Beastie Ch. 04

A predawn gray showed through a gap in the curtains as Rowan awoke. She instantly recalled the events of the previous evening, groaning with embarrassment. A gentle snore from beside her assured her that Kai was still sleeping deeply with one arm thrown over her almost casually. Gingerly, she began to make her way toward the edge of the bed, hoping that she would not wake him as she made her escape. After about five minutes of silently wiggling liberally interspersed with lying completely still and checking for signs that Kai was stirring, she was free. Grabbing what she could find of her clothes, she tip toed out the door and almost ran to the elevator, praying that Annabelle wouldn't ask too many questions when Rowan asked her to pick her up.

For the second time in a week, Kai woke up knowing that he was alone. At least this time, he didn't have a headache. "Crap," he mumbled to himself, feeling his disappointment keenly, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised". Already, he was making plans to find her again; there was no way he was going to let any length of time pass before their next encounter. But first, he had to find some coffee.

Annabelle was livid on the ride across town from Kai's hotel. At first, she had been surprised and delighted when Rowan had called and asked to be picked up from a swanky hotel in a strange part of town, but as Rowan told her and Greg about everything that had happened after she left the club, Annabelle's mood grew steadily darker until she was staring out the window muttering profanities.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk to the cops honey?" Greg asked, smiling comfortingly at Rowan from the driver's seat.

"Yeah," she responded weakly, "I don't really remember much. Besides, if I talk to the police, they'll want to talk to him." She gestured vaguely behind herself, indicating Kai. This just served to redouble Annabelle's expletive monologue. Finally, she burst out,

"I can't fucking believe he took advantage of you like that! Who does that? Who the fuck does that? Who looks at a girl bleeding in an alley and drags her to a strange hotel room? Psychos! That's who does that, fucking psychos! Shit!" Rowan responded sheepishly, afraid of bringing her friends wrath onto herself,

"To be fair, I came on to him..."

"You were in shock. He should have known better," Rowan remained silent; knowing that there was no way that she'd be able to explain the strange dynamic between her and Kai. To her great relief, they were pulling up to the bakery. Without waiting for them to say anything further, she said

"Thanks so much for coming to get me, I'll see you guys tonight," but before she could open her door, Annabelle was stepping out of the car and heading toward the bakery. "Umm, Anna? Where are you going?" she called out, rushing to catch up with her friend.

"Upstairs. There is no way I'm leaving you alone today,"

It was a long morning with Annabelle in the cramped apartment. She was always right on top of Rowan, constantly trying to do things for her, and incessantly asking if she was ok. She had even tried to follow Rowan into the bathroom when Rowan went to take a shower. Rowan stood under the warm deluge, having barely convinced Annabelle not to keep her company, and collected her thoughts. She was surprised at how little she felt any sense of violation from the whole experience. Even her encounters with the men from the club seemed like a distant memory, wiped clean by Kai's touch. Her thoughts lingered on that touch, the feel of him. She had just started to dwell on the more pleasant memories from the previous evening, when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

"You okay in there, Sweetie?" Rowan turned off the water with a sigh. Maybe it was time to get some breakfast.

Kai was surprised at how much he enjoyed hanging out in Rowan's neighborhood, and by how little his enjoyment was dependent on its being Rowan's neighborhood. So far, he had visited the bookstore and a coffee shop, and found both to be awesome. And, as an added bonus, no one from his pack ever came down here. He took another sip of his coffee; his thoughts, as usual, were on finding Rowan and getting to know her under circumstances that would not leave her traumatized. His eyes scanned the room. This was the exact type of place he had had in mind for his and Rowan's first real conversation: laid back, neutral, and non-threatening. So, of course she would choose this moment to walk in with a friend and make him look like a stalker. He groaned in frustration, and sank low in his chair. He hoped that he could get out of there before she noticed him and ran off. Again. Fortunately, her friend (who looked vaguely familiar) seemed to be keeping her occupied with a steady stream of chatter. Kai was just about to make his escape when the heat kicked on and the vent next to Rowan's table blew her scent in his direction. His wolf stirred, demanding that Kai stay put and wait for a chance to be alone with Rowan. He knew he shouldn't run from this. He watched the pair subtlety, doing his best not to garner attention from Rowan's friend whose chair was facing him.

Suddenly, as if she felt him willing her away, the friend got up and, after what seemed to be an apology, walked into the ladies room. Kai took his chance. He quickly crossed the room and stood next to Rowan's table. "Hi," he said as her eyes flicked up to look at his face. He looked deeply into her eyes, trying to gauge her reaction to his presence. He was relieved to see only surprise registered there, no fear, anger, or suspicion. This was a good start.

"Hi," she responded, waiting for him to continue.

"Can I buy you a coffee?" he asked lamely, looking for a good way to start.

