A Fox's Tail (American Kitsune Book 2) Read online

  Lilian's short skirt and the fact that she was elevated above and in front of him, meant that Kevin was on the receiving end of a picture-perfect view of her panties; black lace with floral embroidery. And because her sexy underwear was partially see-through, he was seeing a lot more than he bargained for.

  His eyes stared at the way her panties folded as she walked. While there was a black strip hiding her treasure, he could still see the outline, and it was causing him a number of serious problems.

  The largest part of Kevin, that of the shy boy who still couldn't speak to girls very well, was embarrassed and uncomfortable by the sight. However, another part of him which seemed to be making a bit more headway these days, that of the young man undergoing puberty, was all for the view.

  Both sides of him presented a huge problem. On the one hand, he felt ready to pass out. On the other, he felt hard enough to cut diamonds. Neither sensation was very pleasant. Kevin had never suffered from a case of blue balls before, but imagined that he would be getting first-hand experience tonight.

  That old saying about how there was a first time for everything never seemed more true than that moment.

  It doesn't have to be that way, a seductive voice whispered in his ear. He banished the thought immediately. He wasn't going to use Lilian like that, and he wasn't going to betray his feelings for Lindsay either.

  “I wasn't insulting her,” Lilian defended, snapping Kevin out of his discomforting thoughts.

  “You were glaring at her the entire time she was with us,” Kevin informed the redhead succinctly, his voice growing just a touch irritated. “And several times you made poorly-veiled insults about her choice of clothing.”

  “I was trying to be helpful.”

  “You said that her clothing made her look like a dyke.”

  “And now that she knows this, she can seek to correct it by buying more fashionable outfits.”

  Kevin's lips thinned as they finally made it to the top of the stairwell. Now that the sight of Lilian's panties was gone, he could think much more analytically.

  Those panties were a serious distraction; danger in every sense of the word. Or maybe it was what they hid that presented the true danger? Something to think about for later. What was more distracting? The panties? Or the treasure hiding within them?

  A question that all men have asked at some point, he was sure.

  “I would prefer it if you didn't say things like that. Lindsay's been my friend for a long time,” Kevin said, “And she's a very kind-hearted and sweet girl. You won't find many people nicer or more accepting than her. She's never rude and she doesn't gossip. She was even being nice to you, even though you kept insulting her.”

  Lilian paused at the door as her mate scolded her. With each point he made, her shoulders flinched. By the time Kevin had finished locking up the bike, she still hadn't moved, forcing him to stand behind her, waiting.

  “Lilian?”

  “Does it really mean that much to you?” she asked, her voice incredibly soft. It held a tremor that he'd never heard before. “Does she mean that much to you?”

  “Lindsay is my friend,” Kevin told her. Sure, he wanted them to be more, but that wasn't in the cards at the moment―he was still just getting used to talking to her like a regular person. She also thought he and Lilian were an item, so it made confessing his feelings very difficult, not to mention awkward. “I dislike it when people are rude to my friends.”

  Lilian remained silent.

  “It's the same with Eric,” Kevin continued, since the redhead still wasn't speaking. “I know you don't like him. To be honest, I don't know any girls who do like him. Even Lindsay dislikes him, but she doesn't say anything because he's my best friend, regardless of how lecherous and perverted he is.”

  “I see,” Lilian sniffled a bit.

  “Lilian?”

  “I suppose… if it really means that much to you, I can try not to be so mean to that girl; since she's your friend.”

  “Thank you.” Kevin said, smiling at Lilian's back.

  “However, don't think that just because I've decided to be nice doesn't mean I'm not going to keep my eyes on her!”

  “Eh?”

  Lilian spun around, her eyes narrowed in determination and possessing a fire within them.

  “Just because she's your friend doesn't mean I'm going to trust her not to butt in on my territory. If anything, I need to keep an even closer eye on her now!”

  “And you totally lost me.”

  “I won't lose to her!”

