When she looks at me over her shoulder as we work our way through the crowd, brown eyes glowing with life, I see this promise coming to life.
Jezi has her head poked out from a circular booth, eyes scanning the area for us when she spots us and does a short wave. When she sees me, she looks past, and I know she’s looking for Weldon. Her lips fall a little when she realizes he isn’t with me.
Damien is sitting next to her, still rigid, but only when he’s not looking at her. When he does, he melts, gaze softening and lips shaking loose with a hidden smile. We say quick hellos and slide in. After giving our drink order, a sort of silence falls over the table, the hole filled with the music and noise from raised voices pulsing in the room.
Jezi plays with a napkin. Damien watches her hands. Chett has his arm around Katie, head turned to the dance floor below us, watching. Katie nudges me with her shoulder and grins, the pieces of her old self floating in her eyes.
“So how are things with Alesteria?” she asks, eyebrows raised.
“Katie,” Jezi says across the tale, shaking her head. “We already discussed this. Tonight, we are here to let go, just like the rest of these people. No asking or talking about the world and all its problems. Got it?”
“Right,” Katie says as she giggles nervously and follows Chett’s gaze out to the dance floor.
We all know what tonight means. The weight of Charlie’s decision. The outcome that is hidden in a blur of gray.
“Weldon didn’t want to come?” Jezi asks, keeping her eyes on the table.
Damien’s expression pinches when she says Weldon’s name. She must feel his tenseness because she cuts her eyes over to him, shoulders pulling forward before she looks back at me, eyes begging me to tell her the truth.
“I told him to come. He had to meet with Sterling and said he might pop in afterward.”
She settles a little at this, because she sits back and smiles when the waitress sets our drinks on the table and tosses us straws. I ordered what Katie did… some kind of fruity cocktail that’s laced with magic. The first sip goes down smooth and lights a fire in my limbs that makes me want to move. I tug on Katie’s hand. All it takes is one look and she’s pushing Chett out of the booth and pulling me toward the dance floor, calling for Jezi to follow.
Jezi joins our small circle and we dance, swaying and jumping as the notes carry us on a high. I raise my arms in the air, shutting my eyes to the world as my body does what I never allow it to. I feel free. Alive. Present. Minutes fade past us as song after song shifts. Sweat drips down our necks, hair clinging to our skin. The boys bring us our drinks at some point and we down them as they join in, pulling us apart and connecting with their partner as the alcohol and the music blend together.
Jaxen pulls me against his hips and rocks us back and forth as the sultry music in the air wraps around us. I don’t bother to ask him when he decided he liked dancing, because I don’t want to ruin the moment. The way his hips move against mine coax the butterflies awake inside me. Strokes the fire burning within me. Everyone falls away from us as he runs his hand through my hair, down my neck, over my collarbone. My head tilts, exposing my neck to him, reveling in the feel of his hands against my skin.
When he pulls me back up, his lips are hovering over mine, a breath away from stealing a kiss. Our eyes lock, and need explodes within me. I need him so much it hurts. Want to taste and touch and do things in secret that make me feel dangerous. I can see he wants this too as his eyes dance with mine, lip clenched between his teeth as his gaze drops to my mouth.
“You two should really get a room,” a familiar voice says, dousing us in cold water with her tone.
My mind is spinning, swirling, swooping beneath the layers of alcohol swarming my bloodstream, clogging my ability to think straight. My face furrows as I turn and find Meredith smirking, long, raven hair wild and tousled around her face. She has someone tucked under her arm. A woman. It only takes a few blinks to place her. To recognize those angular cheeks and lavender eyes. It’s the blonde hair that doesn’t fit. That separates Claire from her twin Clara. And the openness in her eyes, like a book laid bare for all to read.
“Hey,” Claire says, her voice so like Clara’s that it’s almost unsettling. Her eyes move past me, peering closely, and then drop.
I think she was looking for him.
I try to shake the fog of alcohol delaying my responses as tanned arms the color of cinnamon dart between us so fast it leaves my head spinning.
