Knight Shift

by Paulette Miller

  She nodded silently to acknowledge his words realizing that, without saying it directly, he had given her permission to return as often as she wanted.

  He reached out and gently caressed her cheek. His cool touch caused a pleasant shiver to run through her body. When he gave her a rare smile, her toes curled. Seeing her unable to speak he said, “The family is downstairs waiting for you. Why don’t we go join them?”

  She nodded numbly and, as she passed him, she breathed in his scent and had the overwhelming desire to touch his broad chest. With her mind distracted, she tripped over her own feet, but Ice was able to grab her to prevent her from falling. Once she was steady again, he held out his arm and said, “Maybe you better hold on.”

  She accepted his small gesture and, with a big grin on her face, they joined the others.

  *~*~*~*

  The next night Penny was at home, she awoke for her normal nightly stroll, finding Casper waiting for her. He was taken aback to see tears welling up in her eyes over his reappearance. He once again took his spot in the shadows and listened to her happily recant every detail that happened over the last few weeks.

  She said, “I know Ice doesn’t want me interacting with his world and definitely doesn’t want me at their house, but he isn’t going to stop me. I honestly don’t think that it’s just that I’m a Human. There’s more behind his behavior than that. I told him I wanted to be his friend and I hope he lets me in. No one on this planet needs a friend more than he does and, although he pushes everyone away, I don’t give up easily.” She ended her story by saying, “Although I look forward to spending time with everyone at Sam’s, don’t tell anyone, but I can’t wait until I see Ice again.” Caressing the spot on her cheek where Ice had touched her, she added with a giggle and a sigh, “For some reason he makes my toes curl.”

  Chapter 13 - Rescue

  Several weeks later after an especially long day at work, Penny left the store and headed home shortly after one o’clock in the morning. With the radio on her favorite oldies station, she was singing alone when she heard a loud bang and then her car pulled hard to the right. She quickly pulled over and, after walking a loop around the vehicle, she found one of her back tires completely flat.

  After cursing, she said sarcastically, “Perfect.”

  She scanned her surroundings to get her bearing and found that she was on a dark stretch of country road that weaved through the woods about ten miles from her home. Knowing that cars were few on this road, she decided to change the tire on her own. After getting everything out and putting the jack in place, she grabbed the tire iron and knelt in front of the object of her soon-to-be battle.

  She managed to get the first three lug nuts off easily, but the last one wouldn’t budge. No matter how loud she screamed at it or how hard she kicked it, it remained unmoved.

  “Time to call the Calvary,” she whispered to herself and then opened her phone to call Taylor.

  An unexpectedly deep voice answered and asked, “What do you need, Penny?”

  She knew instantly that the voice on the other end of the phone wasn’t Taylor, and she had a good guess as to who it was. “Is this Ice?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Yes, the twins are out hunting and Taylor forgot to take his phone. I was about to head out as well.” In reality, he had been preparing for his nightly trek to her cabin.

  She replied, “Shoot.”

  Hearing the obvious frustration in her voice, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “Well, I was driving home from work and I got a flat tire. I tried to fix it, but I can’t get one of the lug nuts off.”

  “Where are you?”

  She replied, “I’m somewhere on Barlow Trail Road, close to Clear Creek.”

  Knowing that she was in a very dark, secluded stretch of road, he commanded, “Get back in your car and lock the doors. I’ll be there as quick as I can.”

  She knew that Ice was still uncomfortable with her involvement with Susi’s family and she refused to make him come to her rescue yet again, so she blurted out, “No! There’s no need for you to come. Someone driving by will stop and can help me.”

  With a growl in his voice, he said, “No, you’ll get back in your car and will wait until I get there.”

  Trying to make light of the situation, she said, “No need; I’ll be fine. Sorry to bother you. Just go do whatever it was you had planned.”

  Before he even had a chance to respond, Penny hung up the phone. While letting out a steady stream of curse words, Ice jumped into his SUV and sped off down the lane. When he pulled up behind Penny, he found her standing out in the open next to the flat tire with the tire iron still in her hand. Although relieved that she was unharmed, his anger flared because she hadn’t done what he had told her to do.

