Shift (The Neturu Chronicles)

by Sarah Kay Carter

  They look up to see Damien standing in the doorway, his arms crossed. Jackson quickly lets Kayla go. With red cheeks and shaking hands, she brushes her hair behind her ear. “Sorry, it was just on.”

  Damien starts laughing. “I don’t care. I’m pretty sure I sing better than Jackson, though.”

  Jackson groans. Kayla smiles at him. “You did all right; don’t let him make you think otherwise.” Jackson grins back at her.

  “Okay, enough of that, do I even get a hug?” Damien inquires.

  Laughing, Kayla walks over to him. “Yes, you can have a hug.” She wraps her arms around him and pulls him against her. “Did you have a good drive?”

  He holds on to her and says, “Traffic sucked, but yeah, it was all right. I was worried about you the whole time.”

  “I made it here in one piece. No need to worry.”

  “It’s my job to worry,” Damien murmurs, putting his forehead on hers. “I’m just glad you made it safely and in one piece. I’m going to find this bastard and take care of him.”

  Kayla squeezes him tighter against her and puts her head on his shoulder. “Thanks, he scares me.”

  “Nothing will happen to you. I promise.” Damien kisses her head. “You’re safe.”

  “Okay,” Kayla whispers, pulling her head back up. She raises her eyes to meet his. “Thank you.”

  He gives her a soft smile. “There’s no need to thank me, but I know a way you could thank me.”

  “Not going to happen.”

  “I meant a kiss! Geez, give me a little credit.” Damien chuckles.

  She smiles. “I can do that.”

  Jackson clears his throat. “I’ll, uh, leave you two alone for a while.” He starts to walk out the door. As he passes Kayla, his eyes lock onto hers, and her chest tightens.

  “We’ll come and get you in an hour or so,” Damien replies. “We need proper time to say hello.”

  “Damien,” Kayla chastises. He just grins. Jackson looks away and walks out of the room.

  Before Kayla can think, Damien kicks the door shut. With one movement, she is up in his arms. “I’ve missed you so much, so I’m going to shower you with affection for a while.”

  “Oh really?” She laughs. “And how are you going to do that?”

  Damien carries her into the bedroom and throws her onto the bed. “I’ll show you.”

  “Hey! You’re the one who always says no kissing while lying on the bed,” Kayla says with a smile.

  He kicks off his shoes and climbs on top of her. Looking down, Damien whispers, “Mmm, our clothes will stay on. Promise.”

  Kayla snorts with amusement. “Oh, that’s good to know.”

  Bending down, Damien places his lips on hers. It only takes Kayla a second to realize part of her really did miss him. She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him tenderly. Like usual, things start out slow between them, but then, like a spark, Damien unfurls his energy into her. Kayla bucks against him and starts to kiss him more passionately. He runs his hand up her leg and places it on her hip. Kayla moves herself against him, which makes Damien pull back. “Whoa, hold on, baby. We’re speeding a little too fast.”

  “You can be a little bit of a scoundrel,” Kayla whispers.

  Damien bursts out laughing. “A scoundrel, huh? Hmm, and where does that get me?”

  “I’ll tell you when you get there,” she murmurs back.

  Damien chuckles and puts his head down. “You have no idea how much I want to tear every piece of clothing off of you. It’s getting more and more difficult to hold back.”

  “We can stop then, sorry.”

  “No,” Damien states sharply. “It’s not that. I’m going to be honest. I want you. I want you so bad that it’s making my blood boil, but I know we shouldn’t. I’m suppressing the desire to ravage you right this moment.”

  Kayla’s eyes get huge. “Wow, okay.”

  “So see, being a scoundrel won’t do us any good.”

  “I said you could be a little bit of a scoundrel,” Kayla says, tracing her finger down his chest. “That gets you somewhere.”

  “And where is that,” Damien breathlessly whispers back.

  She reaches down and starts to pull his shirt up. “I’ll show you.” Damien lets her take it off. He looks back down at her, and Kayla smirks. “Remember, you lose your shirt, I lose mine.” Damien’s eyebrows go up.

  Suddenly, they hear, “Master Damien?”

  He sits up quickly and bellows, “Are you serious?”

