Chapter 29

Kiara's fingers were the only part of her visible as she peaked her head around the corner of the building she hid behind. The shadows swallowed her as she narrowed her gold eyes and stared at the doctor across the street.

The night was chilly and filled with danger lurking in the dark spaces between cars and buildings. The street lamps gave an unpleasant yellow spotlight to the spot Dr. Banks stood under, taking long drags of his cigarette. Kiara's attention stayed glued on the man as he pulled out his phone and dialed a number. His head tilted back and he stared at the apartment complex he stood in front of.

"Yeah," Dr. Banks spoke into the phone. "It's me."

Kiara leaned a bit out of the shadows.

"I'm going in," Banks continued. "Be here in ten minutes......no, don't worry.....yeah I checked already."

Kiara pulled back into the darkness as Banks ended the phone call and dropped his cigarette. He stepped on the small lit ambers and crushed them under his feet, creating a mess of ashes on the pavement. The man took one deep breath before pushing his hand into his pocket and stepping into the building.

As she watched the man disappear, she wanted to follow him inside. But just as she was about to take a step out into the shadows, her body began to tingle and her limbs began to feel like led. Kiara groaned under her breath as the tingling intensified and she began to fly through the gaps of space.

________________________

If it wasn't for the way Hayden's heart beated under her palm, Nora would have hated the silent woods surrounding her. She stood caged in his arms as she tried to calm her breathing....but his scent was having the opposite effect. Nora shut her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing.

Each breath she took was sweet torture. Her lungs filled with Hayden's light cologne. He smelled of spice, rain, and ....all the things Nora couldn't name but knew were unique just to him.

"Are you okay?" Hayden asked, standing as still as possible. Nora flinched as his lips brushed lightly across her temples as he spoke. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Nora said, her voice a bit breathless and lost.

She pulled back and lifted her lashes. Hayden lowered his gaze and focused on her eyes.

Still beautiful, Hayden thought to himself as he tried to count the mountains and hills in her brown eyes.

"Where are we?" Nora asked, lifting her gaze farther up to the green trees.

"A few miles from my house," Hayden said. "This was the first place that came to my mind when I opened the portal."

"Do you come here a lot?" Nora asked. "It's beautiful."

"I used to," Hayden watched Nora look at the world around them.

He had the woods memorized. But as they reflected on Nora's eyes, it was as if he was seeing them for the very first time through her mind. Hayden's heart started to beat faster as questions built in his mind.

Did she notice how the green was so much darker here than anywhere else? What about how light the air was? Did she hear the stream a bit farther up north?

"What happened?" Nora asked, lowering her gaze.

"Nothing," Hayden wanted her to keep looking at the woods.

"What happened at the palace?" Nora asked. "Something was wrong."

"How did you know?" Hayden asked.

"I saw you," Nora said. "I saw the way your eyes changed."

Hayden took in a deep breath, "Kiara escaped."

"Oh..." Nora frowned. "I didn't know she was in the palace."

"Yeah," Hayden nodded. "She just had her baby."

"What?" Nora gasped, gripping Hayden's forearms as her face lit up. "When?"

"Just a few days ago," Hayden smiled. "It's a beautiful baby girl. Lila."

"I didn't know," Nora frowned for a second before her face lit up once more. "I love babies!"

Hayden's smile grew wider from her excitement. He began to notice how close they stood with each other. Her legs were pressed against his thighs and her hips were glued to him. Hayden's arms looked around Nora with his wrists crossed over one another behind her lower back. There was barely any space between the two for a single breath to pass.

Noticing the way their bodies held each other, Hayden's mind began to wander down very inappropriate streets. He swallowed and cleared his throat in hopes of distracting his mind. He needed to start thinking about something soon before his body betrayed him and Nora got uncomfortable.

Think, think, think, Hayden mentally hit his head. World hunger, dead animals, deforestation, air pollution....

"How's Killian?" Nora kept talking. "Is he wrapped around Lila's little finger? How's Tobias?"

"They're fine," Hayden nodded. "Very excited to have someone new to spoil."

"That didn't really go well the first time around," Nora frowned. "Anyways....why are we here again?"

"Because Kiara escaped,"Hayden said. "Well, the evil Kiara."

"But what does that have to do with us?" Nora asked in confusion. "Or with me?"

"I don't want you to be alone if she comes looking for you."

"Why would she come looking for me?"

