Released by Desire

by Melissa Stevens

  Finished with her shower, she dressed in a pair of navy blue slacks and a blouse with feathers in different shades of blue scattered across it. It was comfortable and casual, but presentable if she had to go up into the casino. Since she usually got called about something at least once a day, she preferred to be prepared. It took some of the inconvenience out of it if she didn’t have to take the time to get presentable first. After running a brush through her long hair, she pulled it up and carefully coiled it on the back of her head, securing it with several small, metal pins before placing a pair of hair sticks tipped with polished malachite orbs so the stones were just visible over the top of her head. She knew she was stalling and using her preparations as a type of armor, but between her attraction for Jericho and her inner dragon’s pushing for him, she needed it. Looking over her reflection once more, Teya decided she’d stalled long enough. With a deep breath, she steeled herself to have him in front of her again, in arm’s reach, and opened the bedroom door.

  Jericho sat in the chair where he’d been when she’d left, but he’d sat back. He seemed relaxed as he looked around, taking in the room. It hadn’t occurred to her before, but this must be entirely different from what he was used to.

  Go to him, her dragon said, her voice low and filled with desire. Take him to bed and make him ours. Teya ignored her dragon and stepped into the room.

  “All right.” She squared her shoulders. “There’s a lot that will need to be done. First, we need to decide how much to tell and what to keep to ourselves.” She felt his gaze land on her and her skin tingled.

  “Please elaborate.” A small crease appeared between his crystalline eyes.

  “It’s a political thing.” Teya picked up his empty mug as well as her own and carried them into the kitchen. “Basically, we need to tell the other Fractions as little about you and where you came from as we can get away with without lying, because being caught lying would be far worse than just keeping things to ourselves.”

  “What are these Fractions you speak of?” The small crease had deepened into confusion.

  “The superhuman peoples of Las Vegas have formed their own groups: the wolf-shifters, the vamps, the weres, the dragons. You get the idea. Each runs their own portion of the city, or Fraction.”

  Jericho nodded yet looked slightly less confused. “We need to figure out what to tell the other groups.”

  “Yes.”

  “What about your people? What are you going to tell them?” He tilted his head to one side.

  “The truth,” she said. “Though maybe not all the details.” A soft knock on the door drew her attention. She glanced at the clock and realized it was Rachel. “It’s okay.” She looked at Jericho. “That’s my assistant.”

  The lock clicked and the door opened, revealing the petite, dark-haired woman who was Teya’s right hand.

  “Oh! I’m so sorry.” Rachel started to back out the door before she’d fully entered. “I didn’t realize you had company.”

  “No.” Teya stopped her with one word. “Stay. We could use your help.”

  Rachel’s gaze went from Teya to Jericho and back again as she eased into the apartment then closed the door.

  “What can I do for you?” she asked after a moment.

  “First, have a seat.” Teya stood and offered her own chair to her assistant. “This is Jericho. He’s just...arrived. He’ll be staying.” She wanted to give her friend a brief rundown without going into all the details. She would tell her all about it later, since she trusted Rachel and didn’t keep much from her.

  Rachel had long since left, off to take care of the things that Taya didn’t have the patience or attention span for today. Rachel had taken the news of Jericho’s appearance and that he would be staying well. She’d also been able to see past the immediate surprise and understood what needed to be done. Exhibiting the cool mind that made her indispensable to Teya, Rachel had suggested they hold a small event soon to introduce Jericho to the Fraction. Later, a larger event would be held to introduce him to the other Fractions. Teya had noticed that Rachel hadn’t questioned it but had assumed Teya and Jericho were together, and she’d been okay with it. Teya knew her well enough to understand when Rachel was being polite about something. That Rachel had accepted Jericho was important. Teya didn’t care what the other Fractions thought as long as there were no, or only minor, difficulties within her own.

  “What about these?” Jericho’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. Teya turned around to find him standing in the bedroom doorway, wearing an ill-fitted shirt and a pair of too short slacks. Rachel had arranged for several of each to be delivered in different sizes. Teya had to show him how the buttons and zippers worked before he’d gone to try anything on.

  She looked him up and down. “Turn around.” She waved one finger in a circular motion, and he spun. “What do you think?” she asked instead of answering right away.

  He scrunched his face and shifted his hips. “Things are a bit tighter than I remember.” He shifted from one foot to the other.

  Teya laughed. She could imagine that modern underwear were tight and restrictive to him. She’d worn many different fashions, and the undergarments that had gone with them, over the last three thousand years. He hadn’t had the benefit of living through some of the more restrictive eras.

  “You don’t have to wear the underwear if you don’t like it, but try these first.” She pulled a pair of boxers from one of the bags Rachel had sent. “There are several styles. It’s a personal preference these days.” The look of relief on his face made her laugh again.

  “Some things should not be held so tightly against the body.” He moved his hips again, as if trying to make the undergarment shift until he was more comfortable. “The outer clothing, though...how do they look?”

