The Wicked Kiss (23 page)

He stared at the place where Arys’ fangs were embedded in my flesh. There was a combination of horror and intrigue on his youthful features. However, I couldn’t help but notice that he increased the strength behind every thrust so that a moan escaped me with each one.

A trickle of blood began to run down my neck and chest with Shaz’ eyes following it. Arys licked and sucked at the wound, feeding the energy that seemed to captivate us all.

I was hurtling fast toward climax. The sensation of being between the two of them was so spicy that I couldn’t believe it was real.

As I’d suspected he wanted to, Shaz gave in to the urge to lick the spilled blood from my chest and collarbone. For the briefest of moments, his head was just inches from the vampire’s.

I watched his face when he pulled back. He leaned his head against the building, but his gaze landed on me and Arys, drinking from my throat.

The effect the power was having on him was evident by his huge pupils. Having a third party was something our power seemed to like. As we all fed off each other, the rush of white noise grew loud around us.

I hit that crucial peak without warning, and the orgasm rocked me to the core. As Shaz’ climax accompanied mine, he let out a series of growls and snarls. Even Arys gave a low moan as he tongued the punctures in the side of my neck.

I was soaked with sweat, and I clung to Shaz as the aftershocks and waves racked me. With one arm, I reached back to Arys, my hand brushing against the side of his face.

He promptly placed a kiss in my palm. A faint bloody smear remained.

Power hummed around us, cloaking us in a blanket of it. Of all the things I expected to feel right then, the urge to cry wasn’t one of them. Hot tears threatened to fill my eyes as I was overcome by the energy and my own personal emotions. I blinked quickly, but it was too late.

The tears fell to my cheeks, and I saw shock spread across Shaz’ features. He caught a drop on his finger, examining the crimson tear. He knew just as well as anyone that only vampires cry blood tears.

Arys took a step back, bending to gather my things. Shaz lowered me so that I could get steady on my feet again. I tugged my dress into place, smoothing it anxiously. My legs felt like jelly.

“Alexa, are you ok?”

I smiled at my white wolf as Arys draped the cape over my shoulders. That silly wolf worried about me too much. He was high as a kite on my blood and power, and all it took was a few tears to snap him back to reality.

“Yes, Shaz. I promise I am.” I wanted to ask how he felt but didn’t want to put him on the spot in front of Arys.

The vampire stood quietly to one side, observing Shaz but acting as if he weren’t. No sooner had I tied my cape securely than the back door of the Lounge burst open.

Tawnie stood illuminated in the glow from inside, casting a frantic glance around. It didn’t take long for her to spot our small group huddled in the dark. If there hadn’t been three of us, she may not have noticed us at all.

“Shaz,” she called frantically. “We have a pretty bad fight going on in here. We could use your help.”

“I’ll be right there Tawnie. No worries.”

Shaz’ eyes never left my face as he replied to her. The power that belonged to Arys and I was clearly manipulating him. He’d tasted me both physically and metaphysically, and it had affected him. The dazed expression on his face seemed to overrule his struggle for control. I smiled when he actually gave his head a shake as if to clear it.

Tawnie disappeared back inside. Arys maintained a safe distance as if unsure what to expect from Shaz.

“I love you,” Shaz whispered, nuzzling the side of my face as he would in wolf form.

“I’ve got to run, but I’ll find you after.”

I didn’t want to let him go, not before the afterglow had begun to fade. He didn’t look at Arys as he made his way to the door though he had to have felt those vampire eyes following him. Knowing the taste and feel of my blood lingered on him drove me crazy with curiosity. I wanted to know what he was feeling.

When we were alone, Arys turned to me with a satisfaction in his eyes that reminded me of the cat with his paws in the fishbowl. I trembled in the breeze as the sweat cooled on my skin. He swept me into his arms in a swift, smooth motion.

“The wolf pup certainly surprised me.” He spoke soothingly, my head tucked beneath his chin. “He is bolder than I ever would have believed.”

“You don’t give him enough credit.”

