Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (44 page)

               
“Good to know.  Okay, try forcing yourself in again.”

               
“Wait, what did you say earlier?  I was able to force my way in last
time.  You said you’d tell me.”

               
Clicking her tongue, Kayla says, “I was joking when I said it.”

               
“Okay,” Damien draws out.  “Tell me anyway.”

               
“I said if you heard me, I would have sex with you.”

               
A smirk crosses Damien’s face, and he chuckles. “I want to lie and say that I
heard you, but to be fair, I didn’t.  Anyway, I wouldn’t have sex with
you.”

               
“What?  Why?”

               
“Because you wouldn’t really want to do it, so it wouldn’t be the same.  I
want all of you, not just a one-night stand.”

               
She smiles. “Good to know.”

               
“Hey, I’m not a bad guy.” Damien sighs. “Just been around the block a few too
many times.  Enough about all that though, let’s start working on your
blocking capability more.”

               
Kayla nods. “Let’s do this.” 

Two hours later, she is
jumping from side to side to try and expel all the extra excitement she has. 
“I did it.  I blocked you the whole time!”  She stops and happily
exhales.

               
Damien laughs. “Yes you did, good job, babe.”

               
She looks at him.  “So I should be able to block William?”

               
“Yup, you can instantly put up your guard, and he won’t be able to get
through.”

               
“What if he’s stronger than you though?”

               
Damien puts his hand on his chest.  “I’m not trying to boast, but I am
rather strong.”

               
“That’s all fine and well, but there has to be people of our kind who are more
forceful than you.”

               
“There are, but I doubt William is one of them.  You just need to keep
practicing.  The only thing you need to worry about right now is
concentrating so you can prevent someone from coming in.  The more you
practice, the more it will become second nature.”

               
Tilting her head, Kayla replies, “Then let’s practice some more.”

               
“We need to eat first,” Damien says.  “You’re burning a lot of calories
right now.  You’ll learn you need to eat more for the first few years of
shifting.  Your body needs to acclimate to the changes.”

               
“All right, that sounds good to me.  Are you cooking?”

               
Damien winks at her. “Yup…naked too.”

               
“Oh please,” Kayla moans, rolling her eyes.  “At least keep your boxers
on.”

               
“So you want me to take my clothes off?” he quips, with a grin.

               
She gives him a look. “No. Your shirt sure, but the rest you can keep on.”

               
“I’ll take my shirt off if you take your shirt off,” Damien teases.

               
“Whatever, Jackson already tried that one on
me.
 
Didn’t fly then and it won’t fly now.”

               
With a somewhat disturbed look, Damien says, “When did Jackson say that?”

               
“Ummm,” Kayla mumbles.  “I don’t remember.”

               
“Liar.” Damien laughs.  “When was it?”

               
Clicking her tongue, Kayla answers, “The night I first shifted.  He was
totally joking because I was trying to convince him to take his clothes off.”

               
“Hmmm, suddenly I feel more like a consolation prize.”

               
“I was coming off of my first shift!  I was all over him.”  Damien’s
jaw drops.  “Wait!  I did
not
mean that the way it came out.”

               
With a snort, Damien replies, “Sure, mmhmm, I believe you.  It’s
fine.  Your hormones are heightened right now.  You have a lot more
control than I ever would, if this was happening to me.”

               
“It doesn’t seem like I have that much control.”

               
“Trust me, you do.  Anyway, let’s go eat.  We’ll come back and
practice more
later
.”

               
Kayla nods and they leave Shima.  After lunch, they take a break and watch
TV. Kayla takes a deep breath and then leans over and puts her head on Damien’s
shoulder.  He takes her hand in his and leans his head on hers. 
“This is nice,” she murmurs.

               
“It is.  I’ve never really experienced this before.”

               
“What’s that, watching TV with a girl?” Kayla giggles.

               
Damien smirks. “No, just hanging out with a girl that I really like.  I
normally don’t put myself out there that much
to
actually connect with someone.  I
used
to try and just put the
moves on a girl.  With you, it’s different.”

               
“That’s comforting,” Kayla whispers, looking into his eyes.  He returns
her gaze and time seems to stand still. Kayla kisses him.  It is soft and
sweet, but it still makes Kayla’s pulse race.  Then, with her nerves
shaking, Kayla unfurls her energy into Damien.

               
He tenses for a second before kissing her more passionately.  Their energy
starts to tingle against each other.  Kayla’s breath catches in her throat;
Damien pulls away.  “We need to slow down.”

               
Ignoring him, Kayla moves onto his lap.  She puts her hand on the side of
his face and kisses him.  He hesitates and then pulls her closer, their
kissing intensifying. Damien picks her up and lays her on the couch.  He
crawls on top of her and brings his lips back down to hers, causing her to
whimper. Lowering her hand, she pulls his shirt up.  Damien grabs it and
yanks it off.  Kayla giggles.  He bends down and kisses her neck. 
She arches her back against him, which seems to entice him even more.

               
“All right, that’s enough,” someone bellows before Damien is suddenly yanked
off of her.

               
Her eyes snap open and find Jackson pulling on Damien’s pants.  “What…what
are you doing?” she asks.

               
“Oh, I don’t know,
”
Jackson answers, scowling at her.
“
Interrupting
something that wasn’t going to go anywhere beneficial.”

