Survival -Guardians of Vesturon [1] (25 page)

“Niiiicce! Is that not what you say here? You look a lot better in them than I do!” Rayn was at her side, arms around her, kissing her before she could blink an eye. He released her, took her chin in his hand, stepped back and whispered, “I definitely hate to think of being separated from you. I can barely stand to be around you and not touch you. We had better go downstairs,” Rayn decided, releasing his hold on her chin.

“Give me a second so that I can change.” She went to the closet and dressed in some of the clothing Sharra had given her. She donned a pair of jeans that fit her like they were made for her. They were a bit too long, but thankfully, they were skinny legged so she could roll up the bottoms. Then, she put on a black shirt, made out of that strange fabric. She was growing very fond of that stuff. She slipped her feet into a pair of black ballet flats and tried to fix her hair, but it was not cooperating.

She had taken that nap without drying it, and now it had a mind of its own. Too late now.

When she emerged from the closet, she heard Rayn suck in his breath. She raised her brows in question, and he let out a long slow breath. “I have never seen you dressed as such, and you look beautiful.”

She was slender but had the right amount of curves in the right places. Her hair was wildly disarrayed, giving her that untamed look. She did not have on one iota of make-up, yet her cheeks were flushed and her lips were perfectly pink.

Rayn put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up. “You are a female of unparalleled beauty, and you take my breath away, Maddie.” He gently touched her lips with his. When the brief kiss ended, he looked up and gently grasped a lock of her hair and brought it up to his face. “I adore these copper tresses of yours. They are like hand spun silk. I could not possibly ever grow tired of running my fingers through it. Now, shall we go downstairs before we get carried away up here?”

He propelled her quickly toward the door, squelching his urge to grab her and throw her down on the bed and do unmentionable things to her that he should not be thinking about.

The house was grand and positively magnificent. From the wrap around front porch, to the back terrace and its stone circular fireplace, it contained everything one could possibly desire. It was constructed of huge timbers and stacked stone. There were large windows everywhere, enabling one to enjoy the expansive views of its idyllic setting. It had a rustic elegance to it and was furnished expensively but comfortably. The sofas and chairs had “sit in me,” written all over them and their comfort was unmatched. Maddie had never seen a place so grand, yet cozy. She ran her hand along everything she saw, feeling the different textures and softness.

Every so often, she would sneak a peek at Rayn, hoping he wouldn’t catch her. He was so handsome with his tawny skin and black hair.

Maddie’s favorite place turned out to be the back terrace. There were sofas and chairs scattered around the fire pit, with blankets and throws in which one could cocoon themselves. But the view was unrivaled by anything she had ever seen. The terrace overlooked the mountains, and it faced west so one could sit by the fire and enjoy the beautiful sunset. The mountains seemed to be an arm’s length away, and the vivid hues that danced around them at the day’s end were majestic.

Rayn led her through the house, room by room. He showed her where everything she might need could be found. Then he took her into the kitchen again and showed her where all the food and drinks were kept. About that time, Zanna and Peetar made an appearance, so Rayn introduced them to each other. They were smaller than the other Vesturions Maddie had seen. Grey haired with wrinkled up little faces, they were sharp minded and moved around as sprightly as little elves.

Their love for the Yarristers was obvious. They were proud of all the siblings, and Maddie felt like she had known them for years. Maddie took an immediate liking to them.

Rayn continued with his tour of the house for Maddie. On the lower level, there was a fully equipped gym with all sorts of cardio equipment and weight machines, as well as benches and racks of dumb bells. A flat screen TV was on the wall opposite from the treadmills and elliptical trainers, and there was an open area directly in front of it if one wanted to work out to a DVD. There was also a basketball court and an area where one could spar or kick box. After he had shown her the entire house, he took her back outside to explore the rest of the grounds. There was a massive garage that contained ten stalls. At first, Maddie thought it was a barn, until Rayn took her inside. She couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped from her lips.

Maddie could not believe her eyes. Inside the garage was literally a treasure trove of vehicles.

