by Dora Blume
“Whatever, can we just go back to doing our jobs?” He looked at her, obvious hurt in his eyes.
“No, not until you tell me what the hell that was all about?” she shifted her weight to one hip.
He moved and sat on the bed. “I just don’t like it when people make assumptions that because I look like this.” He swept his hands from his head to his waist. “I’m sleeping with everybody. I’m not like that.” He stared at the floor.
She sat next to him. “I’m sorry, but I’ve seen you flirt with other girls, lots of other girls. Are you telling me you haven’t been sleeping with any of them? All those times at the pub, when Mike was acting as your wingman, you mean to tell me you didn’t hook up with those girls?” she looked to him, he still stared at the floor.
“Nope, not one of them.” He stilled realizing he may have admitted more than he wanted to.
“What, you didn’t have sex with any of them?” she was shocked. She’d seen him be so smooth with girls, watched him leave with several after Mike’s whole, tell her how he saved the world routine. How in the hell had he not slept with them? They were putty in his hands.
“Can I ask why?” she asked, after her few moments of contemplation.
“I could never be myself with them; I always have to hide who I really am. It’s hard to be with someone when they don’t know you.” He looked over to see her face.
She studied his face as he spoke. She couldn’t believe what he was saying. She understood this life was hard. You could never let outsiders know about the Shikari. It never bothered her to not tell her lovers; she was a hunter. She hadn’t let anyone get close enough to notice, either. She knew about that, the loneliness that accompanied who and what they were. She sat and thought for a few minutes, then the realization hit.
“Wait, have you been with anyone since we separated?” Jess studied Erik as he continued to stare at the floor.
“I’ve been with a few girls, but none of them were you, Jess. I haven’t had a connection with anyone but you.” He looked longingly into her eyes. She could accept him completely, and he could do the same.
“Oh,” she said, unsure how to respond.
He watched her face and slumped putting his head in his hands. “It’s okay; you can go get some sleep. I won’t tell anyone about what happened, and we can go back to the way it was before.”
“You think that’s what I want?’ she asked.
“Isn’t it?” he looked toward her, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
“No Erik, I don’t. I told you I care about you, too. It was hard after we broke up. I understood why you felt the need to end it, but it still hurt. I want to be your number one, not second to your duty to the Shikari. I’m scared you’ll do it again, and I can’t bear the heartbreak. I spent a year trying to get over you, and I never did.” Her voice came out in a choked whisper. She stared at the floor. She chanced a glance at his face. He’d lifted his head and was gazing at her like she was everything.
“I’m sorry Jess, I don’t know what the hell I, was thinking. I should have never let you go.” He took her hand in his.
“I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to assume you’ve been with a ton of girls. A part of me still wants to lash out at you for the hurt you caused me. Sometimes words just come out without me thinking about them. So, do you think we can try this again?” Her heart fluttered at the thought. She ran her fingers down the side of his cheek. She wanted to be with him again so bad it hurt.
“If you’re willing to try, so am I. This time I’ll make sure you know how special you are.” He placed a kiss on her hand. He cupped her cheek. He bent, slowly moving his lips to hers. Gently, kissed her, running his tongue along her lip. He brushed a curl back from the side of her face as he drew back.
“So, what do you want to do now?” she raised an eyebrow and licked her lips.
“You.” His mouth crushed hers in a sudden, intense need. She opened her mouth welcoming his tongue into hers. She sighed with both relief and pleasure. She gripped him to her tighter in anticipation. She moved herself to straddle his waist. She devoured his mouth with hers. A rush of heat spread through her body, as she gripped her fingers in his hair. The things he could do with his tongue. She felt like every muscle in her body was on fire for him, as he stroked her bottom lip with his tongue. He smiled as he lifted her, turned, and pushed her down on the bed. He slid her shorts off and spread her legs and dipped his head between them.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
He looked up to her and said, “You wanted to see the things I could do with my tongue.” He dipped his head lower again.
She stilled as the realization hit. She sat bolt upright moving away from Erik. “What the hell, Erik? You’ve been reading my thoughts!” she accused.
“Oh shit,” he said, realizing his mistake. “Not intentionally,” he said hoping she wouldn’t be mad.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“Sometimes when I’m preoccupied, I get glimmers. I can’t shut everyone out all the time. I have to work not to hear those around me. I don’t mean to, but sometimes when I’m concentrating on something else, I can hear your thoughts.” he shrugged, sliding closer to Jessie.
“So, like when you’re having sex?” she asked.
“Yeah, like when I’m having sex.”
“Well that’s just…” she sighed. “I don’t know, weird I guess.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I actively try not to.” He looked into her eyes again. “I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, Jessie, not ever.”
Jessie stared back at him; his words were so passionate she couldn’t help but believe him. She moved back toward him. She cupped his cheek and kissed him.
“I guess I’ll get over it,” she said and nipped his lip.
He pushed her back against the bed, “Now, where was I?”
