by Paula Mabbel
“Not a problem. Anyone would have done the same,” Kyan mumbled.
Annika furrowed her brow. “No. No they wouldn't have. You could have gotten hurt. Or he could have attacked you too. What if he'd used that knife on you?”
Kyan burst out in laugher, with a booming chuckle that almost startled Annika off of her stool. Kyan put his hand over his mouth in an attempt to stifle his laughter, mostly because Annika was staring at him with one eyebrow raised, and a confused tilt of her full lips.
“What's so funny? Are you bionic or something?”
Kyan finally looked up from his jeans, and once again Annika was astonished at how she felt as if he were looking right through her. Those green eyes seemed to contain some kind of magic, and it was making her nervous.
“Bionic? No. I'm not bionic. But I was never in any danger. And I'm sorry it took me so long to get to you. You shouldn't have been in any danger either,” Kyan said. But then, as if he realized he'd said something wrong, he jumped to his feet and headed for the door. Annika went after him, suddenly afraid to have him leave.
“Wait, what do you mean? Don't go, please,” she stumbled.
Kyan's hand was already on the door, but he turned back with a small smile.
“I won't be far. I promise.”
And then, as mysteriously as he'd appeared and saved her life, he was gone.
Annika locked the door, and crawled in to bed, bewildered, where she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
*****
The next night, Annika found herself dressing differently for work. She didn't know for sure that Kyan would come back, but just the idea that he might was enough to make her heart race. Her neck still ached a bit, and the wounds didn't look terribly attractive, so she pulled an old turtleneck out of mothballs, a dark purple one that complimented her curves and her dark skin. Then she slipped in to a tight pair of jeans, and finished the look off with knee-high black boots, with just enough heel to make her feel a bit taller. A few swipes of makeup, and Annika felt pretty for the first time in a long time.
It was a Friday night, and The Black Fox was doing a double-feature showing of Vampyr and Häxan, so the theater was going to be packed. Silent horror films always brought in a varied crowd of hipsters, older people, and genuine film aficionados. This meant that there was a chance someone might actually stop and talk to Annika for a while, but this was the rare occasion where she was too busy scanning the shadows for Kyan to try and make conversation with any customers.
The theater was full, which meant that once the movies started, Annika would be alone in the booth for at least three hours. It was a warmer night than it should have been, leaving Annika stifled in her turtleneck. She pulled up her sleeves, and rested her head gently on the desk in front of her. She had just given up hope of seeing Kyan again when a voice from outside the booth whispered to her,
“Heya, girlie. I don't think you should be falling asleep in there. What if someone wanted to buy a ticket?”
Annika shot up like a flash, too quickly, because it ended up stretching her neck uncomfortably. But she smiled at Kyan anyway, and felt herself swoon at the sight of him. He was in faded jeans, a white t-shirt, and work boots, with a pair of suspenders slung down at his waist. His long brown hair was all swept to one side, which only highlighted those damn glimmering green eyes. Annika could talk just fine, but she didn't know the right words to say. Luckily, Kyan filled the silence between them.
“Have you seen the movies they're showing before?”
There was something about Kyan's accent that made her head spin. Something about the cool husky tone, the dialect she couldn't quite place.
“I have, many times. I used to come to this theater all the time, before I worked here. My dad...” her voice trailed off, and Kyan picked up on it easily.
“Your dad brought you here?”
Annika nodded. She didn't talk about her father often. He had died when she was a teenager and she missed him deeply.
“Yeah, all the time. I guess I grew up in this theater...” Annika couldn't hold back her questions any longer. There were too many too keep inside, and they were eating her alive.
“Kyan, how did you know? How did you know I was being hurt? How did you really figure out where I lived? Why were you watching me? Why do I feel like you're always watching me?”
Kyan laughed that same, all-consuming laugh, and it washed over her like warm ocean water on a sunny day. He leaned forward against the window sill of the booth, his breath slightly steaming up the glass as he spoke.
“I am always watching you, Annika. I have been, for months. I was out one night, hunt... walking. And I saw you in this booth. You looked so lonely, so sad. I tried to put you out of my mind. I've tried to put you out of my mind every night since. But I couldn't. Does that frighten you?”
Annika knew it should. She knew it deep in her bones. It was strange that this man she'd barely spoken to, this man whose last name she didn't even know, had been following her. And yet, it brought her an odd sort of comfort, knowing that all the time, Kyan had been watching out for her.
“No, it doesn't. It should, but it doesn't. Why me, though?”
Kyan reached up and pressed a large hand against the window of the booth. Annika felt her stomach flip-flop as she pressed her own hand against the other side of glass. The size difference was enormous, and yet, Annika loved the way Kyan made her feel so small. She could almost feel the heat of his skin, seeping through the window. It made her tingle in a way she hadn't experienced in a long time.
