True Faces (4 page)

Eric smiled. “Yes.” He turned to the court
reporter and recapped the events in words for the record, then
started packing his briefcase. I helped him put everything away and
grabbed my own documents and notes before following Eric out of the
room and out of the building’s doors. Eric stayed silent until we
got into his blue 2010 Nissan Skyline and closed the doors. “Are
you sure that you’re alright? Would you like to take the rest of
the day off?”

I looked at Eric’s body and face and sighed.
He was tense, like a coiled snake ready to spring. “I’m fine. The
scratch on my neck isn’t even bleeding. It’s not your fault
Eric.”

He gripped the steering wheel and I heard the
leather creak in protest. “I would not have been able to forgive
myself if he had hurt you.”

I reached out slowly and rested my hand on
one of his. “You couldn’t have stopped him and it wasn’t your fault
that he snapped.” Actually it was mine. Somehow he knew that I was
a Seer. How when I didn’t actually even See him?

Eric looked at me and I swore his eyes had a
brighter golden tint to them than usual. “I could have done
something,” he whispered. He started the car and we drove in
silence to the office. Eric stayed in his office with the blinds
drawn and the door closed the rest of the afternoon. I tried to
focus on my work, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the way he
said he could have done something. Was he just upset that he hadn’t
been able to help me? Was it a natural human response or was there
some underlying meaning? When it was finally time to go home I
knocked twice on the door, then peeked my head into his office.
Eric was staring at a picture of a forest on his wall silently.
“Eric, I’m leaving.”

He spun around in his chair and his eyes grew
wide. “Leaving?”

I smiled. “It’s six.”

He exhaled with a hand on
his heart. “Oh, I thought you meant
leaving
. Alright, have a good
weekend.”

I nodded my head. “You too. And Eric?”

He looked back up at me from his desk.
“Hmm?”

I smiled. “Fighting always relieves my anger.
You might want to think about joining a dojo.”

He laughed and waved. “I’ll see you on
Monday.”

I closed his door and grabbed my backpack. I
had promised myself that I would go out tonight so I hurried home
to shower and change. I glared at my reflection for thirty minutes
after I was ready and tried to figure out what I could change.
Nothing came to mind so I stuffed my cash, ID and credit card in my
pocket and headed down the street to one of the three dance clubs
in town. I showed the bouncer my ID and made my way through the
crowd to the bar. The bartender was muscled, tattooed and only
wearing a pair of pants. He smiled seductively at me. “What’ll it
be?”

I smiled back at him. “Two shots of whiskey.”
He poured the shots and I handed him my cash, smiling at him when
he purposefully touched my hand when getting the cash. I exhaled
and downed the two shots one right after the other. The liquor
burned down my throat and warmed my stomach.

The music changed to a techno song and I
maneuvered my way to the middle of the dance floor and started
dancing. An attractive man in his late thirties started dancing
with me and I decided to let him instead of turning him away. He
wouldn’t be my pick for the night, but I didn’t want to be rude.
When the song ended I moved to another part of the dance floor and
within seconds a man in his mid twenties, who was very attractive,
started dancing with me. Akio and some of the other students had
always insisted I was very attractive, but when I looked at myself
I only saw the flaws. I couldn’t deny that I did draw attention
when I went out though.

The man moved closer to me and asked, “What’s
your name?”

I put my lips against his ear and said,
“Ciara and I need a drink.”

He smiled. “I’m Nate.” I
followed Nate to the bar and ordered two more shots. Nate raised an
eyebrow, but said nothing. Nate took his shot and I took my two and
led him back out onto the dance floor. The song changed to a fast
tempo techno remake and I moved my hips in a figure eight faster
and faster in front of Nate. He moved closer to me and then pressed
his hips against mine and matched my movements perfectly and
gracefully. Shit, he was a preternatural. I tried to pull away, but
he wrapped his arm around my waist and pressed his groin against my
butt. He was
very
happy to see me.

I tried to pull away again, but he held me
tight and whispered in my ear, “Don’t be afraid, Seer. I’m very
generous in the bedroom.”

