You tell me since when Charlie's been able to see us, and I'll tell you how I figured it out."

I turn to my charge and wait for his choice. This is, after all, more his story than mine.

"Fine," Charlie agrees after a moment. "But you go first."