“How would you like that done?” She looked back at him, brows raised.
“Bloody.” How else?
If her eyes were wide before, they were positively enormous now. She looked confused. Possibly shocked as well. Talon couldn’t understand why that would be.
“Rare,” Vicky almost yelled. “Sorry, he’s not from around here.”
“Oh.” The female visibly relaxed. “Where are you from?”
“Switzerland,” Vicky blurted. “A small town in the mountains.”
“That’s weird since you don’t have much of an accent. Cool though.” She smiled.
“His mother is from the US.”
The female nodded. “Makes sense then. Welcome. How long are you visiting?”
“Six weeks,” Talon said. Finally, a question he could actually answer.
“Hope you enjoy your stay.” Her smile widened. “Let me go and submit your order. I’m sure you’re hungry.” She blinked strangely with one eye. Perhaps she had something in it.
“Yes, I’m so hungry I could eat a whole horse.” Talon licked his lips.
The female giggled and walked away, shaking her head.
“You’re serious, aren’t you? You could literally eat a whole horse. Well, not a whole horse but you know what I mean? You would eat horse meat?”
“I was being serious, yes. I could eat a whole horse, if I were in my animal form.” Why would he say something and not mean it? “Horse is very delicious. Have you ever tried it?”
She made a face of disgust and a noise of disbelief. “Don’t ever talk about eating animals like that. Especially horses.”
“Why not? We do eat them. Don’t humans eat horses?”
“Some do. Nobody I know personally.” She grimaced in disgust. Like she was feeling sick to her stomach, just like he had felt when she served him eggs.
“But you eat meat, so you do eat animals?”
“We do, but we don’t talk about it.”
“That’s stupid.”
She looked up at the ceiling and gave a half-nod before looking him in the eyes. “Although you have a point; you talking about eating horses and wanting your steak bloody, is the same as me talking about eating eggs.”
He clenched his teeth. “It’s not the same.”
“It has the same effect though.”
“I understand.” Well, sort of. Humans were very strange creatures.
“Okay, the good news is that we’re going to get there in the end, but the bad news is that we’ve still got a long way to go. What did I tell you? The outfit is working. A couple of the women in here checked you out when we walked in. By checked you out, I mean that they looked at you with interest. That they are possibly attracted to you,” she added.
“You think so?”
“Definitely.”
“But I haven’t even shown my muscles, or my strength. Females like to see a male in action before allowing him to mount her.”
“Just because they are checking you out doesn’t mean they want … sex.”
“Good.” They would be disappointed. “I still don’t understand how they would show interest without seeing my muscles … my strength.” He flexed a bicep.
Vicky kept her eyes on his. “It’s true that women like a man with a good physique but that’s just the start of it. He needs to be sensitive without being a pushover. He needs to be intelligent without being a know-it-all. And please don’t ever use the word ‘mount’ ever again.”
“Why not?” Why were they even talking about this again? It was like they didn’t have any other subject matter.
“We don’t say mount, we say sex or making love or fucking.” She said the last word softly. Suddenly his pants felt even tighter. The room too hot.
“Why do you have so many words for the same thing?” He took a sip of his water, hoping it would help cool him down.
"They're not really the same thing. I mean," her cheeks turned pink, "they are technically the same thing, but they're not. Sex or intercourse is the most generic way of describing the act. Now making love and fucking. Totally not the same the same thing. People who love each other and have a real relationship, make love. People who just want to get it on for the fun of it with no romantic ties, fuck. One happens because of love and the other just for pleasure."
His balls felt scratchy. He hated these human clothes. Talon tugged on the collar of the sweater. ‘Sweater’ was a good term for the garment. It was hot and made him feel uncomfortable. “It’s easier just to say mount!” he snapped. “Mounting is mounting.” All these different words for things. It made his head spin.
Either she was oblivious to his irritation, or she plain ignored it. Vicky smiled. "We'll have to agree to disagree on that one as well," she sighed. "You need to say sex. If you say mount it sounds strange. Just like when you say male or female and when you keep referring to people as human and yourself as not human. It sounds weird.”
“I speak how I speak but, if it will help, I will say things the human way … your way,” he quickly said, realizing his error too late. “I would like to learn how to read.”
"That's an admirable request, and I admire your tenacity, but I don't think learning how to read is a skill you can pick up easily. Certainly not in less than six weeks."
“Why not?”
"Kids go to school for years to learn their ABCs." She took a sip of her drink, pursing her lips around a long, thin tube. It was hollow. Her lips were plump and very pink. She sucked up some of the liquid, and he watched as the long, milky-white column of her throat worked.
“I’m not a kid.” Irritation rose up in him. “I will learn more quickly. I am already learning. Wait, you will see.”
“Okay, fine. There are apps for everything. We’ll pick up an iPad and get you started.”
“Thank you,” he said, not really sure what an iPad was but as long as it helped him to learn, he was fine with it.
“Sure thing. Once we’re done with lunch, we need to get back to the office so that Maggie can help you book into a new hotel.”
Just then, the female returned with their lunch. She set the food down in front of them. “Enjoy,” she said in a sing-song voice as she walked away.
