Deadly to Love (17 page)

“You’ve only been here four times?! How do you know this is a safe place then? It could be crawling with Elementals for all you know.”

He laughed at my sudden outburst of panic.

“I did check the place out before I bought it you know. I mean, being an E.K, it isn’t exactly wise to buy a house near heavily populated Elemental areas. Well unless you’re looking for trouble. I found nothing to question the safety of the house and because its main purpose was to be a safe house, I was extra careful in my research. Please trust me, I do know what I’m doing you know.” He glanced at me momentarily before returning his eyes to the road.

“Well that makes one of us...” I murmured under my breath, which only gained me a small smile as regrettably I agreed with him about knowing what he was doing.

With the easy conversation that began flowing back and forth between us the time went by almost too fast. It had only seemed like a matter of minutes when a shadow darker than the rest began to appear in front of us. The headlights then started to catch on the glass, reflecting the light back at us. Due to the fact that it was dark, I wasn’t able to see much of the exterior as Kai pulled up in front of the door, however I promised that checking out the house was the first thing to do in the morning.

“Well this is it,” he stated as he turned off the engine and headlights, plunging us into a darkness I had never witnessed before, what with spending my whole life in a city. He spread his arms out in front of him as we both got out of the car and walked towards the front door. Opening it Kai moved through the house switching on lights as he went. I just stood in the hallway awkwardly, unsure what to do. Kai soon came back speaking to me though.

“You can take a look around Rea, you don’t have to just stand there. I’ll go get the bags, just make yourself at home.”

It felt kind of weird to be in my boyfriend’s house, especially as I was planning on staying there for the foreseeable future.

We are only seventeen and nineteen and we are already living together? What have I got myself into? I mean I know the circumstance are quite extreme but still, living together?
I thought questioning what it would be like to live with my boyfriend.
How many seventeen year olds live with a boyfriend. It’s just ridiculous. Oh my god, where does he expect me to sleep? Please say this house has more than one bedroom.
I started to panic as I overthought the situation and I couldn’t move from the hallway until Kai returned.

“You okay Rea? You look like a rabbit caught in headlights.” He placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, snapping me out of my mental dilemma.

“Yeah I’m fine, just a bit overwhelmed. It’s a lot to take in.” He put the bags he was carrying on the floor while shutting the door with his foot. Taking my hand he started to pull me through the house, becoming an excited tour guide momentarily.

“Living room, kitchen, bathroom.” He listed off the rooms, only giving me a brief glance of each. They were all simply furnished, containing only the bare minimum and essential items. The house did surprise me though as everything was shockingly modern and stylish. I had been expecting a log cabin in the woods, not some modern, fancy designed house that looked like it belonged as a penthouse in one of the most expensive hotels.

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting this. It’s so...stylish.”

He laughed as he led me up the stairs. “What are you trying to say? Don’t you think I’m stylish?” He gestured to his chest, with a cheeky grin on his face.

“Stylish? You? All you wear are faded black jeans and an assortment of T-shirts. You may be good looking but you are definitely not stylish.”

He laughed at the truth in my words and pulled me further up the stairs, his arm around my shoulders.

“Oh well, just because I’m not, it doesn’t mean I can’t have this house. I liked it so I bought it. There isn’t much here though because I’ve never stayed long enough to furnish it past the essential items. I like the openness of it all though, it feels less restricting.”

I nodded as he guided me across the landing.

“There are two bedrooms, I normally sleep in this one but you can take your pick.”

Relief coursed over me as he answered one of my silent fears.

“Of course, you could always stay with me,” he hinted before smiling at the look of horror and panic that passed over my face.

“Calm down Rea, I was only kidding. Although the offer is always open.”

I swatted his arm playfully, trying to shut him up but all it did was add to the grin that was growing on his face. I could feel myself starting to get embarrassed as he laughed at me.

“I’ll go get our stuff and bring it upstairs, you take a look at the rooms and decide which one you want.”

