The Kindred and The Breed

By V.C. Turner

She caught him staring at her more than once; especially when she left to go to nursing school in the mornings, and later when she came back home again. Every day, he always had some reason for being outside. He'd be washing his car, tinkering with something in the front steps, or running outside to get the mail. He always had a reason. He always gave her a sheepish smile. He always turned away quickly.

He never spoke. He communicated through smiles, smirks and winks. That was enough.

Bonnie's heart fluttered whenever she saw him. He was six feet of dark hair, chin stubble and basically sex on legs. The t-shirts he wore hugged him almost as tightly as she wanted to hug him. His jeans, well, his jeans just made her drool.

She tried, and failed, not to gawk at him. It was his fault, really. He had no business dressing like that in public. What did he expect?

Months had passed since she'd broken up with Jeremy. Sixteen months to be exact. Their romance faded along with their teenage years. He wanted to attend art school across the country. She wanted to become a nurse and save lives right here at home; a habit she'd done for free for so many years. They grew apart with no hate left behind, but Bonnie couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness when she saw his car crest over the hill as he headed for the airport.

Kai, on the other hand, was a fantasy. She wanted to approach him, but did didn't believe that bad boys were really her type.

Elena, sure.

Caroline, possibly.

Bonnie, not really. They were too much work and she already had enough on her plate.

Midterm exams were coming up soon. She'd done well all semester, but still felt insecure about what her professors might have up their sleeves.

Driven to succeed, Bonnie focused on getting through her exams so she could relax a little.

Tuesday mornings were a little less stressful than others, with only one class in the morning and one in the afternoon. She figured she'd treat herself to a Rueben Sandwich and some curly fries from Reed's Deli before heading back to campus.

The weather was beautiful but brisk as she walked out of Reed's with a full belly and a slightly empty wallet. She deserved to treat herself, which was why a fresh brownie was wrapped and nestled in her purse.

Bonnie glanced at her watch as she climbed into her father's old Mailbu. True: The damned thing was a clunker, but she refused to part with it because it still smelled like her dad, and somehow when she drove it, she didn't miss him as much.

She turned the key and prayed. Nothing. Damn. She turned it again and a small whine followed by a sputter answered her.

Crap, she thought. She had less than a half hour before her next class. The universe just didn't want her to have a Reuben and Curly fries after all.

Bonnie banged her hands against the steering wheel. She didn't want to use magic to start it, but she probably would have no choice in the matter. She was going to be late if she didn't.

As she clutched the wheel and opened her eyes, she noticed that Kai was standing in front of her.

He sauntered over, holding a cup of coffee in his right hand.

Without saying a word, Kai touched the hood of the car, and the engine roared to life.

Kai then walked around to the open driver's side window, taking the back of his free hand and gently stroking her face. He smiled, winked, bit his lip briefly, and walked away.

Bonnie's heart thundered in her chest; the memory of his touch still making her cheek tingle.

Kai should never have done it, but the urge to caress her golden brown skin overwhelmed him. The expectant look in her sparkling green eyes reeled him in so quickly that he didn't have a chance to come to his senses and resist temptation.

She called to him without saying a word. So he touched her.

He'd been told that it happened that way sometimes with Kindred Spirits, or "Kindreds," as they came to be called in Gemini folklore. He honestly didn't believe in such things until the back of his hand came into direct contact with that lovely cheek of hers.

Then it happened: his nerves ignited. Intense warmth filled his veins, intoxicating him like warm brandy on a cold Oregon night. It radiated from his fingertips to his head and down to his toes. He tried not to shake in her presence.

Instead, Kai quickly pulled his hand away and continued walking down the street before he was overcome by another urge he couldn't control.

He somehow managed to find his car and make it home without crashing into anything on the way.

He ran up the stairs to his apartment and slammed the door. Damn it! He thought. He didn't have time for this.

Find the damned artifact and go home. It's that simple. He thought.

His father, Joshua, warned that finding his Kindred would be distracting, yet fighting the connection could kill him.

Kai didn't plan on dying for a woman he'd just met.

He needed to focus but she haunted him.

