#thread: xander and nell

[lovesspell]

"How about if anything needs fixing you give me a call first, huh? Save you the money and the headache. I have a pretty high success rate when it comes to being handy." One of the few things his father had taught him but he pushed that thought away quickly. He was enjoying this afternoon and he didn't want to ruin it with things he worked hard not think about. "Like I said, I might just have to go chat with your maintenance person. Give 'em a hard time about fire codes and shit," he added with a laugh. It he could use his height and build for some good then he would, he wasn't above some friendly intimidation.

"Yeah of course. I mean I really just wanted to help you have a good afternoon off, doesn't matter where." He liked the idea of being able to give her an easy day after she spent all day listening to other people's problems. "About me? You sure you wanna know stuff?" He was joking mostly to diffuse how hard it felt to talk about himself but Nell had a way of making it feel a little easier. He supposed that was why she did the job she did.

"I don't have pets, no. I love dogs but I didn't want to make one be cooped up in the trailer when I'm at work. Though I have been trying to campaign or our chief to lets us have a dog at the firehouse," he admitted. He was quiet for a second but the wine had already gone straight to his head so he felt himself loosen up a bit, be a bit more willing to talk to her than just keeping to himself. "Let's see uh, I didn't always want to be a firefighter, it kind of just became the best option. Now I love it. I love being helpful, useful. Makes me feel like I turned a new leaf," he paused to sip more wine before continuing. "I used to get in a lot of trouble when I was younger. Mostly for not showing up for class, drinking and partying way more than I needed to, I uh was in a frat in college," he admitted with a bit of a blush. He hadn't even talked to Felix about his time in the frat. "Omega Psi Phi, which actually does a lot of great community work, I was just I don't know, always more interested in the parties. Anyway, I haven't talked to anyone about that in a long time,not sure why I just did," he admitted and rubbed the back of his neck. "You're just really easy to talk to."

He drank more wine before sitting back in his seat, his face already feeling hot. "What about you? Enough about me and my regrets."

"I'm thinking about getting a manual out about how to fix these things and just do it myself." She laughed softly, trying to hide any annoyance she felt at the situation. A hot apartment was not ideal. When getting dressed this morning, Eleanor didn't plan on taking off the sweater until much later in the day, only wearing a white undershirt and no other support. The cool breeze coming from the open windows made this even more obvious. Instead of running into her room and putting on a bra, she just stood there with Xander, allowing this moment to be whatever it may be. He made her feel comfortable in both her body and feelings, always listening to her the same way she did with clients, and she'd be lying if she didn't find his attention exhilarating. For a few years, she shied away from everyone's affection, even her own. The betrayal still lingered from her past relationship, stunting growth, but here she was, vulnerable and unafraid. Excitement bloomed in her chest when he looked at her. Nell had to hold herself still as he did, the sensation causing a tingling chill to crawl up her spine.

Turning to face the bottle and glasses, she took a deep breath and did her best to pour the pink liquid into the foggy cups. Somehow, despite all the heat and flustered feelings, Nell managed to not cause any spillage before looking back at him. "I am not the type of person who is going to shame someone for the giggles." She watched him closely, trying so hard not to stare, but when he lifted his shirt, she couldn't help but hold her gaze. When he walked to the thermostat, only then was she able to come back to earth. Taking a deep breath, she silently thanked the heat because it made it impossible for Xander to tell if she was blushing or not. "If it isn't fixed by tomorrow, then I will probably just have to take the day off and bother them until they fix it."

Sitting down, her fingers laced around the cold stem of the wine glass. The apartment was now at a more mild temperature, but it was hard to tell with her body so aflame. A grin on her face as he sat in front of her and held his own up. "I'm flattered." Nell felt as if she was on a rollercoaster; every time his skin brushed hers, she'd feel that same sensation of being at the top of the lift, but she had no idea when they'd drop. "Thanks for being so cool with the change of plans..." Her voice trailed off, still wanting to know more about the man before her. "So, Xander, tell me more about you. Do you have any pets? I was thinking of adopting a cat, but not sure where to start." She wanted to ask him deeper questions, but also didn't want to scare him off. Taking another sip of her drink, she did her best to keep her cool, hoping that the wine would soon give her more courage.

[readwithesha]

The Killing Lessons by Saul Black

The Killing Lessons by Saul Black is an intensely dark crime fiction novel. I picked this one up at Barnes & Noble a few months ago. The bold, black title caught my eye as I browsed. "The Killing Lessons"? I had to find out what lessons it would teach. The description on the back of the book made me buy it, but it does not do it justice. 

The book opens in a secluded farmhouse in Colorado in the dead of winter, where a single mother, Rowena, lives with her two young children, ten-year-old Nell and her brother Josh. Rowena steps out of her kitchen to find two strange men standing in her back hallway, one with a shotgun and the other with a machete. There is only one survivor. Nell, who was watching a deer near the edge of their property. A gunshot sends them both running, the deer towards the safety of the forest and Nell toward her home. She finds her mom lying at the bottom of the stairs in a pool of blood, her legs bare. She wants to cover her legs and hold her, but Rowena begs her to run, telling her they're still here and she needs to go. Nell makes it to the back door before one of the men sees her. She bolts out the door, hearing him crash to the floor when her mother grabs his ankle. It's the last of her strength. Nell runs into the frozen forest with the last of the afternoon light, the man right on her heels. 

Xander King and Paulie are the antagonists of this novel. Both are psychopathic, and both have traumatic backstories. Xander is the mastermind, the Alpha, of the duo. Paulie is just along for the ride, his innate need to please Xander causing him to get swept up in Xander's compulsive need to commit these murders. Don't get me wrong, Paulie's just as bad as him, getting off on it just the same, but Xander has the motive. His past is the key. 

Valerie Hart, a troubled San Francisco detective, obsesses over the string of brutal murders across the country. It took three years for law enforcement to connect them. The only thing linking each crime is a series of seemingly random objects left inside each victim. This case consumes her, holding her in purgatory. All she can do is think about the victims: who they were and what happened to them. It takes a toll on her mentally, emotionally, and physically. She's so determined to solve this case that everything else in her life seems to fall away. Everything except one person, Blasko, another detective who never strays far from her mind and suddenly shows back up in her life.

This novel is beefy. It contains multiple point-of-views - the killers, the victims, the detectives - and multiple subplots. This made visualizing the crimes all the more satisfying. I'm not going to lie; it took me much longer to finish this book than usual. It's dark, it's graphic, and there are a lot of threads to hang onto. But, as usual, the payoff is absolutely worth it. Black takes you into the vile minds of the killers and forces you, begrudgingly, to almost understand Xander and Paulie, even in the face of the sick brutality of their crimes. I definitely recommend you read this book, even if you have to read it in short sessions like I did. In my opinion, a book that makes you say, "Dear God" when you put it down is a book you want to read.