Chapter 6 Fancy Talking

Kyle talked about his family with love and pride. He said he was the head of his family, and it was his job to protect and nurture them. Having grown up with a distant alcoholic father, she was appreciative of his noticeable dedication. She couldn't hold back the comment that ran through her head, though.

"You don't look old enough to be the head of your family," she told him bluntly.

"In my community, head of the family is a designation of skill and genealogy; it doesn't necessarily mean I'm old, Rosette," he laughed at her.

Kyle wanted to know about her family, her friends, and even her job. He seemed genuinely interested in what she did all day. She had never told a stranger as much as she told him. His presence was comforting, and she forgot to be nervous. She even found herself laughing at his jokes and swatting at his hand as he reached over to take a piece of artichoke off her salad.

"I've never tried it," he said, popping part of the artichoke heart in his mouth. He grimaced a little, then smiled.

"I should have warned you it's not for novices. At least it adds to your vegetables today; you should have five. What was that steak you just ate; it looked like it was the whole cow," she marveled.

Kyle snorted and said, "There aren't many vegetarians in my family."

The driver from earlier was suddenly standing at their table, and she started a little.

"The car is ready, sir, as you requested, please pardon the interruption." He then stood back, looking expectantly at his boss.

She jumped out of the booth, "Oh no, am I late?" She fumbled through her pockets looking for her cell phone and cursed her inability to remember to wear a watch.

Kyle seemed to find her sudden movements humorous and slid out beside her. "Not late, love. I wouldn't let you do that."

She rolled her eyes at the patronizing tone he seemed to slide into so quickly. He was definitely used to being in charge.

As they walked toward the exit, she pondered this recent and strange meeting. She felt more comfortable with Kyle Luther than she had any reason to. By her count, he had assaulted her in a bathroom, had her followed, broken into her house, and stalked her at work. Despite her gut instinct of really liking the guy, she felt a little nervous about what was happening to her.

As they rode back to the clinic, he sat holding her hand, smiling slightly, and looking overall pleased.

"Worried about something?" he asked casually.

"Just wondering how you should endear anything other than fear," Rosette blurted out.

Kyle just laughed as did their riding companions.

"So, do you fear me?" he asked as he leveled serious eyes on her.

"No," she replied, looking right back at him.

"So you don't fear me, even though you think you should?" he asked. "Hopefully it will all be clear soon."

She shook her head and looked at him again. She couldn't disagree, really. She felt at ease with him, like he belonged in her life. She certainly couldn't disagree she felt attracted to him.

As they pulled into the lot, she was still working through the problems in her mind.

"Just drop me here, I'll walk in," she suggested absently as they ringed the building.

"Fat chance," came the surprise commentary from Ethan. The front seat had been so quiet she'd forgotten they were not alone.

Oh, how she wished they had just left her in the back of the lot. Being dropped off was the height of embarrassing.

Not only did she get out of the SUV, Kyle also got out to walk into her little clinic. He slipped his arm around her waist possessively and escorted her inside. The man seemed intent on her showing him every room in the clinic and introducing him to every member of the staff. All in all, she felt he took extraordinarily too long examining her office before placing a chaste kiss on her forehead and leaving.

After he left, there was a riot to cram into her tiny office and get the dirt. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. She stumbled around a little on how they met and who he was, being that she felt like she barely knew.

As the afternoon dragged on, very little else was spoken of in the clinic. As it turned out, several of the front office staff were familiar with his name. Apparently, his family owned large tracts of land around town. They also owned a large hotel, the restaurant she met him in, The Club, and a shipyard farther south.

The more she learned, the more comfortable she got with her experience with Kyle Luther. By description, his family was rich and eccentric. They tended to do things the most direct way and, according to the gossip, legal was only an issue if they made it one.

Just before closing, as she walked through the mostly empty clinic, she was suddenly in the middle of a group of very concerned women. Ryana, the lab tech, and by far the most vocal of the group, stepped up.

"Dr. Grey, we need to talk to you about your new boyfriend." She still cringed a little at the word; she'd known the man all of a day.

"How much do you know about him?" she asked.

"Not much," Rosette answered truthfully. "We only just met."

"How much do you know about werewolves?" she asked, dropping her voice to a whisper.

Having seen the recent barrage of movies on the subject, Rosette nodded understanding.

The group of women she was with herded her quietly into a room at the back of the clinic.

"What's the relation?" Rosette asked.

"The Luther family are all lycans, werewolves," said Ryana. "My grandmother's been cooking spells for them for years. She doesn't think I know, but I saw her talking to one of them one day, all right. He was in her living room and then changed into a giant wolf. She cut some of his hair and used it in a spell."

To be fair, this conversation is well within ordinary for the clinic. It's ethnically diverse. Rosette had heard her fair share of hoo-doo stories. More than once someone had come in that wouldn't get well, and staff would insist it was due to a curse. It was also well known that Ryana's grandmother was a 'good' witch. Rosette wondered if her patients often ended up under her care whether she liked it or not.

She tried to keep a straight face, and it was really hard. She'd become accustomed to the talk of witches and magic, but only as it pertained to people she didn't know that well. This was different. Now she had three women staring daggers into her and telling her her new boyfriend wasn't human.

"Wow," she said. "You saw him change in front of you."

"Well, not really in front of me. I was watching around the corner, you know. I saw his shadow on the wall change. It was real."

A mumble of appreciation passed through the group.

"My grandmother won't even walk on their land," said Bea in her lilting accent. She was from Haiti and was usually very level-headed. "We've never been to their restaurants. Grandmother thinks they use their businesses to lure in people. They kidnap the ones they want to keep."

"Mostly beautiful women," agreed Sheneka, nodding.