Strange Love 72 Safe Haven

Joslyn had been so lost in her own thoughts, she hadn't realized the car had come to a stop until the driver, Arei, had shut the engine off and spoke softly. "We're here... I... I..." Arei ran his hands over his hair, a nervous energy radiating from his body.

Jos glanced over at his large body that had to somewhat hunker down just to fit into the small car.

The man was gigantic, covered in tattoos that ranged from a small trident behind his ear to the large patterned sleeves of his arms only sightly covered by the rolled-up sleeves of the dress s.h.i.+rt. She knew from memory that he and his brother both had full back and chest pieces along with the majority of their legs covered. He had long chestnut hair pulled back into a sloppy bun with the sides shaved nearly to the skin blinding perfectly with the length of his well-groomed beard. Her eyes landed on the ma.s.sive hands that were wringing nervously around the stirring wheel as he continued to ramble on about things she was too tired to care about. It wasn't until his dazzling hazel eyes, a mesh of rich golden flakes in a pool of oranges and greens surrounded by an array of blues giving the appearance of the Caspian Sea at sunset, caught hers that she focused on his words at all.

"... you'll be the first to see inside, so if it's kinda messy or... weird... I apologize in advance." Arei's concerned words trailed off as he realized she had been and still was studying his features intently as if seeing him for the first time. It was not overall a strange thing for him to be sized up by men and women alike but to see her eyes trailing over his body gave him the strange male urge to push out his already expansive chest and strut about... figuratively speaking of course.

Jos tilted her head in confusion. {Maybe he'd already explained it and I just hadn't heard... hadn't been paying close enough attention but...} "What would I find weird?" She asked.

Arei let out a heavy sigh, "Come on, let's go up." He flung open the door and walked toward the back of the car. He popped the trunk and removed her luggage. He stopped with the luggage under one large arm at Jos's side pointing to the top floor of the middle apartment building. "I'm up there." He said.

From the parking lot, Jos could already see a small balcony lit by a string of clear outside lights and several plants sticking out over the railing. She followed him through the downstairs double doors and up four flights of steps, stopping in front of a dark teal door that stood out against the other plain beige doors. She watched his back as he pushed the door open and set her bags just inside.

"It's only a one-bedroom. You can take my bed tonight and I'll sleep on the couch." He said racking his ma.s.sive hand over his hair again. He quietly watched her as she walked through the door and took in the room.

Jos's eyes moved around the large open area. The ceilings were vaulted high overhead meeting in a sharp peeked 'A' in the center. The floors were a warm walnut that ran through the entire area. Dark teal lower cabinets lined the small kitchen area where part of the high arched ceiling had been boxed in with a lighter tek wood for extra storage. There was track lighting hanging from the wood along with several different types of hanging plants. The backsplash was a mix of dark red and tan bricks with a light cream mortar that matched the light cream countertops. A small table sat off to one side of the kitchen with a lone chair pushed underneath. The walls and ceilings where both painted in an even darker teal.

Jos shrugged and turned toward the opposite side of the room and couldn't help the smile that curved her lips. It was perfect. There was a tiny light grey sofa covered in pillows of different textures and colors ranging from dark blues to soft creams and an incredibly fluffy blanket threw over the back. Another strand of outdoor lights trailed from the outlet behind the sofa to a large wooden beam that ran across the uppermost portion of the high ceiling and down the rope of an adorable hanging basket chair with another lush blanket and a fluffy pillow inside. Jos walked toward the swinging chair sliding her toes through the thick rug as she went. She flopped into the chair and giggled as it sw.a.n.g out with her inside.

Arei let out a large gush of air in relief as he watched her face light in childlike delight. A few large strides brought him behind the swinging chair where he gently gave her a push. "I wasn't sure what you would think of this place." He looked around him taking note of the many plants and fur textured blankets, rugs, and pillows around the room knowing his bedroom was much the same as he said. "I know it's probably not what you would expect when you see..." He stepped away from the swing and indicated his body, "ME... but..." He looked around his eyes moving from the furnis.h.i.+ngs to the three large skylights in the side of the slanted wall above the couch and smiled. "It's what I like... it feels like home..." His eyes returned to Jos, her tiny feet not coming anywhere near the ground. He chuckled, "It wasn't really meant for a girl's height. Here let me." He fell into an easy rhythm of pus.h.i.+ng the swing as they talked over their plans.

Jos rested her head against the fluffy pillow as the soothing motion of the chair worked to lull away all the stress and building anxieties of the past several months. She gave him a sleepy smile as she replied, "I appreciate your willingness to drop everything you're doing to take me home but, really, there's no huge rush." She ran her hands through the soft fur of the pillow paying extra attention to her hands as they moved. "I... I don't know what to say... where to even start..." A heavy frown curved her lips. "Well I guess first, I'll have to go to Xavier's house and get my things... That should be fun..." Her expression lightened and the harsh lines of her face softened as her mind continued to work. "... but then I have to talk to Russ... and Sh.e.l.ly..." Her pleading eyes met his, "I... I'm scared to... to talk to them..."

Arei frowned and stopped the chair from swinging. He held it in place as he leaned his head against the upper arch of the frame. "Why? What are you afraid of, kitten?" He asked gently as if he was asking a dear child about a nightmare.

Jos could feel tears build at the backs of her eyes. "I have said some horrible things to him... turned him down so many times now... and Sh.e.l.ly... I didn't even console in her to find out her feelings before I jumped into things..." Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "What if it's too late? What if neither of them can forgive me?" A tear escaped the confines of her eyelids and slid down her cheek.

