Knight Shift (11 page)

Now that Changelings were part of Penny’s defined world, she was oddly energized…almost giddy. While she worked at the store, she found herself humming. Several of her co-workers commented about the reason for her good mood, but she brushed it off, saying “I guess life is just starting to go my way.”

Several weeks into the painting project, Penny contacted Susi about spending the day and night working on the bedroom. Not only did Susi agree, but she gave Penny instructions on how to find their house on her own. She had gained the family’s trust and, although Ice made sure that the entire family was aware of his feelings on the matter he, once again, allowed the family to make the decision and hoped they wouldn’t regret it. Penny was extremely touched by the trust they were putting in her hands.

Shortly after Penny arrived she was hard at work with a paintbrush in her hand. With Ice gone, she found herself able to focus on her hired job and made tremendous progress. Although she would have continued on without a break, Susi insisted that she join the others for dinner. After cleaning up enough that she wasn’t leaving a trail of paint in her wake, she headed down to the dining room. As she approached, she heard voices she didn’t recognize.

When she entered the room, she found two additional people at the table. Sam quickly stood and made introductions. To Penny he said, “This is Logan and Chloe. They’re friends of ours that stopped by for a quick visit.” To the visitors, Sam said, “This is Penny, the artist I mentioned that’s staying with us for a few days to paint my bedroom. She’s exceptionally talented. You should see what she’s done so far.”

Sam’s words were careful and Penny quickly picked up on the fact that their guests were Changelings and that she needed to act like she didn’t know their secret. She gave him a slight nod to acknowledge the ruse.

Logan did a slow visual scan of Penny and took in a deep breath as if breathing in her very essence. Pleased with what he found, he patted the seat of the empty chair next to him and said, “Please join us.”

The intensity of his stare made a chill run up Penny’s spine. The twins must have noticed as well because she caught them clenching their fists. She knew they desperately wanted to address the issue head on but, to keep their deception, they couldn’t show any signs of their inner nature in front of her.

Before Penny had a chance to respond, she felt the cool brush of Ice walking past her. Chloe sat up tall and a big smile lit her face when she saw the newest arrival. In a sultry voice, she said, “Looking good, Ice, as always.”

In his typical style, he gave her a silent nod to acknowledge he heard her, but offered no visible reaction.

Although his face remained neutral, Penny felt a chill from his projected anger over her presence in front of their visitors. To make it easier on everyone, she decided she needed to be anywhere else. When Logan patted the seat again to get her attention, Penny said, “Thanks, but I can’t stay. As you can see I’m covered in paint and have a lot of work to do while I’m here. I came down to grab a bite and take it upstairs with me.”

Logan replied sweetly, “Don’t rush away. I want to hear all about what
work
you’re doing around this house.” His words were full of innuendo as if he didn’t believe that Penny was there just to decorate a room.

In a commanding voice, Ice said to Penny, “Grab some food and get back upstairs.”

Penny nodded, not having any issues following his orders this time.

As she quickly filled a plate, Logan said, “When we’re done, I’ll come up for a closer inspection of your handiwork.”

Penny headed out of the room, feeling Logan’s gaze on her the entire time.

True to his word, Logan insisted on seeing Penny’s artwork. He was escorted by the entire family to the bedroom and, when he saw what she had done so far, his eyebrows raised in surprise. He had doubted her abilities, but no more. “Wow. Your work is stunning. Maybe when you’re done with this job, I can hire you to do some painting for me.”

Thinking quickly on her feet, Penny replied, “Right now this is a side job, but I’m hoping to do this full time someday. This room is one of my first and I plan to use it in my advertising. Why don’t you leave me your name and number so that I can contact you when my business is up and running?” She gave him a smile, but never intended to contact him for anything ever.

He picked up one of Penny’s drawing pencils and then ripped a corner off of a sketch lying on the floor. After writing his personal information on it, he placed it in her hand and curved her fingers around it. Now that she was a foot away from Logan, she took a closer look. When she caught a flash of his fangs in addition to his colorless skin and the projected hunger in his eyes she knew that, not only was he a Changeling, he was most likely a Night Walker like Susi and Sam.

