Caged View (16 page)

He glanced over his shoulder at me and
smiled.

I opened my eyes wide and screamed, “Keep
your eyes on the road!”

He laughed, turned his head forward.
“Besides the peace stuff, your ideas are brilliant. This is why
you’re second in command.”

“Don’t start with that again, Zulu.” The
pain at my temples transformed into a pounding headache. “I don’t
want the position or any leadership responsibilities.”

“If you won’t take the Rebels, then consider
a regular guard,” Zulu said, ignoring my refusal to be his number
two. “You’re too important to me. Just one guard?”

“Fine. But he can’t come into my
classrooms.”

“Deal.”

We turned into the driveway of a turquoise
condo building.

“On another topic,” Zulu said. “When are we
going to talk about the fun we had on my desk? I would like to try
that again, though your escape last time tells me that I’ll have to
wait.”

I opened my mouth but was unable to find the
words that I’d planned on saying. He parked the bike and kicked the
stand down. Regret filled me. He stiffened under my arms.

“Are you going to answer me?” he muttered,
not looking at me.

I swallowed. “Zulu, I like you.”

“But?”

“You’re the face of MFE,” I said. “Supes
know you all over Santeria, especially the women. They throw
themselves at you after every rally.”

“What does that have to do with you and
me?”

I blew out some air, removed the helmet, and
jumped off of his bike.

“Lanore?”

“I’m just not interested in dating another
guy that’s in the public eye. MeShack’s band was successful only in
Shango, and there were still lots of female fans knocking on our
door and sneaking into his room. The temptation is—”

“MeShack’s dick was the problem. He’s a
Shifter. That’s what the males do when they’re young.” Zulu climbed
off of his bike and grabbed the helmet from me. “Don’t let his crap
mess up what we could have.”

“I’m not interested.” I shifted all of my
weight to my right foot, leaning my head forward so that most of my
dreadlocks hid my face. He put the helmet on the bike’s handle.

“I’m sorry I kissed you,” I said. “I
shouldn’t have. Now I just want everything to not be awkward.”

He eliminated the distance between us and
was so close, the tips of his blond dreadlocks touched my breasts.
I shuddered and took a step back.

“Your nipples get hard when I’m near you,”
he whispered. “And you stop breathing for a few seconds.”

I forced myself to breathe.

He came closer. The cords in his arms glowed
white.

“My body reacts to you, too,” he said. “I
would have been content with wanting you from afar, but you kissed
me. Now I can’t get your taste out of my mind.”

He pulled me to him, pressing his lips to
mine, thrusting his tongue inside my mouth, and bringing with it a
peppermint flavor.

So perfect.

I moaned and attempted to push him away, but
it was a lackluster effort. As soon as my fingertips touched his
chest, I stopped pushing and glided them down his smooth skin.

It’s just a kiss.

He wrapped his hands around my waist,
pulling me closer. A groan escaped from him. I sucked on his lip
and then bit it. He tightened his grip, and in that moment, I knew
I wouldn’t stop if he wanted more.

A horn beeped. Light flashed over our faces.
We stopped kissing and looked in the light’s direction.

“Mixies! Get your asses out of here,” a
guard shouted from a security car. He held a flashlight in his
hand. “Take that to Shango where you Combo Trash are allowed.”

“I have a condo here.” Zulu spat out the
words as he pulled me behind him. “And don’t flash that fucking
flashlight in my face.”

“Zulu, stop. Let’s just go.” I couldn’t see
the guard’s brand and figured it was best to avoid any more
problems tonight.

“Listen to your lady.” The guard turned off
the flashlight. “You don’t want my type of trouble, boy.”

The guard twirled his hand in a circular
motion. Wind appeared from the guard’s palm, spinning into a tiny
tornado.
An Air Witch.

The mini tornado headed toward us. Zulu
grabbed my arm, trying to help me keep my balance within the
current of air as it pushed against our bodies. I stumbled, falling
to the ground and dragging Zulu with me. The wind stopped. The
guard laughed.

I increased the heat within me, ready to end
his entertainment, but he drove off.

A growl shot out of Zulu’s throat. He jumped
up and then gave me his hand.