  “Stubborn Human,” he said to himself with a growl in his voice. When he approached and yanked the tool from her hand, he said between clenched teeth, “I told you to wait in the car.”

  “I made you a promise that you didn’t need to come rescue me, so I didn’t think you were actually going to come.”

  “If I wasn’t going to come, I would have told you so. You need to learn that when I say I’m going to do something, you can count on it.” As he squatted down to take a closer look at the tire, he caught a sweet scent in the air. He snapped his head toward Penny, making her jump and announced, “Where are you hurt?”

  She instinctively took a step back and said, “I’m fine.”

  When he saw her tuck one of her arms further behind her, he commanded, “Show me your arm. I can smell that you’re bleeding.”

  She knew there was no point in arguing so she reluctantly brought her injury forward and explained, “I got pissed off and tried to jump on the damn tire iron to force the lug nut loose. While the nut remained in place laughing at me, the damn tool flew into the air and bit me. It’s just a little cut—nothing to fuss over.”

  After seeing the blood dripping down her arm and onto the ground, he said, “It’s deep. I think you might need to get a few stiches.”

  She yanked her arm back and said, “At this hour?” She shook her head adamantly and added, “I’ll put a bandage on it when I get home.”

  He shook his head. “It’s bleeding badly.” Seeing a stubborn expression wash across her face, he said, “Well if you won’t go to a doctor, I’ll bring the doctor to you.” He picked up his phone and called someone. When the person on the other end answered, Ice said, “Hey, Penny cut herself trying to change a flat tire. Can you come out here and see what you can do?” After listening to the person on the other end talk for a moment, Ice gave him directions to where they were. He hung up and said, “Sam and Susi were out hunting and aren’t that far away. They’ll be here shortly.”

  Penny said, confused, “I know that you aren’t thrilled that I’m around, but are you actually planning on offering me as a late night snack?”

  He rolled his eyes and said, “I’m not going to feed you to them. Sam’s saliva has the ability to close veins as well as keep them open for feeding, so he can heal some fairly bad wounds.”

  The thought of Sam being a healer made Penny smile. Her expression quickly turned to a grimace when Ice added, “It’s how his kind can keep a wounded animal alive longer so that he can feed multiple times before they bleed out.”

  “Ohhh,” Penny said while staring down at a drop of blood that dripped to the ground.

  Sensing her sudden unease, he said, “He’s helped heal countless number of my wounds. He can even make it painless, if he concentrates on it. But if you’re afraid of having him touch you—”

  Before he could finish his thought, she interrupted him by saying, “No, I would welcome his help. I was more afraid that the sight of a bleeding wound would cause him issues.”

  Knowing how intoxicating her blood smelled, he had a similar fear, but he kept his concerns to himself. Instead he ripped off a strip from the bottom of his t-shirt. Realizing this was the second time he ripped apart
his clothes for her, she inwardly vowed to buy him several new shirts. Seeing him only in black, she thought that maybe she would throw caution to the wind and give him shirts in an actual color.

  As he wrapped up her arm, he said, “Sam will be fine.” To himself he added, “I won’t leave your side to make sure of it.”

  While Penny pressed on the wound, she watched Ice undo the stubborn lug nut with complete ease. Watching his muscles flex while he worked, caused her mind to wander to what those arms would feel like wrapped around her if he wasn’t trying to kill her.

  Her daydream was interrupted when Sam and Susi appeared next to the car. Since Ice’s protective instincts were already on high alert, he had sensed their impending arrival moments earlier and knew they were coming, but Penny jumped at their sudden appearance.

  Seeing her reaction Sam said apologetically, “Sorry Penny. We didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “That’s okay. You would think I would be used to it by now.” Wanting to show no fear for his kind, she said, “Come take a look, Doc.” When she held out her arm, Susi backed quickly away.

