Knight Shift (16 page)

“Chickens?” Tadd exclaimed while holding back laughter.

Max explained. “It all started when we took her to a poultry farm when she was around five years old. We were half-way through this massive chicken coop when she decided she wanted to free one of the caged animals. Once she opened the cage, it came flying out. It scared the living daylights out of her and she screamed. She ran for it with that damn chicken right behind her. Her screeching made the entire coop erupt. By the time she reached the door, her fear of the nasty foul was well engrained.”

Morgan added, “Mom wasn’t allowed to buy or cook chicken for almost a year after.”

Penny tried to explain her fear. “When they get mad and those feathers start flying around…” Her body involuntarily shuddered, making everyone laugh. “My brothers took turns staying in my room for months until I could sleep on my own.”

Max said, “I often thought that’s why you never sleep through the night.”

Tadd asked, “She told us she didn’t sleep well, but I didn’t realize it was that bad.”

Revealing another of her secrets, Max said, “Yup. She’s like an alarm clock. Each night she wakes around two o’clock and stays up until the sun starts to rise.”

Tadd turned to Penny and asked, “Is this true?” When she nodded, he asked, “Every night?”

Penny nodded again and said, “Every night—even on weekends.” Seeing their interest, she explained, “That habit started when I turned twelve and entered puberty. For some reason my body starts to overheat when I sleep and I wake up covered in sweat. My Mom took me to the doctor and they said it was just a phase I would grow out of, but over the years it continued to get worse. Once I turned eighteen we tried some medication. The side effects were so bad I decided lack of sleep was better. I’ve learned to accept it and now it’s just the way I am.”

Taylor asked, “What do you do each night?”

“I cook, paint, watch movies…”

As Ice stared at the subject of their discussion, he thought about all the stories he could share about her nighttime activities. He kept his mouth shut tight, wanting to keep those stories secret.

When Penny playfully attacked her brothers because they started to share her lack of tolerance to alcohol, Ice, Taylor and Tadd stared at the battle. Even though Penny and her brothers teased each other endlessly, they all longed to have a family like hers. They had no nice stories to tell of their childhood so they avoided that particular subject all together.

When a raindrop hit Penny on the arm, she announced, “I guess we had better call it a night.” Seeing the three tents and the six people, Penny turned to Ice and said, “We don’t have a fourth tent so you can share mine.”

Taylor’s eyes opened wide in horror and he replied instantly, “No way. I don’t think it’s wise for him to stay with you. I doubt he wants to stay anyways.”

The rain was starting to fall a little harder and she replied, “I think this is going to be a bad storm so he can’t leave now. Your two tents barely fit the four of you. I have the biggest tent and I don’t take up much space, so he’ll have plenty of room.”

Max said, “I don’t know sis. Your choice of nightwear might be too much for him.”

The thought brought back her anger from earlier events. “I brought shorts and a t-shirt, thank you very much. Besides, you don’t have to worry about him being around me. I guarantee nothing will happen. I bet I could stand naked in front of him and he wouldn’t even notice.” She shot daggers at Ice. Her brothers caught the angry glare, knowing that they had hit a nerve. But they also had caught the glances they kept giving each other during dinner and knew there was something more going on between these two camp mates.

Penny stood and said, “I’m going to bed.” After rubbing her leg, she limped across the camp and added, “Come on Ice, if you want.” She disappeared into the tent with a huff.

Ice pondered her offer. This was his chance to sleep next to her—an opportunity he couldn’t pass by.

When Ice stood to follow her, Max called to him, saying “Just give a yell if you need us to come to your rescue.” He chuckled.

Ice wasn’t sure what Max meant, but followed Penny into her tent.

Once the couple was out of sight and Max noticed the concerned looks on his fire-side companion’s faces, he said, “You two don’t have to worry about Penny. I think she’s perfectly safe. It’s Ice you should be concerned about.”

Taylor asked with surprise, “Why?”

Max replied, “Didn’t you see the daggers coming out of my sweet little sister’s eyes? I don’t know what Ice did, but my sister is seriously pissed. I’ve been on the receiving end of that stare and it isn’t pretty.”