  Lindsay is standing in the living room with her head bowed. “I’m sorry. Your father is calling for you.”

  “I’m a little busy!” he yells.

  Kayla covers her face with her hands. “Get off of me, Damien. I think I’m going to die.”

  Damien does as she asks. He gets off the bed and walks over to Lindsay. “The door was shut. It’s called knocking.”

  “I’m sorry, Master Damien. Your father said to come and get you, no questions asked,” Lindsay murmurs as she continues to stare at the floor.

  “And if I were in the shower, would you have come and gotten me then?” Damien asks sharply.

  She shakes her head. “No sir, I’m sorry.”

  “Damien,” Kayla says, getting off the bed. “Leave the girl alone. She was just listening to your dad.”

  “Would you feel the same way if we had taken your clothes off?” Damien snaps.

  “Damien,” Kayla shouts. “Shut up!”

  He turns his growl on Lindsay. “I will take the call in here. Please leave.”

  Lindsay nods her head, looking like she’s about to cry. Kayla walks over and smacks Damien on the arm. “Stop being a jerk. Don’t worry, Lindsay, you were just doing your job. It’s fine.”

  Lindsay looks up at Kayla. “Master Damien is right. I’m so sorry.”

  “Damien…is being impolite. Don’t listen to him,” Kayla kindly instructs. Lindsay’s eyes widen and her gaze quickly darts to Damien.

  Damien bursts out laughing. “If anyone else ever said that, heads would roll. It’s a good thing you mean so much to me.”

  “Yes,” Lindsay mutters. “Master Damien is of the Merjyet line. He’s not to be questioned.”

  Kayla turns and looks at Damien. “Really?” She doesn’t even try to hide her sarcastic tone.

  “This is why I like you so much.” Damien chuckles. “You don’t give a crap who I am.”

  “Nope, if you’re being a jerk, I will say as much.”

  Shaking his head, Damien continues to laugh. “I need to take this call from my dad. Have mercy on me, Kayla, you rule.” He walks back into the bedroom to take the call.

  Kayla looks back at Lindsay. “I will apologize for him.”

  “You can’t do that,” Lindsay hisses.

  “Uh, yeah, I can. I’m sorry that he was mean to you. There’s no excuse.”

  Lindsay just stares at her in awe. “Master Damien’s last girlfriend was not…nice…at all.”

  “You knew her?” Kayla whispers, stepping closer to her.

  Lindsay looks for Damien; he’s out of sight. She quickly says, “Yes, she’s awful.”

  “What’s she like? Pretty? What’s her name?”

  “Her name is Natasha. Her personality makes her ugly to most of us,” Lindsay murmurs back.

  “Okay, that means she is pretty.”

  Lindsay gives Kayla a kind look. “You are beautiful too, Miss Kayla.”

  “Kayla, call me Kayla, the Miss is silly.”

  Lindsay giggles. “All right, Kayla.”

  Kayla bends closer to her. “What does she look like?”

  “Umm, straight blonde hair,” Lindsay says. “She wears contacts and her eyes are always different colors. She is very petty and shallow. Master Damien would never have let her talk to him the way you just did. He would have been very, very angry. That shows that he really cares about you.”

  “Really?” Kayla chirps.

  With a nod, Lindsay says, “Yes. He didn�
��t laugh around her or look at her with affection. When he arrived here, he was frantic to know if you were okay.”

  “That’s sweet,” Kayla replies, putting her hand to her chest.

  “He’s been here with Natasha before, but he never shared his rooms with her.”

  “Really?” Kayla exclaims quietly. “That surprises me.”

  Lindsay shakes her head. “No, no one understood why they were together.”

  “Sex,” Kayla sighs, not thinking before she speaks.

  The girl’s hand covers her mouth. “Don’t let him hear you say that!”

  “What? It’s the truth.”

  Lindsay just stares at Kayla and then starts laughing. “I hope you marry Master Damien. You would bring some spice to the Merjyet line.”

  “Yeah, I bet.” Kayla giggles back.

  “Do you need anything? I see you haven’t eaten the Kiej snacks I brought you.”

  “Oh,” Kayla shouts. “I need those.”

  Nodding, Lindsay says, “They’re very good.”

  “Thanks, I should eat them. Thanks for the dirt on Damien’s ex.”