“Hey! You’re here!” Jezi says, sounding out of character, waving like a maniac to them. Maybe it’s nerves. Maybe it’s from staring at the woman who came in between her and Weldon. Or maybe she doesn’t care anymore, because the way she’s pressed up against Damien speaks volumes about what she feels for him. But even that could be a show, because whenever Weldon’s around, Jezi is peering at him… waiting for a sign.
“How have you been?” I ask them both, wondering what Weldon is doing at this moment. Trying not to think about the conversation I overheard between Claire and him. I can tell by the way they stand close that he was right… they are lovers. Arms looped around each other. Bodies moving together.
“Busy taking out any Darkyn I can get my hands on. You?” Meredith says with a tilt of her chin in my direction.
“Sort of the same,” I admit, not wanting to go into detail. I know I shouldn’t, but I find it hard to look at Claire. It’s like staring at Clara. Staring at Weldon’s pain.
Maybe she senses this, because she reaches out, her hand just a whisper beneath my elbow. “I wanted to thank you,” Claire says over the music, eyes searching mine for solid ground.
I relax my shoulders. Soften my smile. I know she’s talking about the Underground. About being saved from Charlie and reunited with Weldon and Meredith once again. “Thank her,” I say, pointing to Meredith with a small smile. “She’s the one who pushed us in your direction.”
Claire turns her chin up to Meredith, and they exchange a look I feel like I’m prying in on. “I already did. Twice,” she admits openly.
Heat builds behind my cheeks.
Jezi steps in between us, her movements more reckless and jerky than usual. “So… are you two like a thing?” Jezi asks, words tripping over themselves as she barges right into the middle of their business.
They smile at each other. “We are,” Meredith says as she stands a little taller and pulls Claire tighter against her. I watch Claire. The way her face lights up under Meredith’s gaze. The way she so easily fits against her, and I think about Weldon and the bitterness in his words. The memories he’s shared with me and how she used to look at him the same way.
I hope he doesn’t show tonight.
“We have a booth if you want to sit with us?” Katie says, pointing up to our table. “I think I need a break. My legs are shaking. It was leg day at the gym today.”
“Sure,” Claire says, laughing, and then follows us through the crowd back to the table.
I reach out for Weldon, trying to gauge where he’s at. My heart kick starts when I sense his closeness. He’s heading this way, already working the bouncer to let him in. I need to get to him first. Have to stop him before he walks into a trap.
“If you’ll excuse me,” I say to the group as they work their way into the booth. “I need to use the restroom.”
Katie offers to join, along with Jezi, and I curse myself because this is not how I wanted him to find out.
Weldon, I nudge.
Mouse, he repeats smugly.
My mind goes blank. I don’t know what to say. How to say it. What to do. Katie pulls me into the bathroom, mouth moving wildly as she chats about things I can’t hear. Sweat beads along my forehead as I force myself into a stall.
You’re drunk, aren’t you? he says on the edge of laughter. The bouncer has let him in. I see him moving through the crowd, searching for our table. Where are you sitting? Is my sexy vixen with you?
I know he’s talking about Jezi, and
my brain cells scatter.
Weldon, Claire is here, I say quickly, squeezing my eyes shut the minute it comes out. I leave the bathroom without waiting for the others, heading straight for him. He’s standing completely still, eyes locked on Claire, who’s laughing at something Meredith just said. Weldon, I’m sorry. They just bumped into us. I didn’t know—
He shakes his head and finds my eyes through the crowd. Forces a smile on his face and finishes making his way through the dance floor and up the stairs in my direction. “It’s fine,” he says the moment he’s in front of me. He’s struggling, but I don’t bring attention to it. “I have to deal with it at some point, right?” His smile relaxes a little. “Besides, there’s nothing left between us. I knew it the moment we talked. We’re two different people now. And, well, I still kind of have a thing for—”
“Weldon?” Jezi says breathlessly as she nearly topples into us from behind, tripping over her own feet.
He already has his hands out, catching her up in his arms. “Hello, gorgeous,” he says, smiling down at her as if she’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.
