Briarcliff

by Lorraine Beaumont

  Moriah shivered. “Ah…” She nervously twirled a strand of her hair.

  “Yes, dove?” His gaze lingered on her full lips. “Well…?”

  “I wondered…if um…” Conflicting emotions battled against one another in her mind. Part of her wanted to go and find Kingston but another part…a part that was quickly overriding the other…wanted to lean forward and kiss his perfect lips…if only for a moment…

  31-MAGIC

  “This night sucks big fat furry ones,” I muttered miserably into my cup as I stared down at the three cherries floating on top. Lifting my drink, I took a hefty swig and held it in my mouth until it started to burn and then swallowed.

  After my long trek around the entire lawn, I finally made it back to the drink station. Of course, by the time I managed to do this, both Heather and the mysterious guy with the tattoo were gone. I looked for over an hour and didn’t see anyone who even remotely looked like the guy I met the evening before…except for the one Heather took and disappeared with. Now I would never know for sure if the guy was him or not. If Kingston wasn’t so damn cheap I would have been able to see where they went, but no, he had to be a cheapo.

  So, as a consolation prize I got myself a loaded drink and had almost went back and grabbed a second when I spotted Colton with el cheapo Kingston and Barnaby walking towards the drink station again, with a girl clinging to all three of them. Turns out, it was the cool one, with the freakishly awesome body and shaved hair that still managed to look incredible even though she was half bald.

  “Stupid party.” I was in full-mope mode now as I slipped further and further down into a pit of depression. Reaching in my drink, I grabbed out a cherry, debating if I should take the plunge to la la land and eat it.

  Why the heck not? It wasn’t as if there was anything better to do. I popped the cherry into my mouth. Again, just like last night, the fiery liquid spurted and made me cough. I pushed past it the urge to spit it out and swallowed anyway. I reopened my eyes and nearly fell over, suddenly loving Barnaby and his loaded cherries because they were making me see great things.

  Reaching out a shaky hand, I poked the winged man in front of me. He certainly felt real. I wasn’t sure if I was seeing things.

  He poked my shoulder, back.

  That answered that. He was real. “Sorry,” I said, suddenly feeling like an idiot.

  His eyes glittered. “I don’t mind.” He reached down and lifted my hand and placed it back against his chest.

  “Y—you came back.” My heart pounded into double time.

  “Yeah,” he breathed. His eyes burned down into my own, making me feel breathless and lightheaded. “Did you miss me?” An amused look crossed his face.

  Yes! “Maybe,” I said, trying to sound cool.

  His brow creased.

  “I was worried about you.” I looked down at our entwined hands as his thumb slid back and forth against my palm.

  “Yeah, about that…” he trailed off awkwardly.

  “I guess you had someplace to be,” I filled in the rest for him.

  “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” He shrugged.

  That was it. That was all he was going to say. “Oh.” I brushed my hair back away from my face. “That’s cool.”

  “So where have you been hiding?” he asked.

  “Hiding?” My heart did a little jump.

  “Yeah,” he said. “I’ve been looking for you, everywhere.”

  “You have!” My eyes flew up to his face.

  “Yes, I have,” he said.

  “Why?” I tried to sound sophisticated, sexy. I was going for the character Natasha Fatale from an old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon but by the look on his face, I wasn’t doing it very well. Dangit!

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, why?” I cleared my throat, feeling stupid.

  “You sound…strange.” He rolled his shoulders.

  “Something in my throat,” I lied and coughed.

  He frowned again.

  “So…” I hedged. “What happened to you last night?”

  “You want the truth?”

  “Yes, of course.” I grabbed hold of the tree. I was afraid if I didn’t I would fall over.

  “I had to go somewhere to take care of a few things.”

  “Oh.” I shifted. “Did you bring me inside?”

  “Yes.” His expression changed, just a hint and I had the distinct feeling he wasn’t telling me something.

  “How?”

  His lips twitched. “I carried you.”

  “Well, of course.” I felt like an idiot. “I mean, you were hurt or…”

  “Oh, that.”

