by I. T. Lucas
After parking in the bunker, he called Atzil. “Is everything ready?”
“Everything except for the food. It hasn’t been delivered yet.”
“When it gets there, make sure to wipe all the containers clean.”
“Shamash already told me.”
“Does Jacki know what’s going on?”
“I don’t think so. We didn’t tell her, and I kept her busy organizing the pantry. She is still working on it.”
“Good. Let me know when the food gets here.”
“Yes, boss.”
Heading to the house through the tunnel, Kalugal paused by the exit door. “Do me a favor, after you shower and change, go straight to your rooms. I don’t want Jacki to see you and figure out that I’m back. I want to surprise her.”
Stifling a smile, Phinas nodded. “When can we get out? We haven’t had dinner yet.”
“At eight, I’ll escort Jacki into my suite, and you can head to the kitchen.”
“Good luck, boss,” Phinas said.
The other two murmured the same.
“Thank you for keeping quiet about it.”
“No problem.” Phinas opened the door and pretended to scope the territory. “All clear.”
The four of them tiptoed in like a bunch of thieves, took the stairs as soundlessly as they could, and then dispersed into their respective rooms.
If sneaking into his own house had felt silly, having his men do the same was even sillier. But wowing Jacki into forgiving him was worth the effort. Besides, it added to the excitement, and Kalugal liked the feeling. For the longest time, the only things that had excited him were new artifacts and successful business acquisitions.
In the master closet, Kalugal pulled the three small boxes out of his jacket pocket and put them on top of the dresser.
One box contained two matching wedding rings, the second box contained a pair of diamond earrings, and the third held a gorgeous engagement ring.
The moment he saw it, he knew it was perfect for Jacki.
It wasn’t the most expensive the jeweler had, but it was the most beautiful. A simple, pure stone shaped like a teardrop was encased in unadorned platinum gold. It was unique, precious, and straightforward like the woman he’d bought it for.
As Kalugal selected the clothing items he was going to wear for the occasion, it dawned on him that Jacki wouldn’t like it if he sprung a romantic dinner on her without giving her any warning so she could prepare as well.
He pulled out his phone and texted Atzil. In ten minutes, please release Jacki from her task. I want her to have time to freshen up if she wishes to. When the delivery gets here, arrange everything on a cart and have Shamash ready to serve it.
The answer came right away. Yes, boss.
Five minutes later, Kalugal headed out with a change of clothes draped over his arm and a pair of shoes in his hand. Checking that the coast was clear, he took the back stairs to the underground tunnel.
After showering and changing in his room in the bunker, he walked over to his wine cellar. Quickly scanning his selection, he chose a bottle of excellent wine that hadn’t cost a fortune. After the last bottle he’d shared with Jacki, she wouldn’t touch it without asking how much it was worth first, and the last thing he wanted was to upset her before delivering the news about her potential dormancy.
Setting the bottle on the table, he pulled out his phone again and texted Jacki.
I’m back home and would love for you to join me for dinner. Can you be ready by eight?
Her answer came in a moment later. I’m ready now.
He texted back. I’ll come to get you. Are you in your room?
Yes.
Hopefully, Jacki had changed into something nice. Not that he cared about what she was wearing, but since this would be his official proposal, he assumed that Jacki would want to look nice for that.
Passing by his suite first, he verified that everything was ready as per his instructions. When he was satisfied that Atzil had done a great job setting up a table for two with all the fanfare the occasion called for, Kalugal walked over to Jacki’s door and knocked.
“Just a moment!”
As she opened the door, Kalugal took a step back.
Dressed in the black cocktail dress he’d ordered for her and a matching pair of spiky black pumps, Jacki looked like a cover model.
“You look stunning.”
Smiling, she smoothed a hand over her hip, pushing the dress down. “You're not so bad yourself. When did you have time to shower? And where? I’ve been in your bathroom for the past half an hour.”
He smiled sheepishly. “I got here a little earlier and showered in the bunker. I wanted this to be a surprise, but given your attire, you guessed it.”
“Guessed what?”
He took her hand and lifted it to his lips for a kiss. “I wanted to take you out to a nice dinner, but since that’s not possible, I arranged for it to be delivered here.”
“Oh. I thought we would be eating Atzil’s roast.”
Right. As if she would’ve put on a cocktail dress and heels for that. But it was nice of her to pretend surprise.
“Not today.”
Still holding on to her hand, Kalugal walked over to his suite’s double doors and opened them. “My lady.” He motioned for her to go in ahead of him.
30
Jacki
“Wow.” Jacki turned to Kalugal. “Who did that?”
And why?
She’d guessed Kalugal was planning something when it had become clear to her that the pantry didn’t need organizing. Atzil had just wanted to keep her busy, and the goofy grin that had refused to leave his face had been the other clue. But she hadn’t expected such an elaborate setup.
Did Kalugal plan to propose to her again? Or did he plan to break up the engagement and thought to soften the blow by inviting her to a nice dinner?
