Ian took a deep breath. He sat up in the bed. He was tired and not even a little bit in the mood for drama. He could understand somebody being in a sulk after spending time with the Pale Fox, but she was supposed to be his play niece. The child he’d known since birth and loved like a daughter.
He wasn’t going to take grief for Fox.
He walked to her room, noting that she’d left the center door unlocked. “What’s wrong, Nesta?” he asked.
She was sitting on the bed, taking off her shoes.
“Nothing.”
How did I know she was going to say that? As much as he hated to do so, he listened. She was angry about a lot of things, but the biggest complaint was that she’d seen him kiss Kitty. Actually, she was saying to herself that she saw him kissing Kitty, but it was a single dry kiss and he wasn’t copping to more.
“Okay, I just thought I heard attitude. I guess it was because I was half asleep. Go ahead and
get ready for bed and I’ll tell you about my night.”
“By all means, tell me about your night.”
He ignored the sarcasm and continued. “By now you’ve talked to Fox and you know I’m a Hunter. He’s the one who called Rico and told him I needed to stay another day for the play.
Which, by the way, was The Pirates of Penzance. I have to admit, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I’d planned to take a taxi, but Fox called Kitty too. She’s a Tracker, by the way, which is very similar to Hunters but they deal with a nastier group. She knew you're father before he and your mother married. I think she’s around his age. Anyway, it turns out she’s in love with the brother whose place I’m taking this weekend. Poor thing, she doesn’t think she’s got a snowball’s chance in hell. She asked me if I wanted to hang out, but I was anxious to get back to you. So I gave her a little dry kiss, because by now you know you’re the only person I want to exchange bodily fluids with, and then I rushed up here to see you. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you who I was in the beginning but I’ll tell you anything I can now, if you still have questions.”
I’ll just be damned, she said to herself. Aloud, she said, “thank you for being honest with me.”
“Can I help you get out of those clothes?” he asked.
“You can, but I know what you did.”
He squatted in front of her and pulled off her pants. “What did I do?”
“You must have figured out what I was angry about, and you confessed.”
“Confessed is a strong word, Nesta, because I didn’t do anything wrong.” He helped her with her top. “I spent the evening with a new friend who has known you since you were called Keke. . .”
“Oh, my God, I haven’t heard that name in years!”
“When we get to your parents’ house, I want to see pictures. I want to know Keke too.”
She stilled herself and smiled. “Why are you so nice to me?”
“I like the way I feel when I’m with you. I haven’t felt anything in so long. I mean nothing, just going through the motions every day, but with you I . . .feel, and it’s good.”
“You are going to get so lucky tonight.”
“I’m lucky just sleeping next to you. And, to be honest, as tired as I am, that’s good enough right now. I think I’m suffering from jet lag, another first.”
She grinned. “Yeah, I keep forgetting you’re an old man.”
“Get ready for bed. I’ll go close up my room, and when I return I’ll let you be the judge of whether or not I’m an old man.”
Ian was proud of himself. In Sacramento he was considered the young hot head, never the one to diffuse a sticky situation. Back in his room, he took off his street clothes and slipped on a pair of thin drawstring cotton pants that he used like pajamas. He knew she liked his chest so he didn’t bother with a shirt.
When he returned to the room, she had lit candles on the night stand and the dining table and was posed on the sheets, wearing a sheer powder blue baby-doll set with a matching g-string.
He stopped in his tracks and stared at her. “Damn, girl, you don’t play fair at all, do you?
She smiled. “This old thing?”
He slid in next to her. “You’ve got to tell me, why does a single woman living at home with her parents owns that kind of lingerie?”
Her whole face lit up, and he was pleased with himself for asking a question whose nagging he’d almost ignored.
“You really do like it?”
“What man wouldn’t like you in that?”
“I have a friend who’s married. She has these lingerie parties where she sells this stuff.”
“The next time you see her, give the dear girl my most profound and sincere thanks.”
“I will indeed.”
“Now, how does one get out of this thing?” He ran his hand under her top and caressed her perky breast. He felt one nipple respond to his touch with stiffness, and he moved to the other. He loved her long, hard nipples—they were the most responsive he’d ever known.
“You don’t think they’re freakishly long?”
The question caused his heart to jump. “Why did you ask me that?”
She nuzzled his neck, finding a spot where her face fit perfectly. “I know,” she said, “I should be satisfied with my body as it is.”