“We’re going to people watch while we’re here.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t make it obvious but we can watch that couple who just arrived at the table next to us. If you ask me, they look like they’re here on a date. We can observe their interactions.”
He picked up his meat and tore off a strip. Not quite as bloody as he liked it, but still good. “What is a date?” he asked after swallowing.
“You aren’t eating that with your hands, are you?”
He wasn’t sure how to answer. Since the meat was between his fingers, he didn’t think he needed to.
She sighed. “Have you ever used a knife and fork before?”
Talon shook his head.
"Put the steak down, and I'll teach you. Then I'll explain what a date is."
He nodded, placing the meat back down on the plate and licking his fingers. It seemed he had a lot to learn. Talon knew that this was going to be challenging, he hadn’t realized how challenging though. Good thing he was up for it.
Chapter 7
There was a shrill noise. A train, a ship, a bell? Had to be a dream. Vicky turned over, trying to snuggle deeper into her covers. She couldn’t get comfortable because of the noise. The … the phone was ringing. It was actually ringing. It was no dream. It was a nightmare.
Shit!
It had just turned eleven o’clock, which meant that she had only just gotten to bed an hour ago. What the hell! Who was calling at this time of night?
One guess.
Just one.
It couldn’t be.
Not again.
It had to be. She answered with trepidation. Her heart beating. What now? What had he done now? “Hello.” Her voice sounded normal. Of course it did. It wasn’t like she’d been sleeping for
hours, she’d only just gone to bed. “Vicky Kilpatrick speaking.”
"This is Scott Thomas from Summer Suites. One of our guests asked me to give you a call, but quite frankly, I'm inclined to contact law enforcement. That, or the looney bin," he whispered the last.
“I’m Doctor Kilpatrick.” She cringed as she used her title.
“Oh, I see. You’re a doctor. Thank goodness! This is starting to make more sense.”
“What happened?” She tried not to sound short.
Talon might be different. He possibly suffered from delusions, but he was harmless … at least, she was sure he was. It was that, or he was a serious liar. Of the pathological variety.
“He tried to commit suicide.”
Her skin suddenly felt chilled. “What?” Run around naked, saying stupid things, naïve, sure, but kill himself? Suicide? Not that. No way!
“He almost jumped off of his balcony. We have several witnesses. I am the manager on duty. Thankfully, I was able to access his room and talk him off the ledge, so to speak. If he hadn’t come down so easily and been so apologetic, I would have called—”
“I’m very glad you called me instead, Scott. I can be there in twenty minutes. Talon is harmless. I doubt very much he would actually have jumped. He is under my care …” More cringing as she said it, even though it was true. Well, sort of true. “I’m on my way.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” The guy sighed the words. “Please hurry.”
“I will,” she said just before she put down the phone.
Vicky dressed in record time. Careful to obey the road rules, she made it to the hotel in record time as well, following the signboards into the underground parking, after taking a parking ticket. Shoes clicking on the cement, she rushed for the elevator. This was worse than she thought. Maybe Talon did need help.
Just like the last time, the hotel lobby was beautiful. It was huge and opulent with the biggest bunch of flowers she had ever seen on the table at the entrance.
She introduced herself to the reception staff. Her wait wasn’t very long.
“Ms Kilpatrick!” a sweaty man yelled as she approached the desk. He looked so much like the night manager from the hotel from the previous night it was unbelievable. “I’m so glad to see you.” His eyes had a wild, panicked look.
“Yes, where is Talon?”
“Over here.” He pointed across from them. Talon was sitting in one of the royal blue, high-backed chairs. She’d been so fixated on the reception desk that she hadn’t noticed him and the two lady staff members there. Clearly in charge of babysitting him. The two women, as well as the manager, were all dressed in suits in the same color as the sofas and décor.
Talon was wearing one of the outfits she'd picked out for him and the flip-flops. She kept herself from rolling her eyes. "Let's go." There was a whole lot more she wanted to say to him, but it could wait until they were alone. The sooner she got him out of there, the better.
“Um, Ms Kilpatrick, you’re going to need this.” The manager handed her another parking ticket, only this one had a red stamp that said ‘comp’.
“Thank you.” She turned back to Talon.
Instead of pulling his wheelie bag, the one he’d bought earlier today, he picked it up by the handle as he stood up. Carrying the thing like it weighed nothing, he walked to her.
“Goodbye.” The manager sounded delighted to be rid of them. To be rid of Talon, who fell into step next to her as she walked.
She could feel all the staff watching as she pushed the button for the elevator. Pushing it three times in quick succession.
“Thank you for coming,” Talon said.
“Sure, no problem.” She forced a smile, looking up at him. At his chiseled jaw, his full lips, those gorgeous eyes. He looked so normal on the outside. If normal was gorgeous. Six and a half feet of delicious, completely off his rocker, male. Suicide. This was too much for her to deal with.
There was a dinging and the elevator doors finally opened. Thank god! He had better have some seriously good explanations for all this, or she was dropping him off at the nearest psychiatric ward. "What the hell happened?" she asked as the elevator began to move downwards.
