CHAPTER TWELVE: KNOX
We needed to do something fun or else Charley was going to blow the whole town up.
I could see it in the way she alternated between pacing around the house and talking snidely to Spanky. The marmoset had finally retreated to a hiding place somewhere in the house hours ago.
So we were down to the pacing only and as the day passed, Charley's steps became harder, her muttering to herself became louder, and the anger in her eyes became stronger.
I cautiously approached her and at first she didn't notice me, her mind miles away from the present.
"Charley," I kept my voice low.
Her head snapped up and her eyes landed on my face as her lips pulled into a sneer. "What?" she asked, finally halting her pacing. She folded her arms over her chest.
I briefly wondered if she was even aware that half a day had passed, and she hadn't done anything other than nearly stomp a hole into the tile floor. Probably not.
"I was thinking that we should all go out," I told her. "We could go get something strong to drink and then hit up one of the nightclubs downtown." There were a plethora of them in Hell's Point and there were still a few that Slade didn't have his hand in one way or another. The ones that guaranteed nothing but trouble. Those were the ones I avoided.
Charley's lips pinched together and her eyes blazed for a moment as she muttered something under her breath. She turned away from me and I thought she was going to start pacing again before she abruptly spun back around. "Fine," was the only thing she said before she vanished in the direction of her room.
I stared after her, shock and confusion on my face. I knew I shouldn't have been too stunned, because I'd learn a lot of things about Charley in the brief time we'd been staying with her. The most important thing being that she was severely unstable.
Her moods moved faster than a race car and there was no way to keep track of them. Just in that day alone, she'd flipped through happiness, right after the night she'd spent with Blue that I didn't want to focus too much on. After that, she'd lost her temper when she found out the information about the man who possibly killed her father.
And while I could have understood her being slightly upset, the abrupt temper Blue and I had witnessed scared me a little. So I hoped that going out would possibly lighten her mood. I didn't have too much faith in it, but I also hadn't expected for her to agree.
I made my way down the hall to Blue's room and raised my knuckles to knock, but the door swung open before I could.
His blue eyes moved over my face and the new tension between us reappeared in the air.
I cleared my throat, trying to make my tone as friendly as possible. "We're going to go out," I told him before briefly glancing over my shoulder, "I'm hoping it will make Charley feel better." I folded my arms over my chest as my faze remembered his.
His lips pursed for a second before he gave a stiff nod. "Okay."
He closed the door in my face and I tried to push down the anger that wanted to rise to the surface as I stared at the bare wood. I gritted my teeth slightly, my fangs wanting to come down. Instead, I only shook my head and turned around. I vowed that I would put aside the sudden tension for the night.
I quickly changed clothes in my room before making my way downstairs. Blue was already sitting on the couch, his arms folded over his chest. I moved to the other side of the room, and we both waited in silence before the soft sound of footsteps came through the room.
My lips parted slightly as I took in Charley, dressed in a sheer green shirt and a black skirt that left little to the imagination.
"Lets go," she said, a wicked smile on her face. Her mood from earlier had already done a three-sixty and it gave me hope that things would continue to change for the better.
I returned her smile.
We made our way to the car and I hopped in the driver's seat, Charley in the passenger seat, and Blue in the back.
I had an idea of which club I wanted to go to, but first I made a stop at a familiar corner. Charley perked up in her seat, raising a brow and turning to look out the window. But she didn't ask any questions as I got out of the car, leaving it running.
I dug my hand into my pocket, wrapping it around the wads of cash I no longer needed to pay our rent. I kept my steps short and smooth as I made my way over to the man sitting just on the corner of the street. His gaze snapped to mine a moment before his lips spread into a grin. He gave me a nod before offering me a hand and I took it.
The exchange went off without a hitch as I felt the weight in my hand grow lighter.
I returned the man's nod before turning and leaving.
When I got back into the car, Charley was leaning over the console, her gaze on the hand I'd used to shake the man's.
"What you got?" she asked in a sing-song tone.
I opened my hand, showing her the small bag of X.
We waited in the line for the club but I didn't mind as I soaked in the high of the drugs soaking through my bloodstream. Charley giggled from beside me, pressing her body into mine. I smiled down at her, taking in her blown pupils.
We broke apart as the line moved. It didn't take long before we were giving the bouncer our money and moving into the packed club.
The music bounced off of the walls and bodies were packed into the modest sized space. I glanced to the rafters where there were even more groups of people gathered.
A tug on my hand pulled my attention to Charley. Already the little witch was moving her hips, her head tossed back and her hands in the air. Her gaze briefly moved to me. "Dance with me," she shouted.
I gave a nod, my pulse pumping wildly as I grabbed onto her hips. My gaze moved up briefly, long enough to find Blue watching us with a pinched expression on his face. I didn't like it, but I didn't have time to focus on it as Charley placed her hands on top of mine. A wildness moved in her eyes and it drew me in like a moth to a flame.
I matched her rhythm, moving from side to side to the music. Her lips spread into a grin, and she turned, grinding against me. Warmth spread through my body and I moved my hands from her hips, letting them dance under the edge of her shirt and slide against her hot skin.
