The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) (36 page)

“It will have been worth it.
” Then he let me go to save the dinner. He followed me in and
Libby was greeting him properly
, the way our mother had taught us.

“Dominic, it is nice to see you again
.
” She said putting on her posh voice, no scouse in sight! I giggled to myself while stirring the dinner which had started to stick slightly at the bottom of the pan. I turned the temperature down and Libby came walking in with two bottles of wine. I hadn’t even seen Draven with any
thing in his hands but me
.
Libby mouthed the words “fancy” at me before putting them in the fridge.
Draven followed behind and smelled
the air.

“Mmm
,
smells good
.
” I smiled at the compliment before giving him a wink.

“I have just got to cook the rice and then we
’
re good to go
.
” I said just as Frank walked
in
from outside. He walked up to Draven and extended his hand.

“Dominic, how ya doing? I noticed the Aston outside, Man that
sure
is a nice car!” I hadn’t even noticed the car he came in but now I was trying not to laugh. I knew he would bring it but what he said next did shock me.

“Well
if
it’s alright with Keira
,
then I thought you might like to take a drive before dinner
.
” Frank looked like he was trying not to choke on his happiness.

“HOLY
SHIT
would I!” Draven laughed, especially when Libby hit him for being rude.

“Sorry babe, Hey Kazzy you don’t mind, do you?”
He looked at me like I held all his dreams in my hand and
could crush them at any second.

“No of course not, go and have
sensible speed
fun!” I said and he came up to me and ruffled my hair.

“Thanks kiddo, we won’t be long
.
” I thought he was going to drag Draven
’
s arm out
after
he came over to me and kissed
me
before leaving through
the door with Frank. Me and Libby both went to the window and watch
ed
as t
w
o huge men acted like big kids. First he showed him the engine and you could almost hear Frank
’s
enthusiasm as we
both
expected him to start jumping up and down. Then Draven slammed the hood and threw him the keys! None of us expected he would le
t Frank
actually
drive and from the look
on his face neither
did Frank.

“Well is
n’t
that sweet of him. I have to say I’m impressed Kaz
, he is making
a
real effort and I think if he ever needed a kidney then Frank
would be first in line
. He has a friend for life
now.
” I grinned at her before turning
to boil the kettle. The grin was both down t
o
my sister being impressed and the idea
of Draven ever needing a kidney.

By the time they returned
,
me and Libby we
re chatting about them both and I had consumed another glass of wine and Libby stuck to her OJ
. The door opened to the sound of Frank swearing about the power of the engine.

“Man that is some serious shit you got there, I thought I
was gonna lose her on that F
uc…I mean
…
God
damn
corner!” Draven was laughing
at Libby’s frowning face at catching her husband nearly saying the F word. She got up and walked past him shaking her head.

“Babe! Aww come on baby
, you should have seen me, it was awesome!” He said as he followed her out to set the table. Draven was still laughing as he came over to me.

“That was
really
good of you. I think you made his year, oh and
you also have a friend for life.
” I said laughing as I turned around to stir the rice that was very nearly done. I felt his hands on my shoulders and he leaned down
to whisper to me. He mo
ved the stray hairs off my neck with his fingertips.

“I didn’t just do it for Frank. I like to watch you smil
e at other people’s happiness, i
t makes your soul
glow
.
” I turned round to face him grinning and I pushed him lightly.

“Don’t tease!” I said and he held up his hands and said
,

“What me?” B
efore his cheeky grin fell on my happy lips. I wouldn’t let him fully kiss me as I didn’t want to get caught by my sister again.

“Now who is the tease?”
He flicked me playfully on the nose and I frowned making him let out a rough laugh.

“Tables set, Dominic would
you
like to come through?” Libby said as she grabbed the wine.

“Sure
.
” H
e said to
Libby
before she left to take the bottle
to the table. He turned but then stopped
to
look
over his shoulder at
me like he had forgotten something.

“
Oh and Keira, I am loo
king forward to a whole evening where
you
have to call
me Dominic.
” Then he
left to take his seat in the di
ning room, leaving me biting my lip as always. Dating him, I was surprised that I had any bottom lip left!

Libby came back to help me carry the bowls of food to the table and when I walked through I suppressed a giggle at the sight of the table laid out with her best china and silverware. I placed the bowls down and lifted the lids to release the smell of fiery spices. I pointed out the hot one and the mild one for Libby and me.

