Century Traveler

He snagged a chair and quietly slipped up the aisle until he was next to their table. He plopped himself down in the chair next to them, effectively trapping them at the table. He watched their expressions pass through surprise, shock, panic, and finally, fear. Well, that was Mel's reaction. Satomi went from surprise to shy longing in a flash.

"Hi, I won't stay long. I know I'm not welcome, but I really miss my friends, and I was hoping we could at least agree to work something out so we could stop avoiding each other," he began.

He looked over at Mel, and her eyes widened in fear. That hurt. He wasn't going to spill anything that might embarrass her in front of Satomi. "Mel, I hope we remain friends as I really enjoy our verbal sparring. It keeps me on my toes, thinking there might be someone almost as smart as me in the office." Mel couldn't stop her surprised snort when he said this, and he saw the fear in her eyes fade. "The awkwardness since the morning I bumped into Satomi really makes me sad. Please consider this my apology for whatever I did to offend you."

He turned to Satomi, whose expression had slipped from longing into hero worship. He wished he knew what he'd done to warrant such strong feelings from her. Maybe that was a good start. Finding out when this began.

"Satomi, can you tell me when you started to see me as someone you wanted... to get to know better? I remember us being friends, then to me, it felt like you suddenly saw me as boyfriend material," he said gently.

She looked at him from under her bangs and smiled. "Karaoke night, two months ago. You sang to me, and the song was Drive by The Cars. You sing so good! I think I fell a little in love with you that night." Her face was in full blush. "You told Melanie why you would be a bad boyfriend for me. But you never see what is good in you. You try to protect me even when it means you will be alone. Then you took my first kiss." She looked into John's eyes with lust flaring in hers.

Mel blushed at this as well as she remembered her own close call.

"Ah yes, the kiss," he said quietly and watched Mel squirm in her seat.

"I haven't been myself since the accident, then the attack in the woods. I'm finding myself to be... uh, more aggressive? No, that's not it. I'm more impulsive about acting on my emotions before thinking them through. I've never been like that before. My entire life has been spent protecting and reserving my emotions to the point where I don't react like I should. I don't get people a lot of the time. Then I don't understand why they're upset. That's a terrible miscommunication to deal with. In every relationship I've been in, and there have only been a few, I've hurt someone by being inconsiderate of their feelings. I really like you, Satomi. I'd hate to hurt you that way. Maybe someday I'll be ready to open up emotionally, but for now, I'm not ready."

Satomi watched his face, and her expression was sad. "You must learn to stop thinking all the time. Act with your heart."

"I'll try," he promised with a smile.

"And kiss me again," she said with an impish grin.

"What?" John and Mel yelped.

"I am willing to wait for the day you will be ready to love, but a woman has needs," Satomi said earnestly. She faced John more directly and slid partially out of the booth. She locked her legs around his and placed her arms over his shoulders as he sat frozen. "Remember, do not think, just feel," she instructed, her face dangerously close to his. He felt the wolf perk up. It certainly remembered the feel of her lips.

Before John could resist, Satomi leaned in and pressed her sweet mouth against his, her tongue bold and insistent as it explored his mouth. The wolf didn't wait for John to come to his senses and reject this wonderful experience. He kissed her back, and it was good. He felt Satomi whimper into his mouth as he caressed her soft lips with his and sucked on her tongue. Soon his hands were filled with her amazing breasts, and his kiss became more demanding. Satomi was constantly moaning now, completely overwhelmed with the sensations and indicating her excitement was well on its way to a release.

"JOHN!"

He blinked and shook his head, breathing deep and fast as a low rumble came from his chest. He looked over at Mel, and her expression slowly sunk into his brain. She was also breathing hard, and her eyes were wide. "You can't do this here!" she hissed quietly.

The wolf had one more move. John's hand reached forward under the table, pressing his right hand's heel between Satomi's legs hard, and rolled his wrist in a circular movement. The young woman's head sunk to his shoulders, and she bit down on his collar as she moaned and shook through her release. The entire time John's eyes were locked on Mel's. He wanted her, and she knew it. Sweat beaded on her upper lip, and she unconsciously licked it away with the pink tip of her tongue. His eyes flashed gold momentarily as he watched her mouth.