Morgan added while looking at his brother, “I haven’t seen her that mad since we dragged her out of the backseat of a parked car with that kid. What was his name?”

Max answered, “I think it was Roy, or Roger…”

Morgan announced, “It was Robert. It was the night of a dance and her first date with a boy we didn’t like. I knew his intensions weren’t honorable.”

Taylor asked with true interest, “What did you do?”

Max replied, “We did what any older brother would do. We dragged the little bastard out of the car before anything happened and made sure he understood our displeasure.”

Morgan added, “I guess the fact that we did this in front of her entire class may have made Penny a bit angry. To this day she claims that night was the reason no one asked her out again.”

Max ended the tale with an evil grin and said, “They all feared our wrath.”

When the weather forced their conversation to end, both sets of twins ran to their tents. No matter what Max and Morgan said, Tadd and Taylor planned to keep their ears open for any signs of distress coming from Penny’s tent.

*~*~*~*

While Ice watched Penny rearrange the items inside the tent to make more room, she completely ignored him. After she unzipped her sleeping bag and spread it out as a bed they both could sleep on, she tossed him a blanket unnecessarily hard, saying “You can use this.” After digging out her night clothes, she said, “You might want to close your eyes. I would hate for you to be forced to see me naked again.” Her words were sharp and full of hidden meaning.

Ice asked, “Why are you so angry with me?”

After roughly pulling off her shirt, she lied, “I’m not mad at you.”

“Maybe I think that because I can actually see fire flaming out of your eyes and it’s directed at me.”

With her night clothes in her hand, she stopped getting undressed and glared at Ice. After a brief pause she replied, “This is why.” She stripped the rest of the way down and spread her arms. Seeing no reaction, she let out a growl of frustration and said under her breath, “Unbelievable.” She threw on her night clothes and roughly got into her assigned spot.

“What did I do?” Ice asked, completely bewildered.

She sat up, leaning back on her elbows, and said, “You didn’t do anything. That’s the problem.”

Ice exhaled noisily and said, “I’m totally confused.”

“Forget it. I should’ve known better.” She fell back down onto the blanket.

“Please tell me,” he asked as sweetly as he was able.

Hearing his softer tone, she turned her head to look over at him and said, “If you must know, my ego is bruised.”

“Why?”

She sat up fully and said in an emphasized whisper so those in the other tents wouldn’t hear, “Twice now I’ve been naked in front of you and both times you had absolutely no reaction—none, nadda, zilch, zip. I know that you hate Humans and that I’m on that list, but to stand in front of a man buck naked and him not have any reaction—that hurts. I know that I’m no super model, but…”

Finally realizing what the issue was, he asked in disbelief, “You’re mad at me because I didn’t gawk at you?”

She squirmed uncomfortably and, while looking away, she said, “Well…yes. I know you have no interest in me, but I would have expected some reaction.”

The reality was that he was so used to staring at her naked, it was a natural part of his daily routine. He kept the full truth to himself and replied, “I didn’t react because I have the ultimate poker face.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s one of my gifts. I’m not only a hunter, but I’m also a fighter. In that role, being able to hide all emotions leaves your opponent completely blind to your next move. I’ve done this so many times that now it’s just the way I react to everything. I’m sorry that my bad behavior made you angry and I promise that the next time that you’re standing naked in front of me, I’ll respond appropriately.”

Although she had to hold back a snicker as he gave her a boy scout salute, she said, “Don’t worry. I won’t put you in that position ever again.”

Seeing her rubbing her leg again, he motioned her to lay down and said, “Roll on your stomach and let me work on that leg some more.” It was bothering her so she did as requested. Within minutes of him massaging the ache, she started to let out quiet moans of relief.

During a break in the storm, the Twins caught the sounds coming from Penny’s direction and they instantly appeared at her tent, stuck their heads in, and Taylor said, “What’s going on in here?”

Penny looked over at her visitors and replied innocently, “Ice is helping me with my cramp. I have to admit, he has a gift. What did you think was going on?”

Taylor shrugged his shoulders and said, “Just something else that I told Tadd wouldn’t be possible.”

Tadd hit Taylor hard in the arm and said, “You’re the one that dragged me over here.”

