Beta'd by Angelfan984 (Without you I would have used the wrong word. ;D)
Chapter 3 - Shadows
Emma slowly made her way through the crowd back to her hotel room. The later it got, the more crowded the streets got. She checked her pockets to make sure a little thief didn't steal anything without her noticing. All the bumping and jostling of the crowd made it hard to tell if someone was stealing from you. The pickpockets probably made out well in a city like New Orleans due to the size of the crowds and how drunk everyone was. The streets were a constant party at night.
The shadows held most of her attention on the walk back to her room. A fear of the dark was not one she had. Her fear was a little deeper than that, the fear of being abandoned, like she had been so many times in the past. She was left in the middle of nowhere with another boy that she considered a brother now. He was all the family she had. August, he had been left too. He was 5 years older than Emma and she kept in contact with him, although he lead a fast pace life of girls and drink. Everyone had different methods of dealing with the pain, she supposed. The upside was that she could call him now because he would be awake. Maybe not sober but awake nonetheless.
She pulled out her cell as she closed the door to her room behind her. Then she turned on all the lights blotting out any of the remaining shadows from her room. Well look at that, maybe she had developed a fear of the dark knowing that gorgeous charming men could appear from thin air in them. Laughing at herself she keyed in August's number. He answered on the fourth ring and she had been about to hang up.
"Emma! I haven't heard from you in days! How are you doing?" He slurred and she heard female giggling in the background. Wonderful she had not only caught him drunk she had caught him making it with some random chick. Not to mention the fact she had talked to him last night. He must have been to far gone to remember.
"I'm good. I just wanted to check in, you know touch base and let you know I found my mark but he got away for good. So I will be moving on in the morning."
He answered with Mmmhhhmm's and 'oh yeah'. Was he even listening? Swallowing down her irritation she tried to smile at her self in the mirror, it was a fake smile. "So, will you be around when I get back to Boston? Or are you going to be out of town?" Emma questioned.
"I'm sorry Emma, but I'm a bit busy at the moment can we talk in the morning?" He asked before the line went dead without even hearing a response from her.
"Sure no problem." She said sarcastically to the phone as she stared at the home screen. Sometimes she wasn't sure why she put up with him. He could be so cruel, even if he didn't mean to be. It was almost like she was constantly making up excuses for his behavior. Sighing she placed her phone on the edge of the bathroom sink and started to get ready for sleep.
When she returned to her room after her hot as hell shower all the lights were off. What in the heck? She could have sworn she turned them all on when she came in. Maybe she was more tired than she had thought. It's not like she was going to sleep with the lights on anyways. So she crossed the room in the darkness and climbed into her bed. The bed was heavenly like lying on a cloud. She started to drift off to sleep.
Killian stood in the shadows of her room watching as she slept. He knew he shouldn't be here, he had a job to do and he wasn't doing it by standing watch over this blonde woman. Placing the money onto her bedside table he brushed a strand of her golden hair from her face. She looked so young while she slept and not quite as tough. It was as though she put on a mask for the world and it dropped away as soon as she relaxed enough to let it. Finding her room was easy enough; he had stuck to the shadows and followed her here. He found her intriguing she was one of the few mortals he couldn't read immediately. Well he could read her, just not her mind.
The absence of thoughts being fired at him from her mind was a balm to him. Normally he was bombarded by hungry demanding thoughts. He shuddered in revulsion of the memories. At first he played with humans that wanted him, but then it became boring. A game he no longer wanted to play. Now he protected them and nothing else. Until now that is. This woman before him woke some long buried desire inside himself. It was as if he had no control to resist her and she hadn't even thrown herself at him. Sure she had responded to his kiss, but she had not begged.
Restlessly she tossed onto her back and her blanket fell revealing her smooth white stomach to his eyes. The thin tank top she wore left little to the imagination. A frill of lace peeked out from the top of her pajama shorts and he imagined waking her and making her want him. His hand reached out and he ghosted his fingers over her stomach. A soft moan left her throat as she slept. His eyes flew to hers and they were still closed. What was he thinking? Had he lost his mind? Quickly heading to the door he let himself quietly out before he did something even stupider, like press his lips against the soft skin of her navel.
Stretching slowly Emma opened her eyes to the morning light. It was another new day a new lonely day. Pushing her hair from her face she sat up blinking her eyes. It was two in the afternoon and she had missed checkout by three hours. Why had no one woken her? She would have expected the maids to come around to clean the room she should have vacated hours ago. Groaning she threw the covers from herself and went over to pick up the hotel phone. She dialed the front desk.
When a woman picked up on the other end she responded. "Hello, this is Emma Swan in room 312 and I missed the check out time. How much is it going to cost me for the additional half day?"
"Miss Swan?" She heard typing in the background as the woman looked up her name and room number. "It shows you are paid through the end of next week."
"What?" Emma demanded dumbly.
"Well, our system shows you paid through the end of next week last night when you came in."
