by Scarlet Dawn
Lost in my worries for how this evening was going to go, I didn’t even notice the meat was burning before me. Sniffing heavily, I glanced down and then began cursing up a storm as smoke clouded the kitchen and the open living room area. Quickly turning off the stove, I raised the windows, shoved the curtains aside, opened the blinds, and then lifted the window open. I fanned the room out the best I could, grabbing the phone and dialing the local Chinese restaurant, Super Wok, in the New Town section of Woodland Creek.
Our favorites would be delivered in less than an hour. Perfect.
I rushed into my bedroom, jumped into the shower, singing softly to myself in an effort to ignore my nerves buzzing through me like wildfire, my heart pounding rapidly. I put on my best set of black bra and panties, then a clean pair of worn jeans and a simple bubble gum pink shirt. Makeup went on next, applying just the right amount of eyeliner to make my light blue eyes really noticeable, then a quick swipe of strawberry lip-gloss. I dried my blonde, shoulder blade length hair quickly enough, still thankful it was naturally straight and thick.
I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked cute. I wasn’t a knockout beauty, but my features were small and pretty, kind of pixie-like with my own unique flare. My build was small, my assets all very normal sized for my smaller stature. It was good enough for the short notice.
The delivery gal arrived right on time, and I tipped her an extra ten spot for that. I placed the bags on the small square table I had with two matching white and black checkered chairs. I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans and peered around. The place was clean and smelled decent now. Glancing at the clock, I went to the windows and closed them, shutting the blinds and curtains again.
The knock sounded on the door about five minutes later.
Exhaling a steady breath, I unlatched all the locks and swung my door open, a cautious expression on my face…which quickly turned to a complete look of shock as Caleb entered my apartment, his own bag of Chinese take-out food—same place as where I had ordered mine—in his hand. I stood frozen for a full minute as he sat on my red leather couch, mute and proceeded to ignore me as he placed his bag on my black coffee table. As he began opening his bag, I blinked rapidly, my shock flying out my still open door and confusion—and irritation—quickly settling in.
My mouth parted and I muttered, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Caleb opened one of his containers. “I’m having dinner with you.” He shrugged a muscled shoulder. “Because I say so.”
I stared. “Because you say so?”
“Yes.”
I shook my head once. “No.”
Caleb picked a piece of chicken out, glancing at me. “Do you know this is my favorite Chinese food?”
My brows lifted high on my forehead. “Honestly? I don’t care.” I waved a quick hand at the open doorway, my other hand still on the doorknob. “You need to leave.”
Caleb hummed softly. “Actually, I shouldn’t.”
“What are you talking about?” My patience was warring thin and my nerves making my fingertips tingle.
“I’m staying. When your invited guest gets here, it would be problematic if I wasn’t here.” Caleb flicked a finger at my all-purpose closet next to my open bedroom door. “Because you have an uninvited guest.”
I stared.
Caleb chuckled quietly, his expression entirely too amused, his ice blue eyes holding on mine steadily. “Do you know there’s a Gargoyle hiding in your linen closet?”
My shoulders instantly stiffened as my gaze flew in that direction. I slammed my front door shut, and then stomped with all the frustration riding me at this ongoing intrusion. One hand on my hip, I flung the closet door open. There were days I wished I had a privacy spell on my apartment—to keep unwanted Gargoyles out of my home.
I stared. At nothing. “Quit hiding. Now.”
A quiet chuckle sounded directly in front of me, and then…Mike’s body appeared an inch away from mine, his tone bored. “You know an awful lot about us, Kennedy.”
I shrugged a shoulder, then grabbed his black shirt and jerked him out of my closet. “Get the hell out of here.” I shoved his hulking form a step toward my door, my cheeks flushing with righteous anger. “Get. Out.”
Caleb snickered around a mouthful of food. “Aren’t you curious why he’s here?”