  “What happened to you?”

  He inhaled deeply and let out a slow stream of air. “I had a …ah…problem, with this thing.”

  This time I was the one frowning. “What do you mean…thing?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “How can you say that? You were unconscious, and there was all this …”

  The look he was giving my made me lose my train of thought. “It doesn’t matter,” he repeated.

  “Yeah, I guess.” I didn’t know why but finding out what happened didn’t seem as important to me anymore.

  “Did you say good-bye? I mean, I don’t remember you saying goodbye.”

  “Yeah, about that…” He brushed his fingertips over the side of my face. His eyes drew me in and I forgot to breathe.

  “Let’s not talk about that now,” he said. “We don’t have much time.”

  Huh? “What do you mean?” My stomach swooped and not in a good way.

  The wind picked up and pushed my hair forward.

  “You have pretty hair,” he mused as he pushed it back over my shoulder.

  “I do? I mean…ah…thanks.”

  He twirled a piece absently in his fingers.

  “So…um,” I croaked. “What would you like to ah…?” My eyes landed on his mouth, remembering a little too clearly how they felt against my own. I suddenly wished he would lean forward and kiss me once more.

  “Evie…” He gazed down at me in such a way it felt as though time had no meaning.

  “Yes…” I barely whispered.

  “I am going to kiss you…” he breathed, answering my unspoken wish.

  “How did you…?”

  “Does it matter?”

  My face heated. “Ah…no…”

  “Good.” He leaned forward, slid his hand behind my neck and then he placed his lips on mine. I leaned into him, my hands snaking up around his broad shoulders until my fingers tangled in his hair.

  At first it was a slow, gentle kiss…almost tentative but then, his tongue slid into my mouth and twined against my own…teasing…tasting. He slid his hand over my side, kneading my hip as he pulled me closer.

  I clung to him, kissing him back, feeling so many things suddenly I thought I would burst. I didn’t feel anything close to this with Colton and I had pined for him forever…and yet, here I was with a complete stranger and I didn’t even know his name but I felt like I had known him forever. Every fiber of my being was in overload, screaming for him to keep touching me with his body, for his lips to keep kissing mine and for his arms…never to let me go. I didn’t understand it, but right now, right this very moment…I didn’t care either, because as long as I was in his arms I felt complete.

  32-IDLEWILD

  Kingston rocked back on his heels, and shoved his hands into his front pockets. Two girls were dancing with one another in front of him, their short skirts riding up, exposing an ample amount of their bare asses. He wondered if they were even wearing panties. As soon as that thought formed in his mind, he thought of Moriah. He had no idea why he wasn’t with her. Instead, he was hanging out with Barnaby and Colton’s lame ass. As if on cue, Colton began to sing, making Kingston seriously regret not being with Moriah.

  Colton shoved his drink into Barnaby’s hand. “I am perfect…” he sang out, changing the words to the song U can be perf
ect. He bobbed his head to the beat and sang even louder. “I can be perfect—I am perfect.” Bouncing forward, hips swinging, he slid behind the girls, switching back and forth between them both.

  Kingston chuckled lightly, not able to help himself as he lifted his drink and took a long pull. He wanted to go and find Moriah, but he was trying to prove something to himself, to see if he could in fact survive without her around. He was falling hard for her, harder than he had ever fallen before. Even when he was completely into Heather, he never felt like this. He had thought he was going to marry Heather straight after college. That was of course, until he met Moriah. Then all thoughts of Heather had disintegrated from his mind. And that had actually started to scare the shit out of him. He thought of Moriah all the time now. Granted, he still checked some chicks out, he was human after all, but he completely found them lacking. He sighed loudly and ran his hands over his face.

  ‡

  Barnaby took another swig of his drink and spit it back out. Colton pulled up one of the girl’s skirts and her bare ass twitched back and forth. Only Colton could get away with that shit and not get slapped. He laughed. Colton was an ass, but he was a funny ass. It amazed him how anyone could be so self-absorbed. But whatever Colton was, girls seemed to like the way he acted, because they would normally fall all over him. It made Barnaby wonder what girls actually wanted. Maybe if he acted like an ass, chicks would dig him too.

