Pucker Up (A Damsels of Distress Novel) (35 page)

walked into a corner. It was the end of

the block. Brick walls ran along the

street line on her left with the bricked-in

storefronts on the right.

“There you are,” Thane said,

flashing a bright light in her eyes.

She pushed the flashlight away

and blinked. White spots flitted across

her vision. “Yeah, thanks for waiting.

Have you found anything yet?”

“No, but we’re getting closer.”

“Will you two hurry up? I’d like

to find this guy before—“

“Ivy!” an angry voice yelled

from above.

Garren grabbed her hand and ran

down the tunnel where the magic

beckoned to them. “Hurry. He’ll find the

hole in the wall any minute now.”

The beam of light from Thane’s

flashlight bounced all over the walls and

floor as he ran. They tore around the next

corner and skid to a halt in front of a

heavy wooden door, the first they’d

seen.

“This is it,” Thane said as he ran

his hand lightly over the door. He

grasped the doorknob and stopped.

“Go ahead,” she said.

He twisted the knob and pushed.

The door swung open with a creak.

Cold, musty air spilled out and washed

over her. No one moved.

“What are you waiting for?”

Garren asked while nudging her in the

back.

“I’m waiting for you to take the

lead.”

“Ladies first.”

“But I insist.”

“Ivy, girl, you better not be down

here,” Darius yelled from down the

tunnel.

Without a word, Garren pushed

her through the doorway. Her entire

body tingled as she passed.

Thane stopped next to her. “It

must be a ward. Hopefully it’s there to

keep out Banes.”

Garren shut the door behind him

and twisted the lock. The windows on

either side of the door were boarded up,

keeping the light out. Using the

flashlight, Thane swept the room.

It resembled a lobby of some

sort, complete with a cash register and

keys hanging from a peg board. At least

an inch of dust coated every flat surface.

“It looks like a hotel,” Thane

said.

“I’m surprised this floor wasn’t

turned into a basement like the other

buildings,” she said. At the curious

glances of the others, she continued.

“They raised the streets an entire floor

because the Sacramento River kept

overflowing its banks and flooding the

town. Building owners either had to

raise their buildings to the new street

level or turn their second stories into the

new storefronts. I did a report on it in

the fourth grade.”

“That’s very interesting,” Garren

said. “But can we get moving before

your friend finds us?”

Since

they

only

had

one

flashlight and the rest of the room was

completely dark, Thane led the way

through the hallways. She held each of

their hands as they chugged along like a

train.

Flashbacks

of

kindergarten

fieldtrips scrolled through her mind.

Garren adjusted his grip to entwine his

fingers around hers. The intimate gesture

made her palms sweat in the chilly

room.

Yeah, that’s attractive.

Darius continued to yell up and

down the tunnel as they searched each

room. Did he not even see the door or

were the wards keeping him from

opening it?

Every room they entered was

completely destroyed; broken wood

dressers, moth eaten mattresses on rusty

cots, and rotting wood floors. Every

surface was covered in about a century’s

worth of dust and cobwebs.

They reached the end of the hall,

the last room. She let go of Thane’s hand

to touch the door. Magic raced up her

arm and enveloped her, raising all the

hairs on her body as if she were standing

in the middle of a lightning storm. “This

is it,” she whispered in awe.

Garren gasped next to her. He

tightened his grip on her hand as the

magic ran through her body to his.

“Cool.”

Thane grabbed the doorknob.

“Let’s do this.” He opened the door and

swung the beam of light around the

room. Just like the others, time and

neglect left their marks on the remains of

the furniture that once stood proud. Cold,

stale air flowed out of the space, raising

goosebumps over her arms as it escaped.

Thane continued shining his

flashlight over the water damaged walls

to the other side of the room. He stopped

when the light shone on a man lying on a

bed.

“We found him.”

Chapter 20

“Can you believe we’re actually

in the same room with Prince Sebastian?

This is so cool,” Thane said, a grin

plastered on his face. He hovered over

the body, practically drooling. “I have

so many questions to ask him. What

inspired him to mix dragon bile with

unicorn tears to enhance the Dearborn

Elixer? Or why—“

“Will you shut up already?” Ivy

grumbled. Floorboards creaked as she

paced along the wall as far away from

the old, brass bed where the prince lay.

Second thoughts ran rampant through her

mind now that she was literally in the

same room with him.

“Will you do it already?” Garren

hissed while guarding the door. He

leaned against the frame, glancing back

toward

the

lobby

whenever

the

Eradicators’ voices grew louder. They

still hadn’t figured out how to get in, but

that hadn’t stopped them from making a

racket as they searched for Ivy.

“If you're in such a hurry, why

don't
you
come over here and kiss the

old, dead dude,” Ivy barked back.
I

can’t believe I’m actually going to do

this.

The oil lamp hanging on the wall

illuminated the neglected room in a

warm, orange glow. Eerie shadows

crossed Prince Sebastian's face, giving

him an even more haunting presence.

This did nothing to calm her nerves.

