ROMANCE: The Bad Boy Meeting (26 page)

My body relaxed against the bed as I forced my eyes open. I blinked a couple times.

Both men were staring at me.

Dean pulled out of me, threw the condom in the garbage and lay down between my legs with a deep breath. Kyle lay down beside me, his hands tracing over the curves of my body gently. My fingers tangled into Dean’s hair, finding a happy home and massaging his scalp. He let out a sigh as he closed his eyes. I turned to Kyle.

My lips touched his. “Officially the best birthday present every.”  I looked from him to Dean. “Thank you both so much.”

I closed my eyes taking several deep breaths.

“You’re welcome babe.”

I rested my shoulder on Kyles. “You’re going to stay the night with us, right?”

“You want me to cuddle?” He chuckled.

I nodded.

“Well, if you think we can all fit on this bed then sure, I’ll sleep with you guys tonight.”

Good. I smiled as I lay there, two men with me. Well not really men, more like half men. One vampire- the love of my life- and the other- his best friend- a werewolf. Yup, this was going down in the books as the best birthday ever.

When I woke up the next morning I felt Kyle rolling out of bed. I gave him a quick smile as I fallowed him, Dean was still sound asleep, like he would be for the rest of the day.

I fallowed him into the kitchen. I watched as he put the coffee on. “So…” I searched for something to say but nothing came to mind. Was this going to ruin our friendship? I didn’t even think of it before. I swallowed dryly as I turned away from him and sat down at the island in the center of the room. I stole a glance up at him just in time to see him looking at something. A small piece of paper. The one that I’d taken out of my coat pocket last night. The one from the hunter.

My jaw fell open. His silence didn’t have anything to do what me, did it?

I stared at the name at the top of the card. Jessica Holds. And her number. All I had to do was dial it.

But I couldn’t. She was a hunter; she killed people like me daily. The fact of the matter was that I couldn’t stop thinking about her though. All last night, although I’d enjoyed myself with Sarah and Dean, she had been the one who was on my mind. I wanted to see her again.

Sarah moved behind me. “Is that what this is all about?”

“What?” I snapped. I wasn’t ready to admit it, not even to her. It was stupid anyways; she’d never agree to see me.

Sarah pulled the card out from my hold and padded into the living room.

I moved just far away enough for him to not able to get me. I dialed the number and hit send.

“What are you doing?” He snapped.

It rang twice before she picked up.

“Hello?” She sounded half asleep.

“Jessica? It’s Sarah.”

“Is everything okay?” She still didn’t sound awake but she sounded a hell of a lot more aware.

“Um yea, it’s just… there’s something I need to talk to you about… could you come by my place when you have the time?”

Kyle was beside me, glaring. I gave him a wide smile.

“Sure. Is it important?”

“No, no, go back to sleep and just stop by when you can. Thanks.” Before she could say anything else I hung up the phone.

Kyle waited until the cell phone was back in my pocket. “What the fuck are you doing?” He hissed.

“I want a new friend.” I said turning my back on him and heading to the kitchen. It wasn’t a total lie. It would be nice to have another girl around, but the main reason I’d called her was for Kyle, and to see if that spark I thought I’d seen last night was mutual. I was pretty sure it was.

I poured myself a coffee and glanced at the clock. It was just past noon. With the time of year and the location we’d have at least another 7 hours together before Dean woke up. I’d have to find a way to warn him about it. I force a smile over my lips as I took a sip of coffee. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The sky was cloudy and small droplets of rain ran down the window. I guess there was no swimming for me today.

Kyle made his way towards the door.

“You’re not going for a run, are you?”

“I was going to.” He snapped.

I wrinkled my nose. “Fine, but don’t bring wet dog smell into the house.” I shuddered. It was a scent I hated. And the longer I had to smell it the more I seemed to hate it.

Jessica arrived around 3:00. Kyle was still out for his run so I invited her in. I’d left a note on the door for when Dean woke up warning him that we had company, though I was sure he’d be able to figure it out himself.