Breathing heavy, she sat against the headboard, staring at him. She had to hand it to him; he was amazing at everything he did. She waited for him to speak, but instead, he kissed her, lovingly. She’d enjoyed the gentleness of his lips moving with her own.
He put a hand in her hair and played with a curl. He began kissing her cheek, her temple, moving his lips to touch every part of her face. He was still nestled next to her, and she didn’t want to be apart from him. He was so gentle; she could feel his calloused hands as he traced them down her spine. Memorizing every line and muscle. She didn’t want this to end.
“Oh Jessie,” he breathed and brushed her lips with his own.
She reached her hands up and placed them on both sides of his face. Making him look her in the eye. “Where did you learn all that?” she asked as she held him in place.
“Nowhere, I just knew what you wanted; it made it easy to please you.” He winked.
“Dammit Erik, you were reading my thoughts the whole time?” she accused.
“Well did you mind?” he teased, nipping at her collarbone
She looked at him and let out an exasperated breath. “I guess not.”
“Good,” he moved to kiss her again.
“I’ve never done that,” she said.
“I know,” he said. “I wanted to see how many you could have.” He smiled widely at her.
“Dammit, Erik.”
“That’s not what you were saying a few minutes ago.” He reached a hand down, flicked her and stroked a moment before he kissed her again.
She let out another breath. “Nothing is ever going to be easy with you, is it?”
“Nope, probably not. But I promise that I won’t read your thoughts outside of the bedroom. I can’t help it when we’re together. I can’t think beyond the pleasure and you.” He smiled again.
She closed her eyes and wrapped her hands around him hugging him closer, so their bodies were completely connected. He held her tightly for a few minutes. He reached down to grab the sheets and blankets to wrap around them both.
“We both need to sleep before tomorrow.” He pulled the blanket
s up. He tucked one side around her as she scooted back to lay her head on the pillow. He kissed the tip of her nose, and she turned her back to him. He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her flush with him. In moments, he could hear her breath slow to a steady lull, and he was quick to follow. Before he drifted, he thought about the things they would do tomorrow. He moved his head to kiss her shoulder. He thought right now; he could face anything. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 7
When Sloane reached the kitchen in the morning, Caroline had started a fresh pot of coffee and had a platter cinnamon rolls on the counter.
“Good morning,” she said as she turned from the coffee pot.
“Morning,” Sloane said. “Where are the mugs?”
Caroline turned and grabbed one down from the cabinet. She handed it to Sloane.
“Thank you,” she moved to pour herself coffee. She noticed that Caroline had set out the cream and sugar next to the coffee. She was so grateful for the hot coffee. It was her lifeline every morning.
“So, how did you sleep?” Caroline asked.
“Fine, I guess. Is that really what you want to talk about?” Sloane asked.
“No, just making small talk. I find it helps when under such stressful conditions.” She moved to sit at the counter with her coffee.
“Ah well, we are checking out the school today. I haven’t talked with Jessie or Erik about what they found out, yet. I hope we can get there and scope it out.”
“I can help you with that. I know this area well. I have a tour for my daughter arranged and a meeting with the headmaster.” Caroline straightened the paper in front of her and began reading.
“I didn’t know you had a daughter,” Sloane said.
“She doesn’t live here with me, but I do. We need a cover for talking to him, and he will want to recruit more students. I already have someone fortifying documents and sending them to the school to review before the meeting.”
“How were you able to get a meeting that fast?” Sloane asked. They found out about the school yesterday.
“I called a friend of mine that works at the school. She’s the office manager, I asked a favor of her.” Caroline said.
“Oh wow, that’s great. I wasn’t sure how we were going to get into the school, but considering Erik can read minds, I figured we’d just listen from afar. Now, he can join you for the meeting and find out everything we need to know.” Sloane was excited at the prospect of this being over with quickly. She wouldn’t mind going back to small moments of normalcy.
“I’m not sure I want him to join me, considering I can read minds as well. I was thinking I would take Mike, since he was the tracker. He could get a lead on all the demons there.”
“Oh,” was all Sloane could respond. She didn’t like the idea of Mike going with her. The part where she could read minds had been left out of anything she’d known, so far. The lack of information, and her being with Mike, acting like her husband made her uncomfortable.
“I know you’re leery, but you have nothing to worry about, trust me,” Caroline said.
“Oh yeah, that reading minds thing can be annoying. I forgot because Erik usually does us the courtesy of not sharing our own thoughts back to us.” She was annoyed because she didn’t hesitate at all to read what she was thinking. Erik would block out others thoughts, or at least she thought he did. Now, she was suspicious. What if he didn’t actually block them? Maybe he just didn’t let her know he was reading her thoughts.
“No, he does actually block you guys out.” She answered her thoughts. “I don’t,” she finished without shame.
“Oh, that’s good. So…” Sloane wasn’t sure what to say. It was disheartening to know that she could read her thoughts, which she felt made conversation unnecessary. “I’m going to go find Jessie and Erik to see what they dug up on the people from my vision. We may also still check out the school anyway, before your visit. From a distance.”
