"It"s a Ferrari F40." I said making Draven"s head incline towards me. He held a strange look, I think it was somewhere between pride and impressed.
"It is indeed and one of my prize possessions. I was the first to buy one and it was presented to me by Enzo himself. It was the last car to be commissioned by him before his death and he knew that, being 90 years old, it would be his last but he was proud to know at the time, it was the fastest street legal production car ever to be made."
"It figures." I said sarcastically and Draven laughed.
"What"s that one over there?" I pointed to a little silver car that didn"t have a roof and was numbered 130 at the front, side and back. The car had tartan on the seating and two red stripes at the rear of its wheelwell. Of course to me it was just a nice, kind of cute looking old car but what did grasp my interest is that unlike any other car here, it was in a very large gla.s.s box with frosted symbols etched all around the base. I walked round and was about to touch the gla.s.s when a hand shot out and shackled my wrist.
"Don"t!" Draven"s warning was enough to make me retract my hand.
"Why, what"s wrong, it"s just a car....isn"t it?"
Draven looked uncertain for a moment and then tried to replace it with a fake smile.
"It is." Was all he said on the matter.
"Why did you name it Little b.a.s.t.a.r.d?" I asked referring to the black writing at the back of the car which was situated under "Porsche".
"I didn"t, his first owner did." Draven looked a bit disgusted which I didn"t understand but as he was pulling me away I quickly understood how this was one car he was not proud of owning. I had a million questions flooding my mind but the only question I asked was "His?...I thought people usually a.s.sociate cars as female?"
"I guess they do but with this car they would be wrong. It is most definitely male." He was not comfortable talking about this so I decided to let it go. Maybe I would ask Sophia some time.
"I suppose it"s nice you have a hobby." I said lamely not knowing what else to say.
"Well could you see me playing golf?" He joked and I burst out laughing. That was the last thing I could see him doing.
"Definitely not. But what was your hobby before cars were invented?" I asked feeling c.o.c.ky which didn"t last long when I got my answer.
"I also collect weapons!" He said like it was collecting stamps.
"Of course you did." He playfully tugged on my jacket and when I looked up he was grinning.
"And how about you?" He looked genuinely interested.
"Me? Oh the same. You wanna see my ax collection, I bet it will beat yours any day." At this he burst out laughing and the sound filled my heart. I loved to hear him laugh.
"What a fierce little warrior you would have made." He said as he led me up a back staircase I had been up a few times before.
"Are you mocking me?" I ran up a few steps ahead of him so that we were at the same height. He stopped as I poked at his chest and he folded his arms which always made him look twice as large as usual.
"I wouldn"t dare, you frighten me too much." He said trying not to smirk but doing a lousy job of it.
"I should think so and don"t you forget it...mister." I poked him in the nose this time, making him squint which was so funny to watch.
"Mister is it now?... Right, you asked for it." I started backing up as he start to stalk me with my hands held up like I was surrendering.
"Now Draven behave, no playing on the stairs." I was starting to laugh and panic at the same time. He kept coming closer like I was his prey and the second I took my eyes off him I knew he would get me and win.
"It"s too late for that Keira." His eyes flashed one, twice and I decided to take my chance and turned just before he lunged for me. Of course I lost and when he grabbed me at the waist I half screamed and giggled like a little girl.
"Got ya!" He said as he swooped me up into his arms and ran the rest of the way up the stairs to the landing. Once at the top he threw me up in the air like I was a feather pillow and caught me before I hit the floor.
"Draven!" I squealed.
"Yes my love?" He said calmly.
"You can put me down now, you cheated." He stopped walking.
"Cheated! How did I cheat?" He asked pretending that I had insulted him.
"You used powers I don"t have, that"s cla.s.sed as cheating" I stated but he just grunted a laugh and continued down the hallway.
"Oh trust me, you have powers greater than mine vixen!" He didn"t explain more nor did he put me down. I was starting to think that Draven liked any excuse so that he could carry me and I would never understand why.
"So you were telling me about your hobbies, your real ones?"
"Oh, well they"re a bit lame compared to yours," I said shyly.
"Nothing you do could be lame." He said sweetly and when I didn"t answer he gave me a little jig to get me to tell him.
"Ok, well... I used to collect postcards."
"You"re right, that is lame," he teased.
"Oi, don"t be mean." I tugged on his ear and his head went down but when I let go he kissed me and finished with an "Oww" on my lips, it made me giggle, again.
"I am sorry and I was teasing you, it is not lame, it is sweet and endearing."
"Well, it"s not that sweet and endearing as you didn"t let me finish, I also collected rude and funny postcards." I stuck my chin out like this was something to be proud of.
"Oh, you dark horse you!"
"I bet you collect them too." I said as it was easy to image Draven upon horseback, in tight pants and riding boots...yum, yum, yum.
