Damn it, he had a point. Chances are I would have been as furious as I was now. Hell, I might have even flown off the handle more than I already had.
“I didn’t think so.” His words weren’t cocky; they were precise.
I sidestepped him, leaving the topic alone, and continued to the back of my apartment. “Let me grab my stuff and turn out some lights.”
“I’ll wait here.”
The second I was away from him, I could feel my hardass exterior crumble. While I might not agree with what Randal had done, that didn’t mean I couldn’t see his reasoning behind it. After all, hadn’t I felt a tremendous amount of relief when Bree flew home? There was a saying, something about the pot calling the kettle black, which came to mind. It seemed fitting.
As I slipped into the heels I had set out earlier, I decided keeping the details of the spell Lexy intended to use to myself might have been the right choice after all. Randal’s latest escapade had proven he enjoyed playing the hero, and I would be damned if I let him sacrifice himself to save me from the wraith.
At the thought of it, the wraith slithered through my center and spread outward with its chilly embrace. My lips pinched into a thin line, and I reached for the vial of oil Lexy had given me. Placing a dab on each temple, I assured I would remain the one in control tonight. Her potions had yet to do me wrong. After a few seconds, I could feel the wraith coil in on itself, forming a tiny ball in the center of my chest. Inhaling, I smoothed my hands over my dress and stared at myself in the mirror above my dresser. While the wraith may feel small and weak inside of me because of Lexy’s concoction, its silver streaks tarnishing my aura told a different story.
Ripping my eyes away from my refection, I stared down the hall toward Randal, trying to paint the rage I still wanted him to think I harbored back onto my face. Men were like children—if you let them get away with something once, they would test your boundaries time and time again. Randal might be sexy, which no doubt allowed him to get away with more than the average man, but he needed to remember I wouldn’t tolerate as much as most women would either.
Chapter 6
Wherever Randal was taking me, it wasn’t in the downtown portion of Newvale. We had passed the final skyscrapers of the city miles ago and were now encroaching on the outskirts, where everything seemed more rustic and woodsy. This was where I imagined Dex running during a full moon with his buddies.
The soft strands of jazz playing switched tempo to something more upbeat as Randal turned down a gravel driveway. I kept my eyes locked out my window, attempting to figure out where he was taking me. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single clue to help. Nothing except trees and thick brush lined either side of the long driveway.
“Are you prepared to be surprised?”
I flinched at the sound of his voice. We hadn’t spoken since leaving my apartment.
“Yeah. I guess.” There wasn’t much excitement in my tone. I was still slightly miffed with myself for caving so easily and going out with him tonight.
What he had done to Bree was wrong. It wouldn’t have mattered if he had let me in on his plan or not. I should have stayed home to let him know exactly how upset I was with him, but for some reason, I hadn’t.
As we continued up the winding driveway, one thing became apparent. Randal definitely hadn’t made reservations at a restaurant for us. At least I didn’t think there would be something of that nature way the hell out here. I could be wrong though.
“Excellent.” He came to a rolling stop behind a white SUV, which also happened to be parked in front of a mansion. “Because we have arrived at our destination for the evening.”
I scanned the driveway, searching for a vehicle I might recognize. There were a shit ton parked in front of us. Obviously, this was someone’s house, and he or she was hosting a massive party. I uncrossed my legs and leaned forward to glance closer at the house.
“And where exactly is here?” I asked. “Whose house is this?” All I could see through the large windows in the front, which could really be considered glass walls, were shadows of people crammed inside.
“That would be the surprise.” His words trailed off as he cut the engine of his car and opened the driver-side door to step out.
I climbed out of his car before he could move to open mine for me. The night air hummed with vibrations of the music and drunken chatter from inside the house. “Okay.” My tone sounded clipped and harsh even to my own ears.
Sage’s sporty car caught my eye. I wondered what she was doing here and why she hadn’t said anything about a random party in the middle of nowhere.
