Dae became mute as Iya’s conversational efforts to bring her into the discussion began to run out of steam. Dae gave her some non-committal noises and a few shrugs as they made their way towards campus.
Thank the Gods he caught up to them after the train ride. Dae would have lost her shit if they were trapped in a steel box together with no escape.
Like you haven’t lost it already.
Iya could tell Dae was trying her best to ignore Koda. The man was becoming Dae’s shadow through the whole walk. It was cute. It would have been cuter if Dae hadn’t been trying to escape him like he had malaria. All the while, he kept up the conversation. Dae could have at least put some effort into it. Iya decided she needed to shock Dae back into the conversation.
“So Dae, what is the problem with electrical enjoyment?”
Dae paled for an instant before she shrugged. Iya could see the twitch of her lips as Dae said, “There’s not a problem per se.”
Iya thought Dae was daring her to say more, so she accepted the dare with a smile. This was going to get much more interesting before it was over.
“Re-e-e-ally, there’s not a problem with vibrator Vinnie?” Iya asked innocently. Koda froze in his shadow pursuit, his attention completely focused on Dae. Dae didn’t even look embarrassed.
“Nope, he’s fine but not fine for me.”
“So what would you prefer then?” Iya challenged her usually prudish friend. Koda started choking. Dae fought to hide her grin.
“I’d prefer some guys fingers or his mouth or his–”
Koda growled low, interrupting Dae.
“Did he just growl?” Iya asked, shocked.
“Yup, didn’t anyone ever tell you that all men are animals?” Dae shook her head in faux disappointment. Dae even tsk-tsk’ed him.
“Should you both really be talking about this?” Koda said, looking very irritated.
“Talking about what, getting off? Please tell me you’re not going to pretend you haven’t ever manned the structure before.” Dae said sarcastically.
“Manned the what?” Iya asked confused.
Koda stood silent, in some kind of frozen shock as Dae rattled on with “Relieved the pitcher, hunted the prose, blessed the meat, produced the current, choked the–”
“Ok Dae, I get it. Couldn’t you have just said ‘jack off’? It would have been clearer and much simpler.”
“Yes, but I have such a way with words.” Dae grinned before she turned on Koda’s frozen form, “So, are you going to pretend you’re above jacking off? Are you just a big Sasquatch sized prude?” Dae teased.
He looked absolutely serious as he said, “No, I’m not going to pretend anything. Are you two sure you should be taking about this… out in public?”
That was probably why Dae and Iya busted out laughing. And when he growled again, it only made them laugh harder.
“Are we supposed to go in the house, close all of our windows and lock the doors first? Only talk about sex in hushed whispers in fear of the puritans pining a scarlet letter to our dresses? I mean really, Koda, get in the 21st century, or at least in the end of the 20th.”
He grumbled something unintelligible that Dae barely deciphered as ‘modern women’.
Dae and Iya both resumed their conversation with Koda trailing behind them. It shouldn’t matter that the only reason Dae continued this conversation was because it made Koda get so angry he was animalistic. Something about that man made her want to push him. Dae and the her that wasn’t her wanted him fierce and savage and she just couldn’t help indulging her selves.
Yup, she definitely lost her shit.
“So isn’t it customary to name my own vibrator?”
“What, you don’t like Vinnie?” Iya asked, watching for Koda’s obvious disapproval of their conversation.
“No, not really. I couldn’t see me moaning ‘oh Vinnie’–”
Koda growled menacingly again and Dae and Iya both laughed. It was too much fun teasing the man. Iya knew he was lusting after Dae and Dae was trying to ignore it, hoping he would get bored. Iya wanted to tell Dae that it wasn’t going to happen but decided not to bother.
There were some things her friend, her only remaining family in this world, needed to learn by herself. The first was that Dae was not an island. She couldn’t get by in life by herself. People need people. End of story.
