Brother Remembered - Black Dagger Brotherhood FanFic - Sumter Colony 2

Chapter 22

Rhet ground his teeth as he spoke to Hatrhed on his cell. "Yeah. I get it. I'll be there." His outside voice was quite a bit more pleasant than his inside voice, which was mumbling something like, Mother fucker cock sucker. "Yep. Have fun, play nice. Can do."

If he were more of a human-Christian-ish person, he'd be goddamning it all over the living room. As it was, there weren't enough swear words in his vocabulary to adequately express himself at the moment. He stared at his phone when the call ended, working to control the overwhelming urge to launch it missile-style off the loft balcony. But, no... control would be essential for the next several days. Might as well start now. He set it down gingerly on the table next to him.

Which, of course, reminded him that he still had a volume of his sire's 'This Is Your Life' collection because it was right there where he'd left it. He scowled and contemplated launching it over the railing instead.

He sighed. His newly-discovered half-sister was making it clear that he had to be civil to Night and Ace and work cooperatively with them if he wanted into the training program. Which he did.

Fuck.

He heaved himself off the couch and made his way to the stairs. He needed to get out. Maybe a run would clear his head. He donned his running gear consisting of shoes, tights, Under Armour, windbreaker, gloves, and balaclava. No need to have cold ears. That was the worst.

He took off down his drive and turned it left to head further into the country where there wouldn't be so much traffic. Not that there was a lot to begin with, but safety first. The air was dry, or at least as dry as the South got in the winter, but the breeze was more than a little brisk. The moon was just rising, shining its half face on the world, and the stars twinkled overhead.

To his surprise, he saw the house next to his brightly lit, the light filtering through the trees. It'd been on the market for months, with no takers. It was set back on its lot, much like his, but the similarities ended there. His was contemporary with unique architecture in contrast to the cookie-cutter housing plan of the one next door. Stone and wood attempted to balance the... What? Vinyl siding?... on the neighbors. He didn't even want to get started on the yard. Who the hell wanted to live in the woods but still have an enormous lawn to mow? Idiots.

He realized that he'd stopped in the middle of the road to gawk at the house. He was about to turn away when the porch light turned on, and he spied someone coming out the front door.

The first thing he noticed was the color of her hair. It was golden, the color of corn silk, and hung halfway down her back, even though it was in a high ponytail. It bounced as she trotted down the stairs and to the car parked in front of the garage. The next thing he noticed was her ass, which he wouldn't necessarily focus on so quickly, except she popped the trunk and leaned waaaay over... Wait. Is she wearing shorts? Who the fuck wears shorts in February?

He watched her, with more than just his eyes appreciating the view, fish out two armloads of grocery bags from the trunk, then struggle to close the thing. He took several steps toward her, intending to offer help, before what he was doing registered. You're an idiot, Rhet. Like some strange guy approaching her at night out of the darkness to help with groceries is gonna fly.

The breeze stirred, swirling the scents of crisp leaves, wood smoke, and... her. He was captivated, to the point that he didn't even care she was human. She smelled like soap and some soft floral perfume that, ordinarily, would probably have made him sneeze.

She pushed open the front door, shuffled through, then kicked it shut. He waited, listening intently, for the door to lock. When he heard the click, he nodded, released from the spell he'd been under. He took off down the road, racing through the night, lost in thoughts of corn silk hair.