by Stone, Layla
This time, he blocked the number as well and took several minutes to get his mind right before looking at the formula again.
He began verifying the amounts for the third time. This time when his Minky pinged with a call from Denny on a new ID, he picked it up and chucked the rectangle against the wall like it was a disk. The sturdy material caused the Minky to bounce rather than shatter.
The pad continued to ring, and Shine stood still, boiling in his rage. For a solid forty seconds, he cursed with every word he knew. When the pinging stopped, he quietly walked over to the pad, picked it up, and waited.
The caller pinged him again. This time, he accepted.
“I will gladly use a pink powder pistol on you if you ever call me again.”
A Red Demon he wasn’t familiar with tilted his head and said, “I have one, too, and I bet I’m faster than you.”
“Unlikely,” Shine said, thinking of all the time he’d spent getting the aim and calibrations correct on the guns before each production.
Denny the Red Demon moved the camera so that Shine could see who was standing next to him.
Nara. Damnit. He also noticed that they were in the lobby of his apartment. He’d forgotten all about her.
“You want me to drop her off at the warehouse? I can.”
“No,” Shine said quickly. The nip would likely touch something she shouldn’t and shrivel up or turn to ash because she was too stupid to realize what was dangerous and what wasn’t. No one was allowed in his lab. Even Z didn’t come in physically. Z was a Silk Demon and could visit Shine in his sleep, which he only did when he had something urgent to say or ask.
“You have ten minutes to get here, or I’m bringing her to you.”
“I’m leaving,” Shine said, terminating the call and moving the beaker to the incinerator. He was leaving the lab less tidy than he liked, but he didn’t have a choice.
Nine minutes later, he walked into the lobby of his apartment complex and saw Nara with her arms crossed and lips pursed.
“About time,” the male said as he held up a small black device and clicked it. Two chirps sang out from the cuffs. Shine didn’t have to look at his wrist to know that it was blinking red again.
“My stomach has digested itself, so, please…walk slower,” Nara said sarcastically.
“She’s all yours,” Denny said with a grin. “I don’t envy you.”
“Me either.”
Shine led the way to the elevator, and Nara followed. Once they were in the hallway and headed to his door, she took the lead. The female pushed her way into the apartment after he unlocked it, and rounded the corner to the kitchen.
Shine pulled out his Minky pad, thinking about the fact that she likely hadn’t eaten all day. Was he supposed to send her to work with lunch?
Opening his mouth to ask her what she wanted, he was interrupted by, “What is this? Oh, for the love of decency, how old is this?”
It was three-day-old pizza. A six-pack of Niffy drinks sat on the shelf, and he wondered if she was going to insult those, too. She didn’t.
Good.
Instead, she grabbed one, unscrewed the top, and downed the contents. When it was empty, she looked around. He pointed to the trash can under the sink, assuming she was looking for a place to put the empty bottle. Again, he was about to ask her what she wanted to eat when she snipped out, “I need real food. I haven’t eaten all day.” The refrigerator was still open. The female reached in and took another Niffy and downed the contents of that, as well.
Shine slid the pad to her on the counter. “Order your food. When you’re done, give it back.”
She scooped up the pad and urgently started typing. He used the silence to walk by her, pull out the box of pizza, and set it in the warmer. Twenty seconds later, it was ready. He placed the box on the counter and took out a slice.
He heard her sniff. “That smells horrible. Throw that out, or I will vomit all over your kitchen.”
The slice was halfway inside his mouth when he paused, thought about it, then bit down and chewed. A minute later, he watched her vomit bile on his counter. It dripped onto the floor. “That’s classy,” he said before taking another bite of his dinner.
“Get that away from me,” she said, putting down the Minky. “I’m serious.”
He rolled his eyes, reached over to a drawer, and pulled out a pack of tummy-temper pills. “Here. This will stop you from smelling or vomiting.”
“Or you could just throw it away,” she said.
He took another bite, still not arguing. It was hard to eat, but he was making his stance, he couldn’t show weakness to the nip.
Nara dry-heaved a few times before grabbing the pack of pills and opening the box.
“Take two,” he instructed.
She did. He waited to see the effects. Her eyes widened as she smiled. “I don’t smell any of that.” She clapped and then pointed at the floor. “This was your fault. I’m not cleaning it up.”
Shine took another bite and chewed slowly. She was bossy but didn’t seem to be scared of him, which meant that she couldn’t be Terran. Terrans were fine with the other Demons, but they still got squeamish when they saw horns.
Her skin was fair. She could be a Lotus child, but her attitude and diamonds said she didn’t just earn money, she was raised in it. She spoke and acted like she was better than him. It was in her look, her tone. If he was going to guess, Shine thought Nara was a Sennite.
Sennites had purple hair and eyes. Maybe she died it? Maybe she was raised by one?
Shine didn’t plan to argue with her or even engage. Let the spoiled Sennite brat get herself worked up.
When he didn’t respond, Nara grabbed the Minky pad and began typing something into it. He didn’t say anything as she continued, but when she was still typing after he’d finished eating the last three slices of pizza, he worried for his bank account.
