Page 28 of DaR (Darverius, House of DaR #1)

Chapter Twenty-Six

KIRA

I’m outside playing with Ickis when I hear the sound of DaR’s shuttle setting down.

He usually comes outside with me in the evenings, so I give him a few minutes to get settled.

When he doesn’t come right out, I get worried and walk inside, only to find him sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.

I put a hand on his shoulder, and he looks up at me wearily. “ You ok?”

“ It has been a long day, and I have an aching head.”

I can see the Runes on his chest are dark in color, and even his eyes seem to be dull.

“ Come here, maybe I can help you with that.” I crawl in behind him on the couch and slide down, only to realize I’m so much shorter than he is, I’m staring at the middle of his back.

I giggle. He turns around and gives me one of his rare smiles.

“ Ok , this isn’t going to work. Hell , I can’t even reach your head from back here.

What in the world did your dad feed you to make you so damn big, anyway? ”

He chuckles and I smile, glad I at least made him laugh. I struggle out from behind him and crawl to the end of the couch, sit down, and point toward my lap. “ Come on.”

The look on his face is comical. “ Kira , I am not going to fit on your lap.”

“ Your head silly, not your whole body. I would look like a piss-ant trying to hold up an elephant.”

“ I am sorry, what?” He rubs a hand across his face in confusion.

“ Never mind. You need to learn how to relax when you’re home, DaR . Why have all these big ass couches if they’re never used? Now stretch out and lay your head in my lap.”

He stretches out, but his body is so tense. “ Look at me.” Those beautiful yellow eyes focus on my face, and I have to take a deep breath from their intensity. For a moment there, I could have sworn I saw longing in his eyes.

“ You don’t have to be the big bad protector all the time. Your home is your safe place. Now , close your eyes and think about absolutely nothing. What I mean is, try to get your mind to quiet down.”

I start to rub his temples and his head is so large it covers my entire lap.

Slowly , I feel his body start to relax and his breathing evens out.

I gradually stop massaging, but I do keep one hand on his head.

The other one I lay on top of the Symbots on his arm.

He turns on his side, slipping an arm behind me, and pulls me close.

His nose is pressed into my stomach. Even though he’s heavy, this isn’t uncomfortable.

I lay my head back and close my eyes, enjoying the silence and the warmth that radiates off his body.

I can feel his Symbots sliding over my fingers and up my arm.

I rub my arm against his skin as it tingles again.

DaR trembles against me and I run my hand through his hair, trying to comfort him.

He has a whole world on his shoulders, literally, and I don’t want to add to the craziness any more than I already have.

I want to be the one thing that makes him laugh and that he looks forward to being with.

When he’s finally sleeping deeply, I try to unwrap myself from underneath him when I realize I can barely lift his head up. Well , we can both lay here and take a nap then, I reckon. DaR doesn’t sleep much so he must be exhausted.

I must have been dozing for a couple of hours when my legs wake me up, tingling. I try to move them when I feel skin beneath my hand. I open my eyes and look around. Nightfall has come and the moons shine brightly through the room.

The skin underneath my hand is DaR’s arm. His Symbots are gone, and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen his arms completely without them. I honestly didn’t know they weren’t permanent .

His arm is so long that even with it tucked around me, most of his forearm is still laying on the cushion.

His house mark, as he calls it, glows just like mine does.

Eclectic colors and lines are moving up his arm in the same shapes as the ones on mine.

I run my finger down his arm tracing the lines, mesmerized.

My own marks are faint, barely even noticeable if you don’t look closely, but his are bright and move constantly. No one’s ever seen his though, because his Symbots cover his arms clear to his shoulders.

Something hits the back of the couch, and I jerk. DaR doesn’t even move, but his Symbots immediately cover him again.

Ickis crawls over the top of the couch and curls up by DaR’s side. I see a few strands of black touch the small animal, then retract back to DaR’s arm.

Ickis likes to huff when he wants to talk, and I jabber with him all the time … like I know what he’s saying. So I shush him when he starts huffing. “ Be a good boy and go to sleep.”

DaR turns away and I move my legs out from under him and then stretch out behind his large body. He’s by far the best blanket ever. I spoon in behind him.

