Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (49 page)

               
“I'll do whatever I want.”

               
“Okay, pull the energy in a little bit,” Kayla demands softly.  “Damien
can walk me downstairs.  I have to ask him something anyway, Jackson.”

               
She exchanges a look with Jackson. He raises his finger. “Good point. 
I’ll see you downstairs.”  He gets up and walks out of the room.

               
“What do you have to ask me?” Damien inquires.

               
“I’m afraid to sleep by myself right now,” Kayla whispers, trying not to look
at him.

               
Damien doesn’t answer right away. “And you aren’t going to ask to sleep with
me, are you?”

               
“Do you think we could really keep our hands off of each other?”

               
“I could promise that I would not touch you in any sort of sexual manner, but I
have a feeling that is not what you want.”

               
With a pause, Kayla replies, “What do you
mean?”            

               
“Nothing, go ahead, sleep with Jackson.  I’m not your boyfriend and can’t
make demands.  I would think you’d
want
to sleep next to me. Maybe
I should take this as a sign.”

               
“That…is a really good point.  Then…yes…I want you to sleep with me, but
bad things will happen to your fun parts if you break the rules.”

               
Damien bursts out laughing. “All right, deal.  Let me get my pajamas on,
and I’ll meet you down there.  Are you sure about this?  Are you
positive you don’t want Jackson?”

               
Kayla’s chest tightens when she says, “No, I want you,” because she thinks it’s
what she’s supposed to want.  “I’m going to get ready.  I’ll meet you
in my room.”

               
“All right,” Damien says, leaning down to kiss her.  Kayla kisses him back
and then gets up and leaves.  She goes to her room with her heart beating
a hundred miles an hour.  Kayla grabs her pajamas and goes to Jackson’s
room.  She lightly knocks on the door.  “Jackson?”

               
It opens and he’s standing there with a grin.  “Finally ready to get your
drool on again?  Try to contain yourself and don’t rip my sheets, please.”

               
Kayla looks at him and mumbles, “I’m not staying in here tonight.”

               
All humor drains from Jackson’s face.  “He seriously won’t let you? 
I’ll wring his scrawny little neck.”

               
“No!  He…is staying with…me…tonight.”

               
Jackson just stands there, staring at her.  “Excuse me?  I think I
misheard you.”

               
“Damien is sleeping with me tonight.”

               
“He is going to try to…ugh, Kayla, seriously?”

               
“No, he won’t.  But
if
he gets out of hand, I’ll come in here and
you can beat him up,” Kayla says with a smirk.

               
Jackson narrows his eyes. “Promise.  If he tries anything, it’s free range
to punch him?”

               
“Yup, you can defend my honor.  Deal?”

               
“Deal,” Jackson agrees. “Now, go get ready.  I want to go to bed.”

               
Kayla complies and as she leaves the bathroom, she glances over to the bed
where Jackson is propped against his pillow. “Good night, Jackson.”

               
“Good night, Kayla.  I had better not see you later.”

               
“You won’t,” she whispers.  With that she walks out of his room. 
When she walks through her door, she finds Damien sitting on the bed. 
“Hey.”

               
He smiles. “Hi, beautiful, you all ready?”

               
“Yeah,” she says, slipping her clothes into the dresser. Kayla turns to him,
wringing her hands. 

               
Damien senses her hesitation. “I swear I won’t do
anything
inappropriate.”

               
“I really do know that,” Kayla says.  She walks over to the other side of
the bed and climbs under the covers.

               
He pulls the blanket back and lies down next to her.  “I’ll stay up until
I know you’re asleep.”

               
“Okay,” she whispers as she rolls over to look at him.  “Good night.”

               
“Night, beautiful.”

               
Kayla stares at him for a second and then says, “I want to kiss you.”

               
“One kiss, sweet and short, and that’s it,” Damien replies.  He gently
places his lips on hers.  When he pulls away, he says, “There, go to
sleep.”

               
“Kiss me more.”

               
Giving her a look, Damien sternly retorts, “No, go to sleep.”

               
She scoots over by him.  “I want to sleep in your arms.”

               
“That we can do.” Damien chuckles as he opens his arms.  Kayla crawls into
them and lays her head on his chest.  “Now, go to sleep.”  He kisses
the top of her head, and Kayla closes her eyes.

               
The next morning Kayla wakes up and stretches.  When she looks for Damien,
he’s gone.  She sits up and then raises her eyebrows.  “What in the
world are you doing?”

               
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Damien replies.  He is shirtless,
balancing in a headstand.

               
“Okay, wrong question,
why
are you doing that?”

               
He smiles and drops to feet.  Spinning around, he says, “Keeping that
stance is a great workout.  I usually exercise in the morning, but I
needed to be in here, so I did what I could.  You missed the one-handed
push-ups.”

               
“Now that is impressive.” Kayla giggles.  “I want to see.”

               
Shaking his head, Damien drops to the floor and repeats the exercise, switching
hands after a few push-ups.  “There,” he says, getting back up, “Anything
else you want to see?”

