The Partner

Chapter 4

Kenai puts on his black leather armor with some trouble that night. After so many times, it's become second nature to him. But he can't stop thinking of tonight and Anvy. He knows it's wrong. He should have his head in the game and be ready for this mission. Not her sexy body or those dreamy eyes that can make him forget anything. Anvy said she picked Kenai for this mission because he's smart, and no matter how true or not that is, he owes it to her and the Guild to try to help her the best he can. That means putting off his attraction until they are off duty.

He gets his armor on and then proceeds to put the basic weapons on his belt since he doesn't know what they'll be up against; silver blade, pistol loaded with bronze bullets, blood soaked daggers. It gets most of the jobs done. When he's ready, he heads upstairs to where Anvy will probably be meeting him. As he gets upstairs and walks down the main hallway, the mansion is pretty empty tonight. Kyra, Deck, Raven, and Caul are out on missions. Elwood went out to visit some family and friends while his partner, Gunner, is sick in his room with some human illness. Kristofferson and Lina went out on the town, advising Kenai to call them or Deck if he gets anything important and needs help.

Kenai is walking when he hears the sound of boots on the ground, and since Gunner is in no shape to be up and around in uniform, he checks it out. The sound is coming from the library. He enters the room and sees his partner touching books on a shelf with her back to him. He takes a second, appreciating the way her curves outline her cloak. "Hey." He says after a few moments.

She quickly turns around, frightened by his sudden appearance. "Ah! Oh, Kenai."

He gives her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

She shakes her head, running a hand through her brown waves. "No, sorry I was snooping around. I was gonna come find you when I noticed you guys have a library here. I was checking out what you had." Anvy looks admiringly at some of the Oscar Wilde books on the shelf next to her. "You guys have a great collection here..."

Kenai takes a step inside, walking around the outskirts of the room with his eyes on her the whole time. "You like to read?"

She nods happily. "When you live as long as me, reading is one of the only past times that never gets boring."

"That's true. I hope to live long enough to read every book out there."

She tilts her head to the side, intrigued. "I should have guessed you read. You seem like a deep thinker, more intelligent and mature than the other guys here who I doubt even know this room exists."

He laughs, feeling more at ease with her. "You'd be right. I'm the only one who's been in here for fun, I'll tell you that."

"I bet." Anvy breathes, her eyes studying him. It implores him to keep talking, to go deeper.

For some reason, he opens up to her. Kenai takes a step closer to her, leaving only a foot of distance between them. "To be honest, I like reading because it lets me live things I'm too scared to do in real life."

She gets closer to him, reaching out and resting her hand on his arm. He hopes it's out of attraction and not pity. That's not what he was aiming for. "A big warrior like you, scared?" Her voice reveals she is joking, but then a serious look flashes across her face. Kenai keeps his green eyes on hers, waiting for her to speak further. When she does, her voice goes from light-hearted to serious. "I read to pretend I'm living a life I actually enjoy and see worth living. I know what you're thinking. A girl who looks like me can't possibly have a bad life..." Her eyes fall from his to the floor.

His chest tightens at the loss of intimate contact. "Hey," he covers her hand on his arm with his and she looks up at him slowly, "I wasn't thinking that at all. I think anyone who loves reading is dissatisfied with their reality on some level and that's why it's so fun and time-consuming for us." Kenai wants nothing more than to run upstairs and show off his private book collection. Yeah, real cool Kenai. Caul and Elwood would laugh hysterically if he tried a move like that. Geek. No, Kenai thinks of another method to try.