Shine picked up the box and rolled it up, wanting to throw it away. But that would mean he had to touch her vomit, and he would rather not do that. “I’m not cleaning your mess. There’s cleanser under the sink. You can do it or not. But if you don’t, then it’s just going to get crusty and gross, and you’ll have to take one of those pills every few hours.”
Nara stopped typing on his Minky. Her eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t sound like a deal.”
As a Night Demon, he was low on his quota for making deals. Mostly because he didn’t make them unless he was negotiating for something he wanted. Cleaning up her mess was something she desired, but she was too much a snobby nip to do it herself. “It’s not a deal, but the situation remains the same. Clean up your mess, or sleep in the kitchen in your own bile.”
She didn’t move, and he didn’t expect her to. This was a standoff of wills.
Time passed, and neither spoke. At first, all Shine saw was Nara’s eyes, but then all he saw was blue because his vision blurred from not blinking.
It continued on and on until…
She closed her eyes and held the heel of her palms to her lids. “Damn, I never lose to that.”
He didn’t comment. He was still waiting to see if she would clean up her mess. To his surprise, she bent down, opened the cabinet under the sink, and pulled out the All-Away cleaner. Nara sprayed the vomit. The cleanser bubbled and foamed. When the bubbles faded, the vomit had turned to dust-like particles. She put the spray bottle back and pulled out a small vacuum to suck up the dust. When she was finished, she said, “Happy now, Night Demon?”
He was happy. It set the bar for the lengths he was willing to go to. Hopefully, the nip remembered that.
Now that her food was on the way, and he’d let her know the hierarchy in the apartment, he asked, “How long will it take you to complete the job you have with Karr?” He needed to know. It was imperative to his schedule.
Nara shook her head. “I can’t do the job he wants me to do. I physically can’t get through it.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t do
what he wants me to do.”
“What is he asking you to do?”
Her lips pressed together. “I can’t tell you.”
Was she keeping secrets because Karr had told her to? Or did she think Shine couldn’t fix her issue? Despite his current situation with the genie pistol, there was nothing he couldn’t figure out. But he didn’t want to look too eager to help. “Well, then, I can’t help you.”
She snorted. “Like you could.”
He let that comment go…barely. “Okay, but if you could do the job, how long would it take?”
She looked thoughtful. “Three years probably.”
“Three years?” He hadn’t meant to yell but…three years? “Tell me I heard you wrong.”
“And here we go again, acting like this is all my fault. Like I want to be here in this place, starving all day at work because I can’t eat the nutrient bars Karr left for me.”
Shine turned his head and closed his eyes. He needed silence. He flipped several scenarios around in his mind, contemplated the schedule, his lab, the arguments, and how he could resolve all of it.
“Are you okay?”
He held up his finger to silence her.
“Are you praying?”
Apparently, she didn’t know when to shut up. He opened his eyes and glared. “I need to think about how to fix this. Be quiet for five minutes.”
“I already came up with a solution,” she said blankly.
He wanted to laugh because… Her, solve a problem? “And what is that?”
“First,” she said, pointing at his face. “I don’t like that smirk. And secondly, all I need to do is knock you out like you did me for the rest of my time here, and I’m set.” She twirled her hand around the walls. “I can have this shamble looking like the next House-in-the-Stars in less than a week. Actually, I can do it in two days with a crew of three.”
“You want to knock me out for the rest of my life? Why not kill me?”
That stopped her short. “That’s not my thing.”
That wasn’t her thing? She had to be the strangest female in the Federation-verse. She was a walking wrecking-ball of words, and yet she drew the line at killing?
He didn’t have that line. “I design special bullets that kill in creative ways.”
Nara leaned back, and he watched as her eyes turned cold and flat. “You like killing people?”
“I don’t kill them personally. But I design the weapons that even the odds between someone small and helpless like yourself and an attacker.”
She crossed her arms. “You think I’m small and helpless?”
“If a Krant came after you, there is nothing you could do to stop him. But if you were to have a vibrant pistol or a pink powder pistol, you’d be able to stop him before he touched you.”
“I’ve actually been in that situation, and I didn’t have a silly weapon for protection.”
Shine didn’t know if he believed her. “And you talked your way out of it?”
Lifting her chin, she said, “No, but I didn’t need a silly pistol to save me.”
“How did you get away?”
“I have my ways.”
“Right. Well, the point is, you can’t fight without a force multiplier. No matter what it is—a pistol or something else.”
Nara shrugged.
In the other room, Shine’s Minky screen pinged. Checking the alert, he saw that he had a shipment in the lobby.
Nara said, “That was quick. I’m going to have to remember to give them a six-star rating.”
She grabbed his wrist with the cuff and pulled him to the door. To his surprise, he didn’t pull away. He should have because he was letting her be the leader, but he had to pick up the shipment anyway.
Nara let go of him once they entered the elevator. When he peered over, he noticed that her body was practically vibrating with excitement. Her hair was pulled back, but several light blond wisps floated around her face. He thought it looked better than yesterday when it had been perfectly curled.