  Right—he wished. At least Evie didn’t seem to be that way. That was one of the reasons he liked her. She didn’t seem to be mesmerized by Colton, at least not any longer. He did have to wonder where her sudden fascination with gargoyles had come from. Coming alive and all. He wondered what that was all about and why his own mother seemed so interested when he asked her about them for Evie.

  ‡

  After the song ended, Colton stumbled back to Barnaby. “Where’s my drink, man?”

  Barnaby picked it up off the ground and handed it to Colton.

  Colton jerked it from his hand. “Dude, don’t put my shit on the ground, some loser might knock it over.”

  “Well they didn’t, so calm down,” Barnaby snapped.

  “Good thing.” Colton lifted his cup and took a long pull. He swayed.

  Barnaby shook his head. “Whatever man, I’m not your bitch.”

  Colton lowered his drink, smirking smugly. “Yeah you are.”

  “Screw you dude.”

  Colton ignored him. He lifted his cup towards the girls. They laughed and lifted their own drinks in the air. “Damn man, those chicks are totally hot. I wonder if they would be interested in a threesome,” he mused.

  Barnaby snorted into his drink. “Yeah right, you wish. They look like they are into each other, not you.”

  “Whatever man, you’ll see,” Colton promised. He took a gulp of his drink then immediately spit it out. He barked out a loud obnoxious laugh and smacked Kingston in the arm.

  “What the hell asshole!” Kingston pulled his fist back.

  Colton blocked his face. “Whoa, sorry man, just trying to get your attention.”

  Kingston glared at him and then lowered his fist. “How bout using my name next time?” His jaw clenched in irritation.

  “Calm down.” Colton stepped back and nearly fell over a body lying on the ground. Once he righted himself, he lifted his arm and pointed.

  Kingston glared at him in annoyance. “What?”

  Colton just kept pointing until Kingston finally followed his line of vision. The crowd had parted and Kingston could see the front of the mansion. His girl was practically sitting on some dude’s lap. Rage tore through him. Kingston shoved past Colton and took off running.

  “Where’s he going in such a hurry?” Barnaby asked.

  Colton bugged his eyes and pointed at the stairs.

  Barnaby looked at the front of the mansion. “Damn.”

  “You got that right man. Damn,” Colton agreed.

  33-ATTRACTION

  Even though she knew it was wrong, Moriah leaned closer to Simon. Shakily she lifted her hand, touched his flawless face and traced her fingers over the subtle cleft in his chin.

  “Dove,” he breathed and pushed a lock of her hair over her shoulder as he stared into her deep blue eyes.

  In that moment she desperately wanted to kiss him. It was crazy…irrational and yet she couldn’t seem to tear her gaze from his…she could feel the heat building between them.

  Gently, his fingers caressed the side of her face.

  Expectantly, she moved closer…wanting, no, needing him to touch her just a bit more. And then he did. He placed his hand on her bare thigh; his hand moved slowly over the exposed flesh. She bit her lip and spread her legs slightly. The tips of his fingers were driving her crazy as he slid them even higher. She knew what she was doing was wrong—completely wrong. But she couldn’t stop. She couldn’t think. She was beyond herself. Beyond anything she had ever felt before. The attraction to him was so strong she couldn’t fight against it any longer. The warmth of his sweet breath wafted over her face.

  “I want…” she said breathlessly…eagerly…

  “Yes dove…” he coaxed her to say the words he wanted to hear. He felt her need. He could feel her heat. And yes, he was aroused as well but he wanted to savor the moment…it had been so long. His body rippled just beneath the surface as his pheromones emanated from him. “May I…kiss you…little dove?” His mouth hovered just above hers.

  Moriah clenched her hand. She couldn’t take it. “Yes, yes, please,” she begged breathily.

