He slinked over, his shoulders drawn like a lion stalking his prey. I instinctively recoiled, my back hitting the frontend of the dresser. He stopped only once there was virtually no space even left between us.
“When was the last time someone asked you what you wanted?” His breath fell onto my lips as I angled my head upright to look at him, my eyes stealing a glance at his mouth.
“Why are you doing this?”
He braced his hands on either side of me, trapping me in as his fingers gripped the dresser top. Taking a small step back, he lowered his frame and leaned in, meeting me eye to eye. “Doing what?”
I wanted to kick myself again for marveling at his mouth. The admiration didn’t go unnoticed either, because heat flashed in his eyes.
“Let go.” He said the words almost breathlessly as he drew closer, leaving nothing but a fraction of an inch between us.
“Kat!” called out my mom’s voice from downstairs. “Get a move on. The Andersons just pulled up front!”
Reese shut his eyes, his grip contracting around me. I whispered a pardon to him, but he only growled. “Don’t.”
“Reese, I have to go.”
His features hardened as he finally looked at me. “You don’t have to do anything.”
“Please move.”
Reese’s arm disappointingly fell back to his sides as he straightened. “Why do you keep letting yourself be used like a puppet?”
“Excuse me?”
“You do everything everybody tells you to do, because you’re so afraid to disappoint someone. What do you want?”
A clamp tightened around my chest. Blaine had asked me the same thing. Had inspired me to break free from all the polite, societal bullshit. Its answer had been the very thing that convinced me to go to the bonfire instead of Mom’s last fundraiser. And that stupid decision had cost him his life.
Feeling red hot tears burning the back of my eyes, I plowed past Reese, grabbing a random pair of heels off the floor. “I don’t have time for this.”
“Yes, because you can’t flaunt a trophy around unless it’s perfectly polished,” he growled.
“What is your problem?”
“This isn’t you.”
“How would you know? You don’t know me!” I sneered.
“Perhaps you’re right.” His voice was low and riddled with ire. I could hear my pulse pounding again in my ears. “Perhaps I misunderstood the girl I met that night at the theater, because I never believed her to be some Barbie doll with a spine of a collapsible folding chair.”
Any apprehension I had drained from me immediately. The inside of my arm radiated with such intensity that the makeup couldn’t conceal the burning blue light. I dropped the heels in my hand. The air resounded with the deafening wallop as my hand smacked Reese across the face. The slap jolted his head to the side. I waited for him to react, seeing his cheek already reddening from the impact. But he didn’t say anything.
Chocolate-hued strands hanged in his eyes, casting shadows across his features as he slowly turned to face me. Anger surged through me again as Reese wordlessly moved in closer. I retracted, trying to keep some distance between us, but my back hit the wall. I slammed my hands against his chest to push him back. He didn’t budge.
His breathing remained steadied, but it grew heavier, stirring the ends of my hair. He was too close.
My hand grew readily hotter, and without a second thought, I took another swing at him. It stopped a mere inch from connecting with his face. He’d caught hold of my wrist. I brought up my other hand, but he claimed that one too. I writhed under him, forcing Reese to pin both of my hands against the wall. The space between us was nothing more than a slither that disappeared against our ragged breaths as our chests heaved. I nearly screamed at the dress’s boning piercing into my sides.
Reese kept scanning my face, seeming to calculate my next move. Waiting for me to kick or thrash or yell. But I didn’t move. His eyes lost their edge, replaced by an unnerving softness. Without warning, I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his.
His mouth immediately molded to mine. This wasn’t a chaste, innocent kiss. Not like how our first one had started out. Each of our lips was demanding and fierce, and neither of us was pulling away. Reese’s grip around my wrists slowly eased, sliding up to my hands to interlock our fingers. It wasn’t enough.
I ripped my hands free from his, only to find my fingernails digging into the taut muscles between his shoulder blades. His left hand settled on the small of my back, pressing me completely against him as his other hand cupped the side of my face. We were wholly flush, his touch scorching every inch of me.
My mother’s shrill demand rattled me free from my ecstatic delirium as she barked my name so loudly, it even startled Reese. His fingers caressed the curve of my cheek, brushing away a stray strand of hair that toppled into my face.
One last kiss, and he finally pulled away. I opened my mouth to protest, but he was already opening the door. “Let me know if you ever change your mind.”
Left in the desolation of my bedroom, I looked to the heels resting on the floor. Time to face the music…
Chapter 26
Love is Blindness
“Kat, there you are.” Mom sighed, but the breath faltered upon her doing a double take. The color drained from her face as she weaved her way through the small crowd at the foot of the stairs.
The other ladies followed her line of vision, and Mrs. Hoffmann coughed as I suspected she choked on some gourmet cracker spread. Yep, nailed the outfit. I’d splurged at a vintage clothing store in New York during our last family trip, and the lonely articles had been sitting in the back of my closet collecting dust for the past eight months with nowhere appropriate to take them out.
Leather leggings, spiked stilettos, a studded leather jacket, fingerless riding gloves, an onslaught of eyeliner, and an off the shoulder Sex Pistols graphic t-shirt. Sure enough, Mom looked like she was about to have a heart attack.