He’s not dead, he’s sleeping.

One quick peck and my job is done. I

can do this.
So why wouldn’t her feet

move? “Are we sure this is Prince

Sebastian? Maybe he’s a homeless guy

who—”

“Quit your stalling,” Garren said.

“Ivy, the sooner we wake him

up, the sooner we can leave, get him to

reset the wards around town and collect

our reward,” Thane said as he nudged

her closer to the body.

“We?
I'm
the one who has to get

to first base with a dead guy.”
How the

hell did I get roped into this?
The stale

air and stench of rotting wood and mold

wreaked havoc on her stomach, not to

mention the idea of touching lifeless

lips.

“Ivy!” Both guys yelled at her.

“Okay, okay.” She somehow

managed to make her way across the

room to stand next to the bed. She

expected to find evidence of his

centuries-long

slumber,

like

time

ravaged clothing or dusty cobwebs

clinging to him. Whoever hid him must

have cast one heck of a preservation

spell because he appeared exactly as he

did in the drawing.

She took him all in; tall,

muscular and a shadow of stubble on his

jaw. Prince Sebastian wasn't a boy; he

was a man— a thought that left her

mouth as dry as the Mojave Desert.

What would he think about a seventeen-

year-old girl rescuing him? Would he be

embarrassed, or disappointed Leviena

wasn't the one breaking the curse?

Would he be disgusted that
she
kissed

him? Why was she doing this again?

“Any day now,” Garren said.

She scooted closer. With her

finger, she poked Prince Sebastian in the

arm a couple times, even shouted in his

ear, “Wake up!”

He didn’t budge.

Damn it.

“Will you quit fooling around?”

Garren said.

Resigned to her fate, she aligned

her lips with the prince’s and slowly

inched closer.
Please don’t turn all

gross on me.

After what seemed an eternity,

her tightly puckered lips connected with

his cold, rigid mouth. She held her

breath and counted to three. Not even

realizing she had shut her eyes, she pried

one open as she backed away a bit,

searching for signs of consciousness.

Nothing.

“What the hell?” she asked

Thane before wiping her mouth with the

back of her hand. “I thought you said all

I had to do was kiss him and he'd wake

up.”

He rubbed the back of his neck

as he stared at the still motionless man.

“Well, I thought it would work.”

“Maybe you just didn't kiss him

right,” Garren said with an obnoxious

smile creeping over his face. “Try it

again, but with a little tongue this time.”

Ignoring him as best she could,

she pressed her fingers to her temples in

an attempt to stop the migraine before it

started. Of course it wouldn't be so

simple. There had to be more to

breaking the curse than one stupid kiss.

“He's right, in a way,” Thane

said. “Try again, but put more passion

into it. Kiss him like he's your true love,

not your grandpa.” He stood next to her,

anxiously chewing on his thumbnail as

he watched.

“You can imagine kissing me.

You know you want to,” Garren said

with a wink.

“I think I'm going to be sick.”

Clutching her stomach, she shuffled up to

the sleeping form again. Tilting her head

up to the heavens, she prayed to

whatever gods could hear her that this

next kiss did the trick.

This time, when she pressed her

warm, full lips to his cold, dead ones,

she imagined herself as the woman that

loved this man with all her heart—a

love so strong that it survived through

generations and lived on inside her

blood.

Just as she was about to pull

away, his lips trembled against hers.

“Holy crap!” She stepped back

and stared as his lips quivered ever so

slightly. “Should we try CPR?”

Thane shoved her closer. “No,

kiss him again.”

Excited that their plan was

actually working, she leaned in to kiss

him a third time. As soon as her lips

brushed against his, he opened his mouth

wide.

Then pain. Two sharp points

pierced her bottom lip. Terror jolted her

heart and rushed from her lungs in an

ear-splitting scream. Warm, thick liquid

ran down her chin and coated her tongue.

“Ivy!”

Garren

grabbed

her

shoulders and tugged her back but

Sebastian wouldn’t ease up on his bite,

even as he sucked the blood from her

lip. She remained as still as possible,

afraid he’d tear her face off.

No, no, no, no!
She beat on his

chest, pulled his hair, anything to make

him let go. Tears of terror streamed

down her cheeks.

Thane clubbed Sebastian’s legs

with the flashlight but the prince didn’t

flinch.

“Get off her,” Garren yelled right

before punching the prince in the throat.

Finally, he opened his mouth and

released her.

She stumbled back into Garren

and almost knocked him over. “He's a

freakin' vampire!” Her hand trembled as

she wiped blood from her swollen lip.

“How is this even possible?”

“I... I... I...” Thane stammered.

Wide eyed, he gazed down at Prince

Sebastian who was slowly coming back

to life.

Sebastian’s eyes were still shut

as he inhaled small gulps of air into his

lungs. “Mmm... mo... more.” A bit of her

blood trickled down his chin.

“We

are
not
waking up a

vampire,” she said, stopping herself

before stomping her foot like a two-year

old. At that moment, any thought of