The second was that Dae needed to get laid. Bad. It might do wonders for Dae’s vast hate of the entire world and it might not. But Dae needed to do something to relax. People weren’t built to fight every minute of every day as much as Dae tried to. Some things happened whether you wanted them to or not; something’s were fated to change. God only gives you what you need… And Dae needed someone like Koda, even if just for a bed mate. Iya guessed he was the only man thick enough to enjoy the challenge of breaking through Dae’s armor. And as hard as Iya knew Dae would fight her attraction to him, resistance was futile.
*Inevitable…*
Iya’s stupid-sense was tingling; the usual whispering almost a shout.
There was much Iya wished her stupid-sense would elaborate on… Was it inevitable for Dae to fight her attraction to the Sasquatch or was it futile resistance because the Sasquatch was inevitable? That’s why Iya called it her stupid-sense. Most of the time was just that: really stupid.
Eight
Marcus and a few of his –as Dae called them– ‘fake brethren’ walked towards the trio and Koda stepped out from behind to hover closer to Dae.
“Ladies, looking as lovely as ever.” Marcus said as he approached. Dae frowned at him while Iya smiled her ‘come hither’ smile. It worked. Marcus was at her side in an instant, lifting her hand to his mouth.
Maybe Dae should warn Iya about the transfer of communicable diseases via the handling of human feces…
Unfortunately, Dae had agreed to deal with Iya’s Marcus fixation, which meant if she told Iya she had just allowed a big piece of human shit touch her hand, there was going to be an argument.
Gods, Dae couldn’t stand to be near Marcus’s treacherous ass. She felt like she might get a rash from being in his vicinity. Or a headache from his odor. Marcus was so slimy even the large amounts of expensive cologne he wore couldn’t hide his stench.
Dae thought she knew his game but she could do no more than she’d already done for Iya. After 4 months of berating the loser so he’d leave her friend alone, he’d still stuck around.
So, for the moment, Dae decided to be somewhat civil. It was a hard decision to stick by but Dae actually didn’t want to make things more difficult for Iya. If Iya got Marcus out of her system then it would be a good thing.
And Dae could stop insulting Marcus if he didn’t speak to her, right?
Dae nodded in acknowledgement when he looked at her, waiting for her to start spewing insults. He couldn’t have looked more shocked if Dae suddenly announced she was really Hannah Montana in disguise.
Marcus’s eyes grew wide as Koda cleared his throat in her damn ear. She felt the heat of him prickling all over her backside as if he was… It was then Dae noticed that Koda had fixated himself to her like clothing, hovering around her with his massive form. And he looked angry as he stared at Marcus.
She moved forward. What a freaking weirdo.
Look who’s talking. Not the movie.
“Marcus, this is Koda. Koda, this is Marcus.” Iya introduced the men, breaking Dae from her internal musings.
“What’s up?” Marcus extended his hand to shake but one good look at Koda’s face quickly had him withdrawing it. It was either that or lose the appendage.
Koda opted to nod in acknowledgment rather than beat the evil manipulating bastard to a pulp. Koda’s sensed the blackness of his heart and if he couldn’t have, he would have scented the deception that clung to him like second skin.
He wondered why Dae didn’t warn her friend.
“Shit, even I got better manners than this guy.” Dae jerked her thumb towards Koda. Then she
realized he was a hairsbreadth away from her body. Again.
How had she not noticed that?
“Stop crowding me.” Dae moved away only to have him move with her. “Dammit it’s called personal space!” Dae snarled at him.
Iya smiled tightly as she said, “Dae, it does look like somebody got you beat on rude.” Iya laid much emphasis on the ‘rude’ to catch Koda’s attention but he was completely sidetracked with stalking Dae like a gazelle.
“Personal space is relative.” Koda said with a grin. It looked like they were dancing, each of them moving fluidly around each other. And Iya thought it was so cute!
“Cut it out Sasquatch, before I decide to make you the lone eunuch of your kind.”
“Ooh, scary threats from the one who’s running away.” Koda taunted as Dae tried to duck behind Iya. Iya was not getting between those two; she moved to wrap herself around Marcus who was watching in obvious amusement. Just like Iya guessed, Dae saw her hugging Marcus and swiftly moved away from them.
