The Change: Episode one (16 page)

I moved through her open door with a quick
look that confirmed Candice was still in my room, and kept my steps
steady. I had to stop tiptoeing around her. It was embarrassing,
but even more, it angered her, and that wouldn’t help my plans to
stay close. I stepped into the room and set the box where it had
been before.

A small smile was playing along her lips,
and those flat, black eyes were warmer, more relaxed than I’d seen
so far. She liked being at home, I realized. How nice that must
feel.

“
Are you done for
now?”

I nodded at her amused question, unable to
miss the way her cloak clung to her hips. Covered, she was a
dangerous foe to be recognized on sight. Clad for bed, she was an
exotic, tattooed temptation with fiery eyes and sharp nails. She
hadn’t touched me since my lesson about who was in charge, and I
was on fire at even the thought… and I was still afraid. I couldn’t
seem to get rid of it.

C

I saw the bags under his eyes, the wild hair
he liked to be neat, and took pity on him. “Get in bed.”

Daniel flinched back instead of being
relieved, and I shook my head. “You, not me.”

He flushed, but moved
toward the bed, and I took up a seat on the ledge. I’d often laid
here as a child and stared out the window at his house. Now, he was
in
my
room,
pushing his boots off to climb into
my
bed. The moment was intense, and I
kept my heat to myself, knowing he needed to sleep before dealing
with another of my… attacks.

Despite my good will, the sight of him
removing the cloak and tossing it over the headboard like a man
getting ready for a fun evening, had me standing up. Maybe I could
use a nap as well.

I only took off my cloak and weapons belt,
then my boots, before dropping heavily into the soft bed. I turned
away, letting my eyes close. I had dreamed of sharing a bed with
him, of feeling this peace, but wasn’t sure I’d really thought it
would happen. I had bought his things and made my plans because
it’s the way I was. I wouldn’t accept any less than what I wanted,
but I had felt fear. Now that we were here, I could breathe
again.

I listened to him get settled, wondering if
my parents’ words had given him a flash of me. I’d heard them with
my Changeling ears and hoped…

D

I realized she was tired, too, and relaxed a
little. I hadn’t slept on the train-ride except for ten minute
droops when my eyes simply refused to stay open any longer. I was
grateful for the books and the light she’d provided, and very
surprised by the size of the box I’d been shoved into. It had even
held a port-o, which kept me from arriving in a totally humiliating
state.

I knew who Candice was now. I didn’t
remember all of our moments, but I had enough of them to finally
understand why she’d chosen me. I was wanted! I had my loving
owner…

I didn’t remember dozing off, but I came
awake instantly at the feel of the woman lying on my chest.

Candice was snoring softly, breath even, and
I guessed she’d been there for a while from the drool spot she was
leaving on my shirt. She was open in that moment, no longer the
hardened killer, but only that little girl I’d loved, all grown up.
The past snagged me, and I went back into the grayness as a flash
rippled over my mind.

“
I won’t eat
them.”

“
Yes, you
will.”

“
You can’t make
me!”

“
Wanna bet?”

I was under the concrete slabs, one of my
favorite hiding places because of the graffiti the runaways left,
and she’d tossed the apples into my hideout. I hadn’t asked her for
them!

“
If I come in there, I’ll
make you eat them all right now and get the shits.”

“
Go away!” I was still
crying from the awful words my sister had beaten me with, and the
sight of a Pruett standing between me and escape had me striking
out like a cornered rat.

“
Fine, starve. Don’t know
why I tried.”

She moved away and I waited, not sure if it
was a trick. My family hated the Pruetts, called them killers of
the worst sort, but the apples, well… I hadn’t had an apple in my
whole life that I knew of, and here were five of them!

It took me until dark to finish her gift,
sitting in that fly-infested shade with apple juice all over my
chin and seeds littering the rubble. I buried a few of them in the
gritty sand, not really thinking they would grow, but in my heart,
I needed something to hope for.

I woke again at a louder, uneasy snort from
the Changeling on my chest, but the memory remained vivid. I ended
up getting slapped for the stains on my clothes and the carpet the
next day, but that had been the start of a friendship I’d never
completely forgotten.

I tracked her down on her own property a
week later, sitting in one of the deadly thorn trees outside this
very house. She grinned when she came out for school and saw me.
We’d been together every day after that.

That friendship had held me through, given
me strength to cling to, and it was still hard to place adult
Candice with my little friend. Even now, the girl’s face, her eyes…
it was hard to believe it was this woman, and I studied her
intently. In my concentration, I didn’t realize she’d stopped
snoring.

C

My normal process upon waking was to examine
the chinks in my control and shore them up before facing a day
among my family. I never really relaxed around them, and I feared
it would be that way with Daniel as well. I was so afraid of doing
it again. The injury I’d caused to my Mother was unforgivable some
days, and the only way to face her was to ensure I was in complete
control around her at all times. With Daniel, that would be a
struggle, and I began like any other day... I took a deep
breath.

His smells swirled into my
nose and set fire to everything they touched. Musky and sharp, I
wasn’t ready for the
Change
.

My fingers tangled in the blanket as I
struggled to keep from flipping into an animal. I didn’t know he
was awake until he spoke.

“
I still hate
apples.”

Those words told me he was remembering how
we’d met, and I snorted, not realizing I was being distracted from
the rising need.

“
Shouldn’t have eaten them
all at once.”

“
You should have told
me.”

“
I kinda did.”

Daniel chuckled, but the sadness and anger
were clear in his answer. “I’d never had one before.”

I hadn’t known that and felt my heart
clench. I drew back to look at him. “You’ll never be neglected
again.”

