Shift (The Neturu Chronicles) (67 page)

               
He walks over and points to her forehead. “Because in there, you’re a lot older
than you are out here.” Damien gestures to her body.

               
“Why are you telling me this now?” Kayla inquires suspiciously.

               
“The modest comment I made towards you.  I wanted you to understand me a
little more.  I wanted you to understand yourself a little more.  We
aren’t human and you really have to keep that in mind.”

               
“But why bring this up now?” She asks.

               
He smiles. “Because you’re going to see a whole different side to our species
tonight.”

               
“What is that supposed to mean?”

               
“Just…we aren’t human and tonight, you will likely feel and see things you’ve
never experienced before.  It will be fun, but I want you to be
prepared.”  Damien smiles. “So, on that note, what do you want me to
wear?”

               
“Something black,” Kayla states, walking over to him.  “You look sexy in
black.”

               
He pulls out a pair of black dress pants and a matching suit vest.  “How
about this?”

               
“Hot,” Kayla retorts.  “What color shirt?”

               
“I have a blood red one or dark purple.  It’s up to you.”

               
“Red, then we can complement each other,” Kayla replies.  “What about a
tie?”

               
Pulling out a red and black one, Damien says, “How about this one?”

               
“Perfect.” Kayla laughs, grabbing it from him.  She puts it around her
neck and proceeds to tie it.  “There,” she says. “All done.”

               
“I like you wearing it.  I think you should wear only that and some
lingerie.  Surprise me when I come home some day.  Like, hey honey,
I’m glad you’re home.”

               
That makes Kayla laugh.  “Are you coming home from a long day at work
doing nothing?”

               
“Hey, I’m going to work.  Remember, I’m going to be a doctor, hopefully a
surgeon,” Damien replies as he pulls on his pants.  “Then after a long day
at work, I can come home to my beautiful wife.”

               
“Yeah, after being around sexy nurses all day,” Kayla mutters, sitting down on
the bed.

               
Damien bursts out laughing. “You obviously have not been in many hospitals. 
The nurses are usually not even close to sexy, and they all wear really
unattractive scrubs.  Coming home to you will be like a breath of fresh
air.”

               
“Aww, thank you,” Kayla replies.  “Fine, if we ever get married, I will
dress in lingerie when you come home from a long day of saving people’s lives.”

               
Damien puts on his shirt and buttons it.  “That sounds perfect to me.”

               
Kayla gets up and puts the tie around Damien’s head.  “You are so
handsome.”  She tightens the tie and then fixes his collar.

               
“We make a striking pair, you and I,” Damien declares.  “We’ll turn heads
tonight.”

               
“That’s just because people will see you and you’re, like, a prince.  So
they have to stop and stare,” Kayla retorts.  “They’ll probably look at me
and go, really?”

               
“Stop it,” Damien says, grabbing her hands.  “You look gorgeous, trust
me.  Everyone is going to see that.”

               
Fidgeting with her hair, Kayla says, “I’m nervous.  I’ve never been to a
club before.  Is it like other clubs?”

               
 “N-not really,
”
Damien stutters.
“
You may
get there and want to leave.”

               
“What, why?” Kayla asks.

               
“I’m not going to tell you.  You have to gauge it for yourself.  It’s
just different because we’re different as a species,” Damien says, putting on
his vest.  “We are very…hormonal.”

               
“What is that supposed to mean?” Kayla asks, straightening his tie more.

               
He chuckles. “You’ll see.  Should we go get Jackson?”

               
“I don’t know, you look pretty good, kind of makes me want to take your clothes
off again,” Kayla teases.

               
“I’m game,” Damien says, pulling her against him.  “We can stay in.”

               
“No, I was joking,” Kayla teases.  “Let’s go see if Jackson is ready.”

               
Damien leans forward and kisses her.  “Why don’t you get my brooding
cousin?  I will call both places and let them know we’re coming. 
Security will go with us.”

               
“Can you turn off my tracker?” Kayla asks.  “I know you want to know where
I am, but it’s a little weird.”

               
“Already done,” Damien answers back.  “I knew you wouldn’t want it
on.  You’re with me now, so you’ll be safe.”

               
Kayla pulls him toward her by his tie.  “Are you going to let me out of
your sight?”

               
“Never again, if I can help it,” Damien replies.  “Except for the thirty
seconds it will take you to get Jackson.”

               
“Okay, can I have a kiss first?”

               
Smiling, Damien bends over and kisses her.  Kayla wraps her arms around
his neck and pulls him tight against her.  He reaches his hand down and
starts to slide it up her thigh and under her dress.

               
“Damien!” she exclaims.

               
“What?” he retorts with a devious smirk.

               
“Stop it,” Kayla snaps playfully.  “Keep those hands to yourself.”

               
He snaps his fingers. “Damn, all right go, before I try to take the whole dress
off.”

               
“Okay,” she says as she walks away.  Kayla makes her way out of the suite
and down to Jackson’s room.  She knocks lightly on his door.

               
It takes a minute, but it finally opens it.  When Jackson and Kayla see
each other, they both stop and stare.  Kayla checks him out, her eyes
roaming from head to toe and back again.  He’s wearing a form-fitted white
dress shirt, which shows off his muscles perfectly, and a pair of dark grey
dress pants.  Kayla actually can’t talk for a second.

               
Jackson stares at her just as intensely.  Finally, he says, “My cousin
must be all over you in that dress.”

               
She instantly blushes.  “I told him I should change.  It’s a little
much.”