I ripped away from him and ran face first in
to Eric’s muscular chest. “Eric? What are you doing here?” I asked
in shock.

Eric ignored me and glared at Nate. “You
should be more polite to women.”

Nate’s lips raised in what I assumed was
supposed to be a smile, but looked more like baring his teeth. “I
didn’t know you were in town, Eric.”

Eric rested his hand on my shoulder and gave
Nate the same type of smile. “Now you do.”

Nate looked at Eric’s hand on my shoulder and
scoffed. “So, not worth it.”

Eric watched him walk away then pulled his
hand away. I felt cold where his warm hand had just been. “Are you
okay? Did he hurt you?”

I rolled my eyes and felt the liquor kicking
in. “I’m fine. Jeez. And you didn’t answer my question.”

Eric smiled. “I come here every weekend.”

Of course I had to pick the club that he came
to. “Well I’ll just leave then.”

Eric grabbed my arm and stopped me from
walking away. “I thought we were friends, Ciara?”

His hand warmed my cold arm and I instantly
imagined how warm it would be to have his naked body pressed
against mine. “We are, but I don’t want to intrude on your night.
You only get three nights away from me. I don’t want you to feel
obligated to be around me just because we work together,” I
said.

Eric tilted my chin up with his hand and I
realized I was leaning in to his palm. “I like being around
you.”

I pulled away from him and swallowed. “I
think I need another drink.”

Eric frowned. “You sure? I think you might
have had enough.”

I glared at him then stormed to the bar. “Two
shots.” The bartender looked at Eric and then hurriedly filled the
shot glasses. I took one shot then reached for the other, but Eric
grabbed it. “That’s mine.” I said irritably.

Eric sniffed it then coughed. “I don’t
understand how you can drink this.”

I slammed the shot then shivered as the
liquor spread in my stomach. “It’s the only thing I’ve found that
can warm me.” Eric stared at me in shock, but didn’t say anything.
The song changed to one of my favorites and I smiled. “Gotta
dance.” I spun onto the dance floor and started dancing. I hadn’t
realized Eric was still there until I spun a little too fast and he
caught me before I fell. I blushed. “Sorry.”

He put my arms around his neck and his hands
on my lower back just above my butt. “No apology necessary.” He
danced well for a man and I found myself smiling at him and
enjoying the feel of his hands on me. My fingers moved up the back
of his neck and found his hair. It was thicker than any I had ever
felt and yet still incredibly silky soft. I jumped back from him
and stumbled, landing on my butt. He reached down to help me up and
I backed away from him. “I…you’re my boss.”

He helped me stand up and frowned. “You can’t
dance with me because I’m your boss?”

I backed away from him and hurried through
the crowd to the bartender. “Whiskey.”

Eric stepped up next to me and shook his head
at the bartender. “I think you’ve had enough.”

I wanted to yell at him, but didn’t want to
make him angry. I hopped onto the bar on my stomach and grabbed the
bottle of whiskey and took a swig before the bartender or Eric
could stop me. I tossed the cash on the bar top and walked away
from Eric and toward the exit. I just wanted one night to be normal
again. I wanted one night to find a guy to take my mind off of
everything.

Halfway to the door, large hands grabbed me
and pulled me against a large body. I looked up into the face of an
older African American man. He was attractive and scared the crap
out of me at the same time. I didn’t need my third eye to tell that
he wasn’t human. I tried to pull away from him and he ran his hand
down my back to cup my ass. “Damn girl. I never knew white girls
could have an ass like this.”

Eric pulled me out of the man’s arms and
said, “She’s off limits, Jeremiah.”

Jeremiah smiled, his white teeth bright
against his black skin. “Sure thing, boss. No harm done.”

I pulled away from Eric. “I’m not yours! You
have no right to tell others I’m off limits.”

Jeremiah laughed loudly, shaking my ear
drums. “Oh she’s a live one. Let me know how long it takes for her
growl to change to a purr.”

