by S. E. Babin
A few moments later, Watson disappeared around a corner I hadn’t noticed before. I did a little hop and skip so I could catch up to him and stopped when I saw him appear in front of a giant bronzed door.
“Whoa,” I breathed. “Is this place like some kind of fairy barrow?”
In response, he offered me a disgusted look, and mumbled, “I don’t even know what that is. Get in.”
I walked in front of him into a medium-sized room. There was no ring this time, only various weight equipment scattered around the edges of the walls. There was a large mat in the middle of the room and a small cooler full of water bottles. It was also empty of other people. My heart sped up a little as Watson closed the door. This was a terrible idea. Absolutely terrible. I set my bag down and faced him.
He looked just as excited about this as I felt.
“Step to the middle of the mat.”
I did as he asked. He stripped off his long sleeved t-shirt, revealing one of those athletic wicking shirts. With the flowing dojo pants, he looked like some strange, hybrid Mr. Miyagi. Except way hotter. I swallowed as he walked over and stood in front of me.
His face was strained. “I need to test your reflexes,” he said.
“Okay,” I said dumbly, and screeched as he lifted his fist with lightning speed and threw a punch right at my nose.
He stopped an eighth of an inch away from my face. I blinked and screeched in horror. “What the hell, Watson?”
He frowned. “I gave you warning. Try it again.” He used his other hand and tried to punch me in the face, again stopping less than an inch away.
I hissed in anger at both him and myself.
“Again,” he said.
I stepped out of the way of his fist, faster than I ever imagined I could move. I blinked.
He nodded. “Good.” If he was shaken, he didn’t show it. I, on the other hand, was shaken. What the heck just happened?
“Watson.”
“Stand in front of me again. This time, I want you to defend yourself instead of stepping out of the way.”
I stepped in front of him. “Watson,” I said again.
He threw another punch and I ducked instead of defending myself.
“Block me,” he demanded.
“I don’t like your teaching style,” I retorted.
“Good,” he gritted out and threw another punch. I caught his fist in my hand, mine trembling with effort to keep him from finishing it. He would have really hit me that time.
“What is wrong with me?”
“The serum is working its way through your system.” He threw another punch and I easily sidestepped him. Watson was taking it easy on me, I suspected, but I knew it wouldn’t be long before he gave his all to me.
“You neglected to mention that side effect.”
He grimaced as he shoved me backward with both arms. I stumbled and fell, catching myself on my right wrist.
“Always expect the unexpected,” he said, and held out a hand to help me up. I slapped it away and stood on my own.
“I bet you say that to all the girls.” I circled around him warily. “What else can I expect from Daddy’s amazing serum?”
His nose flared. “Really want to know?” He reached out for a piece of hair that had fallen out of my ponytail. I slapped his hand away again.
“That would be nice.” I tucked my hair back in and continued to circle him. He stopped tracking me and stood there, allowing me to walk around him, his muscles tense and taut.
“Increased aggression, lightning-fast reflexes, changes in muscle tone, and heightened sex drive.”
I stopped walking. “Gee, that’s all?” I said after a moment. Maybe the heightened sex drive would explain my over the top reaction to him. That would make me feel better.
“Isn’t it enough?” He turned to face me. “Your father told me to train you, and I will. Other than that, I plan to stay away from you.”
My mouth opened. “Wow. Harsh.” I swallowed the hurt down and nodded. “All right then, let’s go.”
Chapter 16
The next two weeks passed in a brutal haze of classroom instruction and getting knocked on my ass by Watson. Our relationship had morphed from an uneasy, startling attraction into an uneasy, professional truce. We kept our hands to ourselves, aside from when we were smacking the crap out of each other, and parted ways each day with a polite goodbye.
It was sheer torture.
I’d seen Holmes in passing several times and even though he was adamant he wanted a relationship with me, he offered nothing more than a hurried hello and distracted answers to my questions when I could actually get him to stop to talk. Today, though, I managed to get the okay to get the heck out of this weird compound, so Cass and I were dressed to the nines about to tackle the debauchery of the world famous Sixth Street.