               
Kayla gets up on her knees, “No, that was as good of a wake-up call as I could
get.”  Damien crawls onto the bed in front of her.  He leans forward
and gently kisses her on the lips.  She quickly pulls back and covers her
mouth.  “No, I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”

               
Damien laughs. “I don’t care.  Kiss me.”

               
“I care,” Kayla says from behind her hand.  “Let me go brush my teeth.”

               
With a roll of his eyes, Damien groans. “Go, brush your teeth and come back
here so I can give you a proper good morning.”

               
“That sounded so dirty.” Kayla giggles.  “Okay, be back in a
minute.”  She scoots off the bed and runs out of the room. Jackson’s door
is shut.  “Shoot,” Kayla mumbles.  Not wanting to barge in on him,
she knocks, but there is no answer.  “Jackson!” she yells.  When he
still doesn’t respond, Kayla grimaces and opens the door.  He’s not
there.  “Jackson?” she calls out one more time.

               
“Hold on!” His voice comes from the bathroom.  The door is wide open.

               
She covers her face.  “Crap! I’m sorry.”

               
Jackson laughs as he steps into the bedroom.  “If I was doing anything, I
would shut the door.  I was in the other room…I mean, I was just doing
something.  What can I do for you?”

               
“I need to use the bathroom.  You know, I should really put my stuff in
another bathroom.  This is a little intrusive.”

               
Jackson gives her a weird look.  “No it’s not, don’t be silly.  If
I’m actually showering or using the bathroom, I’ll shut the door.” 

               
“Yeah, but I just walked into your room.  You could have been naked or
doing something I don’t even want to know about.”

               
Jackson chuckles deeply.  “I’ll change in the bathroom from now on, and I
will never be doing anything in my room that you can’t walk in on.  Deal?”

               
“Okay,” Kayla says with a curt nod.  “I still feel weird walking into your
room.”

               
“Don’t.  I promise I don’t mind,” Jackson says.  “Damien, however, is
not allowed in my room when you’re changing or taking a shower.”

               
With a smirk, Kayla replies, “But you’re allowed?”

               
Scoffing, Jackson laughs. “Of course, it’s my room.  What’s the advantage
of having a beautiful girl in it, if I can’t walk in whenever I want?”

               
“Well, you’re the only guy I want walking in on me,” Kayla says back.

               
Jackson stops and looks at her.  “You don’t want Damien to walk in on you
all naked and stuff, but me doing it is okay?”

               
“Damien would make it dirty…you would make it playful,” Kayla retorts, walking
into the bathroom.

               
He follows her.  “How would I make it playful?  I walk in on you
naked and say what, want to play hopscotch?”

               
“No, you would make me giggle and laugh about it, so I wouldn’t be
embarrassed.  You would be sweet, not dirty.”

               
“Kayla, if I walked in on you naked, there would be nothing but dirty thoughts
going through my mind.  Don’t paint me as something I’m not.  I am
insanely attracted to you.  My hands would want to be all over you and
exploring every inch of your incredible body.”

               
“Wow,” Kayla squeaks. “That was really…intimate.”

               
Putting his hands up, Jackson says, “Don’t get me wrong, I will respect you,
and I will never do anything intimate unless you ask me to, but the thoughts I
would have after seeing you in the shower would be nowhere near innocent.”

               
“But you would still make me laugh about it somehow, it’s what you do,” Kayla
replies.  “I know you a little better than you think Jackson.”

               
Jackson starts to talk but then stops.  “I guess you’re right.” He
sighs.  “I would totally make a joke out of it.”

               
“See?” she quips.  “It would be funny.”

               
“If it’s going to be funny, then I’m going to walk in on you while you’re in
the shower.  I always like to laugh.”

               
She gives him a look. “Not a chance in hell.”

               
“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Jackson quips as he turns around and walks
out of the bathroom.  “See you later, I have to get to school before I’m
late!”

               
“Bye!  Have a good day,” Kayla yells.  “I’ll miss you!”  She
starts to giggle hysterically.

               
He comes back into the bathroom a few seconds later.  “You’ll what?”

               
“I’ll miss you.  Go…go to school.”

               
“I know you will secretly be sitting here pining away for me.  You’re too
easy to read.”

               
Kayla crosses her arms. “Oh really, what am I thinking right now?”

               
With a thoughtful look, Jackson hums, “Mmmm, you’re thinking about…how you want
to rip all my clothes off and have your way with me…in the shower.”

               
“That is not even close to what I was thinking,” Kayla states, walking over to
him.  She starts to push him out of the bathroom.  “Go to school, I
have to get ready.”

               
Jackson grabs the doorframe.  “Tell me what you were thinking.”

               
“I wasn’t thinking anything, I just wanted to see what you would come up
with.  Now,
go
, go to school.”

               
He stops resisting and backs out of the bathroom.  “Please try to not get
into trouble today, okay?”

               
“I’ll do my best,” Kayla declares honestly.  “Don’t forget Tracy.”

