“No, I don’t think he did that but then again I was young when Riston first started working at the University.”
I laughed. “You couldn’t have been that young. He doesn’t look any older than thirty-five and I’m being generous there, folks.”
Amber hummed softly as she thought about my question. She pushed Riston lightly. “Hmm, you know, it’s weird but I think I’m messing up dates because I keep thinking you were around on occasions when you couldn’t have been. That or you’re like eighty but have managed to find the perfect skin cream.”
“That would be a no on skin cream,” he said, laughing. “I can’t imagine rubbing something all over my face.”
Arching a brow, I gave him a seductive smile. “Really? I could think of a few things I’d like to rub all over my face and I’m sure I could come up with something you wouldn’t mind rubbing all over yours.”
“Time out,” Amber shook her head, “if you’re going to seduce him while I’m in the room then I’m going to need a sign or something. I can’t deal with it.”
“Now, we’re back to me seducing him, huh?” I shook my head. “What sort of call out do you need?”
She shrugged. “How about a long look or a triple wink or....”
“I could say, hey, Amber I’d like to fuck you friend until I can’t walk straight and have to stay in bed for three days to heal. Would that do?”
“That’ll work,” she said, clearing her throat as she rubbed her neck. She blushed instantly and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t laugh. We didn’t all come out of the womb being able to say anything in regards to sex.”
“Oh, it’s not something I came out doing, Amber. In fact, I’ve already told you that I was a rather late bloomer in regards to sex. I think I’m just playing catch up.”
“Somehow, I don’t believe you were a late anything.”
“Had you kissed a boy by the time you got to college?” I asked, staring down at my phone.
“Yes, of course. Didn’t you?”
“Nope.”
Amber’s eyes looked as though they’d pop from her head. “No way, Karri. I see the way men are around you, present company included.”
I looked her dead in the eyes. “I swear to you, Amber. Until I got to college I’d only held hands with one man that wasn’t my father and I was six at the time so it doesn’t count. I wasn’t allowed to date growing up. Hell, I wasn’t even allowed to look in the direction of a boy but it didn’t matter. I didn’t want to anyway.”
“Excuse me, Karri but when I met you, you were wearing see through pink genie costume to go to your first period class. You tripped over me while staring at Dom.”
“At who?” I asked.
“Dom Bates, the big football hero there.”
I shook my head. “Not ringing a bell.”
“Tall, dark hair, brown eyes, about six three and over two hundred pounds of muscle?”
I sighed. “Amber, I said I don’t remember him and I don’t.”
“Okay, do you remember this about him,” she stuck her face out a bit, “you went to homecoming with him and dated him on and off for about a year and half. Granted, I use the term date loosely on your end but in his mind you were his girlfriend.”
I stood and thought about it.
“Karri!”
“What? I’m thinking. Give me a minute.”
She groaned. “He had a tattoo across his back of an eagle and one on his ass cheek that you showed me when he was passed out.”
“A devil,” I said smiling. “I remember that.”
“Finally, for a minute I really thought you couldn’t remember a guy who you were with for so long. Or kind of with.”
“Amber, I remember the tattoo, not the guy. It was cute. The ass it was on wasn’t bad either.”
Riston made a choked noise, not sounding very happy about the topic of conversation. Too bad.
“Ohmygod, you’re making me crazy only because I’m positive that you don’t remember him, Karri. How about Josh?”
“Who?”
She sighed. “Please tell me that you remember a guy that wasn’t one of ‘your men,’ Karri. Any guy will work. Please throw me a bone here. I’m worried about you.”
I nodded. “I remember a guy who was chained to a bed with a blindfold on that I met when I was eighteen. He was super pissed and scared the hell out me. Hot as hell though. Mmm.”
Riston tipped his head. “You met a man in chains?”
I nodded. “Yep, he was in his jeans and nothing else. His buddies had decided that he needed to loosen up and a friend of mine decided to send me in to,” I glanced at the wall a moment, “umm, dance for him.”
Something moved over his face that I couldn’t read. I took a step towards him almost instinctively and put my hand out to him, feeling the need to comfort him but unsure why. “Hey, I didn’t do anything with him, Riston. At first, he terrified me the way he sniffed the air and then tried to break his chains. I thought they were overkill, that his buddies were being asses but when I saw him almost bust free I couldn’t even move. I was paralyzed with fear. I wasn’t like I am now.”
Amber snorted. “Yeah, now you’d be the one chaining him to the bed.”
I did my best not to laugh but lost the battle. “No. I’d never do that to someone like him. It may have been funny in the eyes of his buddies but it went against his very nature. He was an alpha for sure and being chained isn’t acceptable to that type of man. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the spirit of fun and sex or not. Being put in a room to act as a submissive for a woman he didn’t want was even worse. I’d have let him loose but each time I tried to get close enough to do it, he’d ask me to back up.”
Amber put her hand up. “Hold up, the guy’s supposedly this badass but he asks you to back up?”