"I have many horses, yes, and most do tend to be dark." He was such a tease but I loved it when we were like this, all playful and relaxed.
"Show off!"
"Yes I am," he said as though this was common knowledge, of course after today"s Ferrari incident there was no getting around that image statement.
We were soon at his door but I seemed to be the only one surprised when it opened with Sophia standing there waiting for us.
"Has Keira lost the use of her legs now?" Sophia asked frowning like I was some accident p.r.o.ne fool...oh wait, almost forgot, yes I was.
"No my little sister, she hasn"t, I just enjoy carrying her." He said more seriously than I expected.
"Like a doll?" Sophia said with hands on hips like this wasn"t acceptable behavior. He didn"t answer right away, instead he let my legs slide down and then he smoothed my hair back from my face and kissed my forehead before saying, "She is my doll, my beautiful porcelain doll that I want to play with, so please leave us." I bit my lip making Draven growl under his breath. My cheeks screamed out fuchsia pink at how embarra.s.sed I was but Sophia just huffed and folded her arms.
"And when do I get time to play with her, I hardly ever get to spend time with her now?" She was sulking and here we were so overwhelmed with the need to make love, if she didn"t leave now I was afraid we would do it in front of her!
"Sophia!" Draven said her name as a warning but she wasn"t afraid like anyone else would be.
"Dominic!" She reflected back in the same tone. Draven growled again. At this rate I was willing to bet he was part animal as well as all the other stuff.
"Look dear brother, there is a reason I am here and it is to tell you that your other guests have started to arrive. So put down your dolly and leave her to me." She was playing of course...at least I hoped so because in my experience with Sophia, if there was one thing she loved to do more than argue, that was to give this life size doll a makeover.
"Dracu"!" (Means F**k in Romanian) Draven shouted and I froze.
"Now was there any need for that, really Dom?" His sister was acting shocked but I could see the excitement in her features. She was a Demon after all, I bet she was just loving the drama.
"If I asked you not to work tonight would you obey?"
"Obey?" I repeated the word he knew I hated hearing. I mean if he wanted me to do something, then he was going the wrong way about it!
"Of course I don"t mean obey, more like... listen." He said in a softer tone and I knew he was trying new tactics.
"I will meet you half way and work downstairs instead, alright?" He nodded and looked relieved. Which made me wonder what type of guests he had turning up that had him glad I wasn"t around. I doubted they were supper friendly out of town family members!
"Thank you. I will come to get you when all is well. Sophia will see you downstairs when you are ready." Of course I would need a babysitter to make sure I obeyed, I thought bitterly. He read my expression.
"It is for both my piece of mind and your security." He said, while running the back of his hand down my cheek. I only raised my face once to show that I understood but he knew I didn"t like it. I thought I could at least be trusted to make my way downstairs without hitting trouble.
"Good girl, have I told you today that I love you?" He looked down at me waiting for my smile and he didn"t have to wait long. When I looked round, I noted Sophia in the background sticking her fingers down her throat pretending to barf. Draven"s head whipped round to glare at his sister.
"Excuse me Romeo but I believe they"re waiting." She said after clearing her throat.
"Let them wait!" He snapped showing his full authority on the matter. It made my skin heat up and tingle at the sight. Then he turned round and took me in his arms to kiss me like he never wanted to stop. I don"t even know how long Sophia had to stand there and wait but by the time he released me I was panting and bright red from shame that someone had been witnessing it. He didn"t care, it was like it was natural for him to express how he felt about me in front of his siblings and for everyone else for that matter. I loved that he never acted ashamed of me or tried to hide the fact that we were together.
"Later Vixen." He said in way of goodbye and I was sure he said this to get to see even more colour invade my cheeks. His smile told me I was right. I felt hot and fl.u.s.tered until he left the room which instantly made me feel the opposite...
Cold and lost without him.
Chapter 52.
Fighting My Demons and Almost Kissing Angels Sophia waited with me like a good little girlfriend sitter until it was time for my shift. I had taken a shower and got ready under the watchful eye of my fashion muse and when I emerged from the bathroom wearing faded, light blue jeans and a long sleeved, black stretchy top she just shook her head.
"What?"
"Why you insist on wearing shades rather that actual colours is beyond me. Black makes you look very pale." She said like she was the uber-years older than me she was.
"I am pale," was my only reply. I walked over to the couch that Draven had broken not long ago but the next morning I had made him fix it because that couch had good memories for me. Very nice memories!
"You"re smiling to yourself again Keira." Sophia would have an idea what I was smiling about I was sure of it. I didn"t say a word but I did stick out my tongue at her like I was five. She loved it!
