Safeword: Storm Clouds (14 page)

They talked of inventions for most of the rest of the way into town, the things she'd seen that had made life much easier. And the changes that some of them made that she didn't like. Kendra worried in the back of her mind that this would freak him out again, but she realized if it was going to freak him out it was better to do it sooner than later.

When they arrived at the theater and went in she was surprised to see that he'd managed to get tickets on the third row in almost the center. She had started to ask Abbot if they could use his box tonight, Abbot was a large benefactor of the theater and had a permanent box all to himself, but she had opted to let Eric handle everything since he was supposed to be taking her out. Seeing that he appeared to like the theater, she'd have to ask him out at some point and then they could use Abbot's box. Assuming there would be a next time, of course.

They both enjoyed the play and when it was over Eric commented that his goal in life was that should he ever manage to have a family that it at least be a functional one. Kendra realized she didn't know anything about Eric's childhood. "Where did you grow up, Eric. You don't really have an accent."

"That's because I grew up all over the place. My dad was an Admiral in the Navy, and I was his oldest child and only son. My uncle was in the military too, spec ops. I think I learned my adrenaline habit from my uncle, he is the one who arranged for my first parachute jump. But, my dad and uncle would take me rappelling and mountain climbing together, so I guess I learned it from them both. My uncle is only about ten years older than me, but my dad was pretty old when I was born, he died a few years ago. My mom remarried almost right away and I still haven't really come to terms with that. She's come to visit me a few times, but I haven't been to see her. I've met her new husband once and, well, I'm not dealing well with the idea that she replaced my dad with him so quickly, I guess. But, as for my childhood, I had a great childhood. I lived all over the world and I had two very loving parents. I sometimes went a long time without seeing my dad, and that was hard, but when he was home he spent a lot of time with me."

"Your dad was an Admiral, that meant he was probably, ah, commanding? Do you think your parents had some sort of power exchange relationship?"

He laughed, "No, not at all. There is no doubt my mom ran the house. She made it clear that my dad might boss around the people under him in the Navy, but that she'd never enlisted in the Navy and he didn't get to boss her around. There were five of us kids and she kept us all in line and got us all healthily into adulthood as constructive members of society. My dad didn't let her push him around either, they were partners, but he also acknowledged that it was her job to make the house run smoothly and he did what he could to help it run smoothly, which usually meant doing what she said to do. I know she didn't like it when he took me rappelling and sailing and stuff, so it's not like he did everything she said, but when it came to how the house was run, he pretty much did. I think it was more about respect, he respected her enough to let her run the house and didn't want to come in and undermine her when he came home from a long trip."

"You were close to your dad?"

"Yes, though I was just as close to my uncle, to be honest. When he was on leave he spent just about all of his time with us. So, there were lots of times that my dad wasn't there that my uncle was. I'm not sure how they managed it, but they usually managed to get sent to the same areas of the world at about the same time. I mean, not exactly the same time, there might be a six month or even year long period of time when they were in different parts of the world, but eventually they'd usually end up close enough so that my uncle could stay with us."

"How often do you see your uncle now?"

"A couple of times a year. Sometimes I fly out to stay with him when he's got some free time, and sometimes he comes and stays with me on the yacht for a while. We email each other a couple of times a week when he’s not in communications blackout, so we're still pretty close."

"You have five sisters? Do you see them very often?"

"No, not really. I'm close to one of my sisters, but the others.. not so much. It's not that we don't get along, it's just that I guess we don't have all that much in common."

They were back at the Range Rover now and Kendra noted that Eric was standing up on the floorboard of the driver's side with his shoulders above the roofline and was doing something to the bicycles. "Are you making sure they are on good?"

"No, I'm getting them down. We're going to ride around downtown on this section of the riverwalk."

"Eric, I told you it's been a really long time since I rode a bicycle. I don't even know if I can anymore."

"If you fall while you are remembering how, you'll heal, right? I've got you a helmet so we don't get harassed about wearing them, but if you think you need knee and elbow pads too then we can run by one of the big box stores and buy them. I'd kind of figured you'd be okay, but if you need them..."

She started to glare at him but saw the twinkle in his eyes and her glare turned into a grin. "Fine. We'll see how well I do. But I have high heels on, it would have been nice if you had let me know to bring athletic shoes."

"I noted what size and brand you wore when we went rappelling, there are some socks and shoes in the back of the Range Rover that should fit you. You can put them on while I get the bikes down and put the front wheels back on them."

Once they were ready to ride Kendra was surprised to learn that she could still ride without much of a learning curve. They walked the bikes to the sidewalk going around the perimeter of the park so she could ride without worrying about cars, and within about ten minutes she had enough confidence to ride around town. They rode on the pedestrian bridge going over the Tennessee River, and they rode for a good bit of the riverwalk. She couldn't handle the sharp curves going up to the Hunter Art Museum and she got off and walked during that section, but she managed to handle most everything else they did. After several hours of riding and talking they made their way back to the parking lot of the theater and Eric stowed the bikes back up on the Range Rover and took her home. He kissed her goodnight at the door and asked her if she'd go out with him the next Saturday night.

And so it went for the next four weeks. They went out on Saturday night and they sent a few emails to each other during the week. Eric did no more than hold her hand or put his arm around her during the date, and then he kissed her goodnight when he took her home. They went to a few movies and a couple more plays at other community theaters in the area, and afterwards he always had something else for them to do. Once he brought four different sizes of rollerblades for her to try on (he said he would return the three that didn't fit) and he taught her to rollerblade. One night after a movie he took her dancing at a club not owned by Abbot (he'd had to contact Abbot to make sure).

