Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (69 page)

               
“I’m going to hurl,” Jackson interjects.  “Will you two shut up?”

               
“We need to find a girl to preoccupy Jackson,” Damien says, turning around to
scan the crowd.  “Then I can have my way with you in a corner.”

               
A knot forms in Kayla’s chest.  “Jackson doesn’t need a girl,” she says,
trying to be blasé.

               
“Why wouldn’t he need a girl?” Damien chirps.  “I’m taking you out on the
dance floor.  We don’t want him standing here alone, all sad and
helpless.”

               
“I don’t need your help picking up girls, Damien,” Jackson snaps.  “I
think I may go hit on the girl with the see-through dress.”

               
“No,” Kayla yells.

               
Jackson turns to her. “Why not?  Do you think I’m not attractive enough to
lure in a girl like that?”

               
“No, you’re drop-dead gorgeous, and you know it,” Kayla states seriously. 
“Go for a girl who has a little mystery and doesn’t give a free show to
everyone.”

               
“Oh, you want me to go for the girl next door type.   Someone I would
go to high school with.  I see.  And we’re going to come across sooo
many of those types here, aren’t we?
”
he says, rolling his eyes. 
“
I
may as well have a good time.  Let’s see…who to pick…who to pick.”

               
Kayla’s chest tightens as she watches him look around the club.  Damien
steps closer to her.  “Since he’s preoccupied, I’m going to take advantage
of your lips.”  He sweeps in and kisses her. It takes only a second for
her pulse to pound out of control. Kayla can barely catch her breath as they
kiss.

               
Too soon, two hands pull them apart.  “I look away for a few seconds, and
you jump each other.”

               
“We can jump each other if we want to,” Damien says, hotly.  “You’re not
our mom, Jackson.”

               
“That would be awkward,” Kayla adds.

               
Damien and Jackson face-off silently, while Kayla stands between them. She
starts to raise her hands to push them apart when Jackson suddenly stands up
and his eyes widen in shock.  “Um, Damien, we have a problem.”

               
“What’s that?” Damien asks.

               
Following Jackson’s gaze, Kayla sees a girl walking towards them.  She is
quite beautiful.  Her dress is like another layer of skin.  It’s
black with large diamonds cut out of the material to show off her body. 
She’s beautiful, and Kayla instantly dislikes her.

               
A wicked grin crosses the girl’s face.  When she gets to the table, she
purrs, “Hello, Damien.”

               
Damien immediately tenses.  “W-What are you doing here?” he stammers.

               
“I’m on vacation,” she replies, running a finger across his chest.  “The
same question goes for you.  What are you doing here?”

               
“I came to meet up with Kayla,” Damien says, brushing away her hand and putting
his arm around Kayla’s back.  “You can leave now, Natasha.”

               
A million alarms go off in Kayla’s head.  This is Damien’s
ex-girlfriend.  Natasha looks at Kayla, her eyes scraping over Kayla’s
body like knifes.  “Really,” Natasha draws out.

               
“Yeah,” Kayla retorts sharply.  “I’m Kayla, Damien’s girlfriend.”

               
Jackson and Damien both snap their eyes toward Kayla.  She just hopes
Damien goes along with it.  When she sees a grin cross his face, she smiles. 
“Yeah,” Damien says.  “This is my girlfriend, not that it’s any of your
business, Natasha.”

               
When Kayla glances at Jackson, his face is cold as stone.   She
stares at him with pleading eyes.  He looks away.

               
“I didn’t think you would have such a…normal…girlfriend,” Natasha states
slowly.

               
“I am anything but normal,” Kayla declares.

               
Damien takes Kayla’s hand and squeezes it.  Natasha snorts. “Oh really,
and tell me, what makes you special?”

               
“I am a—”

               
“Kayla, no,” Damien snaps.

               
Before she can stop herself, she finishes, “Morrae.”

               
Natasha starts to laugh.  “Oh, so the council wants Damien to be with
you.  That explains a lot.”

               
“Shut up,” Damien growls.  “It’s not even like that.”

               
“Mmhmm,” Natasha counters.  “I believe you.”

               
Glaring at her, Damien says, “I’m in love with her, which is more than I ever
felt for you when we were together.”

               
Kayla’s whole world stops as she looks at Damien.  He returns her
gaze.  “You’re what?” Natasha snaps.

               
“I’m in love with her,” Damien states again, not taking his eyes away from
Kayla’s.  “If you can even fathom what that feels like.”

               
“And are you in love with him?” Natasha asks hotly.

               
Kayla opens her mouth, but no words come out.   A security guard
rushes up to them.  “Master Damien, I need to talk to you.”

               
“Now is not the time,” Damien counters.

               
“Sir, it’s important,” the guard says.

               
Damien turns to Kayla.  “I’ll be right back.”  He leans forward and
gives her a long kiss.  His mouth finds its way to her ear. “I meant it,
”
he says.
“
And I don’t expect anything back. 
Don’t let Natasha bother you.  She is nothing to me.”  He traces his
finger across her cheek, giving her a kind look before walking away with the
security guard.

               
“I guess you’ve snagged yourself the Merjyet line,” Natasha says.  “Good
for you.  It’s a hard task.”

               
“None of that matters to me,” Kayla retorts.  “I care for Damien. I
wouldn’t care if his family name was different.”

               
Natasha smirks. “Yeah, I believe that.”

               
“It doesn’t matter what you think,” Kayla growls.  “You need to leave.”

               
“You can’t tell me what to do,” Natasha counters.

