Present Tense (Out of the Fire #3) - Candace Blevins Page 0,48
fun. He grabbed his t-shirt with a huge, beautiful dragon flying while holding a twenty-sided die in its claws.
The deer shifter left hours before sunset, which told him Kelsey was up and likely getting ready. With two feedings since her injuries, he hoped the abrasions at least were healed. He figured she’d be able to cover the bruises with makeup.
Kelsey came upstairs a few minutes after sunset, wearing a hot pink shirt that proclaimed, “We apologize for the inconvenience.” Which was — according to Douglas Adams — God’s final message to his creation.
Was this an apology for her tumble down the ridge that morning? He looked closer, and noted her injuries were no longer visible, but the damned shirt hugged every fucking curve of her luscious body, and only came down to about two inches above her low-cut jeans, which also hugged every motherfucking curve.
And she wore silver sneakers. Silver.
He shook his head. “You’re too pretty for a D&D game. I can’t take you in there looking like this, especially when you aren’t supposed to be feeding on lust.”
Etta nodded as if in agreement, but said, “Yes, but if she wants a test, this’ll do it. I’ve looked over the area via satellite photos and maps. If you’ll drive me and let me out when you turn onto the destination’s road, I can make my way to the domicile and monitor the game from the back of the roof. Kelsey hacked into their alarm system and assures me there are no cameras or monitors to detect movement on the roof. She disabled the window security on the room you told us the game will take place, so I can enter without detection should the alarm be engaged while company is on the premises, though it’s doubtful the owners will do so.”
Eunice frowned at Kelsey. “You hacked into JB’s system?”
“Etta needed me to, so yeah.”
Eunice crossed his arms. He wanted to be upset with her, but couldn’t come up with a logical reason to bitch about it. From a security standpoint, she’d done the exactly right thing.
“How’s the agoraphobia? You don’t seem anxious about leaving the house, even though you just left it and something bad happened.”
“My former master required me to run a set number of nights, and he required I leave the building for two social occasions per week. It’s my understanding that having to leave the safety of home for work five nights a week is supposed to help, but that I’ll still be required to attend one social function per week.”
Suddenly, he understood her a little better. She wasn’t completely comfortable in her new home yet, so she was branching out as much as possible before she was afraid to leave. The D&D game was a social gathering she didn’t mind, since there were other socially inept people there. If he were honest, it was one of the reasons he enjoyed going. Sure, the game was fun, but it was the people he enjoyed, and he didn’t often have a big need to be around humans.
He’d watched his uncle self-destruct because he didn’t understand the human world. Eunice was never going to get so out-of-touch he had to be put down by the Concilio. This weekly game reminded him of how fragile humans are, but also how creative, happy, and resilient they can be. It grounded him, which was ironic since they were engaged in a role-playing fantasy game.
Kelsey didn’t think she’d ever get used to driving on the right side of the road. Even from the passenger seat, it caught her off guard at the oddest moments. To take her mind off it, she asked, “Tell me about the night’s DM. Anything I need to know?”
“JB’s running it tonight, and he’s quite good. He frequently has the leading role in local plays, and he does the voice work for many of the regional commercials. He really gets into creating the non-playing-characters for the quest.”
“I have a favor to ask.”
He cut his eyes to her and then back to the road. “Ask.”
“I’d like for my character to be from Australia. I’ll throw a few Australian words and phrases in. That way, if I fuck up and say something Australian, it won’t be obvious.”
“You haven’t fucked up in days.”
“I’m nervous, Eunice. Help me out here.”
He shook his head. “I shouldn’t allow it.”
“Please. My personal backstory will be that I dated an Australian for a while and picked up some phrases. I’ve lived here all my life, of course.”