“There’s only one reason why a man sneaks into a woman’s home and doesn’t steal anything. It’s either to rape them or kill them. And I’m betting it’s not the former.” I shoved him again toward the door. “I told you to leave.”
“Actually, I only want to talk with you,” he griped, setting his feet on the short carpet.
“You should have knocked then,” I grumbled, pushing on his back. He didn’t move. “I wouldn’t have answered.”
“Exactly,” Mike grumbled, then glanced at all the food on my table. “Who’s coming over?”
“None of your…” I grunted, pushing even harder, leaning into it, “…business.”
He didn’t even tilt. “How do you really know my brother?”
“Like I said, I dropped off a package there. We had words.” I kicked the back of his knee, and he grunted in surprise but stayed where he was. “Get out of my home!”
He turned to face me. “Isaac wouldn’t say anything about you after the meeting.”
I held his penetrating gaze. “And?”
“Well, what was your conversation about that has him acting like this?” He waved one hand at me, his expression incredulous. “He was ready to tear into Caleb today.”
Knock. Knock.
My eyes flew wide, my gaze soaring to the closed door.
I didn’t move. I had no clue what to do.
The decision was taken out of my hands.
I heard a key placed into the lock even though the door wasn’t actually locked, then a heartbeat later, the door opened into the dead silence of the room. Everyone was staring at the entrance.
Jonathan paused half inside the doorway, his eyes widening, both of his hands still on the doorknob. His startled expression swiftly turned blank as his exquisite gaze scanned the room, taking in each individual. He paused on me, promptly running up and down my frame. He gently extracted his key from the door and silently pocketed it.
Just as mutely, he finished stepping inside and shut the door soundlessly behind him.
His eyes held mine.
My mouth bobbed a few times, utterly flustered.
I waved a hand at nothing. Stood there like an idiot.
No one said a word, waiting for me to speak, even though the room was palatable with tension.
Like a damn fight would break out at any time.
All I knew was I didn’t want him to leave. “Don’t leave.” Yeah, it just blurted out. “I got dinner.”
I snapped my mouth shut. Ran my hand through my hair, glancing at my uninvited guests. I waved a hand at them. “They’re going. Right now.”
Jonathan stuffed his hands in his pockets, his black eyes still on mine.
I said it again. “Don’t leave.” I wasn’t above begging for what I wanted. “Please.”
He snorted softly, his gaze pulling from me to each of them, and then he took his hands from his pockets and strode calmly to the table and sat on a checkered chair, dwarfing the furniture as normal. He began opening the cartons of food. Not glancing up from his task, he simply asked, “What are they doing here?”
Instant. “I didn’t invite them.”
He grunted quietly, glancing at each man again before peering back to the task of peeking in cartons. “Again, what are they doing here?”
I waved a finger at the wizard on my couch. “He said he was having dinner here.” A flicked finger at the Gargoyle. “He wanted to question me more.”
Jonathan hummed softly, then cocked his head slightly, glancing around the table. “Plates?”
My feet quickly went into motion. He was staying. “I’ll get them.”
Another soft hum a
nd he peered up as I entered the kitchen, his gaze on the uninvited. “I know enough about the two of you to make your lives a living hell, so it would probably be wise to forget I was ever here.” Our relationship…not known.
Caleb instantly waved his fork, lifting his container again from the table. “You have my word I won’t speak of this.” He sat back and started eating again.
Mike chuckled softly. “I’d love to know what you have on me…hunter.”
And…they knew about him. Confirmation.
“No, you wouldn’t.” Jonathan’s smile was cool as ice. “You aren’t as smooth as you believe yourself to be.”
Mike chuckled again, but his gaze was sharp. “How long have you been in this relationship?”
“That’s not for your ears,” he muttered, taking one of the plates I handed him. As I sat down across from him with my own plate, he simply asked again, “Your silence for mine?”
