Dorian
I went to my room and started changing my clothes. I pulled on a performance t-shirt and some comfortable jeans. After changing clothes, I paced around my living room. I turned on the stereo and cued up my Rush playlist and as the sounds of Xanadu flowed from the speakers I sat on the couch and replayed the events of the day. Talia had been successfully running the business while I was away, and as soon as I come home all hell breaks loose. A dominant in the pack decides that he wants to start running things his own way and that we should be ruling over the humans, then the Vampire Master of the City shows up and lets loose with the possibility of an ancient vampire everyone thought was dead is now, in fact, alive and is also looking for probably the most powerful death magic grimoire. On a positive note, I met the most intriguing and beautiful woman that I’ve seen in years and, oh yeah, she’s also a shifter and a witch to boot. Not to mention that she is also Talia’s best friend and old college roommate. That dress she had on tonight. I sure as hell didn’t see her coming.
I pushed my thoughts of Khloe to the back of my mind and turned my attention to what needed to be done regarding Fenris Security. The company will still function as normal. We have regular employees to handle the day to day stuff just need to talk to Craig about increased security for the townhouse. I wonder if the crap with Dutch could be related to this Kirin fellow. Could this be a way to sow dysfunction among the supernatural community while he secures his place among the vampires before he moves against the rest of us? If what Khloe said is true about his history, then if he gets the Book of Souls we will be truly screwed.
I laid back on the couch and just let the music soothe me as my thoughts drifted back to Khloe. Smart, funny, tough, one hell of a martial artist, and damn she is a gorgeous looking woman. The dark brown hair, green eyes, and the tats… that alone really got my attention. I wish I could just take her up to the woods in Maine and spend a week hunting with her.
About an hour later I got up and head to the kitchen, grabbed a six pack of Newcastle out of the fridge, and head towards the door. My feet took me over to Khloe’s rooms and after a few minutes of indecision, I knocked. “Khloe are you okay? Do you want to talk?”
Khloe opened the door, taking my breath away with what she had on. Standing there in a sports bra and what I believe are yoga pants I stammered out. “Would you like a drink and some company?” I held up the six pack and I said, “I’m not much of a wine guy, but if you want some I’m sure Talia has some in her room.”
She smiled shyly and replied, “No, the beer is fine. Come on in and make yourself comfortable.”
I went to the kitchen, put the six pack in the fridge, and grabbed two of the bottles. I opened them and joined her on the couch. “Are you doing ok after all of that tonight? You seemed pretty upset and bothered about everything that Donovan said.”
“Yes, I am doing better after talking to my parents. I never thought that I would ever have to deal with something that happened so far in the past. We were all taught about the history of Kirin and the other Maya and Inca gods. We knew they were vampires but we were helpless against them until we could band together with the other shifters and witches from the area. Kirin was the worst of them all because of the Book. Being a vampire and sorcerer he was beyond powerful. He wasn’t just a bogey man to us. He was the embodiment of pure evil. Even the younger vampires didn’t raise much of a fuss over his demise and for that he is going to make them pay… if it is him.” She said.
“What about your parents and your people? Will they be ok?” I asked
“The village where my parents live is pretty isolated. They should be ok and once my mother gets the info out to the rest of the Eagle Warriors they will begin their search for Kirin and his minions. I’m sure that there are still some around that have never given up the faith that he would return. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are the reason he has resurfaced.”
“Well, hopefully, we will get some answers sooner rather than later. What about the book? That seems like something that we should make sure he never gets his hands on.” I asked, curious about it. I had little to no experience with magic.
“Yes, I’ve sent out a couple of texts to some colleagues of mine in the pre-Columbian studies network. Something like that would be a huge find if it has surfaced. My dad is also going to check with the Circles to see if they know anything. There’s nothing else we can do now.” She paused and bit her lip with her brows pinched before she got that eureka look and continued, “Oh, I want to set some wards around the property tomorrow to help with defenses, if you don’t mind?”
“I don’t see why not. I’ll help anyway I can. I’ve never been around any Witches. I’m curious how the magic thing works.” I replied.
I spent the next hour regaling her with stories from when Talia and I were children, some of which she had heard from Talia. She, in turn, told me about growing up in Peru. I decided then that I would love to see Peru from her perspective. I realized that with every minute I spent with Khloe, I found myself being drawn to her. Just as we finished our third beer her phone buzzed.
“It’s Talia asking if I’m up and if you are here.” She said with an impish smile.
I grinned at her and shook my head. “That’s my sister, always trying to play match maker.”
Khloe laughed and continued. “Oh, yes she does. She did it for me all through college. We should find someone for her and turn it around on her.”
“That would be a sight. I’m sure our parents would love that too.” I said as I looked around, “I should be going. It’s getting late and we’ve got a busy day tomorrow.”
I got up, grabbed the empty bottles and took them to the trash. Khloe followed me to the door and as I was about the leave she reached out and grabbed my hand. I stopped and turned. I stepped closer to her and placed my other hand on her cheek. Before I said anything stupid I leaned in and kissed her. I hoped I hadn’t misjudged her. When she didn’t knee me in the groin, I deepened the kiss as she wrapped her arms around me. Breaking our kiss, “I really like you. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She laughed at me, “Yeah, I kind of caught that part. See you in the morning, Dorian. I hope there will be more of that.”
“I sure hope so,” I said as I slipped out of her room and made my way back to mine with a shit eating grin on my face.