Thirteen
Caelan
"Where are we going?" Walker asked after we'd been standing there staring at each other for two full minutes. Walker always looked good, but I didn't think I'd ever seen him all dressed up like this. He even had some makeup on, which made him look even more beautiful. I was having a hard time looking away, but I forced myself to, worried I'd spook him somehow. A small part of me still thought Walker might change his mind about getting together, but I was trying my best to ignore it.
"It's a surprise," I said, waggling my brows at him. To be honest, I was a little worried he wouldn't like it, but I imagined I'd feel that way no matter where I ended up taking him.
"Pops said we have to wait for the demon bodyguard," Walker said, sticking his lower lip out in a pout, and I winced.
"Ah, sorry about that. I honestly never expected that Andras could still be alive," I said, and then regretted opening my mouth because what if Walker asked me more about him? I wasn't ready to share the fucked-up mess that was my human past with Walker. If I could get away with it, I never wanted to tell Walker any of it so I could keep him as far away from that darkness as possible.
"Nothing for you to apologize about. It'll be nice to have someone watching our backs anyway, make it easier for us to enjoy each other's company," Walker said with a small grin, and I nodded.
There was a knock at the door, and I turned toward it, but Walker cut me off before I could do much more, stalking confidently toward the front door. Usually, I had confidence to spare, but my encounter with Andras and now this new thing with Walker had all but stripped me of it, and I was a floundering mess. I just wanted to put the reins in Walker's hands and follow his lead, but I couldn't do that. I was the older one, the more experienced one. I should be the one taking the lead, shouldn't I?
Then again, Damien was older than both his mates by a long mile, and yet he happily let them lead, so maybe it wasn't that strange?
Walker opened the door, and I blinked at the man standing across from him, heading over and placing myself at Walker's back as I took him in. He was a demon and big even in his human form. He had to be at least 6'6", with perfectly styled dark brown hair, alert blue eyes, and a body that was basically a wall of muscles. Yeah, no one was getting past him.
"Hello, my name is Ajax. Consort Artemus sent me to be your guard this evening," he said in a rich, even voice, and Walker stepped forward, holding his hand out.
"Hey, Ajax. I'm Walker, and this is my mate, Caelan. We're really grateful for your help," Walker said, and I blinked hard. Had he just introduced me as his mate?
Ajax gave Walker's hand a firm shake before pulling his hand away. "I have a car waiting for you downstairs. I assure you I will keep my distance while making sure no harm comes your way," he said. He reminded me of Maximus, of his steady dependability. Arty had picked the perfect demon to play the role of a bodyguard.
"Thank you," I said, and he gave me a nod before stepping back into the hallway. Walker glanced over at me, a smile on his lips.
"Shall we?"
"Yep," I said, following him out and locking the door behind us. We took the elevator down to the lobby, Ajax always a step ahead of us, his eyes scanning the area around us as if expecting danger to leap out of the dark corners of the lobby.
We reached the car, and Ajax opened the back seat door for Walker. When he walked over to my side, I told him where we were headed before getting in myself. Nodding, he got into the driver's seat, and off we went.
I blinked when I felt something brush against my palm and glanced down just in time to see Walker place his on mine, linking our fingers together. I looked over at him, and he smiled, the light from the streetlamps making his amber eyes glimmer.
I squeezed his hand, and we were both silent as Ajax drove us through the city, neither of us willing to talk in the presence of a stranger. The city looked beautiful in the evening, with bright, inviting storefronts, music and people spilling out into the streets, and the air heavy with the scent of food. I was glad I'd slid the window open halfway, because even if I couldn't enjoy the taste of food, at least I had the aromas.
"Wait. Are we going to the beach?" Walker asked once our destination was clear, and I glanced over at him, trying to gauge his reaction.
"Yeah. I thought we could walk along the beach, maybe take a dip if we wanted," I said, and Walker grinned widely, looking almost giddy.
"I've never been to the beach in the evening," he said, a gleam in his eyes as he sat forward to peek outside. He wasn't wearing his seatbelt—"It's not like I can die , Caelan"—and he stuck his head in between the front seats to gaze out, acting like an excited kid.
"Have you been to the beach before, Ajax?" he asked, and the demon shook his head slightly.
"No, sir."
"Don't call me sir, please. I hope you'll enjoy this trip then. You don't have to spend all your time guarding us," he said, and Ajax was quiet for a moment.
"I'm very grateful for what your dads did for us demons, and if I get to repay them like this, I'm going to make sure I do everything I can to keep you two safe. Please don't ask me to do otherwise," he said.
Damien and his mates had a way of winning people over. I wasn't surprised they'd done the same with the demons.
"Wait, does that mean you volunteered for this job? Pops didn't order you to do this?" Walker asked curiously, and was it bad that I felt slightly jealous of our bodyguard? Those two had shared more words than Walker and I since this car ride began.
