Who Needs Superheroes?

Chapter 17: Identity Revealed

I stared at him with incredulity.

"No. Fear, what are we going to do?" He shrugged and started to spread a thin layer of caviar on a slice of bread. Slowly, with serene calmness, set the knife down and took a bite out of the delicacy. When he had finally swallowed, he addressed me.

"You're going to sit here, finish dinner, and then go to bed." His shoulders straightened back and he went back to his caviar.

"You can't be serious," I muttered in a flat voice. Taking a bit of his prepared food, he waited until he had swallowed to speak again. He then turned and spoke with a serious tone.

"I don't want you anywhere near Battlesword; he's too dangerous. I'll deal with him and when I'm done, I will come talk to you, okay?" He looked at me pleadingly and I could not help but to give in.

"Fine. I'm not even hungry. Can we go now?" He appeared a bit disgruntled to move away from his food, but eventually, he set the slice of bread down and stood up, walking over to where I sat. I arose from my seat and sensed Fear pulling my chair back, allowing me room to move away from the table. I smiled politely at him and he held out his arm for me. Without hesitation, I took it, holding on as if it was a life line.

We walked back the way I came in, our steps were leisurely, despite the tension in the air. Neither of us spoke a single word, a silent agreement about us. Finally, we stopped at the entrance to my room and Fear retracted his arm, causing a slight internal longing at the loss of contact. He faced me, shoulders back and he stared at me as though he was looking through me; every secret, every thought out in the open.

My hand wandered up to his jaw, fingers running along the strong line. Fear's breathing stopped. Slowly, as if trying to approach a wounded fawn, he leaned his head down, eyes staring directly at my mouth. Involuntarily, I felt my tongue sweep across my lips, wetting them for what was about to happen. Centimeter by centimeter, and with ever patient delicacy, he closed the distance between us.

In that moment, we shared everything: our breaths, our strength, our weaknesses. Light stubble brushed across my jaw and soon, I felt his angular nose nuzzle my own. I sucked in a breath, the air smelling of him. Leaning just another millimeter, his lips met mine, a slight tickle as skin met skin, and with a sudden energy, he pressed against me, capturing my mouth with his. One second, the kiss was gentle, a new love, and the next, it was a burning passion, a love lost that had finally been found.

His hands reached up, intertwining themselves with my hair, holding me in place. My own fingers mimicked his action, sifting through his dark, silky locks. His mouth moved, sucking and blowing life into me. I let him lead, not very experienced in the department myself, and allowed him to dominate the kiss, but soon, I too gained a newfound confidence and felt myself kissing back, devouring every last bit of power he gave me.

Out of breath, we finally broke apart, staring at each other with hunger in our eyes and heavy breaths. Without a word spoken, Fear reached up to his own face and peeled the ever present black sheen away from his face.

I froze, gaping up at him and trying to take in every detail.

The man that stood before me was the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on. His black hair and strong jaw accentuated his gorgeous cheek bones. He looked strong and almost predatory, but confident and charming. This man could win over any woman of his choosing, though he could not have been over 20. I recognized him. I had seen him everywhere in the last few years. Hell, I had even literally run into him only a week ago, not ever suspecting him to be the infamous Fear. But here he was before me. His green eyes pierced into me, searching for a response. 

"Nikolai Volkov."

He nodded slowly. "Yes." I suddenly detected a faint accent, that I could not place for the life of me.

"You can't be," I said in almost a whisper.

"Why not?"

"Because you don't even live in Justice!" I took a step back, gaping at him, taking in every bit of him. I had waited so long for this moment, but a small part of me wished it had never happened.

Of course, I knew all about Nikolai's public image - the sexy entrepreneur who had started his vast oil business at the young age of eighteen through "fortunate keen instincts" (or so the talk of the girls at school said) - but as he stood before me, a nervous expression etched across his face, I realized that I knew nothing about him at all. He was a stranger.

Noticing my distress, he raised his hand, gentle and outreached in my direction, but I took yet another step away. "Eby-"

Holding up a hand, I cut off whatever reassuring message I was sure he had. "No."

He tried again. "Eby, I'm the same person I was two seconds ago." His eyes were pleading, his brow furrowed.

"I don't know you." I reached up a hand, wanting to run my fingers through the strands, but remembered my updo. Instead, I tucked my shaky hands underneath my arms across my chest. I had been so naive.

"Who were you expecting me to be?"

"I don't know. Anyone, but Nikolai! He's - you're - just another rich, prettyboy."

"It's me," he said, as if that single statement would clear everything up.

"I don't know anything about you other than what I've read in tabloids and the small bits of information you occasionally drop on me. I don't know your favorite color, your childhood pet, or even how old you are!" The exasperation in my voice was evident and he closed the distance between us, taking my unsteady hands into his firm ones. I looked up at him, his intense eyes reflected back to mine.

"Pink. Hugo. 20." He answered in an exasperated tone.

"And I thought you hated pink."

"It's growing on me." His lips turned up at the corners and the tension seemed to dissipate. I let out a breath I had been holding. "See, you do know me. Nikolai, he isn't really me. He's my persona in the human world. I'm still the same Fear, only, with a different name. I may have been born with the name Nikolai, but I've always been Fear."

"I think I just need some time to absorb everything. If you haven't noticed, this is a bit of a shock to me." He nodded solemnly, swiping a hand in front of my door. It opened a second later. Craning his neck down, he placed a chaste kiss on my forehead and turned away, retreating down the hall.

I stood there watching him walk away, his movements so graceful and confident. I may not have known what his face looked like, but I knew him more than I thought. This was the man that had saved me from those rapists that first night, the man who had warned me of the evils that lurked in my hometown, the man who had taken care of me when I was swimming with alcohol.

I may not have known minor details about his life, but I knew that he would always be there for me when I needed him most.

At least, I hoped he would.