               
“I bet if I went up to security and told them you were bothering me, they would
kick you out on your skanky ass, since I’m Damien’s girlfriend and
everything.  So step off.”

               
Natasha’s jaw drops. “Watch your back,” she seethes.

               
“Are you threatening me?” Kayla snaps.  “I’ll make sure Damien knows about
that.  He doesn’t take kindly to threats, trust me.” Natasha casts her a
stony stare before she finally leaves.  Kayla exhales loudly and looks at
Jackson who is just staring at her.  “What?” she says.

               
He leans down until their faces are inches apart.  “Is this what you
want?”

               
“What do you mean?”

               
“Did you say you’re his girlfriend because you want to be or because you were
trying to get under her skin?” Jackson hisses. “Because Damien just declared
his love for you.”

               
Kayla looks at him, and tries not to express the doubt that she feels. 
“No, I want to.  He loves me.”

               
“Do you love him?” Jackson counters hotly, looking her dead in the
eyes.               

               
“I don’t know, I don’t know what love feels like.”

               
“Remember you want every moment with him to take your breath away and every
second apart serves as a painful reminder that part of you is missing.” 
Jackson pauses and looks deep into her eyes.  “Your every thought is
consumed with what he’s doing and what he’s thinking and you don’t know how in
the world you survived a second of your life without him.  Is that what he
does for you?”

               
Kayla doesn’t know how to answer him because she knows she’s conflicted. 
“A little,” she finally replies. “I don’t know if I’m in love with him, but I
think I do love him in ways.”

               
Jackson looks away.  “I guess that settles that.”

               
“What does it settle?” Kayla asks.  “I am allowed to be with someone who
loves me, right?”

               
Jackson stares out into the crowd, the muscle in his jaw tensing. “Yeah, you
are.”

               
Damien returns unexpectedly.  “Oh good, she’s gone.  I’m really sorry
about that, baby.”

               
“That’s all right.  I told her I would have security kick her out of
here,” Kayla quips back.

               
Damien bursts out laughing. “That’s why I love you, you rock.”

               
“She wasn’t being very nice,” Kayla replies.  “How did you ever date
her?  Oh wait, I saw her body.  I know why, which doesn’t make me
very happy.”

               
“Kayla, she meant nothing.” Damien sighs.  “It was just a physical thing.”

               
“Ech, that doesn’t make it any better!  How would you feel if I said I was
only with some guy because he gave me a good time?”

               
He puts up his finger. “Good point.  Does it matter that I would have
rather waited for you?  I would give up every experience with her if I
could.”

               
“Okay, that helps a little,” Kayla replies. “Only a little bit.”  The
music changes again, and the crowd catches her eye.  People start to hang
from the ceiling, and real dancers move on the stage.  “Holy cow,” Kayla
says.

               
“Yeah, they put on a show throughout the night,” Damien states.  “That’s a
cool part.”

               
Kayla watches with fascination.  The people hanging from the ceiling
perform acrobatics on long ropes.  The dancers must all be professional
because their movements are fluid and complex, all working together to create
an amazing show.  “This is awesome,” Kayla exclaims.

               
“I’m glad you like it,” Damien says, kissing her on the cheek.  Kayla
turns to him.  Their eyes meet and Damien leans in to kiss her on the
lips.  Kayla lets him, and it is long and sensuous.

               
“Will you guys please stop?” Jackson snaps.

               
Damien pulls away.  “Sorry.  I didn’t know kissing my girlfriend
would bother you so much.”

               
“Whatever,” Jackson retorts.  “I’m going to the bathroom.”

               
“Have fun,” Damien quips back.  After he’s gone, Damien grabs Kayla and
pulls her against him.  His lips find hers, and he proceeds to kiss her
passionately.  The energy from him runs across Kayla’s skin.  She
inhales sharply.

               
Kayla eventually pulls away.  “We need to slow down.”

               
“Mmm,” Damien hums back.  “I don’t want to.  Tell me you want to and
I will.”

               
“No, we should,” Kayla says, pushing him away gently.  “The pheromones in
here are going to make me lose my morals.”

               
“I like the sound of that,” Damien says with a laugh. Catching the look on her
face, he backpedals. “I’m only kidding.”  He pulls her back and wraps his
arms around her.  “I just want you close,” he whispers in her ear.

               
She lays her head on his chest. “That sounds good.”

               
They sway back and forth to the music for a minute, just holding each
other.  “I meant it you know,” he finally says.

               
“I know,” Kayla replies, not looking up at him or needing verification of what
he is talking about.

               
“I don’t expect you to say it back to me, and I don’t want you to feel forced
to reciprocate the feelings either.”

               
Kayla looks into his eyes.  “I do care for you a lot.  I hope you
know that.”

               
“That I know.”

               
Suddenly, they hear.  “Ladies and gentleman, I feel it’s only appropriate
for us to honor Master Damien, since he is here tonight.”  Damien and
Kayla look at the stage.  A girl meets their gaze from her elevated
position on the platform. In one hand she holds a microphone to her mouth, and
the other hand gestures in their direction. “From what has been reported, his
lovely girlfriend is with him, so I think it’s only appropriate that we bring
her on stage.”

               
Kayla’s wide eyes snap to Damien’s, and she shakes her head.  “Oh, no, no,
no!”

               
Damien laughs. “I think you should do it. Go ahead.”

               
“No,” Kayla yells.

               
He leans toward her.  “As the son of the Merjyet line, I demand that you
go up there.”

               
“That’s not funny.”

               
“I think it is,” Damien urges.  “Go up there, for me, please?”