Stormfront (Undertow Book 2) (5 page)

“Jesse says the game ha
s
been postponed to Sunday night,” announced Ana, closing her texting app and sliding her phone behind her. She sat on the kitchen counter in her Grinch pants, licking the last remnants of cookie dough from an oversized spoon. Her bare feet bounced to the radio station’s hour-long set of Christmas songs.

I sat cross
-legged on the kitchen floor near one of the ornate heat registers, keeping myself toasty warm. The hot cocoa in my JAWS mug gave off the most delicious double-chocolate aroma, which was probably the reason why it was disappearing so fast. “I’ve only been to a couple of football games at my old school, but they were usually the ones earlier in the season.”

“Cold-phobic?” asked
Ana, dropping the clean spoon in the sink.

“I’m happily frying griddle marks on my rear end thanks to the radiator, so yeah – I am definitely allergic to anything below 40.”

Ana snorted as she hopped down from the counter. “Well, you’ve got to go, especially since Jesse keeps reminding me
constantly
that you
need
to come. I am just about ready to give him your cell number, because this secretary gig is getting old.”

“Oh – please don’t,” I moaned. “He’s really a nice guy, but I don’t want him to think I’m interested in him when I’m not.”

Though he was busy as captain of the football team, Jesse Vale had managed to coordinate all my missed schoolwork from the two classes we had together. He would hand off his copied notes and papers to MJ, who would dutifully bring them to my home. While I was hoping he did it purely out of friendship, I was starting to worry that he was developing feelings for me, and I didn’t want to accidentally lead him on.

But he had been my schoolwork gofer and I owed him, so when he asked that I come to the football game, I agreed. I was actually looking forward to the high school’s annual rivalry game with another town, but then I realized that there would be two other people in attendance who I did NOT want to bump into: Nikki Shea and Teddy
Bencourt.

Nikki wanted to slowly kill me, and Teddy almost drunkenly assaulted me. Talk about a bad combination.

Unfortunately, I had already promised Jesse. Plus, Ana had assured me that she would bring along her pepper spray, which had been a gift from Kian last summer. She said she would happily spray first, ask questions later, which was not a good idea with Ana.

She’d spray just about everyone.

So, I did the only thing I could: I sucked it up. No fear, live hard, and all that jazz. Plus, I would be in the bleachers with a zillion other screaming fans, who would be witnesses if needed.

Of course, I was praying there would be no incidents, period, and therefore no need for witnesses. I was also going to demand a guard-free football game, because Ana and I needed to show the boys that we could be fine on our own.

Kian and Raef had returned from Torrent Road a while ago, but on foot. Apparently some jerkface thought it would be fun to vandalize the Rover’s tires, and Kian was not pleased – and no doubt would kill the fool who mucked with his ride, if he could find him.

After a few phone calls, Kian managed to locate a tow company that was able to go get the Rover and replace the tires. Initially they had said the vehicle wouldn’t be ready until after Thanksgiving, but then Kian mentioned a sizable bonus to any mechanic who had the Rover repaired and delivered to 408 by the day’s end. Sure enough,
Kian’s vehicle was back at my house within 90 minutes and one underpaid mechanic was a grand richer.

 
While they had been waiting for the car to arrive, Kian and Raef had started moving the firewood from the barn out back, to the side of the house for easy access. The wind and snow had picked up as the storm bore down on the Cape, and the lights had flickered inside 408 a few times.

While the boys did their thing, Ana and I had helped Mae make cookies and prep the pies for tomorrow’s feast. Mae was on cloud nine that she actually got to entertain a real group of friends for Thanksgiving. Ana and I had hung out in the cookie-scented kitchen, chatting and waiting for Kian and Raef to be done. Mae eventually headed upstairs to sew little lace leaves on cloth napkins.

Yeah . . . she was just a wee bit excited.

“I’m in the mood to zone with a movie.
Wadda ya say?” asked Ana, pulling a bottled water out of the fridge.

“Movie sounds good. Can I take my butt-warmer with me?”

“Uh . . . no. But when Raef comes in I’m going to tell him that you have a new radiator marking on your rear. Think he will want to examine that one as well?”

I blushed hot. Raef had seen the kill mark on my lower back the night he pulled me from the Town Neck River. I was raised believing that the mark was a radiator burn from childhood, but I was wrong. My mark was a sign of my dangerous lineage and it had changed since the Breakers. Christian said it would evolve every time I killed, just as Elizabeth’s had.

