He asked, “Where else?”
“Hmm, Dallas, Texas. Chicago, Illinois. I grew up in the Seattle area. I’ve also wandered a lot from group to group, in several other states, but only those four for any serious length of time. How about you?”
He said, “Never really left Portland for more than a day trip. I’m really glad Celeste and I decided to stay. I didn’t trust you at all in the beginning.”
I laughed, “Good to know.”
He nodded, “I really care about you now. Did I mention you look beautiful?”
“Is that how I won you over?” I teased.
He grimaced, “On the contrary, I was attracted to you from the start. If anything, I think that made me mistrust you more, as compensation. You arrived that day like a beautiful avenging angel, to smite our enemies and steal us off to a safe place with offers of protection and teaching. It all felt too good to be true. No one is that wonderful, but I turned out to be wrong about that, Kyra.”
I felt a flush of heat at that, not entirely sure why that information pleased and excited me so much. Maybe because that meant I won his trust with who I was as a person, and whatever we had between us wasn’t just skin deep. I knew I felt the same way, he was yummy, but it wasn’t pure physical chemistry. It was deeper than that, already. Shallow physical attraction would be easy for my disciplined mind to dismiss, and wouldn’t have me so breathlessly excited and feeling alive just being in his presence and under his regard.
No, it was him that had my mind spinning, not his muscles or handsome face, though that didn’t hurt either.
“Mm, smiting,” I said breathily, then giggled.
He chuckled.
“You don’t take compliments very well do you, I’ll try to moderate myself.”
I leaned into him and bumped hips playfully, “Don’t let that stop you.”
He laughed, and we paused our conversation as we entered the restaurant and were seated at a table for two. Patsy’s was a romantic place, there were other couples there, but there were also businessmen in suits. The food was fantastic, but so was the atmosphere, though I was more than enraptured by the company as I stared across the table.
The lighting was chandeliers as well as lamps coming out of the walls. The tables had white tablecloths and the chairs were dark brown wood with slightly lighter dark brown cushions.
We chatted lightly, both of us avoiding talk of the mound, the kids, or our situation and what we needed to accomplish. That night was about us, not about magic and changing human perceptions of half-demons, or magic, or physical training, and for the first time in a long time I didn’t give those troubling things much thought at all outside of passing thoughts.
That magical night was and wasn’t like a typical first date. We knew each other, what we stood for and believed. I knew he was a man of integrity that would do anything to protect his sister, and that he’d stand with me as well. He was confident, a master in the martial arts, but not arrogant or pushy. In a way, that was all I needed to know to realize I wanted to get to know him better. All things usually learned in the process of dating.
But at the same time there was all the small stuff that I didn’t know about. Even typical first date questions. We hadn’t spilled our pasts, likes, or dislikes to each other yet, and we both learned all those little things about each other, or at least got a good start on it. Not as important as what I already knew of him, who he was in the present was far more important to budding connection, but it told me a little bit how he’d turned into the man that he was.
The conversation flowed back and forth almost effortlessly, as he wanted to know all about me as well. It was nice, to spend time and get to know him better, while leaving all the stress and craziness of my life behind for a while.
It was also when I decided to say screw it, and not worry about it anymore. It was too late, the man had more than my attention, and he’d already snuck into the doorway to my heart. It didn’t matter if it was not smart or not, or if even in the best-case scenario, that the relationship worked and went the distance, I’d still look twenty-three when he was old and infirm. Because I wasn’t willing to walk away anymore, by the end of that night.
If I could only have sixty years with him, I’d take it. Chances are it wouldn’t come to that anyway, commitments that long-term were rare anyway. But I also wasn’t in it to fail.
Who knew what could happen, but I knew he was worthy of my heart and my attention, and I had no intention of walking away before we discovered just how far we could go with it.
In a nutshell, he swept me off my feet, and made me feel beautiful, sexy, desired, and more than a little warm and tingly all over. He impressed me, and I admired him. The start of what we shared was too much to ignore, or to walk away from because of fear of what might be. I may be slow to trust, and a pessimist at times, but I’d never been a coward, and he most definitely had my attention and I returned his desire.
It had snuck up on me, this delightful and growing connection between us, and now I wanted to see it through. No more doubts, unless he proved he wasn’t the man for me over time.
After dinner, and we headed back to the mound, I was tempted to invite him into my house, but I knew where that would lead. Was I ready for that? It was only one date, but I’d known him for three months. I decided it was too fast for that, in one day I’d gone from thinking it a horrible idea, to being completely swept away and surrendering to the idea and the feelings that drove me.
He said, “You’re amazing, I had a great time Kyra.”
“Me too.”
He confidently, but slowly, went for the goodnight kiss, clearly the aggressor which is how I liked it, but he gave me plenty of time to abort. I didn’t, I went up on my toes and met him halfway instead. His lips were sweet, soft, and exploring. His gentle but passionate kiss was a dazzling and teasing contrast to his firm arms that went around me and held me tightly to his hard body almost possessively.
I couldn’t help the moan that escaped into his mouth, when his hands teasingly caressed my back, hair, and neck. It was the kind of first kiss, where I almost forgot my own name.