  She looked him over once more. “The pants are okay in the waist, but they’re short...and the collar on the shirt is too small. Hang on a second.” She went back to the bags and dug through them a moment. “The slacks will have to do for now, but try this one.” He took the shirt she offered as well as the boxers then turned back into the bedroom. When he returned, the new shirt fit much better, and he’d stopped shifting from one foot to the other. Either he’d found the boxers more to his liking or he’d foregone underwear completely. She couldn’t help but think about what might or might not be beneath his slacks. Heat pooled in her belly and her dragon purred.

  Finally, you’re getting the idea. Teya shook her head and ignored the voice inside as she stood then moved closer to Jericho. She straightened his collar and made a couple small adjustments to occupy her hands.

  “This one fits better. What do you think?”

  Jericho looked down at himself then at her. “It is not what I am used to. It will take some time, but at least I am free of the binding undergarments. What now?” He stood barefoot in her front room, glancing around, as if expecting the next thing to appear in front of him.

  “Next, you’re going to need shoes.”

  He bent and gazed down at his feet. “Things are so different now. I do not know what is expected.” He looked up at her, his eyes haunted.

  “It’s not a problem. I’ve already called Neo. He’s bringing a couple pairs for you to try on. If nothing else, they’ll give you a model to manifest something from until we can get something that will fit right.”

  “I assume this Neo is another male?”

  A knock on the suite door saved her from having to answer. She went to the door without speaking and scented her brother on the other side. Without bothering to check the peephole, she opened the door and stepped back to allow him entrance.

  “I brought the shoes,” Neo said as he stepped past her. “But I don’t get why—” He stopped in the middle of the room when he spotted Jericho. Teya closed the door and came up behind her brother, snagging the bag that dangled from his fingers as she moved past.

  “Did you remember the socks?” she asked.

  “I did,” Neo sai
d slowly, his eyes still on Jericho.

  “Neo, this is Jericho.” She sat in a nearby chair and opened the bag. “Jericho, this is my brother, Neo.” She pulled a pair of running shoes out of the bag first and held up one, comparing the shoe to Jericho’s foot. “I don’t think these are going to be anywhere near your size.” She set the pair aside and dug into the bag again. This time, she pulled out a pair of leather dress shoes. She held them up. “These may help, though.” She tossed Jericho the pair of thin black socks from the bag. “Here, put these on.”

  Jericho caught them with ease, pulled them apart, and then looked at the long, bent tubes as if unsure what to do with them.

  “On your feet.” Teya looked to her brother. “Show him yours, Neo.” Her brother tugged up the legs of his slacks, revealing his stocking clad ankles. Jericho peered down at the other man’s ankles then the socks and back again. “Sit down...”

  Jericho shook his head slightly, sat, and fumbled to pull the unfamiliar pieces of clothing on. Once he’d gotten both socks on, she handed him one of the dress shoes she’d set aside earlier.

  “See what you can do with that.”

  Jericho turned the shoe over in his hands, taking it in from every angle. “Leather. Cow I assume?” He glanced up with one brow lifted.

  “It’s a good bet,” Teya said.

  “Yes, if it were something else, I would have had to pay more,” Neo put in.

  “And the soles? What material are they?” He looked at the bottom of the shoe.

  “I’m not really sure. Rubber, maybe.” Teya wasn’t sure if he could reproduce it, but could it hurt to try? Jericho handed the shoe back, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and snapped his fingers.

  “Holy shit.” Neo jumped back, shocked by the sudden appearance of shoes on Jericho’s feet that looked remarkably like the ones he’d brought. “How the hell did you do that?” Neo took a step back.

  “Jericho is a nephilim,” Teya said. In her mind, that was all the explanation necessary.

  “I can manifest items,” Jericho said. “Teyacapan—”

  “I keep telling you, call me Teya.”

  “Very well. Teya tells me you call yourselves supernormal.” Neo nodded. “Well, one of my supernormal gifts is the ability to manifest whatever I need, with a caveat.”

  “A caveat?” Neo frowned.

  “I can only manifest natural items: cotton, linen, leather. You get the idea.”

  “But if the soles on those are rubber?” Neo glanced at the shoes on Jericho’s feet then at the one Teya had and back again. Teya looked down at the ones on Jericho’s feet and realized that while the tops looked the same, the soles didn’t.

  “What on Earth?” She frowned at the slightly off shoes.

  “I could not manifest the other soles so these are wood.” Jericho shrugged. Teya looked a little closer and saw there were small differences. She knew from experience that wood bottom shoes weren’t very comfortable, and they didn’t flex at all as you walked.

  “They’ll do. They only have to get us a little ways until we can get something that fits.”

  “Where the hell did he come from?” Neo was looking at Teya, his eyes filled with confusion. “He has no shoes or clothes of his own, apparently.” He motioned to the bags of stuff Rachel had sent.

  Teya met Jericho’s gaze.

  “Go ahead and tell him.” She watched the disbelief and confusion cross her brother’s face as Jericho told his story.

  “You believe him and his crazy story?” Neo asked once Jericho was done.

  “I do.” She didn’t hesitate.

  “But...how?” He seemed genuinely confused.

  “Because I’ve known him for centuries—longer.” She glanced at Jericho for confirmation.

  “But he’s just...how did you put it? Returned to this world.”

