E ~ What if I lost you?
K ~ You won’t.
E ~ How do you know?
K ~ Because I won’t let it happen.
I push back slightly.
“You can’t say that,” I say as I gaze into her eyes.
“I can if I want.”
“Even if you know it’s not true?”
“It is true,” she replies.
“But you don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”
She nods in response.
“Right, and neither do you. So, shut up.”
I start to say something, but she leans in and kisses me again. I slip my hand behind her neck, burying it in her hair as I match her passion. After a few moments, Kateri moves back slightly and I look deep into her eyes.
“What’s the matter?”
“I just wish we had more time for this,” she says.
“Don’t we?”
“It’s just that your mother and Father,” she says and then stops, and she grins at me, “I mean, Father and your mother want us to meet them for dinner.”
“Tonight?” I ask, my shoulders dropping.
“Yes, tonight.”
“How do you know about this, and I don’t?”
“Your Mom told me.”
“And not me?” I ask, grinning at her.
“Guess she likes me better.”
“Whatever. Let me clean up a bit.”
She kisses me on the cheek before turning. Reaching out, I turn her back to me and push her hair away from the right side of her face. I lean in and kiss her neck, slowly move my lips up to her ear.
“We can continue this later,” I whisper.
I feel her shiver, and her fingers trail down my side, releasing a cascade of goosebumps.
“You can count on it.”
Reluctantly, I release her and head to the bathroom, leaving her to change in the bedroom. After I close the door, I lean on the counter and look at myself in the mirror.
I look tired.
I feel tired.
I pull my shirt off over my head and am instantly rewarded with a sharp stabbing sensation in my left arm. Dropping the shirt on the floor, I look down at the bandage. It’s still in place, and there’s no sign of bleeding, but I can see fine dark lines peeking out from the edges of the gauze. As gingerly as I can manage, I peel back the tape on three sides and then slowly lift the pad.
“Shit,” I mutter quietly.
The cut itself looks okay, with no signs of infection, but all around the perimeter, there are hundreds of tiny, thread-like lines reaching out like grasping fingers. When I touch the wound, there’s only a faint, minor discomfort that quickly fades.
“Hey. You decent?” Kateri asks from the other side of the door.
“Oh yeah. One sec.”
I quickly replace the bandage and grab a towel, draping it over one shoulder so it conceals my arm. Pulling the door open, Kateri is standing there in a tight red t-shirt and a black skirt that I’d never seen before. That, in combination with her thigh-high leather boots, has me frozen in place.
“What?” she asks, grinning wickedly.
“You look amazing.”
“I know it,” she replies with a wink. “Now let me finish getting ready.”
We move past each other, our bodies brushing together, and once again, I wish we didn’t have to go to dinner. Kateri closes the door and I move to the dresser, searching for something I can wear that even compares with what she’s wearing. I do the best I can; selecting a v-cut blue and white t-shirt that fits me well, and my nicest pair of black jeans, but I still pale in comparison. I run a brush through my hair, trying to make myself look presentable.
“You look hot,” Kateri says as she walks out of the bathroom.
I set the brush down on the dresser and shake my head.
“You’re just saying that,” I reply.
“True. I am saying that, but only because I mean it.”
I know I blush, but I don’t care. There’s no point in trying to hide my feelings, since we can basically read each other’s minds, so I reach out, take her hand, and pull her to me. I press my lips to hers and immerse myself in the amazing sensation. After a few moments, she pulls back slightly, and I know what that means.
“I know. We have to go,” I say with a sigh.
“It’s just dinner,” she replies. “There’ll be time for dessert.”
I raise my eyebrow and grin.
“I’ll be looking forward to that.”
When we reach the cafeteria, mom and Father are already there. As we approach the table, I can’t help but take notice of the way they’re looking at each other, their body language and how good they look together. As soon as Father sees me, he straightens up and inches away from her, and it makes me a little sad, but I understand his reaction.
“You two look great,” Mom says as we walk up to the table.
“Thanks,” we say in unison.
“You look pretty good yourself,” I add with a wink.
My mom just shakes her head and gives me a look, but Father lowers his head for a moment, seemingly embarrassed by my comment.
“Um…I think I’ll go get our dinners,” Father says after clearing his throat.
“Do you need a hand?” I ask.
“No, thank you. It’ll only take me a minute,” he replies before stepping away from the table and heading down the long aisle to the kitchen.
As soon as he’s out of earshot, my mom glares at me.
“Did you have to embarrass him?” she asks.
“I didn’t mean anything by it.”
I never thought I would be able to embarrass Father, but I guess anything’s possible. Kateri is sitting next to me, looking at her hands. Mom looks over her shoulder toward the kitchen, and I catch a fragment of a thought.
~ hope he’s okay.
“Are you two an item?” I ask, and Kateri’s head pops up.
“Eve! I don’t think that’s any of your business.”