He'd been dreaming about her for weeks before arriving in the nowhere Virginia town called Mystic Falls. She existed only as a fantasy until he pulled into the parking lot across the street and feasted his eyes on the beauty in an epic battle to restart her 1978 Chevy Malibu.

His heart stopped. His world ended. She couldn't be avoided, no matter how deadly loving her or avoiding her would be.

Kai couldn't bring her into his world. It was too dangerous. The Breed were too dangerous. They would kill her as soon as they knew she mattered to him.

That's why the finding the artifact meant more than satisfying his desires.

Still, the memory of her lingered on his skin. The cold shower he'd taken didn't help. The liquor he swilled didn't fade the sensation that touching her brought to mind. He imagined caressing every inch of her heavenly body. He thought of her bare breasts rubbing against his chest. Her lips parting so he could taste her mouth and swirl his tongue around hers.

Fuck it, he thought. He figured a drive would help ease the painful erection threatening to tear through the metal zipper of his jeans.

He stuffed his bare feet into his shoes, grabbed his keys and ripped open the front door.

His mouth immediately went dry.

Bonnie Bennett stood in his doorway holding a plate of cupcakes.

Apparently, temptation made deliveries and Kai Parker was a dead man after all.

Bonnie stood outside his door, shivering on his doorstep like a lost cat in need of some milk and a warm place to stay.

This was stupid, she thought. You don't give cupcakes to a man; even if he used magic to start your dying car.

Magic.

She'd finally discovered another witch in Mystic Falls. She believed the lot of them were run out of town or were slaughtered after the Salvatores staked their claim to Mystic Falls, bringing their enemies with them over the years.

But things died down in the past several months. Elena left for medical school at Johns Hopkins. Caroline was thriving with her small staffing company, Forbes Force. Stefan conned Damon into opening up an auto repair shop in town.

For her part, Bonnie was finishing up the clinical portion of her nursing program. She possessed the grades to go through medical school, but she wanted to spend more time with patients, so moving toward becoming a nurse practitioner made more sense.

Such a smart, powerful, complicated woman shouldn't be cowering on tattered "Welcome" mat after lightly tapping on a stranger's door, but she there was – waiting on Kai Parker to answer her tiny knock.

After baking a dozen cupcakes, then slathering on chocolate icing and sprinkles, she put on her "big girl panties" and marched across the street.

Acting on impulse, she threw on a dress that Caroline picked out for her and immediately regretted displaying the clingy cotton material on such a humid night.

But she had to see him. She had to know he was real.

What he'd done to her car was supernatural. What he did to her insides was a different story.

She needed to talk to him. Had he cast some spell, or was he just as affected as she was?

She didn't anticipate the door would fly open and he'd be standing there looking like a mad man.

His eyes were dark and wild; not at all like the dreamy orbs that met hers several hours before. She quickly looked him up and down, assessing whether she should speak or run.

His expression immediately changed. His features softened and a slight smile began to form on his luscious lips. God, she'd love to just kiss those….

"Hi," Bonnie managed to choke out, still staring at his mouth and forgetting the rest of the greeting she'd rehearsed less than 15 minutes before.

"Hello," he said back, his smile widening.

"I just wanted to introduce myself and say thank you for, well, starting my car," she said, her voice still shaking.

"Well, come on in," he said, stepping aside and motioning for her to enter, "I promise I won't bite … unless you're a cupcake that is."

Bonnie chuckled at his attempt a mixing humor and flirtation at the same time. She wasn't a bold woman, but she figured Caroline was probably right about the dress.

She looked around the sparse apartment. Just table with a medium sized flat screen, a sofa and a chair. Kai must have figured she was searching for a good place to sit her tray down, so he led her to his tiny kitchen and took the tray from her.

"Help yourself," she insisted, "They're homemade."

Kai reached down, grabbing a cupcake off of the tray and bringing the sweet treat to his mouth. He then paused, giving her a skeptical look.

"You wouldn't be trying to poison me would you? I mean, my parents told me not to take food from strangers – even if they are beautiful," he flirted, his lips hovering way too closely to the icing for her to think coherently.

She finally squeaked out an answer.

"No, I wouldn't poison you before our first date," she said impulsively. The words jumped out of her mouth without a filter. Damn, she thought. She actually said what she was thinking and he was going to freak out at any moment.