You’ve got to be kidding me
, she thought.

There was enough car power in here to…well she didn’t know exactly since she wasn’t much of a car aficionado, but she was smart enough to realize there was well over several million dollars worth of vehicles in here.

“Good lord! Whose are these?” she asked.

“Admittedly, fast cars are our weakness. We do not use cars on Vesturon, so this is one of our true Earthly pleasures,” he said sheepishly.

“Alrighty then, who drives what?” She could not imagine anyone driving one of these. “What are they anyway? They are definitely foreign made.”

“Well, we favor the Lamborghini’s. I have the grayish Reventon over there, and Rykerian drives the black Murcielago. Sharra has the red Gallardo, and I gave her the red Ferrari. It was mine before I got the Reventon. The Mercedes SLS AMG belongs to Tesslar. Xarrid does not care much about the sports cars, so he usually drives the Range Rover or the Escalade. Therron could not care less about the cars, so he drives whatever is available. Therron is the motorcycle lover.”

Maddie couldn’t disguise her shock. “Does Sharra truly know how to drive one of these sports cars?”

“Well, yes,” he said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Then realizing that most humans weren’t privileged enough to afford one of these, he added, “It is not that difficult really, and we all use the Speedsters over there,” he said, indicating a group of things that looked like motorcycles without wheels.

“Speedsters?” Maddie was wondering if she could take all of this in.

Rayn explained to her how the Speedsters worked and she did her best to try to understand. They were commonly used on Vesturon, and they hovered above the ground, like flying at extremely low altitudes. They went exceptionally fast, which made them great to move around town or anywhere else for that matter.

Then there were the real motorcycles: the Ducati, the Hayabusa, the Aprilia, and the Ninja, which Rayn explained they loved to use. They handled much like Speedsters, but were more antiquated. These were not used on Vesturon either, which made them all the more fun for them to ride.

“Most of these are Therron’s babies. I guess you might say we all like to go fast!”

“Why would you even need something like this when you have your McFlurry machine? I mean, wouldn’t it be faster to use the McFlurry?”

Rayn laughed at her description of the teleporting device.

“Yes, that is true, but we derive great pleasure in driving these vehicles, especially since they are unavailable on Vesturon.”

“Aren’t some of these rare and difficult to get?” Maddie asked.

“Yes, but we have our connections.”

Maddie continued to look around, while Rayn explained that Rykerian was the car mechanic. He was an expert and could disassemble and reassemble the engines better than anyone. It was his one true hobby. Surprisingly enough, Sharra was the fast driver. She was the one who was always on the hunt for the fastest car. Maddie wondered if Sharra would give her a driving lesson. She thought it would be fun to drive one of those.

Reading her mind, Rayn said, “That would be something Sharra would love. She loves to play with her toys, and she would love to have someone to share these with.”

“How do you go around unnoticed? These are cars are not exactly unobtrusive.”

“Remember, we veil ourselves. It also helps to prevent us from getting speeding tickets.”

“That’s totally cool!”

“Care to go for a ride?” Rayn asked.

“I’d love to,” she said excitedly.

They hopped in the Reventon and headed down the mountain road. She felt like she was in a cockpit of a fighter jet. The buttery leather seats all but enfolded her, and their rich scent was like a heady perfume. The car was awesome, and Rayn drove it like a professional. He took the curves at extremely high speeds, but Maddie wasn’t a bit scared. Truthfully, she was having the time of her life. She rolled the windows down and loved the feel of the wind blowing her hair around. She was laughing and enjoying herself immensely when Rayn pulled off the side of the road and brought the car to a halt.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Hmm, I was a bit distracted, you might say. I had to stop so that I could enjoy the scenery.”

Maddie looked at him, puzzled. He reached for her and cupped her face in his hand brushing her cheek with his thumb. Then he picked up a strand of her hair and let its silkiness slide through his fingers. “I could do this all day,” he said smiling, thinking she had never looked more radiant.

“Rayn, can you teach me how to drive this car?” she wondered aloud.