John closed his eyes hard and tried to get his breathing and body under control. When he opened them, he saw Mel was looking at him strangely. Then he noticed Satomi resting her cheek against his shoulder. He looked at her face to see if she was upset, but she just had this dreamy look. She opened her eyes and whispered. "Best lunch ever!" She pushed herself back into her seat and gave John a deeply satisfied smile.

"That was acting from your heart with no over-thinking!" she breathed. "So much fire! So much passion! You are very, very good, John! Melanie, you should try too." She closed her eyes to catch her breath, so she missed Mel's incredulous look.

"I'm sorry. When I came to speak with you two, this was not my intention," John gasped.

"No, John! You are thinking too much again. It was so good!" Satomi said as she opened her eyes and straightened her clothes.

"I think I'd better leave," he said.

"Then who is running away?" Satomi said, pinning him with a stern look. "Your mind has not accepted what your heart clearly has. You must begin to listen to your heart."

"But..."

Mel could no longer remain silent. "John, what happens to you when you kiss Satomi? It's like something is waking up inside you." She blinked a few times and dabbed her mouth with her napkin. "It's primal."

"Yeah... it feels something like that," he admitted, distinctly uncomfortable with the accuracy of her perception.

"This hasn't happened to you before?" she asked.

"No, not before the attack in the woods. Like I said, that really shook me up," he said quietly.

"I think it is an improvement if it helps you get more in touch with your feelings," Satomi said as she packed up the rest of her lunch. Mel noticed this and packed up hers. John pushed back, and the three left the restaurant and headed back to the store.

On John's right, Satomi looped her arm through his and looked over at Mel with a grin. Mel glanced up at John's face, then looped her arm through his left. When they saw him blush, they both giggled.

John wasn't sure what to feel. He'd just wanted them to go back to being friends, and Satomi had pushed them a few notches past that. Even Mel was looking at him differently. He didn't know if that was an improvement, but at least they weren't avoiding him. As he held the door open for them, he caught Deron's stern expression from the cashier's station.

"Friends! We're all friends!" he exclaimed to his boss.

As Satomi passed the station, she spoke up. "With benefits!" She ran away giggling. Mel snuck away with a deep blush leaving John to face Deron's wrath.

"What did I tell you--" he began.

John had to nip this in the bud. "Hold up there, big man! We just had a conversation, trying to work out a way to get past the awkwardness. I wanted my friends back, and I think we're good... or at least on the road to getting there. Besides, we are all adults, ignoring Satomi's teasing, and we weren't in the store. Okay?"

The big Jamaican didn't look happy, but he couldn't argue with John's rational explanation. "See to it that it doesn't affect the shop."

John nodded and went back to his desk. He ate his almost forgotten sandwich quickly, then got back to work.

Hours later, his phone rang, and Franklin whispered that a stone-cold fox was waiting for him downstairs. His five o'clock tour! He shut down his station and went down to meet her.

As he approached the front desk, he got his first clear view of Kate Darrows. Franklin was right! She was stunning! Pale skin and flame-red hair hanging past her shoulders, high cheekbones, large green eyes, slim nose, and lush red lips. She wore a dark grey sheath dress that emphasized her luxurious curves and pointy red high-heel shoes to match her hair. The ensemble drew your eyes over her entire body, which was likely its goal. As John's eyes returned to her face, he caught her satisfied look, and her smile grew on those amazing lips.

"Hello, I'm John Doe," he said as he took her hand in his. Her skin was smooth, soft, and a little cool, but her handshake was firm.

"Kate Darrows. That's an interesting moniker you have. Has it presented you the bliss of anonymity it promises?" she said. She had a lovely smooth voice with a hint of an accent that he had trouble placing.

"I don't think anyone has ever seen my name as a positive thing before. I get less junk mail than anyone I know, and telemarketers leave me alone," John said with a grin.

Her deep green eyes lit up, and she flashed her white teeth at him with a smile. He felt a distinct tug, but he looked away, embarrassed. He must have still been a little charged up from his rendezvous with Mel and Satomi earlier.

