by Kailin Gow
“No,” I said, staring at the brunette with disbelief. “I didn’t fall.”
The brunette looked at me up and down. “Look at you. It’s clear you fell. You fell right on your face.”
I knew there was no point in arguing. The twins would no doubt step in and collaborate the brunette’s story and she’d be left looking like a liar. My fists clenched, and I asked to be excused. “I’d like to clean up my face.”
Master Hong nodded and I left the room feeling beaten, both physically and emotionally. In the girl’s room, I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My left eye was puffy and blueish while my upper lip was cut and bloody. I splashed some water into my face and wiped it off with a paper towel.
Feeling too dizzy to go to any other classes, I headed home, eager to tell Asher about what had happened. The entire walk home, my face throbbed and I hoped I wouldn’t remained scarred.
“Asher,” I called out as I entered my sprawling home. “Are you here?”
As I headed to the back of the house, I ran into Lucas. “Oh, what are you going here?”
“I could ask you the same thing. Don’t you have classes this afternoon?”
“I… ah, well. Yeah, I do. I did, but I…”
“You what? You decided they weren’t important enough?”
I sensed his anger and didn’t understand why. “No. It’s not that I think they’re unimportant. It’s just that…” I pointed to my face. “Can’t you see that I’m hurt? Would it kill you to show a bit of compassion instead of scolding me for skipping a few classes?”
“Compassion? You’re here at the academy to learn, not to be coddled. The next time you’re out trying to slay a demon, do you really think he’s going to show you any compassion?” He said the last word with disdain.
“I know that, but…”
“Stop making excuses, Lux.” He looked down at me like a father scolding a child.
“I’m not making excuses, and I don’t think I appreciate your tone. I was ambushed in class.”
“Yeah, just like you were ambushed in the girl’s room. I saw you Lux. I saw your martial arts class. You fell to that mat in two seconds flat.”
“Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but your tone is really starting to annoy me. I’m here doing my best.”
“Well, your best is quite shitty, if you ask me.”
I wanted to slap him for being so… ooh. I ground my teeth and clenched her fists. He was just so damned obnoxious. “Well, I didn’t ask you, so why don’t you just run along and let me tend to my wounds.”
“Your wounds or your wounded pride? Or let me guess. I bet you’re just going to sit around here and wait for you angel, Asher, to come and save the day.”
I audibly gasped at his accusation. “Get out!” I said pointing to the door. “Get out of my house. Now!”
“You’re a pathetic excuse of a slayer. You can’t even win a simple fight in a basic martial arts class.”
“That’s not true.”
“Really? Tell that to your face, because I don’t think it got the message.”
“Fuck you!”
“Oh, right. Those are some mighty fierce fighting words. Too bad you don’t have anything substantial to put behind it.”
“Get out!” I screamed.
“Make me,” he challenged.
“Get out. Get out! Get out!!” I tried to slap him but he moved out of the way.
“You can’t even get me out of here.”
I rushed him, hoping to push him to the floor, but he easily sidestepped me and stood there grinning as I fought to keep her balance.
“You’re going to have to work a little harder than that if you want to get me out of here.”
“Shit, but you’re a pain in the ass. Or pain in the arse, as you would probably say.”
“Actually, I’m a bit more of a gentleman than that and I’d be more apt to say a pain in the neck.”
I spun around suddenly and tried to land a kick to his chest, but he quickly caught my foot and twisted just enough to send me to the floor.
“Did I just give you a pain in the neck, sweetie?” he said with an annoying grin.
“Sweetie this, you limey.” I jumped back to my feet and tried once again to kick him, but he used a few fancy kung-fu moves that left me on my butt with him looking down at me with a victorious grin.
“I don’t know if I told you or not,” he said. “But I spent quite a bit of time training with the great kung-fu shaolin monk, Master Chun.”
“No. Actually. You did not tell me that,” I said as I winced in pain.
“I guess you still have a lot to learn.”
“That’s what I’m here for, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but you have to have something to start with. You have to be able to show that there’s a fighting spirit somewhere in there.” He poked me hard between the breasts.
“Fuck you. I have plenty of fighting spirit.”
“Then show it,” he said, giving me a little push that sent me taking a step backwards. “Huh. Show it.”
When he went to push me once again, I grabbed his hand, turned his palm flat out, twisted his elbow and brought it to his back. Before he could even try to fight back, I put her knee at the small of his back and sent him to his knees.
“How’s that for fighting spirit?” I said.
He reached around to grab me by the scruff of the neck and flipped me over him so that I lay on my back looking up at him. “Not enough,” he whispered.
I pulled up my legs and managed to get them around his neck, then twisted to the side so that he had no choice but to follow if he didn’t want me to break his neck. Then I squeezed. “Is that fighting spirit enough?”
He smiled as his face turned red but didn’t answer.
“I said, is that fighting spirit enough?”
He became redder still, but he continued to smile.
I realized then that it was what he’d wanted all along. To goad me into fighting for my life, the way a true slayer should… always.
Patting my thighs with his hands, he coughed and turned almost purple.
“Shit! Are you okay?” I said, immediately letting go and sitting up to tend to him.
