Knight Shift (18 page)

“Why? Because you’re a Changeling and she’s Human?”

Ice shook his head. “For a thousand reasons. I don’t know why she would want someone like me anyways. I’m definitely no prize—I’m not even likeable. She deserves better.”

“I’m not sure logic guides most of what Penny does. She should fear us, especially you, but she has accepted us as her family and she’s included you in that group.” After analyzing Ice’s reactions to his words, Ben was shocked to sense an emotion he never expected to feel coming from one of the most deadly Changelings on the planet. As his voice lowered again, he asked, “What are you so afraid of?”

After taking a moment to decide whether to tell the truth, he replied honestly, “I’m afraid of her seeing the real me. I’m a cold-blooded killer that lives for the hunt. I’ve slaughtered so many of her kind I couldn’t even begin to count them all.”

“She’s very aware of who and what you are and she isn’t running away. Obviously something about you calls to her—let her decide. I think you use Ice as a shield to keep everyone at a distance, but there’s much more to you than just Ice and this other side of you is fighting to emerge. Maybe it’s time to let Ice rest for a moment and let Jax take over.”

“Ice…Jax. They’re both me. Anyways, I’ve done nothing but lie to her since the day we met. If she knew the truth…”

When Ice stared off into the night, Ben placed his hand on his shoulder and said, “For some unknown reason, fate decided to put you in my path and you saved me. There must also be a reason why Penny found us. You gave me my life back, so let me help save you. I would give anything to have someone care about me like Penny does for you. Don’t let what could be wonderful slip through your fingers.” Before he walked away he said, “Just think about it. And before you ask, you don’t have to worry. I’ll keep your secret no matter what decision you make.” He turned and left Ice to his own thoughts.

Ice thought long and hard about what Ben had said to him, but he hadn’t gone back to Penny’s cabin in over a week. He had been trying to clear his mind from the effect of his encounter with her in the moon room. Although he knew that Penny would have told Casper all about the events they had together, he was nervous about hearing the truth about how it made her feel. To avoid the whole situation, he had gone out of town for a job and hoped that his absence would give Penny time to forget about the incident and how illogical her infatuation with him was.

As the stars twinkled in the deep night sky, Ice entered Penny’s cabin and sighed at the deeply missed scent. It was the feeling generated when walking into a home after a long trip away. Much to his dismay, he found that he was excited by the prospect of returning to his normal routine. Before entering Penny’s room, he took a moment to examine his surroundings. He couldn’t stop himself from trying to guess what color and style of nightgown Penny would be wearing. It wouldn’t be a random guess. He would base his decision on the months of analyzing her behavior and looking for a correlation in her clothing and activity choices.

First he quickly noted that the cabin was very neat and tidy, which told him that her mind was locked on something. He knew that she cleaned when she was thinking hard—maybe she had to make a decision about something or had to deal with a tough customer. He had stopped in the store to see Penny earlier that day to drop off an item from Susi. Although he only saw Penny for a minute, he thought that she seemed fine, so something must have happened after he left. He took a quick peek to see what she had eaten for dinner and, finding an empty soup container and many empty wrappers of chocolate candy, he surmised that whatever she was thinking about, she was emotional—maybe upset.

When he looked down at his watch and saw that it was almost time, he made his guess. “
Well it won’t be sexy tonight...no lace, silk, or bright colors. She’ll wear something more subdued and comfortable in dark cotton…maybe a tank top and shorts. As for her activity…definitely will be a movie while snacking on something that she’ll feel guilty about once the movie is over.
” With his guess locked in, he walked into the bedroom and took his place in the shadows.

As he scanned Penny in bed, he found that she had kicked off all of her blankets. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling, knowing his guess at nightwear was right. He was off a little. Instead of shorts, she was in lightweight pants that went down slightly past her knees. He chuckled realizing that he had grown to know this Human so well. Although he cursed at his disappointment over the lack of exposed skin, his disappointment turned to anger at himself when he realized that it wasn’t lust he felt. It was a deep need to see every inch of her.