"I don't know, Nora."

"Well, don't get angry with me."

"I'm not angry with you!" Hayden's eyes widened.

"You look angry," Nora frowned. "You doing the head thing."

"What head thing?" Hayden arched a brow.

"When you're angry or frustrated your head moves a lot," Nora pointed out. "Like you have a cramp in your neck."

"It....doesn't," Hayden stilled.

"Now you're self conscious," Nora laughed. "It's not a bad thing! Everyone has ticks."

"It's not a tick."

"A nervous habit."

"I'm not nervous."

"Scared?"

"What would I be afraid of?"

"I don't know," Nora said. "Nothing in these great big woods that scare you."

"Maybe I'm scared of you."

"Me?" Nora laughed.

"Yeah," Hayden scanned her eyes. "They say fear is the unknown, right?"

"But you know me," Nora's voice lowered as she began to realize the bubble they were entrapped in.

"I don't know you, Nora," Hayden spread his palm over her back and pushed her a little closer to himself. "Not in the ways I want to."

Nora's gaze dropped to the boy's lips, "In what ways?"

The corner of Hayden's lips curved up. He knew from the way her lips parted that Nora's mind was following him down the same street he was trying hard to avoid.

I want to know you in the first ray of sunlight every morning, Hayden wanted to say. I want to know you when you come out of the shower with your hair damp and your towel wrapped around you. I want to know you with the lights off and your soft lips whispering my name....

Nora's pupils began to dilate. She could feel Hayden's body temperature rising under her hands as his intense eyes stared down at her.

"You never call," she broke the silence as her head began to sway.

"What?" Hayden blinked.

"When was the last time I spoke to you?" Nora frowned.

"When I dropped you off at your apartment."

"It's been so long," Nora said. "You've been a terrible friend."

"Friend?" Hayden's heart contracted.

"Yeah...." Nora looked a bit flushed. "I thought.....I thought we were friends."

"I don't want to be your friend, Nora," Hayden said.

I want to pin you against my walls and fuck you.

Shit.

Hayden had no idea where that thought came from. He felt completely and utterly mad as his brain took the idea and ran with it like an Olympian. He shut his mouth and pressed his lips into a thin line to keep himself from ever saying any of those thoughts to Nora. But as Hayden battled with his mind to not mess everything up, his silence created greater damage.

Nora's frown deepenedd as the boy's words rang in her ears. Her hands slowly began to let go of his forearm as she looked away from his beautiful green eyes and focused on the moss on the tree behind him.

"You still haven't told me why I'm here," she said, feeling a sudden wave of irritation crash against the shores of her heart.

"Because Kiara es-"

"Yes, I get it!" Nora clicked her tongue. "I understood the first million times you told me. It still doesn't explain why I'm here in the middle of the woods in heels."

"Heels?" Hayden's crooked smile appeared. "No wonder you look taller today."

"Portal me back please," Nora scowled.

"No."

"I have work to finish and I have dinner plans with Lidia and Dr. Banks."

"Your safety tops it all."

"My safety from what?" Nora snapped. "What am I hiding from?"

"Why are you getting mad?"

"Because you won't tell me anything!" Nora smacked Hayden's arm.

"Did you just hit me?"

"I didn't mean to," Nora looked down. "It kind of just happened."

"What do you want to know?"

"Why am I here?"

"Because I have a feeling Kiara might try to come find you," Hayden said. "And I've already said that to you. I don't know why I'm saying it again."

"Why would she come to me?" Nora's eyes snapped up. "Oh my god! Am I going to die?"

Hayden hated those words so much. So fuckin' much.

"Hayden!" Nora shook the half jinn. "Am I going to die? Is that why she's coming after me?"

"I don't know," Hayden confessed. "But she's been around you too often and I don't like it. She was in your apartment the other night and it pissed me the hell off. I was ready to blast her ass back to the hospi-"

"My apartment?" Nora asked.

"Yes, that's what I just said."

"You were there?" Nora arched a brow. "In my apartment?"

"I..." Hayden hesitated. "I was there because I followed Kiara."

"Oh," Nora frowned.

"What?"

I thought you were there because of me, Nora thought. To tell me you changed your mind and the autura is a whole bunch of bullshit.

"Nothing," Nora shook her head. "Next time you're in my apartment, at least say hi."

"You were asleep."