Parker declined to come along. His relationship with the busty brunette was hot and heavy right now so Cass had reluctantly given up on him. I tried not to notice the sidelong stares she gave him when we sat in class.
I, on the other hand, had no one interested and was interested in no one besides my father’s gruff sidekick, but I’d also reluctantly hung up my hopes. Instead, I’d immersed myself in the art of Bartitsu and street fighting and I had to admit...I was getting pretty good at it. Holmes’ serum manifested itself in different ways. My face looked longer and leaner, though I suspected that was from all the working out I’d been doing, my muscles were becoming toned and taut, and I was as horny as a teenager at a frat party.
I hated that side effect. If it was even a side effect. I wondered sometimes if it was just decidedly Watson. Jax avoided me at all costs, and when he couldn’t get away from me, he offered only a polite hello and frantically looked for a way out of conversation with me. I felt like Typhoid Mary. Cass and Parker stuck by me, but so far, those two were the extent of my social life here in Camp Time Warden.
I took the last hot roller out of my hair, flipped my head upside down, and shook it out. A few moments later, after strategically placing and adjusting some of the curls, I was ready to go.
“Holy hot Time Warden,” Cass exclaimed when I walked out of the bathroom. “You clean up well.”
I laughed self-consciously; although I had the feeling I did look pretty good tonight. “Thanks. I feel like it’s been years since I’ve been able to dress up.” There was no wall-length mirror in the room so I had to go on instinct. From Cass’ reaction, it looked like I’d nailed it. I’d put on a pair of black skinny jeans, silver jeweled sandals, and an emerald green, satin, long tunic. Topped off with a long, silver beaded necklace, I was both comfortable and chic, a deadly combo in Austin. I had eyed a pair of black patent high-heels, but knew I’d be in pain within twenty minutes of having them on, so I chose comfort over style—at least in that case.
Cass was no slouch in the looks department either. She’d also chosen to wear her long, blonde hair down in loose curls. With minimal makeup, a short, bright orange dress, and a denim jacket, she looked like an adorable college co-ed instead of a deadly killing machine.
I pitied the fool who tried to screw with us tonight. I grabbed my silver clutch off the small dresser I’d added in a week ago and opened the door. “Ready?”
Cass groaned. “You have no idea.”
I laughed as soon as I stepped outside and saw where I’d been for the last few weeks. We were living in a perfectly respectable, upper class mansion at the top of the hills overlooking Lake Travis. There was no way the house still possessed its old floor plan. He’d done something to it. I hesitated to use the word magic, since that seemed like a dirty word around him and Watson, but definitely something scientific. That house was like some weird kind of fairy mound where everything changed as soon as you got used to it. It was a good way to keep his students in line and interested...and lost every few days.
“Would you look at that?” I murmured mostly to myself.
Cass, who’d strangely never set foot outside the house
, was a little more vocal. “Whoa. Holy shit.” She poked her head back inside the door and then back outside. “Your dad is some kind of freaky weird genius.”
So far, Cass didn’t seem to care that I was one of those “freaky weird” geniuses too. The cab we called earlier pulled up in front of the house so Cass and I piled in and told the driver where to take us.
Half an hour later, we got out of the car, smiling. “Can you believe it?” I asked Cass.
She shook her head in disbelief. “I honestly thought I was going to die in that place.”
I chuckled. “Me, too. Want a drink?”
“You already know the answer to that.” She took me by the elbow and steered me inside.
One thing I’d missed while living in Holmes’ bubble was booze. I’d never seen him imbibe, so I wasn’t sure if he was a teetotaler or just intent on depriving us of everything we loved. In the dining hall, the pickings were slim. You had iced tea, water, an electrolyte balancer I didn’t touch with a ten-foot pole, or herbal tea. I normally stuck with water, albeit grudgingly, but my body was now crying out for some good ol’ American hops.
