Amy Blankenship - A Light In The Heart Of Darkness

Toya smirked at Kyoko’s greeting. “Come now, didn’t your mommy ever teach you to be polite when answering the phone?”

Kyoko felt like calmly walking to the window, opening it, and letting the phone slip from her hand into the unknown. “Why is it that no one wants to let me finish taking my bath?” she whined, stomping her foot only to feel the air conditioning make its way beneath her robe.

Toya’s smirk vanished as his imagination ran wild and explicit visions started dancing around in his mind. “Are you nak…” He stopped suddenly tongue-tied before asking her if she was standing there naked. Shaking the thought out of his head, Toya took a deep breath to calm himself and hopefully get his now raging hormones under control. ‘Damn, that was a pretty picture…’

Kyoko frowned wondering if Toya was standing right beside Suki at that very moment.

Toya tried again. “Heh, never mind. Look, I’m coming over to take you to the movies tonight, so just get dressed.”

Kyoko narrowed her eyes wondering who pronounced it to be ‘The Day of The Bullies’. “Uh, I have plans tonight.” Of course her plans had been to turn into a prune in the bath than curl up on the sofa and watch a movie. Maybe even fall asleep during it, not have everyone under the sun bugging her to “go out”.

“What! Cancel them, because you’re coming with me!” Toya practically ordered, getting annoyed that she wasn’t doing what he wanted her to do… as if she ever did.

Kyoko closed her eyes and held the phone away from her chanting ‘I will not throw it out the window, I will not throw it out the window,’ “Knock, Knock” Kyoko swung around to face the door thinking. ‘But I WILL throw it at whoever is at the damn door!’ she could hear a demented laugh come from somewhere deep inside, where her evil twin resided.

She calmly walked to the door and unlocked it, then peeked around the door to see who it was. “Kotaro” she whispered a little breathlessly then snapped her mouth shut guiltily hoping he hadn’t noticed.

Kotaro's eyes lit up and darkened at the same time when the door opened. He was glad to see Kyoko safe… and obviously not fully dressed. He cocked an eyebrow at the way she had said his name. Pressing his hand against the door above her head, he opened it the rest of the way with his usual confident smile as he slid past her… almost touching.

“How is my woman today?” Kotaro walked past her and into the apartment like he belonged there.

‘I will not commit murder, I will not throw the phone, I will not…’ Kyoko’s mind continued to chant as Kotaro faced her with his usual heart-stopping grin. She suddenly felt like the air conditioning had stopped working.

How was it this man, who could only be described as walking sex, affect her so? She always felt like she was trying to stop herself from throwing him to the floor. Shaking her head, she looked down and squeaked when she saw her robe had come partially open. It wasn’t enough to show anything but enough skin was visible to make her blush.

Toya tensed, hearing the knock in the background through the phone and then Kotaro’s voice. He yelled into the phone to get her attention. “Damn it, Kyoko! What the hell is Kotaro doing there?” he ground out, angry that the security guard had shown up at “his” Kyoko’s apartment again.

Kyoko cringed when the yell from the phone could be heard loud and clear within the living room. Looking over Kotaro’s shoulder at the wall clock, she knew she needed to start getting ready or Suki would be the next one banging on the door. Enough was enough. She turned and walked over to the counter intending to hang the phone up.

Raising it back to her ear she shouted, “I’ll see you later!” ‘Click’… one down… one to go.

Kotaro smirked knowing it had been Toya she was yelling at. His eyes traveled over the silk that clung to a nicely shaped body like a second skin and he couldn’t have stopped himself if he had tried from moving forward… closer to her. He slowly closed his eyes only for a second as he inhaled deeply, his entire body now less than an inch from hers. The thought of touching without contact had him mentally curving his body around hers and tightening.

He leaned forward bringing his lips close to the shell of her ear before whispering her name. His lips softened, as did his ice blue eyes. He often found himself almost wishing she would remember the past… and how close they once were. What would she do if she remembered they used to live together? Him, her, and Toya… so they could protect her.

Kyoko lost her breath as it rushed out of her and she felt the skin along her neck and cheek tingle. It was hard enough to keep her thoughts straight with him so close but right now she could feel him touching her even though he wasn’t. Remembering just what she was doing before the phone had interrupted her made instant heat rise up into her face.

Not wanting him to notice her guilt, she kept her back to him and tried hard to suppress the memory of the bath. Closing her eyes, she fought the urge to lean back into him and had to grab the table to steady herself.

Kotaro wanted to put his hands on the table on both sides of her… trapping her within his arms but suddenly stilled. He could smell the soaps she had used in the bath but one flavor made its way to him and his expression turned curious… arousal? He stepped back from her… feeling himself harden.

Running his hand through his untamed hair, he retreated to a safer distance trying hard to ignore the jolt in the pit of his stomach… why had he come here again?… it was important.

He felt his protective instincts kick in recalling the recent alerts he had received. “Will you spend the evening with me?” The innocent sounding question hid a double meaning, as he tasted the want.

Kyoko slowed her breathing once again ready to fight her feelings. She frowned knowing it would be too dangerous to be alone with him. Suddenly, she wanted to thank Suki for ordering her around.

Seeing her frown Kotaro quickly added, “We can do anything you want to. Rent a movie and stay in… or go out.”

“Rent a movie and stay home…” Kyoko repeated wishfully thinking that was exactly what she wanted to do. Then noticing Kotaro’s eyes light up, she quickly amended, “At least that’s what I wanted to do and if I hadn’t been dragged into someone else’s plans. I would have loved to stay up watching movies with you. But I’m sorry Kotaro. I can’t.” She gave him an apologetic smile mentally stomping her foot at the thought of missing out on a very warm evening with the handsome security guard.

Kotaro’s shoulders dropped an inch but he smiled anyway knowing she wasn’t trying to hurt his feelings. He could even tell that she wanted him to stay and he wondered at the pull of that want… was it the same as his wants? To him, Kyoko was the most precious gem on earth and he would do anything he could to make her smile and keep her safe at the same time.

After all, he had waited over a thousand years just to see her again.

Needing to make sure she was protected and out of harm's way he asked, “So what plans do you have, maybe I can join in the fun?” He gave her his most mischievous smile hoping it would work. If not then he could resort to stalking her… the corners of his perfect lips tilted in a secret smile.

Kyoko knew Suki would never go for that. Girl’s night out meant ‘girl’s’ night out. She also knew that if Kotaro found out she was with only Suki… he would tag along, somehow showing up as if by accident. She had seen him do it many times.