I wake up hours later with the feeling of someone staring at me. DaR is lying on his side, facing me. I open my eyes and smile at him. “ Didn’t your dad teach you it’s rude to stare? Are you feeling better? ”

“ You stayed with me?”

“ Well , at first it wasn’t an option. You’re a little bigger than I am, you know?

Then , I decided I didn’t want to wake you, so staying here was the next best option.

Did you know you make a wonderful blanket?

You’re like snuggling up to a space heater.

Ha -ha, I just made a funny, a space heater. ”

He rolls his eyes at me and replies sarcastically, “ Glad to be of service. I have not slept that well in ... Well ... I do not remember the last time I got more than a few hours of sleep, to be honest. Thank you for staying with me. Do you have plans today?”

“ Nope , just watching the flowers grow and playing with the brat.” Who is now laying on top of the couch looking down at us.

“ Would you like to take a ride?”

“ You mean like leave the house? Whoo -hoo, schedule me in, big guy. I’ll be honest, being cooped up in this house has taken some getting used to.

There are times when I feel completely useless here.

My life before was so busy, and I was constantly coming and going.

It seemed at the time that I never had a moment to myself.

But … I don’t know, DaR . In case you forgot, the last time I took a walk, people died. ”

“ We will not be walking anywhere, we will take my shuttle, unless you think that might bother you? I know your last flight was not ideal. ”

“ You mean fly around on your oversized jet ski? Is there even room in that thing for me?”

“ You and I really need to work on your Earth slang female; sometimes I feel like you say things on purpose just to confuse me.”

“ Little old me? Well , I never!” A growl leaves his throat. “ Ok , ok, I might be just a little guilty, but you can’t prove it. So , back to this ride— do I need to wear anything in particular?”

“ No , but I would bring a light outer garment if you have one. I will await you at the shuttle. I need to contact Tordan before we take off.” He turns, rolling off the couch and as he stands, his butt is right in front of my face.

I have the sudden urge to reach out and smack it and barely pull my hand back before I actually do it. Lord , I’m acting like a horny teenager.

“ SAGE , will you watch over Ickis today? Looks like I’m going to get my first real tour of Darverius .”

“ I will do my best, Mistress Kira . It is not like I can follow him around like you do.”

I wash up quickly and pull on the first dress I see, then run out to the shuttle. DaR is standing next to the machine, talking. I hear him say, “ Don’t comm me, handle it.” Then he turns toward me, smiling.

“ Are you ready? ”

“ Yep , let’s do this.”

I start to move toward the steps and laugh when I realize they are level with my head. Before I can say anything, Dar reaches down, grabs me by the waist, and lifts me up to the first step.

“ Hold on to the railing as you go up. I will be right behind you so do not worry about falling. Once you step inside, head toward the back seat unless you want to drive.”

“ I can drive?”

“ No .”

“ No matter the planet, it’s always the same answer.”

I sweep the bottom of my skirt up into my arms, pulling it close so I don’t trip over it. I take two large steps up and look back down, catching DaR staring at my butt.

“ Hey , mister, are you looking at my butt?”

“ Possibly , it is right there, you know. Now stop looking at me and proceed up those steps.”

I finally get up the steps that are not made for a human, by the way. “ Ok , I’m here, now what?”

“ Step up to the seat and I will arrange you once I am in there too. ”

DaR steps in behind me and I lean over as far as I can to give him room. I almost scream when he picks me up and turns me around, sitting me in his lap.

“ Holy hell, give a girl a warning will ya! I thought you said there was room for me in here.”

“ There is room right here with me, and the front has the best view in this vessel. I can put you behind me, but you are only going to see the back of my head. If you are up here with me, then you can see everything I do.”

I keep twisting in his lap, trying to straighten out my skirt. “ I swear I’m going to burn every skirt in that damn closet. Can’t you people see that they aren’t appropriate for everything?”

“ I am personally enjoying all this wiggling, but to keep the peace, I will have a talk with the fabric designer about pants that are appropriate for you. Did you notice I used a big human word?”

“ So old dogs can be taught new tricks!” I laugh when he shakes his head like I’m a lost cause. Then he closes the hatch over the top of us, hits a few buttons, and up we go. We rise slowly at first, hovering over SAGE . The house looks so different from up here.

“ I am going to fly us over the mountains first and then we will explore anything that catches your eye. Let me know if this starts to bother you. ”