“Your boyfriend in his coffin?” she asked as we padded into the kitchen.

“No, just the bed in that room.” I pointed towards the room. “Feel better now?”

She gave me a soft smile. “I have to admit I do feel a little better knowing where he is.” I returned her smile as I poured a cup of tea and handed it to her.

“I would too if I were you. It must have been hard to come here.”

“It was.”

“So why did you?” I asked as I raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?” Her cheeks turned a shade of pink. “You asked me to.”

“Is that really the reason you came over?”

“Of course, what other reason could there be?” As if magic the front door opened and Kyle stepped inside. He was in his human form but I could still smell the wet dog on him. I wrinkled my nose.

His eyes locked on her and I was sure I saw the color on her cheeks turn darker.

“I know, I know.” He turned his attention to me. “I’m going to towel off.” He padded into the bathroom. I couldn’t help but stare at his abs, his muscular chest, the tattoo on his back as he turned into his bedroom.

When I turned to face Jessica her eyes were still locked on his back. I leaned forward. “He’s got a nice butt.” I whispered. She turned to me so quickly her tea spilt on her shirt. “Oh! I’m sorry. Here, let me get you something.” I looked her up and down. “You should be my size.” I leaned towards her. “And don’t worry; he wouldn’t have heard if you agreed.” I whispered, my way of letting her know that he was out of ear shot. I padded to the bedroom, carefully opened the door and went to my suitcase. I pulled out a black cashmere sweater.

I glanced at Dean. Still sound asleep as I padded over to him, bent down and placed a kiss on his forehead. I pulled away from him and made my way to the kitchen again, making sure to close the door tightly behind me.

“Here,” I held out the sweater. “You can keep it.”

“Thanks.” Her eyes widened a little as she reached out for it. “Is this cashmere?”

“Yes.”

She slipped out of the sweater that had tea on it and slipped into mine. It fit her almost as well as it fit me.

She stepped towards me, ignoring all amount of personal space. “Thank you. And yes… maybe there was another reason for me coming here.” A look flashed across her face though I wasn’t sure what it was.

“Well,” I made my way towards the living room and motioned for her to fallow me. “There was a reason I invited you over here.”

“And that was?”

“To see if you are free.” The door to Kyle’s room opened, he stared at me wide eyed. “The fact of the matter is that Kyle, Dean and I won’t be staying around much longer, we never really do, but it gets lonely being the only girl. I was wondering if you would like to travel with us for a little while.”

“Oh… um, wow.” She stammered as she stared at me. “I’m not sure.”

“Alright. Take as long as you need to decide.” I was sure I’d have my answer soon. I turned to Kyle. “Would you mind keeping her company, I’ve got to… do something.” I stood up and padded over to the bedroom as I heard him clear his throat and begin making small talk. I grinned to myself.

Yup, they were so going to get together.

With the dark clouds in the sky it didn’t surprise me to see Dean open his eyes when I came towards the bed. He smiled. “Hello beautiful.”

“Hello handsome.” I sat down beside the bed and kissed him softly. His fingers traced over my cheek.

“You’re getting old on me.” He whispered.

I laughed softly. “You’re going to have to bite me soon.”

“Maybe.”

He’d never liked the idea of it but we both knew it had to happen sometime or else… or else this wouldn’t work.

He lifted himself into a seating position and stared at me. He pulled me up onto the bed and pulled me into a hug. “I love you so much.” He whispered.

“I love you too babe.” I held him tight as it occurred to me that something was wrong. He squeezed me gently. “Babe, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

For a vampire he was a bad liar. I raised an eyebrow.

“Really? Cause I can tell when you are lying.”

“Fine.” He looked away from me letting out a deep breath. “I didn’t like not waking up and seeing you there.”

My brow furrowed. “I’m normally not there when you wake up.” 

