Pucker Up (A Damsels of Distress Novel) (31 page)

dragon.” A smirk played across his face

as he continued. “He’s real nice,

especially when you scratch him behind

his ears. Go ahead.”

“No!” The others shouted as

Kyle reached his hand out to pet Sparky.

He yanked it back, narrowly missing the

sparks hissed from the dragon’s mouth.

Ivy patted a spot next to her on

the bed. “Come here, boy.”

Sparky glared at the guys as he

strutted past, growling at them. He

hopped on the bed, nudged her arm and

curled up next to her side. She gently

stroked his head until he closed his eyes

and drifted off to sleep. A smile tugged

at her lips as she gazed down on the

sleeping dragon. The amount of trust he

had for her warmed her heart.

The guys left, leaving her alone

with Athena. She eyed Ivy for a moment

before sitting at the foot of her bed. “I

thought you said you weren’t interested

in him.”

“Who, Kyle? I told you he

cheated on me. I’m not going—“

“No, not him. Garren. You’ve

been all over him since you got shot.”

She stared at the woman. Was

she serious? “What are you talking

about? I’ve been unconscious for…

What time is it?” She glanced around

until she spotted the alarm clock across

the room. Glowing red numbers told her

the time was eleven AM. “I was out for

ten hours. Wait, is that right? It feels like

it should be later than that.” Maybe one

of the potions Thane gave her put her in

a really deep sleep for a while.

“No, it’s right. Except it’s

Saturday. You’ve been out of it for

thirty-four hours.” While Ivy tried to

reconcile the missing hours in her head,

Athena continued. “And whenever

Garren wasn’t right next to you, you’d

whimper and throw a magical temper

tantrum. Talk about clingy.”

None of that sounded familiar.

She noticed her anxiety increased when

he left, but whimpering? She didn’t

whimper, especially over a guy.

“While I can’t explain what I did

while I was
unconscious
, you don’t see

him here now, do you? No. Garren’s the

last person I’d want taking care of me

and I’m sure he feels the same. So, don’t

worry. I’m not planning on stealing him

from you.”

Athena threw back her head and

laughed. She gathered some clean

clothes from her suitcase before heading

to the bathroom. “I’m not worried about

you
stealing
him from me. I simply don’t

want to see you get your heart broken.”

She gave Ivy a sympathetic smile before

closing the door behind her.

“O-kay,” Ivy drawled, eyes still

on the bathroom door. The shower

turned on a minute later. Curling up on

her side to get comfortable, she thought

back to the peculiar conversation she

just had.

That was… unnecessary.
As if

she’d ever give Garren the chance to

break her heart. The upcoming full moon

must be messing with her brain. That had

to be it.

Anxiety pooled in her belly at the

thought of having another nightmare and

trashing the room like spoiled rock star.

But as she lay there, her eyelids grew

too heavy to keep open and she fell back

to sleep.

Images of the night at the club

flashed through her dreams, only this

time her friends laid on the ground

bleeding. Dougie, and many of the other

Eradicators she fought with over the

years, stood over their bodies, laughing.

Her heart pounded in fear watching them

circle around her, stalking closer and

closer. “You’re next, Weed.”

“Ivy, wake up.”

She awoke to an eyeful of

Garren’s face inches from her own. She

jerked away and sat up, the conversation

with Athena fresh in her mind. The

others stood around the room holding

their belongings.

“Are we leaving already?” Her

gaze wondered around the room.

“Where’s Sparky?”

“I wish we were leaving,”

Athena mumbled as she dropped an

armload of clothes into an open pack.

“Your dragon’s outside. At least it’s

smart enough to leave when your

nightmares start.”

“Why is she wearing my shirt?”

Garren asked Athena while pointing at

Ivy.

Confused, she glanced down at

her top; a Salmugundi High t-shirt she

didn’t own.
Am I sleepwalking now?

“When I came out of the shower

she was asleep and everything was

flying around the room again. I couldn’t

wake her up. And since you weren’t

here, I thought maybe if she
thought
you

were, she’d settle back down. You

know, by smelling your scent on your

clothes. It kinda worked.”

Nothing made sense. She turned

to Kyle for an explanation as he pulled

up the chair next to the bed.

“All the stuff hovered a couple

feet in the air, but not flying around.”

Kyle scowled at the shirt she wore and

at Garren now sitting next to her.

She wanted to reassure him he

had nothing to worry about between her

and Garren, but she also didn’t want to

encourage him. Even if he got over the

whole ‘being a witch’ thing, they would

only ever be friends.
Once a cheater,

always a cheater
.

Thankfully, Athena put the shirt

on over her pajama top, so she slipped it

off and then handed it back to Garren.

He held up his hand and sneered.

“You keep it.”

What a jerk
. “What are you,

eight? I don’t have cooties. Take your

shirt, I don’t want it.” She balled up the

shirt and then threw it at him as hard as

she could, wishing Athena had put his

boots on her instead.

“At least your arm seems to be

healed,” Thane said. He unpacked the

items they bought and set them on the

table he used to brew his potions.