Since it was still raining and they were dripping wet, the twins crawled into the tent and shook their heads, covering everyone in cold water.

When Penny yelled, Ice was going to command them to get out, but their addition forced Penny to scoot closer to him—a position he approved of.

Hearing laughter and talking coming from the tent, Penny’s brother’s heads soon were added to the scene. When they looked in, Morgan exclaimed, “Cool! A slumber party.”

After they crawled in, they shook the water off of themselves like dogs, making everyone yell again. Ice remained silent, his mind was lost to the fact that Penny was now pressed tightly against him. He was, once again, amazed by the amount of heat her body projected.

As the storm began to roar outside, they decided to stay together. It took several minutes and many positions to try and find a spot for everyone to sleep. By the time they found a way for everyone to fit, Ice was forced to spoon in behind Penny. Penny didn’t mind. Although she was still angry at him, she liked the feel of his cool body pressed on hers.

Sometime during the night, Morgan woke. Given the time he expected to find his sister awake, but instead she was sleeping with Ice’s arm over her. When Ice opened his eyes and the two men made eye contact, Ice instinctively tightened his grip on his sleeping partner. When Penny sighed contentedly into his embrace, Max gave him a silent nod of approval. Ice returned the gesture and they both went back to sleep.

When Penny awoke she was surprised to see the light of dawn coming through the tent canvas. It was one of the rare times in her adulthood that she had slept through the night without waking. When she felt the cool touch of the body pressed behind her, she wondered if he was the reason. Mad at Ice or not, it was the best night sleep she’d had in years and she hoped everyone would sleep a little longer so that she’d continue to enjoy the sensation. As she snuggled into Ice’s body, to her dismay, she felt him stir behind her. She had hoped he hadn’t noticed her movements but, when she turned her head and made eye contact with him, his grin told her otherwise.

Ice was also surprised by his reaction to the night. He had never slept with anyone in his arms and, although it was as if he was holding smoldering coals from a fire, his body drew in the heat like a sponge absorbed water. He woke feeling warm inside—a sensation he had never experienced before, but would welcome again in the future.

To the disappointment of both Ice and Penny, everyone else stirred and began to untangle themselves. As both sets of twins fell out of the tent, Penny took a moment to stretch her stiff muscles. Ice asked, “How’s your leg feeling this morning? Do you need me to work on it some more?”

Although she wanted nothing more than to have his fingers touching her, she refused to give in to her obvious infatuation. After she said her leg felt fine, he leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Do you want help getting undressed?” followed by a low growl.

She pushed him back, trying to hide the fact that his breath on her neck was making her toes curl. “I think I can manage on my own,” she said as she pointed to the tent opening. “You go ahead and I’ll be out in a minute.”

After a bite to eat, the group decided to go for a quick swim before packing up camp and heading back down the mountain. Although the twins raced ahead, Ice walked at a slower pace with Penny at his side.

Just as they were walking out onto the stone in front of the spring, Ice stopped abruptly with his arm protectively in front of Penny and said at a whisper, “Stay back.”

Penny scanned their surroundings and seeing nothing, she asked, “What do you see?”

He squinted behind her and said with a shocked expression, “I think there are several wild chickens coming our way.”

Penny screeched and jumped behind Ice, using him as her shield.

When she felt his body shake from laughter and heard the same sounds coming from those watching from the spring, she stood tall again.

“Nice one,” Max called from the water. “I didn’t know she could move that fast.”

Taylor and Tadd treaded water with their jaws dropped. They had never witnessed Ice tease anyone before.

Not sure what to do, Penny whacked Ice hard in the arm and said with irritation in her voice, “Very funny.”

While Penny picked up the scattered trail of clothes, she couldn’t stop herself from looking into the woods where Ice had pointed to her imaginary adversaries. Ice came up behind her and said, “Forgive me; I couldn’t help it. What can I do to say that I’m sorry?”

She refused to look at him and grunted in response. As she picked up the last item of clothing, Ice said from behind her, “You missed a few.”

Penny turned around and before she could ask where, Ice dropped his clothes into her arms. He spread his arms and said, “You showed me yours. It’s only fair that I show you mine. Now we’re even, Peanut.”