“He loves you madly.”

Arys’ observation hung heavily as if suspended in the atmosphere around us. It struck me as a strange thing to say just then.

“I know,” I murmured. My hand went to the place on my collarbone where Shaz had licked the blood from me. “I don’t deserve him.”

“Nonsense. You’re both so young with so much yet to experience. Enjoy what you have while you have it. Don't learn the hard way that there is no time for regrets.”

I pulled back to study his face. He raised an eyebrow and gave me a playful smile, but I wasn’t fooled. He clearly spoke like someone who knew firsthand.

“What’s up with you, Arys?”

“What are you talking about?” He fidgeted then, something extremely uncharacteristic. I tuned into our energy and focused on him, the vibes of his emotions.

He was trying to shield what he was feeling from me. I could sense it.

“What’s with the cryptic remark? And, all of a sudden, you’re encouraging my relationship with Shaz. You tend to be very back and forth on that.”

“Yeah well, I’m an asshole. But, I’m also realistic.” He shrugged and held out a hand, playing with the psi ball that rapidly formed. Like always, it was a gaseous vapor swirl of blue and yellow, the color of our energies.

“How realistic?” I laughed when he gave me a dirty look. He dropped the ball, and I felt the energy reach out to us as well as the natural elements before it ceased to be.

“We should get back inside before your lady friends start to think you’ve abandoned them.” With a warm hand, he steered me towards the door.

I didn’t miss the way he scanned the area before turning his back to it. He seemed more alert and wary than usual. I didn’t sense anything when I mentally searched the night around us.

The moment we stepped inside, my senses had to readjust to the volume and the many smells. I winced against the onslaught. All of my senses were heightened after our power play outside. It was a little unbearable.

Before we reached the end of the staff hall, I paused near the ladies room, gesturing for Arys to go on without me. I needed a personal moment to refresh and check on my appearance. I also had a wound that oozed two matching drops of blood.

Thank goodness it was Halloween. With all the fake blood in the building tonight, no one would notice a splash of the authentic stuff. But, the wound looked incredibly real.

I’d worn enough to know. I used my hair to hide it as I ducked into the washroom.

It was pretty busy inside. The majority of the stalls were taken, and four girls crowded the mirror. Shit. I recognized one of them right away.

Amanda caught sight of me reflected in the mirror behind her. She was studiously trying to fix fake eyelashes.

“Hey Alexa!” She called over the noisy din of chattering women. “Great costume.

Are you having a good time?”

I smiled at her, but my focus was on grabbing an empty stall and escaping conversation. “Yeah, it’s really pumping out there. How are you? I love the Cleopatra look. Very hot.”

I rushed by before she could stop me, slamming the door of the stall behind me. I willed them all to leave. I didn’t want to come out and get roped into a conversation with Amanda.

The girl is a total sweetheart, but ever since I’d slaughtered her abusive boyfriend, she had developed a strange fascination with me. She didn’t know exactly what I was, but she’d seen enough with her own eyes to know it wasn’t human.

I closed my eyes and counted to ten, thinking hard. When I reopened them, the washroom was quiet. Incredible.

When I came back out, no one was there. I couldn’t believe the projected power of my influence had driven them out.

I wasted no time in wetting some paper towel and wiping up the bloodstains on my neck. After washing my hands, I arranged my hair so that the bite couldn’t be seen. It was sore but pleasurable in the raw pain.

There would be no hiding it from Jez or Kylarai. They would smell the fresh wound right away. My face was especially pale, and I pinched my cheeks in an attempt to bring some color back. After a few minor make-up touch ups, I went to brave the teasing and ridicule of my friends.

It took me a minute to pick them out of the mass of people. The crowd had increased in size since I’d gone outside. I could sense Shaz, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Jez’ golden hair stood out on the dance floor where she danced with a couple of girls dressed as naughty angels. Surprisingly, Kylarai was dancing with them. Julian and Zak were still shooting pool across the room. Didn’t they have anything better to do?

