flower. There were so many things that made Zayne different from me. Sometimes it seemed like we were total opposites. Insecurities resurfaced like old friends you didn’t want to see. I wasn’t like Zayne. I could never be like him, no matter how hard I tried. Izzy and Drake could phase at two and here I was, seventeen, and couldn’t do it. I looked away, compiling a mental list of my faults taller than the Eiffel Tower.
Strange thing was, when I was with Roth I didn’t wander down this troubling road.
Zayne muttered something and then his arm slipped around my bent shoulders. Tugging me closer, he tucked me against his side and rested his chin atop my head. I closed my eyes, inhaling the crisp winter-mint scent of him. We stayed like that until I heard heavy steps approaching the closed door.
Pulling away from Zayne, I ignored the sudden draft that crept down my body and stood. Nicolai and Geoff exited first, winking at me as they headed toward the doors under the stairwell that led to the underground levels.
Abbot glanced at his son and me. “I assume one or both of you are waiting for me?”
“Me.” I stepped forward, twisting my fingers behind my back, more nervous than a turkey at Christmas. “I was hoping to ask you for a favor.”
He folded his arms.
“Well, it’s not really a favor at all. More like a request.” Warmth cascaded over my cheeks. There was something about this man that always turned me into a blabbering idiot. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that Zayne listened with interest from his reclined position on the steps. I sighed. “There’s this big exam in bio on Monday.” Lie. “And since there haven’t been any demon attacks lately...” Lie. “I was hoping I could spend the night at Stacey’s house on Saturday to study.”
Lie. Lie. Lie.
Before Abbot could even respond, Zayne swooped in. “There haven’t been any attacks because you haven’t been anywhere for them to get to you.”
Well...
I sent Zayne a shut-up-or-die look. “If Zayne takes me over to her house and drops me off, he can totally scout out the neighborhood—”
“Oh, wait a sec.” Zayne was on his feet in a nanosecond. “Don’t volunteer me in this craziness. There’s no way you’re staying overnight after everything that’s happened.”
I scowled. “I didn’t realize I was asking you for permission.”
His glare matched mine. “You shouldn’t even be suggesting something like this right now.”
Taking a deep breath, I turned back to Abbot. “Please. I really need to study and—”
“I can help you study,” Zayne said, planting his hands on his hips.
“No. You can’t. You aren’t in my class.”
Zayne tilted his head. “But I’ve taken biology, and it was probably a lot harder than what you’re studying in school.”
My position mimicked his. “Well, thank you for the update, but I need to study what the poor public school is teaching me with Stacey.” Giving my best puppy-dog eyes, I was seconds away from begging. “I promise that the moment anything seems shady or suspicious, I’ll call the whole clan. I won’t—”
“Aren’t you at all worried about putting your friend in danger?” Zayne asked, and damn him, I wanted to jump on his back like a monkey. “Layla, be reasonable.”
“How about you be reasonable? I can’t stay in the house forever and only go to school! Do you want me to fail?” Yeah, that was kind of low but I was desperate. “Because I’m going to fail if I don’t study.”
“No one wants you to fail,” Abbot said with a sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose, a gesture he did whenever Zayne and I got into petty arguments in front of him, but there was a shrewdness to his gaze. “I don’t think going to your friend’s house on Saturday is that bad an idea.”
“Really?” I squealed at about the same time Zayne shouted, “What?”
Abbot frowned at his son. “Yes. I think it will be okay. You need to be able to study and would probably like some time alone with your friend.” His stare turned pointed. “Especially after everything that has happened.”
Surprise flitted through me. Abbot had been abducted by aliens. This was way too easy, but I knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Thank you,” I said quickly, stopping myself from running up and hugging Abbot.
“I don’t think this is a good idea.” Shock deepened Zayne’s voice.
“Well, I think it would be a good idea for you to drive her to Stacey’s and pick her up since you’re so vigilant when it comes to Layla.” Abbot flicked a piece of lint off his trousers. “If anything happens, Layla knows to contact us immediately.”
I nodded eagerly, but a huge part of me did feel bad for lying, especially since concern was written all over Zayne’s face as he kicked his shoulders back against the buttercream walls. My only comfort was the fact that I was lying for the greater good. That had to make up for it.
Abbot left us in the hallway, and I turned to make a clean getaway. Zayne caught my arm before I could hit the first step. “I still think this is a really bad move,” he said.
“It’s going to be fine. I promise.”
“I don’t like this.”
“But you’re going to drop me off and pick me up.” I wiggled free. “And you’ll make sure everything is fine.”
Zayne’s eyes narrowed. “You’re up to something.”
My stomach plummeted as I moved up a step. “I wish I was up to something. Alas, my life is not that exciting.”