"I already have one," she answered kindly, "Would you like to sit?" she indicated the third chair at the table.

"Actually, can we go for a walk?" He felt the strong urge to get her somewhere more private.

"I don't think that's a good idea, my friend will be back any second..." She still did not trust him. He sat down heavily in the vacant chair and started speaking with a confidence he did not feel,

"About last night..." She held up a hand to silence him,

"I don't think there's anything about last night that we need to discuss,"

Even as she said the words, Rowan did not believe them. A small strange part of her wanted nothing more than to follow him out that door and never look back. His nearness to her was making her lose focus, the warmth radiating from him made her want to reach out and touch him. He looked a little hurt by her abruptness, causing her to shift her eyes down to look at her hands. She sighed in concession, "Maybe we should take that walk," she said after an awkward moment. Silently, she scribbled a note for her friend on a napkin, explaining where she was going, and assuring her that she shouldn't worry. Then she gathered her things and followed Kai out the door. At the end of the block, her cellphone dinged. It was a text from Annabelle, If I don't hear from you in one hour I'm calling the National Guard. She chuckled a bit at her friend's protectiveness.

"What's so funny?" Kai asked, curious.

"Nothing, just a text from my friend" they walked on for a bit before Kai finally began,

"You snuck out on me this morning," his tone was almost accusatory.

"Umm yeah, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time,"

"I wish you would have stayed a little longer, or at least said something before you left,"

"I didn't realize that was standard procedure for one night stands," A low sound emanated from his chest at her words, but he chose to move on,

"I would have liked to take you home myself, to make sure you get there safely," he stopped her and pulled her around to face him, brushing his fingers gently along her stitches as he had done the night before, "I won't let this happen again," somewhere in the back of her mind echoed "No other man will touch you" the words still caused her to shiver. She backed away from his touch, the intensity of the situation causing some alarm. He held her in place for a second longer before allowing her to retreat.

After a beat, he tried for safer, less intense topics and was pleased to find that the conversation flowed easily between them. After hours of wandering aimlessly around the neighborhood (interrupted only by one brief but reassuring phone call to Annabelle), they found themselves standing at the door to the bakery. He had both of her hands and was holding her as close as she would let him, "Let's do something tonight!" Kai declared, unwilling to part from Rowan.

"I'm sorry, I have to work tonight"

"You're not going back there?" Kai raised his voice at the last second; turning it into a question instead of the command he had meant it to be.

"I have to. I need the money," she was getting defensive, she had not missed the commanding tone in his voice. He did not like the idea of her going back there, not just because that's where she was hurt, but because he saw the way the customers looked at her, the way they touched her, the things they said to her. He knew that he was in no position to ask her to change her life, but he would keep the promise he had made to her last night.

"Let me pick you up after your shift" this time it was not a question, but she chose to see it as one,

"We'll see, I don't get out until three in the morning, and Annabelle might drive me home, so..."

"I'll be parked in the alley near the back door, waiting for you,"

"Because that's not creepy,"

"I'm serious. I'll be waiting. Just get in the car and I'll take you straight home, unless you want to go somewhere else. But I meant what I said about keeping you safe," the intensity in his voice caused her heart to skip a beat. His gazed was locked with hers, daring her to challenge him. Her usual sarcasm failed her as he pulled her closer, wrapping her in a tight embrace. He placed a hand under her chin, gently guiding her to look at him while he placed gentle kisses along her scar. She felt the strength rippling through his body, holding her in place with seemingly no effort. It was in that Rowan realized that this man could crush her; it was also the moment, as he kissed steadily down her jawline, that she knew he never would. A barely audible sigh became completely silent as he covered her mouth with his. This kiss was a far cry from the desperate need that had consumed her last night. He was taking his time with her, his lips gently molding against hers. His tongue brushed against her lips, and she happily yielded to him. A slight yelp escaped her as he wound a large hand into the hair at the nape of her neck and pulled her head to one side, allowing him better access to her throat.

"Not here," she begged softly, coming slightly to her senses and realizing that they were still on the street. He growled in frustration, what did he care if people saw? Why were humans so insistent on sex being a private act? But her concern was taking her mind off the task at hand, so he accommodated her, pulling her into the bakery and up the back steps slamming the door to her apartment behind them. Things were just getting back into a good rhythm when there was a pounding knock at the door.

"Rowan Marik you little slut, you open this door immediately!" the voice of Rowan's landlady screeched through the door.

"I think you'd better go," Rowan whispered, pushing him toward the fire escape. Reluctantly, Kai climbed through the ruined screen and descended the ladder. Just as he was turning to start the long walk home, he heard Rowan call down to him. He looked up to see a mass of messy dark waves and a pair of laughing green eyes looking down at him over the fire escape railing, "I'll see you tonight," was all she said before disappearing back inside to face the wrath Miss Scarlett.