I brought my mouth down to her neck, trailing them across the soft flesh there as my fangs itched. I let my tongue slide over the spot where her pulse thumped wildly. The adrenaline that shot through my body was almost enough to persuade me to bite down, breaking her flesh, and licking up her sweet blood. But I resisted, just enjoying the feel of her and the salty taste of her skin.
She let out a soft moan that I just barely heard over the music a moment before she pulled away.
I blinked in shock as she offered me a smirk before making her way over to Blue and making him dance with her. I thought he was going to deny her since he'd never been much of a dancer, or partier for that matter. But instead he let her pull his body into hers and force him to move.
My eyes were wide as I stared at them, my thoughts going wild as I tried to figure out what was going on. My chest felt tight and I knew it wasn't jealousy. I didn't mind sharing Charley with Blue if it came down to it. He was my brother, after all, and we'd shared everything since we met. Rooms, meals, heartache.
I'd never tell him to back off of Charley.
No, the emotion moving through me wasn't jealousy, but worry.
It'd been the same emotion moving through me last night after the killing of the circus man.
Blue was changing and it wasn't happening slowly, but quickly. And, yet I knew that he didn't notice the changes that were happening or the fact that they led back to Charley.
I battled with the emotions, trying to figure out what to do as I watched them continue to move together. Unfortunately, with the drugs moving through my system, the only thing that would come to me in the moment was anger. It shoved the worry out of the way and I couldn't quite tell who it was aimed at as I approached Charley and Blue.
I bumped into oth
er club goers, not giving a shit as I made my way toward Blue and Charley. Abruptly, a hand grabbed my shoulder and I let out a sneer as I turned. Another vampire stood in front of me, his fangs on display and his hand still attached to my shoulder.
Narrowing my eyes, I leveled my gaze on him. "Take your hand off of me." I was already angry and the vampire staring me down and his friends standing behind him weren't making matters any better. I needed to take my rage out on something, someone, and if they didn't back off soon, they'd be the target.
"Where are your manners, son?" he asked, his grip on my shoulder tightening enough for me to feel a bite of pain.
"Son?" I ripped out of his hold, my fist balled as I stared at him.
"Yeah, youngin, you're nothing but a baby, probably turned a few years ago and you should learn how to respect your elders. Or else you're going to have a real problem on your hands." Like something out of a bad movie, the two men behind him stepped up, shoulders tense.
"I don't fucking know you, so I don't owe you any respect. Now get the Fuck out of my sight before I make you swallow your fangs," I warned him.
When his eyes narrowed and he took a step closer to me, I knew he was going to make the wrong decision and I braced myself for a fight as I stood toe to toe with him.
He opened his mouth, no doubt to issue out some sort of threat of his own when a familiar laugh trickled through the air. A flash of color caught my eye before Charley was pushing between me and the other vampire. Her lips were spread into a wild grin and I recognized the manic look in her eyes.
The other vampire frowned as he stared at her. "What do you think you're doing, princess? This is the business of men, now see your way out of-" Before he could finish his sentence, a scream was ripping out of his throat, loud enough to make me flinch away.
Everything seemed to calm to a halt except for the vampire as he fell to his knees. His screams cut through the air, high-pitched and pitiful. His pale skin began to turn red, and he placed a hand to his throat as familiar black tendrils whipped through the air.
I took a step back, staring at Charley as she stood in front of the man. The smile on her face was even wider and when she lifted her hands into the air, the man's screams growing louder, I could hear what sounded like a giggle leave her lips.
I was caught between terror and pride as I watched her. She was doing this for me after all, attacking the man because he stepped to me wrong. And while I knew it wasn't right, that I should have been telling her to stop, I didn't want to.
The vampire fell flat on his face, a groan leaving his lips, the only indication he was still alive as Charley turned her attention to the two men lingering in the back. Only moments before they'd looked ready to back their friend up, but now it was clear they weren't actually as tough as they thought.
They exchanged a glance before one of them turned on his heel, breaking into a sprint. He didn't make it even a foot away before he was falling to his knees, his hand pressed to his chest as he took deep breaths. Charley whipped her attention from him to the last man, raising her hand slowly, menacingly.
I waited with bated breath, wanting to know what she was going to do next.
"Charley!" Blue's voice cut through the air and slowly the rest of the room returned. Club goers crying and screaming as they ran away from the scene, the music shut off, and the lights in the club now on, shining a spotlight down onto Charley with murder in her eyes,
Blue's eyes were wide as he approached cautiously. He glanced between Charley and the bodies on the floor, disappointment in his eyes. His gaze landed on me and his jaw clenched for a moment before he turned back to Charley. "What did you do?" he asked.
Charley shrugged, unfazed. "I only gave them what they deserved."
Blue shook his head before turning on his heel and disappearing into the crowd.
I stared after him, torn between following him and staying. The decision was made for me as Charley moved closer to me, grabbing onto my hand. Her eyes flickered to mine, the excitement in them enticing. "Let's go," she said as sirens echoed in the background.