“Isn’t it?” He took the bottom step and towered over me. “Has Stacey ever really studied for an exam?”
Dammit. All those times I’d told him stories about Stacey and school were coming back to haunt me, but I held my ground. “Well, that’s why I’m studying with her. By helping her, I’m helping myself.”
Zayne snorted. “You’re so full of it.”
“Am not!” I poked him in the chest. “What else would I be doing other than studying with Stacey? Not like I’d be invited to a party.” Playing on Zayne’s sympathy was a really wretched thing to do. “And obviously, I’m not sneaking off to meet a guy.”
“Layla—”
“I’m just going to study with Stacey. That’s all.”
A look of annoyance flashed across his face, like he was already planning on regretting this. “You’re a brat.”
Shooting him a grin, I ran up the stairs to text Roth and let him know Saturday night was a go.
* * *
Stacey was more than okay with me using her to “hang out with Roth,” and I kind of felt bad afterward. Not because I was using her as a decoy, but because she was way too excited about the idea of me going on an overnight “date” with Roth. While it wasn’t a date and I really didn’t plan on it being an overnight thing, the idea of spending the night with Roth made me want to giggle and break out in hives. Sometimes I thought Stacey was more excited about the prospect of me having a boyfriend than I was.
When Zayne dropped me off at Stacey’s a little before seven on Saturday night, I watched him do a couple more passes from the living-room window in Stacey’s brownstone. After the fifth one, I rolled my eyes.
“You sure he doesn’t know what you’re doing?” Stacey asked, propping her little brother on her hip. Her mom was out with her boyfriend, date night apparently, which worked out perfectly. “Or is he moonlighting as a stalker?”
“He’s just being overprotective.” And really, really annoying. “But I think he’s done now.”
Stacey arched a brow as she put her brother on the overstuffed couch. “So...you’re wearing that?”
Leaving the window, I turned and glanced down at myself. “What’s wrong with jeans and a sweater?”
“Really?” She sighed as she picked up a little elephant. “If I were you, I’d be wearing the least amount of clothing that’s legal.”
“This is okay.” I didn’t think wearing a skirt and having my boobs fall out while going to God knows where to retrieve the Key would be a goo
d thing. Then again, Roth probably thought it was a great thing. “It’s cute.”
“It’s boring.” She waved the toy in her brother’s face, causing him to giggle. “Like really boring.”
Was it? I tugged on the hem of my sweater and then rolled my eyes. Boring or not, it didn’t matter. Walking over to where I’d left my bag, I dug out my phone. At some point, Roth had gotten hold of my cell and replaced Zayne’s name with Stony and listed his own number under Sexy Beast. What a tool.
I grinned.
Sending him a quick text telling him I was ready, I turned back to Stacey. She was holding the toy just out of the baby’s reach. She finally handed it over. “I’m actually proud of you. Sneaking out with a boy like a normal teenage girl would.”
I made a face. “Only you would be proud of something like that.”
Stacey came up to me and smoothed the sides of my hair down. The waves were a disaster today. “It’s like a rite of passage. Promise me you’ll call me in the morning and tell me everything. All the details, and there better be a ton of sexy details.”
“I’m coming back tonight.” I knocked her hands away.
“Sure you are,” she said. A horn blew outside the brownstone, and her eyes opened wide. She tugged up the hem of my sweater, exposing a thin section of my belly, and then pushed me toward the door. I was leaving my bag here with her. Not like I’d really be doing any studying. “I’m not waiting up.”
Tugging my sweater back down, I sent her a look. “You better let me in later tonight.”
She winked as she opened the door. Roth’s silver Porsche purred along the curb. As the tinted window rolled down and Roth appeared, Stacey gave him a wave. “Now go. Make mama proud.”
“Proud how?” I shouldered the bag.
Stacey arched a brow. “Use your imagination. Just remember, you can only be young and dumb once. And that is a fine specimen to be young and dumb with.”
“You’re such a perv.” I gave her a quick hug and left before she started talking to Roth about making her proud, too.
Hurrying down the front steps, I stopped at the curb and made sure I didn’t feel the presence of any Wardens. When I didn’t, I breathed out a sigh of relief. The last thing we needed was for Zayne to check on me now.
Roth grinned as I slid into the front seat. “Why is your face so red?”
I hated Stacey sometimes. “No reason,” I muttered. “Where are we going?”
To make it seem like Roth and I were actually doing the date thing, we had several hours before the moon would be out and it would be late enough to check out the reflecting pool. “I thought we’d head back to my place after grabbing something to eat. That should kill a couple of hours.”
Gripping the edges of the leather seat, I nodded as my stomach twisted. We ended up at Chan, a couple of blocks from Roth’s apartment. I spotted a few Fiends and even a Poser. It took everything in me not to tag the Poser demon. Doing so would draw attention to me from both the demons and the Wardens.