Randal stepped to the front of the car. “I understand you are slightly agitated with me, and while I am not asking you to pretend to be otherwise, I would like for you to have a good time tonight. Enjoy yourself, Kenna. You deserve it.” The softness reflected in his eyes melted away more of my animosity.
“Thanks, but what are we doing here? Whose house is this?”
The ghost of a smile played at the corners of his lips. “This is a housewarming party.”
“For whom?” I asked, even though from the look on his face I gathered my answer already.
“Yours truly,” he answered with a smirk. “Well, and my sisters of course.”
Of course. Wherever he went, so did they. I was all about families sticking together and being close by for support and a sense of home, but did they really have to live together? Each of them appeared old enough to live on their own. When I thought about it, their closeness seemed creepy.
Randal tipped my chin so that I was facing him. “What are you thinking?” Worry seemed to thicken his words. Did my opinion of the place really matter to him? And why was he so focused on my emotions?
Somewhere a door must have opened, because the music grew louder, floating through the dark toward us. Randal dropped my chin, and I forced my eyes to focus on the house. Parts of it were painted slate gray while the other was made of natural wood. The front of the house was virtually glass, allowing the dim lighting from inside to spill out onto the gravel of the driveway.
“It’s beautiful.”
Randal exhaled loudly, making me wonder what sort of reaction he had been hoping for. “I assumed you would have been thrilled about the idea of me finding a place in Newvale to live. Clearly, I was wrong.”
My eyes drifted to stare into the thick forest behind Randal, and the realization of what this house stood for pelted me. It was a move to solidify our relationship. This must have been why it was such a big deal to him, because this house meant he would be staying in Newvale, for me. What he didn’t know was there might not be a me to stay for. Not unless Lexy could find some other way to free me from the wraith’s clutches.
“I am.” I left it at that, not wanting to rehash our earlier conversation. I was exhausted enough as it was.
“Randal? Kenna?” a soft voice called from somewhere above us. My eyes lifted in search of the source. There was a balcony overlooking the woods at the side of the house. On it, I could make out the silhouette of a woman leaning against the rail, looking down at us. “I thought I heard a car pull up a few minutes ago.”
“Yes, we finally made it.” Randal placed a hand against the small of my back.
“Kenna, you look stunning in that dress!” Whoever it was squealed. Her voice was light and whimsical.
I squinted, trying to see who she was. I knew it wasn’t Sage, and there was no way Bianca would welcome me with such warmth. Maybe it was Arabella.
“You should come inside and have a drink with me.”
I stared up. The lights of the house cast her in shadows. I could make out her slender figure and the edges of her midnight blue aura, but nothing more.
“It’s Arabella,” Randal whispered against my ear, putting my thoughts of her identity to rest. The hot sensation of his breath sent a shiver through me.
Damn it. Apparently staying angry with this man wasn’t something I could manage.
“I will
,” I called up to her. My voice sounded confident now that I knew whom I was speaking to.
“Great!” Through the darkness, I could barely make out her hand waving. Her excitement was palpable, and I wondered how much she had already had to drink. Was she drinking alcohol, or were there drunk humans lying on a table buffet-style inside?
I shook the image from my head. Randal would never host a party with such wild occurrences.
“Give us another moment.” Randal chuckled, obviously noticing his sister’s inebriated state.
“See you inside.” Arabella giggled. The sound of music floated to my ears once more as she opened a door and stepped inside.
“She sounds festive this evening,” I muttered once she was out of earshot.
“It appears so.” Randal steered me toward the front steps where soft, circular lights embedded into each illuminated them perfectly. He paused at the top of the stairs and turned to face me. His hand came up to skim along his jaw. “I feel as though I should offer you the option of leaving. Tonight has not played out the way I hoped, but I would like to stress that you are in no way obligated to attend this party. If you feel inclined to head home, please let me know.”
“I’m fine.” Maybe it was Arabella greeting me, or the expression on Randal’s face, but the desire to hightail it out of here that hit me when we pulled up to the house had disappeared.