“No, I mean, yes, of course that’s true. Your body is beautiful, but what made you ask me about your nipples at that particular moment?”
“Because of what you just said?”
He heard the question mark. “Nesta, there is no right or wrong answer.”
She laughed. “Hey, I went to college. I’ve been fooled by that statement before. There’s always a more right answer.”
Even as he spoke, his thumb and index finger continued to knead her nipple. “Okay, let’s review. I was touching these wonderful nipples. I was thinking about how responsive they are, and then you asked me if I thought they were too long.”
“Oh, you hadn’t said it aloud?”
“No, I hadn’t.”
“How did I know?”
Her question tickled him. He paused and kissed the side of her head. “That’s my question, Nesta. How did you know?” His sexy voice in her ear belied how seriously he waited for her answer.
“It’s not that much of a stretch, is it? Why wouldn’t you think about them while you’re touching them?”
“So you didn’t hear my thoughts?”
“Maybe not—maybe I just anticipated them.”
“Hunters and Trackers can communicate nonverbally. That’s why I asked.”
“What would it mean if I can too?”
“I don’t know.” He really didn’t know, but he suspected it was a good thing.
She yawned. “Excuse me?”
“Can I make a date with you?”he asked.
“Okay, but what does that mean?”
“Meet me here first thing in the morning.”
“It’ll be to my advantage?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then it’s a date.”
She started to get up. He tightened his grip on her. “Where are you going?”
“I need to blow out those candles.”
“I’ll take care of them.” He waved his hand in the direction of one and then the other and the room was dark. It felt good to him that he no longer had to hide the little things.
Within minutes they were both asleep.
Chapter Sixteen
She woke to the muffled sound of his voice. The sun was fighting to get into the room, and even with the drapes still closed Nesta could tell it was going to be a bright, sunny day.
The door between the two rooms was open. From the sound of his voice, she could tell that he was standing in his room but near the connecting door. He was angry about something that was happening at his house in Sacramento. The last thing she heard him say was, “Rico, don’t make me put my foot in your ass!”
She was laughing when he came back to her room.
“What’s so funny?”
�
��You. You always seem to be so calm and cool. What did poor Rico do?”
“You name it. The high point of his day seems to be irritating me.”
“Why don’t you just fire him?”
Ian paused and looked at her with surprise. “I could never do that. He’s like. . . family.”
“Then say no more. Nobody knows better than me what like family means.”
He thought about Fox and hoped it was just a thought and not a premonition that Fox was planning another visit.
“What time do you want to hit the road?” she asked.
He looked at her sitting up, still wearing the sexy outfit from the night before. The thought that woke him ran through his mind again. How can I feel so much so soon? The very notion of leaving her in less than a week produced a knot in his stomach that threatened to render him useless for any activity short of begging her to accompany him back to his home. He shuddered when he remembered that his original plans were to leave in a few hours.
“Are you hungry?”
“Not really. I wouldn’t turn down a cup of coffee, but I haven’t heard from my stomach yet.”
“Coffee should be here any minute.” No sooner had he spoken the words than they heard a knock at his door.
She sat forward to watch him leave the room. He was wearing just pajama pants bottoms, and she enjoyed the picture he made coming and going.
He returned with a tray containing a pot of coffee, two cups, onion bagels, cream cheese and some grapes. He sat the tray on the other bed. She moved to get up, and he waved his hand. “Let me serve you.”
She relaxed and watched him spread the cream cheese across one and then the other bagel. “I noticed yesterday that you put a sugar and a sweetener in your coffee. No cream, am I right?”
She nodded. She was touched. Her mother was the only person to ever notice and comment on her practice. It came about when she saw a friend sweeten her green tea that way. The sugar took away the after taste of the sweetener. She knew it was too sweet for most of the coffee drinkers she knew.
“The grapes don’t look that good, but I’m putting some on your plate anyway.”
“Everything looks good to me,” she said, never taking her eyes off his face.
The rush from her words colored his cheeks, a sensation he enjoyed feeling after so many years.
“Ian, tell me about your work.”
He put the coffee on the nightstand next to her and handed her the plate with the bagel and grapes. “I will tell you about it, but can it wait until later when we’re on our way to your home? My work is not pleasant, and I want to enjoy my time with you a little longer.”
“Of course.”
He rejoined her in bed. They ate and drink for a few minutes in silence.
“Do you know a lot of gods?” she asked.