Her jaw dropped to the ground with the clothes as she stared unblinkingly at Ice’s naked body on full display for her viewing pleasure.

His large form was covered in well-defined muscles that bulged when he adjusted his stance. Although her visual journey found several tattoos and many scars, she couldn’t stop her eyes from locking on parts lower that caused an inferno to burst inside her.

When her eyes finally tore themselves away and returned to his face, he smiled. There was no mistaking what she thought of the sight and he replied, “Nice reaction, but you might want to start breathing now.”

When he asked if she was going to join them in the water, she numbly shook her head. As he turned and walked away, she found another part of his body that she would have happily stared at for days.

Max said to those in the water, “I think we may need to give her CPR.”

Morgan added at a whisper the thought only his twin could hear, “Lord, he looks like he could rip out a tree with his bare hands.”

Taylor replied with envy in his voice, “He can.”

After they finished their swim, they headed back to the camp. As they packed up, Penny couldn’t stop herself from sneaking glances over at Ice and not looking at where she was going. The oversight caused her to stumble many times.

Max leaned into Ice and whispered, “At least you got her to stop staring daggers at you, but you may have overdone it a bit. I’m afraid she might hurt herself if she doesn’t start watching where she’s going instead of staring at your ass.”

Ice wasn’t sure how to handle Penny’s condition, so he took her pack so that she could use both of her hands to help her stay upright. Penny cursed under her breath at her complete lack of body control.

Once they were all ready, they headed through the woods towards civilization. When they got close to the location of Penny’s car, Ice excused himself, saying that the Rover was parked in a different direction. In reality, Penny knew that he didn’t drive his vehicle and would use other means to arrive at home long before they did.

Morgan called to him as he was leaving the group, “Max and I are heading home first thing in the morning so we’re going back to The Tap Room tonight to down a few. Stop by.”

Ice gave him a nod and then disappeared into the trees.

Later that evening, Penny and her brothers got dressed for going out. When Penny came out of her bedroom, Morgan said, “Wow, I’m not sure I can let you out looking that good.”

She was wearing a very pretty, emerald green dress that exactly matched her eyes. Her hair was done in a loose cascade of curls that bobbed as she walked in a pair of spike high heels. A matching emerald necklace completed the outfit. The item of jewelry had been a going away present from her parents.

She spun around and said, “Do you like it?”

Max said, “You look beautiful and will stand out in any crowd.”

Morgan added, “You look so … girly. It’s a nice look for you.”

As Penny went to grab her purse, Morgan said, “Max and I would like to speak with you before we head out.”

“About what?”

Morgan pointed to the living room. After everyone was seated, Morgan asked, “Is there something that you need to tell us about your new friends?”

Penny froze and in her mind she yelled, “
Shit! They know
.” Penny tried to play dumb and said nervously, “Those twins are a real hoot, aren’t they?”

Max said, “Yeah, we like them a lot, but we’re referring to the tall dark and tattooed one. We’re very angry at you for keeping secrets from us. We’re your brothers, so spill it.”

“Ice, well, he’s a bit intimidating, but…”

Max interrupted her by saying, “You don’t seem to be intimidated. Actually I would use a different term.”

Morgan asked Max, “Is infatuated the term you are looking for, Bro?”

Max nodded and said, “That one will do. Why didn’t you tell us about you and Ice? How long have you two been going out?”

Although Penny was relieved that the Changelings secret was safe, she had no idea how to explain her relationship with Ice. She said, “There isn’t anything going on between the two of us.”

Morgan exclaimed, “Ha! You always were a terrible liar.”

Penny replied, “I’m not lying.”

The twins examined their sister’s expression and Max said, “I don’t see that twitch she usually does when she lies.”

Morgan asked, “Then what’s with all the longing stares and your lack of coordination whenever you’re near him?”

Before she had a chance to respond, Max added, “Morgan saw you snuggled up against him while we slept in the tent . He said you looked quite content.”

Morgan added, “And you should have seen him wrap his arm around you when he and I looked at each other. He was definitely telling me that you were his territory and willing to fight to keep you.”

Penny couldn’t stop a grin from appearing on her face as she replied with longing in her eyes, “He did?”