I then grabbed my long fingerless gloves off the back of the couch where I had put them before getting in the shower. I tried not to notice the way Sophia always eyed my scars as I pulled my sleeves up to put my gloves on. It was a mixture of pity, which I hated, and admiration to what I had been through. Draven had no doubt told his siblings about my tragic little story because he shared everything with them. h.e.l.l, Vincent had witnessed it himself when he tuned into my memories once. It was back when they needed to know what Morgan was up to and finding out that he had teamed up with some heavy weight Demon big wig named Sammael.
Sophia was sat on the desk looking at her nails, acting bored by the time I was ready. She saw me reach for the door and jumped lightly as a cat to the floor to accompany me. We were walking silently down the hallway when I remembered a question I wanted to ask her.
"What"s with that car in the gla.s.s box?"
"Has Dom told you about it?" She asked with a bemused look on her delicate features.
"Umm...not exactly" She raised her eyebrows at me.
"Well alright, No he hasn"t but I was kinda hoping you would," I gave her a pleading look I was used to working on Draven.
"Sorry, no dice. Ha, don"t look at me like that. Anyway, why do you want to know so badly?"
"Because he won"t tell me," I answered honestly.
"Well that makes sense." She didn"t elaborate. I soon realized she wasn"t going to spill the dirty on the car"s history so I gave up. Maybe I would Google it later and see what I"d come up with.
We parted at the door of the staircase I usually took to get up to the VIP. Of course my two favorite door men were there ready to great me.
"Evening!" They both said at not only the same time but also the same tone. I had to suppress a giggle.
The club wasn"t yet full but for a town that had very little on the entertainment side, it usually got quite busy for a Sunday night. The band had started to set up and I knew by the time they were ready to play their first song the dance floor would be packed. It was like the calm before the storm and I noticed Mike at the bar stocking up ready for that storm.
We had offers on at the moment for c.o.c.ktails and Mike had been showing me how to make the most popular ones. The Woo Woo was a big hit, along with s.e.x on the Beach. If I were to pick one, the Long Island Iced Tea was the winner but that was down to the alcohol content not that it had any form of tea in it! Two of those and I would be wearing my knickers on my head and dancing in just my socks!
That"s what I had been doing, making c.o.c.ktails not dancing naked, when the "Gang" walked in with that added addition of Hilary the "Evil Queen b.i.t.c.h Bee." Well at least that little drilling from Draven had tainted that permanent smirk she always wore. I would have to remind myself to thank him later for that.
"Kaz, hey can we talk?" Jack"s desperate voice broke my thoughts. He had wedged himself in between two people I was serving but given his size they didn"t want to argue. Jack wasn"t small, in fact he was at least six foot, and had wide shoulders and a physique that backed up his love of rock climbing and hiking. He was wearing a black T-shirt that said "Clowns are the lowest form of wit" in white writing across the chest. I had to smile. I knew for a fact RJ had bought this for him as she knew he hated clowns with a pa.s.sion. The film "IT" was not on his top ten greatest films list!
His hand leaned in and took mine which caused a few people to stare at me like my head had just done a three sixty and I had puked green stuff.
"Umm yeah... sure, but it will have to be later though." I said not being able to help the blush that tinted my cheeks. He winked at me and let go of my hand to move with the others. Hilary had watched the whole thing with an even greater hate burning in her eyes. I couldn"t help but notice how Jack avoided her gaze and took a wide birth of where she was stood. Was I missing something? Trouble in the pits of h.e.l.l? I couldn"t really say "paradise" as that word didn"t mix with Hilary.
The rest of the night I spent wondering what Jack wanted to tell me so badly and also having this nagging feeling that something horrible was going to happen when I found out. The night was in full swing when Mike came up to me after doing a round of collecting gla.s.ses.
"Hey Kaz, I think you should know there"s some commotion coming from your friends" usual booth. Your cousin looks a little wasted and there"s a lot of shouting." Oh great! h.e.l.lo something horrible.
"Ok I will deal with it, will you be alright if I leave you for a little bit?"
"Yeah no worries, the bar"s calmed down now, you go and good luck." Wishing me good luck told me that he wasn"t exaggerating the situation. Here we go again, I thought, as I made my way through the thick crowd of head banging Goths. It was only when I got closer to our usual booth that I could hear what was being said. Of course when I heard my name I stopped. I decided to hear this out and I ducked out of sight and stood by the staircase hidden, so as I could hear the rest of it.
"My G.o.d, you have all been suckered in by her little innocent act, did you all really think she just had some sort of pathetic cold blooded disease?"
"What are you talking about?" Lanie asked and I was surprised it wasn"t from RJ.
"Hilary don"t!" This was now Jack warning her but why would she listen to him at the crucial point of trying to ruin me. I was in two minds to stop this but I found I didn"t care anymore, I had to know just how far she would go to kill me off.
"I"m talking about the long sleeves, those horrible gloves she never takes off and about her trying to hide what she did!" She was almost laughing like it felt so good to be the one to spill all my life"s dark little secrets. At that moment I felt sorry for her. How sad it all was.