She grins up at him, closing her eyes, leaning closer with her lips puckered out. I think she’s lost her mind. And maybe he has too, because he smirks, and then takes the kiss she’s offering.
A flare of warning goes off in my brain. Damien is within eyeshot. He’s on his feet, jumping over the table as everyone else in the booth stands to see what’s happening. Without a moment to process, Damien is in between them, a low, guttural growl surging past his lips as he moves Jezi behind him and is in Weldon’s face, eyes pulsing with anger.
“Hey to you too, Damien,” Weldon says, patting him on the shoulder.
Damien swats him away.
Weldon lets out an exaggerated sigh, head tilting to the side. “I know. I know. It was disrespectful of me to kiss her like that. But can you blame me? We kind of had a thing. A real thing before you came along. And, by the way she just kissed me, I’d say that thing never really ended.”
Damien drives his fist against Weldon’s face, the sharp sound slicing through the music, causing heads to turn in our direction.
He just can’t seem to keep his mouth shut long enough.
Jaxen is already pulling Weldon backward. Chett is in front of Damien, trying to calm him down as Jezi breaks down in a fit of tears behind me.
“Take her to the bathroom,” I tell Katie, trying to regain order as quickly as possible.
“You don’t deserve her!” Damien shouts, finger pointed high in the air toward Weldon.
Weldon rubs his jaw, not bothering to fight back. He looks to the side, to where Claire and Meredith stand, and drops his head when his eyes connect with Claire’s.
“Damien, dude. You can’t get mad at her for still having feelings for him,” Chett says, grabbing his arms and trying to keep them to his sides. “She isn’t over him.”
Damien’s chest heaves in and out as Chett’s words punch him in the gut. He plunges his hands through his hair and growls. When he looks up, his eyes lock on mine, fury raging in them. “Tell her I’m done,” he says, and then he shoves his way past Weldon, disappearing in the crowd.
“Dude,” Chett says when he spins back to Weldon. “That wasn’t cool.”
“Where is she?” Weldon asks me, ignoring Chett.
I turn, looking toward the bathroom.
He brushes past me and heads right in despite the protests from the other women.
“Faye, go after him,” Jaxen says against my ear.
With a heavy sigh, I follow and find him standing next to Katie outside of Jezi’s stall, hands holding the top of the door. “I messed up by pushing you away, Jezi.”
Her sobs grow louder.
He looks to Katie. She shrugs her shoulders, leaving him to fend for himself. “Please come out,” he begs. “Let’s go somewhere and talk. Okay?”
“You’re only talking to me because she’s with someone!” Jezi shouts, her words drenched with tears.
“That’s not true,” he says, and then pauses. “Okay… it has something to do with it, but not in the way you’re thinking. It’s you I want, Jezi. I just had to see her again to be sure.”
He’s walking into a wall, and he knows it. I groan and make my way over to him, almost wanting to laugh when relief fills his gaze. “Jezi, it’s Faye. I’m in his head, remember? He’s hung up on you. Everything he’s saying is true. Just come out and talk to him, okay?”
There’s a moment of silence, and then a click as the door unlocks. Her eyes are puffy and her skin is blotchy, face bloated from the tears, but she’s looking dead at him, waiting for his next move. He grabs her by the waist and plants a kiss so deep and personal, I look away. Grab Katie’s hand and pull her out of the bathroom.
“And here I just wanted to have a smooth night of letting go,” she says as she runs her fingers through her hair. “You deserve it, Faye.”
“We all do,” I say, putting my arm around her. “That’s why we’re not going to let a little drama stop us from taking this moment. We’re going to grab our men and get our butts back on the dance floor where they belong. We have a promise to uphold, don’t we?”
She looks over at me, eyes twinkling, and leans her forehead against mine.
“Yes. We sure do,” she says, pulling me into a hug. “Friends forever?”
“Forever and always.”