“Just getting some air and everyone freaked out. I’m not sure what the problem was.” He shrugged those broad shoulders of his.
“They said you were threatening to jump off the balcony.”
Talon frowned and shook his head. “No, I wasn’t going to jump. I was just perching.”
“Perching? What the hell is perching? It had better not be what I think it is.” The elevator doors opened at basement level. She walked out of the elevator, Talon next to her.
“I was perching on the balcony railing when the manager—”
She stopped dead, putting a hand on the wall for support.
Talon stopped walking as well and went on with his story. “Scott began pounding on my door, begging me not to jump.” He made a face. “I hadn’t planned on jumping. I was just unwinding after a long day. I was sure to keep the pants on. I was sure not to walk around naked. I was minding my own business, enjoying a bit of fresh air. That’s all.”
“Perched up on the balcony railing?” Her voice was a tad shrill. “As in, on the actual balcony railing?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged like it was no big deal.
This was beyond her. This was more than a minor psychological disorder. This was serious. “How many floors up?”
“What do you mean by floors?”
Oh brother. She scrubbed a hand over her face. “What was your room number?”
“802.”
“You were on the eighth floor.” Her blood ran cold. “You could have died if you had fallen. Do you know how high eight floors is?”
More shrugging. It infuriated her. “It wasn’t that high. Not at all.”
"You could have died. If you had fallen, you would have been a splatter on the tarmac. All of your bones pulverized. Your organs soup. Do you understand?"
“No, I told you I’m a shifter.” He scratched his jaw, the sound of his hand catching on the stubble. He looked at her with such intensity. Those strange-colored eyes boring into hers. “Shifters do not die easily.”
“Talon, you need to stop saying things like that. I’ve tried to go along with this. To humor you but this has turned serious. You could have died.” Her voice was high-pitched.
"I would not have died." He really believed that. She could see it in his eyes. He wasn't a pathological liar, he actually believed all of this, and it was liable to get him killed.
Vicky made a noise of frustration and rubbed her face. What was she going to do with him? Talon wasn’t harmless. He was a danger to himself.
“You don’t believe me, do you?” Talon asked, drawing her attention back to him. “You don’t believe that I’m a shifter.” He narrowed his eyes, looking less than impressed. In fact, she would go so far as to say that he looked mad.
She inhaled sharply, suddenly feeling tiny and helpless and alone with someone who wasn’t all there. Talon was a good guy but how well did she know him? Vicky took a step back. Talon followed. “You don’t, do you?” he repeated, with more conviction this time. His jaw was tight, his eyes hard and narrowed.
"I like you, Talon. I want to help you … and by helping you, I mean, get you help. I'm not the right person for the job. I'm a psychologist who specializes in relationship counseling, I'm not a psychiatrist and that's what you need."
“Of course you can help me. I told you what I need. We agreed. Why won’t you believe that I’m a shifter?”
“You need real help. You’re not a shifter. You could have died. You could have fallen to your death tonight.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “That would never have happened.”
“Listen to yourself. You were eight stories up. That’s high, you—”
“I can fly,” he blurted. “I shouldn’t have told you that, but I can fly. I would never have fallen, I would have—”
&nb
sp; Oh shit! This was worse than she thought. Way worse. If she didn't get Talon help, he might actually hurt himself. "You're a sweet guy. I know that you believe you're a shifter. That you can fly." She needed to handle this carefully. "I like you very much. We need to get you help. Once you talk to the right people, are correctly medicated, things will improve. You'll see."
“I don’t like where this is going.” He clenched his fists. “I don’t need to speak to any people.” He shook his head wildly from side to side, looking agitated. “I’m not sure what medication is but I don’t need it.”
Her throat felt dry. The problem was that he seemed to be stuck in and living this delusion. Telling him it wasn’t true only made it worse. “Okay, calm down.” His eyes seemed darker, more narrowed onto hers. His jaw tighter than ever. “You’re not going to hurt me are you?” She shouldn’t have said that. Talon grit his teeth, his eyes moving to the ceiling.
“Stay calm, okay? I promise you I’ll—”
There was this cracking noise. It was loud and unlike anything she had ever heard. Then a tearing noise as Talon’s clothing ripped off of him.
Ripped.
Ripped right off because Talon was too big. Too many muscles. Too much fur. Fur and feathers. Things that looked like wings. Wings! She screamed. Vicky felt her eyes bug out and her vocal cords sting. That’s how loud she screamed. It was cut short by a hand and a big hard body. A naked body. “Vicky,” that rasping voice, “please be quiet. I would never hurt you. Should never have revealed …” His chest touched her as it expanded with a big breath. Thank god he was back to normal. “Promise me that you won’t scream again?” he whispered.
It was true.
He wasn’t delusional.
Not crazy.
Maybe she was the crazy one. That could be it.
Her heart was going nuts. Vicky worked hard at trying to keep her breathing at least halfway to normal. She nodded. Talon let her go, stepping away. He cocked his head in the direction of the elevator. There was also a door that she assumed led to a staircase. “Someone is coming,” he whispered, picking up the fragments that were left of his clothing. “They must have heard you scream.”
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