The Heart Of Time. Amy Blankenship

for a while."

      Her hand on the doorknob froze and she frowned, 'somebody was out there.' She felt a chill crawl up her back at the knowledge.

      Kyoko slowly opened the door and peered out into the hallway. Not seeing anyone, she opened it the rest of the way and Suki followed her out. She turned and locked the door behind her, and then quickly swung around to look at Suki when she heard a startled, "yelp" come from her friend. There, standing in his doorway was Kyou watching her… and he did not look pleased.

      Kyou took one look at Kyoko and felt his anger rise. He shifted his eyes to Suki, annoyance clearly evident on his face.

      "Leave us," he demanded in a dangerously cold voice.

      Suki gave Kyoko an apologetic look, but quickly did as she was told, knowing better than to hesitate. She for one did not want to be on Kyou’s bad side, and besides that, the man gave her the creeps. She had been aware since first meeting him that he was a very powerful immortal, and not one to be crossed. She was glad he was on their side and not an enemy.

      Kyoko crossed her arms in front of her, disappointed as she watched Suki hurry out of sight. She turned back to find herself now under Kyou’s attention, and at the moment he did not look happy. She cocked one eyebrow at him waiting. When he just stood there boring a hole in her with angry golden eyes, she felt her temper start to spike. 'Damn him and those piercing eyes of his.’

      "What did I do?" she finally asked, giving up on waiting on him to tell her.

      Kyou had been annoyed when he had felt Suki's presence on this floor. Then when he watched them leave her room dressed like that, he knew it was not wise to let Kyoko leave. Not only was she in danger from the enemy, she would also be in danger from any guardian, demon, or human wanting to mate with her. Kyou saw red at the mere thought,

      "No one is ever to come to this floor without my permission except you and Toya, understood?" his voice sounded like he was scolding her.

      Kyoko bristled but quickly reminded herself that this is his building so it’s his rules. "I’m sorry. I didn’t know," she told him honestly. Feeling her own anger subsiding, she clasped her fingers in front of her. She was starting to fidget because he really didn’t look any happier now that she had apologized.

      Kyou took a step closer to Kyoko. Staring down at her, he found he could almost see down her shirt. "I was not told you had plans tonight," he felt her mood darken at his words and her eyes flashed a little brighter, but he did not care. If he was to protect her, he had to know what she was up to. He knew how the girls at the college acted, but he could smell Kyoko was still unmated, different from the others… innocent.

      Kyoko gnawed on her bottom lip, wondering if she was going to have to tell him her every move. "I didn’t know I had to tell you if I was going out," she tried to keep her voice calm, but knew she had to stand her ground with him in order to have some freedom.

      "I’m going out with Suki and Shinbe tonight," she said the words firmly, hoping he would not try to stop her.

      Kyou took a step closer, only for her to take a step back from him so she wouldn’t have to look up at him. He smirked inwardly as he took another step forward. He literally backed her up against the wall, surrounding himself with her scent.

      "Dressed like that?" his voice sounded angry.

      Kyoko's eyes widened now that he was only inches from her, and she was looking up at him. He was so tall. What had he said? Her eyes snapped a little sharper. Dressed like…?

      "What’s wrong with the way I’m dressed?" she shrank back against the wall when he lowered his face next to her ear. She could feel his warm breath on her neck.

      "Are you looking for a mate?" he whispered dangerously against her ear.

      Kyoko was suddenly afraid of the guardian standing in front of her. The words he’d uttered would have sent her into a rage under ordinary circumstances, but now they just made her want to find a nice dark corner to hide in. If a pin had dropped, it would have sounded like thunder in the silence. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard another voice so close to them.

      "Kyoko, are you ready?" Toya leaned against the wall watching them. He could smell Kyoko's fear from ten feet away. He gave Kyou a scowl as he watched Kyoko duck under his arm and walk quickly toward him.

      Kyou straightened back up, once again appearing indifferent as he watched Toya step between him and Kyoko, hiding her from his sight.

      Now where have I seen this before, he thought with annoyance then stated coldly. "If she is going, you are not to leave her side." The muscle in his jaw flexed as he gritted his teeth, not liking the fact that Toya was seeing her dressed so scantily.

      Toya could tell Kyou was serious, and the look in his eyes almost gave him cold chills. "I already know this," he snapped then turned and took Kyoko's hand in his, "Come on." He requested softly.

      Kyoko wasn’t going to argue with that, and didn’t mind the fact that Toya was practically propelling her in front of him. ‘The faster the better,’ she thought. At the moment she wanted nothing better than to hurry, now that she was completely wigged-out, she practically flew down the steps.

      Toya let go of her hand as soon as he knew they were out of Kyou’s eyesight. He watched as she sped up, a frown creasing his brow. He had picked up what Kyou had said to her. He being a guardian, his hearing was excellent. He had gone to find Kyoko when Suki had practically flown down the stairs, almost knocking him down in the process.

      It angered him at the words he had heard Kyou whisper into Kyoko’s ear, and it was all he could do to pretend he had not heard it. He never had thoughts of hurting Kyou but… the thought of Kyou saying such things to Kyoko brought out the worst in him. She’d done nothing to deserve that kind of treatment.

      Toya tried to push down the bad feeling he had as they met up with the others.

      *****

      As they entered the club, Suki noticed that Kyoko was still being unusually quiet and she finally got up the nerve to ask, "What was that all about with Kyou anyway?"

      "Nothing really,” Kyoko answered not really wanting to talk about it, and then she remembered what else he’d said, "He did say that from now on, no one is allowed on that floor except me and Toya." She shrugged sadly then noticed Toya was still watching her.

      She wondered if he’d heard what Kyou had said, then blushed and quickly looked away not really wanting to know the answer to that question. This was probably her last night of freedom, so she cleared her mind and looked around intending to enjoy herself one way or the other.

      Suki's eyes widened when she felt arms go around her from behind and pull her against a strong body. Twisting her neck so she could see, her gaze connected with amethyst ones.

      Shinbe dipped his head down to her neck, snuggling against her, grinning. "Come dance with me,” He beckoned in a seductive voice.

      â€œBut we just got here,” Suki tried to pull away halfheartedly.

      â€œI know,” Shinbe winked at Kyoko. “I wanted to grab you up before anyone else could.” He deliberately slid his hand seductively across her belly before turning her in his arms to face him. Giving Kyoko a mischievous look he stated, “She might be back.”

      Suki nodded, trying to hide the red that instantly splashed across her cheeks. Shinbe led her off to the dance floor, leaving Kyoko and Toya standing there.

      Kyoko knew her nerves couldn’t take much more and she took off to the bar thinking a drink would loosen her up some. She didn’t even look to see if Toya followed. She knew he had been ordered to watch her. It wasn’t as if they were on a date. She almost felt sorry for him.

      She turned her attention to the guy behind the bar saying with a shrug of her shoulders, "Whatever the special is." she smiled and he nodded. She laid a twenty down on the bar.