“I am not running away!” Dae spat out from clenched teeth.
“Oh, yes you are. Do I make you nervous?” Koda had cornered Dae and Dae looked very much like a deer in the headlights.
“No, you make me wish the Sasquatch population knew about abortion!”
Iya and Marcus’s laughter snapped Dae out of her poorly executed escape. It broke Koda’s focused pursuit as well. He gave Marcus a gimlet glare that would have scared a trained assassin.
“And what’s so damned funny?” Dae asked with narrowed eyes.
Iya was still smiling. “Nothing at all, Dae. Marcus is going to walk me to the library so I can return some books. I’ll see you in class.”
“Wait a minute! It’s not safe with…” Dae looked to Marcus who was eyeing Koda as if he was challenging him. Stupid has a first name; it’s spelled M-a-r-c-u-s. “You know who may be around.”
“Don’t worry, Marcus won’t let me out of his sight. He’s ok with watching my back.” She said with a wink. Ughh, it was just like Iya to think with her hormones.
Marcus sobered up from the worlds stupidest stare contest. “And what a lovely back it is.”
Iya and Marcus began making their way to the library. Dae felt her lip curl as Iya shouted back, “Watch her Sasquatch. I am not an enemy you want to make.”
Koda didn’t doubt it. He was not trying to get on that half-and-half’s bad side if he could help it. He was sure she was Nephilim, but he didn’t know if she was on the Light side or the Dark. He really didn’t want to find out. The Fallen and the Nephilim did not like shifters. And he knew those guys were hard to kill. He had no experience to speak from but this half-and-half was his mate’s Tribe, so he would try not to piss her off.
Sweet she may look but Iya had a temper that nearly matched his mate’s. Those two were a strange pair and he didn’t doubt for a second Iya would hand him his ass if he got out of line.
Speaking of ass handing, Dae turned to him, her lip still curled. Her teeth, there was something–
“Did you just agree to be my babysitter?”
Dae looked so sexy with that angry flush in her cheeks. He realized he still hadn’t replied, lost in his fantasies of what else he could do to make her flush like that, when her pupils started dilating.
“Yes, I did. I hope you’re not going to have a temper tantrum. Then you’ll be stuck in a time out for 10 minutes.”
Dae opened her mouth and a growl reverberated through her chest. The growl seemed to express without words how she felt. She liked it. Koda paused, eyed widening, as it escaped her mouth.
Dae turned and headed for class with him right on her heels. She was going to get Iya, oh was that girl in for it!
“Come on, don’t you want to know what the punishment is of you’re a bad girl?”
Dae snorted, “Only in your dreams Sasquatch.”
Or hers…
Dae mentally slapped herself. She was not going down that road. She was going to get rid of him if it was the last thing she did. That was the road to salvation. She was fighting herself, her crazy self and her body’s protests that she be more Sinner than Saint.
They were by the Thibodaux building, which Dae knew like the back of her hand.
Dae made a detour inside which was strictly out of character. Her art history class was in Palmers just past the freshman dorms so she had no reason to be in the Thibodaux building. This building was the most populated building on campus and Dae hated crowds. The only reason she was familiar with it was because of the bridge no one used…
Dae felt more than she heard the Sasquatch a few feet behind her, already getting more distance between them due to his monstrous build preventing him the ease she was afforded with her smaller frame to weave through the crowd. That was exactly what Dae was counting on.
Dae reached the stairs and took them two at a time. The other students watched her move through them as easily as sand in the wind. Dae was nothing if not agile. And the Sasquatch was just burly, careful and stupid, stupid, stupid.
Dae glanced back at the top step of the first flight to see him by the door moving from the middle of the crowded long hallway. He looked angry. Instead of plowing through the crowd, he was trying not to push anyone in his pursuit.