“Honey,” she gritted through a forced smile. “What on earth are you wearing?”
I batted my eyelashes innocently. “What? You don’t like it?”
“I hardly find it appropriate for the party.” Her eyes flared, and on any other day in my life, the look would have petrified me to my very core.
“That’s alright,” I retorted. “I’m not staying.”
Mom grabbed me, her talon-like false nails digging into my leather clad arm as she tried dragging me away. I didn’t move. “If you honestly think after a stunt like this that you’re not going back to Stewart’s Landing, you’ve got another thing coming,” she growled under her breath. “One word to your father—”
“‘True love should never come with conditions.’ But since you’ve made your position so clear, I’ll make mine. Two words to Dad, and I’ll be the least of your problems.” Her face scrunched in confusion as I leaned in, lowering my voice. “David Monaghan.”
Her grip immediately fell away.
“Perhaps I’ll spare a few more words for better clarity, like ‘Room 731 at the Biltmore, Monday’s at one.’” A familiar tingling warmth curled around my left arm as I watched the blood drain completely from her face until she was paler than egg shells. I plucked up a chocolate covered strawberry from a nearby serving dish. “Don’t wait up for me.”
And just like that, I strolled right past her and through the gawping crowds of stunned onlookers.
“Have a good one, ladies,” I cheerily called out, sauntering to the door.
***
The familiar trek through the West End took me to the front entrance of a quaint cottage where a rusty old beater truck sat parked in the driveway. Galloping up to the porch, I rang the doorbell, startled at the chime. Beethoven’s fifth symphony echoed from inside. Not ten seconds later did a shadow pass the entryway’s draped window. The door eased open.
Reese’s gaze immediately dropped, scoping every inch of me. “Wow.”
My blood red lips stret
ched, and he shook his head.
“I mean, hi.” He laughed, but it was breathy.
“May I come in?”
He leaned a forearm against the doorframe, as if to bar me passage, but his impish grin was all fox. “What if I say no?”
There wasn’t a moment of hesitation. My fingers gripped the lapels of his jacket, pulling him down to me. Before any sense of rationality had a chance to catch up with my body, I crushed my mouth against his.
For the longest moment of my life, he didn’t react. I finally pulled away to see him looking back at me in complete astonishment. And timidity finally crashed into me.
What was I doing?
My face heated with embarrassment as I turned to head down the front porch when his hand grabbed my wrist. In an instant, I was spun back around, finding Reese right in front of me. He drew me in through the doorway until our bodies were flush against each other as his lips captured mine.
A thrilling wave of electricity swept through all my extremities, inciting the shiver that had me gasping. His kiss deepened, and every inch of me went flush as his hands trailed up my sides. My own hands pulled at his jacket, forcing it off his shoulders. He haphazardly tossed both our jackets at the coat rack in the corner, immediately taking control of my waist. I fiddled with the front of his crimson brocade vest, undoing each notch blindly as his mouth softly grazed over my lips.
With one swift motion, Reese kicked the front door closed, pinning my body against it. The cool October air penetrating the steel surface only reminded me of just how much every cell of me was on fire. I needed him. I wanted him. I wanted every inch of him on me.
As if reading my mind, he picked me up so effortlessly, it was as if I weighed nothing more than a feather. Reese pushed off the wall, and my legs wrapped around his waist as he carried me through the foyer into the family room, setting me down on the empty couch.
Soft leather greeted my back, and I gasped as he laid his body over mine. “Wait…”
He finally pulled away, his vibrant eyes wide with apprehension. “What’s wrong?”
I actually cringed for not having thought of it before. “Your mom isn’t home, is she?”
He smiled beamingly down at me. “You really think I’d be doing this if she was?”
A shudder rippled through him as my fingers grazed the hard contours of his stomach. The deep, desperate moan resonating from the back of his throat only incited my hands to further explore his body. He pulled himself up enough to remove his vest, unbuttoning his dress shirt as well.
Reese’s peculiar choice in fashion had definitely accentuated the slightness of his frame more than I would have guessed. Quite deceptively so, because underneath the layers of clothing was a slender, yet handsomely well-toned abdomen.
“You know, I think my mom was right,” I whispered, trying to bite back my smile. “You really are trouble.”
“Is that right?”
“Yeah, but my favorite kind.”
Reese chuckled, laying back over me as I slid the shirt off his shoulders.
We both laughed, and my smile didn’t cease as his fingers slid under the hem of my shirt. Arching my back, he eased the fabric up and slid the shirt out over my head. His lips caressed my neck, and he took his time as they descended to my collarbone. His hand gripped my thigh, and my fingers teased through his hair. Reese eagerly retraced his path, meeting my lips once again. His kiss deepened, and I had to fight off the impulse to moan as the skin on top of my hand tingled.
Just as my nails began to dig into his upper back, a series of blasts erupted from all around us, and the entire room was swallowed up by darkness. Asides from parting our lips, Reese and I remained stock-still in place, wholly clueless as to what just happened.
Reese sighed, fingering the glowing blue rune on top of my hand, the only source of light now. “Did you just…?”