Randal’s lips twisted into a smile. “Would you care for a tour, or is a drink what you want most?”
“Both would be nice.”
“I can arrange that.” His touch at the small of my back disappeared as he reached for the doorknob. Just before he stepped inside, he clasped my hand in his and pulled me along with him.
A kaleidoscope of colors stood packed into the large room before me. The house held an open floor plan and high ceilings. Classy music drifted through the house, seeming to stem from everywhere all at once. As I carefully closed the glass door behind me, and Randal pulled me farther into the house, the attention seemed to shift to us.
“There he is,” shouted a guy. I had never seen him before, but I knew from the shade of his aura he was a demon. “The man of the hour. Thanks for the invite.”
Randal nodded, and I heard him mutter something in response. I plastered a smile on my face as I allowed him to pull me toward the kitchen.
“Congratulations again on moving to Newvale. You’re going to love it here,” a woman cooed as we passed her. She was in her late thirties with a skin-tight silver sequin dress plastered on and the golden aura of a werewolf clinging to her every move. I noticed the way she seemed to graze her teeth over her bottom lip as she watched Randal. I arched a brow, never having seen someone so blatantly disregard concealing his or her dirty thoughts about someone else before. It was comical.
Randal pulled me closer, until I was nearly pressed against his side. “As promised, a tour as well as a drink.” He smoothed his thumb against my hip. “You have seen the living room, and this is the kitchen.”
“Hey, there are the only people here I wanted to see.” Dex was popping the top off a beer in the corner of the kitchen.
A girl who looked no older then twenty-five slapped him playfully on the chest. “I find that quite offensive.”
“I’m just kiddin’, darlin’.” Dex wrapped his arm around the girl, and tucked her short frame into his side. “You know I came to see your pretty little face.” He tipped his beer up for a sip, but I didn’t miss the smirk cutting across his face.
Dex was on a date. My nose crinkled as I smiled wide at the two of them. A possible date, anyway. I wasn’t sure who the cute little blond girl was, but I knew she was a fairy. I could tell by the pink aura.
“Randal, Kenna, this is Tara. Tara, these are my friends, Randal and Kenna. Randal owns the house, well, him and his sisters. You’ve already met them.” Dex said.
“Yeah. I know who he is, doesn’t everyone?” Her eyes grazed Randal before shifting to me, which was odd. Nearly everyone thought of him as some sort of royalty and hardly gave me the time of day. Not Tara. Apparently, she found me to be more interesting. While there wasn’t hostility in her stare, I still got the impression she was a little uneasy in my presence. Her blue eyes scanned me in an inquisitive way. “But I’ve only recently heard about you. It’s nice to meet you.”
I forced a smile onto my face, wondering what Dex had told her. Had that even been what she meant? “It’s nice to meet you too.” I glanced around, suddenly feeling as though everyone was staring at me. They were. At least I thought they were. I cleared my throat and ran a hand through my hair. It had to be because I was standing so close to Randal; that was where all the attention was coming from. These people were friends of his, which meant they were most likely used to seeing his ex, Natalia, on his arm, not a succubus.
Tara’s eyes were still glued to me. I could feel them trailing across my face as though she were mesmerized by something. She had said she’d heard about me. Did that mean she knew I was a succubus? Had she ever met one before? From the way she was eyeballing me, I wondered if that could be the case. I knew my breed of supernatural wasn’t one of the most popular, not even in pop culture, but that didn’t mean we were unheard of.
Randal bent toward my ear. “Would you care for a drink now?”
“Absolutely.” I nodded. Something strong was exactly what I needed.
“What would you like?” He released me from his arms and stepped between Tara and me, breaking the girl’s fixated gaze long enough for her to realize she had been staring. “Wine? Beer? A cocktail? A Kiss of Death bomber?” There was a teasing quality to his words. He knew how much I enjoyed the succubus-only drink.