"I volunteered, yes. Other than our original orders to not harm humans or reveal ourselves, your dads have never given us any other orders," Ajax said as he parked the car and glanced back at Walker. "I assure you, I'm here completely of my own free will, and I'm happy to keep you both safe."
Walker moved back into his seat as Ajax got out of the car and glanced over at me, that excited look still in his eyes. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to my cheek before slipping out the door, and I shook my head before following him out.
Walker
Caelan acted all cool and composed, but I knew he was just as giddy as me about this date, about finally going on one. After all, he'd been waiting for this moment a lot longer than I had, and if one of us deserved to go a little crazy about it, it was him.
I took his hand in mine, and he leaned closer, pressing his arm against mine before shifting away, as if he was trying to maintain some space between us but didn't want to. I hadn't realized this before, but Caelan loved touch. It didn't matter if it was a soft brush of lips against his cheek, or our fingers linked together, he leaned into every touch like it was the last one he'd ever get, which just made me more determined to keep touching him. I wanted him to know that he could touch me whenever he wanted to, that I would never turn away from his touch.
"I'll be close by, but I won't come in your way. Have a good evening," Ajax said with a tilt of his head, and I nodded, shooting him a smile before tugging Caelan toward the sand.
We ditched our sandals near the car before we went on our way, and I hummed when my toes sank into the warm sand. It was surprising how warm it was hours after sunset, but it felt pleasant, and I soaked in each step, my eyes scanning the ocean, the soft waves, the evening sky that had only a few hints of orange to it now.
We walked to the edge where the water met the sand, and then started strolling, sticking to the edge so the water brushed against our feet every time a wave raced over the beach.
"This is nice," I said, my voice almost lost in the sound of the waves, the other people, and music.
"It is," Caelan replied.
I glanced up, meeting his blue gaze that seemed even bluer near the ocean. Unlike when he was in his true form, his eyes now were completely human, and I missed the cat pupils he usually sported. After all, it was Caelan in his true form that I'd first grown fond of, and he'd always be my favorite, but I understood why he had to stick to this form here.
"So, did Day manage to get you hooked to his Disney movies?" he asked, and I chuckled, glancing down at my toes before meeting his eyes.
"Some of them, yeah. I'm not a hardcore fan like he is, though."
"Trust me, no one is."
I laughed, completely agreeing with him. "I like mythologies more. Pops would read me a bunch of stories when I was younger, and I was fascinated by them, so now I like to read them whenever I can." I wondered if that came off as nerdy. I didn't care, honestly, but I was trying to impress Caelan, to make him see me as I was now and not the kid he'd left behind.
"I bet that makes Arty really happy."
"It does, yeah. It was something my grandpa got him interested in, and he got to keep that tradition going with me," I said with a shrug, thinking back to how proud Pops had looked the first time he'd found me in Dad's library paging through a book on Indian mythologies.
"Do you see him often? Your grandfather?" Caelan asked, and I shrugged.
"Not really. He and Kym's uncle have a life in Afterworld. We've visited a few times, but it doesn't truly feel right. They're in a different stage in their life, you know? I'll see them more when we're all in Afterworld, I suppose," I said, and he nodded thoughtfully.
"I know what you mean. I didn't go looking for anyone I knew when I was in Afterworld either," he said, and I raised a brow.
"Like your parents?" I asked, and his brows shot up.
"I guess. Hopefully, they spent enough time in the Redemption Center before they got there," he grumbled, and I blinked. Had Caelan's parents not been good to him?
My birth parents had been a couple of druggies who'd sold me off for their next hit when I was five, not that I remembered them, but the day they'd sold me off to a vampire clan to be their pet blood bag was seared into my memory—so I knew all about having those who were supposed to love you treat you like dirt instead. Dad had made sure to punish my birth parents, though. Why not Caelan's?
"Anyway, we should be talking about happier things," Caelan said, and I blinked, turning my eyes to the sand beneath my feet as I tried to get my mind back on track.
"You're right. It's just...we've known each other for so long, but we don't really know much about each other when you think about it. It's...confusing," I said, and Caelan sighed as he squeezed my hand.
"That's true. Like, I know you love hot chocolate, but I don't know what your favorite color is."
"Exactly. It's hard to decide what to talk about when first date questions sound stupid and there's already so much history between us." Turning to Caelan, I wrapped my free arm around his waist, holding him to me, and met his eyes. "Maybe we can do something other than talking. Get to know each other in a completely different way."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah," I murmured as I closed the distance between us and pressed my lips to his.
Ro'Shassz
I should've stayed at the apartment. What had I been thinking? They had a demon guarding their backs already, they didn't need me. And I didn't need to know what Walker sounded like when he was turned on. Why had I thought hiding in his jeans pocket would be a good idea?
Step : Survive Walker and Caelan's first date.