  As Sam approached, he explained, “She can smell your blood and isn’t as strong as I am at resisting its draw. She’ll be fine in a minute, but will keep at a safe distance to make sure.” When Ice stepped between her and Penny protectively, he added, “Ice will be watching and will make sure you remain safe.”

  Penny gave Ice a gentle smile in appreciation.

  After examining the cut, Sam said, “I should be able to take care of this for you.” To help prepare her, he explained what he was going to do. “First I’m going to take some of your blood…just enough to flush out anything that may have gotten into the wound. Once it’s clean, I’ll close it and then add in my special flare to make it heal. If it all goes as planned, you shouldn’t feel much of anything and will be fine in a few minutes. Are you still okay with me doing this?”

  She nodded with a forced smile in a feeble attempt to project confidence. She recalled Logan’s bite, which hurt terribly and her body started to shake slightly with nerves. The moment his mouth pressed over her wound, she winced. The arm was sore, but his touch made it go numb almost instantly. She didn’t even feel his fangs penetrate her skin. The only thing she felt was a gentle sucking sensation which was followed immediately by a sudden and overwhelming desire to offer him every drop of blood in her body. This sensation made her wonder when his fangs latched on to anyone—Human or animal—if they not only went willingly, but happily.

  Ice watched Sam’s face intently and, when he sensed Sam’s growing enjoyment, he grabbed the make-shift doctor firmly on the shoulder to remind him to only take what he needed. His action brought Sam back to the moment and he reluctantly stopped extracting blood, much to Penny’s dismay.

  When Sam began to lick her wound clean, the sensation changed again and Penny giggled, saying “That tickles.” As he finished, warmth spread throughout her arm and she sighed in relief.

  When he finally released her, he looked up and asked, “How does it feel now?”

  She rubbed the spot where the cut had been, finding only a pale pink line as if the wound was weeks old. She exclaimed, “If feels great and it didn’t hurt at all.”

  Now that the air was free of the strong scent of her blood, Susi came partially forward. After confirming that Penny was unharmed, she turned to Sam and asked, “Are you feeling okay? Your body temperature is up.”

  He replied, “I feel amazing. I bet I could leap tall buildings in a single bound, like Superman.” He pulled Susi against his chest and whispered, “Want to see what other parts have heated up?”

  Shocked by his playfulness, she replied, “Most definitely, but let me check on Penny first.”

  When Sam stepped to the side so that Penny and Susi could talk, Ice approached him. Sam whispered so that Penny wouldn’t hear, “I thought her blood smelled good, but you should taste it.” He licked his lips and moaned.

  Ice said, “It tastes better than it smells.” He said it as a fact, not a question.

  Sam nodded. “By a thousand fold. I can actually feel the heat of it flowing through me as if I drank liquid energy. If we bottled it, we could become millionaires overnight.” When Ice let out a low rumble, Sam quickly added, “Sorry, I would never seriously consider doing that.”

  Realizing the draw her blood was having, Ice decided it was best to remove Penny from the scene. He stepped forward and announced, “It’s late. Time to get the Human home.”

  After giving Sam an affectionate hug and a kiss on the cheek, Penny said, “Thank you so much for taking care of me.”

  Sam returned the affection and said, “Trust me. The pleasure was all mine.”

  Ice stared at the exchange in wonder. He had never met a Human with such a wide open and trusting heart. Even though the ones Penny stood with could kill her in a heartbeat, she truly embraced them for what they were and as family.

  Penny turned to Ice and hesitated. She wasn’t sure how best to show him her gratitude. In the end, she said from a distance, “Thank you for coming to my rescue again.”

  As she went to get into her car, Ice instantly appeared next to her and took the keys from her hand. After tossing them to Sam, he said, “I don’t want her driving so late given her blood loss. You two drive her car to her cabin and we’ll follow you.”

  Susi beamed at Ice’s concern for Penny and said, “I think that’s wise. We’ll meet you two there.”