He instantly grabbed me, tossed me to the floor and pinned me down with his body.
For one intense moment, we just stared at one another as our bodies discovered the other’s. I felt his power, the hardness of his entire body, but also the growing hardness of his arousal. His tousled hair tickled my face and I just wanted to run my fingers through it.
The sexual tension grew. I wanted him and the attraction was so strong, I could barely stand it. He was so strong, and there was something deeply mysterious about him. I licked her lips and his gaze followed the movement.
Tentatively, he leaned in, closer, until his lips just barely touched mine. His lips were so soft, and his breath so sweet, I longed to feel the full passion of his kiss.
He leaned in more, pressing his lips to mine and nibbling gently. There was something incredibly arousing in his hesitation, in his gentle way. He pulled back and looked at me, swallowing his uncertainty while I swallowed my growing anticipation.
I offered him a small welcoming smile, just enough to let him know I wanted him.
He took the cue and fell over me, kissing me passionately as he took me in his arms, grinding his arousal against my thighs. His kisses enveloped me, pulled me in and made me forget the rest of the world existed.
There was him and only him. His lips, his tongue, his hands on my skin.
“Well! Well! Well!” Sully called out loudly.
Lucas jumped off me and got to his knees, while I gasped as I sat up and fingered my tender lips, so quickly abandoned by the warmest kiss.
“So!” Sully said with an amused grin. “Turns out I’m not the only Good who wants to be with the beautiful slayer.”
Sully’s gaze fell to my hand still on Lucas’ lap. I gazed at Lucas and saw the strange questioning in h
is gaze. Sully didn’t miss the odd expression either.
“Okay,” I said, getting to my feet. “I need to get out of here.” I headed for the stairs.
“Not a word of this to mum,” Lucas warned Sully, his tone so strangely ominous. “I’ll break your neck if you do.”
I stopped at the landing and listened to the brothers.
“Of course not, bro. Besides, what’s to tell? That you kissed a girl? That you have the hots for a girl? That you’re smitten with her?” Sully looked at his brother. “Hey, I’m just as smitten as you are, only I don’t bother hiding it. I don’t get why you want to be so stoic and cold in front of her. Man, she’s so freaking hot.”
“I don’t want to be smitten with her. I can’t. We’re the dean’s sons and she’s a student. Besides, there’s so much to do. We have to be professional.”
Sully smirked. “You sure looked professional as you were working your hand up her shirt.”
“Oh, bugger off, will you. Okay, so I succumbed in a moment of weakness. I got caught up in the depth of her eyes, in that immeasurable spark. Shit. I can’t believe I fell for her.” Lucas looked at his younger brother, pained by his attraction to Lux. “I was trying to get her to fight, to really fight. She got completely demolished in her martial arts class today and I wanted to prove to myself and to her that she had what it takes to defend herself.”
“And what is your final analysis of her fighting skills.”
They both chuckled.
“I pinned her to the floor and forgot who I was,” Lucas said after a moment. “All I knew in that moment was that I had to have her.”
“So you’re trying to teach her to fight?”
“Sort of. Look, it killed me to see her get hurt in that class. I don’t want to see that again.
“The Thompson twins again?”
“Yeah, and they had a new recruit. They ganged up on her. Looks like they want to make an example of her. They’re fighting dirty and want to prove how she can’t survive because her human instinct is to fight fair.”
“I’m sure she can fight just as dirty as any of them in the right situation.”
“That’s what I think, too. I’ve seen her in action. Man, I know she has it in her. She’s the best. But it’s like she’s forgotten that. We have to do what we can to get her back to that place.”
“How do you know so much about her?”
“I’ve been keeping an eye on her.”
“Really? Now that is interesting.” Sully cocked a playful, teasing brow.
“Don’t be silly.”
“So, does this mean that you care for her? I mean, how can you be so interested in someone you claim to despise.”
“When she first came on the slaying scene, I heard about her. Guys were both enthralled by her beauty and awed by her talent. They kept going on and on about how pretty she was, but I never really gave it much thought. Then one of them showed me a picture of her and… wow. Sexiest slayer I’ve ever seen. I was stunned and I instantly had a crush on her. I thought about her all the time, imagined spending time with her, imagined what her voice sounded like, what her lips tasted like.”
I smiled, touched by his admission.
“Man, I think you’re in even deeper than I thought.”
“She was so pretty in that picture, but then when I saw her in person. I couldn’t believe it. She was just so beautiful I could barely think of anything else. And now, getting to know her these past weeks; her fire, her passion and the incredibly profound love she has for her guys, it makes me want that love from her. It makes me want to be her guy.”
“Yeah,” Sully said with disdain. “Her guys.”
“Yeah, sure I feel a bit jealous of the love and devotion she has for them, but at the same time, I’m awed by her sense of self sacrifice. She’ll do anything to get them back. That makes me admire her all the more.”
“Wow, mate. You really are in deep.” Sully put his hand to his brother’s shoulder and shook his head in feigned dismay. “Man, are you in deep.”
