The First Touch (10 page)

The beating sent white-hot blood searing back through his veins. He felt the vessels expanding with the warmth
,
spreading the life back into his body. It was not until he was able to calm himself that he finally noticed a change in
Autumn
and immediately asked, “Are you alright?”

Autumn seemed put-off
by the question and replied quickly, “Yes I am fine. You’re the one who’s gone nativ
e.” A
low growl escaped his lip
, in spite of his best efforts to remain calm,
causing
Autumn
to tense up again. Although instead of running
,
her legs spread again as if expecting an attack and he watched in amazement as her eyes began to dilate again. They dilated as any humans would have, but there was something else there, something dying to get out. He shifted in his skin and small smile formed on his lips and watched as her posture changed matching his. Suddenly a thought crept into his head;
she was going to be a great hunter
.

He refocused his e
fforts,
a concerned look sneaking on to his face, “You look pale.”

She replied confidently, “I am fine. Are you alright?”

He nodded his head yes
,
and asked again, “Are you sure?” She winced a little and her posture changed as she squared her shoulders. He noticed though that in spite of the light now available at the opening of the alley that her eyes still dilated. He found this more exciting that he thought possible given the circumstance
s
.

She
meanwhile,
watched as his pupils receded and the col
or returned to his cheeks, much as they had been when they first met
. Ivan watched as
she calmed in response to him, and h
e found that strangely alluring as well, so he focused on slowing his bre
athing
. When she seemed satisfied with his progress
, s
he let her eyes leave his, reaching
into
her bag. She put away the
can of mace and fished around
,
returning with a handkerchief.

Then she said softly handing it to him, “Here take this, you have some of him on your neck.”

He froze
realizing
then
that she knew
too much
. He continued to stare at her debating something or at least
Autumn
thought that he was
, before
Ivan asked a comp
letely different question, “Are
you
alright with
this
?”
He gestured toward the dead
man behind him. She shrugged noncommittal like, as his stomach lurched
.
She was afraid of him
.

He
could not bare the thought
of hurting her, and
apparen
tly anyone else for that matter. H
e thought about the dead man lying next to the dumpster that he had left in the alley behind them
, the beginning and end of his troubles
. That one had simply whispered, “Tonight my lovely
,”
and the rage that had filled him to the brim had spilled over in front of her
. How could he have made such a mistake? Was the fire addling his brain so quickly? And why had she come back to the alley? Most importantly, why had she not run away once she r
ealized what he had done
?

T
he man had confessed to him about the entire room full of woman that he had managed to
kill
. A
collection, and had Ivan not been there
Autumn
would have been his next trophy. Though he thought, she might have been able to take him given her heightened reactive abilities. Suddenly he was angry with the world, and he cursed inside himself again.

Sh
e was going
to become one of them
, and she would have to be turned by someone. Especially since he knew that
he
had extinguished that possibility
for himself
, she would not kiss a
killer
. Her body’s reaction had said as
much, she knew he was dangerous, and her noncommittal repose to her findings reaffirmed his theory.
She was probably planning the fastest way out of the situation, maybe waiting to run once she was in a crowd or he became distracted. For once, he was glad that she could not get away, she would not out run him an
d he would never be distracted, not now.

His mind began racing with possible candidates as he reached out with a steady hand for the napkin and swiped it quicker than she thought possible. His mind continued moving through the list and his heart be
gan to feel sluggishly disturbed
. Henry, No, Finnegan
, No,
Drake
No, No, he just could not imagine any of them ending their night any better than he had. Besides the fact that his judgment was clouded
,
he admitted, he still did not want any of them to
touch
her. His skin crawled at that thought. No, he would have to contact Serena and let her know
that he had mussed it up,
so that she could pick someone
out
for her instead.

She watched as he wiped the blood spots from his neck. His eyes
,
never leaving her face. Eventually his body returned comple
tely back to its normal state, and
he
handed the napkin back to her without thinking
. S
he placed it back into her purse, making a mental note to burn it later.
He did not move though,
as if he were waiting for her to speak.

Waiting patiently to be dismissed from her presence, though cast out might have been more appropriate
, given the feeling of dread that swam around in his head
. Autumn felt it
,
deep down,
as if remembering the connection that they had from her vision, as
her inner voice even uttered the words,
he is waiting
for you
. He looked so pitiful
, staring at her with a look of
defeat on his face. His heart was thumping a low sorrowful beat, as he waited for her to speak the words that he knew were coming.
I should get going…

Then she did something that he dared not wish for. She simply slid her hand out and said sweetly, “Shall we?” He slid his now bare hand into hers and
followed her out of the alley, o
n to the brigh
tly lit streets of the sidewalk. H
e was completely mesmerized by her reaction; with his hand on fire he followed her willingly
,
anywhere she
wanted
, as long as she did not let go.