  “Not a problem,” Lindsay whispers. “If you need anything, please feel free to ask. I’ll personally attend to you.”

  Kayla rolls her eyes. “That’s not necessary.”

  “I would like to do it. Please, just accept it.”

  “Okay,” Kayla finally sighs. “I should go eat.”

  With a small tilt of her head, Lindsay says, “I’ll see you soon, Miss,” and then she turns and leaves.

  Thoughts of Damien’s ex circulate through Kayla’s head. She now wants to know more, but knows she can’t ask Damien. He may get mad that Lindsay told her anything. Kayla walks over and starts to eat the food that Lindsay brought.

  A few minutes later, Damien walks into the living room. “My father says hi, and he’s sorry that we were interrupted.”

  “You told your dad?” Kayla yells.

  Damien puts his hands up. “I didn’t tell him what we were doing. Just that we had the door shut.”

  “He’s going to think we were having sex! That is so not cool.”

  “Can we get back to the fun non-sex activities?” Damien asks, closing the distance between them.

  Kayla laughs and shoves him away. “No, not now that your father knows.”

  He grabs Kayla and pulls her against him. “I lost my shirt. It’s only fair that you lose yours.”

  “No, now stop it.” Kayla giggles.

  “I feel totally gypped here. Jackson got to see you in your underwear, and you aren’t even dating him.”

  “He was helping me.” Kayla laughs. “That’s so not the same thing.”

  Giving her a look, Damien asks, “Do you really think he wasn’t having inappropriate thoughts?”

  She opens her mouth and then closes it. “Okay, fine. You win. He shouldn’t have seen me, but we didn’t have much of an option.”

  “I want to see where this tracking device is,” Damien murmurs, pulling on the top of her pants.

  “Later.” Kayla snorts, pushing his hand away.

  “Really?” Damien quips excitedly.

  Kayla shakes her head. “No.”

  “I think it’s only fair,” Damien states, crossing his arms. “I am sort of your boyfriend. My cousin shouldn’t see you more unclothed than me.”

  “All right.” Kayla sighs, grabbing the bottom of her shirt. “It is only fair.”

  Damien gets a wicked grin on his face. “Excellent.”

  She starts to pull her shirt up, but then stops. “Nah, just kidding.”

  “What?” Damien exclaims. He grabs her and throws her over his shoulder.

  “Put me down!” she screams.

  “Nope,” Damien retorts. He carries her over to the couch and stands her up on the cushions.

  Kayla looks down at him. “What are you doing?”

  “Taking my clothes off,” Damien retorts, undoing his belt.

  “What? No!” Kayla yells. “Stop it!”

  A grin crosses his face. “Why? I thought this was, I take it off, you take it off.”

  “No! Pants stay on.”

  “Fine,” Damien groans, but then his look turns mischievous. “Just kidding,” he says and drops his pants.

  Kayla looks up at the ceiling. “Damien!”

  “Yes,” he replies.

  “Put your pants back on,” she demands.

  He scoffs. “No.”

  “What is with your family and stripping?” she yells.

  “Excuse me, what?” Damien retorts. “Who stripped what, when?”

  Kayla clamps her mouth shut. “Nothing.”

  “No, Jackson took his clothes off in front of you? What in the hell, Kayla. Did something happen between you two?” Damien asks, fire in his eyes.

  She vigorously shakes her head. “No, nothing, nothing at all.”

  “I feel like I’m competing with him, and I don’t like that,” Damien says. “I really care about you, Kayla, I do. I want to be with you, but I don’t understand how you and Jackson somehow end up kissing each other or losing clothes all the time!”

  “It was at separate times,” Kayla assures him. “Nothing happened.”

  Damien turns away from her. “Kayla, I need to ask you a question, and I want you to answer me honestly.”

  “What?” Kayla whispers.

  “Do I need to be worried about Jackson, because…well… I’m starting to feel like you aren’t in this with me.”

  Kayla jumps off the couch. “No, I am in this with you. I promise. I want this to work with us.”

  He glances over his shoulder at her. “Then be my girlfriend. It would make me feel better, and I know Jackson would back off out of respect.”

  “I don’t know if I’m ready for a serious relationship,” Kayla replies.