“This is why peace doesn’t work with
Purebloods.” He pulled me up. “You have to speak their language.
Meet violence with violence.”

He stormed off before I could reply.

Hours later, I lounged on Zulu’s couch, my
stomach full of roasted duck, watching the NSFL championship on his
6DTV. He’d recorded it earlier. I grabbed the couch’s pillows as he
massaged my feet. Pleasure spread throughout my body. I’d lost a
bet that the Buddhist Monks would be in the lead before halftime.
Being that he had a foot fetish, he chose massaging my feet as his
reward. I found it to be a win-win situation.

As far as the kiss in the garage, neither
one of us brought it up. It was too closely linked to the asshole
Air Witch. It had taken the whole dinner to calm Zulu down.

“Tackle him!” Zulu yelled.

The game’s images floated throughout the
room. The 6DTV had just come out on the market. Two Air Witches had
patented the spell. A football flew by my head. The referee’s
whistle blew right next to me. I covered my ear.

“Could you turn the weather effects down?” I
said as the wind from the stadium blew into the living room.

Zulu grabbed the remote control and stuck it
on his X brand. The cold breeze disappeared. Several players ran
off the field and sat on the bench next to me. A horrid funk
floated off the players. I covered my nose.

“Zulu, we’re too close to the action.” Sweat
sprayed on my neck as a player flung off his helmet. I wiped it
away.

A boy walked through me with a barrel of
water.

“Come on, tackle him!” Zulu roared.

I looked in front of me and froze. The
Monk’s quarterback raced toward me. Ten feet away. Dust flew under
his feet. Eight feet. My heartbeat increased. Six feet. I could see
five Santeros behind him. Four feet. I dove off of the couch and
onto the carpet as the Santeros slammed into the quarterback and
pushed him into the place where I’d been sitting. They fell through
the couch. Helmets crashed. The quarterback grunted.

“Yes!” Zulu cheered.

I stood up, shaking my head as a commercial
came on. A blonde Vamp with huge breasts slid her hands up and down
a Burglar beer can. Words floated, stating that all raccoon blood
was extracted humanely.

“Thank you for hanging out with me tonight.”
Zulu grabbed my foot when I sat back down on the couch. Licking his
lips, he glided the tips of his fingers up my feet and then thrust
a finger between my toes. A tingly sensation rippled up my leg.

I jerked it away from him.

“You said I could play with your feet if I
won,” he said. “Do I only get to use my hands or can I play with
them in other ways?”

“I don’t think I want to know what other
ways you can play with them.” I shook my head and grinned. “You’re
a very naughty Mixie.”

He lifted my right foot to his lips.

Raising my eyebrows, I opened my mouth to
speak and then stopped, turning my attention to the TV.

“
. . . her body found in pieces
throughout the alley,”
the reporter said.

I spotted the words
Breaking News
floating around the room. The Earth Witch reporter held an umbrella
in her hand and stood next to the coffee table. Red and blue lights
flashed. A crowd dressed in raincoats stood around her.

“
The female’s head was found on boxes
stacked over there.”
She pointed her hand by Zulu’s hallway,
where yellow tape faded in and out.
“Her identity is still
unknown. Her brand will be scanned tomorrow to discover
it.”

A chill crawled up my spine.

“
Habitat police say she is a Hispanic
Were-dog with black hair. If you know someone missing who may fit
this description, contact your district’s crime stoppers.”

Phone numbers flashed in red over Zulu’s
coffee table.

“
Although this is the second body found
this week, the habitat police are refusing to say the murders are
related.”

A beep sounded. All of the 6DTV images
disappeared. Figuring Zulu turned off the TV, I looked at him with
shivers running through my body. He slid over to me and wrapped his
arms around my waist. “I’m going to take care of this.”

Zulu’s lips moved, but I stopped listening.
The machete slamming down on the female replayed in my head. The
reporter said two murders.

Will I be number three?

Zulu’s lips continued to move.

She had a kid. I closed my eyes. Who will
tell the kid that mommy was cut into pieces?

“
I SEE YOU TOO!
” the note had
said.