“
Damn
that smells good
,
” Frank stated
as he dug in.
Libby smacked his head lightly and it was like watch
ing
a big kid get a telling off.

“Frank! Guest
s first
!
” She said and Frank rolled his eyes at Draven.

“Aww Lib
’s
,
dudes don
’t care about that type of shi…s
tuff
.
” He nodded to Draven for back up.

“It is fine, please
.
” He held out his hand for Frank to continue. This made him turn to Libby and give her a smirk like he had won a round. It was like watching a
non violent P
unch and Judy show.
Frank piled his plate and then we all dug in.

“
Damn
Kazzy this is hot stuff! What do you call it?” Frank asked as he shovelled it down like it was going out of fashion. I said the answer trying not to laugh.

“Well I call it
….
Kazzy’s devilled Chicken
!
” As soon as I said it
,
all eyes were on Dr
aven as he had erupted into rauco
us laughter and couldn’t control it. Frank and Libby looked at each other like he had lost it
,
so I added ‘private joke’
which was the truth. Once he had finished with his outburst
,
he leaned next to me and kissed me on the head before saying
,

“It’s
delicious
.
”

Everyone had seconds and I loved to watch people enjoy my food. Libby rubbed her belly and said
,

“Well
,
the babe
’
s had enough, but thanks Kaz that was lovely
.
”

“Yeah cheers Kazzy, hot as hell but
damn
good!” Frank said as I took his empty plate from him before he started to lick it clean like a dog. Draven stood ready to help me but I put my hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“
Its
fine, I’ve got it
.
”
But Libby
got up to help me anyway and I knew this was more down to
her
wanting to gossip in the kitchen.

“Right
, come on,
please tell me…what
’s
wrong with him?” Libby asked as I opened the dishwasher.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh come on, there must be something wrong with him, otherwise we might have found the worlds
most
perfect man and then we could sell his DNA for millions!” I laughed with her but she was trying to be se
rious. I couldn’t exactly say “W
ell he is half Demon!”

“So let
’
s look at the evidence, he’s kind, generous, rich, a perfect gentleman, utterly gorgeous to look at
.....
” She was counting off his plus points on her fingers and
had to swap h
ands to continue, there
was that many.

“Oh yeah
,
and let
’
s not forget according to you, an absolute sex God in the bedroom with an extreme amount of equipment! And saving the best for last…he
clearly and
completely adores you!” She had me blushing and I was glad I was hiding my head as I loaded the dishes.

“Come on
...please
give me something!” I shook my head at the conversation we were having and let the door slam.

“Ok
,
so what’s wrong with Frank?” I challenged.

“His feet reek!”

“Libby!” I shouted at her for being mean….ok I knew it was true so I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What
? T
hey do, and we
’
re talking premium French cheese style! And he snores. So that
’s
two things….your turn
.
” I got the cake out
to cut it in half
and
started to add
the
whipped cream to
the middle. Libby passed me the st
rawberries out
of
the fridge.

“Well there is one thing….he stares at me to
o
much
.
”
I said quietly but she just laughed
,
not taking me seriously.

“Oh
,
poor you! Come on
,
that’s not a fault, why would you mind that?”

“Well you know I get all shy and
besides,
it’s intim
id
ating. He can be intense but mainly I don’t understand why he does it
.
” This made her smile turn serious.

“Oh Kaz, it’s not hard to understand at all. You do remember all the attention you got in school? Everyone fancied you but
they
weren’t brave enough to ask you out
.
”

“That’s not true
!
” I was getting defensive now but Libby wouldn’t back down.

“Oh Kaz open your eyes, you
’
r
e
beaut
iful and you never needed flashy,
short clothes or loads of makeup to achieve that and sat in there is the proof!
I mean
,
even now you have Justin drooling at the very sight of you. Frank said his brother was gutted to find out
you
’
r
e
dating someone. Does Dominic know you
’
r
e
taking him to his club next weekend?”

“No and I need to talk to you about that
.
”

“Oh no
,
you can’t back out, do it for Frank and just palm him off with your friend RJ when you get there but please just do it this one time…ok
?
” I would have loved to have said no but she knew my guilt would be on her side
,
so I just nodded.

“Ok
,
but I’m doing this for Frank!” I said sternly wondering how the hell I was ever going to break it to Draven? The thought created butterflies in my food filled stomach.