I took one last glance in the direction Blue disappeared in before allowing Charley to drag me with her.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: CHARLEY
I could feel Knox's eyes on me as I stumbled into the house. I felt... high, and not from the drugs. There was this manic energy that thrummed across my skin, that made my heart beat faster, while sparks shot through my core. I soaked in the energy, holding my head back and taking a deep breath. I could hear Knox moving and when I turned, I found him pressing the front door closed. There was a hard set to his shoulders and yet his eyes were inviting, letting me know I wasn't the only one in the mood for a little fun.
I didn't know where Blue had gone but frankly I didn't care. We'd been having a good time and he'd thrown a little hissy fit because I'd put those vampires in their place for challenging Knox. He'd get over it eventually. In the meantime, I'd get on top of Knox and ride him until I couldn't see straight.
I smiled, prowling closer to him, kicking my heels off as I went. His eyes trailed over my legs before stopping on my face as I stood toe to toe with him. I reached out, wrapping my hands around the collar of his shirt. I pulled on them, unimpressed when he didn't budge. I tilted my head to the side. "Something wrong?" I asked, my voice lower than usual.
His lips pursed for a moment. "Blue..." It seemed he wanted to say something else but wasn't quite sure of what as his brows pulled together.
I waved a hand at him. "He'll be fine." The shifter was grown and he could fend for himself for a night without Knox peeking over his shoulder. And they hadn't seemed to really be getting along anyway.
Knox heaved a deep breath, his emerald eyes piercing. "What did you do to him?"
The question caught me off guard and I pulled back slightly, trying to figure out what in the hell he was talking about. I'd thought we were well on the track to a hard and satisfying fuck, but instead he was asking confusing questions. "What are you talking about?" I didn't bother to hide the annoyance in my voice.
He pulled his lip into his mouth slightly as he studied me. "He's not the same. There's something... something different. He's been more... ragey lately, like with the bear tamer at the circus."
I took a moment to think and it didn't take long for me to realize what he was referring to. The bond. The one I'd forced on Blue without his consent or knowledge. I didn't think he'd noticed, but it seemed Knox was more perceptive than I gave him credit for. But I'd learned a long time ago that there was one thing that could take someone's mind off of something in a way that nothing else ever could.
Sex.
And I wasn't afraid to use it.
I let my finger trail up Knox's shirt covered chest, continuing to hum as I felt up the hard muscle. When I reached the neck of the shirt, I dragged my finger over the warm flesh. Knox's hand wrapped around mine abruptly and when my eyes met his, I didn't miss the suspicion in them. But lurking in the background was lust, and I knew it wouldn't take much to bring it to the forefront.
With my free hand, I reached up, grabbing the back of Knox's neck and pulling his lips to mine. There was a brief moment in which he didn't react, remaining still and reluctant. But then his lips began to slowly move with mine.
Releasing my hand, he pulled me closer, the kiss becoming harder. I let out a soft hum, melding my body to his and moving my hips in a slow grind as his hardness pressed against me. His hand wrapped in my hair, tugging and pulling until our lips separated. My lids were low as I grinned at him, enjoying the feel of pain across my scalp.
"That's all you got?" I challenged, raising a brow.
Knox let out a soft growl and the next thing I knew I was airborne, my feet leaving the ground. I let out a small sound of surprise before I realized what was happening. Knox was like a man on a mission as he carried me up the stairs to my bedroom, nearly breaking the door down to get in. He tossed me on the bed and I bounce
d slightly before propping up on my elbows.
There was a dark look in Knox's eyes as he moved toward the bed, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it to the side. I took in his smooth, hard flesh, the deep contour of his abs begging for me to run my tongue across them. Knox grabbed my ankle, pulling me to the edge of the bed before sliding between my legs and lowering his body on mine to trail kisses across my neck. I pushed my hips up to meet his as I soaked in the soft feel of his lips.
His hands slid under my shirt, slow and teasing. Frustration took over as he continued to take his time and I let out a grunt, before pushing him away. Sitting up, I ripped my own shirt over my head, my bra following. "I don't need any foreplay," I told him. "I need you to fuck me now, hard and fast." I moved my hands down to the button on my shorts but Knox quickly slapped my hands away, his hands replacing them.
I let him take the momentary lead, thankful when he didn't take long to toss my shorts to the side. His eyes were hot as his fingers danced along the edge of my panties. They slid beneath, brushing against the curls there before sliding along my slit. Moisture flooded my panties and I ground my hips forward, wanting something more.
Knox let out a low chuckle, his lips tipping up at the corner before he dropped to his knees. His tongue ran over my slit, soaking my panties further and my comments about foreplay not being needed went out of the window. He gave another long lick before sliding my panties to the side and then he was burying his face into my pussy without warning.
I let out a shout, bucking my hips forward as his tongue continues its relentless assault. I grabbed onto his hair with one hand, trying to pull his tongue deeper into me. Sparks shot through my core as his fingers joined the fray, flicking my clit before slowly sliding along my clit. The second he shoved two fingers in me, rough and hard, I exploded on his tongue.
Nowhere to Run: A Dark Paranormal Villain Romance (Midnight Renegades Book 1) Page 8