  Kevin didn't know why, but seeing Lilian standing there, one fist planted on her hip, and the other near her face as she glared at something beyond his sight, gave him an inexplicable feeling of unease. A powerful knot formed in his stomach, one that he didn't think had anything to do with lunch. He could only hope that this wasn't some kind of premonition.

  ***

  “Hahaha!”

  “It's not funny!”

  “Kekeke!”

  “Would you stop fucking laughing!? It's not funny!”

  Chris glared down at his sister, who had fallen off the couch and was now lying on her back, her arms around her middle, laughing at him. Her feet were kicking up in the air and tears of mirth streamed down her face. If she laughed any harder, she might bust a gut, as the old phrase went. That, or she might lose control of her bladder, which would be embarrassing but so worth it right then, as far as she was concerned.

  “It is too funny!” Kiara gasped out in between bouts of uproarious laughter. “You… you… I can't believe you got beaten by a two-tails! Two-tailed kitsune are some of the weakest yōkai around, and you handed your ass to you on a silver platter by one―it's absolutely hilarious!”

  Gritting his teeth in anger, Chris glared down at his older sibling, his face burning with the humiliation and shame of defeat. Bad enough that he had lost to a two-tails, but to have that fact rubbed in by Kiara? That was just not cool.

  “This is why I didn't want to tell you! Fuck! Dammit!” Chris growled. As he let his anger get the best of him, his transformation began to slip. His canines sharpened to look like fangs, and fur started sprouting from his pores. He flinched, however, when an intense, burning pain shot through his body like liquid nitrogen, forcing the transformation to reverse. “I knew you would laugh if I told you. Calling you for help was a mistake!”

  “No,” Kiara chortled a bit more before finally managing to calm herself down. “No, it wasn't.” She climbed back onto the couch. “I'm sorry.” She didn't sound very sorry. “I just never expected you to lose to a two-tails. Everyone knows that among yōkai, two-tailed kitsune are some of the weakest of us. They lack the power, skill and control necessary to use their higher-tiered abilities, which is what makes older kitsune such formidable foes.”

  “Yeah, well, this kitsune had no trouble using those specialized powers of hers.” Chris scowled. Kiara perked up at this new piece of knowledge.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really.” The scowl deepened. “She was throwing these strange balls of light at me… and after I hurt that boy toy of hers, she went fucking ballistic and shot some kind of weird, white beam out of her tails.”

  “Oh, I see,” Kiara sighed.

  “See? What do you see?”

  “Why you lost.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Chris, you don't mess with a woman's man, regardless of whether they're kitsune, human or whatever. It just isn't done. Especially if that human just happens to be mated to a kitsune.”

  Chris frowned at his sister.

  “I don't get it.”

  “Of course you don't,” Kiara sighed again. Her brother was such an idiot.

  Chris scowled, but before he could ask his elder sibling what she was talking about, the woman in question stood up. She stretched her arms above her head and grinned down at her brother.

  “Don't worry, little brother.” She brought her hands back down and looked at him. “As your olde
r sister, it's my duty to help you out. I'll be sure to get even for you.”

  “I don't want to get even!” The scowl was back. “I want revenge!”

  “Same difference.” Kiara waved a hand dismissively in the air. “You just leave that little kitsune to me.” She turned around and crossed her arms as she looked down at the younger inu. “Now then, I think it's time you went to bed. You're still injured, after all.”

  “I'm fine! It's not that late! And I'm not that hurt!”

  “Oh really?” Kiara leaned down until she was almost invading Chris' personal space. She reached out with a hand, extended one finger… and then poked him in the torso.

  “Ouch! Goddammit! That hurt!”

  “Oh?” Poke. “I thought you weren't injured.” Poke. “Come on.” Poke. “Why are you shouting like that?” Poke. “What's the matter tough guy?”

  “Ack! Oh for fuck's sake! Stop poking me, dammit!”

