by Kiahana
Before he was done talking I dropped my purse and ran to my bathroom while shrugging off my coat to get a good look at my neck. I moved my hair and pulled down the sleeve of my dress to reveal a vertical wavy black line that definitely had never been there before. Gasping, I traced my finger over the curve of my shoulder blade, trying to figure out what it was.
Francis was behind me before my gasp ended.
"That's the start of the mating mark. Once you got all bitchy and hateful it stopped, but will no doubt continue and finish the moment Parker walks back into your life."
This was just crazy. And did he just call me bitchy?
"Ok. I'm going to change and then I'll join you in the living room where you'll answer all my questions or I'll have to ask you to leave."
He nodded then disappeared, leaving me to myself.
I changed quickly, constantly rubbing my neck as if I could actually feel the mark now, then took a seat on the opposite side of the couch and started out on my questions.
"So what happened?"
He thankfully didn't waste any time with small talk.
"There were no signs of Sam anywhere. Parker and I decided to head back to a club on Sunday night that made us both feel itchy. We were bombarded by masked figures that we know are Pulpas, who wrapped silver chains around our necks before throwing us into a cage hardly big enough for a dog. We weren't fed and no one even came to check on us until this morning when Sam showed up limping and let us out. We'd barely made it far before we were surrounded again, and still weak."
I'm a horrible person. They'd been prisoners while I was drinking and making out, not to mention pouting the last few days.
"Sam recovered enough to take out two of the attackers, while we barely managed the one. Then we all took off. Parker asked me to lose any trail and come back to make sure you were safe while he and Sam tried to draw their attention to follow them instead." Bitch. I'm a bitch. "I'm sorry about what happened, and I won't tell Parker about the fellow if you don't want me to, not that it will matter to him. He'd forgive you almost instantly if you murdered me, so a kiss won't matter much." He winked and tried to turn the conversation lighter. "You have nothing to worry about with Sam either. Parker doesn't want anyone but you."
My chin started to tremble and before I had the chance to respond, I burst out crying, startling him before he moved beside me and wrapped an arm around me in condolence.
"I'm a horrible person," I wailed, making him chuckle and rub my arm.
"No you're not. It seemed that he'd disappeared, just like he had before, and you were angry. I understand."
I sat in his arms and cried for what seemed like forever before finally letting it all out, tiring myself out, passing out for at least an hour before opening my eyes to find we hadn't moved from our position.
"You awake?" he asked, though I hadn't moved to indicate it.
"Yeah. Sorry about falling asleep on you." I sat up and tried to lean against the back of the couch like him, but he kept his arm around me, making me lean my head against his shoulder.
"No problem. Do you want me to leave?"
"Not really, but you can. I'll be fine." My chin started trembling again, this time making me laugh at my stupidity and cry at the same time, still upset at myself for how I'd acted.
"I'll stay, though I need to go get a refresher." He stood and turned back to smile at me. "I'll be back in less than five."
Then he was gone, my front door shut and me left alone with my thoughts. That wasn't good.
I went to the bathroom and washed my face then grabbed a pint of ice cream out of my freezer and a giant spoon before nuzzling back into the couch, this time looking out at the night sky.
On my second bite I felt the couch sink next to me and found Francis was back, looking healthier. I wonder which of my neighbors he'd bitten.
"I guess that was rude of me, not offering to feed you."
"I'd never feed from you." There was no joking when he admitted this.
I didn't reply, but enjoyed the sweet taste of cookie dough in my mouth until I got the courage to ask more questions.
"What does the mating mark mean or do?"
"It means you're mates." Simple enough. "Very rare this day and age, but he must've known it all these years. You're connected on a whole new level that most people only dream about on a minute scale, compared to what you'll be able to have."
That's romantic.
"Has he ever had a mate before? Have you?"
He was shaking his head before I was done.
"No. Neither of us has though I've been so messed up the past century or so I might've missed my chance. But Parker, he's never felt anything close to what he feels with you. I'm sure you can feel it too, whether you want to admit it or not."
I started crying again, placing the tub down and burying my head against his shoulder while he held me and tried to calm me down. It was weak of me to cry on his shoulder but I just couldn't find the strength to keep myself together. I was embarrassed but wouldn't care until the morning.
"Francis, I..."
"Oh shit."
I felt a whoosh of air before my support was taken out from under me and was now being held by his neck up against the wall, my front door wide open and Parker looking angrier than I've ever seen him.
"What did he do to you? Why are you crying?"
First I had to make my heart beat before I passed out and made a fool of myself again. Second, I had to figure out something to say.
Seeing Francis pressed up against the wall, not fighting against the hand threatening him, made me snap out of it.
"Put him down!" I stood and crossed my arms over my chest. My voice thankfully didn't crack. "He was just comforting me." He let him drop and walked up to me, determination still in his dark gaze.
"Are you hurt? What's the matter?" He lowered his lips to mine but I froze, confusing him more.
"We should talk." I looked over his shoulder at Francis who seemed to know where this was going.
"I'll go tend to Sam."
He disappeared with the click of the door while I took a seat on the couch. Parker sat right next to me, his hand wiping the dried tears on my cheeks.
