Kindling Flames—Gathering Tinder (5 page)

Darien placed her on her feet and proceeded to start stripping off the exotic clothing he was sure she wouldn’t be able to remove on her own.

Vicky pushed his hands away. “I’m not that type of a girl,” she squeaked, as she tried to back away from the man she thought was trying to take advantage of her drunken state.

Darien chuckled. It had been a while since a woman had pushed him away while he was undressing her. It was rather refreshing. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I was only trying to help you with the unfamiliar clothing.”

Vicky eyed him, warily crossing her arms over her chest protectively. She knew how dangerous it was to have a strange man in her bedroom, and she never meant for him to get this far into her apartment.

Darien could see she wasn’t going to let him help without some kind of persuasion. He thought about just slipping into her thoughts and pressing her to his will, but that could lead to some odd tensions if she continued to work for him. He thought back to her drunken ramblings in the car. “You’re dreaming all of this, right?” Darien raised an eyebrow at the defensive girl.

Vicky froze. “Have to be,” she responded. She was 98% certain that what had happened tonight couldn’t be real.

“Then there’s no problem if I help you with the kimono,” Darien coaxed her into relenting. “It’s just a dream, after all.”

Vicky relaxed a little as he reached out to pull her towards him. He loosened the ends of the cord holding her obi in place. “It’s just a dream,” he said again, softly, as Vicky calmed.

She stood perfectly still as he pulled the wide strip of cloth from around her and set it on the foot of the bed. He slipped the waistband beneath the obi off, letting the outer kimono fall loose around her. Spinning her around, he pulled the silken robes from her body and laid them on top of the obi. Gently reminding her that this was still a dream, he turned her so he could relieve her of the under kimono in the same fashion.

When she stood in just the undershirt and half-slip worn under the outer garments, Darien stopped undressing his new assistant and turned her around again. She moved willingly under his hands as he propelled her to the edge of her bed. “It’s only a dream,” Darien whispered again, pulling back the covers to place Vicky in bed. Slipping the sandals from her feet, he reached up to pull the comb from her hair. He could hear her heartbeat increase and her breathing stop as he ran his fingers through her dark blonde locks, checking for any bobby pins that might have been used to help hold the soft hair in place. Darien forced her to swing her legs up and into the bedding. He could see a slight hint of fear in Vicky’s eyes, as he made sure she was properly placed in the bed. The fear subsided when he covered her up instead of climbing in with her.

Darien set the delicate comb on the nightstand and checked the alarm clock to make sure it would wake Vicky up in the morning. He reached out and patted her on the head, lightly, like a child. “Sleep well, and don’t be late for work tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Vicky called to the retreating form of her new boss before closing her eyes and letting sleep take her away. She was sure she would wake up tomorrow morning on the couch, still dressed in the suit she had worn to work that day.

Darien smiled warmly at the woman snuggled in the covers before he shut the door to her room. He was glad the temp agency had sent her. Not only had she proven she could take what he could dish out at work, she delighted him with her innocence and ability to deal with the unexpected. And she hadn’t complained once. Darien looked around Vicky’s apartment as he let himself out. He approved of her home. It was small, but clean and pleasant, and it fit her personality well.

Stepping out into the night air, he breathed deeply. It was still early, and he suddenly felt the need for something warmer than the drawn blood he had consumed earlier. Maybe he could find the working girl that was so eager earlier and ‘convince’ her to donate a pint.

Standing in front of her boss’s partially opened door, Vicky wavered, not sure if she should let him know she was there. She was a little apprehensive about facing him after waking up to find the magnificent kimono draped across the foot of her bed. In the crisp light of the morning, she had to finally admit that what had happened last night was not a dream. She had spent most of the morning reprimanding herself, and she half-expected Darien to send her home for being unprofessional. Looking back at her desk, she almost decided to sit down and wait for her new boss to come find her. Shaking off this idea, she plucked up her courage and knocked on the expensive, wooden door, but got no answer.

“Mr. Ritter,” she called, in case he had missed the soft knock. When no answer came, Vicky pushed the door open just a little and poked her head in. Finding the room void of its occupant, she swung the door open fully and stepped into her boss’s office. Seeing she was safe for a few more minutes, she approached Darien’s neat desk and dropped the present she had brought in the middle. She turned to find her employer standing in the doorway with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. Vicky blushed at being caught in his office. “Good morning, Mr. Ritter.” Her voice came out a little quicker than intended as she tucked her hands behind her back. She felt like a kid getting caught in a cookie jar.

Darien raised an eyebrow at the unexpected presence of his assistant in his office. “Good morning, Miss Westernly.” He leaned a little to see what she had done to his desk, but she was standing too close for him to see around her. Straightening back up, he focused on the woman working for him. The corner of his mouth curled up as he took in the loose, knee-length skirt and low-heeled pumps that would be easy to move in. She was ready for another day like yesterday. “I trust you slept well.”

The color on her skin deepened as she remembered how she got to bed. “Yes. Thank you for taking care of me.” Vicky tried to find a way past the man filling the doorway.

“You’re welcome,” he answered, as if it had just been another normal night.

This calmed Vicky a bit. Since he hadn’t made a big deal out of it, she stood a good chance of keeping her job. Her heart jumped as Darien walked into the room, angling his course so he could get around the desk. She swallowed down her fear and embarrassment and stood her ground as he moved. It wouldn’t do her any good to bolt from the room like a startled rabbit. “If there is anything I can do, please let me know,” she offered, turning to go.

