A Fox's Love (American Kitsune Book 1) (9 page)

Lilian was standing there, wearing one of his overly large t-shirts and nothing else. Her little toes wiggled cutely against the cool tile as she hummed a soft tune to herself. Slender calves and shapely thighs made themselves present as the shirt she had decided to wear just barely covered her shapely rear much less her legs.

It was a sight that Kevin doubted even Eric would ever be able to come up with in his wildest, most perverted dreams. Just looking at this stunning example of a female, standing there in his kitchen, wearing one of his shirts was nearly enough to nearly force his mind go catatonic again.

It didn't help that her tail was out and kept swaying back and forth like a pendulum, forcing the shirt to rise and show off more of her small, tight and shapely rear end than was already being revealed. Really, it was like the dang thing was purposefully doing that because it knew he was watching.

"How was your shower, beloved?" Kevin started with the realization that she was actually talking to him. His mind quickly tried to think of something, anything to say.

"Uh.... fine, I guess..."

Well, it wasn't the smoothest, most sophisticated of answers, especially when speaking to a girl like Lilian, but at least he was talking. It was certainly an improvement over his previously tongue tied state.

And at least he didn't pass out again. That would just be embarrassing. Not to mention hilarious.

"Breakfast is almost ready," she said with a smile as she turned back to the stove. "Why don't you sit down at the table and I'll bring it over soon."

It was only after she finished speaking that he realized the smell was actually because this girl was cooking. No. Not just cooking. She was cooking for him. Kevin didn't know whether he should feel embarrassed that some girl he had just met was making him breakfast, or warm and fuzzy for that very same reason. Really, this whole situation was just too confusing.

"Okay."

Unable to do much else, Kevin did exactly as Lilian asked and sat down at the small table next to the wall that separated the dining room from the kitchen. As he did, his eyes could not help but stare at the girl who was humming away while she cooked, using the fork to lift what looked like the edge of cooked eggs.

Was this really happening? Was there really a Kitsune ― a creature he hadn't even believed existed until just last night, standing in his kitchen, cooking him breakfast,
while
wearing nothing more than one of his shirts? This had to be some kind of dream. That was it. None of this was real. He would just pinch himself and he would wake up and be back in his bed and none of this would have ever happened.

"Ouch!"

"Are you okay, beloved?" Lilian turned from her cooking to give him a concerned look.

"Ah... I'm fine," Kevin's ears turned pink as he rubbed the small nail marks on his arm. Lilian looked at him for a moment longer before turning away to finish cooking.

Kevin sighed. This definitely was not a dream. Which meant, of course, that everything happening to him was real. He had really found a small two tailed fox, brought her home and bandaged her injuries. That fox really was a Kitsune, a creature of ancient Japanese Myth, and she really had proclaimed her love for him the night before and was now making him breakfast. There was so much going on that shouldn't be possible that Kevin didn't know what to think.

It was probably better to just not think at all. Don't think about it, Kevin. Just don't think about it.

"Here you go."

Not thinking about his impossible situation was going to be impossible with Lilian here.

"Thank you," Kevin mumbled as a plate was put in front of him. For a good several seconds, he found himself staring at the food like it was some kind of foreign entity. How long had it actually been since he had not been forced to make his own breakfast (and lunch and dinner)? A year? Two? Something like that.

He had to admit, the breakfast looked really good. It was an omelet that had been folded around spinach and various chopped vegetables; carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and asparagus. A glance towards the sink confirmed that Lilian had chopped them just a little while ago. The cutting board was sitting on the drying cloth, having already been washed sometime while he been in the shower or getting dressed.

"Is something wrong with the food?"

"No," Kevin shook his head. "I was just thinking about something."

Not sure of what else he should do and not wanting to look like a jerk after this girl had gone through the trouble of making breakfast for him, Kevin grabbed a fork and cut a portion of the omelet so that he could stab it and stick it in his mouth. As he chewed the food, Lilian sat herself on the other side of the table, placed her elbows on the wood, propped her chin on the butt of her hands and watched him.

Heat began rising to Kevin's cheeks as he felt her eyes boring into him, piercing him, stripping him,
devouring
him. It was unsettling, extremely so. Kevin wanted to say something, if for no other reason than to make this girl stop staring at him with those bright green eyes that looked like they were about ready to take his chastity, but he couldn't. His vocal chords weren't working. Even if they were, he was not entirely sure what he would say.

Was this how all those girls Eric stared at felt? No wonder they disliked him so much.

"So how is it?" Kevin started at the sound of Lilian's voice. He looked up from his plate to see the red head smiling at him. For some reason, her expression reminded him of a child. It was very innocent despite the feelings her eyes gave him as they bore into his own. He could just picture her feet swinging childishly underneath the table as she watched something she felt was interesting.

"It's good," Kevin admitted after swallowing. "Really good, actually. Better than any breakfast I've ever made."

Kevin was a simple guy who preferred making simple foods. He didn't like the hassle that came from trying to make anything too complicated. It just took more time and effort than it was worth. His breakfast usually just consisted of plain old scrambled eggs and bacon. Sometimes if he wanted to eat something different, he would make pancakes, but that was about it.

"I'm glad to hear that," Lilian's shoulders relaxed significantly as she released a large gust of air. It was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "I don't cook omelet's very often, or at all really, though I was taught how. Usually, our maid is the one cooking for us."

"You have a maid?" So this girl was, like, super rich or something? Only the rich could afford a real life maid. Not even the spoiled brats in those large houses could afford their own maid. Someone to clean for them? Yes. But a full time maid that would wait on them hand and foot? No.

At least, not unless they wanted to get rid of those $120,000+ cars that cost an extra $10,000 to $15,000 a year to maintain.