"So, you were in a cage?" I wanted to hear his side of the story before I told him about my own unfortunate week.
"Yes," he all but growled the word. "I wanted to stop by this club where Sam works one more time, but we were blind sighted, incapacitated in the VIP area. Then when we woke up we were caged. Pulpas did it. Now I just have to figure out who and why. Sam freed us after escaping capture herself. Then we took off in separate directions to lose anyone trying to follow."
Great. So the story was true, or they collaborated beforehand. What's wrong with me? Can I not trust anyone?
"Are you alright? Francis said Sam was hurt, is she ok?"
"She's fine. Almost back to normal, and I will be too as soon as I feed again. I was in a hurry to get back to you and only stopped to feed so I'd have the strength to fly." He bent to kiss me and this time I didn't pull away, but kissed him back.
"I'm glad you're all alive." Oh man, I did not want to tell him this, but it was the right thing to do. "So...someone sent me texts from your phone that Francis told me was stolen, and they pissed me off. Especially since you said you'd be back on Monday. I thought you'd gotten what you wanted and you were just never coming back." His face pulled into a frown. "Brian kept stopping by my office and we ended up going out for drinks tonight. I only agreed because I was so pissed at you and wanted to get back at you, even if you didn't care about me anymore." He straightened his face and waited for me to finish. "I kissed him tonight. Because I saw something moving in the shadows and thought maybe it was you, but turns out it was Francis. I'm sorry. But I really thought you weren't coming back. I didn't think that anyone or anything could overpower you."
I was looking down at my hands when I confessed, too afraid to look in his eyes to see the anger or whatever it was going thro
ugh his mind.
"Kissed?"
I nodded but still didn't look up.
"If he were a vampire I'd kill him, but since he's human, and a friend of yours, I'll leave him be unless you request otherwise." His left hand lifted my chin so I'd have to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry I wasn't back when I said I'd be, and I'm sorry you felt betrayed. I would never leave you voluntarily."
My stomach did butterflies, again way too excited over simply just words that were spoken to me.
"I'm sorry I kissed Brian."
He chuckled before claiming my lips once more.
"It means nothing." I guess Francis was right. "I'm just glad to be back with you. Maybe we could....damnit!"
I was confused when he cradled me in his arms, holding me close against him, before we were standing on my roof seconds later. My eyes adjusted to the dark night and focused on two forms. One was Francis smiling like he'd do to a parent who caught him being mischievous, and the other must've been Sam, too beautiful for my brain to comprehend as she smiled sweetly at us.
She had black as night hair with big blue round eyes-the black fading with every moment that passed, her nose tiny and cute, and her lips were thin, but red and attracting my gaze like a magnet. Her skin was the same smooth, white that Parker and Francis had, adding to my jealousy. Her breasts were almost completely exposed from a rip in her tight red dress, if you could call it that since it hung an inch below her crotch. Barely.
My God. I must look like a garbage sack compared to her.
"I'm Sam." She extended her hand out in greeting, and after only a seconds hesitation I took it while smiling back at her. "Francis and Parker are having one of their rude telepathic conversations and are clearly too occupied to introduce us."
Parker set me on my feet with a sheepish grin.
"You're just jealous that you don't have this ability."
With a roll of her eyes she looked back at me.
"We were just sparring, seeing who got back their energy and power the most, before Parker flew up here." She looked down at her dress then gawked as if she hadn't noticed the rip before. "Give me your jacket, Francis! Look what you did to my dress. No doubt by accident."
He quickly removed his coat and handed it to her, staring at her breasts until she'd covered them up.
Sam started sniffing the air as if she could smell something, but wasn't quite sure what it was until her eyes popped when she took a deeper sniff in my direction. Why did I have to smell when she looked like that?
"Parker, you jerk! You didn't tell me you were mated." Her eyes lit up as she bound across the few feet between us and wrapped me in a hug. "Congratulations! And welcome to the family."
"Um...thanks." I really wasn't sure how I was supposed to act.
"Leave her alone, Sam. She just found out about the mate thing about an hour ago, and Parker hadn't told her anything about it."
Sam and Francis both looked over at Parker like he was an idiot before he rolled his eyes and took my hand.
"Let's head over to my place so we can all get some rest." He turned to face me. "Then I can explain everything to you."
"And when he doesn't do a good job, come ask me. I'll tell you about all the good stuff."
Alright, so I actually like Sam. I didn't think it was going to be possible but she seemed like a fun person to be around.
"And when she's done with the girly stuff..." Francis chimed in, casting me a wicked grin. "Come see me and I'll tell you the truth."
"Hey!" She slapped his arm playfully before putting him in a headlock too fast for me to follow. "We'll meet you guys there." She lifted them both off the ground, Francis saluting us before they disappeared.
That happened so quick and wasn't awkward like I thought it would've been, but I still found that I couldn't remove my gaze from where she'd been standing.
"Do you want to grab some things? I guess I never really asked you, but will you come to my house tonight?" He took my hand and started walking back down the stairs toward my apartment.
“I thought you were between houses?”
