Strange Love 118 Baby Steps

"There's nothing we can do, you know. I feel bad for her as well, but we can't bring someone back from the dead." Arei said as he hung up the phone following his brother's gaze out the window. "So, what have you decided." He asked as he walked over and leaned against the wide window frame.

Ry sighed, "What could one more try hurt? Maybe the kid can do something we couldn't." He rested his elbows on his thighs as he leaned forward. "It may not always be good, but there's no denying, they have something."

Arei grunted. "Fifty bucks says she eats him." Arei's turbulent eyes gave him away as he tried to forge indifference.

"Are you going to be able to stay?" Ry asked as he studied his brother.

Arei nodded. "I'm old enough to maintain my composure, Ry. There's no reason for you to worry about me now." He never took his eyes off the beach.

Ry leaned back crossing his ma.s.sive arms over his chest. "Why didn't you ever try getting her back?" He studied his brother's expressions.

Arei huffed out a long breath, "Truthfully? I didn't deserve her then… or now." He walked back over to the heavy mahogany desk and flopped down in the black leather office chair. "I'm happy for her, truly." He pushed the stack of papers and notes he had been working on since early that morning. "I just wish this looked better for her."

Ry walked over and thumbed through the papers. "Humm…" He flipped back through the stack a second time. "So, will she be tried as a creature 'The Kraken' or as a demiG.o.d?"

Arei shrugged. "Who knows at this point. Bringing Calypso in will surely remind them."

Ry frowned. "True… But her and Jos's relations.h.i.+p isn't the best. It's hard to tell if she would even be willing to leave her island for Jos's sake or not." He sat in one of the smaller chairs in front of the desk.

"I'm sure if we found a way to appeal to her properly, she'd be more than willing to show up at least." Arei said as he scrolled through computer files. "She'll be charged for six other vampire deaths aside from the DeMarco brothers. Had it only been the two, we'd have a fighting chance but as it stands…" He flipped the screen around for Orion to see. "Ry, they will want vengeance. I know how the vampires think. They've been on the brink of war for years now."

Ry nodded a deep frown setting across his face. "There were also several human deaths that made the news. Before Russ started pressing her, she'd done well masking the crimes. The boy caused her some careless mistakes."

Arei arched a brow. "And you think the best way to address that is by training her to use her most powerful form against the kid?" Arei laughed, "Raise that bet to a hundred dollars."

Ry set the papers down. "If done right and with enough supervision, it just may work. It's worth a shot. She deserves to not be afraid anymore."

Arei sighed. "When you put it like that…" He pushed himself up from the leather chair and nodded toward the window. "Why not get started."

Arei and Ry made their way out to the beach where the others where still playing around. Arei crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes locking automatically with Jos's. "It's decided, let's see what you've got."

Ry focused his attention on Russ. "Everything needs to stay in a controlled environment, understand? No more 'practicing' alone. Neither of you are emotionally stable enough right now to be trusted on your own."

Arei nodded in agreement. "We'll start small, simple tasks done in a half form. We'll work our way up to controlling your full form."

Jos frowned, "But the courts, they will be expecting me to be turned in soon wont they?"

Arei smiled. "We're working on that part. Right now, they have no reason to believe you were anywhere near that house when things went down. You were seen with me in Florida. It will take them some digging to find out exactly when we left. It will also take them some time for full a.n.a.lysis of the crime scene to come back. Unfortunately, the longer we wait the more likely they will be to link the other human death to you." Arei rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. "But if we were able to show you are in control now…" He hated putting the extra stress on her, but it was important for her to understand how much now rested on her training.

Russ nodded. "So, I'm staying?" He took Jos's hand as he looked hopefully back and forth between Arei and Orion.

Arei nodded, "For now at least."

***

A full week had pa.s.sed before any of them had even realized it. Arei had stayed busy in the office most days while Sh.e.l.ly did little more than eat and sleep with the heavy weight of depression and heartache looming over her. Ry and Russ trained against each other when they were not helping Jos with her simpler less violent training. Raven, surprisingly, stayed busy as well making and taking phone calls nearly every minute of the day. When she wasn't on the phone she was in the office with Arei helping him with any information or idea that could help Jos's case with the courts.