  Chapter 3

  Grocery Store Stress

  Steam rose up within the room. It fogged the mirrors, creating swirling eddies of white streamers that drifted lazily about the enclosed space. It caused precipitation to coalesce on the walls and ceiling, forming large droplets of clear liquid that periodically fell to the floor, splashing against the tile.

  Kevin Swift stood in the shower, his shoulders hunched and his hands pressed flat against the wall, fingers splayed. The hot spray from the shower hit his back, plastering his messy blond hair to his head and face. The muscles in his back relaxed, the tension slowly easing as the hot water massaged the aches and pains out of his body, dissolving them with calm efficiency. The young man let out a quiet groan as he allowed himself this tiny reprieve before life caught up to him. The likelihood that this shower would be all the peace and quiet he had today was very strong.

  He eventually turned off the water, his brief period of rest finished. Not long after that he made his way into the kitchen, dressed in a pair of form-fitting black jeans and a dark red t-shirt. As his bare feet padded along the hallway, he noticed something unusual―or to be more precise, the lack of something he’d grown to expect.

  There was no scent wafting on the air. Ever since Lilian had taken up residence with him, he would notice the scent of her cooking long before he actually reached the kitchen. That was missing this morning. How strange.

  The carpeted floor changed to tile as he entered the kitchen, and he hissed as the coldness of the floor jolted him awake. He adapted quickly, and began searching for the fox-girl. It didn't take long. She wasn't that hard to spot.

  That day Lilith was dressed in blue jean shorts that were, as always, cut immodestly, riding so high up her legs that they just barely covered her perfect, heart-shaped butt. On her feet were the gladiator sandals that he had bought for her during their first shopping excursion. She must have loved those sandals, as she wore them more than any of her other footwear.

  He couldn’t see her shirt, or at least not fully. The only thing he noticed was that it possessed a lot of color, but he was unable to make out the rest.

  Lilian was bent over to the point where, aside from her derrière, the only thing he could really see was the crown of her head, and the long tresses of hair that trailed down to the floor. Which would also explain why he was so focused on the lower half of her attire. It had absolutely nothing to do with her marvelously crafted buttocks, or her impossibly long and sexy legs. Really.

  What was she doing bent over? Kevin didn't really know, but she appeared to be looking through the fridge. The refrigerator door was open and her head was poking inside of it.

  After several seconds of standing there, Kevin realized with startling clarity that he was ogling Lilian's backside.

  In order to hide the growing feeling of someone taking a blowtorch to his face, he coughed into his hand.

  “What are you doing, Lilian?”

  “Eep!”

  Kevin blinked as Lilian squeaked in surprise. He blinked again when she tried to raise her head, only to end up smacking it on a shelf in the fridge. Lilian rubbed the back of her cranium, which was now sporting an obscenely large bump.

  “Ow.”

  “Lilian?”

  “Oh, Beloved!” Lilian seemed to forget about her injury and looked at him with a fixed smile on her face, like she was only smiling for his sake and not because she was actually happy. He wondered if something was wrong. “How was your shower?”

  “Uh, fine.” Kevin looked at the normally peppy redhead oddly before shrugging. This girl always acted strangely, so why should now be any different? “What exactly are you doing?”

  “What am I doing?” Lilian parroted the question―was she stalling? “I was, uh, that is to say I…” Lilian scratched the back of her head. “… I was trying to make breakfast.”

  “Trying?” Kevin raised an eyebrow. “I'm not sure I follow. Don't you usually have breakfast done by now? Is something wrong? Do you need help?”

  It had been a while since Kevin had cooked breakfast. Lilian hadn’t allowed him to, something about it being her duty as his mate or some weird excuse like that. He didn’t get it, but hadn’t felt like arguing the point and just let the girl have her kitchen time.

  “All of the ingredients I had in my Extra Dimensional Storage Space have been used up,” she admitted, then gestured toward the fridge. “I was trying to find what I needed to make a Greek frittata, but you don't have any of the ingredients necessary.” Her face took on a thoughtful expression. “Actually, you don't have much of anything in your fridge. I’m kinda surprised.”