She blushed almost immediately when she saw his eyebrows shoot up in shock at her bold statement. Then the familiar, sexy smile returned.

He swallowed hard before responding.

"Well," he started, "I guess I better not piss you off when I take you out tonight, huh?"

A warm and fuzzy heat filled her belly when he said that. Flirting. Bonnie was flirting, and it actually seemed to be working. She didn't know whether to be pleased or terrified. Her insides were jumping up and down.

She watched as he leaned against the counter. He pulled the cupcake to his lips, biting into the soft pastry and looking at her with what could only be described as desire. He chewed slowly. He then took his tongue and licked a dime-sized amount of chocolate frosting off the top of his cupcake as he gazed at her.

Bonnie bit her lip and tried to ignore the fact that he was seducing her with her own damned cupcake.

She cleared her throat and tried to think of a worthwhile conversation to have with this man with a chiseled chin and piercing blue/gray eyes.

"I, um, I didn't realize there were other witches in town," she told him, trying to look away from him sucking the remnants of the cupcake off his fingers.

"I didn't realize this town was in such short supply," he said, grabbing a paper towel from the counter and wiping his hands. The Kai Cupcake show, unfortunately, was over.

"Well, most of us have been run off or are in hiding. The Salvatore vampires have a tendency to get witches killed in order to protect their own interests. Stefan isn't too bad, but Damon is a complete ass. They have managed to leave me alone though," Bonnie said.

Kai's look of concern for her wellbeing shocked her. He was still a stranger, yet he seemed genuinely worried about what she'd said regarding the danger the Salvatores would be to her.

"Let me know if they do bother you, okay?" Kai insisted.

Bonnie simply nodded her head, happy that he'd be so protective when all she'd given him was a platter of cupcakes and apparently a good view of her breasts.

"So where do you want to go tonight?" he asked, breaking her out of her trance.

"Um, uh, you were serious?" Bonnie smiled back at him.

"Yep, I'm taking you out tonight – that is, if you want me to," Kai said.

"I do," she answered, "I'm just – a little nervous."

Kai slowly reached out toward her, holding his palm upward for her to take it. Before she did, he held up a finger for her to wait.

"Since we are, well, what we are, you'll know whether or not you can trust me as soon as you touch me," he said, "I'm never going to hurt you Bonnie, I promise. You'll see why in a second."

Bonnie listened to his warning. She then took his hand.

Her eyes closed instinctively as wave after wave of images flooded her mind. They started out in a jumble, but soon became clearer. She saw his life flash before her. She saw his family, especially his parents and siblings. She saw him being taken away in handcuffs for a crime he didn't commit, but for which he took the blame to save someone he cared about. She saw him moving to Mystic Falls to search for something to protect his coven.

Then she saw herself. She saw the way he looked at her – as if he were seeing the sun for the first time. She felt their powers dancing with one another and giving her a peace she never thought she could feel in this town.

One word kept repeating in her mind. It started as a whisper and soon grew louder. She'd heard it before. He Grams had mumbled it from time to time, but she barely paid attention. She'd see references to it in her family grimoires, but it never clicked until now.

Their hands slowly parted and she stared up into his eyes.

She felt it.

So did he.

He gently grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. He looked down at her lips for permission, but didn't wait for a response.

Kai kissed her softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him back. He picked her up, and sat her down on the counter so she was almost eye level. After a few heavenly minutes, he reluctantly pulled his lips away and placed his forehead against hers.

"You saw it?" he asked.

"Yes," she whispered, "All of it."

"You know what we are now," he said.

His statement sounded more like a question to her, so she answered.

"Yes. It's weird, but yes," Bonnie told him. She clasped his shirt as he clutched her waist.

"I need to hear you say it," Kai said.

"This can't be real," she said.

He stroked her hair and kissed her cheek before talking again.

"You have to say it, Bonnie," he whispered in her ear, "What are we?"

She breathed in with the word falling lightly from her lips.

"Kindred," she answered. She held onto him tightly.

"You know what that means don't you?"

She nodded her head.

"Yes," she said quietly, "It means they're coming for us."