While the concoction that would make me feel as though I had fed from a male with the best tasting aura imaginable sounded tempting, it wasn’t something I wanted while in the midst of people who seemed to have their eyes trained on me. I skimmed over the selection of fine wines and liquors spaced out evenly along the island. “I’ll have a cranberry vodka, please.”
“As you wish.” Randal reached for a tumbler and began making my drink. I stepped forward until my lower stomach was pressed against the opposite side of the island to watch him. He was precise with the amounts he poured in not one tumbler, but two. A slight smile twisted my lips as I realized he was making one for himself as well.
“So, how have things been lately, darlin’?” Dex asked. “I haven’t heard from you since our little trip south.”
My heart skipped a beat at the nonchalant mention of our trip to Avalon Bay. I knew what he was asking too—how the wraith had been treating me. “Okay.”
“Just okay?”
“Yeah.”
Dex took a swig of his beer without removing his eyes from me. “Glad to hear it. I was gettin’ a little worried about you.”
“Thanks, but I’ve been good.” His words warmed me. Dex was such a good guy. “You should have called or sent me a text if you were that worried.”
“I could have.” He nodded. “But I figured I might be interruptin’ somethin’ if I did.” He winked and flashed me a shit-eating grin.
My face flamed. “You wouldn’t have been.”
“Is that so?” Dex’s grin grew. “You tellin’ me the two of you haven’t been shacked up since we got back, goin’ at it like rabbits? ‘Cuz that’s what the word on the street is.”
“Word on the street?” I arched a brow.
“No.” Tara placed a hand on Dex’s chest and laid her head against his shoulder. “Don’t believe him. No one has been talking about you two shacking up, as he put it.” A slight level of assurance was embedded in her words, but something else grabbed my attention. Sympathy flickering through her eyes. Why did she appear to be sad for me?
“Maybe not.” Dex narrowed his eyes at me. “But I can guarantee that’s what these two love birds have been doin’. They reek of it.”
The heat across my cheeks intensified. We reeked of it? Was he telling the truth? Could Dex reall
y smell sex on us? Holy shit, was that part of the reason everyone seemed to be staring at the two of us?
“I can assure you,” Randal said as he handed me my drink, “that is not the case.” His lips curved into a smile, and I wondered if he was merely saying so because he could sense my embarrassment.
I took a sip from my drink, taken aback by how strong it was. “So.” I cleared my throat, and shifted to look at Randal. “Are you planning on showing me the rest of your new place?”
My anger toward him had been pushed to the back burner for the time being. I needed to get away from Tara; she was putting me on edge. And Dex was embarrassing the hell out of me.
“Of course.” The sultry tone to Randal’s words had my knees wanting to buckle. He took my free hand in his and pulled me away with him.
“It was nice meeting you,” I called over my shoulder to Tara. “Have fun, Dex.” I winked.
“Later, sweetheart.” Dex had already turned his attention back to Tara. He was running a hand along her forearm. Apparently, her odd behavior didn’t matter to him. What a typical male.
“Thank you,” I said to Randal as we wove through people loitering in his living room. “Did you see how she was looking at me, as though she felt sorry for me?”
“I did.” He didn’t elaborate. Instead, he started up a set of stairs.
“Why do you think that is?” I couldn’t let it slide, not when I got the impression Randal knew more than he was saying.
“It is possible she might know you were infected with a wraith.”
I paused at the top of the stairs. Here I had been thinking she might be dumbfounded by the sight of a succubus. When in actuality, the reason behind her mystified staring and the intensity of her sadness could be because she knew what had happened to me. “How would she know that?” It wasn’t something you could see. At least I didn’t think others could see it besides me.
“There are some fairies that can sense such things. Fairies are similar to witches, because they harbor magical powers of various natures. Some are more talented, in certain areas, than the others.” Randal started walking again, only pausing once we entered the first bedroom. “I assume Tara has the ability to see things others cannot. While it is not a common power to wield, it does exist.”
Succubus Kiss The Complete Series Page 37