I think he did this as he could feel my embarrassment and wanted to give me some space but I wasn’t sure as he seemed to enjoy it too much.

I walked into the first room that Kai had said was the one he usually stayed in. I knew already that I wouldn’t pick it as the idea of sleeping where he had sort of freaked me out. I was merely being nosy by pretending to consider the room. Like the rest of the rooms in the house, it was simple, minimalistic and only contained the basic items needed in a bedroom. A large cream, double bed lay against the centre of the left wall and a table was placed either side of it. Besides that the only other items were a wardrobe and a door leading off to a bathroom.

I walked to the far wall that lay adjacent to the bed. The whole side was made of glass, giving what I presumed to be a great view that immersed you in the forest during the day.

With the prospect of Kai returning any second, I didn’t have the nerve to start looking around his room even more than I had. I left everything as I had found it, and headed down the hall to the room that I would be staying in.

It was exactly like Kai’s room. There was a rich blue, double bed adjacent to another glass wall and the only other furniture was a desk, wardrobe and a bedside table. There was only one other noticeable difference and that was that there was no bathroom.
Great,
I sighed.
Please don’t tell me I’m going to have to share his shower,
I thought as I jumped at the soft touch of Kai’s arms winding around my waist while his head peered over my shoulder.

“So which room do you want?”

I could feel his breath on my ear as he spoke, which sent a shiver down my spine. My heartbeat also quickened at his voice and touch, only adding to the confirmation that I was making the right decision by not choosing his room or him.

“I’ll, um, I’ll have this one.” I had suddenly found it hard to think straight and my words came out in a raspy stutter.

He chuckled, obviously aware of the effect he had on me. “Yeah OK, I thought you would. You’ll have to share my shower though.”

I groaned inwardly, his comment speeding up my pulse even more as his words made me play images in my head I didn’t want to consider.

“I’ll be downstairs getting us something to eat. You can join me if you want, or you could unpack, take a look around or take a shower if you feel like it. I’ll call you when it’s ready ’kay?”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak again while he was so close to me. He placed a soft kiss on the nape of my neck before unwinding his arms from around my waist and leaving me in the room on my own.
Is it always going to be like this? I don’t know how long I can hold out under that kind of attention from him,
I thought as I leaned back to fall on the large, plush bed.

I sunk into the heavenly mattress as I hit the bed. It was probably the comfiest I had ever been as I lay there staring at the ceiling, trying to calm my heart rate.

I had just about composed myself when I decided to take a shower, but at the thought of being in Kai’s room once again, my pulse spiked and rapidly increased again.
Get a hold of yourself Rea! It’s just a shower. Think of it as being in a hotel.
I mentally berated myself as I dragged myself off the bed to get one of the towels we had bought out of my bag, before heading back towards Kai’s room.

In keeping with the general theme of the house the bathroom was of course modernised and almost futuristic. With five separate shower heads, I really didn’t want to move from under the powerful, warm jets of water that were massaging my shoulders and easing the tension I didn’t even know had built up. Eventually though, I accepted that I had probably spent way too long in there anyway and reluctantly I turned it off. It was only then that I noticed how much steam I had created by putting the shower on the maximum temperature.

I stepped out of the shower and onto the cold tiles, wringing out my hair before wrapping a towel around my body. Picking up my clothes I gathered them and held them tightly against my chest as I peered out of a little slit in the door. I hoped I could make a dash for my room before Kai called me as I didn’t want to run into him half naked again. Luckily the coast was clear so opening the door fully I began to make my way across his room.

When I was half way towards the door I heard the sound of someone turning the handle and before I could call out to stop him, Kai was in the room and staring at me. He didn’t even apologise as he stood there, taking in my bedraggled, knotted and wet hair that was dripping onto my bare shoulders and eventually trailing onto my towel. As his eyes wandered over my half naked form I saw him gulp and a blush began to rise in my cheeks. When he eventually met my eyes, his lips were parted slightly and his breathing had increased a little.