We ordered two beers and chose a table close to the stage where the band set to strike up in the next half hour. Cass groaned after she took a sip.
“Best idea ever.”
It was. As soon as I’d gotten the go ahead, I’d called Cass and begged her to go with me. It didn’t take much to twist her arm and now we were finally here, away from the day-to-day demands of school and training.
We people watched for a while, until I caught a familiar stride out of the corner of my eye. I sat up a little bit straighter and searched the crowd.
It couldn’t be him. There was no way. Unfortunately, the sea of bodies crowded together, making it difficult to distinguish anyone. I sat back in my seat and pondered. I could have sworn I’d just seen Aaron. Although I hadn’t seen him in what felt like months, he made enough of an impression on me to stick in my mind. Both of us here, at this place, during this time could not be a coincidence.
Cass noticed my distraction. “What’s up?”
I shook my head and took another sip of beer. For now, I’d let it go. He wasn’t bothering me or making any effort to come my way. I’d bet he knew I was here, though. “Thought I saw someone I knew. It’s probably nothing.”
My head disagreed with my words. It was definitely something.
Chapter 17
My mother once told me to always trust my intuition. At the time, she was in her crystal phase, meaning she walked around spouting about properties of certain stones and how they could help cure anything from a bad case of acne to a broken heart. Of course, I listened only with one ear back then, but sometimes she had astonishing moments of clarity and when I trusted her advice, it almost always paid off. This proved to be one of those times.
I tried to relax and enjoy my first night of freedom in ages, but I couldn’t. My gaze sifted through the crowd, trying to see if I could spot Aaron again or at least assure myself it wasn’t actually him. Cass and I made short bursts of small talk, but she finally got annoyed with me.
“Go. Put your mind at ease. I’ll be fine here.”
“Really?” I was itching to burst out of my seat.
Cass rolled her eyes. “Really. It’s better than sitting here watching you act like you have ants in your pants.”
I was out of my seat before she could finish her sentence and prowling through the crowd, my senses on high alert. I wasn’t carrying any weapons. We hadn’t gotten to that part of my training yet. I also didn’t think my body could be considered a deadly weapon yet, more like a semi-hazardous one. I’d manage to tag Watson a couple of times when he was teaching me to scrap, but the logical person in me thought maybe he let me have a couple of those rather than me being skilled enough to actually hit him with intent. One thing I could do, though, was dodge with the best of them. I was faster than I’d ever been, thanks to Holmes’ serum.
I mumbled, “Excuse me,” to the people I was trying to get around, and while most people were polite, some required a more direct approach. I bodily forced my through, my eyes still searching the crowd until they alighted on a blond man wearing a leather jacket. His back was turned to me, but I’d bet my left arm I was looking at Aaron.
“Crap,” I muttered under my breath and made my way over to him. He was alone, but it didn’t stop ninety percent of the women from staring at him. They were just working up the courage to go over to him. I, unfortunately, was blessed with a sense of boldness even when I shouldn’t have one, and after our unfortunate date that wasn’t a date ended up not being so private, I wasn’t scared of him anymore, especially once I knew he was on our side. Sort of, I should say. Aaron was firmly sort of on our side.
I sidled up next to him and motioned for the bartender. Aaron didn’t even blink. This told me loads more than I wanted. First, Aaron already knew I was here. Second, either I had just unwittingly walked into his trap or he needed me for something. I wasn’t sure which was the correct assumption.
“Of all the bars in all the places,” I said lightly after ordering another beer from the bartender.
Aaron’s eyes crinkled, but he still faced the bar. “It’s nice to see you again, Penelope.”
“Is it?” I said. “Last time we saw each other guns were drawn, words were said, feelings were hurt. It didn’t seem like all that good of a time to me.”
Aaron shrugged as if it were merely a blip. Maybe for him it was, but I’d never been involved in a situation where my life had been in danger.
