Protection (Book #1)

Chapter Three

Chapter Three
"Delilah!"
I was moaning before I even opened my eyes.
"Are you okay?" he asked, eyes flickering all over me, checking me up and down for obvious ailments.
"What?"
"You're pouring sweat."
I closed my eyes and took a quick mental inventory of my body. I was trembling, covered in sweat, and felt weak. Am I sick? "What the hell is wrong with me?" I said, looking at him with fear in my eyes.
"Do you need to feed?"
I gulped. "It's only been two days."
He pulled his shirt off. "It's worth a try."
"I'm going to make you sick."
"I'll live."
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't ignore how good his blood smelled to me. I leaned forward, and my heart picked up its pace. Suddenly, he was wrapped up in my arms as tightly as I could squeeze him and my face was buried in his neck, but I wasn't even biting him. What the FUCK are you doing? This isn't normal. I lifted my head up and sank my fangs into his shoulder where I'd bitten him two nights before. His blood tasted especially delicious that morning.
            After I'd had my fill of breakfast, he put me back to sleep, telling me he didn't mean to throw off my perfectly tuned body clock. He left the room with a chuckle. That smile could kill me if I hadn't already died. That's why I'm not human.


            I woke up later that night and found Ben sitting on the couch. As soon as my ass touched the cushion the front door opened and I jumped up, getting away from it. The man with the beard entered the room and I gasped when I saw what followed him.
            A gorgeous girl with freckles and long red hair came into the trashy government-provided house we were staying in, following the man I had thought was so handsome before who now paled in comparison. I needed to hear her speak.
            "Hello," she said, in the perfect Ukrainian accent. "My name is Catalina."
            I struggled to keep my face in order. "Hi. My name is Delilah." I reached my hand out to her.
            Ben could obviously see right through me, because he was giving me an odd look. I tried to apologize with my eyes, but I wasn't sure how much I could do.
            Catalina had a tattoo of a flock of birds going from the top of her shoulder up her neck and the last one on the underside of her chin. "How are you?" she asked.
            "I'm fine. How are you?" I hadn't been this polite in as long as I could remember.
            "I'm doing quite well, thank you." She smiled. "We'll let the boys talk. Do you have your own room?"
            I nodded and showed her to my room.
            "I apologize if I'm being too forward, but I'm not very shy. Is it my accent?"
            I laughed. Oh, she truly is perfect. She's just like he was. "I was changed by someone who was Romanian. We visited Ukraine a few times in our travels. I always thought that area had the most beautiful women. I'm so sorry. Am I making you uncomfortable?"
            "Not at all. I'm bisexual, and I'm loyal." She nudged me with her elbow. "Maybe if Wes gets on my nerves I can come see you."
            I smirked. "Hopefully that doesn't happen. I know very little about him."
            She rolled her eyes. "He's very dedicated to his work. But I guess we all are."
            "Your accent isn't as intense as some of the others I've heard. I'm sorry- do you work with them, too?" Beautiful girls like that work with Ben? And he has no girlfriend?
            "Yes I do. I work in intelligence. I monitor reports coming in from around the world."
            "How did I not know that existed?"
            "You might remember the old system of 'checks and balances' before we revolutionized. It's an updated version of that."
            "Is it legal?"
            "Most of the time," she said, smiling.
            Ben and Wesley walked in, having a seemingly very serious conversation. "That's good and bad," Ben said, looking angry. "I want him here. I'm getting antsy."
            "Catalina wants to take you shopping to get decorations for the house," Wesley said to me. "Ben told me you think it's too plain here."
            I glared at Ben. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't complain. I'm quite grateful to be protected."
            He laughed. "It is very bland here. Catalina can protect you, she's been trained, just like we have."
            Ben was shaking his head and he cleared his throat. "I'm not sure about that. She woke up having withdrawal symptoms this morning. It may not be a good idea to take her out into general population."
            Wesley winked at Catalina and she smiled widely. "Damn, Beni! I get that she's your girl only. I just wanted to take her to IKEA," She said.
            Ben's discomfort with the idea was making me feel sickly. I tried to make myself look smaller, and focused on listening for the running water outside the house. Finally a voice that didn't sound like it should have come from me said, "I don't really feel up to it. Rain check? Is IKEA even open this late?"
            "Shit," Wesley said. "That's true." He smiled at Ben. "You got out of it this time! We'll get going. It's a long drive back to the city, and she looks tired."
            Catalina and Wesley left, but I was distracted by trying to disentangle myself from the emotions Ben was releasing into the world around us. "Are you okay?" he said clearly from beside me, as if trying to get my attention.
