Craved (16 page)

“Ladies,” Ian’s smooth voice said from
behind me. I looked at Fiona first and saw that she was grinning
like a young girl who was face to face with her crush. I rolled my
eyes and turned to face Ian, who was smiling just as broadly.
Ugh!

“Care to dance?” Ian asked.

“No, thank you,” I said with a bit of
attitude. It wasn’t his fault that Aiden had stood me up but did he
have to be so gorgeous and flirtatious?

“I was asking your lovely friend,” he
said with a grin. An instant flush colored my cheeks from my
embarrassment, but I noticed the interest in his eyes when he
looked at me.

“I’d love to,” Fiona said and braided
her arm through his. She pulled him toward the dance floor and I
jealously watched. I pulled my cell phone out of my small purse and
dialed Aiden but after three rings it went to voicemail. I flipped
it shut and threw it back into my purse, emptying my champagne
glass.

A half hour later, Fiona was still
gliding with Ian on the dance floor while I occupied a chair at an
empty table. I was on my third glass of champagne when Micah
interrupted my pity party.

“Having a good night?”

I looked up from where my head rested
on my hand and said, “Having a blast, you?”

He laughed at my sarcasm. “These
things aren’t really my thing but I’m expected to attend, being the
alpha’s son.” His tone sounded bored and a tad angry. I knew Micah
loved his pack, but he hated the politics that came with it. Wyatt
was the next in line to become alpha but if anything happened to
him, Micah would become alpha, something he didn’t want.

“Your father’s here?”

“Yeah, somewhere,” Micah said. An
awkward silence settled between us, neither of us entirely sure how
to be around each other yet. I felt better though, with Micah by my
side.

“You wouldn’t want to dance, would
you?” he asked, shocking me.

“Won’t your girlfriend be pissed if we
do?”

“No,” he said, unwilling to elaborate
further.

I shrugged my shoulders, unable to
find a reason why we couldn’t dance together. We had both moved on
and had other people in our lives and I should have at least one
dance before I went home and crawled into my bed.

“Sure,” I said, rising up.

We stepped onto the dance floor, Micah
offering his hand. I grasped it and he placed his other hand on the
small of my back. The heat that radiated off him soaked into my
skin and a shiver tickled my spine. For reasons unknown, weres
always ran hotter than other species. Aiden’s temperature was
always lukewarm, not ice cold like a lot of the myths claimed.
Vampires only turned ice cold when they were starving and it was
dangerous to be around a starving vampire.

We moved with the crowd, in a sort of
waltz. I focused on the movements of my feet instead of the
closeness of our bodies or the familiar woodsy scent that clung to
Micah. I was very aware that my cleavage was propped up and on
display, thanks to Aiden’s choice of dress. I also noticed that
Micah’s eyes appreciated the view. I kept my eyes on my
surroundings, unable to make eye contact with the man who had
broken me.

The feel of his hand on my lower back,
though, kept interrupting my thoughts. I mentally shook the
feelings and searched out Fiona and Ian. They had been dancing for
a while now and I spotted them directly across from where we were.
Fiona smiled up at him like he was the cat’s meow, while he held
onto her with his own devilish grin. It was strange that I hadn’t
met him before. If he lived in Flora, I should have met him at
least once. I knew a lot of the vampires because of Aiden, but I’d
never seen Ian before or even heard Aiden mention his
name.

Micah pulled me closer, pressing my
body into his. I looked up and noticed that the music had changed
to a slow melody. His strong arms enveloped my body, leaving no
space between us. Familiar feelings that I thought I had erased
completely crept within me like a cold breeze against my skin. We
danced for a few seconds before I realized that it wasn’t right.
Micah had no business holding me like he was and if I weren’t
smart, I’d end up getting hurt all over again. I pushed away from
him and without a word, walked off.

Someone grabbed my wrist and I whirled
around, ready to face Micah. Instead, I found Ian was my captor. He
pulled me to him and slid an arm around my waist.

“You owe me a dance,” he said quietly.
Deciding that this was the perfect opportunity to question him, I
began to move with him. I noticed Micah’s confused and angry
features watching me. He was still standing at the spot I’d left
him and once he saw me with Ian, he angrily walked off the dance
floor. What the hell was wrong with him?

I didn’t appreciate the way Ian
watched me like I was something to be devoured. Aiden was going to
get an earful the next time I saw him. There was something about
him that made me nervous. It could be chalked up to how gorgeous he
was but I didn’t think that was it. There was something in his
eyes, like an inside joke I wasn’t getting.

“How long have you known Aiden?” I
asked.

“Almost a hundred years,” he
smiled.

“What kept him tonight?”

“Something at Vain,” he
said with indifference. I was hoping this question would have let
something slip but he seemed confident in what he told me. I found
it odd that Aiden hadn’t called me himself to let me know that
his
friend
would
be escorting me to the Gala.

Ian ran his hand up and down the
length of my back, sending gooseflesh to break out on my skin. He
leaned down so that his lips were close enough to my skin that I
could feel his breath. My heart raced at the intimacy of our
closeness but I didn’t pull away, simply because I wanted to see if
I could find out anything useful.

“Aiden is a fool to let you out of his
sight,” Ian said, his voice thick with either hunger or lust, or
both. His lips pressed against my neck and I closed my eyes at the
rush of desire that ran wild through my body. He flicked his tongue
against my flesh and I visibly shivered, unable to regain my wits.
Before I could stop him, his lips were on mine. Common sense
finally pushed through the fog of attraction and slapped me silly.
I broke the kiss and slapped him across the face, hard. He didn’t
react the way I thought a vampire would; instead, he laughed and
gave me his devilish glare.

