Counterpart (Succubi & Incubi Assn.) (6 page)

“I'm telling Tristan that your faith in him is dying.” She turned
her back to the crowd and leaned forward on the bar. “Speaking of, how is being
around him?”

Like a rocky road.

I shrugged. “It can only get better, right? Jamie asked about it
this morning. She said that people will start talking if I don't keep it to a
minimum.”

“Well it's not like you can help it. The man's gorgeous. I've always
wondered what his energy tasted like. Did you find out last night?”

I wish.
“I had the slightest taste. It
was sweet but had a rough edge to it. It could’ve been because we were
intoxicated though. Too bad he passed out.”

Lie. Lie. Lie.

Then again, it's not a full lie.

“Ouch, that's got to be a blast to the ego. I still can't believe
Tori left last night.”

“I know, right? Oh well.” Tori had managed to ditch Tristan's
birthday drinks last night, saying something about how her parent's wanted her
home early. Who would have thought a twenty year old had a curfew at
10PM
? It was obvious that Tristan was
disappointed that his girlfriend was leaving, so it was only fair that I put
his mood back up—among other things.

Little thing led to another little thing, and tada, we woke up in my
bed this morning.

As if she was summoned, blonde hair worked itself through the crowd.
It was like spotting a cockroach in the middle of an ant fest. Tori was
definitely one of those people that loved the spotlight and it was no different
now. She was wearing one of those short, tight dresses that seemed to only like
to cover her ass—barely—and she wasn't the only one. Three of her friends were
each in their own version of these dresses, and all I could do was shake my
head.

“Here you go, ladies.” Stuart passed over our drinks and a couple of
beers for later.

“Thanks, Stu. I'll give you a text when I go shopping. I need to
find a new shirt to match those leather pants I got the other day,” Melinda
stated.

Here we go.

At the mention of shopping, Melinda and Stuart were straight into
their conversation about what types of shirts would fit those pants, and then they
were talking about a new store that was opening. I didn't join, only because I
wasn't too fussed about what I wore, and because I tend to have bad taste when
it comes to shopping, so I just left it to them. They're like my closet people.

Once Mel was finished arranging a time and date with Stu, I nodded
my head in Tori’s direction when she turned around. “Does that look like
someone who wants to wait until marriage to have sex?”

My eyes never left the Malibu Barbie, and right now, she was
surrounded by a group of guys that didn't look at all familiar. And that's
coming from me. If I didn't know them, then there was a good chance they
weren't from around here. Tori twirled a piece of her hair around her perfectly
manicured finger, her mouth was moving, but I wasn't a certified lip reader.

Melinda loved to play this game though.

“Like, I just got my roots done today, and oh, look at my new nails.
I bet you guys have like lovely nail salons over in like Santa Barbra,” Melinda
said in a high pitched voice, mimicking every movement Tori was making.

I scoffed a laugh. “It’s weird how spot on you get on the voice
thing.”

“Oh, like I know,” Melinda spoke in the same voice, flicking a piece
of her hair over her shoulder. “I've like spent too much time around the bimbo
that I've got it down to the right note.”

I cringed. “Please, stop that now. It's kind of freaking me out.”

“Sorry,” she said in her normal voice, “it's just fun mocking her.”

“I bet.” I drank back the glass of vodka and lime and picked up my
beer bottle. “Come on, the matches are going to start soon.”

We pushed through the crowd and I paused when we were a few feet
away from Barbie and her admirers. Annoyance was the first thing I had. I
wasn't in the mood to see Tristan getting distracted by his girlfriend flirting
with other guys, so I did the one thing I shouldn't do in an open crowd.

My hand brushed the softest touch against one of the males that had
their attention on her. I felt the demon inside me awaken and she released the
slightest scent through my connection with his cashmere sweater. I didn't watch
Tori’s face as I walked to my destination. I didn't even have my attention on
anything but where I was going, but I knew that it worked.

“Um, hello,” I heard her say.

I felt eyes on me instantly, traveling every inch of my body. I
could see their thoughts as they pictured me in ways they wouldn't even picture
their own girlfriends in. It was satisfying—both mentally and physically. It
only pleased every inch of me.

“You better hope that doesn't get you in trouble,” Melinda muttered.

It only made my satisfaction grow and we passed more people until we
were right beside the cage. Noah was on the other side, his own crowd of girls
standing close and attempting to touch any part of his sculpted body. It was a
pity he wouldn't put himself in the ring. He trained with Tristan, but he was
focused on not 'breaking the 6 foot 3 inches of exterior' as he put it.
Admittedly, it was a pretty good exterior, but I just think he's too scared to
put it inside the ring.

He grinned and waved towards Melinda and I just as the music cut,
and the DJ made his normal announcement. “Ladies and Gentleman, are you all
ready for the showdown?” The crowed roared. “I see a lot of campus students in
the crowd supporting one of their own. But let's not get too far ahead of
ourselves. I see a lot of supporters from Santa Barbra out there. Welcome.
Welcome. I'm off for the next couple of hours, but I will be back after the
main event.” He cut the mic and walked out of the DJ Booth, joining the crowd
as everyone started to focus on the announcer.

“Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the final event before break. We
have a lot of good matches for you tonight, including the big main event
between Tristan James and Preston Masters.” The crowd roared to life again,
this time sending a wave of adrenaline through the air. “Remember the bets are
open until five minutes before the big match, so get in there. Let's not waste
any time. Let's start the first match!”

The first fight was between a couple of amateurs that attended our
college. I watched and sipped on my beer as they grappled each other and
attempted to pull the other to the mat. They weren't as entertaining as I would
have hoped, but they seemed to entertain the crowd enough.