He got right into his tour script. "I understand you are the owner and publisher of Seshat Publishing. I visited your website earlier, so I got some background on the kinds of books you publish. I'm curious about where you see the fit between our two companies."

"You're a no-nonsense man. Straight to the point. I like that!" She gave him another of her dazzling megawatt smiles, and he felt that definite tug again, but he managed to ignore it and just smile back. Her smile wobbled a bit, and she moved on to keep the momentum going. "I understand you locate rare books and arrange these purchases for your customers." John nodded. "There are several books we are interested in obtaining that we've had very little success with. We would like to have your company find and acquire them for us to republish them under the Seshat label," she explained.

"That's certainly something we're set up to do," John said. "We have a very high success rate at finding and brokering deals on rare and hard-to-find books. Additionally, if your shop has the capability of scanning the contents of the books without altering their condition in any way, we might also be able to broker borrower deals with owners who are unwilling to sell their very rare books."

"That's wonderful! Now... some of the texts we'd like to reproduce are very ancient and may not be available in book format. They may be in scrolls, wood carvings, leather etchings... clay tablets. Is your company able to deal with such mediums? Do you... get requests like that?" she asked with a light tone.

John paused to try to read her expression. While he was a firm believer in coincidence, something felt... off. She had an open and curious expression, and John couldn't detect any subterfuge, but reading people really wasn't his strength. All the same, he decided to play it safe and not mention the current deals he had brokered for the scroll and tablet.

"We can deal with mediums other than books," was all he allowed.

"Good. Good." She sounded satisfied, but he thought he detected a tightening of her mouth like she was clenching her jaw.

John gave her a quick tour of the shop, which didn't take long at all. Along the way, he pointed out where Deron was busy working in his office in the far corner or looking busy at least, and where Franklin watched the cashier's desk or Kate in this instance. The young man looked like he was mesmerized by her. They walked past him into the stacks.

"What's back there?" Kate asked with interest evident in her voice as she pointed to the door at the back of the store. It could be seen at the end of the aisle they currently stood in.

"There? That's just a small stock room and the shipping area." She started to walk backward towards the door, all the while smiling and keeping her eyes on his. He was confused about why she was going back there, but her eyes were such an amazing shade of green, and her smile was so... inviting. He felt the tug once more, but now it felt like it was at full power. His focus seemed to be drawn to her eyes, becoming the only thing he ever wanted to see.

As they made their way slowly between the shelves of books towards the back door, Kate's soft voice kept up a gentle stream of conversation. "John, do you think I'm beautiful?"

He nodded.

"John, do you want me?"

He nodded again. Something moved on the other side of the bookshelf to the right, and John's attention almost swung in that direction, but Kate's gaze drew him back. He felt the pressure of her attention increase once more.

"John, would you like it if I said I wanted you too?"

A thrill ran up his spine, but it felt... wrong. The pressure increased, and his vision was starting to tunnel.

"John, you smell so good. I've never smelled anyone who scented quite like you. I want you so much."

Again, he was distracted by her odd choice of words which rubbed at his raw nerves. Each time she used his name, he felt his focus snap back to her.

They'd reached the back door and pushed into the small shipping area. There was a loading bay, a roll-up door with an old steel door next to it, and a work table that was largely empty at the moment. Kate made quick furtive glances around the room, always returning to look deeply into his eyes. Each glance away felt like a piece of his soul was being ripped from him only to be slammed back in place when she returned her attention to him once more.

Her voice continued to slip into his ears.

"John, do you believe in magic? In the expression of forces beyond the currently accepted physical laws?"

John felt himself shaking his head no.

"But John, I can tell you are carrying magic upon you. My locket is telling me you are wearing something magical." She paused as she ran her hands over his body. She stopped her hand over his and quickly glanced at his fingers. "Ah, that lovely ring!"

Kate slipped her body against John's, and he felt her soft curves pressing against his hard, trembling muscles. He felt her breath against his neck then her tongue was sliding up the side. The skin where her tongue touched went numb.

"Oh John, why am I behaving like this. So impulsive! But you're driving me to it. I can't think of anything other than tasting you!" she quivered in anticipation.