“Aiden will know about this,” I said,
warning him.

“I hope so.”

I caught Fiona’s gaze as I
made my way off the dance floor and her shock and hurt were
apparent. She had fallen for Ian’s smooth talking and had just seen
him kiss me. She ran away when she saw that I was coming toward
her.
Well shit, could the night get any
worse?

I was so over the entire evening, I
retrieved my purse and headed for the path that led out of the
woods. If I thought I could leave without a problem, I was sorely
mistaken. Micah stepped out of the woods and onto the path,
blocking my way. He had acted strange on the dance floor and
whatever he had to say, I did not want to hear.

“I thought you were with Aiden,” he
said. I took a deep breath so that I could regain my composure
because I didn’t want to cause a scene.

“I
am
with Aiden,” I said, pausing.
“And you’re with someone also.”

“What Jamie and I have is…” He stopped
to think. “It’s more of an arrangement than love. It’s not what we
had, Gwen. If you’re with Aiden, then why did you kiss the new
guy?” He arched an eyebrow as if reprimanding a child, although I
doubted whether or not he cared if I cheated on Aiden. I shook my
head and crossed my arms. I so did not need this crap right
now.

“That sucks…about you and Jamie I
mean, and I didn’t kiss the new guy, he kissed me. Your detective
skills should have made you also notice that I slapped him,” I
said, annoyed.

“I did see that.” Micah smiled;
suddenly quiet for a few seconds, enough to annoy me even
more.

“What’s going on, Micah?” He looked up
from the beaten path and hesitated to speak. I widened my eyes as a
sign to “get on with it.”

“I miss you, Gwen. I know it’s my
fault that we’re not together but that doesn’t mean I don’t still
love you,” he said nervously. Most girls would have loved to hear
the man who broke their heart say that they regretted ever doing
so, but at the moment, I was not in the mood to ride the emotional
rollercoaster with Micah. I had wondered what I would do if Micah
wanted me back. The only emotion I felt was anger. Aiden’s face
flashed through my mind and I knew that he was the one I should
have been with, not Micah. Werewolves were not the committed type
to any other species except other werewolves. It didn’t matter that
Micah thought he still loved me, it couldn’t work and I wouldn’t
chase that fairytale again.

“Micah…” I began.

“Don’t,” he interrupted. “Don’t say
anything, just know that I still love you, Gwen, and being with
Jamie won’t change that.” He gave me a small smile and disappeared
into the woods, leaving me utterly speechless.

Fiona wasn’t home when I arrived back at our
apartment. I tried her cell but my call went unanswered. I tried
Aiden again but he didn’t pick up either. It seemed everyone I
wanted to talk to was ignoring me and the people I didn’t want to
talk to were admitting stuff I didn’t want to hear.

I carefully hung my dress up and
crawled into bed. It was only eleven o’clock but my night hadn’t
been the magically romantic evening I had planned on. I let myself
think about what Micah said for a couple minutes and then
extinguished my intrigue. We both knew that our relationship was a
losing battle; our feelings for each other wouldn’t change that. If
my life were a movie, Micah would have chosen me over his duties.
Sadly, no one’s life turned out like the movies. I felt sorry for
Micah, being in a relationship that was more out of convenience
than love all because his father expected him to produce purebred
were children. The more I thought about what Micah was going
through, the more I realized that my life and heartache hadn’t been
all that bad. Sure, it sucked that the first guy I really loved had
to kick me to the curb for being the wrong species, but at least I
didn’t have to marry and have children with someone I didn’t
love.

A fast moving shadow brought me out of
my thoughts. I sat up quickly and looked where I had seen the
movement in my peripheral. Nothing and no one was there. Easing
myself out of my bed, I tiptoed toward my bedroom door. I hadn’t
heard the front door, but maybe Fiona had come home while I was
lost in my thoughts.

“Fiona?” I called into the hallway.
Her bedroom door was wide open and the light was shut off. Taking a
deep breath, I stepped out of my bedroom and walked toward the
kitchen. The only light came from over the stove and a lamp I’d
left on in the living room; both rooms were empty. Confused and a
bit frightened, I made my way back to my room. As soon as I stepped
into my room, a shadow passed behind me. I felt it more than saw
it. I whirled around, backing up toward my bed as I watched my
door.

“Hello?” I said to the
emptiness.

No answer.

I don’t know if really
wanted one but it seemed like every time someone was scared in a
home they always called out “hello” only to be terrified if they
actually got a response. I knew I was home alone but I also knew
that
something
else was with me. Aura meowed and nearly gave me a heart
attack. When I turned to see what my cat wanted, I noticed she was
pawing at the air with a cocked head.

Chills broke out along my skin as I
watched Aura interact with something I couldn’t see. The ceiling
light flickered lazily and then more urgently, eventually going
completely out, leaving me in darkness. My head felt full and an
instant headache ricocheted through my head, sending me to my
knees. I grasped both sides of my head with my hands and tried to
get a grip on what was happening, but the pain demanded my
attention.

Icy cold pin-pricks caressed my skin
and I fell onto my side from the surprise. Dizziness overwhelmed my
senses and I could tell I was close to passing out. I tried to
conjure the telephone, but the agony wouldn’t allow me to focus on
my magic.