“As I said, I wanted to take you out on a date, but since I can’t, I did the next best thing. I ordered dinner from an excellent restaurant and asked Atzil to prepare a table for us.”
He took her elbow, led her to the table, and pulled a chair out for her.
“Now I know why Atzil put me in charge of organizing the pantry when it didn’t need any organizing.”
“I wanted it to be a surprise.” Kalugal pulled out the other chair and sat down.
It was good that she’d guessed something was up and had dressed accordingly, but since it was important to Kalugal, she could play along and pretend like this was a complete surprise. Then again, given his superb sense of smell, maybe a middle ground was better.
“It worked, but I had a feeling that Atzil was up to something, just not this.” She waved a hand over the table. “If you ever think of sending him on a spying mission, don’t. The guy doesn’t have a poker face.”
“That’s why he is the cook.” Kalugal reached for the wine, uncorked it, and poured it into the two flutes.
Jacki eyed the bottle suspiciously. “I hope this is not the other three-hundred-thousand-dollar bottle.”
“It’s not. I knew you would object to that. This is a reasonably priced wine that is nevertheless superb.”
“Thank you.” She took the glass. “What are we toasting?”
“Our future together.” He lifted his glass and clinked it with hers. “To us.”
To cover up the relieved breath that had escaped her throat, Jacki let out a giggle. “To us.”
There was a knock on the door, and a moment later, Shamash entered with a rolling cart.
“May I serve dinner, boss?”
“Please do.” Kalugal turned to Jacki. “I apologize for not asking you what you would like, but it would have ruined the surprise.”
“What did you order for me?”
Hopefully, it wasn’t some exotic seafood like clams or oysters or even lobster. Jacki liked simple dishes, and all those sea creatures grossed her out as much as eating grasshoppers or snails would. In her mind, they were the same, with the only diff
erence being the environment in which they lived.
“I’ve been paying attention, my Jacqueline, and I know that you like salmon. But I bet you’ve never eaten salmon like this one. It’s Magonito’s house special. It’s such a delicious and filling dish that I decided not to order a first course. I hope that’s okay with you.”
“It certainly is. I don’t like getting full on a salad and then leaving half of the main course on the plate.”
When Shamash was done serving, Kalugal thanked him and then promptly dismissed him.
Looking at her plate, Jacki was glad to see that everything on it looked perfectly mundane. A good-sized piece of salmon was smothered in a caper sauce, and next to it was a scoop of creamy pasta, and another scoop of spinach. All were things she enjoyed eating, but spinach was problematic as a date food. There was nothing worse than smiling with green goop stuck between her teeth.
“You’re looking at your plate as if it’s the enemy. Whatever you don’t like, you’re welcome to dispose of it onto mine.”
“It’s not that. I love everything. It’s just that spinach is not the best date food. Can you imagine smiling with it stuck on your teeth?”
Kalugal laughed. “Indeed.” He forked a generous helping of the spinach, put it in his mouth, chewed, swallowed, and then grinned. “How do I look?”
Jacki shook her head. “You are probably the only man on the planet who can look sexy with spinach stuck on your fangs.” She leaned forward. “May I?”
His eyes blazed with an inner light. “Please do.”
Jacki got nervous. What if he bit her finger?
His fangs were elongating right in front of her eyes, which meant that Kalugal was aroused, and Jacki remembered too late that his fangs were super sensitive to stimulation. Except, she couldn’t back out now without offending him.
Reaching with her finger, Jacki flicked away the piece of spinach stuck on Kalugal’s left fang. “All done.” She pulled back with a forced smile.
Kalugal’s fangs had already started to retract, but his eyes were still glowing, and they were focused on hers. “That was a very intimate gesture. Thank you.”
You think?
She felt a blush creep up over her cheeks. “You’re welcome.”
31
Kalugal
It had been such a simple thing, but to Kalugal it had felt more intimate than sex because no one had ever reached into his mouth and cleaned his teeth for him before.
What did it mean, though?
Would Jacki have done it for any man she was dining with, or had she done it for him because she thought of him as hers?
Still, the moment had passed, and both of them got busy eating.
“How was it?” he asked when she was done.
“The best salmon I’ve ever had.” She chuckled. “I’m grateful that you didn’t order clams or oysters. They gross me out.”
“I noticed that you didn’t even eat the shrimp-stuffed avocados that you made yourself.”
“I just wasn’t in the mood for them. For some reason, I’m okay with small shrimps. It’s the big ones that gross me out because they look like bugs.”
Kalugal nodded, but he wasn’t thinking about seafood. He was trying to figure out what to do next. Should he pull out the ring first? Or perhaps he should mention the virus and then steer the conversation to her potential dormancy?
Or maybe he should go down on one knee and ask her to marry him first?
On the one hand, the ring might soften her up, but on the other hand, he remembered Kian’s warning to tell Jacki the truth first so she could make up her mind while being aware of all the facts.
Perhaps he should put the box on the table and ask her to wait until he told her the truth?
Damn. He used to think of himself as such an expert on women, but that was only in things he’d practiced, like seduction. When it came to relationship stuff, he was clueless.