I made my way towards Jez and Ky, shaking my head
no
when a waitress intercepted me. By the time I reached them, they had taken a seat at a nearby table. Jez’ expression was knowing and amused, but Ky looked astonished. I pulled out the chair across from them and sat down, a silly smile on my face.

Kylarai gave me a more pointed, raised eyebrow look. “I’d ask where you were, but I already know.” She smiled and winked before sipping from some ice water.

“What can I say?” I shrugged, trying for casual. “I couldn’t resist.”

“And, so you shouldn’t.” Jez leaned over to nudge me; an approving smile revealed tiny fangs beneath her ruby red lips.

“Where did Arys go? He took off out of here in a hurry.” Ky looked curious, and I frowned in response.

“He just left?”

“Yeah, right before you showed up. Weren’t you with him?”

“I was. I went to the ladies room.” If I thought about Arys hard enough, I could still feel his presence in the vicinity.

A strange sensation began to unravel as I grew suspicious. Where was Arys and what was he up to? He had been acting a little sketchy since he arrived. Something told me I wasn’t paying enough attention. The intensified power running through me was trying to come to the forefront of my mind, trying to make me aware of something.

“Speaking of the ladies room,” Ky interrupted my thoughts. “Is it insanely busy?”

“Not when I left.”

“Good. I’ll be right back.” She grabbed her purse from the tabletop and got up from her chair. She was soon just a green figure among the rest of the crowd.

I scanned the crowd but saw no sign of Arys. I could still feel him when I concentrated, but that didn’t tell me much.

I pushed my chair back with a loud scrape. “I think I’m going to go hunt down Arys.

If I miss him and he comes back, tell him I’m looking for him,” I said to Jez.

She waved a hand at me dismissively before sipping from her bright blue drink. “I’ll keep an eye out in case he comes through here.”

Just to be sure, I went around the building once to confirm that he was not inside. I even ran up to the second floor where the atmosphere was more laid back. TVs hung from the ceiling, each playing the same hockey game. My vampire wasn’t up there either.

I hadn’t thought so.

Kylarai said she’d seen him leave the building. I didn’t think twice about going outside in search of him.

Exiting the building brought a welcome relief from the noise. The front entrance was packed with people milling about, most of them smoking cigarettes. A small group of girls whined about the cold fall night as I passed. I didn’t find it too bad.

I lingered near the front of the bar for a minute, searching mentally for Arys. I was certain I felt him down the alley to the left of the building, on the way to the parking lot.

That alley intersected with the one at the back of club, where we’d been such a short time ago. Arys was known to sneak away down the alley when luring a victim into his grasp. Though he hadn’t done that as often since we’d become involved.

Despite being drawn to the alley, my gut instinct was telling me to stay away. I was confused and not liking this one bit.

I stared down the dark alley but made no move to venture further. My senses were straining to discover what it was that was eluding me. I could feel it nagging at the back of my mind, something I couldn’t put my finger on.

Feeling like the first ditzy girl to get murdered in a slasher film, I took a few steps down the alley, then a few steps more.

“Arys?” I called, careful not to raise my voice.

I stopped when I had left the safety of the parking lot lights. I looked up at the moon and tried to use its calming serenity to focus harder. I was able to tune out the rest of the night, staring up and seeing only that glowing silver light in the sky.

The energy of everything around me grew more pronounced and I was able to identify everything from the ground beneath my feet to each star overhead. And that’s when I felt him. I sensed the sudden approach behind me and whirled to face the unwelcome vampire.

“You smell absolutely divine.” The melodious voice was rough, yet dangerously attractive.

It caused my stomach to tighten, a wave of nausea sweeping me. I was suddenly breathing too fast. My mind raced with several thoughts at once. I was already defensive, but I couldn’t see an immediate way out of this.

I stared at Harley with horror etched on my features. He grinned, my worst nightmare come to life. I swallowed hard but didn’t dare speak.

“Why so surprised wolf? Surely you've been expecting me.”