by Kim Cormack
Kayn was curious, she wanted to see what was inside. She thought they weren’t allowed to keep any pictures of their family. What else could it be? Astrid placed it into her pocket without looking at it. Having it with her made her overall demeanor more peaceful.
Frost interjected, “I know where she used to be. I’m afraid I don’t know where she ended up but if you want to know where she is now. It’ll probably only take me five minutes on the laptop to find her.”
Astrid repeated Frost’s statement, “Laptop?”
Frost grinned as he announced, “It’s going to be so much fun to show you guys what you’ve missed over the last twenty years.”
Lily piped in, “We watch movies in the back of the motorhome on a big flat screen TV.”
Haley and Astrid wandered down the hallway and from the back Astrid hollered, “This TV is enormous!”
“How long do we have to relax before our first job?” Lily asked, directing her question at her father.
Markus responded with, “Let’s just pack up the campsite, drive into town and get some rooms. I say we enjoy the night off. If you need a moment to grab your things, do so now.”
Haley interjected, “But we don’t have any clothes?”
Melody smiled at her and said, “You look like you’re the same size as me. We’ll share mine until you get a chance to get some of your own.”
Astrid was a tall girl. She glanced around at the girls and commented, “I guess I’ll have to borrow something to wear from one of the guys.”
“Go ahead, take anything you want from my bag,” Frost replied.
Kayn knocked on the bathroom door and it was occupied. Of course. She’d been sharing clothes with Lexy for a couple of years. Lexy read her mind and tossed her a clean tank top, underwear and shorts from her bag. She caught them in midair and placed them on one of the bunks, then she slid under the blankets to change her underwear and shorts. This place was becoming crowded, claustrophobically so. The buzzing of voices and sounds of people fumbling about was much louder than usual. She had to get out from under the covers on this cubbyhole of a bunk. She tossed the sheets aside. There, that felt better. She felt bold enough to slip her dirty top off without covering herself up. As she put the fresh one on she realized Zach was standing right in front of the bunk she was changing on. Well, this was awkward. He didn’t say anything because he’d seen her in her underwear plenty of times while eternally serving his term in the friend zone. She wasn’t about to waste time waiting for the one tiny bathroom to be free. Kayn shimmied past the group chatting in the narrow hallway and when she got to the kitchen area she knelt in front of the tiny fridge, grabbed a peach cider and twisted off the top. Kayn went to take a sip from the bottle and then paused, staring into the green tinted bottle for a second before opening the cupboard and removing five plastic flamingo wine glasses. She recalled the first moments of this life. Her family was dead. Kevin had been taken by Triad. She grabbed a few more bottles of cider out of the fridge and began pouring the liquid in equal amounts into the plastic wine glasses. Kayn knew she had to continue to push for her emotional return. She would do the same little welcoming ritual for Haley and Astrid that Grey had done for Melody, Zach and her. She smiled at the tacky pink flamingo plastic wine glasses. They meant something to her. She called over the rest of the five from the Testing and passed them each a glass. They all took one and appeared to be awaiting her toast. Kayn raised her glass and saluted, “To a new life.”
They all smiled, clinked flamingos and echoed her toast, “To a new life.”
She took another sip of the sweet liquid and took in the jovial faces of her peers. They looked like normal teens having a few drinks together. You’d never know they’d all just made their way out of the immortal Testing. A place far worse than hell. This mismatched group of five had died thousands of times to prove they were capable of being immortal. She imagined that Astrid and Haley had died countless times in twenty years. Yet, they appeared to be fine. She was a cold, isolated, emotionally stunted mess after a short period of time and those two were just happy to be alive. It occurred to her that those were still emotions and perhaps her emotional recovery would come sooner rather than later. She heard something smash outside and it startled everyone but her.
Orin hollered, “It’s nothing!”