            I took a deep breath and rubbed my face. "'Your girl only'?"
            "I like you. I've been watching you live your life for over a year. I've watched you distance yourself from everyone for some reason. I've watched your every move. It's hard not to find a lot of things you like about someone when they become the center of your focus for your daily life."
            I gulped. The honesty in his voice had shocked me. Is part of their job training to be painfully honest? He doesn't seem nervous at all. Look at him. You have to look at him. Oh, God, he's so cute.
            "What? What's wrong?"
            I noticed I was pouting when I recognized the worry on his face. "You're... I'm..."
            He laughed. "I'm not saying anything. All I'm saying is that my protective behavior towards you isn't just because it's my job. I try to keep my crush on you from interfering, but sometimes you blow me away. Like with Cata!" He seemed exasperated, but he was still smiling.
            I couldn't stop staring at his face, feeling pained. Say something to him. Tell him... something at least. "You make me feel... different," I whispered. That is not romantic at all, Delilah. You could have done so much better. "You're the reason I said I miss being Safi."
            He smiled wider. "Why is that?"
            "I want to be able to hold you, kiss you... to sleep next to you without worrying that I might kill you in the middle of the day."
            He reached out and put his hands on my cheeks. "I'm stronger than you think." When he kissed me, I felt like I was lifted outside of my body. It had been two years since I'd been kissed by anyone. The closest I'd been to another person had been feeding since I'd moved to the city, so when Ben kissed me I thought my heart stopped beating.
            He put his arms around my waist and pulled me to my feet, and I gripped his shirt tightly in my fists. He separated himself from me, and I relaxed down onto my heels. "Trust me," he whispered, "I could fight you off. You're fast, but I'm strong."
            My subconscious perked up with a question and I blurted it out without thinking. "What were you and Wesley talking about when you walked in? What is both good and bad?"
            He looked away for a few seconds and his smile faded. "Dragos moved. He went further away. Which means he could be hiding behind someone else, and getting closer. He could be anywhere if that's the case. It could be really good, if it is actually him, though. Maybe we scared him off and he retreated away. Maybe he realized that you're being protected."
            "How could they be hiding? Aren't Baya bound to some sort of laws about lying?"
            He sighed heavily. "If the person is Baya, they could keep his records confidential and lie about them to protect his anonymity. It's crooked, but it's supposed to keep them safe."
            Dion. "That's crazy," I mumbled
"I'm going to go smoke, okay?"
"Can I smoke with you? This is stressful."
            "No," he said curtly.
            I sat on the bed as he left. If Dion is the one looking for me, he'll find me anywhere. He couldn't be. It's just someone who's confused. Wesley will find out who it is, and Ben will protect me from him. Everything will be okay. Don't worry about it. Ben will keep you safe. And that kiss! You have to get more of those, you have to do whatever it takes to get more of those kisses.
            When he reappeared, I was smiling. "I'm sorry about my reaction to Catalina. You can't deny that she's beautiful. It caught me off-guard. Her accent surprised me as well. I visited Ukraine a few times, and it brought back memories."
            He sat beside me on the bed. "It's okay. I just know to watch you around Ukrainian women."
            I laughed. "Most people have a weakness for some type of woman. I just didn't expect to see mine so suddenly."
            "Do you have any other weaknesses towards certain women? Maybe women in general?"
            I rolled my eyes. "I'm not lesbian! As a Zuri, you have to be somewhat bisexual to make it. I'm just able to appreciate fine artwork. I was only attracted to her at the level we were. I would have bitten her at the most. Nothing more. I don't like girls in that way."
            "Okay. I believe you." He bit his bottom lip in a way that made me hungry, and added, "I do."
            "Do what?"
            "Like girls in that way."
            I laughed, pushing his chest. "You're immature! How old are you, anyway?"
            "I'm twenty-four. How old are you?"
            I pulled my bottom lip through my teeth hard enough to cause pain. "My body will be nineteen forever. But I've lived twenty-seven years."
            "So you were changed eight years ago," he said matter-of-factly. "You finally told me."
            I nodded. "Yeah. I don't like to talk about it. It was all a bad memory."
            "That's alright. I'll try not to ask too much about it."
            "Thank you." I considered for a moment and then admitted, "I haven't been kissed in two years. So I might be a little greedy for kisses for a while."
            He grinned widely so the corners of his eyes lifted. "That's not a problem." He kissed me again, for longer this time, and I was elated to find that his kisses hadn't lost any of their delightfulness. He was able to take my mind off everything that was going on so easily.