“Just as you. I’ve seen how you look at her. You’re so obvious. Enough with this,” Lucas said heading to the stairs. “I’m going to go tend to her. I can’t believe how cut up and bruised she is. That perfectly unblemished delicious skin now scarred because of those idiots. I’ll kill them for hurting her this way. ”
I hurried up the stairs before Lucas see me.
Chapter 19
I woke up to a silent house. I looked at the clock. Almost noon. Laying back in bed, I stared at the ceiling and assessed the pain of my body. For the third day in a row, I stayed home, mending, recuperating. It wasn’t just the wounds inflicted by the twins that hurt me, but the constant fatigue that plagued me since going through the portal.
It’d also been a few days since I’d seen Romeo, and I ached for him. While I understood that he was busy with his classes and students, I couldn’t help feel neglected by his lack of attention since my fight with the twins and that brunette. He hadn’t even called to see how I was doing.
Pulling in a deep, long breath, I set aside my thoughts of Romeo and concentrated on getting better. In the end, that was all that really mattered. I had to get strong if I wanted to be of any use to anyone. As much as I wanted to get Brax and Moore back as quickly as possible, I knew I had to take care of myself or I would never be able to help them. I lay in bed, letting my muscles relax, letting my breathing soothe me.
An hour later, I finally got up, feeling somewhat rejuvenated, but still pained by a few of my wounds; namely the solid kick in the ribs.
I threw on a comfortable pair of jeans and a loose red flannel shirt and headed downstairs hoping to find something good for breakfast. I’d become accustomed to the warm and delicious breakfasts Asher usually prepared for me, but as I took a whiff of the air, I smelled nothing. No hint of cinnamon, no aroma of crisp bacon and not even the comforting scent of coffee.
“Well, it is noon,” I said aloud. “What did you expect?” I had to admit that in the back of my mind, I half expected to find a nice cool salad or a ham sandwich waiting for me on the counter.
Instead I found the kitchen in a mess. Two toasts were still in the toaster, two cups half filled with coffee were still on the counter and a half-eaten egg was in a plate on the table.
“Oh, come on, guys,” I muttered. “You can’t leave me with a mess like this.”
They had to clean up after themselves. No excuses.
As I headed to the counter to clean up after them, my phone rang.
“Hello,” I said.
“Hey, kiddo,” John said. “How are you feeling?”
“Dad. Where have you been? I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“I know, and I’m sorry about that. I heard you got hurt. Are you doing okay?”
“Still a little bit bruised, but, yeah. I’m feeling better. I’m up and about.” I picked up the plate of eggs and held it over the trash bin, letting the eggs slide off. “In fact, I’m tending to a little bit of housework as we speak.”
“I’m happy to hear that.”
I’d noticed the tightness in his voice and hesitated before questioning him. “Where exactly are you, Dad?”
“The portal.” The tightness in his voice was even more evident.
“Which one?” I set down the plate and leaned back against the counter to give my father my full attention.
“The same one you went through when you tried to save your friends Brax and Moore. Bad news. The portal has opened. Demons are coming out by the dozens.”
“How can that be?” I said, feeling suddenly frantic.
“I don’t know, but we’re here trying to keep things under control.”
“We? Who’s we?”
“Hector’s been with me these past few days, and Dr. Good came and joined us yesterday. We have a degree of control for now, but I don’t think it will be enough. We all suspect that the worse is yet to come. Dr. Good fears the portal may burst wide open at any moment.”
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I looked at the mess around me and bit my lip. Is that where they were? Had they all left to go join my father?
I looked around the house looking for other clues. “I think help might be on the way, Dad,” I said as I saw Sully’s school books dropped in a pile by the door.
Suddenly overwhelmed with concern and worry, I bit my lip as tears filled my eyes. I’d grown so fond of both of the Goods brothers. Despite the strong attraction each of them had with me and sexual tension, had become close. Lately we’d been spending so much time together, relaxing, talking and sharing all meals. We’d gotten to know each other and despite Lucas and Sully’s envy of the special relationship I had with Asher, we’d all become like a tight-knit family.
“I can’t stand the thought of losing more people that I love,” I muttered into the phone.
“What was that, honey?” he called into the phone. It was suddenly noisy behind him.
“I’ll round up as many slayers as I can, Dad,” I said instead of repeating my muttered fear. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I ended the call and set the phone on the counter. Now what? Wandering to the back slider, I considered my options. I had no car, so heading off to the portal was out of the questions. Besides, I had no idea how to get to it.
Alpha, I thought. I rushed back to my phone and texted him.
Trouble at the portal. Can you round up as many student slayers as possible and come with me?
I sent the text then stared at my phone as I waited for his response. “Come on,” I whispered after thirty seconds of waiting. Then it came.
Lux! So relieved to hear from you. I missed you. Sorry to hear you were so badly hurt in your martial arts class. It breaks my heart to think of anyone hurting you.
That’s not what I need right now, she thought.
I’ve rested these past days and I’m fine.
Send.
I wanted to go see you but I’ve been swamped with work. Classes are more and more busy. So many new students. You mean so much to me, Lux. I never thought I would say this to any woman, but I think I’m falling in love with you. It’s just so unplanned; so unlike me. All I wanted was to dance with a pretty girl and now look at me. I’m lost without you.