The Shikari Box Set

by Dora Blume

“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 blankets 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.”

  “So, who can we speak to outside of the school? We don’t know who’s involved. I don’t want to take any chances in alerting the demons that we know about them. We need to eliminate them before they have any idea we know.”

  “I’ve contacted my friend, who I sent my daughters paperwork to. She doesn’t know anything beyond me wanting my daughter to attend the school. I haven’t talked to anyone about the real reason I’m going there. I don’t know who’s affected, and I want to get a lay of the land so to speak. No one knows, beyond those who came with you, and those who you informed in Denver. I know we’ve had issues with traitors in our group, so I have kept this information tight.” She glanced to Erik.

  “That’s good, I think you’re right we should check out the school before talking to anyone else.”

  “I want to go with Mike to the school. I think he’s the best choice.” She studied him.

  “That’s a good idea. You can read them, and he can get a lead on tracking. We can stay within close range of the school if anything happens. You two can go into the school without suspicion to get the information we need. Once we have an idea what’s going on inside the school, we can make decisions about how to eliminate the demons.”

  “My appointment with the dean is at ten thirty this morning. I’m ready, but I would like to learn more about the head of the school and any other prominent members. I’m heading to my study to do some research. When you gather the others, we can make a plan.”

  “Yeah, I’ll let the others know.” Erik headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs to see what was taking Jessie so long. When he walked in, he could hear the shower running and the bedroom was empty. He waited a minute in the room, but then headed for the bathroom. They had a few hours before they’d have to be ready. He carefully opened the door and slipped in. He poked his head around the curtain and said, “Would you like some company?’

  Jessie jumped and shouted, “Oh God.”

  “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He held his hand out toward Jessie, an invitation.

  “What did you think would happen, surprising someone in the shower like that?” she grabbed his hand and yanked him toward her. He was pulled into the shower clothes and all.

  “Hey!” he protested.

  “That’s for scaring me, you jerk.” She crushed her mouth to his. He responded instantly and wrapped his arms around her. She reached her hands down and began unbuttoning his pants. “Let’s get rid of these.” She pulled his pants off of him and dropped them to the floor. He stepped out and threw them on the other side of the curtain.

  “You know I don’t have a ton of clothes with me, I kinda needed these.”

  “You’ll get over it.” She began lifting his shirt over his head. “Besides, you started it.” She threw the shirt on the floor moving the curtain slightly. He lifted her and braced her against the wall. He looked into her eyes and smiled. He loved Jessie for so long he couldn’t believe they were together again. He didn’t want her to ever leave his side. He shuddered a moment at that thought. He brushed his hand down the side of her wet face. Her hair was plastered to the side, dripping. He watched as her pupils dilated when he stared into her eyes. He nipped her lip and breathed, “Oh Jess,” against her mouth. He lapped at the wet skin on her neck, kissing a trail down to her collarbone. He enjoyed the slick feeling of her skin as he hitched his hands under each thigh and braced her against the wall. He savored every swipe
of his tongue against her pale skin. Before long, he had her screaming in ecstasy He smirked as he let her legs drop back down to the shower floor.

  “What were you thinking about a moment ago?” she traced the lines on the side of his eye. “I could see the tension on your face.”

  “Oh nothing,” Erik looked away, quickly.

  “I know you better than that, Erik.”

  He looked her in the eyes, the fear returning. He wasn’t sure he could tell her the truth. Every loss he experienced, felt like a chipping away at his soul. He couldn’t lose her, too. “I’m scared of losing you.” He confessed, his eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

  “Oh babe, you’re not going to lose me.” She brushed her hand along his cheek and rested it there.

  “You don’t know that, no one ever knows that.” He looked down, unable to meet her eyes. He didn’t like to admit weakness ever, people usually used it against him.

  Jess wrapped her arms around him clutching him tighter. She rested her head on his chest. “I will do everything in my power to stay with you, I promise.”

  “I’ll hold you to that,” he tightened her arms around her and bent to place a kiss on her head.

  “We need to get back to the others,” she whispered.

  “I know, let’s just stay here a moment longer.” He embraced the feeling of this moment, together. “Caroline’s appointment with the dean is at ten thirty, so we need to make a plan,” he hesitated. “Although, this is the only place I’d rather be.” He leaned down and kissed her. “I’ll let you finish your shower.” He released her and stepped out of the shower. She turned off the water and stepped out. Erik was standing there holding a towel out for her.

  “I thought you were leaving?” she asked.

  “I changed my mind.” He wrapped the towel around her and leaned to kiss her. “I couldn’t resist seeing you naked and dripping wet.” He winked at her. “Now, I’m going to go get dressed in new clothes.” He turned and headed out of the room. He dressed and waited for Jess in the bedroom.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I just have to brush my hair. I can meet you downstairs.”