Morgan examined his sister’s expression and said, “You do have it bad.”

Max added, “Spill it, Sis. And don’t lie to us, because we’ll know if you’re telling the truth or not.”

Staring between her brothers, she knew she couldn’t lie. “Well, this is embarrassing. Yes, I’ve got a serious crush on him, but the feelings are only one way. I’m not his type.”

Morgan asked completely bewildered, “Were you on the same hunting trip as us? You can’t be that blind. That man has it just as bad for you.”

Penny let out a huff and replied, “Trust me. He doesn’t.”

Max countered, “No, trust me. I know that look. Have you talked to him about how you feel?”

Penny exclaimed, “God no!”

Morgan asked, “Why not?”

Penny replied, “It’s complicated and I really don’t want to go into it right now. Please promise me that you won’t say anything to any of them or I’ll disown you as my brothers. I need to deal with this in my own way and in my own time.”

Max said, “Your secret is safe with us. As your brother I’ve spent most of my adult life keeping men away from you, since no one is good enough. But this one is different. I think you should talk to him. You might be very surprised by his response.”

Penny wanted to believe him, but this was Ice they were talking about. She stood and said, “Enough love advice. Let’s get going before we’re late.”

As they followed Penny to the door, Morgan said, “I bet Ice would wait all night for you to show up.” Penny whacked him hard in the stomach to shut him up. Morgan grunted with the impact. While rubbing his stomach, he grimaced and added, “Who couldn’t love a sweet, loveable, non-violent woman like you?”

When they finally entered the bar, everyone stopped and stared at the new arrivals with interest. Ignoring their sudden popularity, they grabbed a large table and were half-way through their first pitcher when their former campmates arrived.

Penny’s face lit up as she watched them approach the table. When she stood to greet the arrivals, the twins whistled and Tadd said, “You look good enough to eat.”

Ice gave him a low growl to warn him to stay away from animal jokes.

After giving them both a very large hug and kiss on the cheek, Penny hesitated for only a moment before approaching Ice and giving him a quick hug, saying “I’m glad you came.” To her shock, he returned her hug by giving her a quick squeeze.

For the next few hours Ice stayed, but he remained quiet while the rest of the group laughed and made non-stop toasts. Once Penny had enough alcohol in her, she pulled the twins onto the dance floor, while her brothers found their own partners.

When Tadd twirled Penny and she landed on Ice’s chest, Ice caught her to keep her upright. Seeing her familiar glassy eyes, he said with a chuckle, “You’re drunk.”

She ignored his comment because she was focused on the fact that she had her hands pressed on his hard muscles. She gave him her form of a growl, recalling how good this part of his body looked naked.

When a song she liked started to play, she glanced up at Ice with her eyes twinkling and said, “Dance with me.”

He replied quickly, “I don’t dance.”

Not wanting to give up that easy, she started to twist and turn while pressing herself against him and begged, “Please, Iceman.”

When the twins called her back to the dance floor, Ice said, “Go dance with the twins. I’ll watch.”

Before she left, she pulled him down and whispered in his ear, “Thanks for not eating my brothers. They’re the only family I’ve got.” While she pressed herself against him so that she could feel his cool body, she gave him a firm kiss on his cheek. She held it much longer than was necessary to feel his cool skin against her lips. Lost in the sensation, her mind began to wander again and she said, “By the way, I never thanked you for the show by the spring. You have very nice buns.” Ice jumped in surprise when Penny squeezed his backside and moaned.

The twins came to Ice’s rescue by pulling Penny back onto the floor.

Max took a moment to rest and brought Ice another beer. He said, “I have to apologize for my sister. She’s never been very good at handling alcohol and I fear that her naughty side is starting to come out.”

Ice gave him a smirk and said, “I’ll survive.”

After a few minutes of watching Penny play, Max said, “She’s my family and I don’t know what I would do if she was hurt.” Ice expected him to warn him off, but instead he added, “She’s alone and too trusting. Over the years, without Penny knowing, Morgan and I have stepped in many times to help keep her out of trouble. Since we live across the country, she needs someone strong to watch over her. I would like to know that you’ll be the one to protect her—even when she doesn’t like it.”