I opened my mouth, but I wasn’t sure what to say. Had I really taken out the electricity?
I followed his gaze to the stand beside the sofa, seeing flecks of shattered glass strewn all across the tabletop. The light bulb set within the lamp had burst. Reese retracted off me and we both surveyed the room in the limited light. Every last bulb had literally exploded.
But it wasn’t just the room. Even the street light at the end of the driveway was out. Reese headed out to the front porch for a better view down the stretch. “The whole block is pitch-black.”
Looking out into the black oblivion of the property sent chills raking up my spine. The feeling only worsened when Reese tried to call the electric company. Neither of our phones had service. Reese was more curious than concerned, insisting we take a trip to see how far this electrical disruption had hit. The entire West End was down. Not one house or store had service. It wasn’t until we drove to the mall that we saw any signs of electricity.
Though the parking lot was completely shrouded in darkness, we could see lights on inside through the windowed entranceway. It wasn’t until we headed in that we realized it was just the emergency reserve lights that were working. Despite the venture being a bust, Reese and I couldn’t help but find amusement in our surroundings. We outright laughed at the hysteria breaking out across the storefronts. It seemed that some of the cash registers weren’t backed up to an emergency power source, and irate customers like Mrs. Madison couldn’t grasp the logic as to why their credit cards wouldn’t work at the check-out counter.
Reese slinked up behind me and ensnared me into a hug, kissing my neck as we headed across the upper deck overlooking the plaza. A few familiar faces from school did a double take at us, and one girl even pointed.
“I told you,” sneered her friend. “They were probably going at it again in the dressing room.”
Reese buried another laugh into my shoulder, silently confirming my suspicions that he, too, had heard the rumors circulating about us.
“Oh, you have no idea,” I purred, running my hand through his hair. I even threw a wink at the girls, leaving their jaws agape in disbelief.
We managed to keep our composure long enough to round the corner, only to burst out laughing once the coast was clear.
“You see their faces?”
Reese drew me in, burying my laugh with a teasing kiss. “You’re a very bad girl, you know that?”
“No, I’m just happy to not give a damn,” I corrected, sighing as I felt my cell vibrating for the billionth time. Curiosity finally got the better of me, because I pried it out of my purse.
“Your mom?” Reese safely guessed.
Only…it wasn’t. “No, it’s my dad.”
Never a good sign. Mom must have started a five-alarm fire to actually incite Dad’s concern.
I tried muzzling the annoyance in my voice to a minimal as I answered with a curt, “Hello?”
I was met with a string of expletives on the other end. Not a promising start to a conversation.
“Is she there?” I could hear Mom howl in the background.
“What’s up, guys?” I replied in an absurdly sugary tone that only made Reese snort back a laugh.
“The police are here. That’s what’s up!” Dad barked.
“Come again?”
“They’re here to see you,” he snapped.
“What for?”
“They’re looking for Riley—”
“Reese,” Mom corrected angrily. “His name’s Reese. They’re looking for Reese.”
“Again, why?”
“From what we can tell, they’re looking to arrest him for Casey Radley’s murder,” Mom sneered, obviously having taken the phone away from Dad. “Please tell me you’re not with him.”
I hung up.
“Kat?”
I staggered back a step, out of Reese’s hold.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
“We have to go,” I muttered.
“Why? What happened?”
“You’re being framed for murder.”
Chapter 27
Whispering
“You don’t seriously expect me to turn myself in?” Reese protested.
“I know you didn’t do it,” I clarified, trying to pull him towards the frozen escalator.
“Yeah, but they sure as hell don’t,” he growled, planting his feet firmly in place. It didn’t matter how hard I yanked on his arm. He didn’t budge. “Wait…how do you know?”
“Well, I’m really not in the habit of making out with suspected serial killers for starters. Secondly, I saw the police report that Carly’s contact sent her. Casey was killed somewhere between eight and nine that night. The same night you took me to that restaurant. You didn’t drop me off until a quarter to ten. I’m your alibi.”
Knowing how the cops operated in this town, even I had to admit I wasn’t overly comfortable with the situation. But what else were we going to do? If Reese ran, it would only make him look guiltier. He finally relented, following behind me.
All it took was one face though to wipe away any other thought. I slammed to a halt, causing Reese to crash into my back.
“Kat?” Reese called out to me as I turned around and pushed my way back through the crowds, but I didn’t stop.
I finally reached the passerby in question, grabbing his arm and spinning him back around.
“Can I help you?” asked the man, taken aback and rather perturbed.
I looked into his eyes, feeling the cold dread of sheer and utter panic wash over me. “S-sorry,” I muttered. “I thought you were someone else.”
He politely smiled. “Oh.”
I kept staring at his eyes, and it made him laugh nervously.
“You okay?”
“You don’t wear contact lenses by any chance, do you?”
“No. Why?”
I whirled back around, crashing immediately back into Reese.
“Kat, what are you doing?” he whispered, looking over my shoulder at the black and blue haired Goth.
“We really have to go. Now!”
***
“Goddamn it, answer!” I cursed, trying to redial as I leapt down the escalator stairs.
Insidious: (The Marked Mage Chronicles, Book 1) Page 26