Kyan leaned closer, his voice drifting through the glass like honeyed wine,
“Why not you, Annika?” Her name was poetry on his lips.
Annika took a deep breath, and touched her fingers to her neck. She felt a strange sort of love for Kyan in that moment, in the knowledge that he had rescued her, that he had been protecting her. The words escaped her lips before she knew she was saying them.
“Come over tonight? I'll make us a late dinner. We can talk... more.”
There was a pain in Kyan's eyes, as if he were struggling with inner demons, demons that were pulling him in another direction. He looked behind him, and all around, keeping guard even in his moment of struggle. But then, as quickly as his mood had changed, he came back to Annika, to the present.
“Yes. I have somewhere to be, so I shouldn't, but yes. I'll meet you back here, at midnight.”
It wasn't a question. Annika was just about to ask him if he was sure he wanted to meet tonight when Kyan disappeared into the shadows.
She couldn't understand how it was he kept disappearing so damn quickly. One minute he was there, and the next, poof. It was like he was a magician.
*****
Annika was just locking up the movie theater, when she could have sworn she heard the howling of wolves in the distance. She scrunched up her nose in confusion; wolves were not a native species to Maryville. The woods that surrounded the city were mostly free of four-legged wildlife, but especially wolves.
Annika tried to put the sound of her mind as she checked her watch. It was a few minutes after midnight, and she didn't see Kyan anywhere, or feel his watchful eyes upon her. Rather than allow her usual doubts to get the better of her, she smiled softly to herself and began walking toward home. She knew, somehow, that Kyan would catch up with her. Annika was almost at the door to her building when her suspicions proved true; Kyan was already walking toward her from the other side of the street.
“I'm sorry I was late. I got, held up,” he said with a sly smile.
Annika chuckled at his strange word play. She'd never met such a man before, one with so many secrets. But for some reason, it made her even more intrigued by him. Annika tilted her head toward the door and grinned, gesturing for Kyan to follow her inside. When she opened her apartment door, her cat Monica rushed over to greet her, with a quick snuggle around her ankles. Suddenly, as soon as Monica caught sight of Kyan, she scurried to the corner of the room, and b
egan hissing hysterically. Annika tilted her head, and cursed at the cat.
“She never does that. Crazy cat loves everyone. I'm sorry, Kyan.”
Kyan shrugged, but he kept his distance from Monica, staying as far away as he could, as the cat eyed him suspiciously. Annika set about gathering a few things to make pasta, while Kyan made himself comfortable on one of the bar stools, and watched as she flittered around the kitchen.
“You like cooking?”
Annika laughed, “Well, enough. But I don't often get the chance to cook for anyone but myself.”
Kyan leaned forward on the bar, and Annika found herself again distracted by the way the muscles in his arms rippled, making his tattoos come alive. She lost track of what she was doing for a moment, and almost dropped a pot of water to the floor. Kyan chuckled and gestured to the wine rack.
“Can I pour us a couple of glasses?”
Annika nodded and began chopping tomatoes and herbs for sauce. She knew Kyan was watching every move she made, but she was watching him too, the smooth way he seemed to complete every task, how he moved with such measured grace. Even when he handed her the glass of wine, he did it rhythmically, like a dance.
A few sips of the heady chianti gave her the courage to keep asking her questions, even as Kyan sat there silently, with a small smile.
“So, Kyan... do you have a last name? You know so much about me, but I don't know anything about you.”
Kyan began to spin circles on the bar stool, like a child playing out of boredom. His hair was a split second behind him as he twirled, which made look like a hipster tornado. Annika couldn't help but giggle. When he finally stopped spinning, his eyes were twinkling with mischief.
“Randall. My name is Kyan Randall.”
Annika spun her hand at him, indicating she wanted more information.
Kyan sighed. “I'm 28. I'm from Colorado. I have six brothers. My dad is Navajo. My mom is from New Zealand. And I really, really like you, Annika.”
Annika felt her face run hot. She wasn't used to compliments, especially from men who looked like Kyan. She didn't know what to say, so she said the only thing she could think of.
“I really like you too, Kyan.”
Kyan smiled and stood up from the stool. He walked over to the stove and stood next to Annika, taking a spoon from the jar on the counter and helping her stir the sauce. The kitchen hummed with electricity as they made dinner, drank wine, and made small talk about their lives. Kyan avoided as many personal questions as he could, instead pushing Annika for stories about her childhood, her father, and her job.
She'd never thought of herself as particularly interesting, but the way Kyan was looking at her, you would have thought she was the most fascinating woman on the planet. It made her lightheaded, just the way he was looking at her. Any time they so much as brushed up against each other in the small kitchen, she thought she might spontaneously combust.
They sat down on Annika's couch to eat, more anxious for comfort than what was proper. However, it didn't take long for Annika to notice that Kyan wasn't actually eating anything. He was mostly just poking at the food, and pushing it around the plate. It was making her worry that she'd done something wrong.