It didn’t make sense to me but it was what happened. “Yes. Right before I opened the door I sensed that something was wrong. I sensed his anger and when I saw him there like that I didn’t feel sorry for him. No. I felt sorry for anyone who had to deal with him later.” I put my head down and noticed that Riston had taken hold of my hand at some point. “The man told me that he wouldn’t hurt me and I knew he wasn’t going to break free and tear my head off or anything but I knew he could hurt me in other ways. So did he.”
“Meaning?” Amber asked.
“It means that Karri sensed that he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from taking her if he broke free, Amber. And if Karri wasn’t ready for him, it would have been rape. He didn’t want that. Neither did she.”
I stared up at Riston wondering how he knew that. He gave me a small nod, seeming to take the talk of other men well, not that he had any reason not to. It wasn’t like he owned me or had any sort of ring on my finger. Hell, he’d only really just met me. He continued on, “And Karri knew that he didn’t want to hurt her and that powers beyond him were in control.”
“How the hell did you get talked into being in that type of situation?” Amber asked, looking like she might actually believe the truth for once.
I stretched my back and rolled my shoulders, doing my best to work out the kinks. “Someone thought it was high time I lost my virginity and had picked him to be the one to take it.”
Amber shuddered. “Someone wanted you to lose your virginity to a dude who was chained to a bed and damn near breaking free of them? Uhh, I’d have run like hell from that situation for fear he’d rip me in two and I don’t mean with his hands.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much what happened. Although, I had a hard time running away and leaving him like that so,” a tiny smile crept over my face, “I made sure he was free after I was far enough from him that he couldn’t track me.”
“Track you?” Amber asked. “You make him sound like an animal.”
I stiffened. “No! Not an animal, Amber. A man who was fighting part of who he is--what he carries within him. Never an animal.”
She put her hands up. “Whoa, take it easy. A little over
protective of some guy you didn’t even get a good look at or find out his name, aren’t you?”
“Leave her alone, Amber.” Riston pulled me close and kissed my forehead. “She was doing what came naturally to her.”
“You two are so perfect for one another. I knew that before Karri came but didn’t tell her, because she’d have made a point to do the exact opposite of what I wanted her to when it comes to men.” Amber looked altogether too pleased with herself. “Hey, Riston, why are you fine with talking about men from her past? You don’t strike me as a sharing kind of guy when it comes to women in your life.”
A knowing look passed over Riston’s face. If I didn’t know better, I’d have guessed that he seemed happy that I had an encounter with another man. Weird. My luck, he was the guy who had been chained to the bed. As I thought it, my stomach tightened.
No.
Dismissing my own foolish thoughts, I snorted. “Probably because I’m not his woman and we just met. And way to go on the Karri reverse psychology thing. You know me well.”
She glanced down at our joined hands and huffed. “That’s funny, from the way he holds your hand to the way he pulls you into him in this odd protective manner, I’d beg to differ, Karri. You look like a very kept woman.” She grinned. “And before you go running in the other direction, there are worse things to have happen the first day you move into a new house.”
“Don’t I know it,” I said, partially under my breath. “Shadow demon welcome committee suck major monkey balls.”
Riston laughed and gave me a tiny squeeze before I let go of his hand and took a big step backwards, needing air. Amber must have sensed that she’d pressed too hard because she went to work on changing the subject.
“My favorite thing to do is dig through Karri’s voice mails on her cell phone and then make her return the calls just so I can hear first hand how wacky she can be. I have no doubt that she has one of her endless male worshipers call just to leave creepy messages so I get all excited and curious.”
“Creepy messages?” Riston asked, staring at Amber. “Endless male worshipers?”
“Yeah, vampires, werewolves, witches, demons, death, destruction, so on and so forth.”
Riston directed his attention to me but didn’t saw a word.
Amber snorted. “You know how you zipped her wedding dress up because she didn’t think to do it?”
“Yes.”
Riston zipped the wedding dress? That means he heard everything about my breasts shrinking. My cheeks instantly flushed. I glanced at him and he offered me a small, shy grin. I blushed more.
Amber pointed at me. “Holy shit, you never get embarrassed. We’re keeping Riston around if you’re going to actually start acting semi-normal.” She threw my cell phone hard and several feet from me. She liked to test my unnatural reflexes.
I tossed my hand out and plucked it from the air. “You throw like a girl.”
“Bitch.”
“Thanks,” I said, pretending to tear up. “Who called?”
“A guy who called himself D and wanted to talk to Lynn. I explained that you were indisposed. He asked me what I was wearing and then wanted me to tell you that he can only get half of what you need.”
“Half?” I asked, knowing that I didn’t sound pleased.
Amber tossed her hands in the air. “Half. What are you trying to get your hands on? An atomic bomb?”
“Don’t be silly. Given enough time, I could build one all on my own.” I opened my phone and glanced at her. “I need enough equipment to supply a unit of operatives in the area in preparation for second and first level demon attacks. They’re the last mission I absolutely have to complete before I can take some time off.”
I grinned. “The attacks are unconfirmed, but I’m the one who gathered the intelligence and I trust my gut. It says there’s something big headed their way and that they have no clue it’s coming.” Going into a detailed Armageddon discussion seemed like it was called for but I held back. It was enough that Amber knew what she did, cluing her in on just how fragile the balance between good and evil was seemed like overkill. I still wanted the girl to be able to sleep at night.