They were packing up the site. Half of the group didn’t come back inside. She heard the trucks engine start. The others must be travelling in the truck. The five of them had already found a comfortable place to sit around the table. The motorhome’s engine started humming and Kayn hopped up to refill their glasses before they started to move. She lost her footing as the motorhome lurched but recovered. Feeling like she had the agility of a cat. She began to empty the contents of the tinted green bottles into the remaining glasses. Pouring cider into glasses while moving proved to be more difficult than she’d anticipated. They drove over a bump and she soaked her tank top. Kayn sighed as she passed the unopened bottles to the group at the table. They were grinning, thoroughly entertained by her clumsy behavior. She’d been agile as a cat for five seconds. Some things never change. She’d come to claim her position as the comic relief. Kayn began to road surf her way towards the bathroom. She needed to change her cider soaked shirt.
“Hey,” she heard Lexy’s voice. She spun around as her fellow Dragon chucked her a fresh tank top. Kayn smiled at her. She was feeling less awkward as she reached the bathroom door. She tried yanking on the handle but it was locked. Of course, someone was already inside. The RV swerved and she braced herself against the bathroom door. Someone was definitely taking their sweet ass time in there. Kayn heard the handle move and took a step back. The door opened and it was Frost.
With a flirtatious grin, he teased, “You’re supposed to drink cider, not wear it.”
She really didn’t have the patience to deal with his flirtatious passive aggressive crap right now. “Pardon me.” She tried to get past him and he blocked her path. Not now. Each time she tried to maneuver past him he moved in the same direction and grinned. She was quite certain he was doing it on purpose. Kayn sighed, “Come on Frost. I need to change my shirt.”
He grinned and whispered, “Don’t let me stop you.”
Kayn smiled, she wasn’t the girl that was going to allow him to have the upper hand, not anymore.
She said, “Fine.” And took her wet top off right in front of him without breaking eye contact.
Frost’s expression lit up. He appeared to be quite intrigued by the new loosened up version of her. It looked like he was about to say something when the RV swerved again. They lost their balance and toppled backwards into the bathroom. She landed on top of him, straddling him on the cramped bathroom floor with her lips hovering only a breath from his. The door slammed shut behind them. She should get up and go. Kayn licked her lips, pressed them together and noticed where his eyes were. She was still topless. She hadn’t had the chance to put her shirt on. They went over another bump. This felt dangerous and danger was what Dragons were created for. Frost didn’t even attempt to move his eyes from her cleavage. Not even for the sake of being polite.
His expression softened as he whispered, “I’m glad Lexy found a way to stop…”
Kayn cut him off mid-sentence, by covering his mouth with her hand and shaking her head. She suspected her friend’s interference in her deflowering by the King was something Lexy could be entombed for. She removed her hand from his lips.
“Why are you still in here?” He whispered as he tilted his head to one side and watched her reaction as he seductively trailed his hands down the full length of both of her arms.
She gasped in response to the shivers of pleasure he’d caused.
Frost stared longingly into her eyes, he tucked one of her loose curls behind her ear and whispered, “As tempting as you are, you’re in that pesky train wreck stage and I know better.”
He wasn’t wrong. Her sentimental mushy emotions had been stifled but not the in
tense, driving need to do something crazy. Being this close to him was intoxicating. She wanted him to kiss her. Kayn bit her lip and asked, “Why are you still here?”
Frost’s eyes flashed as he stated the obvious, “You’re sitting on top of me.” They went over another bump on the road and his expression altered. His whole demeaner became intensely dark.
She gently touched his cheek and allowed her fingers to slowly trace the curve of his masculine jawline. He was so beautiful on the outside but innately flawed on the inside. She was flawed on the inside too. The way that he lived his life had never made sense to her before. Frost was infamous in the clans for his endless chain of meaningless flings. He was all about the pleasure, while avoiding the pain of emotional attachment. This now made complete and total sense to her. She was different now. She’d been staring at him for a while without speaking a word.