“Not a lot, some. Most of them are pretty decent, but they can be the epitome of arrogance.”
“I can imagine. Some are women?”
“The goddesses are women,” he said, his voice teasing her.
She shoved him with her shoulder. “Tell me about them. Are they beautiful?”
He laughed. “You would think that, wouldn’t you? And I guess it’s true to say that, like women in general, they all have a certain beauty about them, but it’s absolutely their own idea of beauty and it is truly in the eyes of the beholder. Some of them get stuck in a certain time period, and regardless of what the fashion designers tell you, there was no style for all times.”
“Do they look like regular humans when you see them walking down the street?”
“They would look that way to you. Most of them are a little taller than usual.”
“They don’t look like humans to you?”
“It’s not so much the look as the smell. I have an acute sense of smell, and immortals smell different.”
“They smell old?”
He smiled. “Not if you mean unpleasant, just different. To me the most unique smell is that of the Chinese gods and goddesses—their scent is very exotic. I’ve heard it called the scent of the lotus blossom, but to me it’s not floral at all.”
“I like the way you smell.” She took a big gulp of her coffee and put the cup down.
He reached over her and put his plate on the nightstand. “And I enjoy your scent,” he said as he ran his hand through her hair. “Are you ready?”
“Ready for what?”
“I believe you promised me a date this morning.”
“We just had a breakfast date.”
“Indeed we did. Is dessert an acceptable finish for breakfast?” he asked.
Grinning, she slid down to lie flat on the mattress. He joined her and pulled her into his arms.
“There’s always room for dessert.”
Even after their shower he could smell himself on her, and that pleased him. He couldn’t stop grinning, but he noticed she too had a perpetual smile on her face.
Once on the road, they stopped for gas outside of Gary, Indiana. While he was pumping the gas for their drive north, she went into the store to buy sodas. She passed a group of teen boys, and their conversation stopped to watch her enter.
His first reaction was that of the Dogon-Hunter. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and he looked at the pump to see how close he was to finishing his task. Should one of them make a move to follow her, he wanted to be ready.
When two of the boys slapped palms, he fought the urge to storm over to them and rip off their arms for whatever rude statement over which they found themselves in agreement. It especially bothered him that the boys were white. He was well aware of the country’s history. It never dawned on him that most would consider him as white as the boys.
He took a deep breath and replaced the pump’s nozzle. He knew it would bother her if she knew he was entering the store to protect her. And in the back of his mind, he knew she could take care of herself. Where was I last week or a year ago when this happened? He had no doubt that men looked at her wherever she went.
He leaned against the car and waited.
She was still grinning when she reappeared in the doorway. When she spotted him leaning against the car, her whole face smiled. From the corner of his eye he saw the boys, who’d been looking at her, move their heads in unison to look at him. They assessed him. Only one of them was stupid enough to get the look, the “I can take him” look, that would cost him his life if he acted on the thought.
Ian didn’t want to fight. His time away from Sacramento had been more like a vacation than any real vacation he’d ever taken. The Sangsue loved vacation areas, and he was bound to work wherever he found them.
He met her halfway and reached for her bag.
“It’s two sodas and a big bag of chips—I can manage.”
“Let me take care of you. How often am I going to have to ask you that?”
Forever, I hope, she thought.
Forever, if I’m lucky, he said to himself.
Ian opened the door for her and walked around to his side. The one who “always got the girl” grinned at him. Ian scanned his thoughts. He was being mentally mocked for “letting the bitch drive.”
Ian swallowed and immediately reached for the soda. He drank half the bottle before she’d left the parking lot.
“You must have been...,” Nesta started, but she stopped and looked at him. “What is it, Ian? Are you angry about something?”
“It’s not you—keep going.”
She looked at him again. As much as she hated taking orders, something told her to get him away from the gas station as fast as possible. She didn’t speak again until then were back on the expressway.
“Tell me what happened,” she said.
“How did you know something happened?”
“I could feel it. I could see it.”
“Which one, see or feel?”
She thought about it. She remembered what had happened. When he’d finished off half the bottle, she was about to tease him about being thirsty, and
then she’d felt the heat of his anger. It hadn’t been necessary for him to tell her she wasn’t the cause.
“I didn’t like the way those boys were thinking about you.”
“What did they say?”
“Nothing aloud for me to hear, but I could hear their thoughts.”
Scented Dreams ((A Dogon-Hunters Series Novel)) Page 17