Mike was quiet for a full minute as I began loading food on my plate, making sure to leave Jonathan his favorites. Then Mike muttered in exasperation, “Fine. I won’t tell of your relationship.”
My brows lifted even as I quickly rose from my seat to grab us drinks. Whatever Mike kept secret, he definitely wasn’t willing to let it be known. Caleb hadn’t seemed all that worried, but Mike’s brows were still furrowed.
Setting a beer in front of Jonathan, I placed my own glass of tea in front of my plate. My eyes widened, though, as I sat down and the entire room started to shake as a…Gargoyle’s furious roar was heard far above outside. My gaze met Mike’s eyes. I muttered, “Who else is coming?”
He growled a quiet curse. “The guards must have told him.” He tugged at his ear. “It’s Isaac.”
Wonderful. I shooed a hand at the door. “Go meet him on the roof or something. I don’t need another uninvited guest. He probably thinks you’re hurt with Caleb and Jonathan in here.” I knew, without a doubt, Jonathan hadn’t made his presence known when he had snuck in here. He wasn’t that sloppy.
Only a mere second later, my eyes widened as a silver fog filtered in through the smallest crack of one of my windowsills, creeping directly behind Mike. He stiffened and then turned abruptly, clearing his throat as the mist hovered directly in front of him. “I’m fine. I’m not hurt. I only came here to question her further.”
The silver fog floated around Mike, hovered there for another half-minute, then just as suddenly, Isaac was standing inside my living room. He was calm and collected…only wearing a pair of holey jeans and a soft white t-shirt, his feet bare.
I sighed quietly, his gaze catching mine. But I swiftly turned on my chair, back to my food. “No one hurt your brother, Mr. Mayor,” I grunted quietly, lifting an eggroll from a sack while Jonathan finally started loading his plate with his favorites. “If anything, I may have hurt my shoulder trying to push him the hell out of here.” I pointed a finger at the door. “You guys can leave that way.”
There was an extended silence.
Isaac rumbled quietly with interest, “Is that from Super Wok?”
Instantly, I grumbled, “There’s not enough for you.” Another point at the door. “Leave.”
“No worries.” Caleb snickered softly. There was a dragging sound on my coffee table. “I got you dinner, Mr. Mayor.”
I growled quietly under my breath, peering over my shoulder. Isaac was stretching his bulky arms over his head, his shirt riding up to show a portion of his flexing tan stomach muscles, his jeans riding low on his hips as he moved toward the coffee table and the carton of unopened food that Caleb had apparently brought just for him. My eyes closed against the site he was, like a hot and sweaty fuck come to life. I quickly jerked my head around, holding Jonathan’s dark gaze. “They’ll leave soon.”
He had paused eating, his chopsticks halfway to his mouth, noodles wrapped around them. He didn’t move for the longest moment, holding my gaze until his red brows furrowed the barest bit. A slow blink, then he calmly lifted the chopsticks the rest of the way to his mouth, and chewed silently, his gaze holding mine, not looking away.
The others behind us gave us some privacy as they began talking softly to one another.
My own brows started to furrow, a slight worry that I may have exuded an attraction for Isaac, but I quickly spoke to cover it, my expression turning peaceful. “How’s Lucy?”
A red brow lifted. “Still mine.”
Yes, he had taken our tiny furball of a dog—she was a mutt from the shelter—when he had left. I glanced down at my dinner, forking a small bite, being meticulously careful with it, giving myself something to study. My voice was soft as a whisper, full of misery. “That wasn’t what I asked.”
He chewed for a moment, and then glanced down at his own plate. “She’s fine.” Another half-quiet moment. “I think she misses you. She carries around that horrible leash you bought her. She doesn’t like the new one I got her.”
My lips curved the barest bit around my fork, keeping my head tucked down, trying not to show him how much this pleased me. “The leash isn’t that bad.”