“Dinner is going to be ready in five minutes,” he said in a husky tone before slowly turning to walk out, his gaze lingering slightly longer than I would have liked.

“I’ll be down in a minute,” I said, irritated but also shocked by his reaction to me as I had never experienced causing a reaction like that from someone. Not even Ian had seen me in that state and we had been together two years. I hadn’t moved a muscle as he watched me, too stunned and nervous but as soon as he had gone I scurried out of his room and back into my own.

Slamming the door slightly too hard as I shut it, I leaned against the other side, taking in deep breaths.
This is going to be so much harder than I expected. How can I stay here with him acting like this all the time. I know he’s my boyfriend but this is all too much too soon. I mean we are practically living together now.

Once I had finished my mental break down I managed to get changed into my long pyjamas and dry my hair before heading downstairs to face Kai again.

“Smells good, what are we having?”

He was facing the cooker with his back to me as I entered the kitchen but he didn’t even turn around when I spoke.

“Cheese, onion and mushroom omelette with salad,” he replied while placing a plate on top the frying pan, to turn the omelette over. He still hadn’t looked at me and I was unsure by his change of mood as minutes before he couldn’t keep his eyes off me.

“Do you want me to do anything?” I asked, feeling awkward just leaning against the table watching him.

“You could set out some plates and stuff on the table, then put the salad over there too.” He pointed at the pile of stuff to his left while talking.

“Yeah OK.” I started to move the bowls of lettuce, tomato, cucumber and other vegetables over to the centre of the table before going back for the cutlery.

“I think that just about does it,” he said as he served up the omelette and brought the plates over to where I was sat before sitting opposite me on the long worktop that doubled as a table. Weirdly Kai still hadn’t looked at me and was avoiding my eyes when I was watching him. After two minutes of knives and forks hitting plates I couldn’t take the awkward silence anymore.

“Why are you ignoring me now?” I asked quietly, not wanting to argue about anything. I did finally succeed in getting him to look at me though.

He raised his head from his food to look at me with a guilty expression. “Sorry I was just thinking.”

About what he didn’t say but I was almost convinced it was about the earlier events. I’m not normally that self-centred but I couldn’t think of anything else that would have caused him to act like that. He had been fine until he walked in on me.

“You finished?” he asked, standing up to clear his plate while pointing at mine.

“Yeah, thanks.”

He picked up my plate and took them both over to the sink where he began washing up. I had a feeling this was just to avoid me for a little longer though.

“Is there a TV here?” I asked and he nodded.

“Push the top of that cabinet and it will come out.” He pointed at a wooden cabinet in the centre of the room, in front of the sofa.

I watched as the expensive TV rose out of the cabinet and switched it on with the remote I had found on top of the mahogany wooden counter. The first channel that appeared was the news and I was too surprised by what I saw to change the channel.

“It is unsure what is causing these outbreaks of freak weather but the authorities are looking into it. In the past week there have been three forest fires and reported tornadoes. The most recent one happened earlier today, here in Pasole. Witnesses have said that there was no warning, the city just went up in flames and the flames were fuelled by the twisters whipping around. There have also been reports of three people running into the flames with guns but so far no one else has confirmed this rumour. The authorities are still searching for people as we speak and will continue into the night. We can’t say what’s causing these dramatic changes but police are urging people to keep alert and to report anything strange straight away...”

Kai had come to stand beside me. He had a tea towel in his hands and was drying them while he listened intently to the reporter. His face was serious as he pulled out his phone and started stabbing away at the touch screen, sending an angry text to someone.

“They shouldn’t be reporting about us, not even if they have a witness, Sector nine should have taken care of that,” he said absent-mindedly and I took his hand, silently trying to calm him down. I was given no warning as he fell back onto the sofa, dragging me with him. “We really need to find a way to stop them, they are causing too much damage and are gaining too much power.” He fitted me into the crook of his arm, my head resting against his chest.