He still refused to look at me. “Yes but…” he trailed off. I was sure if he were not a vampire he would be blushing right now. I reached out and took his hand in mine. Although it was cold it was a touch I was used to, one that I loved more than anything else.

“But what?” I probed after he didn’t answer me for a few seconds.

“But… what we did last night isn’t something we normally do.”

I bit my lip. This was about last night? About bringing Kyle into the bedroom? I hadn’t thought for a second that Dean would show any signs of jealously over this. I squeezed his hands and waited for him to look at me before I placed a kiss on his lips.

“Babe, Kyle… you can’t…” I took a deep breath trying to compose an actual sentence. “Last night was fun and all, but you were the one I cuddled. You’re the one that I thought about as soon as I woke up. You… you’re the only person I could ever think about spending the rest of my life with Dean. I love you and that’s never going to change, not even if I sleep with someone else, or if you do.”

He stared at me trying to process my words.

And to think, I’d been laying here jealous for half an hour. Now I just felt stupid. I pulled her close to me. My lips touched her softly. “What did I do to deserve you?”

“You do put up with my crazy shit.”

I laughed softly pulling her into my arms. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath of her sent. My girlfriend. Mine.

I held her tight as she rested her head on my shoulder. “So, you’re not all jealous or anything, are you?”

“No.” It had been stupid to be jealous for even a second, but I couldn’t help it. I might not really be human still but I had emotions.

“Good.” I perked up as I pulled away from him. “Because Jessica, the hunter from last night, she’s going to be traveling with us.

By Rachel S. William

Heidi smiled as they pulled into the small town. “You weren’t kidding about it being in the middle of nowhere, were you?”

Eddie shrugged. “I did try to warn you.”

“Well, I don’t want to do the long distance relationship thing. So, hopefully your new boss likes the way I cook.” Heidi blinked and it seemed they were already past the main part of the town.

“At least he was nice enough to make a place for you. From what I understand he inherited this ranch recently, which is why he needs helping running it. Or at least an idiot city slicker who is willing to take orders.” Eddie shrugged and glanced down at the directions.

“Let’s just hope he’s not a crazy ax murderer or something,” muttered Heidi, looking around at the miles of nothing.

“I did my research honey. Don’t worry. Besides, I’ll keep you safe.”

Heidi leaned over and rest her head on his shoulder. “This’ll be good for us, I’m sure.”

Eddie put an arm around her. “Should be there pretty soon.”

“Alright.” Heidi yawned and looked out the front window.

Eddie turned down a barely paved road that turned into an even less well paved road and finally, just a track of dirt. They passed a sign giving the name of the ranch and then at last a rough stone and wood house came into view as they turned a corner.

“It’s certainly quaint,” said Heidi as they pulled up to it. “Looks like straight out of a John Wayne western.”

“Well, don’t worry too much. There’s electricity and satellite and you should be all right.” He stopped the car and leaned in to give Heidi a quick kiss.

“Afternoon,” said a gruff voice and they quickly broke apart to look.

He was tall, maybe just a bit older than them, but worn from the weather. He wore tight jeans, flannel shirt and of course a cowboy hat. Approaching the car, he seemed to be giving them a once over in return. “I’m Ethan. I take it you two are Heidi and Eddie?”

“That’s right,” said Eddie, getting out of the car and going to shake his hand.

Ethan shook in return, then shook Heidi’s hand. She felt a little spark at his touch. Probably just that his rough and tumble looks were a far cry from Eddie. If they weren’t already here, Eddie as a cowboy would be ludicrous. But they were here and Ethan was leading them inside.

It was just as cozy inside; old, worn furniture that looked like it had been here since the place was homesteaded. But there was air conditioning and a big television and she was glad to see a fairly modern kitchen. It seemed that Eddie was right. This place wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Ethan showed them around the house, including their room, then took them outside and gave them a quick tour of the parts of the ranch that were nearby. “I’ll take you out and show you more later, but for now I’m sure you’ve had a long enough drive that you’d like to just unwind.