  He turns around to face her. “I want to be exclusive with you. I want you to be mine, my girl. I would shower you with affection and anything you would ever need.”

  “I don’t have to be your girlfriend for you to shower me with affection,” Kayla states. “And I already have everything I need.”

  “Be with me,” Damien says. “It’s that simple.”

  “Give me a little more time,” Kayla whispers. “Please.”

  Looking away from her, Damien mutters, “I worry because it is so easy for you to be with Jackson, and yet you shy away from me any time we’re together.”

  “Because I don’t want you to get the idea that no clothes means sex. Jackson understands that. He can see me without clothes and not maul me.”

  “He’s seen you without clothes more than once?” Damien snaps.

  Kayla bites her lip and sighs. “He sketched me for a painting. He didn’t see anything because I was wrapped in a sheet.”

  “I realize that we aren’t exclusive but knowing that hurts me…a lot. How would you feel if I said I was hanging around a naked girl wrapped in a sheet? Better yet, how would you feel if I was with Tracy and we were taking our clothes off?”

  Her jaw drops. “I would be pissed.”

  “Thank you, now you know how I feel,” Damien snaps. “I need to know what you want. Do you want to be with Jackson, because if you do, I need to know. Now. I don’t want to get hurt. I have true, honest feelings for you, Kayla. I don’t want to lose you, but if I’m going to, I would rather it be now.”

  “No!” Kayla exclaims. She walks up to him and takes his hands. “Damien, I want to be with you. I came all this way to see you.”

  His eyes plead with her. “I hope that’s true. I have my doubts. You’re so different with Jackson.” Kayla reaches down and takes her shirt off. Damien’s eyes widen. “What are you doing?”

  “Showing you things aren’t different,” Kayla explains. She undoes her pants and starts to kick them off.

  “Kayla, stop it,” Damien urges. “That isn’t what I want.”

  Kayla stands up in front of him. “See, I trust you. I care about you. It’s okay.�
��

  “Not that I don’t like seeing you undressed, but I don’t want you to do it just because you did it with Jackson and you’re trying to prove a point. I just want to know that you want to be with me.”

  “This isn’t about Jackson,” Kayla says, putting her arms around his neck. “This is about you and me. Shut up about Jackson. I am standing here right now, and I want to be with you, Damien.”

  Damien puts his hands on her hips. “Tell me you don’t want to be with Jackson.”

  Kayla hesitates for a moment, but Jackson had made himself clear over and over. “Nothing will ever happen between Jackson and me. You, on the other hand, have a half-naked girl standing in front of you, and you won’t stop talking about him.”

  He opens his mouth and then closes it. “Good point.”

  “Now, kiss me,” she whispers, pulling him down to her. Damien wraps his arms around her and kisses her softly. They stand there for a minute, holding each other.

  Finally, Damien pulls away. “We need to put our clothes back on. This is improper.”

  “Shut up,” Kayla whispers, pulling him back down.

  Shaking his head, Damien gently pushes her away. “No, really, I only have so much control.”

  “What happened to being a little bit of a scoundrel?” Kayla inquires.

  “Even the scoundrel needs to slow down once in a while. Your parents would be very angry right now if they knew, and rightfully so.”

  “Are you going to tell on me?” Kayla giggles.

  With a chuckle, Damien says, “No, but I want your parents to like me, and actually like me for me, not because of who I am.”

  “You will win them over,” Kayla states, picking up her pants. “You won me over.”

  A knock sounds on the door. “Hold on,” Damien shouts. The door opens before he gets to it, and Damien quickly shoves Kayla behind him. “I said hold on.”

  Jackson walks in and looks at him. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you.” When Jackson’s eyes fall on Kayla, he shouts, “What the hell, why are you both practically naked?”

  “That is between us,” Damien snaps back. “It’s none of your business.”

  “Kayla,” Jackson growls. “You told me to keep you from going overboard. Well, guess what, you are getting pretty close to the edge.”

  She blushes. “We didn’t do anything.”

  “You do not need to answer to him!” Damien exclaims. “Jackson, back off. Kayla and I are in a relationship. What we do is our business. It has nothing to do with you, so stop acting like it does. She doesn’t want you. Kayla chose me. So deal with it.”