And finally, on a Sunday morning as he was taking her home after a night of dancing, when he asked her if he could take her out the following Saturday night she said, "I'd like to take you out Tuesday night, if you're free."

Eric was surprised, but happy. "I would love to see you Tuesday night."

"Good, then I'll pick you up about thirty minutes after the sun goes down. Wear a couple of layers - long johns and a middle layer and then warm tech fleece over the top. We'll be out in the night and elements, so dress accordingly. Everything on the outer layer should be black, and don't forget something for your head and hands – also preferably black, or at least dark."

Chapter Ten

Kendra's project with The Library was coming along nicely. Abbot had agreed to let the assistant manager at TBR come to manage The Library, and they were promoting someone at TBR to be assistant manager. The new manager would interview people and then hand them over to her to interview after he had narrowed the field. The contractors were just about done with their side of things, and opening night wasn't too far away. This had worked out well, keeping her occupied while she and Eric slowed things down. Eric was really special and she enjoyed spending time with him – she missed him during the week and looked forward to their Saturday nights.

Friday night was the new moon, but Tuesday night was close enough. Plus, sunset would be at 5:40 and what little bit of moon there would be wouldn't rise until almost four in the morning, and she planned to have him home by then.

Kendra was going to take him flying tonight. It was important it be dark for this, and it was important they got out away from the city lights. People pretty much only noticed when she took off and landed, but still, it was something the vampires had to be careful of when they went flying around. She had two harnesses, one that attached them at the shoulders and another that attached them at the waist. She'd start out with him on top of her to let him get used to it, and if he wanted then she could put him on bottom later. Being on top was more comfortable for the rider because their entire body weight could rest on the vampire, but being on bottom was more exciting because it was more like flying, with nothing below the human. However, their weight was held by their shoulders and waist and it wasn't as comfortable for long distances.

When she picked him up Tuesday night he was in the grass beside the parking lot feeding the ducks again. When he saw her he tossed the rest of what he had with him and came to the car.

"So, what are we doing tonight?"

She grinned at him, "It's a surprise. Of course."

She had made arrangements with the Alpha of the local werewolves to use his land, so she drove to his house. As they pulled off of the road and traveled for a few miles on a private drive they talked about how the security system for the house was working out. Eric had put in a system at the top door going down to the basement that involved a thumbprint, and the bottom door that required an eye scan. It was perfect, since there were no keys to lose or to fall into the wrong hands... and no combinations to forget, or for the wrong person to get their hands on. Only people who were authorized to get in, or who were with someone who was authorized to get in, could get in.

Kendra drove past Randall's house and kept going until eventually parking. She popped the trunk and got out, walking around to the back of the car.

"Come here, Eric. Time to get you suited up."

She pulled one of the harnesses from the trunk, and Eric let her put the straps around his thighs and waist and adjust them. He lifted the remaining straps hanging from his front and looked at them and then looked at her, trying to figure out what she was up to. She just grinned at him and started putting the other harness on his shoulders, attaching it behind his shoulder blades and across his sternum so the strap would stay put. She told him to put his gloves and hat on, and he did. She was glad to see it was a hat that covered his ears and would easily stay on when they were flying. She'd brought something for him in case he'd just brought a cap, but he was good. She stepped in front of him with her back to him and began attaching herself to him and Eric couldn't stay quiet any longer. "Kendra, exactly when am I going to find out what this is all about?"

She decided to stop screwing around with him so she went into super vamp speed to get herself into the rest of the harness and get them secured tightly together, and within about six seconds she was in and they were securely attached at the waist and shoulders. She stopped and double-checked everything and then leaned forward and let her feet float up until she was horizontal to the ground with him laying on top of her, though only a few feet off of the ground.

"I'm going to take you flying tonight, Eric."

She heard his heart go into overdrive and smelled the adrenaline rush. He put his hands around her torso just under her armpits, resting them below her breasts and he said "This is incredible, Kendra, you're just hovering, above the ground."

"Cross your legs at the ankles and then relax them on top of my feet. If you hold them up you'll get tired, just relax and I'll support you."

She waited until he complied and then she started to go straight up while staying horizontal just a bit, rising up like a helicopter until they were about twenty feet up, and then she started going up and forward at the same time, and then since he was an adrenaline junkie she gave him the F-15 version of her flying skills. In other words, she took off like a bat out of hell almost straight up into the air, and then once she was up she darted around all over the place and gave him a ride to remember. She could tell he was enjoying himself or she'd have backed off. She was having a blast, both with the exhilaration of flying and with the pleasure of giving him this special treat. How many humans get to fly around like this on the back of a vampire? He was holding onto her torso firmly, but it wasn't a death grip, she knew he was enjoying this even though his breathing and pulse and heart rate were all over the place. She could smell excitement and healthy fear, but not the scared shitless kind of fear. She kept her hands over the top of his for much of the flight, mainly just because she wanted to touch him. She flew by magic and didn't need her arms.

After a while she figured he needed to catch his breath so she leveled off and held her hands out like an airplane and said, "Eric, put your arms on top of mine." When she felt the weight of his arms on hers she slowed and began doing an imitation of an airplane, with her arms out, tilting as they turned on long, slow, graceful arcs.

"Kendra, this is.. this is incredible. This is even better than the first time I flew in a glider. Better than my first parachute jump. I think you may have just given me one of the top three experiences of my life."

She felt all warm inside, she hadn't felt
giddy
for a guy in so long she didn't remember when the last time was. "Glad you like it. When you've had a chance to catch your breath hold onto me again."