"No I heard you, I just didn't do that." Her mind raced as she thought of who could have done such a thing. Maybe August had called up the hotel and paid it for her, giving her a little vacation. Maybe he just knew she needed it. Then her eyes fell on a bundle of cash on the nightstand. What the hell? The voice of the front desk lady drifted into the background before Emma mumbled into the phone. "Never mind, thank you I've figured it out." Then the phone dropped from her shoulder as she walked over to the money. Picking it up she flipped through the bundle. They were all one hundred dollar bills. It had to be at least five thousand dollars in her hand. Quickly she unbundled it and counted the money. Six fucking thousand dollars was in her possession, that was six times what she would have made bringing that guy in.
Her breath came in short tiny gasps as she started to hyperventilate. She was never this weak, but this amount of money could help her to live for at least 6 months. It gave her time to relax. She could stay here for the next week and a half and take a mini vacation. Maybe the first one she would have since, well ever. Laughter came bubbling from her in waves, almost hysterical laughter, and then tears followed. She was a mess.
After she calmed down her thoughts went to just 'how' the money got into her room. It hadn't been there when she had returned to the room, her small wallet had been sitting right next to it, so she would have spotted it when she put it down. Was it there when she returned from the shower? She couldn't remember. But then it dawned on her that the room had been dark all the lights had been shut off. He had been in her room while she showered and he was probably still in her room when she went to sleep.
How did that even make her feel? She asked herself silently. Warm. Hungry. Wanton. Safe. The answers came immediately to her mind. She was definitely fucked up if a guy sneaking into her rooms made her want him. Maybe she should have stayed in therapy.
Killian came out of his protected rooms and found one of his squire's sons waiting for him. The younger of the two, he searched his memory for the boy's name, Derek his mind supplied.
"Good Evening sir." Derek bowed low.
"Stand up boy, I'm not a king." Killian chuckled an eyebrow rising at the young boy's antics.
"My father told me that I needed to see what you wanted the cook to make for your breakfast."
"How old are you now Derek? Didn't you just have a birthday?" Killian inquired a smile in place. He was in an unusually good mood this evening.
"Aye I did sir. I'm 12 years old." The boy told him proudly. "I'm almost a man."
"That you are. You can tell the cook that I plan on going out for my food. So there is no need to cook anything right now. But could you ask her to cook up some of her wonderful Jambalaya for dinner later on?"
"Sure thing!" Derek cheered and skidded away in the direction of the kitchens.
He lived in a grand home; it had to be rebuilt after the hurricane had ravished the land. Thankfully his protected rooms survived nature's attack. As well as his squire and his family, they were all he cared about in his life. The bond he held with David started when he had been only a boy, his father Arlen had been his squire before him. David had taken his place when his father moved to Florida to retire. The old man had passed away a few years before; it had been a sad day in his home.
Killian retrieved his jacket from the hall closet and placed it over his black leather ensemble. It was easier to blend fully into the shadows in all black, made hunting the demons easier. Although they could always sense him before he struck. But he had other matters on his mind tonight. The blonde beauty filled his mind. What was it about her that had captured his attention? He tongued one of his fangs and a sensitive pang went through him. It was as though he ached to bite her. He didn't drink blood the thought repulsed him, but for some reason he craved to take hers.
He went to his garage and climbed into his Chevy 63' Stingray. Driving it was like flying. It almost made him not crave his ship even after all these years. But he had learned early on that life on a ship, as a Dark Hunter was impossible. Even the tiniest of light coming through the top deck could burn. He pulled out of the garage and headed towards the hotel Emma was staying at. Hopefully she didn't leave. He had 'paid' up her room. Although it was one of his hotels so it wasn't that difficult to change the records from his home. He had become fully accustomed to modern technology and he couldn't imagine life without it.
Within minutes he was pulling into the parking garage of the hotel. It was probably due to his lead foot. What could he say; he loved the feel of the wind racing through his hair. It made him feel free.
Quickly he made his way to her room and knocked. Her door flew open and a shocked look covered her face before a wall slammed down to block it from view. Her green eyes sparked at him and he grinned. She tried to shut the door but he put his booted foot in the way at the last minute. "Och, lass, is that any way to treat a friend?"
"Friend?" She bit out. "What kind of 'friend' sneaks into a persons room while they are there and—" leaves them thousands of dollars she finished in her head.
"And?" He prompted her with an infuriating grin.
"Oh shut up!" She told him with a fake smile. Her arms crossed defensively across her chest. "What do you want? I'm not a whore if that is what you are thinking. If that is the case I will go get your money and return it right now."
"Whore, lass? What language, coming from such a pretty mouth." He chuckled as he pushed into her room and shut the door behind him. "I find you've captured my attention quite nicely, so I've come to pay a visit."
"Is that so? I don't believe you buddy. Now you can just get out, I've got some place to be." She lied as she crossed the room and picked up her cell phone and keys.
"I will come along. I'll walk you; the streets can be quite dangerous at night. But thankfully you have me to protect you." He replied cheekily as he held the door open for her.
"Really?" She responded sarcastically and walked past him out the door. Not really sure where she was going she headed away from the huge crowds and towards the water. He kept pace beside her, silently.
A/N - Thank you for the response to the first two chapters. It means so much. Virtual hugs to you all!