John's senses returned as the numbness spread down his shoulder. Alerts were going off in his sluggish brain, but he had trouble getting his body to cooperate. Something was wrong. He borrowed strength from the wolf who was there at his back but inexplicably fearful of the woman.

"STOP! Wait!" John pushed her away and blinked hard, shaking his head to clear away the wool.

"What? No, I'm hungry, and you smell sooo good!" she gushed as she grabbed his head and stared deeply into his eyes. When he felt the pressure returning, he closed his eyes and tried to pull her arms off of his head. Her strength was incredible. He couldn't pull them off or break her grip. In desperation, he pulled up his right leg between them and kicked her loose. Her nails raked across both sides of his face. She roared and came right back after him. She grabbed his shirt and threw him across the small space against the wall above the work table.

The impact knocked the wind out of him, and he lay on the hard surface, stunned. Kate stalked across the space and yanked his head to the side. She tried to bite down on his neck, but he wrenched his body to the side, and her teeth tore into his left shoulder instead. She latched on and sucked at the wound.

He screamed in agony and grabbed for something he could use as a weapon. He got his hands on the large scissors on the work table and swung them with all his strength. He felt them sink deeply into her side as she tore at his shoulder. She screamed and lurched away from him, yanking the scissors out and dragging him off the table onto the floor. She wobbled on her heels, and blood gushed from her side onto his back and over his injured shoulder. When her blood splashed into his wound, it felt like shards of ice stabbing into him, and he screamed again.

As his brain cleared, he felt the wolf crashing against his consciousness, demanding to be let out. He looked up from his position on the floor and froze in shock. Mel was standing at the door leading back into the store. He pushed himself to his feet and ran towards her. He saw Deron running towards them. Kate's angry scream behind him only gave him seconds to act.

He pushed Mel away from the door, back into the store towards Deron. "RUN!" he yelled.

He slammed the door closed and pulled a heavy shelving unit over in front of the door as he jumped back. He felt Kate's hand grab his injured shoulder, and her nails dug in as she threw him back across the room. He slammed into the push-bar on the back door and crashed through to fall into the alley. Agony racked his body. He felt broken bones grating in his back and chest. He rolled over onto his back and looked up at the street light, but a head appeared to block his view.

"John? What happened to--"

"run," John wheezed as he tried to scream at Mr. Sass with his remaining strength.

Something dark came out of the back door, grabbed Mr. Sass by the throat, and lifted him in the air. John saw it was Kate Darrows, but she looked horrifying. Her jaws were extended, and her teeth were jagged fangs. Her green eyes had sunken into two black pits, and her hair was grey and stringy.

"John, you shouldn't have done that. Now I'll have to feed on this old man to fix the damage you've done. Then I'll get back to you." She bit into his neck, and Mr. Sass shook in her jaws. His hands went to his pockets, and shots suddenly went off in rapid succession.

Kate dropped Mr. Sass, but he kept firing on his way down. A lucky shot took the back of her head off when a bullet caught her under the chin.

John lay helpless on the laneway next to the crumpled body of Mr. Sass. Kate's body collapsed bonelessly on top of the old man, and her blood sprayed across both of them. Once more, John felt the icy sting biting into his shoulder, and he heard the old man hissing in pain as well.

"Mr. Sass! Hold on! Sirens. Help is on the way," John gasped weakly, looking at the old man's torn neck. Oh geezus, it didn't look good.

"I'm so sorry you got caught in this! I'm so sorry!" John cried as tears flowed down his face.

"No... John... Your mama... her note told me... watch over you...." The old man was struggling to suck in a breath, to keep talking, to confess something important to him. "She wrote... you were special. I'm glad... I could do this... for you... I'm done... It's up to you... from this point.... Take care, son."

And he was gone.

What was that about his mama? How could Mr. Sass know about his mother and the note? John's mind swam as he started to black out. He caught a glimpse of flashing lights moving up the alley, then welcoming darkness took him away from the pain.

Chapter 11

The steady beep was back, but it seemed slower than usual this time.

A vague memory of the blissful clouds faded as he surfaced.

He slowly opened his eyes, but no one was reading his chart at the end of the bed.