“I didn’t lie. I’ve mostly been staying in an empty apartment in your building, or at a friend’s when I go out of town. I haven’t been to this house in a few months.”
Everything always adds up. But then again, the truth would, wouldn’t it?
"That's fine. But I do have to go to work tomorrow, make up an hour or two." I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes as I tried to hide my blush. "I kind of had a hard time this week and might've missed a half day…or so."
"I'll get you to work by noon." He pressed me against him and then we were in my bedroom. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you." Kneeling in front of me, his lips twitched until he spoke. "Please forgive me. I'll spend hours, days, years even, doing whatever it takes to get you to forgive me. And I do take requests." His eyebrows cocked while insinuating, making me smile.
"I'll remember that."
I grabbed an overnight bag from my closet shelf and stuck my toothbrush and some face wash into it, followed by some casual, comfortable clothes to go into work. Then when he was gone, I grabbed some of my sexier underwear, followed by my ugly night shirt. I seriously needed to upgrade now that someone was actually seeing me in the bedroom. Parker didn't seem to mind though, since he'd kept me naked until work.
I smiled at the memory before joining him in the living room where he stood looking out my window, seeming to be watching the night sky. Such a good watch dog.
"I'm ready." He turned and grabbed the bag from my grasp, then walked me out the front door and waited for me to lock it. "Is it far from here? Maybe I should've changed."
He looked down at my skimpy sweats and smiled.
"You look beautiful. Besides, if I have my way, you won't be needing clothes at all in about ten minutes."
I smiled and wrapped my arms around him while he took off toward his house.
THIRTEEN
Flying was absolutely the best. The view was unbeatable and the company wasn't the worst. Every so often he'd slow down so I could look up at the stars without my eyes watering. He'd stare at me while I stared at the view. What he saw in me I'll never know, but I didn't care that his contorted mind told him to like me. As long as I got to keep him.
He flew us into the next town, then up into the mountains where a log cabin was perched on the edge of a cliff.
I thought it was beautiful, walking into what I’d describe as a man’s hunting cabin, only to be dragged over to the outdated white fridge where he opened the freezer for a second, then shut it and walked over to the side of a decaying cabinet where a number pad appeared.
After punching in the code, the floor started to disappear at my feet, unveiling a flight of stairs that he walked me down. The floor closed over our heads when we passed until we reached what looked to be a vault door. He quickly did the combination then closed and locked it once more when we were safely inside. Talk about high security.
The lights were already on since Francis and Sam were here, their laughter carrying down the hallway to greet us.
"I'll show you to our room and then we can join them, if you'd like."
We entered a room facing off the edge of the cliff. I could tell because there were actually windows attached to the rock wall. It was beautiful. He must've blasted into the rock to form the rooms since they weren't necessarily even, and left them that way. He had pictures hanging on walls, so there were some decorations, but the stone walls were perfect. They fit him.
There was a circle bed with black silk sheets and no comforter. Two red pillows were placed together, one gold overlapping the two. There was a bathroom near the back of the room and a hole of a closet that was packed full of his clothes. There was no TV and no other pieces of furniture. This really was an escape from the real world.
He set my bag next to his closet then looked at me expectantly.
"What do you think? I know I need to work on my decorating skills, but look out the w
indow. I know you love views and was looking forward to you seeing it when I was putting them in."
I walked up to the wall and placed my hands on the ledge while smiling at him, before turning to look out. It was dark so I couldn't see much but the tops of trees in the distance.
"It's beautiful."
"You can't see anything, can you?" He looked disappointed.
"I’ll be able to in the morning." He took my hand when his earlier words sank in. "When did you put in the window?"
"About five years ago, why?"
Five years ago? He's been planning on bringing me here since then?
I shook my head but smirked, happy to hear his response, but also weary.
"Surprised? You shouldn't be by now. I thought I'd explained what you mean to me, but perhaps you're more of a kinesthetic learner. Want me to show you?"
God yes. But it could wait a little longer until after we hung out with his brother and friend more. He invited them over and I wasn't going to be rude and keep him in the bedroom the entire time.
"Let's go hang out for a bit, but definitely, definitely, hold that thought."
Parker chuckled while leading me down the brightly lit hallway, passing a few closed doors, the laughter getting louder while the smell of chlorine started getting stronger.
At the very end of the hallway it came to a T. We went right and entered the last doorway to find Francis and Sam laughing uncontrollably in the biggest hot tub I'd ever seen surrounded by high rock walls that had to be at least twenty feet from the top of the tub. They would've been red in the face from the lack of oxygen, if they needed it. But instead were both hanging onto the side walls, light pink tears rolling down their cheeks, waving their hands at us for dismissal as if we didn't want to know what they were laughing at.
"Can't catch a break with you two, can I?" His tone was tired, as if he knew they were laughing at him.
"Ok, ok. Stop laughing Francis, you're making me laugh." Sam slowly controlled her laughter then looked at me with pity. "Sorry. I couldn't help it." I still had no idea what was so funny. "We were laughing at Parker saying you were a kinesthetic learner." She started giggling again before Francis disappeared under water to hide his face. "He really needs to work on his flirting skills with you, especially if he wants to keep you."