The side door swung open and a blast of snow raced into the room, smacking me in the face. I squealed and scrambled to my feet as Raef came through the door, his arms loaded with wood. Kian followed, his arms equally full, and kicked the door shut behind him. A dusting of white littered the tile, but was quickly melting.

“Sorry E!” called Raef, as he headed into the parlor with the wood.

“It’s okay!” I called back as I grabbed a rag from the counter and started wiping up the floor. Once done, I tossed the rag to Ana, who pitched it in with the dirty pile in the laundry room that was attached to the kitchen. We headed into the parlor and watched as Raef and Kian stacked the wood beside the ornate fireplace. Soon the boys had a luminous, orange fire crackling.

I sat on the floor near the couch as
Ana riffled through the movies under the TV. Raef slid back to sit next to me, his long legs kicked out in front of him.

“So how is Christian?” I asked, admiring how the wood popped and crackled under the flames. I had yet to actually go inside Christian’s new Torrent Road home. It just felt weird that he was my grandfather, especially since he looked like he was only in his late 20s. Even more insane was that he was technically my FOURTH great grandfather. It was taking a while to adjust to those time-warping details.

“We didn’t actually see Christian. We ended up heading to Sandy Neck to go hunting. That’s where Kian got the flat tires.” Raef leaned his head back slightly, resting it against the couch cushions.

“I can’t believe someone would flatten his tires. Some people are such . . . such . . . poop-heads!”

Raef looked at me, “Really? Poop-heads?”

“I’m trying not to swear too much. I need to work on my creativity, obviously.”

Raef smiled, “Maybe just a little.”

“I’m glad you went hunting. I mean
, you did seem kind of beat. I take it you’re feeling better?” I leaned my head back as well, and our eyes were even with one another.

“Yeah. It’s good . . . I didn’t realize how rundown I was. I haven’t hunted in so long.”

Had he starved himself? Good grief, why? I furrowed my brow and sat up quickly. He followed suit. “You haven’t been hunting? Why on earth not?

He shrugged, “I just didn’t want to leave you alone. And I have hunted, just not that often. It’s not a big deal, really.”

“It is a big deal, Raef! Don’t starve for me! And I am safe. For the thousandth time, no one is hunting me down.”

“Except the FBI.”

I smacked him in the arm, pissed that he would deny himself the one thing that kept him alive in order to ensure my survival.

His mouth tipped up, amused at my pitiful punch, so I went to whack him again, but he snatched my wrist, holding it snuggly in his wide palm. My skin tingled softly where he touched and he tugged me towards him, bringing my face closer to his.

“I just want you safe, E. And I realize now that not hunting enough actually makes me more of a liability. But don’t worry. I’ll hunt more.”

I looked at his storm-blue eyes for a moment, allowing myself to enjoy our close proximity. I could hear the voices of Kian and Ana discussing which movie to watch, but their conversation barely registered in my head. I was as close to Raef as I was the night he first kissed me, and thus my brain wasn’t functioning too well anymore. I swallowed and finally pulled myself out of my momentary stupor.

“We had an agreement that you have not honored. If you really want me safe, you will help me train,” I whispered.

His face tensed and his grip on my wrist tightened. “I know. And I’m sorry I haven’t supported you on that. But I will – I promise. Just let me figure out where we can train and how. We can’t risk attracting any more government goons. And we do it in stages. Basic self-defense first, okay?”

“Ana comes along as well,” I demanded. It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact.

He gave a quick nod, “The Elmo groupie learns to kick ass too.”

I snorted a laugh, “It’s not Elmo!”

“All furry monsters are the same in my book,” replied Raef, finally releasing my hand.

“I’m telling MJ you said that!” I chided, knowing that MJ, whose ability to shift into a massive, black dog was ridiculously cool, would be highly insulted. MJ, once in his dog-form, was one formidable fighter and pretty darn lethal when matched against a Mortis. In his human form, however, he was just a big, lean goofball.

Raef smiled, but then his face grew more serious. “There was another part to that deal we had.”

Holy chicken nuggets, I didn’t think he would bring that up. Uh, yeah there was another part to the deal, regarding his lips and mine. My voice came out a little hoarse, “Yeah. I remember the other part. Are you thinking we should entertain a few revisions?”

