Chapter 60: The Ring
I looked at the car moving out of the driveway and I felt such a wave of delight and relief. I looked around at the office, at the furniture which had become so familiar to me and hoped I wouldn't have to hide here again.
Martha's smile as I went to the kitchen was as wide as mine had been.
'I've not had so much excitement since a long time,' she gushed.
'And let's hope, we won't have such an excitement again,' Dave said wryly, coming at the door.
I smiled sheepishly at him, knowing how hard it must have been to stay so calm. As I turned to look at him, I felt a stiffness in my back from sitting for so long. I tried to massage the back of my neck with my hand and my fingers touched the metal clasp of my chain. The locket. Estena's ring! Once she discovered that it was not in her luggage, she would think that her secretary didn't pack it and she would be back. That barely left me with a few hours to find out what it was exactly. It was only a hunch that told me that it might be a transient key to travel to the other worlds, but maybe I had been influenced by Nana's explanations. Whatever it was, I had to find its truth quickly.
Would Nana be able to recognize what it was through a video call? I seriously doubted it. He would need to hold it, and I definitely would not have enough time to go meet him and be back. I didn't want to involve Martha as I could see that the past night's events had taken its toll on her when I looked at the dark circles beneath her eyes.
That left only one person, I thought, looking at Dave. But I knew that he would be unwilling to help at the beginning, especially when he would get to know how I acquired that ring. Well, maybe some coddling and sweet words would do the trick. It was a strategy I often used on Nani and it often worked.
'Ash, there is a big difference between that sweet woman and this male specimen,' my little voice told me, but I shushed it again. Success only came to those who tried.
I put an innocent smile on my face, and looped my arms through Dave's, feeling a moment of jealousy as I remembered that Estena had done the same thing. I started walking towards the audiovisual room I had seen next to the living room.
'You look so tired, let's relax with a good film. I'm sure that on Bhuvar there must be good channels.' Knowing that he would mention having work to do, in a very convincing tone, I said, 'You have to wait for the drug to leave your system completely before attempting any work.'
By then, we had already reached the set of sofa in front of the big television screen.
'Why don't you choose a good film? I'll fetch a hair band from my room. My hair keeps getting in my eyes,' I said, hoping the pretext was not too weak. I pushed him down on the sofa and put the remote control firmly in his hands. 'Film,' I stated again. Then I fired my last bullet, 'You haven't been spending any time with me ever since you invited me to come.' Some emotional blackmail couldn't do any wrong.
I then went to the bedroom and ruffled through the drawer, looking for the ring. Whenever I wanted to talk to Nani about something which I knew she wouldn't like, I tried to distract her first and put her in a good mood. It was more difficult for her to say no then. I put the ring in my pocket, ready to take it out when the atmosphere would be appropriate.
Praying that Dave hadn't left the room, I went in, to find that he had chosen a film starring actors I didn't know. 'Is this a film made in Bhu or Bhuvar?' I asked, looking at the colors and sounds which were more distinct.
'Bhuvar,' he replied. Though initially, I had planned to focus on finding effective strategies to have Dave analyse the ring, once the film started, I got caught in the plot. The actors were both extremely seductive and were both highly trained officers who were looking for a traitor in their company. They had to go through a lot of difficult situations together.
I peeked at Dave who was sitting next to me and I could see him rubbing his shoulders with tiredness. Poor sweetheart, he must not be feeling too well after being drugged and then having no memory of the night.
I stood up and went behind him. Before I could think it through, I reached my hands and started massaging his shoulder muscles and his nape. At the first touch of my hand, he froze, but as I started kneading his sore muscles, I could feel him relax. Luckily, turning into a vampire had increased my strength, so I could really use my thumb and forefinger to ease out his pain without feeling tired.
I focused on his neck muscles where there seemed to be more tension and from time to time a groan would come out of his lips, telling me that he appreciated the move.
I suddenly felt his shoulders stiffen beneath my fingers, and surprised, I looked at what had happened to him. His eyes were riveted to the screen where we could now see two intertwined naked bodies, rolling on the bed with passionate moans. My breath hitched in my throat as I saw the main lead bare his teeth and slide his fangs down the neck of the actress. Movies on Bhuvar were apparently more explicit than on earth.
I turned to look at Dave and his eyes met mine. While his were brimming with amusement and another emotion I couldn't identify, mine were embarrassed. A loud moan brought my eyes back to the screen and I saw the actor plunge his engorged shaft between the waiting legs of the woman. He then started moving with large thrusts, making his bum muscles clench and the woman's breasts jiggle.
I gasped at the raw passion and felt my cheeks heat up. Even though I wanted to tear my eyes away from the film, I couldn't and looking at the fine sheen of sweat coating the two bodies, I felt my own temperature increase.
I looked at Dave who was observing each of my reactions with a mysterious smile. His eyes had darkened and still looking at me, he stood up and took a step towards me. Time seemed to have stopped.
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