Frost whispered, “Listen Brighton. Put your clothes back on and go, or take them off and lock the door.” He seductively cupped her hips with his hands. He was calling her bluff. A part of her had always wanted him and right now, in this moment, it felt like a brilliant idea. She was a Dragon now and the urge to take what she wanted was a driving force within her.
He groaned and looked away, “You’re killing me Kayn. You’re not thinking straight.”
Kayn’s lips parted, she leaned in and just before her lips met his she whispered, “Maybe, I’m tired of behaving myself.” She didn’t feel a second of hesitation as she placed her hands on his muscular chest. She’d always wanted to touch him like this but never had the nerve. She allowed her fingertips to travel around for a while before laying them flat on a certain spot. What was she doing? Her hands warmed and in an instant, they’d heated until warmth travel down the length of her arms and into her chest. It took her a second to realize what she was doing to him. She was siphoning his energy. Kayn remembered what happened to her the last time and yanked her hands away, instantly grateful she was able to remove her hands from his skin without a struggle. She felt a mind-blowing sense of euphoria and shut her eyes as the addictive sensation of her ability coursed through her. She opened her eyes and raised her hands to stare at her palms.
“It’s a pretty amazing feeling, isn’t it?” Frost whispered.
She wanted more. She nodded. He took her hands and placed them on his chest again.
Frost whispered, “Five more seconds and then you really need to go.” Her hands warmed as they made contact with his flesh. They became hot and then Frost’s energy began to travel up both of her arms at once. This time she had to force herself to take her hands off his rigid muscular chest. Goosebumps rose on every inch of her skin. She felt another burst of adrenaline and then something unexpected happened, an intoxicating scent began to secrete from her pores.
Frost’s eyes widened as he spoke, “Honey, the game just changed. Get out of here. I won’t be able to control myself.”
Someone cleared their throat and they both snapped out of the seductive game they’d been playing. Kayn spun around to see who was at the door. It was Zach.
He chuckled and teased, “Isn’t this against the rules?”
The sound of Zach’s voice felt like someone had just tossed a bucket of ice cold water on her. She clicked back to reality, scrambled to her feet and then noticed her tank top on the floor beside Frost. Shit. She attempted to explain, “I fell on top of him.”
“With no shirt on?” Zach questioned, then winked. He gave her a strange look, peeked behind the door and questioned, “Lily’s not in here too, is she?”
She’d absorbed some of Frost’s ability and used it. This was amazing. Kayn managed to stop herself from smiling as she replied, “I hadn’t had the chance to put my shirt on when I tripped.” She finessed her way past her friend. Zach was rather skillfully attempting to block her escape from an awkward situation. She had the urge to smack that Cheshire cat smile off his face but ignored it and chose to just get away from temptation.
She heard Zach say, “Was that smell coming from her?” She paused and waited to hear Frost’s casual reply, “Let’s just say, she’s learned how to do something new.” She could hear the creak of his movements and she knew one of the awkward bathroom crew was coming. Someone grabbed ahold of her arm, halting her escape.
Frost’s seductive voice said, “That’s quite the ability you have there.” She glanced back at him, instinct began to scream at her to get away from him. He was right. She wasn’t thinking straight. All she wanted to do was to tug him onto one of those bunks with her, witnesses be damned. She tried to walk away again but he still had ahold of her arm.
He teased, “Don’t you need your shirt?”
She’d forgotten all about her shirt. Kayn took a breath, spun around and yanked the tank top out his hand. She was staring right at him when she slipped it over her head and expected to still see him standing there watching her when her vision was clear of tank top material but he was gone. He couldn’t have gone far because they were in a motorhome travelling down the highway. He’d never be far.
Lexy’s voice came from her bunk, “You might want to let the dust settle from one relationship before you get into another. Just a thought.”