"Then don't come into my apartment!" Nora hit Hayden playfully once more.

"I'm sorry!" the half jinn said dramatically. "I was only trying to keep the angel of death away from you."

"My hero," Nora rolled her eyes. "Now let go of me!"

Hayden's arms loosened as Nora pushed away from him. Her heels immediately sank into the soft soil without Hayden's arms carrying most of her weight. Her arms flared in the air as she tried to fix her footing. Hayden's hand shot out and grabbed her arm.

"I hate these," Nora said, looking down at her shoes.

"They're nice," Hayden took a second to admire her legs.

"Then you wear them."

Hayden chuckled as Nora pulled her hells out of the ground. She held his shoulder as she pulled them off and gathered them in her hands.

"There!" she let out a breath. "Much better."

Hayden frowned.

"What?" Nora asked, looking up at him.

The half jinn raised his hand and snapped his fingers. A puff of smoke appeared around Nora's bare feet before a pair of black tennis shoes appeared.

"The twigs can be sharp," Hayden said as Nora smiled.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"Can you....." Nora hesitated for a second. Hayden arched his brow as she pointed to her outfit. "Snap your fingers....you know....new outfit. More appropriate for the woods."

Hayden's eyes slowly moved up her small petite frame. The back of her skirt and blouse stood out against her body, making the brown of her hair darker. And of course, those hips looked mighty fine in that tight pencil skirt.

"I can't," Hayden shook his head.

"What?" Nora looked baffled.

"It's been a long day," Hayden sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't have the energy to get you a new outfit. Deal with what you have. It's only for a little bit."

"You're a mess."

"A huge mess," Hayden smiled. "Come, let's go."

"Where?"

"Into the woods," Hayden's smile widened. "To lose our mind and find our soul."

"That sounds horrible."

"You're not a romantic, are you?"

"Not with you," Nora snorted. "You're not even my friend."

"What's your idea of romance?"

"I don't want to talk to you about that!" Nora snapped. "Not in the middle of the wood while hiding from death."

"Good point," Hayden nodded. "Next time."

"Where are we going?"

"You have two options," Hayden held up his fingers. "One, we go to my house and hang out there. It's not the best choice because she will most likely check there."

Nora scrunched up her nose, "What's option number two?"

"My baba built Birdie and me a treehouse in the woods when we were younger," Hayden smiled. "We could go there....Kiara doesn't know where it is."

"But she's death..." Nora said slowly. "If I am going to die, she will come find me anywhere."

"Stop saying that!" Hayden clicked his tongue. "And why do you have to make so much sense all the time?"

"Because I have a brain," Nora said. "And I like using it."

Hayden ran a hand through his hair once more, "Then use it and decide what you want to do."

Nora narrowed her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. Her mouth twitched as she shook her head.

"The treehouse," she said. "I've never been in a treehouse."

"Really?" Hayden chuckled. "Never?"

Nora shook her head, "Never."

"You'll like it," Hayden held out his hand.

"Is it a long walk?"

"I can portal us."

Nora's face twisted, not liking the idea.

"Then let's walk," Hayden took her hand and began to guide her through the woods.

Nora stared at the ground, trying to keep her feet from slipping and tripping. She wished she had both her hands to pull up her skirt, but having Hayden hold her hand made her feel much better about being in an unknown part of the world with death possibly chasing her.

"How do you know where we're going?" Nora asked after a while.

"I just do," Hayden shrugged.

Nora nodded, "So.... how's life?"

"Life is good," Hayden looked over his shoulder and smiled. "How's life, Nora?"

"It's going."

"How's your new position?"

"It's great!" Nora cheered up. "Abraham is so supportive and I love my team. I like sharing the work. It's not too much. We've just been helping with tracing for Skyfall and other stuff."

"Who was that guy with you today at the meeting?"

"Matthew?" Nora asked. "He's on my team. He's really nice."

Nice.

Hayden suddenly hated that word.

"How's the rest of your team?" he asked.

"They're amazing!" Nora laughed. "I get away with a lot being the only girl on the team."

"Only girl?" Hayden's brows shot up.

"The tech field doesn't have a lot of women," Nora frowned. "We need more female in STEM."

"So you're the only girl on the team of....how many guys?"

"Four," Nora said. "Matthew, Dev, Aaron, and Chris."

"Wonderful."

"How far is this tree house?"

"I don't know."