The only thing he had to go by was his own preferences, and if he were in Jacki’s shoes, he would have wanted the truth first.
Reaching into his pocket, Kalugal held the small box but didn’t pull it out. The table needed to be cleared first, but instead of calling Shamash, Kalugal decided to do it himself. Jacki liked it when he waited on her, and right now he needed to earn as many merit points with her as he could.
“Are you done?” He reached for her plate.
She laughed. “I’m too embarrassed to lick the plate, so yeah, I’m done.”
“You can go ahead and lick it. I bet you’d look sexy as hell doing that.”
“I doubt it but thank you.” She started to get up. “Let me help you clear the table.”
He put his hand on her shoulder. “Tonight, I’m serving you.”
“Okay.” She sat back down.
After clearing everything aside from the wine glasses, Kalugal lifted the dessert and coffee tray off the cart and brought it over to the table. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please.” He poured them each a cup. “The tiramisu is delicious.” He put a piece in front of Jacki. “You should try it.”
She eyed the dessert. “I’m so full. I don’t know if I can take another bite.”
“A moment ago, you wanted to lick the plate.”
“It was so good.”
“I’ll order it again tomorrow.”
“You are spoiling me.”
He reached for her hand. “It’s my pleasure. I want to keep on spoiling you.” He kissed the back of it before letting go.
“I want to spoil you too,” she murmured. “But I don’t know how. I thought I could do that with cooking, but mine can’t compare to this.” She waved at the cart.
Kalugal had a few ideas, but he was going to save them for later.
Much later.
“You have been doing a great job so far. Every day that I get to spend with you is a pleasure, and I hope for many more.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the box and put it on the table. “I want to propose to you properly, but before I do that, there is something I need to tell you. A couple of things, in fact.”
As he’d expected, Jacki eyed the box eagerly. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yes, but I need you to hear me out first.”
Dragging her eyes away from the box, she looked up at him. “What is it?”
“The first is just a bit of upsetting news. A very aggressive virus is spreading around the world, but you have nothing to worry about as long as you stay away from other humans. I told my men that if they leave the house for any reason, they have to change their clothes and wash their hands when they come back and to wipe clean any surface they touched. Your safety is my number one priority.”
“That’s a lot of effort that I’m sure is unnecessary given that you and your men can’t transmit diseases.”
“We can’t get sick, but we can be carriers. I’m not taking any chances with your health.”
“Thank you. I just feel bad about causing so much trouble.”
“It’s only temporary.”
Jacki tensed. “I hope that by temporary you mean the virus.”
What did she think he meant? That he was going to get rid of her?
He’d better get on with the explanation. “That too.” Kalugal rubbed his hand over his jaw. “Do you remember wondering about Jin and Arwel and how they were going to make their relationship work?”
Jacki eyed him suspiciously and then shrugged. “I asked Jin about it, and she said they are taking it one day at a time, enjoying each other without worrying about the future. Her answer was what eventually convinced me to compromise and accept a little less than happily ever after. But what does that have to do with the precautions you are taking to keep from contracting the virus?”
“I’ll get to that in a moment.” Kalugal took a sip of coffee to give himself a moment to think. “Jin hasn’t been entirely truthful with you, but it’s my fault. I asked Kian to help me keep a big secret.”
Jacki frowned. “I don’t unde
rstand.”
“Jin is a carrier of immortal genes, and those genes can be activated. She can turn immortal. That’s why she isn’t concerned about her future with Arwel. Once she goes through the transition, she’s not going to age either.”
32
Jacki
Jacki hadn’t been aware that such a thing was even possible, but then something tickled the back of her mind. Remembering Phinas and Atzil’s cryptic comments about their parents, she had a feeling that it was all connected somehow, and that she was missing a crucial piece of the puzzle. Once she uncovered that key piece, everything would make sense.
“How do you know that? Did you compel her to reveal it?”
“Yes. Jin is a Dormant.”
“Dormant as in carrying unrealized immortal genes?”
“Precisely.” Kalugal smiled proudly. “You are very smart.”
“Okay, but what does it have to do with me?”
“You might be a carrier as well.”
Jacki snorted. “No way.”
Talk about a rabbit hole. Except, compared to the others, this one was a wormhole into a parallel universe.
“Is there a test to check that?”
He shook his head. “There is no test.”
“So why do you think that I’m a carrier, and how are you going to prove or disprove it?”
“You’re a strong candidate because of your paranormal abilities. Apparently, humans who exhibit them have a higher chance of being Dormants than those who don’t. Until Kian told me about it, I thought that the only Dormants in existence lived on my father’s island. I didn’t know that carriers could be found among the general human population, so I’ve never searched. But then the Fates decided to reward me with the best gift possible. You.”
Jacki’s head was starting to hurt.
Kalugal thought that she was a dormant carrier of immortal genes that could be somehow activated, and he’d kept it a secret from her for some reason.
“So you’re saying that I could be turned immortal?”
He nodded.