MY EYES FEEL LIKE STEEL weights are on them by the time we make it back to our room. Jaxen carries me from the elevator to the bed and tosses me on it, laughing when I glare up at him. He doesn’t give me a chance to say or do anything as he hops on top of me, pinning me against the mattress with his body, the playful look in his eyes replaced by hunger.
“You said later,” he says against my neck, licking a small trail up to my ear. “And I’ve been patient, even when you were grinding your ass against me.”
“Oh, yeah?” I say, leaning back, turning my head to the side to give him more access.
“It gave me a lot of time to think about what I was going to do with you once we got back here,” he continues as his fingers find the zipper to my jacket. He takes his time sliding it down.
“What kinds of things?” I ask as I sit up and shuck my arms free.
He pulls at the hem of my tank top until it’s up, over my head, and tossed somewhere on the floor. His eyes graze over my breasts, and then his hands find the strap, setting them free. He licks his lips, and then skims his hands over my breasts, leaving trails of fire beneath his touch. “Teasing you until you can’t take it… the way you teased me tonight,” he starts with as he unbuttons my pants and slides them off. “Are you up for it?”
My smirk says it all as I pull him down and let my kiss seal my answer.
THE NEXT MORNING, I WAKE to the sweet scent of syrup. A smile drifts across my lips as images of last night scroll through my mind. His smile, his hands, and his fulfilled promises. Sneaking away from the world, if only for one night.
My stomach growls, and then I roll to find an empty bed with a note on the pillow.
A flurry of wings flap inside my chest.
You’re too beautiful to wake.
After quickly dressing, I follow the sweet smell to the kitchen and find Jaxen flipping a pancake in the air as Chrissa giggles at him. Holiday music beats through the room in soft trills as a light snow flurries outside the window.
The moment she sees me, she hops off the counter and runs over, grabbing me by the hand and pulling me to the dining table. “We made eggs and bacon to go with pancakes if you want some,” she says as she pulls a chair out for me and ushers me to sit.
I laugh as I take a seat and lift my hands when she sets a plate down in front of me. She reaches for the platter of eggs to load my plate when Gavin enters the room and takes a seat on the other side of the table.
I haven’t seen him since that night. He looks like he hasn’t slept since then, and my appetite falls away. Chrissa sees this and sets the e
ggs down before heading over to him.
She tends to him as if he’s a wounded bird, tugging on his hand and running her palm over his face. I sense her magic the moment she taps into it, coaxing him to feel at peace. His smile builds slowly as he looks up at her, and then shifts his gaze to me.
“I’m not going to hunt anymore,” he says, his voice so calm and normal I almost feel like I’m imagining it. When I don’t say anything, he chuckles and adds, “I already talked to Mack, and he gave me the okay.” He turns to Chrissa, a smile brewing on his lips. “I’ve been assigned as her protector while Evangeline is away.” He pauses a beat, and then adds, “I think being around my little sister will help me get through everything.”
“That’s because I’m the best, Gavvy,” Chrissa says as she wraps her small arms around his neck and squeezes.
“I think that’s a great idea,” I say as my stomach flattens out a little. I pick up a pancake and bite into it.
“Eww!” Chrissa says as she watches me. “You eat plain pancakes?”
I smirk. “Syrup is too sweet for me,” I admit, taking another bite.
Jaxen laughs as he sets the last of the pancakes down and takes his seat next to me, reaching for a plate.
“I don’t see how anyone could turn syrup away,” Chrissa says, still holding on to Gavin’s neck.
“That’s ‘cause you’re made up of sugar and spice and everything nice!” Gavin says as he pivots in his chair and tickles her sides until she’s a shriveled-up ball on the floor screaming and laughing in bursting shrieks. Her laughter bubbles around the room, grabbing all our worries by the hand and spinning them in circles. She is the medicine for our soul… the best thing that could happen to Gavin right now.
“Have you heard from Evangeline?” Jaxen asks as he smears butter on his eggs and a pancake, and then pours a liberal helping of syrup, adding a wink at the end in Chrissa’s direction.
Evermore (The Night Watchmen Series Book 5) Page 17