“Maybe just a few,” he grinned. “But only if you’re okay with it.”

“YES!” I shouted in his face. It was so uncool, but the shine in Raef’s eyes spoke volumes.

Ana’s head popped up, a DVD in her hand with two elderly actors on the front, “Really? You want to watch The King’s Speech?”

Raef and I both turned to her and Kian, “The King’s Speech? What? No – pick something funny – or scary, Ana.”

“I thought his stuttering was both unnerving and amusing,” added Kian, pulling another DVD from the boxes under the TV.
  I felt Raef’s hand graze my own as he got up, and suddenly these random touches once again meant something to me. Not just an accidental connection, but a stolen moment of affection we shared. Suddenly, I was heading back in the right direction with the boy I adored.

A holiday
freakin’ miracle for sure! What the heck did he hunt, and where can I find him more?

Raef slid up next to
Ana and poked around the box, finally pulling out a greenish colored movie. “How about this?” In his hand was
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
.

My cheer for the furry green villain movie quickly dissolved into a pissed-off groan as the power flickered and finally cut out.

“Terrific,” protested Ana as Kian muttered a small thanks to the weather, which spared him the rhyming abilities of little Cindy-Lou Who. He stood up and pulled Ana to her feet, “Come on Klutzy. Let’s go find the flashlights.”

“Call me K
lutzy again and I’ll key your new Range Rover,” she replied smoothly. I heard Kian demand that she stop pinching him as they left the room, with Kian leading the way as he saw easily without the light.

In the fire-strewn darkness I could make out Raef’s strong, golden outline as he pushed the DVDs back into the cabinet and moved next to me. “Not afraid of the dark, are you?” he asked quietly.

I smiled, his blue eyes nearly black in the room’s shadows. Outside, the wind sounded like an angry dragon, raging against the antique beams of my house. Inside however, the fire coated a small perimeter of the parlor in a haunting light, outlining the stunning profile of the devoted killer beside me.

“With you next to me Raef, I fear nothing.”

The smell of cinnamon and coffe
e
lured me out of my warm cocoon of sleep. I blinked into the early morning sunlight filling the parlor and listened to the echoing quiet of the house. The soft drip of Mae’s coffee maker confirmed that the power had returned and the brilliant blue outside the window revealed a crystal clear sky. I realized I must have nodded off in front of the fire last night, because I was still camped out on the floor, but somehow I had acquired what felt like a pillow. It was a bit too firm though.

I moved slightly and realized the pillow was attached to a perfectly sculpted forearm . . . and hand, which had my long hair gently woven through its fingers. Something warm and solid tightened around my waist and my eyes widened as I realized Raef was tucked against my back, one of his arms supporting my head and the other clasped around my waist.

Sweet baby dolphins everywhere, Raef was SPOONING me, his chest pressed firmly against my back.

Now acutely aware of my surroundings, I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck as he slept. I wanted to turn to him, but I was terrified he would wake and realize he had jumped headfirst into those revisions we had briefly mentioned last night.

Heck, he was WAY MORE than touching me. He was holding me as if I would disappear - as if I would fade into the molecules in the air. I swallowed and stayed still, taking inventory of his hard body against mine, and how we seemed to fit so perfectly together.

A metal pan scra
ped against something in the kitchen, breaking the silence of the house, and I felt Raef take a deep breath and stretch ever so slightly.

Then he froze.

Crap.

I stayed still, hoping he would think I was asleep. Hoping he wouldn’t suddenly shoot across the room, taking with him the warmth and safety I felt in his arms.

He didn’t move for what felt like forever, keeping his arm around my waist, but then I felt him softly spread his fingers out over my stomach. It took everything I had not to spontaneously combust.

I felt his forehead touch the back of my neck and he drew a slow, deep breath against my shoulder blade. It sent electricity fanning out from my skin and down my arm. All ability to control myself fled my body and I dragged in a shaky breath.

He loosened his grip and I rolled onto my back, his arm still behind my head and his hand just below my belly button. His fingers grazed the area of my skin that was now exposed thanks to a too-short tanktop.

God bless the discount rack at Abercrombie.

“Uh . . . good morning,” I said, my voice a little dry.

“Good m
orning,” he replied, quietly. “I didn’t mean to wrap myself around you like that. I don’t even remember doing it.”