As he watched her moving around in her sleep restlessly, he reached out his senses and caught her elevated body heat and racing pulse—both higher than her normal sleeping pattern. If he had to guess, he initially would have said that she was having a nightmare but, when he caught the expression on her face, he knew that whatever she was dreaming about she was enjoying it. When she mumbled something he took a step closer, trying to make out the words. Just before her internal alarm went off, he swore he heard the word, ‘ice’, but his thoughts were interrupted when she shot up in bed with a start.

As a bead of sweat made a lazy trail down the side of her face, her chest moved in a heavy pant. The first word she said as she wiped the sweat from her face was “Damn.” She then turned to Ice’s position and said with a hint of anger in her voice, “It’s about time you showed up, Casper.” Realizing how she sounded, her face suddenly softened and said with pure relief in her voice, “I’m sorry. I’ve missed you terribly and have desperately needed to talk to you all week.”

A pang of guilt suddenly filled Ice’s mind. He wasn’t the only one that looked forward to his nightly visits.

After she stood, she said, “Wait here and I’ll be right back.” She got up and grabbed a wrapped package from on top of the dresser and headed into the bathroom. Seeing that it was the item that he had delivered to her the day before, his curiosity was piqued.

The mystery gift was quickly revealed when Penny walked back into the bedroom. His mouth dropped open as she passed by him wearing one of his t-shirts. Although the item hung on her like an oversized dress, seeing her in something of his made an unexpected warmth grow in his chest.

She said, “I’m going to need a distraction tonight. Let’s go watch a movie.” She grabbed the Casper pillow that she now slept with each night and headed into the living room.

Since Penny confided in Casper about everything, he knew he would learn shortly what was weighing on her mind and why she was wearing his clothes. He didn’t have to wait long. Before she entered the kitchen, she was already giving Casper the play by play on the scene in Susi’s moon room. He found it fascinating to hear the story from her point of view.

When her tale was done, she said, “It was so embarrassing. I swooned over Ice like some silly school girl, but I couldn’t stop myself. His touch was unlike any other and I’ve relived that same scene in my dreams every night since then… although my dream ending wasn’t interrupted by Susi.” Her cheeks flushed as the images filled her mind. “He left town the next day so I couldn’t confront him.” She tugged on the material of her shirt and said, “I had it so bad that I even contacted Susi and asked if she could send over one of his shirts. I made the excuse that I needed it for a craft project, but I think she read between the lines and saw through my feeble attempt at a deception. Of all people,
he
showed up at the store today to drop off the package. Thank heavens Susi wrapped it up tightly so that he has no idea what he was delivering. I tried not to open it, but I had the same dream again and I wanted something of his touching me.”

While stirring a spoon in a cup of hot water with unnecessary force, she exclaimed, “Do you know this was the first time I’ve seen him since that night and he acted as if nothing had ever happened between us? Ugh! I should have known. It really was nothing but a tease on his part.” She sniffed the material of her shirt. After cursing she said, “He’s worn this; I can catch his scent. Good thing I didn’t wear it to bed or my dreams would have been even livelier than they already were.” As a wicked smile lit her face, she added “…although I’m not sure how much more lively they could get.”

Ice wasn’t sure how to react to her words. While out of town, he had tried to convince himself that their encounter was just a tease, but he knew that was a lie. It impacted him deeply and, now that he knew that he had been in her dreams every night, a smile crept up on his face.

While his mind swirled, she topped off a cup of hot chocolate with mini marshmallows and said, “Enough pining over what I can never have. Let’s see what we can find for a distraction.” Even after she had her cup heaped like a snow mound, before leaving the kitchen, she grabbed the marshmallow bag. After putting her snack on the coffee table, she said, “Let’s pick a movie.”

Although she had several movies on a shelf, she bypassed those and went to a dusty moving box and dug through a stack of DVDs. At the very bottom she pulled out an unopened movie that made her smile and said, “This might not be a good idea, but let’s watch this one. It was a going away present from a friend back home and I completely forgot about it.”

Ice tried to see what she had picked and smirked when the cover informed him it was a romance. As she bent over to turn on all of the electronics and slid the movie into the player, he cursed. His shirt was so long on her that it prevented her movements from flashing any of the body parts that he desperately wanted to see.