He gave me a slow smile and reached out a
big hand to gently smooth a lock of hair back behind my ear. “Thank
you for not forgetting about me.”

I leaned into his caress, closing my eyes at
the pleasure of his simple touch. “I’ve needed you my whole life.
There was no choice to be made.”

I felt him shift and kept my eyes closed;
waiting to see what he would do at that admission. Did he know of
true emotion… of love? His hand gently drew me closer and his lips
pressed softly to mine, but only lingered for a second of fire
before moving back.

Wanting a real kiss, I dropped my head to
his chest. When he sighed lowly, the noise rumbled through his
chest and into my head like a bullet. He sounded happy.

D

I was so surprised by every new thing I
learned about her, but even more, by her control, and it made me
bolder. She hadn’t snapped once, and the blood she’d drawn was only
light nail marks that were mostly gone now. I was remembering our
past, starting to relax with her. Would she take me soon? I
couldn’t stop the tensing of my arms or the rising of my trousers.
She noticed both.

Her breath caught, and then her nostrils
flared as she scented my desire. I heard her nails rip into the
sheet next to my hip and chose to face my fear. I pushed the rules
into a mental file and locked it up tight. From now on, I would
play this game by instinct.

“
Candy…”

I knew what it did to her, to hear my voice,
but I was only guessing about the name. I sensed I had the right to
call her that and more, and it was confirmed when she only tensed
further.

“
It’s the start of a new
day…”

I was able to tell when she understood by
the way the tension already sparking between us flared up hot
enough to burn. I wasn’t sure which way she would go, or even which
way I was rooting for. She was so dangerous… so sexy.

“
As you would.”

My heart thumped, and a grin spread across
my face that surprised me. It seemed I’d been rooting after
all.

I wasn’t as careful as I’d intended to be
when I slid a hand around her waist and pulled her fully on top of
me. My other hand went behind her tattooed neck and tugged her down
for a taste of that sweet mouth. I wanted her even though I was
scared, and now was as good a time as any to make it clear.

My tongue dipped inside her mouth, catching
her groan. It rolled through my body like the drugs they’d used
before, and I forgot my place. I rolled us over like I’d been
taught, pressing my hard body against her with a sharp thrust that
sent the blood pounding into my heads.

I deepened the kiss, automatically
protecting myself from her razor-like claws as she writhed beneath
me, and I stroked her sleepy skin without a thought to where it was
leading, full of her taste, her sounds. She mewled, driving me into
sliding a hand under her shirt to cup a full breast. I squeezed,
thrusting against her.

“
Candice…?”

C

The sound of Angelica’s
voice had him rolling away from me, and I
groaned
. Damn it!

“
Candice?”

“
We’ll be down!”

My shout killed the rest of the moment, and
I reluctantly stood to face the new evening.

“
Get a shower and come on
down. I’ll be waiting.”

He moved for the washroom right away, and I
tried not to think about my flames or charring skin as I laid out
what I wanted him to wear. He looked so good in blue.

D

I sat where she’d pointed and kept my head
down as her Mother handed out heaping plates that smelled better
than anything I’d scrounged from the Network. They didn’t want
their bachelors to get too big, too strong, and I slid my hands
under my legs to keep from reaching for a spoon before anyone
else.

I nodded my thanks and got a warm smile in
return.

“
You’re welcome,” Mary
stated.

The friendly tone made me stare. It took a
moment to understand that Candice’s parent was in stage three. How
did a… meek woman manage to run a bounty-hunting family?

The table was wide, leaving plenty of room
between me and the younger female on my left. The bags under
Angelica’s eyes said she’d passed a rough night, and I wondered why
she didn’t have a mate yet. Maybe she did, I amended, and turned my
attention away before drawing hers.

The light from the windows was a pretty
shade of orange and purple, but the feel of the soft breeze and the
scents of nature had my eye now. I hadn’t been outside after being
turned over to the Head Defender at the complex. I frowned,
thinking I might…

Squawk!

A large black shape with
broad wings landed on the window ledge and croaked.
Squawk!

It had beady eyes that stared at me
intently, and I watched it hop around in delight. I’d only seen
birds in books. “What is it?”

They were all watching me, my reaction. I
flushed, dropping my head. I wasn’t supposed to speak unless spoken
to, and I waited for my punishment. Would her Mother be as
lenient?

“
It’s a raven.”

The tone was warm enough to get me to look
up. I didn’t see any anger, and I immediately pushed. “Are they
pets?”

That drew a frown that had me cringing
back.

“
No. Nature turned against
man years ago. Pets are not safe to have.”

I nodded like I understood and vowed to keep
my mouth shut unless I was asked a question.

C

“
A fresh contract came this
morning.”

Not expecting a call, I looked up from my
soup to see my Mother’s frown.

“
They want four of us on
this one.”

That got my attention, and
I nodded in response to her raised brow directed at Daniel.
“Do you want him to hear?”

“
Go ahead.” Better that he
saw what we did for a living now, so he understood the life we
would lead.

She slid the disk into the wall screen, and
we listened to the computer-generated voice without speaking.

“
Hello and good wishes,
Pruett family. The Network sends its regards and hopes to contract
your services once again. Your successful record with this
particular convict is why we are only paying the standard fee of 4
million UDs. Full details upon acceptance. We await your
response.”

My Mother pushed another button and a very
familiar face appeared on our screen.

“
Baker!”

Angelica’s growl echoed mine. We had brought
him in once already, and the coincidence was more than odd that it
should be a contract for my lover on the same day I’d brought home
my mate.

“
Can’t they build a slam
that will hold him?”

“
How many kills does he
have now?” my Father asked.