Pfft
. . . no worries!

“You just needed a snuggle-buddy,” I replied, flashing him a knowing grin, but my face started to flush. Oh my god . . . that was so lame.

Raef gave a soft smile and was about to reply, but a paisley pillow shot up from behind him and wacked him in the back of his head. “HEY!” he protested.

“Will you two SHUT UP!” moaned
Ana who was sprawled on the floor as well. “I think I might actually throw up in my mouth.
Will you be my snuggly-swuggly pooh bear?
UGH! Seriously – I’m gonna barf.”

I blushed hot and
sat up as Raef’s hand fell away from my tummy. He slowly got to his feet, tossing the pillow that attacked him onto the couch. He stretched, looking really well rested for the first time in weeks, and his black t-shirt rode up just enough to torment the heck out of me.

He looked down to where I sat on the floor, scrambled hair and silly PJs most likely making me quite the sight to see. “I’m going to go bring in some more wood and see if Mae needs anything,” he said, taking his fine self and walking into the kitchen. I heard him greet Mae, though Mae returned a clipped
Hello
, and then the side door closed.

I turned to Ana who was still sprawled on the floor with pillows and blankets. “What the hell woman?”

“SNUGGLE BUDDY? That’s all you can come up with after not having your hands on him for how long?” laughed Ana.

“Hey – at least I could speak. I was so shocked that
he was with me, I thought I was hallucinating. Did you fall asleep down here too?”

“No. I went to my room, but was freezing by one in the morning. Kian and Raef were down here talking while keeping the fire going, and you were drooling on the floor, so I figured I’d camp out too, minus the unsexy drooling of course.”

“I do not drool!” I laughed, horrified.

“Well, maybe not, but you do have a line indented on th
e side of your face from how you were sleeping,” she smirked.

“I do not!” I protested, but then felt my cheek. Sure enough I had a long groove running the length of my face.

Terrific.

Mae appeared in the parlor doorway, her arms crossed over a stained plaid apron. “I need to talk to both you girls. Now, please.”

That didn’t sound very promising. I glanced at Ana, who gave me a curious look, but we followed Mae back into the kitchen where feast preparations were in full swing.

“Sit,” Mae instructed as she poured herself a fresh cup of coffee. She added some sugar and slowly turned to face us as she stirred the caffeine. The soft clink of her spoon against the cup seemed to echo ominously in the silent room. What was she up to?

“Um – did I forget to take the trash out or something?” I asked, daring a nervous glance to Ana. Mae cleared her throat, a sure sign of whatever she was about to say was not going to be enjoyable.

“Raef and Kian are lovely young men. They’ve helped me out enormously while the two of you have been laid-up, and I am very grateful for all they have done. However, what I am about to say is non-negotiable.”

Oh please – don’t say it. Don’t go there.

“Sex should be between two people that are in love and are mature enough to understand the ramifications of such an activity.”

Yup. She went there. I’d bet the deed to the house it was because Raef had been curled around me, too.

The color drained entirely from Ana’s face.

“Mae – you really don’t  . . .” I started, but she raised a hand to silence me. It was very possible I would never recover from this conversation. I was sure Ana’s ears were shriveling off her head as Mae spoke.

“I am not so
naïve that I do not see how you four act around each other. It’s obvious that there are feelings that go far beyond friendship between you two and the boys. All I ask is that you girls are careful, use your head. Don’t do something you’re pressured into. And for heaven’s sake, if you are determined to do it, DON’T do it under this roof and always,
always
be protected.”

Silence descended on the room, as if a black hole had opened up on the table, sucking all gravity and sound from the kitchen.

Mae stood there, glancing at the two of us.

I was so mortified. I slid my eyes to the kitchen door that Raef had passed through minutes ago. If he was still anywhere near the side of the house, his supernatural hearing would have just offered him an earful. Kill. Me. Now.

Ana, no doubt ready to perform a self-inflicted mental exorcism to erase the past few moments, hopped up from her seat as if she had been scalded.

“Right. Good talk. Will keep it under advisement.
Gotta get dressed,” she declared, bolting from the room. I think her little feet actually left a smoke trail in their wake. Her leg was definitely all healed.

I glanced at Mae and she eyed me over her steaming cup of coffee as she took a sip.

Somebody save me.