Page 16 of Crossing Between

"It sounds like your first few days were quite an adventure." Ruth chugged her beer as we sat out on her porch in the early Saturday morning. "You always have eye candy galore. I'm jealous."

I sipped my tea as we watched a neighbor in a beat-up old sedan drive down the street with loud music blaring. Which was typical for this time of day and week.

"This job isn't going to be boring, that's true." I glanced over to my home, hoping to see Ryan magically appear. He hadn't come home since he stormed out the other day. It wasn't the first time he'd been gone for more than a few days, but I was still worried. "I have no comment on the eye candy."

Ruth gave a loud hoot of laughter. "You sly little fox. You're going to have to introduce me to them eventually."

My eyes rolled in amusement. "If I value my new co-worker's sanity, they'll never meet you."

"I should take offense to that, but it's the truth." Ruth finished her beer with a small burp. "I'm proud of you, sweetie."

My head tilted slightly as I glanced at her. "Me? Why? I'm just trying to survive this thing we call life."

"You've had shit thrown at you since you were a kid.

You had to raise, hell, you're still raising, your younger brother who needs to grow up.

You're helping to support an old woman as well.

You have a pure heart and soul my girl." Ruth reached over and patted my hand.

"Things are finally looking up for you. I want you to be happy. "

I squeezed her hand gently. "Thank you, Ruth. I am happy. Or, at least, I'm trying to be. The new job is helping. It's nice to be able to wake up and not worry about the electricity being turned off. I let the companies know that I'd be paying them up to date when I get my first paycheck."

Ruth nodded. "I'm glad sweetie. I want to thank you for always paying rent. It's what keeps my utilities on and lets me get some of my drinks. You're a blessing."

Tears prickled at the edge of my vision and I took a minute to fight them. "You're welcome, Ruth. I like to think of you as family. You've done so much for us."

"Pish posh, dear." She crushed her beer can like a professional.

"We're family. You've done as much for me as I have for you.

That's what family does. Now," Ruth threw the can in a small trash can she kept outside for that purpose.

"Tell me more about these hotties you work with.

Let me live vicariously through you. This vagina has been unused for so long, if I tried to rev its engine, I'm pretty sure smoke would come out and something would break. "

The tea that I had started drinking came back up as I choked. "Ruth!" I coughed as I tried to clear my throat. "Why would you say that out loud?"

She laughed in amusement before abruptly stopping and leaning forward in her chair. "Oh ho. It looks like I'm about to meet a few of them right now."

"What?" I looked where she was and my mouth went dry.

Kenji and Elias had pulled up at the curb and had just climbed out of the car. Kenji waved at me while Elias pulled some bags out of the trunk. Kenji grabbed a few of them and practically ran toward me and Ruth.

"Hey, Zoey!" He skidded to a stop with that grin of his that made my stomach flip. "We just got done grocery shopping and thought we'd bring some over and make you food as a celebration for your new job!"

"Oh, that is the sweetest. Isn't he just a good boy?" Ruth's voice had turned a bit more husky, she was playing up her age. "I'm Zoey's landlord and friend, Ruth. It's so nice to meet you!" She held out her hand, fingers down indicating that she was expecting a hand kiss.

Kenji dropped the bags he was carrying and dramatically fell to his knees as he held Ruth's hand up. "Oh, sweet matriarch, it is truly an honor to bask in your presence." He kissed her hand with a loud smack.

Elias walked up to Kenji's side with a loud sigh. "Kenji, why must you be such an oddball?" He nodded his head at Ruth. "Ma'am, I'm Elias. Kenji's partner."

Kenji hopped up from the ground and winked at Ruth. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ruth. I'm Kenji."

"Partners? My, my. Don't feel like you can't kiss in front of this old biddy. I like them boys on boys. Especially those dramas from overseas. I am sad for Zoey. You three would have been adorable together!" Ruth clapped her hands together in delight.

"Ruth!" My voice yelled as I tried to stop her from continuing.

"Please ignore any more that she says. She's drunk already.

" I bent, grabbed some of the bags that had fallen and turned toward my house.

"Come on in! We'll see you later, Ruth. I'll bring you some lunch later.

Get some sleep." I glared over my shoulder at her as she just blew me a kiss with an evil giggle.

