AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I give him a bright smile and then tug him into the shadows of a nearby alley. His brows arch before a stormy expression crosses his face. “You want me to join you now? When we’re in the middle of an unfamiliar city and it’s obvious that someone is aware of you?”
I glance around, still not seeing anyone in our vicinity. The feeling of being watched is still there. “I’m not sure when else we’ll get the chance? I’m going to climb into a taxi and have it take me to the airport. We’ll be surrounded by people.” I press my hand into his chest and rub, trying to soothe him. “I’ll be fine, Kohaku. You’ll still be with me, just… not, you know, like you are now. I have a million protection spells on me. If I’m around a bunch of people, I don’t think anyone will try to attack me.”
He cups my face, and his hands are so big that his thumbs are on my cheekbones and his pinkies are nearly to my collarbone. If he wanted to, he could snap my neck like a twig. He could end my life so easily, but I know I am safe with him.
He would never hurt me.
Ever.
“I want nothing more than to see you safe, little warrior. And everything in me is telling me to not do this.”
My hands curl around his wrists and squeeze gently. “I will be fine. I promise.”
He growls in response to that, and presses our foreheads together, his breath puffing over me. “I will not be able to emerge when you need me. It will draw too much attention.”
He’s not wrong. He can’t just materialize when there’s danger, even if it’s in the middle of someone trying to kidnap me. There are a lot of things that humans will overlook, but a man popping up out of nowhere is not one of them.
I nod. “I know. But I will be fine.”
He hums in his throat. “What if I ride with you to the airport in the taxi and once we’ve bought your ticket and are in line for security, I will excuse myself to the restroom and dematerialize there?”
I consider it. “Can you do that from that distance? Will you be like a cloud of shadow just moseying through the airport? I’m pretty sure someone will notice.”
His mouth twitches into a smirk. “I will stick to the shadows when needed.” His lips brush over mine, making my toes curl in my tennies. Holy penguins, that was nice. “I will feel more comfortable if we take this course of action.”
Well, damn, who am I to argue with him? I nod. “Yeah, okay. Whatever you want.” Though if I’m being honest, I want to spend more time with him like this too.
We leave the alley with our fingers twined together, and walk the rest of the way to the train station. There we find a cab and ride to the airport. The feeling of being watched never leaves, even when we’re snuggled up together in the back seat of the taxi.
It’s gotta be a witch. I don’t think witch hunters can spy on people from a distance. Though I suppose they could be in a car driving down the highway with us.
But something about that doesn’t sit right with me. It’s got to be a witch with some kind of ‘watching’ spell.
When we reach the airport, Kohaku curls his hand around mine to help me out of the car, even though I don’t need it, and we stay like that the entire time we wait in line for the first domestic airline we can find.
The woman behind the counter continues typing on her computer as we come up to her. “How can I help you?”
“I’d like to purchase a ticket to Hartford, Connecticut, please?”
She still doesn’t look up as she continues typing. “We have one leaving in an hour. Would that be fine?”
I’m nodding before she’s finished asking. “Yes, that would be wonderful, thank you.” Kohaku’s big hand slides to the small of my back, a comforting weight, like he can tell the idea of leaving that soon, of being just a few hours away from seeing my father is freaking me out.
The woman—I lean closer to see her name is Gloria—continues typing. “Will you need one ticket or,” her eyes flick up and then down and then back up to land on Kohaku. Her question stalls out, her mouth falling open as she takes in the sheer size of him, his shoulders, his soft hair, how handsome he is.
I glance up at him, and he looks back at me. “Just one ticket will be fine, thank you,” he answers her unfinished question while keeping his gaze on me.
She audibly swallows. “Right. Okay, so you and your girlfriend aren’t flying together?”
Oh, come on, Gloria. That is so incredibly obvious.
Kohaku gives her a charming smile and runs a hand down the back of my head. “Unfortunately not. I don’t know what I’m going to do without her.” He bends down and brushes a kiss against my cheek. I swear I hear Gloria sigh.
I shift, drawing her attention temporarily before she’s right back to looking at my kitsune. I wonder if she’d be so entranced by him if he had his pointy canines, ears and six tails. Something tells me probably not.
“Do you need my ID or something?”
Gloria looks at me again, and it seems to take a moment for her to process my question. But then she blinks. A flush spreads over her cheeks as she nods emphatically. “Yes. Yes, I’ll need your ID. Thank you.”