“Do you not like it? Too much oregano?”
Kyan smiled softly. “No, it's delicious. Really. I'm just... more of a meat kind of guy, I guess.”
Kyan set down his fork with a look of frustration, and took Annika's plate away from her. For a second, she was about to object, but then she saw how serious he'd become.
“Damn you, Annika. Damn you. I swore I would never fall in love, never let myself do it. But then I saw you. In an instant, I imagined a life with you I never thought I could have, and now I don't ever want to live any other way.”
Annika was speechless. She'd never had anyone make any kind of grand gesture before, let alone one so strangely beautiful. She didn't even have time to respond before she realized something was about to happen, something she didn't even know she wanted until right that very moment.
In an instant, Kyan was on Annika, wrapping his strong arms around her waist and lifting her high into the air. Annika straddled her legs around Kyan's strong stomach and wrapped her arms as tight as she could around shoulders. Kyan felt himself become dizzy with the desire to taste each and every morsel of Annika's delicious body.
Annika slid her hands up under Kyan's shirt and lifted it over his head. She felt every curve of his muscled chest, was surprised to see the tattoo of his arm spread from his bicep up and onto his pecs. Flowers, and leaves, the most beautiful woodland scene, like something out of a master painter's imagination.
“You're so beautiful,” she whispered.
Kyan reached up and brushed Annika's hair away from her eyes.
“Nowhere near as beautiful as you, my gorgeous girl.”
Annika couldn't take her eyes off of every inch of Kyan's torso, his perfect shoulders, his gorgeously sculpted collarbone. She couldn't help herself; she kissed her way across his warm, pale skin, savoring his strange, musky smell. It was like an intoxicant and she couldn't get enough of him.
Annika savored the sensation of Kyan's skin underneath her fingertips, the way his body seemed to tremble at her touch. With a look of absolute adoration filling his twinkling green eyes, Kyan carried Annika to her bed, and laid her down gently on her side, so they were face to face. She ran her small hands through the length of Kyan's long brown hair, melting in to him with every new sensation.
Kyan reached over and slid Annika's turtleneck delicately over her head, careful not to hurt her, then her jeans. With Annika laid bare in front of him, wearing only her pale pink lace bra, he stopped to take in every inch of her. Annika couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
Kyan let his hands explore her luscious curves, her soft breasts, the slope of her ass. He found it all so beautiful, as if he were analyzing a painting.
“You're the most perfect thing I've ever seen. I can't stop looking at you,” he whispered.
Annika had never known what it felt like to be fully adored, and she wanted more of it. She leaned in to him for a kiss, letting her tongue explore each inch of his warm mouth, her nails digging into the hard muscles of his back. They were pressed against each other, the heat of their flesh feeding off one another.
Annika's heart pounded like a drum as Kyan reached up and wrapped his fingers around the sensitive skin of her breasts. Annika's breath became pulsated, her veins coursing with passion at the sensation of Kyan's unwavering hardness against her thighs.
Annika kissed Kyan's collarbone and shoulder, hungry for the taste of him, starving for just a drop of his glorious perspiration. His strong arms held her aloft, he hands gripping her curvaceous ass, holding as tight as he could without hurting her. With one quick movement, he rolled Annika on to her back, and held her arms above her head, restricting her movement. Her body thrilled from the lack of power, from Kyan's power over her.
“Be still, my darling. Let me take care of you.”
Her whole body writhed at the collection of sensations that Kyan was infliction upon her: His hands rolling across her stomach, the satin of the comforter, drifting across her back, the smell of Kyan's skin filling the whole room. She felt everything, every movement; Kyan kissing and nibbling the soft flesh of her thighs, digging his fingers into the delicate flesh of her ass. Every time his rigid firmness drifting across her skin, it was like a lightening bolt through her body.
“Kyan, why me? Please... Tell me,” Annika stumbled out through a haze of desire.
Kyan looked up at her, his eyes boring a hole right through her.
“Because no matter how hard I fought, the minute I saw you I knew... you were the one I was fated for,” he growled seductively.
Annika couldn't control the moan that escaped her lips. Even his words were like a drug, and she needed more. She was aware of everything now. Kyan reached up and snatc
hed away her bra, as if it weren't even clasped shut. His large, strong hands cupped the downy softness of her breasts as his lips kissed down her stomach.
Kyan lingered seductively over her underwear, but skipped by them, leaving Annika desperate for release. He let his lips graze the sensitive skin of her legs as his other hand traced across her calf. Annika felt as if she was becoming drunk with mad desire, her mind dizzy with it. She wanted every bit of him, inside of her, all over her, around her. She wanted to feel every part of him, and it was driving her crazy that she couldn't touch him.
Kyan could feel her hunger, and finally acquiesced to her need.
“Do I keep going?” he whispered.
She squirmed under his touch. “Yes, please. I beg you. I need you,” she cried out.