Logan took a moment to enjoy the heat that radiated off Penny’s skin and then said, “I’ll be anxious for your call. My bedroom could use a little of your talents and I’m willing to pay well for the privilege.” He absentmindedly licked his lips.

When everyone in the room tensed and moved forward as if prepared to protect Penny, Logan knew that she was so much more than just the hired help and he planned to prove it before the night was over.

Ice said, with anger simmering below the surface, “Let’s go. Penny needs to get back to work.”

To soften Ice’s tone, Sam added, “Why don’t we go downstairs for a few drinks?”

The twins stayed behind and, once the room was clear, they approached Penny. Taylor said, “Stay far away from that ass hole. The only drink he seems to be interested in would be coming from your neck.”

“You don’t have to tell me that twice. He gives me the creeps.” She shuddered.

Tadd added, “Not all Changelings can be as wonderful as my Bro and I are.” The twins each took a pose like statues of gods.

Seeing their silly expressions, Penny couldn’t help laughing. She swatted their extended chests and said, “Go have fun with your visitors and let me get back to work. I won’t go downstairs until they’re out of the house.”

Penny continued to work late into the evening. After she took a quick shower and put on some mixed company appropriate pajamas, she listened from the top of the stairs. Finding the house silent, she exhaled in relief and proceeded forward into the kitchen to make herself some calming hot tea and toast.

As she buttered the bread, a male voice from behind her said, “Calling it a night?” She jumped at the sound of Logan’s voice; she hadn’t heard him enter the room. Seeing her reaction, he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

She glanced over at him and asked with a nervous quaver in her voice, “I thought you left?”

“Not yet. Everyone is outside enjoying the night. I came in to find something tasty to snack on. Finding you in here was a pleasant surprise.” In truth, he had caught her scent and knew she was in the kitchen.

To avoid his gaze, Penny turned her back and continued to work on her toast. She said, “It’s been a long day and I want to get an early start on Susi’s room in the morning.” His presence was making her very uncomfortable and, as she sliced her bread in half, she accidently cut her finger. She jumped and said a muffled, “Ouch!”

To her complete dismay, Logan raced to her side and, when he saw her finger, he took her hand in his and said, “Let me help you with that.” She tried to pull it back, but the strength of his grip held firm. Although she expected him to lick it clean, he continued the lie and, after wiping away the line of blood with his finger, he took a piece of paper towel and wrapped it around the wound. He pulled her finger to his mouth and kissed it, saying “All better.”

When they heard voices approaching the door that led to the outside, Logan released her and Penny quickly took advantage of the distraction. She grabbed her tea cup, toast, and said, “Good night.” She raced from the room and could hear his lingering chuckles from behind her.

Once Penny was out of sight, Logan licked her blood off his finger. Once her taste registered, he opened his eyes wide and whispered to himself, “Oh Penny, you’re so much more than just a mere Human and I plan to discover all of your hidden treasures.”

His keen senses drew his attention down to the knife on the counter. Seeing a small line of red, he picked it up and slowly licked off the drops of blood, committing every cell to memory. He then headed outside to integrate back into those gathering on the other side of the door.

As Penny headed quickly to the guest room, Chad’s Labrador form came bounding in through the front door. He raced over to his friend’s side and, when he noticed that she seemed a bit rattled, he looked around to see who or what caused her condition. Although he saw no one, he decided to respond to her immediate need. He shifted into Penny’s favorite Great Dane and rubbed his head on her hand.

She accepted the gift and, while scratching him behind his ears, Penny said, “Thanks Chad.” He followed her to her bedroom and stayed at her side until she crawled into bed and got under the covers. When he sat next to the bed staring at her as if waiting for instruction on what to do, Penny debated on how to respond. Although she knew that Chad wasn’t really a dog, she didn’t want to be alone. After a short debate, she gave him a smile and patted the bed next to her.