One thing I loved about being here was the fact that everyone made
the atmosphere feel like a craze-fest. Everyone was alive, cheering, yelling.
Adrenaline pounded through everyone's veins as they rooted for their preferred
fighter.

The next fight was slightly better, a few fist punches here and
there, but still, they weren't as great as I wanted. Maybe I just had high
standards. Melinda enjoyed this one though, commenting on how sexy they would
be after the match. Sweaty bodies seemed to make her hot and bothered in the
mass of two minutes, and half the time I was on the same page as her. But
tonight, I was kind of just anxiously waiting to see Tristan. I loved watching
him fight. I'd watched him train days on end before a match, and I'd even be
there to say things to him that would make him angry. After a while, he'd tell
me that what I was saying wasn't even close to angering him, by then I'd just
give up and do my own things—like watch him, which kind of makes me sound like
a freak, or a stalker.

I felt the slightest brush along my backside and I turned to see a
boyish smile pointed down at me. I recognized this guy instantly as one of the
ones that had surrounded himself with his group of boys around Tori. He also
happened to be the one I touched.
Sandy
blonde hair was spiked up in every direction, and a few pieces hung
over his light gray eyes. He had a strong build about him, and the gray sweater
only made him even more attractive. I could actually see why Tori found herself
intrigued. But the way his eyes darkened at the sight of me not only made me
sigh, but it also told me my lust was still on him.

Fuck.

“Dude, don't even bother,” I said, turning back around to face the
ring. The fight that was on had finished and the winner was doing his
celebratory walk inside the ring.

My hand gripped around the neck of my beer when I felt his hands
slide onto my hips. “I said don't bother.” I flashed around and pressed my
hands on his chest, pushing him away.

He stumbled back a step and a small group of people around us flicked
their eyes in our direction. The guys grin had vanished and his lips pressed in
a firm line, but he wasn't backing down. I don't even think he noticed the
stares we were starting to get.

“And now ladies and gentleman, bets are closed and it's time for the
main event!” I heard the announcer call out behind me.

The male in front of me stepped forward, not intending to back down.
His hands found my hips again and I stiffened as he pressed his body fully
against mine. “You're saying no, but your body is saying something completely
different.”

Yeah, it was saying 'oh, please, lets take this outside and I will
drain every piece of you, bitch'.

“Dude, back the fuck off,” Melinda hissed.

“I got this, Mel.” I stared straight into his eyes. His pupils
dilated and I only moved closer, smelling the beer in his breath. “Get your
hands off me, or I'll rip them off myself.”

The announcer brought
Preston
into the ring and the crowd cheered for him. I wanted to get rid of
this guy before Tristan came out. If that didn't happen, Tristan could be very
protective and do something stupid.

And here I thought Tori would be the distraction.

It was like I wasn't saying anything to this guy, he was completely
unresponsive. He was acting exactly like Ryan had this morning. His eyes had
fully dilated into black orbs and I was starting to think it was because his
hands were touching me. But it couldn't be—well it shouldn't be. Only skin to
skin contact would make this effect. Plus my demon was controllable after I had
received energy.

It really only left one thing.

Someone was expanding his lust.

I looked over to Melinda. The glare on her face and the fact that
she was ready to punch him was enough for me to know it wasn't her. My eyes
scanned the crowd, trying to search for the source of who could be doing this.
I wasn't getting much luck. I couldn't even feel their presence in the room.
And the amount of hands waving in the air, followed by people moving
continuously, I wasn't going to get anywhere.

In the next few moments, three things happened. The grip on my hips
tightened, causing me to bring my attention back to the guy in front of me. He
pulled my body closer to his. My hand twirled the bottle around so I had a good
grip on it, and as I was about to smash it in his face, he was suddenly gone.

“You ever touch her again, and I will make sure you don't live to
regret it.” Tristan held the guy by the collar of his neck. He was much taller
than him—by a good half a foot—and definitely had more muscle mass then the
guy.

I should've known this was going to happen—oh wait, I did. I just
wanted to slap my forehead at my own stupidity. Pushing your lust into an open
crowd was definitely going to lead to trouble.

Then it got worse.

“If I ever touch her dude,” the unknown guy stared directly into
Tristan's eyes, a smirk pulled across his lips, “you’ll be the first to know
what it was like.”

Now I just want to slap my forehead for
his
stupidity.

Wrong move.

Tristan's fist flew through the air faster than I could say
anything, and it landed right on the cheek of the guy who then fell to the
ground. That turned out to be a bad move too. A group of guys came storming
through the crowd, their sights set on Tristan as he knocked down their friend.
They didn't get far before people blocked their paths, Noah being one of them.

All of a sudden it was brawl. Screams broke out as everyone ducked
for cover, not wanting to get hit by the rampage that was starting to grow
rapidly. Fists were flown. I saw security coming from all sides of the crowd.

Tristan seemed oblivious to it all though. His fists were clenched
at his sides and he continued staring down at the guy who was cradling his face
with one hand, staring wide-eyed at Tristan. I even noticed his eyes had gone
back to their normal color.

I wanted to go over to Tristan, tell him it was okay. The muscles in
his back were tight. The veins in his forearms protruded from his skin. I
always liked when a guy got angry. Tristan was definitely someone who could
make that emotion look sexy.

I can't believe all I’m doing is admire.

I shook my head from my thoughts. I felt eyes burn into my skin and
I looked over to Melinda. A single brow was cocked, and she had the most
emotionless expression playing on her face. She shook her head slowly, sighing
as she leaned her hip against the side of the ring.