Ry handed Russ a frilly pink ap.r.o.n covered in cupcakes as he turned his attention back to the pantry he'd poked his arm out of. Russ simply smiled thinking back to the first time he and Raven hand walked in on the giant of a man wearing this exact ap.r.o.n as he stood surrounded by backed goods in his tiny kitchen. Russ walked over to where Jos was rubbing her brows tensely with one hand the knuckles of the other whitening against her tight grip on the old fas.h.i.+oned gas stove. Russ walked over behind her as he unfolded the ap.r.o.n. he wrapped his arms around her waist and bent to place a light kiss to her exposed shoulder. She wore an adorable off the shoulder ruffled midriff s.h.i.+rt paired with a floor length high-waisted flowing dress. She looked every bit the sweet girl he'd grown up with, no sign of the 2000+ year old monster she clamed herself to be. He placed another kiss on her shoulder as he worked the ap.r.o.n into place and tied it behind her back. "After we're done, keep this on. I'd love to have you like this." He whispered as he cinched the ties around her waist. He carefully removed her hands that now both clasped the stove moving them behind her back then knotted the long ribbon of the ap.r.o.n around each wrist. "I want to take you just like this."

He continued whispering dirty words into her ear, sending s.h.i.+vers running down her spin. She could feel the growing girth of his goin as he pressed into her bound wrists. Jos couldn't help the moan that escaped her mouth as he nipped her earlobe and pressed the bulge of his pants into her open palms. "Russ..." His name slipped from her parted lips. Her mind began blurring with a familiar need as she leaned back against his hard chest letting her fingers trace his confined length as it pushed impatiently against the seems of his thin silky gym shorts.

A loud thud behind them caused Jos's eyes to shoot open and Russ the release a mischievous snicker as he loosened his grip on the knot holding her wrists and took a single half step back. He tied the ribbon into a comfortable bow before leaning forward again. "You can do this." He kissed her bare shoulder once more before turning a smirk to Ry who now stood glaring from the entry of the pantry, his arms loaded with ingredients.

Jos gave herself a mental shake and glanced over to the ingredients Ry had set on the counter but lost it when she noticed his ap.r.o.n. She let out a loud burst of laughter before both her hands flew to her mouth as she took in the image of the s.e.xy male body nearly completely covered by a deranged looking chicken. "What in the name of Olympus is that?!" She asked between giggles.

Ry shrugged, "Arei thought it would be a good gag gift several years back. Jokes on him, though, most of my..." he cleared his throat, "house guests find it amusing."

Fine lines framed the corners of Jos's eyes as she laughed harder. "I'm sure they did!" She laughed harder as Russ bent in his chair to get a better look and nearly fell out with laughter as well.

"Jeez old man! What... Why..." he laughed harder.

Ry shot him a harsh glare before turning back to Jos. "Did you preset the oven?" He asked.

She nodded, "Yes, I do know how to cook, you know." Her laugh trailed off as she watched him separate everything out into several bowls. "Just never with more than two hands."

Ry spoke softly maintaining the same tone with her that he'd used all those years back when talking to her. "Each of your tentacles have their own central nervous system. They can work individually, separate from each other and from your own mind. This is typical, our job here is for you to learn to control them just enough to maximize production and coordination without slowing down or disabling their natural ability to function independently. Understand?" he asked as he opened a cartoon of eggs and set out three on the counter.

She nodded furrowing her brows as she watched him reach over head for another bowl and a hand mixer. "I get the basics of what you hope to accomplish, I do... but I'm just not convinced it will work."

"It will work." He said matter-of-factly as he searched through the top couple drawers before pulling out cupcake pan liners. "Aright, let's get started. I want you to start by combining the ingredients into the bowl."

Jos frowned as she struggled to elongate all of her tentacles. "Umm... I may need to change first... this outfit..." She heard Russ chuckle as his chair slid out from the table. She could feel the flush move up her neck as his footsteps moved closer to her. His hands settled on the high band of her dress and he gently tugged downward. Her body heated as he rolled the band of fabric low on her hips stroking his fingers teasingly over her hip bones as he worked.

He loosened the ap.r.o.n more then leaned down to whisper against her neck. "You can do this, baby." He stroked her sides where the tentacle would be emerging from. "Just close your eyes and relax. It's just us here right now. No one else is watching."

He ran his hands over he tentacles as they began to emerge teasing the smooth skin as they grew in length. "We're going to make a cake, you and I. Remember the first time we did, Sh.e.l.ly turned the mixer on high flinging batter everywhere? She freaked out and pulled it out, instead of turning it off first." He deep soft voice continued as her tentacles began working through the task as she kept her eyes tightly shut. He trailed his hands down along her arms, stroking there length back and forth soothingly as she worked. A smile was audible in his voice this time as he spoke. "Open your eyes, baby. Look you did it."

Jos glanced down at the bowl as one of her tentacle cracked the last of the three eggs as another stirred with a spoon and another prepared to lower the mixer into the bowl. She turned her head to smile up at Russ and nodded. "Thank you." She turned back to the task with more confidence now, as she silently instructed another set of tentacles to prepare the pan and poor the batter.

Russ rested his chin on her shoulder as he continued running his hands encouragingly along her tentacles and arms placing kisses on her shoulder every so often. "Too bad you didn't discover this ability years ago. Just think how handy it could have been." He joked with her.