"What if the only option from here is for us all to go our own separate ways and never see each other again... never be friends... family..." more tears followed the same trail down her cheeks. "What if I've driven even more people away forever?"

Arei sent her a sad smile as he pressed the pad of a large thumb against her cheek brus.h.i.+ng away the tears. "You could never drive away anyone, kitten."

Her tear-filled eyes met his, "I did you... and Orion."

Arei hid the sharp pain in his chest her words had caused with a wide rea.s.suring smile. "I'm right here, kitten, you haven't lost me. And I promise if you want Ry back in your life, all you have to do is ask." He brushed more tears away as he leaned down and placed a light kiss to her forehead. He let the large thumb stroke across her cheek as he swiped a stray hair behind her ear leaving his hand to cup the side of her face. "Get some sleep. We can talk more about this when you wake up in the morning, okay?"

***

Orion leaned against the intricate railing of the palace courtyard. He couldn't help the wistful smile that played across his lips as he watched Russ, Sh.e.l.ly, and Rin laugh and joke around as they enjoyed a light lunch by what seemed to be their new favorite hangout. The only person who was missing from this joyous get together would be Joslyn herself. Orion sighed his smile widening as he thought of all the misleading thing he'd said to Russ to irritate and agitate him. Never in his wildest dreams could he see Jos in the way he had led the poor boy to believe. His smile faded as he thought back to the night he'd walked in on her in his brother's arms. She'd been so happy, Arei had been so happy, but she'd ran leaving Arei in no better shape than the broken-hearted boy in front of him now hiding his pain behind a half-hearted smile.

"You know, it's much more fun to join rather than watch." Rin's mother leaned over the railing beside Orion.

Orion laughed, "It seems all I've ever done is watch, why change that now?" He glanced over at her. "Besides, I would just get in the way."

She arched a brow as she asked a question she already knew most of the answer to. "Then why come at all? Why stay?"

Orion shrugged. "I'm just doing my job." He turned his attention back to the kids down below.
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She propped her elbow on the rail and planted her chin in her palm. "Seems like a boring existence. You must really love your job."

he frowned, "It's all I've ever done, really. I find it more boring sitting around doing nothing."

She laughed, "Yes, I understand fully." She narrowed her eyes. "So what is it you have been doing?"

Orion frowned, "I was hired to be a 'hands-off' bodyguard... of sorts... The council was concerned when they found out the DeMarco brothers had moved to the same town as our young prince down there. They sent me to investigate." He met her quizzical eyes. "I'm not going to lie, his girlfriend played a huge role in the reason why we are here, face to face, right now. After seeing how he treated her on one of the last nights they were together, I decided to teach him a few life lessons... bonus makes it easier to guard him, especially after hearing about DeMarco tormented the girl."

"His girlfriend? Do you mean dear Joslyn? I've heard so much about her." Her eyes twinkled with mischief.

He nodded running his hand over his short slicked-back hair. "I've known her since she was much, much younger." He smiled, "I've always tried to keep an eye on her-"

"In a 'hands-off' kind of way?" She arched a brow as she smiled up into his hazel eyes.

Orion rolled his eyes, "Yes, if you must know. Anyways, it was nice seeing her happy for a change, but unfortunately, our pups down there couldn't handle their tempers and it was a very short-lived happiness." He rubbed the back of his head. "I was there the night they went to DeMarco's beach party. The meeting was obviously unplanned so I didn't think too much of it... I feel like if I'd stepped in sooner... or paid more attention to the finer details Sh.e.l.ly wouldn't have gone through h.e.l.l and Jos wouldn't be in danger now."

Her goodnatured teasing ended and her expression became more serious. "What do you mean in danger? I thought she was with your brother? Shouldn't that make her safe?"

Orion exhaled loudly, "She's safe from the vampires. They won't dare hurt her as long as Areion is around..." He frowned. "But she may be in worse danger, worse risk of getting hurt all over again." His eyes trailed down to Russ's smiling face. "It has done my old heart good seeing how much she's grown and matured over the recent years, to see her finally find the love and happiness of others that she deserves... to see someone love her and her return that love..." His eyes lost focus as he became blinded by memories of the past. The only other person to ever love her as much was Areion..." His eyes clouded as he continued to speak. "I trust Areion, but I would be lying if I said I don't regret getting him involved. I don't think I could handle seeing her as hurt as she was the night I walked in on her in his arms... or as hurt as he was that day on the beach when she told him how much she hated him and despised us both, yelling she never wanted to see either of us again." His words trailed off.

"Seems like it was more than Jos and your brother who got hurt that day." Rin's mom said simply.

Orion met her gaze. "Yes, I guess you're right. In our own different ways... I lost a daughter that day and he lost the love of his life."

"And you think something will happen between them again?" She asked.

Orion bowed his head. "I know it will and someone will get hurt." His eyes trailed back down to Russ. "He's a good boy, a little impulsive and immature," He laughed, "But the kid has a good heart. With some work and growing up he'll make a mighty fine man..."

"But?" She pushed once his words faded away once again.

His eyes met hers a sad smile spread across his face. "Arei is a magnificent man already, a strong powerful warrior with a heart of gold. If she takes even a second to get to know him, she'll realize that too... and maybe realize some other things as well."

She shook her head. "Seems like you're in a bit of a dilemma then."

He shook his head. "No. I think for once I'm going to keep my opinions out of this. I've already arranged to stay on to help the wolf learn to be a better version of his current self and if somehow he and Jos find their way to one another again, I'll support it... but if she decides to reconcile the past and she finally decides to give Arei the chance he deserves then.." He shrugged.