Her neck was slender and sexy, and he could imagine taking hold of it and running his mouth down it. With her heels on, she was almost his height. He wouldn’t have to lean down far to take her lips. What he found lacking was her smell.
Shine faced forward when the door chimed. The shipment covered the floor. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. “Nara.” That was all he could say. She must have depleted a good half of his account. He saw the name brands blinking on the tops of the pods. Some of them were on auto-voice saying, “Delivery for Shine.” He didn’t have to do the math. It was obvious that all of this would not fit into his apartment.
Nara grabbed his wrist and pulled him out of the elevator. His stunned body moved, but his mind was trying to figure out how to send all the pods back. He’d told her to order food. Sierra Steel was not food. They were the most expensive tool maker there was. He used them only when he needed to fabricate something.
What could she have possibly needed from Sierra Steel?
Shine watched Nara’s back. He could see her pointing—or maybe she was counting the pods—with her right index finger. “You know, we might have to bring some of it through the balcony doors.”
His face fell into his hand as he told her, “You emptied my bank account.”
Her bubbly laugh made him look up. He wasn’t joking. Not at all. Nara faced him with a blazing smile. Big and bright, it hit him in the chest. Something was alive in her, something that made him tingle inside.
Shine couldn’t move, all he could do was stand there and let her be happy. The money could be replaced as soon as he finished the genie pistol. But it would sting every second of every day until he replenished it.
In front of him, he watched Nara pull out his Minky pad from her pocket and say, “Delivery change. All pods report to the balcony.” In unison, the pods’ mini-turbine engines turned on, and they flew out of the lobby and back to the front entryway. Nara stuffed his Minky into her pocket and grabbed his wrist to lead him back to the elevator. “It’s going to be amazing. Trust me.”
He didn’t trust her. As they stepped in, he held up his free hand, his palm facing up. “Give me my Minky back before I have to get a loan to pay for the rest of your crap.”
She slapped the pad into his hand and told him, “Just so you know, I used my own money because your little baby account wouldn’t cover a quarter of what I just bought. Secondly, anyone else would be thanking me for the charity work I’m about to do for you.” Then she turned back around and lifted her chin.
8
Shine’s Quirks
Nara was in her element. Shine’s rudeness didn’t even make a dent in her good mood. Inside the apartment, her hands pressed against each other, her fingers gently tapping her mouth as she took in the space. She could already see it. All she had to do was put everything in its place. Shine was being a typical non-visionary type. He couldn’t see what this small place could be.
“I thought you were going to order food,” Shine said, standing beside her. They were in his room. The pods were scattered all over the floor, the bed, and the dresser. A few hovered outside. Nara needed to get started.
“I did order food. It’s in there, and I will get to it when I see it. But first…” She pointed at the couch and said, “If you sit there, I should be able to get from the bedroom to the kitchen without setting off the proximity alert.”
He looked at the couch and then back at her. “You don’t want my help?”
She chuckled and tapped his upper arm. To her surprise, it was rather firm…as in muscle, not bone. Aside from that awareness, she told him, “It will go so much better without you. And I mean that honestly, not to be mean.”
His mouth twitched. “I’m glad to hear it. No point in being mean if you don’t have to be, right?”
“Exactly.” He was starting to get it. She patted his arm again, getting in a quick squeeze. He was stronger than he appeared.
Shine gave her a look that said he
knew she’d noticed him, but otherwise, he didn’t comment.
“You’re stronger than you look.”
His lip twitched before he responded, “Is this your way of asking me to pick up the heavy pods?”
“No, it was my way of complimenting you.”
Shine didn’t know how to respond to that. He didn’t realize how comfortable he was with the back and forth they had until she took it away.
Nara drew a single finger down his chest and said, “Had I known a compliment would end in your silence, I would have done it days ago.”
“I didn’t know you days ago,” he corrected her, forcing himself to ignore her touch. Except he couldn’t disregard it because it tingled all the way down to his stomach, where his blood began to pool, and his sex started to swell.
Her eyes shined as she looked up at him. “I’ll make you a deal, Night Demon…”
Shine felt those words. Fighting a smile, he said, “I’m listening.”
“I’ll decorate your apartment for free, and all you have to do is stay out of my way and not make a single comment about anything I do. Deal?”
Shine didn’t know what kind of deal he’d expected, but that wasn’t it. Clearing his throat and hoping she didn’t notice how his pants tented slightly, he told her, “I have to say, I’m impressed. Most people don’t know that all deals begin with the best, and then if the customer declines, the deals get progressively worse. You started with a convincing offer.”
“Is that a yes?” Nara’s finger continued swirling on his chest.
“It’s my apartment, and I won’t refrain from commenting on anything. So, I’m going to have to decline your offer.” Shine grabbed her hand because it was starting to feel too good. “But I have a counter-offer.”
She looked at his hand, but responded, “By all means…”
Moving her hand, he opened her fingers and rubbed her palm with his thumb, doing back to her what she had done to him. And from the way her eyes watched, captivated, he knew it was working. “Here’s my deal. I’ll let you do whatever you want to my apartment if you tell me what Karr has you working on.”