“You’re still here.”
I took a swig of my beer. “And for that, the world is a much better place.”
He swung his stool around to face me. “I wish it wouldn’t have ended like it had.” His green eyes seemed earnest, but I didn’t trust him as far as I could throw him, even if we were on the same side.
I wouldn’t give him an inch. “If it hadn’t ended like it did, I would be in jail, wouldn’t I?”
He at least had the grace to blush. “Again, my apologies.” He stared at me curiously. “Who are you anyway? I can name on one hand the number of First Level Wardens out there, and you aren’t one of them.”
He was going to love this. “I’m Holmes’ daughter.”
His eyebrows went up to his hairline. “Seriously?” Aaron’s eyes narrowed as he scrutinized my face. “I’ll be damned,” he said after a moment when it became clear to him there was a definite familial resemblance. “I should have seen it.”
“I didn’t know until a few weeks ago.” Silence fell between us. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it didn’t have the feel of companionship. It was a silence filled with unanswered questions. I finally couldn’t take it anymore and dove in. “Why are you here anyway?”
He nodded his head in a barely perceptible motion. “There’s a woman over there.”
My gaze flicked in the direction he’d nodded to. A blonde woman sat there with a gaggle of under dressed friends. She looked harmless, if a little ditzy, from what I could tell.
“What about her?” I murmured.
Aaron fiddled with the glass tumbler in his hand. “In a few minutes, a well-dressed, twenty-something year old man is going to walk in and be completely taken by her.”
I still didn’t see the problem. “And?”
Aaron laughed. “You are green to this entire thing, aren’t you?”
The blush crept up my cheeks. “Six weeks ago, I was mindlessly typing invoices into my company’s database and ordering Chinese food for one, so yes, I’m quite clueless.”
Aaron laughed. “Watch and learn. This twenty-something man about to walk in is married to a woman named Eleanor. It’s quite an old-fashioned name, but if things go the way they’re supposed to, her husband should come home tonight after having one too many, make mad, passionate, monkey love to her, and within four weeks, Eleanor will be carrying one of the most influential female presidents our country has ever seen.”
&nbs
p; “Monkey love?” I snorted with laughter.
He turned the full wattage of his intense green gaze on me. “Have you ever heard of a Bonobo?”
I shook my head, sensing this abrupt change in topic was going to take us nowhere good.
He leaned in closer. “The Bonobo is an endangered ape and one of the only animal species to engage in face-to-face sexual intercourse.”
I could feel my face rapidly heating and my skin breaking out into a cold sweat.
A slow smile curved over his face. “Female Bonobos have such a large clitoris, it waggles when she walks. Scientists believe it offers the female maximum stimulation during intercourse.” His arm curved around the back of my neck and his fingers curled through the back of my hair.
My breath hitched in my throat.
“They’ve been observed rubbing their clitorises together rapidly, followed by grinding and shrieking.” He continued as he pulled me closer. “So, yes, tonight, if things go according to plan, one Eleanor Hall is going to be screaming her head off and hopefully engaging in a proper amount of clitoral stimulation and face-to-face sexual intercourse. So, tell me, Penelope,” his face was inches from mine now, “have you ever participated in wild, monkey love-making?”
I wanted to be disgusted. Endangered apes were never a topic of conversation I thought I’d ever find sexy, but Aaron could probably read me the California Penal Code and I’d find myself hot and bothered.
Instead, I swallowed hard. “It must be hard having a waggling clitoris. I’d probably never get any work done.”
Aaron burst into laughter and placed his forehead against mine. “I can’t believe you’re related to Holmes, but I like you anyway.” His hand was still curled in my hair.
“What about this blonde?” I sat straighter, extricating myself from him before I made the mistake of throwing myself on him in public.
“Ah, yes,” he said, offering me a regretful smile. “Perhaps we can continue this educational conversation at a later time. Forgive me for getting carried away.”