She had forgotten about her

injuries. There was only a faint scar on

her shoulder where the bullet went

through. At that moment, her empty

stomach made itself known.

“Don’t worry,” Kyle chuckled.

“We brought you a sandwich.”

About an hour later, Thane

handed her a glass. “Strengthening

potion,” he said, watching her examine

the blue liquid against the light. “You’ll

need your energy for tonight.”

Dread dropped in her stomach as

she halted the glass before it reached her

mouth.

“Tonight?”

She’d

almost

forgotten about that. They know where

the prince is now, thanks to that vampire

from the club. Speaking of which, “What

happened to Zoo?”

Thane shrugged. “He helped get

you back here and then took off after we

stopped the bleeding.”

“Who cares where he is. He can

take care of himself. And, yes, it’s

tonight,” Garren said. “We’re here for a

reason, remember? Not to hook up with

your ex.” He stomped across the small

room to the bathroom and slammed the

door shut behind him.

Her cheeks burned as she drank

the potion, pointedly ignoring Kyle’s

curious glance.

“What’s he talking about?”

She wiped her mouth with the

back of her hand and shrugged. “He’s

got it in his head that you and I—”

“Not that,” Kyle said.

Damn
.

“Why did you guys come to

Sac?”

She groaned inward, knowing

Kyle wasn’t going to drop the topic until

he had the answer. She met Thane’s gaze

and he nodded. Athena shook her head

when she looked to her next. Since

Garren was acting like a baby hiding out

in the bathroom, he didn’t get a vote.

She drew in a deep breath before

starting. “Do you remember hearing

stories about a magical town that

couldn’t be found?”

Chapter 18

“You’re not serious, are you?

The dude’s dead.” After the story Ivy

told him about Prince Sebastian and

fixing the town wards,
that’s
what Kyle

focused on?

“Technically, he’s cursed,” she

said
. Great, now I’m starting to sound

like Thane
.

“It’s still gross.” His face

twisted in disgust.

His reaction made her cringe on

the inside. The more she thought about

Prince Sebastian’s eyes and how she

wanted his penetrating gaze focused on

her, the idea of kissing him was almost

bearable. Almost. “I’m sure it won’t be

that bad.” Her fingers found their way to

her mouth as she absentmindedly

chewed on her nails. Time flew by too

fast. The quicker sunset rolled around,

the more her stomach protested. She’d

been nauseous all day.

“Where are you supposed to

meet this vampire?” Kyle asked.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Athena said

as she tossed her magazine aside. “He

already knows too much. You tell him

any more and we’ll be fighting off his

friends again.” She rose from her seat

and moved to stand in front of the

Eradicator, her hands planted firmly on

her hips.

Kyle stood and loomed over the

petite werewolf, though she refused to

back down. “I already told you I would

never do anything to hurt Ivy. I never

would’ve brought Dougie along if I

thought he’d actually shoot her.”

Ivy eased up and immediately

placed herself between them. Their

shouting match would bring unwanted

attention from neighboring rooms if they

didn’t calm down.

She addressed Athena first.

“Kyle knows this town better than any of

us.”

“You used to live here. We don’t

need him.”

“A lot can change in a year. And

you,” she said to Kyle. “She’s only

being careful.”

The bathroom door swung open

and Garren stepped out. “Ivy’s right,” he

said as he strolled over the group.

She tensed, waiting for the punch

line.

“I don’t totally trust the vampire.

I want more information about where

we’re going before we get there. And

although I question the Eradicator’s taste

in fashion, career choice and women, I

believe he wouldn’t do anything that

would hurt Ivy. So, go ahead and tell

him where we’re going.”

I think I was just insulted
. She

waited until everyone backed away and

found a seat before telling Kyle where

Zoo said the prince lay hidden. Garren

and Athena sprawled out on the other

bed. Thane sat at the table across the

room and Kyle claimed the chair next to

the bed she sat on.

“Hm,” Kyle said, his brow

furrowed. “That’s not good. The number

of Eradicators patrolling Old Sac has

doubled since you left. Then there’s the

problem of someone recognizing you

even with the new hair color. You still

look like you, you know?”

No, I don’t know.
She grabbed

his black wool cap sitting on the night

stand and tucked her hair underneath. A

couple rebel curls peeked out to frame

her face. “How about this? I’ll keep my

head down so that they can’t see my

face.”

“I can still sense you,” Kyle

added.

Her hand automatically went to

her chest, but the sapphire wasn’t there.

“Not a problem. I’ll wear my dampening

stone. That’ll give us an hour.” She rose

from the bed, intending on getting the

sapphire when Athena did the same.

Because Athena was closer to the bag

the stone was stored in, she plopped

back down with a bounce.

“Catch,” Athena said at the same

time she tossed the gem across the room.

Garren jumped up and snagged

the necklace out of the air. “You’re not

using this.”

“Excuse

me?”
Who does he

think he is?
“Were you not listening?”

Garren spun the chain around his

finger with a wicked smile on his face.

She wanted to grab it from him before he

accidently flung the stone across the