What a loser, Dae thought with a grin. She hoped he caught sight of her grin too. Once she went to the fourth floor, she ran past the crowds who instinctively moved away from her path.
Smart people.
She would have plowed into anyone of them if they didn’t. She reached the opposite stair case and jumped all the steps to the middle junction. She effortlessly landed on the balls of her feet while all the students gasped around her.
“Eat your Wheaties!” Dae said a little breathlessly. She was having so much fun she ignored the closeness of the crowd as she jumped the next set of stairs. She wasn’t worried about enemies or stalkers. All she could think was ‘he’s chasing me, wonder if he’ll catch me’ and it made her feel all tingly.
In no time at all, she was on the second floor making her way to the bridge between the Thibodaux building and Wentworth Hall. The bridge was under construction but she didn’t care. Dae pushed past the industrial plastic tarp that sealed it and made her way around the construction obstacle course. Once on the other side, she made her way to the southern exit. It just so happened to be the exit farthest away from the Thibodaux building.
Looks like the poor Sasquatch isn’t going to catch me after all, Dae thought with a grin.
Dae rounded the outside of the Wentworth Hall parking lot where there were hardly ever any people. She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when her internal shit-mometer went off. As soon as she tensed her body for the fight, she felt her arm grabbed from behind her. She whirled to face Koda and to rip his eyes out for grabbing her like that but her skin instinctively knew that it wasn’t Koda who grabbed her.
She faced some random beady eyed guy with grease slickened hair. He smelled like taint, deceit, and sulphur. The scent offended her and she didn’t know why.
Enemy, the crazy part of her growled. She opened her mouth and let the crazy part of her voice its displeasure as she yanked her arm away from his grasp.
He was surprised, by her non-humanness and her ability to speak wolf. He could smell the Tribe wolf scent now though before she only smelled human. That was odd. Guess it was why the Uktena wanted her. ‘Get your fucking hands off me’ was what she said, albeit a little discombobulated.
He growled back ‘Come quiet and you won’t be beaten for your insolence. Too severely.’
Her eyes sparkled a too familiar liquid gold until her pupils dilated fully; blacking out the gold so only the molten black was visible. Shit, she was going to shift right here in the open where anybody could see her. It did not pay to be him today. He didn’t have time for this.
Dae had no idea what that sound was that beady-eyed grease man made but she felt the gist was that this freak wanted to beat her quietly.
Nobody beat Dae quiet.
Dae snarled as she kicked him in the face. She heard his nose break and his head jerked back as his long arms tired to grab her. Bully for him because Dae was not having that.
Dae had enough of men grabbing her. This guy didn’t realize she had no compunction about spilling blood. She flung her messenger bag into his chest as she kicked him in the man jigglies. His resounding groan was music to her ears as she began to lose control.
She felt lost in her impulses. She clawed his face with her left hand as she launched herself at his throat. What she was going to do once she got there was bat-shit crazy. She was going to rip his throat out from his neck with her teeth. The her that was not her wanted to taste his blood as it spurted out until he stopped moving. Only then would that crazy part of her be satisfied.
It was a necessity that Dae didn’t try to fight against.
Dae didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing that she didn’t get that chance. Mid-leap, a warm arm pulled at her waist and flung her to the ground.
She was so not enjoying being tossed around! She jumped back up in time to see Koda beating on her attacker.
“Hey, get off him! I was doing that!” She stomped forward until she heard Koda speak, her crazy self demanding the taste of beady-eyed grease man’s blood.
“Stay back Dae, for both our sakes.” His voice sounded inhuman. It was so animalistic she couldn’t push herself forward another inch. Her crazy self calmed unexpectedly. Which was good. Probably. Nevertheless, she couldn’t leave him to his business either. He was wailing on her attacker, much like the very fashion she would have done any day before this past month.
Dae stood there, afraid for Koda if she left and afraid for Koda if she stayed. Dae shook her head trying to organize her thoughts, which felt foreign and familiar at the same time.
Lost & Found (A Lost Ones Novel Book 1) Page 12