               
“It’s…sexy as hell…if that’s what you’re going for, and tonight that’s what you
want to go for, trust me.
”
He blinks a few times and looks away.
“
Is
his highness ready also?”

               
“Yeah,” Kayla replies.  “You look really good, Jackson.”

               
“Didn’t think you would even register me anymore, since you, how did he put it,
chose
Damien.  I mean, why am I even here?” Jackson inquires.

               
Kayla shoves him back into his room and slams the door.  “What do you
want, Jackson?  We go back and forth.  You seem so pissed off about
me and Damien, but you don’t want to be with me.  So what, I’m supposed to
be single for the rest of my life?  Or is it just because it’s Damien?”

               
“It doesn’t matter anymore, Kayla,” Jackson states sharply.  “
You
are with
him
.  That is all that matters.  You
want
to
be with him, or that is what you tell him, or are you lying?”

               
“No, I want to be with him. I did
choose
him.”

               
Jackson growls and covers his face.  “This is stupid.  We just need
to stop.  I don’t even know if we can be friends.”

               
Kayla’s anger vanishes as she starts to panic.  “What…what do you mean?”

               
“How are we supposed to be friends?  I want to throw Damien through a
window!  But you’re with him.  You chose him.  We aren’t in a
relationship, but this tension between us is making us fight like a jealous
married couple.”

               
Kayla exhales slowly.  “I don’t want to lose you as a friend, so we need
to come up with something.”

               
“Maybe it would be better if I left tonight.” Jackson sighs.

               
Kayla shakes her head.  “No. You have to stay!  You were adamant that
you wanted to go to this club with me.”

               
He half laughs and rubs his forehead.  “I may end up killing someone.”

               
“Why?  What is with this club?”

               
“Nothing,” Jackson exhales.  “It’s nothing.  I’ll stay and go with
you, but I need to know one thing before we go.”

               
“What’s that?”

               
Giving her a steady look, Jackson says, “How far do you want to go with
Damien.  I mean…you asked me to step in a few days ago, but has it
changed?”

               
“I don’t know,” Kayla murmurs awkwardly.  “Things are changing.  My
feelings are changing.  I don’t know.  It’s all happening so fast.”

               
“That happens to us,” Jackson whispers.  “The hormones at our age are
insane.  From now until we’re, like, twenty-three it’s crazy.”

               
“I think I can keep my head on straight for the most part.  I say no to
him, and he really hasn’t pushed.  He did find out about the sketch of me,
though.  I told him.”

               
Jackson nods. “That’s why he had such a volatile reaction.”

               
“Yeah, we should actually get back to him before he thinks we’re making out.”

               
“I would make some snarky comment about why not just make out then, but I don’t
think that’s appropriate right now.”

               
Kayla can’t help but giggle.  “Remember, the rooms probably have cameras.”

               
“Ooh and you got all hot and heavy in your room with Damien.” Jackson
laughs.  “Who knows who was watching?”

               
Her jaw drops.  “You don’t think they really have cameras, do you?”

               
He shrugs. “I have no idea.  You would have to ask Damien.”

               
Turning on her heel, Kayla opens Jackson’s door and darts down the
hallway.  When she gets to Damien’s room, he’s standing in the doorway.
“Please tell me there are no cameras in the rooms.”

               
“No, of course not,” Damien replies.  “Where would you get a silly idea
like that?”

               
She turns and looks at Jackson.  “I wasn’t serious,” he quips back.

               
“Kayla, do you really think I would let someone watch you take your clothes
off?” Damien asks.  “I would kill them.”

               
“No,” she mumbles.  “I just thought…because of security reasons...”

               
Damien shakes his head.  “The hallways, yes.  The outside of the
building, yes.  In the rooms, no.  Don’t worry.  I am the only
one allowed to see you in your underwear.”  His gaze turns to Jackson, and
Damien gives him a harsh look.

               
“We should go to dinner,” Kayla chirps, trying to change the subject.  “I
need to get my shoes on.” 
She
speed-walks back
to the bedroom.  “Awkward,” she breathes out.

               
She puts on a pair of red heels that match the dress.  When Kayla walks
back out, Damien grins.  “Love the shoes with that dress.”

               
“Hey, now I’m only a few inches shorter than you.” Kayla giggles at Damien.

               
“No matter what heels you wear, you’ll never come close to me,” Jackson quips.
“Neither will Damien.”

               
Kayla rolls her eyes. “Come on, let’s go.”  She weaves her arm through
Damien’s, and they walk down the hallway.

               
A limo waits for them outside.  Kayla smiles because she has never been in
one before.  Damien asks the driver to take them down the strip so Kayla
can see it.  She turns to Damien.  “Can we come back here for a
vacation once this William problem is solved and I have my shifting under
control?  I want to see all of this!”

               
“Of course we can, baby,” Damien replies.  “We’ll do anything you want.”

               
Turning to look back out the window, Kayla grins. She feels out of place
because she’s never been to such a fancy restaurant before.  The food is
wonderful, and Damien explains what all the different herbs and plants
are.  Jackson stays pretty quiet through the entire meal.  It makes
Kayla a little sad, but Damien keeps her occupied the whole time.

               
They finally make their way to the club, and Kayla can’t help but dig for more
information.  “What’s the big deal about these places?”

               
“You’ll see.” He laughs in return.  “If you feel uncomfortable at any
point, we’ll leave.  Don’t feel like you have to stay.”