She settled in on the couch with a blanket thrown over her and her cup in her hand. She was flanked on one side by her Casper pillow and the bag of marshmallows on the other. As she watched the story, initially she seemed uninterested and distracted but, when the story turned more romantic, her eyes locked on the screen. When the scenes became more explicit, she put down her empty cup, picked up the DVD container, and asked out loud, “What are we watching?” Although she could have turned off the movie, she looked around the room to confirm she was alone and then settled back onto the couch with the Casper pillow clutched against her chest.

At that point, Ice lost all interest in what was on the screen. Instead he was completely focused on watching Penny. She once again became his prey and he called on his hunting instincts, allowing him to feel her pulse rise with the growing heat radiating from her body.

When the movie ended, she clicked off the television and sat silently staring at a blank screen for several minutes. She finally broke the silence when she looked down at the pillow she had a death grip on and said, “Oh Casper, that movie was so not a good idea.”

When she stood, she took a moment to position Casper back on the couch, and said, “Sorry, my dear friend, but you’ll need to spend the rest of the night out here. I think I need a few minutes alone.” She laid the blanket over the pillow as if to block him from seeing what she was about to do.

Ice’s instincts screamed at him to leave the cabin immediately but, when she pulled the T-shirt off as she entered her bedroom, his feet followed the flash of skin.

From his shadowed corner, he watched her naked body as she tucked her bed pillow into his shirt. She nuzzled her face into the new pillow case, breathing in his scent, and crawled into bed. He was initially grateful when she grabbed a sheet and covered herself. Although he was desperate to stare at her beautiful figure, given the state his lower regions were already in, he wasn’t sure how he would handle it if her naked body was on display.

Once she was settled in, both she and Ice sighed together like a chorus. His moment of contentment ended when he saw her hand snake down her body. He cursed profusely as Penny began to address her current ache.

Although he was no stranger to intimacy, he never went looking for it. It happened only as a necessary act and only when the situation presented itself. Even then, he had only been with a few, very select women that understood it was the act that he cared about and nothing more. Once his need was sated, he was done and had no need for additional physical contact and insisted on being left alone. Although the women seemed to leave with a smile on their face, he really didn’t care if they enjoyed it or not.

All of his old carefully controlled rules fell apart as the scene continued in front of him. The sounds Penny made were driving his body insane and, when Penny kicked off her covers, time came to a crashing halt. With her entire body now on display, he listened to her moans and watched her body squirm with need. When his hand instinctively reached out to feel the heat radiating off her body like an inferno, he noticed that he had become visible. Realizing that he had completely lost his stealth shield, he quickly refocused his attention. Once he was invisible to the outside world again, he held his breath, waiting to see if Penny had caught his blunder. Given her constant sounds of pleasure, he knew she was still completely lost in her very active daydream and was oblivious to the fact that she had an audience.

When her movements became more aggressive and her breaths came out as pants, he had to clench his fists tight. His fingers ached to take over so that he could be the one to finish the scene. As her body tensed and she took in a deep breath, he found himself frozen in place…waiting. When her body arched and she cried out, he closed his eyes and shared in the pleasure that pulsated off her body. His mind moaned as each wave of energy washed over him like a tide on a beach.

When the room quieted, he opened his eyes again to find Penny hugging her body pillow, allowing her pulse and breathing to slow. Seeing the satisfied expression on her face, he wondered whom she was holding onto so tightly within her mind. When the face of the actor from the movie came into Ice’s mind, he slammed a mental door in his face, declaring him an intruder in his space. If not the actor, was it possible that the passion he witnessed and physically felt was directed at himself? The idea was absurd. Women had nightmares where his face was the one they were running from. No one would include him as the man they were running to, but Penny defied all of his well-defined rules.

Now that his mind had shifted momentarily away from the object of his visual obsession, he quickly realized how much his body was impacted by the night. Although his lower regions throbbed in physical pain, he refused to leave Penny’s side—just in case she had to address any additional needs and might possibly cry out the name of the one in her mind. But shortly after she drifted off to sleep, Ice couldn’t hold out any longer. In a flash he ran off into the night and, once safely in the shadows of the woods, he addressed his own aches that were demanding his immediate attention. With a certain strawberry blonde haired Human in mind, the mountain side echoed with a thunderous howl.