Let’s just say I was glad I’d made my decision on the end of the night before that kiss, because he had my knees feeling like water, and my toes curled, before he released me. I was more than tingling as he looked into my eyes after that kiss, the heat flooding my body made me feel out of control, and if I wasn’t wet for him I’d eat my boots.
I bit my lip, and had several unladylike thoughts, but I stuck to my decision.
“Goodnight, Billy,” I said so breathily it made me blush.
Fortunately, he looked similarly mind blown and completely mesmerized by me in that moment. I had no doubt he’d had a similar reaction down below too, I could feel the proof of it against my stomach, and it was far from disappointing.
He stared for another beat or two, then said, “Goodnight. We’ll have to do this again.”
I grinned, “We’d better, I know where you live.”
He laughed, “You drive me crazy.”
“Ditto,” and before I could do something stupid, like climb him like a tree, or suggest he come inside, I slipped into my house and shut the door.
I let out a deep breath as I leaned against the door and closed my eyes. It’d been the best first date of my life, and if the second one went that well, I already knew I’d throw the three date rule out on its ass.
I was glad no one was there to see me, when I widely grinned like an idiot when my phone rang.
“Hello?”
He said, “Tomorrow night, dancing. Wear something sexy.”
Breaking the laws of physics, my smile widened even further.
“You sound very sure of yourself, Mr. Givens.”
He replied firmly, “Say, yes.”
“Yes,” I said breathily, not really sure what I was saying yes too, and coming to the conclusion that it was for anything he wanted.
“Great, see you in the morning
.”
Right, training. Things really would get awkward if it didn’t work out, but I truly didn’t give a crap in that moment. My life was nothing but complicated, that my love life was starting to reheat and go right seemed to be a gift. Not simple at all, but at the same time surprisingly easy.
“Wait, what kind of dancing?”
He laughed, then hung up.
Damn it. I hadn’t been joking. It wasn’t like I’d done a lot of dancing in my lifetime. That’s when Muriel showed up, and demanded I go over every single minute of the date. She was an awesome friend.
I went to bed with a smile, if a bit frustrated by my earlier decision. My last conscious thoughts of the day were of him.
Chapter Five
The next morning my sparring session with William felt a lot different. Physically it was the same, I still couldn’t get a touch on him with me slowed down, and he guided me just as professionally as ever. But after our date and the relationship change between us, as well as sexual frustration of me deciding I wasn’t a slut and not inviting him in my bed yet, made it feel more like foreplay. His muscles, sweat, and competent prowess with blades drove me crazy.
After the morning class, I took a long hot shower, and my body felt energized by the endorphin rush and pleasantly sore from the workout. I put on a dark red women’s skirt suit, I thought I should look as professional as possible. The skirt went down to my knees, the blazer conformed to my hourglass form, and was low cut in the front showing the tight black shirt underneath. I also wore two-inch black heels. It was professional, with a hint of sexy.
When I went downstairs to grab a coffee, I found both William and Sabine waiting for me, the latter with a stubbornly hopeful smile on her face. The sweetest of us seemed to have a backbone I hadn’t been aware of until yesterday, and she was showing it again today. The petite five foot one dark brunette sixteen year old had a professional looking dark blue dress on, she looked like she’d raided her mother’s closet in truth, and was quite adorable.
But then, I still looked eighteen and would probaby look that way to most older people as well, I was just far more comfortable in that kind of dress than Sabine was.
William looked amazing in a dark blue suit with a red tie, and a white collared shirt.
My eyes went back to Sabine, and she looked like she was ready to dig her heels in, figuratively speaking.
“If anything goes wrong, you don’t fight, you run, and you gateway home.”
Sabine’s smile turned into an excited grin, and she squealed in joy as she bounced on her toes, “Promise!”
William snickered.
Sabine sniffed faux haughtily, and then tossed her hair playfully, but the wide grin hadn’t left her face. The girl was too much happiness in a small vibrant package.
He smirked, “My apologies.”
She said, “I thought I’d be good for this, since I’m proof the website works, and I’ve never had to resort to violence outside of training simply because I was never hunted by the evil Nephilim.”
I smirked, “True, you can come, but it will be up to them if they want to interview three people. It might also convince other teens in hiding but afraid it’s bullshit to decide to make contact, if they see it’s paying off for you.”
She nodded, “That was part of the argument I built, that I didn’t need.”
I said, “I don’t want to burn my permanent enchanted disguises, so I’m using fae magic to get us to the building. I wish I knew the building well enough to open a gateway straight to it, but I don’t think I do. It’s a short cab ride from the train station, about ten minutes.”
They nodded, and I applied a glamour on me and William. No one knew Sabine at all, so I left her looks alone, but William and I looked about ten years older, and quite different. Then I opened a gateway to the out of the way place by Union station and we headed through.
I waved and winked at the shocked looking human man who stood frozen just a few feet away, smoking a cigarette in the out of the way place. Probably for the same reason I’d picked it, out of the way, hidden from view, and no cameras.
William said, “That shit will kill you,” and Sabine giggled girlishly.