I glared at Jeremiah and walked through the
rest of the people and out of the club. The cold night air stole my
breath and chilled me in an instant. I looked around for a winter
fairy, wondering if they were playing a prank on me, but my eye was
still closed so everyone looked human. I tried looking out of the
corner of my eye, but the alcohol was blurring my normal vision so
even that trick was useless. Eric came out of the club and I
started walking toward my house. “Ciara, wait.”

I ignored him and kept walking down the
sidewalk. I made it two blocks before someone stepped out of the
alley and reached for me. What was going on tonight? Did I have a
big sign over my head that said Seer?

I tried to kick him, but had drunk too much
and ended up barely grazing him and falling. The man reached for me
and then Eric hit him. I stood up and rubbed my shoulder which had
taken the brunt of the fall. I heard growling next to me and
stepped between Eric and the other man. “Back off tigerboy. Go find
some other meal.” I didn’t actually know if he was a tiger, but for
some reason that was the vibe he was giving me.

The man glared at me, then ran down the
alley, disappearing in seconds. I hated how fast they were. It was
completely unfair. Eric turned me around and glared down at me. “I
told you not to do something like that again.”

I shook my head. “You have no idea what there
really is out there. He could have ripped you apart before you
blinked. I am not worth getting mauled.”

Eric sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I can take
care of myself, Ciara.”

I glared at him. “So can I!”

He stared at me in silence for a few seconds
then sighed. “Alright. I’m sorry.”

My eyes widened in shock. He just
apologized?! I nodded my head at him then started walking down the
sidewalk again. Eric matched my strides and I stopped again, “What
are you doing?”

He smiled. “Walking you home.”

I frowned. “I told you that I can’t do this.
You’re my boss…” Tigerboy leapt at me from the alleyway,
interrupting me and slammed me to the ground. My head hit the
pavement and the world went black.

~~~~

CHAPTER FOUR

I woke up with a warm washcloth being pressed
to the side of my head. I tried to push it away, but warm hands
held me down. “It’s alright Ciara. It’s just me.”

I opened my eyes slowly and frowned. “Eric?
What…where are we?”

He rinsed the washcloth in a bowl then pushed
it on my head again. Pain sizzled in my head and I whimpered
pathetically. “I’m sorry it hurts, but I have to clean it.”

I swallowed and asked again, “Where are
we?”

He pushed back a strand of hair that was on
my face. “At your house.”

“
But you didn’t know where
I lived,” I whispered.

He smiled. “Your address was programmed into
the phones and a few of your neighbors were out so I asked them
which house was yours.”

I sighed and then hissed as he pushed harder
on the wound on my head. “What happened?”

Eric’s face hardened and his eyes glowed.
“That boy jumped on you and you hit your head on the sidewalk. I
pulled him off of you and after a brief tumble he ran off.”

I stared at him in shock. “He ran away? They
don’t run away.”

Eric shrugged. “I called his bluff. Men
really aren’t that tough.” He ran a hand along my throat where the
scratch from the knife was. I pulled away from him and tried to
stand, but the pain in my head forced me to my knees. Eric picked
me up and put me back on the bed. “Stop it. I’m not going to hurt
you.”

I asked, “What are you?”

He frowned. “A man that is worried about his
friend. Why do they keep calling you, Seer?”

I opened my mouth then closed it again. “I
don’t know.”

Eric gave me a lopsided smile. “Uh-huh. Are
you hungry?”

The thought of food made my stomach roll. I
crawled off the bed and hurried as fast as I could to the bathroom,
promptly losing my lunch and everything else that was in my
stomach. Eric sat down behind me and pulled my hair back. He was
holding my hair while I puked, if I wasn’t so grossed out I would
think it was cute. I finished throwing everything up and wiped my
mouth with toilet paper. “You don’t have to do this,” I whispered
without looking at him.

Eric handed me a glass of water. “Drink
this.”

I sipped the water slowly and slumped against
the toilet. “Maybe I had, had enough.”

Eric laughed softly. “I believe so. Are you
feeling better?”

I stood up and brushed my teeth quickly
before answering him. “Yes.”

He helped me back to my bed and started
bandaging my head. “It’s a small gash, but you need to keep it
clean.”

I looked up at his worried face. “Thank
you.”