She tossed her hands in the air and growled. “Just tell me the truth for once. Come on, Karri. Riston is standing here. Don’t let him think you really are crazy. He’s a nice, decent guy. Don’t scare him off.”
“I always do tell you the truth. It’s your choice if you believe it. And I really don’t care what Riston thinks of me.” That wasn’t entirely true but I wasn’t about to tell her that.
“Karri, you are crazy and I love you for it. Now, call D back so Riston can hear what I’m talking about.”
“Okay, but if he guesses what I do for a living the first time out after you’ve spent how many years trying, I will never let you live it down.” I’d already told her the truth, I fight evil and get paid to do it, but she never believed me. “If he gets that I’m a team leader for a special ops group of supernatural then I’m going to laugh at you for like eternity.”
Amber giggled like a little girl and stood next to Riston. “Up,” she said, motioning to the countertop. He lifted her quickly. She nudged him. “You’re going to love this. Even knowing she’s just being silly it’s still a hell of a good performance. Oh, Karri, be sure to add the bits where I’m supposed to believe you’re using magik.”
Biting back a laugh, I nodded. “I’ll give it an academy award winning performance just because you haven’t seen me do it in seven years. You’ll enjoy it even more now.”
“Why? What happened? Did one of them threaten to shoot Jean-Paul? Wait, that sounded like I wanted that to happen. Hmm, maybe I did.” She sat of the edge of the counter completely hooked. To Amber it was all a make-believe soapish drama. To me, it was very real.
“I,” I spun in a slow circle, “am no longer a member of anything. I’m an independent. Think of it as still working for the powers but with no rules restricting me. The way it was supposed to be.”
She gasped. “Oh, I like this addition to the story. I can only imagine you working with these types of people without any restrictions. So, what’s the scoop. Give me a legit reason to believe this addition. “
I offered her a warm smile. “I spent four years undercover for the powers.” I glanced up. “Think of them as the good side’s committee of guys with too much time and power on their hands. One year was spent with first level of demons in the New York area. I pretended to be one of them without breaking cover once the entire time and came out alive. That earns you anything your heart desires where these assholes are concerned because their other men can only spend about twenty-four to forty-eight hours in that type of environment without giving into their darkness and becoming the evil they fight everyday. They’re still a bit shocked that a chick under the age of two billion was able to pull that off.”
Riston’s face hardened. “First level demons? You spent a year with them? Undercover?”
“So, you’ve heard of them. Makes sense. Hilary is different as well.” I nodded. “Yeah, one full year and still do freelance as needed. But if I had to put a title on what I do, I’d say that I kill bad things. You know,” I put my fingers out and began to make list-like gestures with them, “ghouls, demons, vampires, lycan, weres, shifters of different natures, anything that thinks it can kill innocents, human or not. Granted, just because you’re one of these things doesn’t make you bad. Killing innocents does.” I grinned. “All the things that want to see mankind be fodder. They want to rule the world. It’s my job to help in the fight to prevent that from happening. There are others like me. Not as many as we once had.”
His jaw tightened.
“In fact,” I sighed, “or numbers have dwindled.”
“Why in the hell would you willingly go undercover at all let alone for those extended periods?” he asked looking like he wanted to toss me over his knee. While that sounded good, I didn’t think now was the time for it.
Amber’s eye
s widened. “You aren’t buying her story are you?”
Riston just stared at me. That told me he more than believed me.
“My dad was a great man, Riston. The organization he worked for, the one that I was contracted to, the powers, those supernaturals that think their gods but they’re not, have a lot of flaws. So many that people in high places were, and are, more corrupt than the evil they fought on a daily basis. Not all of them are, but I’m a hundred percent sure that my father died because of that and I refuse to stand by and watch it happen to any other men.
“At least, not if I can help it. I wanted access to classified documents, to the men who work for them--men like my father and his team. I also wanted the right to act as liaison as I see fit--not as the powers deem. These men deserve more. They fight for mankind. Who fights for them?”
There was another reason I did what I did. It involved Amber and my need to see her well. She’d been so sick and had literally died from it that I’d been left little choice. It wasn’t something I wanted to think about let alone tell her. She’d blame herself and that wasn’t acceptable. I’d willingly traded my freedom and signed on to fight for good in order to save her life. Now that, according to her, she was free from the cancer-like illness that had ate away at her, it seemed even more worth it.
I sighed. “I served my time, did their dirty work to gain that. The first year was the hardest. The rest went by without me really noticing it.”
“What? Did you stand around in a bad mood for the first year with them?” Amber asked, doing her best to mock an ugly situation.
I scrolled down in my cell phone to find D’s number and let out a soft laugh. The man was the older brother of my main weapons supplier, Owen, and was also a certified dumbass. Lucky for him he was sexy or I’d have deemed him too stupid to live. “Uhh, no. It means I had to make them believe I was every bit as ruthless as they are and more so. Since they have even fewer women on the frontlines than we do, that was interesting.”
“Ooo, let’s hear what you supposedly did.”
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