Kateri kicks me under the table, but I ignore her.
“Hey,” I say, lifting my hands. “I’m just saying that if you were, that’d be cool with me.”
“Well, thank you for that, but we’re not an item.”
“Okay, but just in case you are. It’s cool.”
“You can be quiet now,” my mom whispers.
“I hope everyone is all right with chicken,” Father says as he walks back up to the table, carrying two trays loaded with food and drinks.
“Anything will be fine,” my mother says, smiling at Father before looking over at me.
“It looks great,” I say, glancing at my mother for a brief second.
Father looks relieved as he sits, and the food is passed around. I can’t hear any thoughts from Father, but I certainly can from my mother, and from Kateri and they are not very complimentary. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Father finally speaks and shatters the tension.
“I do like your mother, Eve. Maybe we should get this out in the open.”
K ~ Oh God. Look what you did.
E ~ Shush.
“It’s cool,” I say. “I was just telling my mom.”
“Good, because I wouldn’t want to do anything that would make you uncomfortable.”
“It won’t. I just want my mom to be happy, and you too, for that matter.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Eve,” Father replies gently.
“Maybe some ground rules would be good,” I say. “Like no sex talk…from either of us.”
K ~ Okay…I’m going to go and throw up forever now.
E ~ Oh just shut-up. It had to be said.
“That sounds like a good idea,” my mom says before shaking her head.
“Good.”
“Well…can we eat now…if I can,” Kateri says with a mock frown and we all start laughing.
We dig in, enjoying both the food and the company. A few people pass by and greet us, or give messages to Father, but nothing seems urgent enough
to require his attention. I drop a stripped clean drumstick on my plate and wipe my mouth.
“I guess we should talk about our trip to the Abyss,” I say.
My mother looks over at me, and I can tell she’s not happy about us going, but I also know she’s aware that I’m the only one who can.
“We probably should,” Father replies. “Who are you planning on taking?”
“Well, we need Jax for sure. I already promised Syrra, that’s why she’s here.”
“What about Wren? I know she wants to go,” mom says.
I shake my head.
“I think four of us are enough. I think she’s probably ready, and I know she’s going to be mad, but she’d be more useful here,” I say.
Both mom and Father nod their agreement.
“She’s really not going to be happy,” Kateri says before taking a bite out of a biscuit.
“I know. I’ll talk to her.”
“Oh, I almost forgot. Evan needs a little more time on the ‘walkies.’ He thought of a minor improvement, but he needs at least another few days. I’m not happy about the delay, but it is what it is.”
I frown, but Kateri reaches over and places her hand on my leg.
“That’s okay. We have something to do tomorrow afternoon,” she says, grinning at me.
“We do?”
I look over at her and smile.
“We do.”
When we get back to the room, I’m nearly bursting with curiosity, but I somehow managed not to ask her about the plans for tomorrow the entire way back here. I know she can read my thoughts, but she hasn’t mentioned it either. She strips off her shirt, tossing it on the bed before heading into the bathroom. I pick it up and fold it carefully, before sitting on the edge of the mattress.
K ~ No, I am not going to tell you.
E ~ I didn’t ask.
K ~ No, but you can’t stop thinking about it.
“That’s not fair,” I call out.
“Maybe not,” she replies as she strides back into the room.
Her hair is down, the long tresses flowing over her shoulders, but the only thing she’s wearing is the smile on her face.
“I thought I’d give you something else to think about,” she says.
I stand, dropping the shirt on the floor and grabbing her arms, turning her back to the bed. She lets herself drop on the crumpled covers, with me on top. I press my lips against hers, my tongue grazing hers ever so briefly. Her hands move down to the bottom of my shirt and pull it up and over my head in one swift motion. We continue to kiss, losing ourselves in the amazing and intoxicating sensation. At the same time, I feel her fingers deftly unclasping my bra.
A second later, my bare breasts are pressing against hers and the excitement that had been building deep down in my core is ready to explode. I lift my lips from her mouth and move lower, exploring her flesh and feeling the signs of the effect that my touch has on her. She raises her thigh and presses it between my legs, and I let out a moan when she suddenly rolls herself on top of me.
Feeling her weight pressing down on me is the most delicious sensation and only stokes the flames within. Her fingers move down my leg, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. I know where I want them to go, but they linger and they tease, tracing small circles on my overheated flesh. As if she’s reading my mind, when I think I can’t take it anymore, they move down, and I moan into her mouth as she kisses me.
Suddenly, the world fades away…and all that’s left is…her and me.
An hour or so later, my eyes open slowly, and I look over at her. Her arm is draped across my bare chest and I sigh.
“What’s wrong?” she asks without moving.
“Nothing,” I reply while lifting my head and kissing the top of hers.
“Don’t try that with me.”
“I swear, nothing’s wrong. I was just thinking.” I pause for a moment. “What do you want, after this?”