Once back at Roth’s loft, he put the little boxes of leftover rice in his fridge and then kicked off his shoes. Unsure of what to do, I sat on the edge of the bed. The kittens were huddled together in a small ball atop the piano.
Roth leaned against the wall, a small smile on his face. “You’re nervous.”
“No, I’m not.”
He laughed. “I can smell your nervousness, Layla. You can’t lie about that.”
Well, then. I tugged my knees up to my chest and looped my arms around my legs. “Aren’t you at all nervous? What if the Key isn’t there? What if it is and it’s guarded? I doubt we’re just going to be able to walk in and grab it.”
“I wasn’t talking about that.” He pushed off the wall and prowled over to where I sat. Sitting down beside me, he placed his hands on either side of my bare feet. “But to answer your question, no, I’m not nervous. No matter what’s thrown at us, I’ll be able to handle it.”
“Well, aren’t you special. Cocky much?”
“I’m all kinds of special, but you know that.” Leaning in, he placed his chin on one of my knees. “You’re nervous because you’re here with me.”
With him this close, it was hard to think up a good lie. “You make me nervous.”
That slow smile of his spread across his full lips as he rose, leaving little distance between our mouths. “You should be nervous.”
“That’s reassuring.” I wanted to lean back, but I held myself in place.
Roth chuckled under his breath and then stood. Strolling over to the shelves, he pulled out a DVD and then looked over his shoulder. “Movie?”
Flustered, I nodded.
After popping the movie in, he settled down on the bed next to me, stretched out like a lazy cat bathing in the sun. About a minute into the film, I recognized it. “Devil’s Advocate?”
He smirked.
“Nice choice.” I sighed, shaking my head.
“Just watch it and enjoy.”
Try as I might, I could barely focus on the movie. Between glancing at the clock beside the bed and attempting to ignore Roth, I was strung high and tight. My brain kept going back to what Stacey had said. Real helpful stuff there, but she kind of had a point. I could only be young and dumb once.
And there was a really limited pool of those I could be young and dumb with.
Sneaking a glance at Roth, my gaze got hung up on those impossibly long lashes. With his eyes open to thin slits, his lashes fanned the skin under his eyes. The broad expanse of his smooth cheeks begged for me to touch them. His lips were slightly parted. Just a tiny gleam on the bolt in his tongue shone. Recalling the slick coolness of the bolt, I squeezed my eyes shut.
He really was a fine specimen, too.
A tight bundle of nerves coiled, and my heart rate kicked up. Having no idea what I was thinking or about to do, I took a deep breath and wiggled down until I was lying on my side next to Roth. There was some space between us, but the whole front of my body tingled as if we were touching.
Opening my eyes, I focused on the TV. Keanu had just bought a new apartment in New York City. Stuff was about to go downhill fast. My ability to pay attention to the movie lasted about a minute, giving way to the sharp yearning building inside me.
I wiggled closer, so that my thigh touched his. Roth had been breathing normally up until that moment, but now he seemed to stop breathing altogether. A single dark eyebrow rose.
I still really didn’t know what I was doing or why. Was it because I just wanted to be like a normal teenage girl for once? To be young and dumb? Or was I seeking a way to forget about what we were about to do and the very uncertain future?
Or was it because I simply wanted Roth?
The moment that question formed in my thoughts there was no denying the truth behind it. A chill started in the middle of my back and spread to my legs and arms. It was more than just being able to kiss him. There was something about Roth that spoke to me, all of me. Something I wasn’t sure I’d felt before.
My hand was moving before I even knew what I was doing. I placed it on his stomach, just below his chest. I was still. Roth was still. Both of us were staring at the movie, and I knew he was like me in that moment, not really paying attention.
“Layla...”
The low growl in his voice sent shivers through me. I started to pull my hand back, but he caught it in a grip that was firm but gentle.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
Air caught in my throat and I couldn’t answer, couldn’t put forth the words explaining what I was doing, what I wanted. Another deep sound came from Roth and then he moved lightning quick. A heartbeat later, I was on my back and he was above me, his muscles flexing under the shirt he wore as he held himself up.
His eyes crashed into mine, and they were like two citrines. He read something in my gaze. He had to, because a shudder rolled through his body. “I’m a demon, Layla. What I see in your eyes and what I sense from your body is something I will tak
e. Make no mistake. I’ll give you one chance. Close your eyes, and I’ll let this go.”
I felt weak under his consuming stare, but I didn’t close my eyes.
“Layla.” He said my name as if it hurt him.
And then he kissed me. Not like the first time in the park. Not like the other time on this very bed. He captured my lips in a lingering kiss. I moaned at the first taste of him, sweet like chocolate. Little shivers of pleasure and panic shot through me
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