Chapter 346: Day Five at the Beach - Loren, Part 2
Loren dashed out of the trees and onto the bald crown of the hill. Torina sat on a bench, her legs crossed and a book in her lap. "Oh, it's you."
"Who did you expect?" he asked. Before she could answer, Micah popped out of the jungle growth and tackled him to the ground.
"Grandpa, am I?" He ground his knuckles into the teen's head.
"Hey! No noogies!" Loren shrieked, laughing.
Torina stood and surveyed them. "What are you doing?"
"I'm teaching this kid a lesson. Say uncle!"
"Why uncle? Why not grandpa?" He broke into laughing shrieks again as Micah ground harder. "All right! All right! Uncle!"
Micah stood and dusted his clothes off. "Damn kids these days have no respect."
"Can you really expect them to when you behave like that?" Torina asked.
"What the fuck's wrong with how I behave?"
"Oh, nothing, for a five year old." Torina resumed her seat and flipped her book open.
Micah leaned on the back of the bench, no doubt leaning over just enough to see straight down her top. "So who you waiting for sugar cakes?"
"Not more of those horrible attempts at a pet name."
"Nothing wrong with that one, was there?" Micah looked to Loren for support, but the teen just shrugged. He couldn't really imagine calling a girl that, or any of the other names Micah came up with.
"If you say so." Torina all but stifled a yawn. "Why don't you run along now?"
"Why? You in a hurry to get rid of us?" Micah made a show of taking a seat next to her. "Me and pipsqueak got as much right to be up here as you do."
Torina didn't bother to answer, but Loren could see her annoyance on her face. They were never going to find out what was going on by hanging around. "Hey, Micah, this is boring. Let's go."
"What?" Loren gave him a just-shut-up look, and he grumbled. "Yeah, yeah, fine. Guess we'll see you later."
"Better later than sooner," Torina called as they disappeared into the trees again.
When they were out of ear shot Micah demanded, "What the hell was that?"
The teen shushed him. "She's not gonna tell us, and whoever she's meeting won't show up while we're there."
Micah seemed to suddenly catch on. "You mean we wait here and then follow whoever up?"
"Something like that." It was doubtful her secret rendezvous would walk right under their noses, but stranger things had happened. "Who do you think it is?"
"Well it ain't her brother, that's for sure, and it ain't us. That leaves Jorick, that ass hole Wolfe, or that red headed Executioner. If I had to bet, I'd go for him."
"Verchiel? I thought you said he was after Katelina."
Micah rolled his eyes. "He ain't after Lunch like that. He just wants a piece coz he ain't supposed to have it. You know, sticking your finger in someone else's pie kind of thing. I bet he'd do Torina, too."
"Who wouldn't?" Loren asked and then snickered.
They fell silent, and the minutes dragged past. Loren didn't have a watch, but if he did he'd have checked it obsessively. He had just decided that they should sneak up the hill and see if Verchiel had gone up the other side, when he heard someone crashing noisily though the foliage.
He opened his mouth, but Micah motioned him to silence. They both squinted through the dark, and sniffed. As the perpetrator drew closer, his scent met them and Loren's eyes went wide.
"It's a human," he whispered. He sniffed again and thought he recognized one of the island staff.
Micah shushed him and they stood motionless and tense as the man hurried past them, almost close enough to touch had they wanted to. They waited until the sounds died down before Micah signaled Loren to follow and started up after him.
They crept silently up the hillside and crouched at the edge of the vegetation. Loren peered between the giant leaves of some tropical plant. The man stood in front of Torina, eyes locked with hers and his expression one of helpless devotion.
The redhead cocked a hip and then motioned him closer. He walked without looking at his feet, and only stopped when she touched him. She traced her finger from his shoulder up his neck and to his chin. She smiled, slow and seductive, and then drew him towards the bench.
How much of this should we watch?
Loren shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Micah, but the bald vampire seemed oblivious. Loren looked back to the hilltop and his eyes went wide as Torina straddled the man and with a final whisper in his ear, bit into his neck.
Half sex, half feeding, the scene was out of some bizarre porno, and though Loren knew they shouldn't watch, he couldn't stop. It was only when the vampiress made a high, moaning sound of climax that he managed to tear his eyes away and slink back into the plants.
Micah met him a moment later and wordlessly they hurried down the slope. When they reached the clearing around the houses Loren broke the silence. "Holy shit!"
Micah laughed and slapped him on the back. "Ah kid, I've seen better." He sobered. "Though what the fuck is with that guy? She could have her choice and she picks him?"
"Maybe she likes humans?" Loren suggested. The images were still bright and clear in his mind and left his face red.
"You mean like Jorick seems to?" Micah snickered.
"Jorick seems to what?"
They looked up guiltily to see Katelina and Jorick. "Oh, uh, hi." The teen's face turned redder as the participants in his mental scene suddenly changed to the newcomers.
Katelina gave him an odd look. "Are you all right?"
Jorick narrowed his eyes and Loren knew he'd seen it, but there was nothing he could do. "Yeah, um. Fine. Just gonna go swimming."
"Then maybe you should go?" Jorick suggested.
"Right. Good idea." He grabbed Micah's arm and dragged him away.
"What the fuck, pipsqueak? I didn't have time to irritate Lunch yet."
"What do you want to do that for?"
"Because it's fun to watch her get all worked up. And Jorick gets all pissed and starts threatening shit that you know he ain't gonna do." He pulled loose, and grinned. "You gotta love that."
"I dunno. I always worry he'll make good on his threats."
"Nah. And even if he tries, I say let him. I'll show him a thing or two, huh?" They stopped next to the beach chairs and Micah dropped into the one he'd abandoned. "You know what we need, kid? Some chicks in bikinis."
Loren managed to nod, but after the scene with Torina he wasn't so sure. One was bad enough. What would he do if they had an island full of that?
The idea was enough to keep his imagination busy the rest of the night.