With a big dog grin, Chad jumped up. His current dog size took up much of the bed, so he shifted into a smaller, white fluffy pooch and circled up next to her. She scratched him behind the ears and said, “Thanks Chad. Good night.”

*~*~*~*

In the early morning hours, Penny woke a little earlier than normal for her. Her accelerated overheating was fueled by a nightmare involving Logan and his teeth. As she walked toward the bathroom and noticed Chad looking toward the front door, she patted him on the head and said, “Thanks for staying with me, but I’m fine now. Go on outside and play with the twins.” He gave her a lick and happily trotted toward the exit.

When she headed back to the bedroom, she heard Chloe’s voice followed by the deep voice of Ice. Curiosity overrode her fears of Logan and she snuck down the stairs enough to see what was happening.

To her shock, Ice was escorting Chloe out of his dark stairwell. He was wearing nothing but night pants while Chloe was adjusting her clothes as if she was finishing getting dressed. Knowing what the two had obviously been up to while she slept, Penny found herself irritated. Although Ice had made it perfectly clear that he had no interest in Penny, she couldn’t stop a pang of jealousy from spreading inside her at his interest in the visitor.

Penny heard Chloe say in her naturally sultry voice, “Until next time. Remember that I’m always available to you whenever you’re in need of my talents. Just call.”

Imitating Chloe’s voice mockingly, Penny whispered to herself, “…whenever you’re in need of my talents.” Her jealousy quickly turned to anger at herself. He had every right to indulge in whatever skills Chloe was offering him. As Penny yelled at herself for being a stupid Human, she quickly hid as Chloe passed by and headed out the front door, while Ice went back into his room.

Once alone again, Penny decided she needed some fresh air. Hearing all of the voices out front, she quietly snuck into the kitchen so that no one would see her. She stepped out into a small garden patio. After taking in a deep breath, she walked forward and leaned against the cool stone of the cliff face. She closed her eyes and let the night air calm her mind.

Meanwhile inside the house, Ice emerged from his bedroom fully dressed. Although he had spent private time with Chloe, he made sure she was out of his bedroom in time for Penny’s normal night time stroll. Catching her scent lingering in the air, he knew that she had recently passed by. He guessed that she was in the kitchen so he casually walked to the door so that he could
accidently
bump into his favorite nighttime stroller.

Outside Penny shivered as her mind was brushed by a chill. Sensing danger, her eyes shot open to see Logan leaning against a nearby boulder with a grin from ear to ear.

When they made eye contact, Logan decided to face his suspicions head on and asked, “You aren’t just their painter, are you Human?” No longer trying to hide his nature, he gave her a smile that showed off his fangs. Seeing her lack of reaction confirmed that Penny wasn’t so clueless about those that called this place home.

Penny slowly backed toward the door and said, “I have no idea what you mean.”

In a flash, Logan appeared blocking her retreat and said, “Not so fast. While Chloe’s getting frost bite from the Iceman, I thought you and I could take a few minutes to get better acquainted.”

Although Penny had a very good idea what he meant about the frost bite comment, she didn’t dwell on it. Her mind was completely focused on the self-defense moves she planned to use if the Changeling attempted to touch her. She stared him down and non-verbally warned him to stay back. When he took a step toward her, her confidence gave out completely and she decided that she needed to call for help.

Although her mouth opened to shout, no sound would come out. She also found that her body was frozen in place. Her paralysis wasn’t from fear, it was as if her mind was temporarily disconnected from the rest of her body.

Seeing her shocked expression, Logan walked slowly and deliberately toward her with a chuckle, saying “Normally I love a good struggle, but time is limited and I don’t want to waste a second.” After he positioned himself in front of her, he added, “You teased me earlier with an appetizer and now I’m hungry for the full meal.” Using the tip of one finger, he gently pushed her head to the side to expose the line of her neck. Penny was forced to obey on the outside, but she cursed profusely within her mind. He caressed the small marks that told him that someone had bit her recently, informing him that he wasn’t the first that had snacked on her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him while his other hand moved her hair out of his way. He leaned in and slowly penetrated her neck with his fangs.