  “I’ve been dreaming of him.”

  “For centuries?”

  “Millennia, actually,” Jericho put in.

  “Millennia?” Neo was even more confused.

  “Somewhere around twenty-three or twenty-four hundred years. I don’t know exactly.”

  “And you never told me?” His voice said that her not confiding in him hurt his feelings.

  “When it first started, you were gone, and by the time you came back, the dreams weren’t remarkable anymore. They were normal.”

  Neo looked like he wanted to say something more but remained silent. He glanced at Jericho then back to Teya. “What’s your plan?”

  “First is to take him shopping and get more than a single outfit that fits, and some decent shoes. Then we’ll see about teaching him about the modern world. It’s entirely different from the one he left.”

  “Okay, just let me know if you need anything from me.” His tone was still a little stiff, as if he was still upset that he hadn’t known about her dreams of Jericho. Teya stuffed his shoes into the bag he’d brought them in and handed it back.

  “Will do.” She turned and looked at Jericho. “You’ll either hear from Rachel or I’ll contact you myself. I’m not sure yet what my next few days are going to look like.”

  “All right.” He looked around, shrugged, and then turned to leave. He stopped with one hand on the knob and glanced over his shoulder. “Teya?” He waited.

  “Yes?”

  “Follow your instinct and listen to your dragon. I’ve gotten into a lot of trouble and done a lot of shit I knew I shouldn’t. Those were always the times I didn’t listen to my dragon or ignored my instinct. Learn from my mistakes, Teya.” Without another word, he opened the door and quietly slipped out. His unexpected bit of advice left Teya momentarily speechless. She stared at the door for several long seconds, blinking.

  The sun in Las Vegas was bright and beautiful, even in November. It wasn’t too bad in the summer if you could deal with the heat. That had become a lot easier in the last sixty years or so. Teya blinked as she slipped her sunglasses over her eyes then stretched for a moment. She enjoyed the sensation of the sun shining on her skin. She loved living underground, partly because Quetzalcoatl had always had underground burrows, usually used as treasure vaults. Quetzels. That’s how she thought of herself, because that’s what the humans that had been around when she’d been young had called her dragon form. Now, being underground was both convenient and secure. The downside of living under the casino her Fraction owned and managed was that she didn’t get outside as much as she would like. Now, though, she absorbed some of the golden rays as she took in the activity on the street in front of the MesoAmerican. There were a lot of people, some standing, many walking, but nothing that needed her personal attention.

  “You ready?” She turned to Jericho.

  “Whenever you are.”

  “Come on, then.” She glanced back only to make sure he was with her as she closed the distance from the front steps where they’d been standing to the street. At the curb, she paused, making sure Jericho was still with her before stepping out onto the pavement full of tourists and continuing. She couldn’t help being grateful they had gotten out before the crowds got too thick, as they always did in the evenings once the entertainment started. Weaving between the clusters of tourists, Teya kept glancing back, afraid of losing Jericho as he got distracted by the flashing lights or barely covered bodies and would forget to walk. After having to backtrack for him three times, she took his hand. The spark of heat and awareness that shot through her at the innocent touch shocked her. She watched him a moment, wondering if he felt it, too. Her dragon stirred and purred.

  About damned time, the beast murmured in her head.

  Teya blinked. Hush, she thought at the sleepy creature as she tugged on Jericho’s arm to remind him they were moving. He seemed to shake himself before his gaze fell on her, a dazzling smile spreading across his face.

  “Sorry, I am just a little...awed.” He peered around again, and she could tell he didn’t know what to watch first.

  “Come on. I’ll show you around sometime
later.” She tugged on his hand once more and he started moving. From his uneven gait, she suspected he was still half lost in what was going on around them. That was all right, as long as she didn’t have to keep going back to look for him. Without the delay of having to go back and find him again, they quickly made it to the men’s wear shop in the nearby twenty-four hour mall.

  “What can I help you with this afternoon?” a young human male in a button-down shirt and vest asked as they entered.

  “We’re going to need a little bit of everything for him.” She motioned to Jericho. “From the skin out, including shoes.” Glancing around the store, she spotted a tuxedo on a mannequin across the room. “And I’d like to see him in one of those.” She nodded in that direction.

  “Very well.” The salesclerk nodded. “Of course, alterations can be done to make sure it fits properly, as well. Do you see anything else you like?”

  “Nothing that jumps out at me, and of course you can ask him, but I think you’ll find he has no idea. Just have him try on some of everything an we’ll let you know what we like and what we’ll take.” She opened her small purse and handed him her American Express. “This will cover whatever we decide we want. He’ll probably wear a few items out today. The rest will need to be sent to the MesoAmerican. I’ll give you the room details later.”

  “Very well.” He took the black card, turned, and spoke with another clerk. When they split, the new clerk approached and met Jericho’s gaze.

  “Right this way, sir.” He led them to a room with a couple comfortable looking chairs and several doors leading off it. “Please, wait here. We’ll bring you some items to try on.” He turned to Jericho again. “I was told from the skin out. Do you prefer boxers, briefs, bikinis, or boxer briefs?”