  “Well, I haven't had time to do much shopping since you came along,” Kevin told her, feeling a little sheepish. After saying this, his mind registered the rest of what she’d said, and he looked at her in surprise. “Wait, so you're saying that all the food you made was from your storage space thingy?”

  “Extra Dimensional Storage Space,” Lilian corrected him. “And of course that's where everything came from. You didn’t have a lot of the ingredients that I needed to make our meals.”

  That actually made a lot of sense. Kevin had often wondered where she got all the ingredients to make the many different dishes in her repertoire. He knew for a fact that he didn't have foods like lamb, feta or anything of the sort in his fridge. All he had was basic food stuff; chicken, salmon and vegetables.

  “But wait.” Kevin furrowed his brow as another thought occurred to him. “Are you telling me that you have all this food in your storage space, but you don't have a single article of clothing in there?”

  “I do have a few clothes in there.” Upon Lilian's admittance, Kevin's right eye twitched. If she had clothes, then why did he have to buy all of those outfits for her? And why hadn't she worn them when she had first revealed herself as a kitsune? That would have made things so much easier for him. “But it's all lingerie.”

  The eye twitching increased in intensity, and it brought friends.

  His left eye began twitching as well.

  “You mean to tell me that the only kind of clothing in your storage space thingy is lingerie, and yet you have what amounted to nearly two weeks worth of food in there?”

  “Extra Dimensional Storage Space.”

  “Whatever. Just answer the question.”

  “Why answer a question that you already know the answer to?”

  Kevin's hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white. His arms began shaking, and a rather large vein pulsed prominently on his forehead. He felt like he was going to explode.

  Easy does it, Kevin. You need to keep calm. Yes, just remain calm…

  “Can you at least tell me why the only thing you seem to be carrying around is food and lingerie?” he asked calmly.

  “Don't forget my Dungeon Master's Guide and the Player's Handbook.”

  “Right, and those. Why are those the only items you’re carrying?”

  “That's easy. It's because…”

  “I swear to God that if you mention The Author one more time
, I'll… I'll…” Kevin scrunched up his face in thought for several seconds, before scratching his head as he realized something. “Well, I honestly don't know what I'll do, but it won't be nice,” he quickly added.

  Lilian looked at him with a blank expression for a full second before it turned sly and mischievous. It was enough to remind him that this girl was a kitsune; a creature that had pranking in her blood. Kevin suddenly felt dread rise up in the pit of his stomach.

  “Are you saying you'll punish me if I mention The Author?”

  “Uh, well, I…”

  “Would you pull down my shorts, bend me over this table and smack my bum until I scream out your name in delirious ecstasy?”

  Kevin, rather than getting embarrassed and turning into a blushing, stuttering mess, deadpanned. “For some reason, I don't think you would consider that a punishment.”

  “Oh poo.” Lilian pouted. She perked up a second later. “How about you…”

  “I won't be tying you to the bed, shoving a ball gag in your mouth, and having my wicked way with you until you scream yourself hoarse either.”

  “You're such a spoilsport, Beloved.”

  “Yeah, I'm a spoilsport.” Kevin rolled his eyes. For some reason, he felt very out of character in that moment. He wondered if he was getting desensitized to the things this girl said. “And now that we've apparently finished this pointless conversation, let's get going.”

  Lilian stopped pouting, his words causing her to look at him with adorable inquisitiveness. “Where are we going?”

  “To the grocery store, where else?”

  ***

  Kiara growled as she looked in the small, dingy fridge. Not only was the exterior covered in grime and rust and stains, but it looked like someone had taken raw meat, stuck some C4 on it, and let it blow up all over the interior, too. Blood stains covered the walls and racks. Fungus grew on what little food could be found inside. Kiara swore she actually saw a piece of fungus-covered bread squirming around as if it were a living, breathing entity.