“We would, thank you.” Eddie smiled at him, clearly taking a liking to Ethan immediately.

“I’ll be around the house,” he said.

Heidi took Eddie’s hand and they headed for the bedroom. It was actually a bit bigger than expected, clearly to give them their own space in the house. They had their own sofa and small television. There was also a gorgeous view of the distant mountains. Heidi flopped into the bed and smiled up at Eddie.

Eddie grinned and climbed in next to her, kissing Heidi gently. “Losing my job might end up being the best thing that could have happened. What do you think of Ethan?”

“He’s a character,” said Heidi. “You weren’t kidding when you called him a real cowboy.”

Eddie chuckled. “I know. He seemed pretty nice when we talked on the phone. That’s why I went ahead and took his offer. And I’m glad you’re here, Heidi.”

She smiled and kissed him back. “We’ll make this work. I know we will.”

Grinning, Eddie pulled her close and their kisses turned a bit more heated.

**

By the time they emerged from their bedroom, they could smell food cooking in the kitchen. Ethan nodded at them both as they came in. “Figured you’d want dinner and we could go over my usual schedule,” he said. “If you need any groceries, you’ll find the store in town is surprisingly well-stocked.”

“Thank you,” said Heidi, meeting his soft blue eyes.

He gave her a small smile and turned his attention to Eddie and walked him into the dining room. Heidi went into the kitchen while they talked, checking on the food on the stove and seeing what all they had. The plan was that Heidi would take care of the cooking and the house and the men would handle the ranch. Okay, it was “woman’s work” that would probably send her mother spinning in her grave, but it wasn’t the worst job she’d ever had. The house was clearly kept neat already, so it wouldn’t take too much to keep it that way. There were a few pictures scattered about, family members long gone, she assumed.

There was a back door off the kitchen and she stepped out to find a small garden growing in the protection of the house. Heidi smiled to herself; all she had to do was close her eyes and she could pretend that she was living the life of some 19th century homesteader. But with more comfortable clothes and indoor plumbing.

She walked over to inspect the garden. They’d had gardens as she’d grown up, but there’d been no place for one since she’d been out on her own. The horses watched her from their padlock. Smiling softly, Heidi went back inside and joined them for dinner, watching Ethan a bit and finding that she wanted to get to know him better.

**

The next day Eddie and Ethan rode off early to work the ranch and for Ethan to show him around, leaving Heidi with the house. She flipped on the television and worked, cleaning up a bit, minding the garden and getting supper ready. Heidi found that there was plenty to do and knew that she wouldn’t be bored here. In the late afternoon she took to exploring the grounds a bit more, coming across a trail down to a pond with a worn wooden dock and wondering about it.

“We used to go swimming in there,” said Ethan from behind her, making Heidi jump, turning and looking up at where Ethan sat on his horse. “Still could, I suppose.”

“Well, good afternoon to you, too,” said Heidi.

Ethan gave her a small smile. “I figured you’d find this sooner or later. I should really get you a map of the property. There’s lot’s of trails that run through here.”

“You grew up here, I take it?” asked Heidi.

“Yeah.” Ethan slid easily off his horse. “Only child, so I grew up with lots of farmhands as older brothers of sorts. Helped dad out. Always thought I’d go somewhere else, but, well, he needed me here so I stayed. Last couple of years it was just me and him out here. When he died, I needed someone else to help out, so that’s why I hired your boyfriend.”

“Sorry about your loss,” said Heidi sincerely.

“Thank you, ma’am. You and Eddie been together a while?” he asked.

“Yeah, three years now,” she said, turning back towards the house. Ethan led the horse as he walked by her side. “I didn’t have any kind of important job, so I didn’t mind coming out here with him at all.”

“Well if you ever get tired or bored of being out here and want to go into town, feel free to go. There isn’t much there, but at least it’s a change of scenery. The nearest city is a four hour drive.”