Kayn nodded and made her way to the table where the others were sitting, drinking and laughing together. It was as though the Testing hadn’t happened. Kayn had just slid onto the bench seat when Zach appeared. He shimmied onto the seat behind the table right beside her. Haley handed her a bottle of cider and she opted out of pouring it into the glass. She took a giant swig from the bottle, savoring the sweet tasting drink.
Zach leaned over and whispered in her ear like the annoying brother figure that he was, “I see you found your shirt.”
She shook her head, opting out of a witty come back. Truth be told, she didn’t have one. She knew what the rules were. There was no fraternizing allowed in the motorhome. She’d been a second from losing control of both her inhibitions and her ability when Zach interrupted them. She was still too turned on to think straight.
Zach leaned over and whispered, “You were in there siphoning some of Frost’s ability, weren’t you? Do I have to babysit you?”
Kayn whispered back, “I’ll be doing whatever I want.” She hadn’t meant to be rude to him she was so frustrated she couldn’t think straight.
Astrid was staring at her, she grinned and teased, “Nice scent you’re wearing, strangely familiar. Are you sure this is the right timing for that?”
Alright, she got the hint. She knew it wasn’t. Astrid winked at her. Kayn explained, “It wasn’t planned.”
Haley raised her glass and made another toast, “To unplanned things.”
Zach raised his glass and made another toast, “To keeping our shirts on for at least the first day.”
Kayn smacked him and the rest of them snickered. Kayn noticed Melody was missing. “Where’s Melody?”
Astrid replied, “She’s up front with Grey.”
They felt the RV slowing down and then it came to a stop.
Train Wreck
Someone rapped on the door and Astrid hopped up to unlock it.
Markus opened the door and announced, “Grab your overnight bags. Make sure you have a few extra articles of clothing in each. We’re going to eat here and then stay the night in a motel.”
They all raced down the tight hallway, grabbing their bags and rushing to catch up with the others. Kayn didn’t feel the same sense of urgency, therefore she wasn’t in much of a hurry. She wandered towards where she’d stowed her backpack at her leisure. When she grabbed her bag and turned around, Frost was standing there.
He teased, “We really have to stop meeting like this, especially when you still smell like that.”
He’d obviously been hiding out in the back room to avoid her.
She made an awkward attempt at casual conversation, “Big plans tonight?”
Frost grinned at her and replied, “I’m not sure where we are but if you want me to check in with y
ou tonight, I’ll text you the pictures.”
There he was…the king of all douches. He was obviously trying to push her buttons. She edged past him and made her way to the door. Truth be told she loved these naughty sparring matches. He’d lit a fire within her earlier and she just couldn’t help herself. Kayn smiled and verbally jousted with him once more as she walked away, “I already know everything I need to know about you. There’s no need to send me pictures.”
He followed her out without speaking, proving her earlier thought. He was being an ass to put a stop to what they’d started earlier. He’d quite effectively put the brakes on her little steamy fantasy. The reality of Frost was that he had her in the catch and release program. He’d lure her in with his seductive ways and then remind her of why she shouldn’t bother. The group was waiting for them. They were already standing outside of the lobby with motel room cards in hand.
Markus gave Frost his own card and questioned, “Are you coming with us to have dinner or do you have other plans?”
He took the card from Markus. Looked directly at her with a blank expression and said, “I could eat first.”
Was he still trying to make her jealous? He’d been all heartbroken that she was mad at him after the Testing and before the end of the first day he was already back to his old games. What else had she expected from him?
Markus addressed the group of Testing survivors, “You five will be sharing a room. After tonight, we’re going to have to start building that Dragon Handler bond between Kayn and Zach.”
Kayn glanced at Zach and they both simultaneously rolled their eyes before following the others to the room they’d be sharing.
Markus hollered after them, “Meet us in the restaurant downstairs. The one next to the pub, in fifteen minutes.”
Kayn wandered into the room following the group. The room they were sharing was completely beige. The bed, the walls and even the carpets. There was also a comically out of place painting of a brightly colored parrot on the wall. The room had two queen sized beds and a fold out couch.