  Penny knew better than to argue with Ice so she watched everyone take their assigned positions. When Susi nodded to tell Penny to get in Ice’s car, she hesitantly did what she was told to do. She nervously turned to Ice’s vehicle.

  Given what the twins drove, she expected Ice to drive a fancy sports car. Instead she approached a Range Rover in his typical color of black. When she reached for the door handle, to her surprise, Ice opened the door for her and waited for her to get in. After she was seated, she took a quick look around. The first thing she noticed after breathing in his unique, spicy scent, was how clean it was. Everything was in its place and, although she expected it to be full of all kinds of fancy gadgets, the dash was a simple design with only the bare essentials. In fact, the vehicle was very practical with plenty of room for storage. It would be something she would have picked to easily hold all of her hiking equipment. Knowing that Ice was a hunter, she thought it was a perfect choice.

  Once Ice was in the driver’s seat, he tossed her phone into her lap. As she picked it up, he said, “I added my number. I expect you to use it if you’re ever in need.”

  She had no idea how he had gotten the phone since it had been tucked in her back pocket. She took a quick peek at the contact list and when she didn’t find an entry for her rescuer, her eyes caught one with the name Jax. She was shocked that he had entered it using his real name. She was very touched and replied, “I really appreciate you coming out here to help me tonight.”

  “Next time, do what I say. If I tell you to remain in the car, I expect to find you there. As you have become painfully aware, there are a lot of dangerous things that come out at night.”

  Knowing that, besides wild animals, there were Changelings like Logan lying in wait, she nodded in defeat.

  Before she could respond verbally, he pointed to her seatbelt and said, “Buckle up.” He waited until she was safely tucked in before pulling onto the road.

  She knew he wasn’t much for small talk so she tried to sit silently while they drove down the road, but her nervousness forced her to talk. She said, “I hope I didn’t interrupt any special plans you had tonight.”

  “I was heading off to watch the world that comes to life once the sun goes down.”

  She replied, “I don’t sleep well so I’m a bit of a night owl too. I do some of my best painting and design work after dark. The quiet helps me think. It’s like I live two separate lives—one under the sun and the other via the light of the moon.” Without thinking she said, “If you’re ever in the nei
ghborhood after two in the morning, stop by. I guarantee I’ll be up.” She regretted her words the second they left her mouth. She didn’t know what she would do if he actually showed up at her door.

  He gave her a rare smile and said, “Maybe I’ll take you up on that someday.” For the rest of the trip, Penny bit her lip to prevent her mouth from saying anything else. As they pulled into her drive, she realized that Ice found his way to her home without her giving him any directions. “His tracking skills are astounding,” she said to herself.

  Once Ice parked in front of the cabin, he opened Penny’s door and held out his hand to help her out. She accepted and was shocked by his gallantry.

  Sam tossed Penny’s keys to Ice and said, “We’ll leave you two now and get back to our hunt. But if you need my services again, please call.” Sam pinched Susi on the backside, making her jump. He then gave her a growl and said, “Run. I’ll give you a head start before coming after you.”

  “You’re being very playful tonight, but I’m game for a little chase. What are you going to do once you catch me?”

  After whispering something in her ear that made her face light up with a smile, she said, “Hint…I’m going south.” She disappeared into the dark filling the woods with her giggles. Sam waited for only a moment before he disappeared in hot pursuit.

  Ice walked Penny to her door and, after he unlocked it, he stepped in and flipped on the lights. After breathing in the air to make sure no unwelcomed scent was in wait, he motioned her in and said, “Try to stay out of trouble.”

  As Penny walked past her rescuer, on instinct, she started to lean toward him to give him a hug, but the moment her arm touched his cold body, she realized what she was doing and jumped back.

  It took every bit of his control to not pull her into his arms so that he could feel the heat her body projected. Seeing her face flushed, he reached out. He pretended he was brushing off some dirt she had on her face but, in reality, that was his excuse for touching her cheek to feel the warmth. After he dropped his hand, he said with his emotions again tightly locked up, “Call me if you need me.”