“How often do you go?” Heidi asked.

“The city? Maybe once a year. Had to go a lot when my Dad was sick. Brought him back here when he was terminal though, he wanted to go where he could still see the land.” Ethan looked out into the distance and Heidi lapsed into silence.

They walked back up towards the house together.

Eddie was brushing down his horse when they came back up. “Spending time with Ethan?” he asked, a note of jealousy in his voice.

“Nothing like that, Eddie.” Heidi rolled her eyes. “Just exploring the area, that’s all.” She went into the house, glancing back to see Eddie having words with Ethan. She rather hoped Eddie wouldn’t get them kicked out before they even got started. He’d never really been that jealous, but maybe it was just that it was only them out here. And she’d be lying if she said she felt nothing at all when she looked at Ethan.

By the time they made it into the house, Heidi was serving dinner. They sat tensely around the table in silence. It made Heidi want to roll her eyes at them. When they finished, Eddie went on upstairs. Heidi went to wash the dishes and Ethan came to help her.

“Don’t mind Eddie, he’s just got to get used to things,” said Heidi.

“It’s fine. New job, new environment, someone else around that he’s still getting used to.” Ethan dried the dishes as she washed.

“He’s a good guy. Didn’t have to bring me out here with him.”

“Never said he wasn’t,” said Ethan. “Why don’t you go on upstairs with him. I can finish up.”

Heidi gave a little smile. “Okay. Thank you.”

“Welcome.”

Heading upstairs, she found Eddie stretched out on the sofa, aggressively channel surfing. Heidi sat by his feet. “Do you want me to go, Eddie?”

“No,” he said and sighed, rubbing his face. “I’m sorry Heidi. Just, he’s this rugged cowboy and I’m....very much not.”

“Yeah, but I love you, Eddie. And you’ll get more rugged, I bet.”

Eddie smiled at her, sat up and leaned in for a kiss. “You keep cooking like that I’m going to end up plump is what I’m going to do.”

Heidi kissed him back. “How was the job?”

“Hard work, but I knew it would be.” He turned over his hands. “I’m gonna get blisters, probably. And I’m sore from being on a horse all day.”

Heidi kissed his forehead. “You want me to run you a bath?”

Eddie kissed her. “You don’t have to. I know you’ve been working, too. I should run a bath for you.”

“Well, we can see if there’s room for two, if  you like.”

“Sound like a plan to me.” Eddie grinned and took her hand, leading her into the bathroom.

**

Later that night, Heidi lay awake while Eddie snored softly next to her. Giving up on trying to sleep, she got up and dressed, slipping downstairs and outside. Up above the sky was heavily splashed with stars in a way she hadn’t seen in a very long time. Looking around, Heidi wondered a bit about coyotes or mountain lions, but decided a little bit of a moonlit walk wouldn’t hurt.

Heidi’s feet led her back down towards the pond. Walking to the end of the dock, she slipped off her shoes and rolled up her pants, letting her feet dangle in the water. The stars were reflected in the smooth surface and she couldn’t help her smile. It really was gorgeous out here.

Laying back, she felt the wood of the dock underneath her and listened to the sounds of frogs and insects around the edge of the pond. Everything smelled fresh, too and she lazily kicked her feet, relaxing.

The crack of a twig got her attention and she sat up quickly, looking around. Not seeing any obvious animals, she picked up her shoes and started back towards the house. From here she could see the house and a light on in the downstairs, though she couldn’t remember if it had been on when she left.

Heart beating faster, she started back up the path, wondering again if she should be concerned about wild animals. A horse whinnied and she started walking faster.

Suddenly a shape walked into the light. It took a few seconds for her to realize it was Ethan. He stayed where he was, watching her as she walked towards him, wondering if she should run.

“Out kinda later for a stroll, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Couldn’t sleep, thought I’d come out and enjoy the view,” admitted Heidi.