Darien stopped when his eyes fell on the two little fruits. He moved around behind his desk and called to her before she could reach the door. “What’s this?”

She turned to see what her boss was looking at. She knew the answer, but it would only be proper to face him when she spoke. “They’re clementines,” she said.

Darien chuckled lightly. “I know that. What are they doing on my desk?” He pinned Vicky with a sharp look.

She shifted from foot to foot as she answered, “I, um…” she started, and then rephrased her thoughts. “You liked the one from yesterday so much, I thought you would like a few more.”

Darien closed his eyes and smiled gently. The simple gesture warmed his heart, and he looked back at the girl waiting for him to respond. “Thank you.” Darien dropped the newspaper on his desk and picked up one of the little oranges to give it a light squeeze. He could smell the fresh tang of the rind as the oils released under his fingers.

Vicky nodded her head and left the office, pulling the door shut.

He tossed the clementine up and caught it before lifting it to his nose to breathe in its rich scent. It did more to liven his senses than the coffees he had taken to drinking.

Sitting down in his chair, Darien pushed his drink away to look over the morning paper. His eyes took in the dreadful headline over the picture of the charred building that had once been a home. “Body Count Rises in Southside Slaughters.” He perused the article to see that three more people had met horrible ends at the hands of some unknown assailant. Two bodies had been burnt beyond recognition, and one had been torn to little bits and scattered across the yard of the burnt home. This brought the body count to nine.

There had only been four fires, but every event had left at least one person reduced to palm-sized chunks. The police had no witnesses and no idea as to who was responsible. The few people that were able to help could only confirm that the fires went from nothing to full-blown in a matter of minutes, but no one had been able to tell how the bodies had been ground up. This entire thing had the smell of something supernatural, but as long as it stayed away from his world, Darien didn’t want to get involved. He shook his head and flipped the paper to the business section. Laying it across his desk, he tore into the fruit he had been playing with.

***

Vicky looked at the time on her computer to find that Darien’s first appointment should be arriving soon. She stood up to knock on her boss’s door. “Your first appointment will be here in about ten minutes,” she informed him before her eyes fell to the massacre on the desk.

He had absentmindedly shredded the peel of one of the clementines all over his desktop as he read through his morning paper. There wasn’t a single piece bigger than the nail on her pinky. Vicky nearly laughed as Darien looked at the mess, slightly surprised. It was like he had no idea how the rind had fragmented itself. The oil from the peel had colored his fingers yellow, and Vicky giggled at him. “Go wash your hands and I’ll clean this up,” she said as she walked towards the desk. Darien thanked her and disappeared out the office door to wash up. She folded the newspaper and swiped the pieces of peel into the trashcan.

“Do you see anything else?” Darien asked when he came back from the restroom. He looked over the desk that Vicky had made presentable again. She had even picked up the pieces of peel that had fallen to the floor by his chair.

She glanced over the room, and then up to her boss. “Fix your tie.” Vicky pointed out the only imperfection she could see.

Darien looked at her, confused, and then studied his image reflected in the tinted office window. “What?” he asked, unable to see anything wrong with his tie.

“The knot at the top is lopsided.”

Darien stepped closer to the reflective surface and looked again. It was the same as it always was. He wiggled it a little to straighten it and turned back to his assistant.

She shook her head signaling that it wasn’t right. “It’s the knot you used. Those are really hard to get straight.” She held her hands out, asking if she could fix it. “May I?”

“Please.” Darien stood up straight to let her work. This was the same knot he had been using since bowties had gone out of style.

Vicky took a deep breath and stepped into Darien’s personal space. Pulling his tie off, she flipped it over and proceeded to twist the ends around into a neat, Shelby knot. She pushed it up into place and patted his collar down over the band. Before stepping away, she fiddled with it for another moment, and then nodded her satisfaction.

Darien turned to look at his reflection and was surprised at how much of a change the different style of knot made. “Where did you learn that?”

“I learned it from my uncle when I was little and got good at it in college.” Vicky glanced away from her boss as she spoke. “One of the guys I dated could never get his tie straight, so he had me fix it for him.”

He let out a light laugh. “You’ll have to teach me how it’s done later.”

Vicky smiled and excused herself to go back out and wait for his appointment.

Darien looked at his reflection in the glass again and grinned. That girl was just full of surprises.

***

Vicky kicked her shoes off and dropped her bag on the couch in her apartment. Today had been another busy day, but nowhere near as crazy as yesterday. She had been ready to chase after Darien with her new voice recorder and more comfortable shoes, but the man seemed to take his time with everything today. She even had to prod him along so he would make it to his appointments on time. It boggled her mind how her boss could be so hectic one day and so relaxed the next. Was he messing with her? Pushing the thought away, Vicky pulled the wooden kimono box from her bag and took it to the bedroom so she could properly care for the beautiful robe from last night.

The sound of Vicky’s normal cell phone interrupted her as she pulled the silken fabric into place. She retrieved it and smiled at the name showing on the caller ID.

“Hey, Vanessa,” Vicky called down the line to her best friend. “What’s happening?” She was rewarded with a hardy laugh from the speaker.