“That sounds good,” she said as she moved to pour herself another cup of coffee.
Sloane walked to find Erik and Jessie. She didn’t want to spend any more time in the kitchen with Caroline. She was worried about what she would think in her presence, and she would be mortified if her thoughts drifted toward her time with Mike.
Erik was coming down the stairs, his tousled hair was dripping onto his indigo t-shirt.
“Hey,” he said as he reached the bottom step.
“Morning,” she returned.
“Is there coffee? I could really use some.” He glanced down at the cup in her hand.
“Yeah, if you want to brave the kitchen,” Sloane responded.
“Brave the kitchen? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, were you aware Caroline can hear our thoughts?”
“Yes, I was aware. So, can I. What’s the big deal?”
“You don’t read our thoughts all the time,” she emphasized.
“No, I don’t. You’re my sister, I don’t want to know what you’re thinking all the time. I really don’t want to relive whatever sexual encounter you’ve had recently, Ugh.” He shuddered at the thought.
“Well, that’s reassuring, I guess. I don’t like the idea of someone having full access to my brain.” She shook her head, “But go on in, there’s coffee. When you’re done, I’ll be waiting in here.” She moved to sit on the nearby sofa.
✭✭✭
Erik went in the kitchen. He began thinking of his time with Jess the night before. If she was going to read his thoughts, at least he’d give her a show. He smiled before he pushed the door open. Caroline was seated at the table, eyes focused on the newspaper laid out before her. She glanced up and smirked at him then went back to reading.
“Morning,” he said as he reached to grab down two cups from the cupboard.
“Good morning, I see you had a good evening.” She smiled up at him and winked.
“I did indeed. Anything interesting going on today?” he indicated the paper in front of her.
“No, not really, but I bet you knew that already.” She looked expectantly at him.
“I did, but it seems courteous to have conversation, anyway.” He filled both cups.
“Yes, I guess it is. I’m not around too many people who have the same gift as I do. I never thought I would be able to have a conversation without actually saying anything.” She pondered a moment.
“I have them all the time.” He walked through the kitchen door back to where Sloane was sitting. “I’m going to bring coffee up to Jessie, and I’ll be right back down to ask you some questions.” He looked at her pointedly and left the room. He bounded up the stairs. He slowly pushed open the door. Jessie was curled in a ball clutching the blanket in her hands. He smiled as he sat on the bed next to her. He set the cups on the nightstand and brushed a piece of hair out of her face. He smiled and bent to kiss her on the lips. She jerked back quickly and shot up smacking her head into Erik’s nose. He clutched his nose with his hand.
“Ouch!” he said
Jessie realizing who it was said, “Oh sorry.” She cupped Erik’s cheek. “Oh baby, I’m so sorry, but you shouldn’t scare me awake like that.”
“I was trying to wake you with a kiss. I thought it was sweet.” He placed his finger and thumb to put pressure on the bridge of his nose.
“I’m sorry, it was sweet.” She moved to kiss him lightly on the lips. “Did I hurt you?” she asked.
“No, I’ll be fine,” he said. “I brought you coffee.” He handed her one of the cups.
“Thank you.” She took the cup in her hands and took a sip.
“I’m going back downstairs to talk about the plans for today. Come down when you’re ready, but there’s no rush.” He kissed her before heading out the door.
When Erik reached the living room Sloane was gone. He met Caroline back in the kitchen. She sat relaxed at the table, still flipping through the paper. “What do you know about the school?” he asked.
; “Well, if you’ll have a seat, I will tell you all about it.”. Erik sat, and she folded her paper, placing it next to her. She looked up to him and said, “The school is for Shikari members that can’t be trained by their families for whatever reason. Many families choose to send their children to the boarding schools to learn from others. Some of the best of our organization strive to become the teachers at said schools. I have several friends who are part of the school staff. The one here in Colorado is the most prestige’s in the United States, so it makes sense they would be targeting here first.”
“We don’t know that they are,” Erik interrupted.
“Oh yes, that’s true, of course. Well let me continue, then. The school has been around for over fifty years and has trained many Shikari hunters over the years. I’m surprised you don’t know of these schools, considering.” She paused, looking into Erik’s eyes then at the mug in front of her.
“Why would you say that?” he asked.
“Well, didn’t your father send you away to school after your mother’s passing?”
“No, he didn’t. He trained me himself, my entire life my father was always my teacher and trainer.” He looked at her, and his mouth moved into a hard line.
“Oh, I just assumed that he would have. There’s a school in Duluth. Well, as you know there are hunters who die much too early. When they experience a loss so young, they are brought to one of the schools to be trained. They’re provided an advisor upon their entry into the school and they keep the same advisor for the duration of their stay at the school. In their later years, they choose specific roles to train for depending on their skills. The school has many students who have ended up leaders in our organization or top members of the order. It’s very prestigious. I’ve made an appointment for my daughter to check out the school and get information. I’m surprised they were able to infiltrate the school considering, it’s all Shikari members. Yet, if they’ve gotten the headmaster, it does make things much easier for them.”