  Simon’s lips lowered and just when he was about to kiss her he heard the distinct sound of heavy footfalls drawing nearer. Simon leaned away and let out an audible sigh. Stupid human.

  Kingston stopped in front of the stairs. His breath came out in rushed hitches. “MORIAH!” His face was reddened in anger and his hands were fisted at his sides.

  Simon broke his gaze with the girl and relinquished his grasp. Well so much for that.

  Moriah came crashing back to reality. She felt woozy, disoriented. She looked up at Kingston. “Oh Shit!”

  She scrambled to get away and the rough stone scraped the underside of her leg.

  “My sentiments exactly,” Simon muttered.

  Moriah jerked her gaze to his face. His head was turned but she could swear she saw a hint of a smile on his perfectly kissable lips.

  “Ohmigod!” She covered her face. She was about to kiss those lips. She peeked through her fingers at Kingston. His gorgeous face twisted with disgust and something else…pain. Her heart nearly burst. She lowered her hands. “Kingston,” she pleaded.

  “It’s not what it looks like.” She shivered. “I didn’t mean…”

  “You didn’t mean what?” he scathed, his disgust palpable.

  She flinched.

  Simon picked up his drink, anticipating the chaos that would soon ensue. It was not that he didn’t care—well, yes, it was actually…he really didn’t.

  “What the hell were you doing with my girl?” Kingston gritted.

  Simon cocked his brow. “Sorry, are you speaking to me?” He sat his drink down and leaned forward.

  “Don’t play dumb, I saw what you were about to do.”

  “Hmmm, what was I doing?” Simon glanced over at the girl. He could see her confusion, her fear, and started to feel a little bad he had used his charms on her, well, one of his many charms. It wouldn’t have worked unless she had been interested, but he decided to take pity on her. She looked pretty pathetic.

  “Well?” Kingston raged.

  Simon casually leaned back against the stair, eyeing the dude with an overload of testosterone emanating from his body. He wrinkled his nose, not liking his scent at all. “Actually…” he paused for effect. “I wasn’t doing anything.”

  “It didn’t look like that to me,” Kingston accused and took a step forward.

  Simon tensed. Oh, it would be so easy to destroy the fool…he wouldn’t even see it coming. But where was t
he sport in that? He sighed and instead, he pulled back. Young, fresh love…it was a rare treat. And who was he, Simon, to interfere with that. Besides, he had bigger fish to fry this night and he needed all his strength to battle what was coming.

  “Well,” he paused. “I did have something in my eye,” he said finally. “And your girl…” he stressed the word, “was nice enough to help me get it out. Is that what you are talking about?” he said a little too innocently.

  Moriah jerked her face to Simon’s, in shock.

  “What?” Kingston looked unsure. “It didn’t look like that to me.”

  “Well,” Simon exhaled. “I can’t help what you thought.” He lifted his cup up and took a long pull. He set the cup down and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I have to ask though, you know, to satisfy my curiosity of course,” he needled. “What did it look like…to you?”

  “Ah…” Kingston shifted uneasily on his feet. “I thought you were…um, you know, trying to get with my girl.”

  Simon pretended to contemplate that for a moment. “I think I understand.”

  “Understand what?” he demanded.

  Simon was good at diffusing situations. He was a master at it. That is if he were so inclined. This looked like an opportunity to do just that but then he decided against it. He didn’t like his tone, or his brusque demeanor. “Hmmm, if she’s your girl why was she sitting all alone?” Simon stirred the pot.

  Kingston’s face fell. Growing uncomfortable, he shifted awkwardly. His eyes guiltily fell to the ground.

  Moriah stared directly at Kingston, waiting to hear what he would say. She was so mad at him for leaving her all alone. Not to mention how he had been gawking at Heather and every other girl floating around.

  “I was talking with friends,” Kingston muttered, keeping his gaze downcast.

  “Huh?” Simon debated how far he would take this. He caved. “Well she was sitting with a friend as well, a new friend. She can have friends too, can she not? You know, since you seem to have so many?” he stated with blatant candor.