               
“I was completely under control,” Kayla hisses.  “When I asked you to look
out for me, I did not mean you could break us up every time we express
affection.”

               
Jackson crosses his arms and looks at Damien.  “Were
you
planning
on having sex with her?”

               
“I told you before, I am not taking advantage of her,” Damien states sharply.

               
“I’m using the question I won during the game last night.  Answer me, if
Kayla wanted to have sex right now, would you do it?”

               
Kayla’s eyes drift to Damien.  Damien looks down at the floor and then
back up at Jackson. “Yes.”  Jackson throws his hands up.  “
But
,”
Damien emphasizes, “
only
if it was what she really wanted, and if it
wasn’t a result of hormone increase from shifting.  I would only do it if
it meant something.  I’m not going to take her virginity on something
stupid.  I have more class than that.”

               
“Mmhmm, sure you do,” Jackson replies sarcastically.  Without warning,
Damien swings his arm forward and punches Jackson in the face.

               
“DAMIEN!” Kayla screams, running over to Jackson. “Are you okay?  Are you
hurt?”

               
Jackson tilts his head toward her. Blood trickles down from his lip. “Yeah,
”
he says,
“
but I deserved that.”

               
“No one deserves that,” Kayla snaps.  She looks at Damien and spits out,
“You have no idea how mad I am at you right now.”

               
Damien glares at Jackson and then turns and leaves, snagging his shirt off the
floor.  Kayla watches him go.  She turns back to Jackson and finds
him watching her.  “Why aren’t you running after him?”

               
“Because he hurt you,” Kayla whispers. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

               
“It’s just a busted lip,” Jackson replies, licking the blood from his
lip.  He grimaces.  “It’ll heal.  We heal fast.”

               
She takes his hand and pulls him out of the living room and down the
hallway.  When they get to the bathroom, she pushes him in.  “Sit
down.”  Jackson plops down on the toilet while Kayla searches through the
cabinets.

               
Jackson laughs. “You’re such a girl.  It’s a busted lip.  I’ll be
fine.”

               
“Be quiet,” Kayla insists.  She grabs a washcloth and wets it.  “He
shouldn’t have hit you.”

               
“I would have hit me,” Jackson mutters.  “I should go apologize, except I
don’t apologize to him.”

               
Kayla brings the washcloth to his mouth and dabs the cut.  “You two are
ridiculous.”

               
“I think you bring it out in us more than normal.”

               
She stops dabbing at his wound and shifts her focus to his eyes. “What? 
Why?”

               
With a crooked grin, Jackson sighs. “I’m protective of you and he wants
you.  We’re going to clash in the end, no matter what.”

               
“That doesn’t give him the right to punch you.”

               
Jackson chuckles. “I deserved it.”

               
Blotting his lip, Kayla whispers, “No, you didn’t.  I’m furious at him for
punching you.”

               
“Can I ask you a question?”

               
“Sure.”

               
“Would you be this upset if I had punched him for saying what I did?”

               
Kayla shakes her head. “No, not if he deserved it.”  Jackson arches his
eyebrows.  “I mean...no...
that
came out
wrong.  I don’t want either of you to punch the other one!  It’s
stupid.”  She gently presses the washcloth to his lip again.  “No
more punching of any kind.”

               
“Mmmm,” Jackson hums.  He puts his hand on top of hers.  “I can do
this.”

               
“Just let me do it.  Don’t you like a girl taking care of you?”

               
Jackson lets out a small laugh.  “I like…you…taking care of me.”

               
“Wait until you’re sick someday, I make a great nurse.” Kayla giggles.

               
“I would only appreciate that if you dressed up like a nurse.”

               
Smirking, Kayla says, “What, in scrubs?”

               
“Oh hell no, I mean the short little white lab coat and some white thigh
highs.  We can play doctor.”

               
She shoves him. “Only in your dreams.”

               
“We haven’t played doctor yet in my dreams, but that does give me some ideas.”

               
Kayla puts her hand on her hip.  “Jackson, I’m going to get Damien to
punch you again.”

               
“What goes on in my head is our business only,” Jackson retorts with a
smirk.  He nudges her with his knee.  “I can keep my fantasies as
long as I don’t act on them.”

               
Kayla laughs.  “I promise next time I fall asleep on you, I’ll try not to
tear you apart during a sex dream.”

               
“Hey, now that I know that was what was going on you can do it anytime, major
turn on.”

               
“This is so inappropriate!  No more, I’m seeing someone else.”

               
Jackson laughs and grabs her, pulling her down on his lap.  “You’re not
technically boyfriend and girlfriend.  Once that happens, I’ll back off,
but until then,
it’s
fair game.”

               
“Whatever,
”
Kayla says,
rolling her eyes.
“
I’m
staying a virgin for a long time, so you and Damien can keep your fantasies.”

               
“And you can continue to have naughty dreams about me,” Jackson whispers into
her ear.

               
She shrugs him away with her shoulder.  “Stop it.  You’re going to
get me in trouble.”

               
“No, trouble would be if I kissed you right now,” Jackson murmurs, pulling her
closer.

               
Everything in Kayla makes her want to close the distance between them. 
She looks at him and whispers, “If you kiss me, I have to slap you.  That
may hurt your lip more.”

               
He brings his lips up to hers. “I think it may be worth the pain.”

               
“Jackson, don’t,” she breathes out.  “We said we weren’t going to do this
anymore.  Going back and forth like this hurts me.”