The man’s tight carriage relaxed slightly, I was guessing it was Sabine that calmed the man and made him decide we weren’t going to kill him. At least he wasn’t screaming for help, when we nodded and walked away.
We walked to the head of the cab line, and got in.
Carol was expecting us, but we still had to sign in and get our guest badges, and then wait for an intern to come escort us up. I was still holding our glamour, which included our licenses so that they’d match, both the pictures and birth dates. All Sabine had was a high school ID, but the guard didn’t seem to care, and in disguise we didn’t scare him like I had the last time. It was all pretty routine actually.
It wasn’t until we were up in Carol’s office, that I let the magic go.
Carol smiled, “Welcome back, I’m glad you decided to do this, and who’s this?”
Sabine said in a slightly nervous yet still chipper voice, “Sabine Barsotti. Kyra saved me, like Karl and Celeste, but without all the drama and deaths, thanks to her website.”
Carol raised an eyebrow, and said, “You’ll be outing yourself if you go on national television, that’s brave.” Her tone of voice had also intimated it was a bit crazy.
Sabine nodded, “My decision, she tried to talk me out of it. I want to help set things right and end the unjust hunts against my kind. I didn’t ask for any of this, but without Kyra I’d be hiding and terrified of being discovered, or I’d already be dead.”
I said, “I do have a concern. This interview will be canned, can you assure me it will go on air in its entirety? Also, last time I was here, you said you couldn’t put me on air.”
Carol said, “Oh, we will, the first time it’s aired, but we can’t guarantee other outlets will, or that we won’t cut bytes for later follow-up coverage. As for the second one, my bosses would’ve killed me if I put on an interview of you while Union station was being torn up in a supernatural battle. Your interview will be huge, but that was the bigger and more immediate story. You three all want to go on?”
That was a risk we’d have to deal with, no doubt some stations would twist things around, but the full interview would be on their website for people to watch. The more discerning humans would do their own research if they cared, and not just take their word for it. It would have to be good enough.
I wasn’t naïve, I knew this would create a firestorm of opposition, but it was my hope it would also persuade some to our side, people that would push the government to investigate the so called truths the Nephilim had shoved down their throats after exposure day four and a half years ago.
William nodded, and answered her question, “I thought a human perspective might be worthwhile for your viewers, I’ve lived with them for three months now, including my sister Celeste.”
She nodded, “I’ll have you all taken to makeup, then you’ll be interviewed on one of the closed sets with a minimal crew. Liz Barnette will do the interview itself, one of our late-night anchors. If the police or council get wind and show up, we’ll warn you in plenty of time to leave. I assume you don’t want to turn this station into a warzone?”
I replied, “Definitely not.”
She said, “Let’s get it done then, I’ll see you on set.”
The young intern took us to makeup.
Liz Barnette like her boss was a cute willowy blonde in her mid-thirties. Her blue eyes were clear and sharp, and showed her intelligence. She looked a little nervous behind her desk, while the three of us sat on the couch caddy corner to it. We were on a small dais with a throw rug, couch, small coffee table, and the desk Liz sat behind in a brown leather chair. Behind her and to our left was a giant green screen so who knew what background the interview would get. The rest of the room was cavernous with black walls, and empty save the spotlights to remove any sign of sh
adow and three large cameras for multiple angles.
No doubt the middle one would show us all, and the other two would be getting closeups during our questions and answers. I was a little nervous, probably more nervous than I was when in battle, but then this was new to me like so much else that had gone on the last three plus months.
Carol eventually had us seated with the posture she wanted, and everything lined up, and she moved to the side as they started taping.
Liz gave the usual sign on of her name and the station, then continued, “Tonight we’ll be talking to Kyra Bell, William Givens, and the young lady Sabine Barsotti. Kyra and Sabine are half-demons, and they have a story to tell that humanity hasn’t heard yet, and William needs no introduction, the human brother who fought so valiantly to save his half-demon sister Celeste just three months ago on our very streets here in Portland.
She looked to me, “Kyra, your people have been, forgive the pun, demonized by the supernatural community since us humans learned about it. I have to say I’m a bit nervous talking to you today, but from what I understand you’ve been running around loose for over four years now and defying expectations?”
I laughed, “Forgiven, Liz. That’s true, its closer to five years than four years now, and that alone gives lie to the contentions all our kind will start an apocalypse given the chance.”
She said, “I’ve done my research, looked over and read your half-demon community website, where you urge other half-demons to contact you before they’re found by the Nephilim, as well as give in depth explanations for any curious humans. I’ll be honest though, the whole thing smacks of a conspiracy theory website, like those people that accuse our government of experimenting on or killing its citizens.”
“Was there a question in there somewhere?”
Liz smiled, “What is your response to that.”
“Humans were outraged when the supernatural community was discovered, and over a sixth of Manhattan was damaged by hellfire, several buildings outright destroyed before the fire department got control over it. The council had to defuse that, to prevent a war, and they certainly couldn’t tell the truth. Could you imagine the reaction if they said they’d been hunting one of my kind, and there was only so much destruction because she was sixteen, terrified, and unable to control her power?
Demon Underground: Kyra Bell Book Three Page 5