"What?" Nora frowned. "You said you knew where we were going."

"I do!"

"Why are you so cranky all of a sudden?"

"Because you keep talking," Hayden felt bad for his sour mood. But he couldn't think straight after what she just told him about her team. "Stop talking and enjoy the silence of the woods."

"I hate the silence," Nora frowned and looked around. "And you asked me how work was going."

"Now I don't want to know."

"Fine!" Nora said in anger. "Whatever, you dickwad!"

Hayden didn't turn around so Nora had no way of seeing the sudden grin on his face. For that, Hayden was thankful. He knew he looked crazy flipping through so many moods.

For the next twenty or so minutes, Nora didn't utter a single word. She followed Hayden through the woods and tried her best to keep up with his long legs. Her lips were sealed shut. Even when she tripped and Hayden asked her if she was okay, she refused to answer him.

After a few more long minutes, Hayden finally stopped in front of a cluster of large trees and looked up. Nora followed his gaze and gasped at what her eyes saw.

"Treehouse or tree mansion?" She asked. "Holy Cow! Look at that place. It's bigger than my first apartment."

"It's adult size," Hayden shrugged. "My parents liked hanging out with us here."

"How do we get up there?"

Hayden smiled and pulled on a rope. Nora jumped back as a thick slab of wood fell out of the branches, hanging from a sturdy wheel.

"A pulley?" Her eyes widened.

"Step on," Hayden pointed to the slab of wood.

Nora stepped forward and squealed. Hayden felt his mood change once again as he stepped onto the wood beside her and snapped his fingers. The wheel started to move and the pair began to be elevated from the ground.

"Hold on," Hayden said, grabbing Nora's arm. "Don't look down."

Nora looked down, "Shit!"

"I just said...." Hayden groaned. "Never mind."

Nora laughed as they came to the desk of the treehouse. She ran ahead without Hayden and rushed up to the railing of the balcony.

"Oh my god!" She said, taking in the view. "This is better than your room."

Hayden grinned, "It's pretty nice."

"I want to see more," Nora turned and walked into the large wooden structure. "Wow!"

The balcony led into a large open room with a small reading nook, a hammock, a day bed, and a small seat by the large window looking at the other end of the woods. The two tree trunks rose through the middle of the treehouse and disappeared out the roof. Nora followed the bark to find string lights all around the ceiling.

"This place is everything I wanted growing up," Nora sighed. "I can't believe you got to grow up here."

"You can come here anytime you want," Hayden said, watching her from the doorway. "It's beautiful all year around. I don't think I have picked a favorite season yet."

"How is it when it rains?" Nora turned around, her eyes so bright they almost knocked the wind out of Hayden's chest. He felt like a kid watching her get so excited.

Nora watched as the corner of Hayden's lips curved up and he raised his hand. His fingers snapped and suddenly it began to pour.

"Oh my god!" Nora ran to the door. "Hayden! This is the greatest thing I've ever seen!"

Hayden laughed as he watched Nora hold her hand out. She wiggled happily like a penguin and sounded like one too as she soaked in as much of the view as she possibly could.

"Can you make it thunder?" She turned to face the half jinn.

"No," Hayden shook his head. "Zeus gets mad."

"Oh," Nora barely got the word out before a crack of lightning lit up the sky and a loud thunder cracked between the clouds. Nora's eyes snapped up and caught the mischievous glint in Hayden's eyes.

"But sometimes I struggle to control my magic," he shrugged.

"Hayden!" Nora's eyes widened as she stepped forward. She bit down on her lip to keep herself from laughing as she tried to push the boy into the treehouse. "Don't make Zeus angry."

Another thunder cracked and Hayden's smile widened.

"What? I couldn't hear you."

"Stop!" Nora laughed.

More thunder.

"What, Nora?" Hayden shouted over the loud sound.

"Stop it!" Nora shook her head and buried her face in Hayden's chest.

His arms immediately wrapped around her as one last thunder fired across the skies. Hayden laughed as he lowered his nose into her hair and took in her scent. The rain mixed in with it and intoxicated him.

The pair fell silent as their heartbeats synchronized with the rain beating down on the roof of the treehouse. Hayden's body relaxed under Nora's touch and he leaned back against the doorframe, taking her with him. She melted into him and laid her head over his heart. Her eyes watched the rain as her ears listened to Hayden's heart.    

Do you like these two crazy ones?