Kateri pushes herself up and looks at me, her head tilted to the side.
“I could do with a sandwich,” she says, and I laugh.
“Not that,” I say, shaking my head. “I mean for the future.”
Kateri grows quiet for a few moments, looking down at her hands before she makes eye contact with me again.
“I never thought about it before,” she says. “Shayds don’t usually get a happily ever after…and my whole life, I never had much reason to want to stay alive…I had nothing to look forward to.”
I nod slowly.
“I know.”
“A year ago, if someone had asked me that question, I would have told them I didn’t care about a future, that if I died that day fighting demons, that’d be fine with me, but now,” she says, pausing for a moment before lifting her hand, and gently stroking my cheek with the back of her fingers, “I want every day I can get with you, and I would do anything to get them.”
I smile at her, covering her hand with mine.
“I feel the same,” I reply, leaning forward and kissing her gently on the lips.
When I pull back, she looks at me.
“What about you? What do you want?”
“If someone had asked me that question, I would have said I wanted to go to college, find a job where I could make a difference and fall in love. Two out of three ain’t bad,” I reply with a sly little grin.
Kateri smiles back, but there’s something sad behind it.
“You know, you could always go back. You and your mother, you could return to your normal lives,” she says as she sits up.
“What’s normal?”
Kateri nods while never breaking eye contact with me.
“There are things you can’t have staying here,” she says.
“So what? I don’t need anything else.”
“But what about—”
“Stop, Kateri. Listen to me. I wouldn’t give this up, I wouldn’t give you up for anything in the world. This is where I belong, you are who I belong with,” I say, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.
“I love you,” she says quietly, and I swear her eyes are filled with tears.
“I love you, too.”
We hug each other at the same time, holding on tight, as if one of us might suddenly vanish. We stay like that for a few minutes until she finally releases me.
“Okay, now we have to get some sleep. It’s going to be a busy day tomorrow,” she says.
“What are we doing, by the way?”
“Nope. Not telling. Just turn off the light,” she replies with a chuckle.
Chapter Eighteen
I wake to the sound of the shower running, and Kateri humming some tune that I don’t recognize. After a minute of thinking about getting up, I roll onto my side and pull the blankets up, but my snooze is short-lived.
“Come on. Get up, we’ve got places to be,” Kateri says from the end of the bed.
I open my eyes and look up at her. Her hair is still wet, the ends plastered to her bare shoulders. A towel wrapped around her torso is the only thing between me and a morning of fun, but I can tell by her expression that she would veto that move. She shakes my blanket-covered foot gently.
“I don’t want to dump water on our bed, so get up and get a shower.”
“Okay, okay,” I say, finally following her request. “When do we have to be there?”
She looks at the clock on the small nightstand with the glowing blue numbers: 8:57.
“We have to be there at ten.”
“Be where?”
“I told you last night, I’m not telling.”
“Fine,” I grumble.
I roll out of bed, letting the sheet drop back onto the mattress, exposing my naked body to her. Striding boldly across the floor, I look back, thrilled to know that she’s watching me, with a mix of lust and love in her eyes.
“We don’t have time,” I say as I stop for a moment in the bathroom doorway.
“What?” she asks.
“I know what you’re thinking, remem
ber? We have places to be,” I reply, quoting her.
She laughs, while throwing her towel at me, and showing her own nude form. For a second, I regret my little dig, but I take a deep breath and tear myself away and close the door.
I shower as quickly as I can as the anticipation of what Kateri has planned continues to grow. I step out of the stall and dry off, wrapping a towel around myself and one around my hair as well. When I open the door, Kateri is sitting on the bed, running a brush through her hair. She’s decked out in a bright, lime-green t-shirt with some sort of black Chinese symbol on the front, dark jeans and her signature boots. Her sword and dagger are laid out on top of the covers.
She smiles at me and I smile back, little butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.
“So, do I need to get dressed up?” I ask.
“Couldn’t hurt,” she replies.
“Now you’re just being weird.”
“Just get dressed,” she says with a wave of her hand.
I shake my head and turn around, opening the dresser drawers in search of something to wear. After selecting a pair of panties and jeans, I drop my towel and I immediately I hear a faint whistle behind me.
“Stop it,” I scold her gently.
“Sorry. Can’t help it.”
I find a blue and black pullover shirt that I know fits me beautifully, and a pair of skinny black jeans completes my outfit. When I turn around, Kateri is leaning back on the bed, a lovely and loving expression on her face. I walk around the side of the bed and pick up my boots before sitting on the edge of the mattress to slip them on. Kateri is just silently watching me as I move around the room. I love knowing that her eyes are on me. I look in the mirror above the dresser and use my fingers to adjust my hair after a few quick brushstrokes. When I turn again, Kateri is standing there, my sword and crossbow in her hands.
All Things in the Shadows II Page 16