That took him by surprise. He didn’t take her for someone who would have the slightest interest in driving a sports car. But then again, who could blame her? Who wouldn’t want to drive one of these?

“Of course. We must trade seats.”

After the switch, he attempted to try to explain how to shift the gears while depressing the clutch and using the gas pedal, all at the same time.

“Remember, the clutch has to be depressed in order for you to change gears. When you release the clutch, you need to give it some gas. Are you ready to try?”

“Here goes nothing,” she replied.

Maddie released the clutch and started to give it gas, and
whump
. She stalled out.

“Do not worry; it takes a little time to get used to it. Try again.”

An hour and a half and nearly a tankful of gas later, they had traveled about one hundred feet. Mercifully, throughout it all, Rayn had exhibited the patience of a saint, and it was then he realized he honestly loved her. Otherwise, he would have strangled her. She could not get the car to go. He tried and tried to instruct her, and she listened. Still, every time, the car would shudder and stall.

“Sunshine, I am afraid we will have to resume our lesson another day. You’d best move over so that I can drive us home before we run out of gas. We are almost on empty now.” He had peeked at the gas gauge and was concerned to see that.

“Dayam! I cannot believe I couldn’t get this thing to go. I didn’t think it would be this hard,” she groaned.

“Er, it usually is not that difficult. Maybe we can get Sharra to teach you. She might be a better teacher than I.”

“You think so?” she asked hopefully.

Rayn nodded, but he honestly didn’t know if anyone would be able to teach her. She just couldn’t seem to be able to connect the dots, like her coordination was off kilter.

Maddie disrupted his thoughts. “I hope this doesn’t turn out like dancing.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, his curiosity peaked.

“Oh, I can’t dance. At all. My roommate would make fun of me all the time. I’m worse than bad on the dance floor. I mean ridiculously bad. My mother prayed every night that I would develop some sense of rhythm when I grew older, but I’m afraid I never did,” she openly confessed.

“That does not compute, Maddie. You appear so graceful and elegant.”

“Seriously? You need to get your eyes checked! I am not even the tiniest bit graceful. My body seems to want to go in two different directions. It’s true. I can show you if you want,” she said with a devilish grin.

Rayn had gotten out of the car so they could switch sides again. Instead of getting back in, though, he helped Maddie out and turned up the music. “Show me.”

Maddie started twisting and turning and shaking and bouncing, and she did this thing with her arms that was, well, quite odd. Rayn tried his best not to laugh, but before he could stop himself, he found himself caught up in uncontrollable laughter. Maddie just kept at it, doing something weird with her feet and legs too, kicking them out at odd angles. It was a wonder her ankles didn’t snap.

In reality, she was enjoying the attention. She was not the least bit insulted because she knew she looked like a total dweeb.

Quite frankly, Rayn had seen nothing like it in his many years.

“Stop! This is atrocious!” Rayn was finally able to calm himself down. “Goodness, Maddie, you haven’t any rhythm. None at all. I simply do not understand how that can be!”

“I told you so! I’m awful. I must admit I do get a bit carried away with it though. I actually like dancing, but it’s just too painful for anyone to have to watch. The bad thing is, if you think I stink at dancing, you ought to hear me sing.”

“Your singing is worse than your dancing?” He truly couldn’t imagine anything that could rival the contortions he had just witnessed.

“Awful, hideously awful. I totally suck. Wanna hear?”

“No. Between your driving and dancing, I think I have had more than enough. I would like to do this though.” He took her in his arms, pulled her into him and gently kissed her. He pulled his lips away from hers and whispered, “Thankfully, your lack of coordination has not affected your ability to kiss!”

They both hopped in the car, and Maddie turned up the radio even louder.

Unfortunately for Rayn, “
I Wanna Dance With Somebody
” came on, and she started blasting out her very own rendition of it.

Rayn was positively horrified. He fully expected his windshield to shatter at any moment.

How is it possible that someone with the voice of an angel can sing so terribly,
he thought?

She was certainly a mystery to him, and he was glad of it. He could tell there would never be a dull moment with her around.