He snorted, resting his elbow on the table, waving a hand in front of my lowered face in aggravation, beginning to relax a bit. “It has purple and yellow ducks on it.” Another snort, another wave of his hand. “How is she supposed to feel empowered against the bigger dogs with a damn leash like that?”
My grin couldn’t be stopped as I glanced up at him, falling into his eyes as I laughed at his irked expression. “Let me guess. You bought her a black spike leash.” He had been eyeing those one day in the pet store.
His gaze narrowed, almost playfully. A touch of himself, but not quite. “It’s a lot better than ducks.”
My lips twitched. “Quack.” When his own lips twitched at my horrible imitation of a duck, I mumbled, “So she likes ducks. It’s not a big deal.”
He pointed his chopsticks at me, leaning forward a little over the table. “She’s tiny. Those other dogs at the park could use her as a toy.”
I shook my head, my shoulders relaxing. “She’s got spunk. Plus, she’s damn fast.”
He hummed softly, his lips curving into a true smile as we stared at one another…until it faltered, cracking the barest bit. My own smile swiftly disappeared as he sat back in his chair, his expression back to being carefully guarded. My stomach plummeted as he caught himself enjoying me and put that wall back up between us. His tone was, at least, civil as he continued eating and asked, “Have you decided on a major yet?”
“No,” I answered softly and began picking at my food again. “I did get an actual regular gig, though. The flower shop hired me on part time.”
He hummed quietly. “You know, you will have to—”
“I know,” I cut him off, tossing him a glare. “Just not right now.”
He eyed me a moment. “Some things don’t change, I suppose.”
“And some things do,” I whispered, glancing back down at my food. I cleared my throat quickly, shoving my heartbreak aside, and pushed forward. “Though I did get some brochures for college.” I shrugged a shoulder, pushing my food around on my plate. “I read them, too.”
His chuckle was soft. “That’s progress.”
I glanced up into his eyes, not flinching from his penetrating gaze. “It’s kept my mind busy.” Trying not to drown in my misery. “And I still have plenty of time. I’m young enough.”
His lips pinched the barest bit, then he stated quietly and honestly, “You should know this.” His mouth thinned further, glanced once in the direction of my uninvited guests where they were chatting quietly, then back to me. My stomach rolled at what I saw in his gaze. He peered at his food, then back up, and whispered gently, “I went on a date. Two actually. With the same woman.”
My very being utterly froze. I couldn’t breathe as my fork clattered to my plate loudly.
After glancing at the people behind me, their conversation having quieted further, his gaze snapped back to mine. They ran over my face, and his wide lips thinn
ed even more so. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.” He glanced down at his food, his cheeks flushing deep red, and when he peered back at me, there was a fire in his eyes. “I didn’t fuck her.”
I sucked in a harsh lung full, the sound wheezing through my constricted lungs, not even caring that the conversation had halted behind me. I stared at his silent fury. “Will it always come back to that?” My chin had trembled the barest bit before I caught it, my heart aching so damn badly. “I can’t take it back.”
He ran a hand over his face, glanced once behind me, then literally crooked his elbow on the table and rested his forehead on his hand, half shielding his face from the others and stared down at his food. “I don’t know, Kennedy.” His tone was so quiet. So different from anything I had ever heard before from him. He sounded just as miserable as I was. “Let’s just try to make it through tonight.”
I stared a moment longer, fucking miserable as hell, and I nodded once and sat straighter on my chair, hopefully hiding him some from the uninvited behind me. “We can do that.” I lifted a hand over the table, pushing his plate toward him a bit. “Eat. We’ll watch a movie when we’re done.”
It was quiet for a few minutes at our table as we ate in silence, neither of us listening as the other four began speaking again. We just stared at our food, eating quietly. Until the discomfort began to diminish in our quiet, and we started getting seconds, both of us moving easily around each other placing the other person’s favorite on one another’s plates…a silent apology to one another for the pain we were living in. It was such a silent caring act that my heart swelled even more for him.