               
“I won’t,” Jackson says.  “I’ll see you later, babe.”  He turns and
walks away.

               
Kayla catches herself checking him out.  She quickly shakes her head and
turns around to brush her teeth.  When she returns to her room, she
catches Damien doing crunches.  “Wow, I feel like I should be exercising
with you, but it’s too early in the morning for me.”

               
Damien stops his crunches and looks up at her.  “You’re perfect the way
you are.  You don’t need to do anything.”

               
She smiles in response to his compliment.  “What are we going to do
today?” she asks, walking over to him.

               
Looking up at her, he says, “What would you like to do?  We can work on
your blocking and then go on a run.”

               
“That sounds like a good idea,” Kayla chirps with a smile.  “We should eat
breakfast first.”

               
In one elegant movement, Damien is on his feet.  He grabs her and pulls
her close.  “We need a proper good morning first.”  Bending down he
kisses her softly on the lips.  Kayla kisses him back, wrapping her arms
around his neck.  It only takes a few seconds before the kisses increase
in intensity.  They stumble their way to the bed and fall down on
it.  Damien lifts her up and shoves her back a little bit.  Bending
back down, he kisses her again.

               
Kayla pulls away and gasps. “We need to stop.”

               
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…I am so sorry.  It’s just when I kiss you, I
lose myself.  It’s like I don’t have a brain all of a sudden.”

               
“All of a sudden?  I didn’t think you had a brain at any time.”

               
He starts to tickle her and she screams.  “You’re feisty this morning.”

               
“You may be book smart, but you have no common sense.”  Damien tickles her
even more and she squeals. “Stop it.”

               
Damien hovers over her. “Apologize.”

               
“Never!” she shouts.  He continues torturing her with his tickles.
 “Okay!  Okay! I give,” Kayla finally pants out.  “You’re so
mean.”

               
“I am not, I’m sweet.”

               
She meets his gaze. “You are, I know.”

               
“I want to kiss you so badly, but I won’t.  We should get up and get you
breakfast.”

               
“Shut up and kiss me,” Kayla murmurs.

               
Damien shakes his head. “No, controlling myself is becoming more difficult.”

               
“I didn’t say ravage me, I said kiss me.”

               
He looks at her carefully before bending down and kissing her.  She
responds by pulling him close. Damien runs his hand up the side of her leg and
then under her waist.  Kayla pushes herself against him.  He emits a
sigh of protest, but it doesn’t take him long to press himself against
her.  Suddenly, he pulls away.  “Enough, we can’t do this.”

               
“Yeah, we should get out of bed.”

               
“Mmhmm,” Damien agrees, crawling off of her.  He extends his hand and she
takes it.  He pulls her gently off the bed.  When Kayla stands up, he
looks at her.  “I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you are
setting my nerves on fire.”

               
Kayla smiles. “Good.”

               
“Yeah, but I’m going to need a cold shower.” Damien gulps. “A seriously cold
shower.”

               
“With me in it,” Kayla teases.

               
He gives her a look. “You are merciless.”

               
“Come on,” she giggles, grabbing his shirt.  Kayla pulls him out of her
room and down the hallway.

               
After breakfast, they sit in the living room and practice her blocking. 
She gets better and better at it.  “You’re doing well,” Damien finally
says.  “It’s becoming instinctual.”

               
“Let that jerk try it now; I’ll show him a thing or two.”

               
“Okay, one more time in Shima and then we’ll go for a run in the woods.”

               
A gong interrupts their escape to Shima.  “What in the world is that?”

               
“The doorbell; it’s probably your car.”

               
Before he can say another word, Kayla is up and running to the front
door.  She flings it open and finds an unfamiliar man staring back at her.
“Huh?”

               
“I’m looking for Kayla Hendrickson.”

               
Kayla takes a small step back. “That’s me.”

               
The guy thrusts the long box forward. “This is for you.”

               
Damien walks up behind her.  “What’s going on?”

               
“Did you send me something?”

               
He shakes his head. “No.”

               
Kayla takes the box. “Uh, who sent this?”

               
“We have no idea.  It was an online order,” the delivery driver
says.  “Have a good day.”

               
Damien takes the box from her. “Can I open this?”  Kayla nods.  When
he lifts the lid off her heart drops.  “What in the hell?” Damien
stutters.

               
Inside are a dozen red roses.  “Is this a joke?”

               
“Not at all,” Damien replies.

               
“There’s a card,” Kayla says, pulling out the little envelope.  She opens
it.  “
It’s
computer printed.” Kayla takes her
time reading the card. As the message sinks in, she starts to freak out. 
“It’s from William.  Damien, what am I going to do? He knows where I am!”

               
He drops the box on the ground and snatches the card from her.  “What!”

               
Tears start running down her face.

               
“I want to call my dad, come on.”  He kicks the box away from the
door.  Slamming the door shut, he grabs Kayla’s hand and pulls her down
the hallway.

               
“Why is he doing this?” she whimpers.