"Excuse the mess, guys, I wasn't expecting company so I got lazy the last few days. "

"We're sorry for just springing this on you." Elias took the bags from me as I let them into the house. "Kenji thought it would be fun to surprise you with a celebration."

Kenji was already throwing his legs up on the coffee table as he sprawled out on the couch.

"Breakfast is an underrated meal. It's much better than dinner.

Plus, your house is practically sparkling.

Not sure what's supposedly messy." He looked around the living room.

"This is cozy. Our living room is white and black with a tiny bit of gray thrown in.

It's annoying but it's what Elias picked. "

"Hey! The interior designer said that style was all the rage." Elias' eye twitched a little as he glared over at Kenji before he moved into the kitchen with all the bags. "Can you show me where things are, Zoey?"

"Sure." I handed Kenji the remote for the TV and went back into the small kitchen. Elias seemed to take up most of the space with his bulk, he made even me feel small, which was hard to do considering my thunder thighs bounced with every step and could be compared to professional wrestlers.

"What are you making?"

Elias pulled out eggs and bacon from one bag. He handed me another one that had several types of fruit in it. "A mix of traditional eggs, bacon, bread, and fruit. Would you like to help me?" His eyes met mine.

I felt that sudden arousal from just being near him that felt primal down to my very bones. I sucked in a breath as his eyes seemed to darken and his pupils looked to have lengthened into a dumbbell shape. My side tingled with a burning sensation where that mark had appeared.

Kenji's shout at the TV broke our staring contest. Elias turned toward the counter.

"Can you tell me where your frying pan is? Do you have butter? If not, that's okay, I got oil just in case." His hands moved deftly as he organized the food.

I opened a cabinet above the stove, stood on my tiptoes, and reached for the frying pan. Usually, Ryan takes it down for me or I have a step stool, but I forgot about it as my mind raced with thoughts of why my body was reacting so strangely to Elias.

Heat enveloped me from behind as the man on my mind stood behind me.

His arm reached above me as he grabbed the pan that was just out of reach for me.

I had the sudden urge to lean back into his body.

I wanted to feel his arms around me with his lips on my skin.

My body started to feel hot and my power wanted to come out and wrap around us.

"Pardon me." Elias' voice was right next to my ear which brought goose bumps along my arms. "Thank you."

Nodding, I sidestepped into the corner of the small kitchen. I grabbed plates and utensils while Elias began to cook the eggs in the frying pan after he placed the bacon on a flat sheet in the oven.

"I hope scrambled is good. I know I like them over easy while Kenji prefers over hard, but I figured scrambled might be easiest for a first breakfast." Elias moved with such an ease and familiarity of cooking that I felt a slight twinge of jealousy.

I couldn't cook well. Most of the things I made ended up burned, edible but still burned in some capacity. Ryan usually cooked the more elaborate meals. I always told him he'd make a great cook, but he just brushed me off.

"Scrambled is fine. You didn't have to do this. It's very sweet, though." I crossed my arms under my chest, holding onto my elbows with opposite hands.

"Nah. We're going to be working together for a while it seems like. It's good to get to know each other off the clock." Elias looked over his shoulder with a soft smile. "Plus, you're not too far from our house, so it's not a hardship." He looked back to the eggs. "Oh. Do you have any spices?"

"Just to the right of you, middle cabinet."

My eyes widened as Elias reached for the cabinet but his arm and hand had morphed into a large gray tentacle with bright purple suction cups. He wrapped his tentacle around my meager spices and brought them all down to the counter.

"You're a shifter?" I thought he was a mage based on his healing abilities that had been mentioned.

Elias looked down at his arm, seeming not to have noticed he'd changed it. His gaze was wary as he looked over at me. "Not quite. I'm a Kraken."

My eyes widened at the implication of his words. A Kraken. They were a rare breed of monster. They weren't shifters as their original form is that of the sea creature. As they grew older and learned control of their magic, it was at that time they created a human form.

He turned around to face me. Both his arms were now tentacles. My side warmed again and I wanted to feel them. Would they be soft? Rubbery?

"I'm not human, nor a shifter. I'm a Kraken. A monster. I know it can be a scary thing." His eyes were guarded.

How many had rejected him because of who he was? Is that why he was so standoffish sometimes?