F
inally asking
the one question that was dying to be answered
, w
ithout skipping a step, “Why him?” He stopped and star
ed at her though he did not release her.
Autumn cocked her head and repeated her question
, mistakenly believing that he had not heard her
,
repeating
,
“
So w
hy him?”

He stared back at her
,
choosing his words carefully, “He was a...dangerous man.” She took his words in stride
,
nodding her head as
if the matter was now settled. A
bout to t
ug him along again when
she stopped herself and asked
confused
,
and slightly alarmed
,
as his words finally sunk in, “Why didn’t I see that coming?” He looked co
nfused, but she continued half explaining
, “He interrupted us before, when I told you that I had something to tell yo
u.” He nodded, and she added hesitantly
, “Well my dreams have become
a little more... intense since I began dreaming of being ...chased.” She shrugged trying not to keep her emotions in check, and looked at him, watching him watch her.

She stammered
, seeing his gaze,
struggling to explain, “They have been almost...it’s like I can see...the
future.” His eyebrow rose and
she finished
her explanation with
, “Well not like a true mystic, it’s different, and I can only see my future, mos
tly
dangers that I need
to avoi
d.” He remained silent, watching
her, a new alarm in his eyes. She looked around and
saw that they were still alone, adding
in almost a whisper, “Why didn’t I see him though? I saw you coming but not him.” Then more to
her
than to him, “Maybe it was because you were here with me.” He recoiled at her words taking his burning hand with him
for the first time
. She shook her head and clarified, “No I mean either you are blocking my ability, or I was not in danger since you were there
….
to protect me.” She smiled a shy
smile at the last bit, not hiding her pleasure at the thought
.

His face
softened immediately, reaching for her warm hand again, as
he asked encouragingly curious, “You saw me?”

“Yes.”

Ivan did not comment on her response
,
he simply continued his line of questioning, “What do you mean block you?”

She blushed at his words and said, “Well my dreams are happening sometimes when... I am awake... now. But the problem is that I have to be
either
calm
, or worked up
in order to see them then.” He tilted his head not seeming to understand, and she continued, “Well I can’t exactly get calm around you
…so….
”

He snapped
,
tightening his grip and his words turned icy
, “If you saw me… why didn’t you run
?”

Her first thought was,
because that is the fastest way to get killed
. Her mouth shot back, “Because I don’t think you want
ed to hurt me, at least not really.
I mean i
f you had wanted to kill me,
you would have done it already, right?” He tightened his hand further still and she hissed back, “Ivan, your hurting my hand.”

He released his grip muttering spitefully, “Maybe I will.”

She huffed again and demanded with surprising irritation in her voice, “Are you really going to? Because I came all this way to save you, you know. I could have run and left you there
, to whatever fate the dreams were trying to warn me about
.”

He looked at her and said incredulously, “Save me?”

She replied indignantly, “Yes, I thought that that man had hurt you or that there was a group in the alley waiting to ambush you or something.” His expression softened and he began to smile again.

He was half-serious when he retorted, “And what would you have done to stop him, if I was in trouble my little Joan of Ark.”

She smiled, “I would have squirted him with mace.” She patted her bag dutifully. He looked at her disbelie
ving and suppressed a laugh, as
she continued rambling, “And if that didn’t work, well then I would be dead because that meant he was like you.” She did
not even hesitate when he flinched this time, “On second thought, if he were able to beat you then he would have to be like you or worse and I’d be dead before I could blink.” He stopped and stared at her wide-eyed. She continued rambling with a furrowed brow, “And I don’t think I want to b
e Joan of Ark, her king allowed her to be
burned at the stake as a witch for her visions
,
after she lost her usefulness. I think I would rather just be me. I may be off in the head a bit
,
but at least I wouldn’t get killed by some elitist prick with a god complex living in a flawed system.”

His mouth was open as he stared at her; she finall
y looked up at his face, and
surprised by his expression
, asked
with concern, “What did I say?” She looked around the deserted streets again
, hoping that they were still alone
.

He asked seriously, “What do you think I am?”

“You are one of those creatures from my dreams... I think. You feel the same, when you’re angry anyways.” He shuddered. He was flab
bergasted, she did not falter,
when she made her announcement.

She had managed to see him for what he was in a matter of hours. Most people never even suspected what he was, she was...
amazing.
She looked puzzled again, the pause in his a
nswer throwing her off
, “Am I wrong?” He looked at her express
ion of innocent wide-eyed
discovery written across her beautiful face.