"Well, I guess servant would be more appropriate," Lilian said thoughtfully as she looked up at the ceiling. "Kotohime pledged herself to our family sometime around 150 years ago." Hearing this caused Kevin to nearly choke on his food. "I don't know much about what happened during that time. I was just a vixen back then."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Kevin looked at the girl in shock. "What do you mean 150 years ago? Do you mean to tell me that you have a maid who's over 150 years old?" That was freaking ancient! Not even Gandhi lived to be that old!

"Of course," Lilian looked very confused for a second before her eyes lit in understanding. "Ah, right. I forgot that you humans are very short lived." Her back straightened and she looked at him, a single finger pointed towards the ceiling as she raised her arm; she looked like a teacher who was about to go into a lecture. "To sum it up, Kitsune live a lot longer than humans do." She tilted her head to the left. "Kotohime has 3 tails, so she's older than 300, but younger than 400." She pressed a finger to her lips and tapped it. "I don't know exactly how old she is, though." She shrugged. "I never asked."

Kevin bit his lower lip and furrowed his brows in thought as he processed the information he was just given. "So Kitsune gain a tail every 100 years then?"

"Yes," Lilian nodded. "We first start off with just one tail, that's when we're still just plain old foxes. After our hundredth year we gain our second tail and a human form."

"Oh," Kevin blinked, "That makes sense, I guess." He frowned as he looked at the girl in front of him. "But what about you? Since you have a human form, that means you should have two tails, but I only see one." He was curious to know how old she was, but knew better than to ask. It was one of the bits of wisdom his mom had given him. Never ask a woman her age.

"I do," Lilian chirped. "Like most Kitsune, I usually only keep one of them out. We don't really like the feeling of our tails being completely hidden, because our tails is where the essence of our power are stored.” She looked at him, a strange glint in her eyes. “Would you like me to bring out my second tail?"

"Ah, no," Kevin shook his head, "That's alriiiiiiighhttt! What the heck!?" Kevin's shocked squeak was precluded by the feeling of something wrapping around his legs. After banging his knees on the underside of the table when he jumped out of his seat, Kevin looked down, his eyes blinking several times as he tried to associate what he was seeing with reality.

There, wrapped around his legs, were two furry, bright red fox tails. They were surprisingly soft and warm, but he was more focused on the fact that there were two fox tails wrapped around his legs!

"Did I mention they could extend to over a meter in length?" Lilian asked innocently. Too innocently. Kevin narrowed his eyes. It looked like those stories about Kitsune being pranksters might hold some merit after all.

Trying to ignore the girl who had retracted her tails, Kevin ate in silence. It was hard with her watching him, but he made do and did his best to ignore her. When he finished, he cast a glace at the small clock on the stove, his eyes widening as he saw what time it was.

"Oh crap!" He swore as he bolted from his chair and made a mad dash towards his room. Acting with all the haste of someone who had a horde of Orcs on his tail (or some other manner of dangerous and ugly fantasy monster), Kevin shoved all of his binders and homework into his bag with little regard to whether any of it got crushed or not. He soon came barreling back out and hurried towards the door.

He skidded to a stop, however, when he saw Lilian standing in front of the door that would allow him to leave. She was looking at him, hands clasped together in front of her. Kevin nearly lost it when he saw how poorly the shirt actually hid her breasts as they were pressed together.

"Leaving?"

"Uh..." Only the knowledge that he was running late allowed his mind to properly reboot. "Yeah... I have school... so..."

"That's right, I forgot that you went to school," Lilian perked up, literally. Her slightly drooping fox ears actually quivered before standing straight up on her head. It was such a cute gesture that Kevin only managed to stop himself from squealing like some kind of yaoi fan-boy and reaching out to caress them by reminding himself that Lilian wasn't actually a fox, but a Kitsune, and that there was no telling what she would do if he caressed her ears. "I've never been to school before. My mother always home schooled us."

"Ah, I, I see," Kevin tried to steer this conversation back on course so he could finish it quickly. "Listen, I have to go or I'll be late... er! Later than I already am. You can stay here for as long as you want, I guess." It wasn't like he could in good conscious kick her out. Not unless he wanted to be guilt ridden for several months. "Just, um... try not to break anything. Oh! And don't go into my mom's bedroom."

"Don't worry about me, Beloved," Kevin's cheeks flushed at her apparent pet-name for him. A tad slow on the uptake, wasn't he? "I'll be fine. You go to school. I'll wait for you here." Saying this, the red haired beauty closed the distance between them, leaned up on her toes (she was several inches shorter than Kevin), and pressed her lips to his in a quick kiss.

Kevin's eyes widened as he felt her warm, soft and slightly moist lips glide over his own. Even though it was just a small peck, it was still enough that Kevin felt a jolt run through him, like lightning was coursing unhindered through his body at the contact. He could not help but compare Lilian's lips to the finest satin as they gently ghosted over his own in an ephemeral kiss.

Of course, this is Kevin we're talking about, so all these thoughts would not come to him until later. Much later. Right now, his mind had pretty much short circuited.

"Beloved?" Kevin blinked. Lilian stared at him in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Ah... Ah..." Kevin's mind recovered with admirable speed. Admirable for him, at least. "Yes..." he mumbled. "I'm fine. It's just..." he trailed off, feeling embarrassed as he murmured something out that Lilian could not hear.

"What was that, Beloved?"

"That was... my first kiss," Kevin mumbled lowly, his head turned down so he was looking at the ground instead of Lilian. It was infinitely more interesting than the gorgeous fox girl in front of him anyways.

Yeah, right.

Lilian smiled at him, her own cheeks tinging pink.

"That was my first kiss with a male too."

"I see," Kevin stared in surprise. "That was your first... wait," he blinked several times as his mind caught up with the rest of what she said. "With a male?"