Here we go.
"Probably because you never answer your damn phone," I gripe, and then I stare like a scolding mother into his eyes.
"I spoke to you just about four or five weeks ago, and you didn't even have a boyfriend. How did you go from single to engaged in that snap?" he murmurs, sounding irritated.
"It's a long story," I mumble while squirming under his penetrating disapproval.
He props back again with scrutinizing eyes burning against me.
"Obviously it can't be that long," he criticizes.
I huff slightly. "I thought you were in Kuwait," I mumble in an effort to shift the awkward subject.
Devin is still smiling, enjoying my brother's protectiveness, while I long to dive under the bed and hide.
"I was. I got what I needed, and came home to see the 'rents and my secretive sister who is desperately trying to avoid my questions in a not-so-subtle sort of way. You suck at diversions," he teases.
"I need to go change." I huff as I walk into my room and shut the door.
"When are you planning to marry my sister?" Jake interrogates.
Devin laughs, and I roll my eyes as I start sifting through my closet. I hear him lightly answer the question we haven't really discussed.
"As soon as she'll let me."
My heart flutters, and a goofy, girly grin stings my cheeks.
"You really like her, huh?" Jake says with a more subtle interrogating tone.
"I really love her, actually," Devin clarifies.
"You'll change your mind once you live with her," Jake chuckles. "She has a bizarre routine, and she lives on takeout, ice cream, and beer."
Devin snickers lightly, and I'm scowling at Jake, even though he can't see me. I pull a shirt from a hanger and grab a pair of jeans.
"Well I happen to have a rather bizarre schedule as well," Devin says with an understating tone. "We've actually adjusted rather well to living together, despite our clashing styles. We've got more in common than most people," he says with an air of mystery.
I shake my head as the overwhelming few weeks spring to my mind all at once, and then I snicker at the private joke meant for me to overhear as I lace up my boots.
I fluff my wavy hair into place and smooth on some lip gloss. Jake laughs a little as I walk out.
"So the two of you are living together?"
"Yeah," I murmur vaguely with a nonchalant shrug.
Jake shakes his head. Devin is as confused as I am by Jake's reaction. He hates not being able to see anything directly related to me, and I love the irritation on his face.
"So what's the deal? He doesn't let you keep your clothes at his place? And are you holding onto your apartment in case you decide to end it or what?" he asks with a bit of a troubled tone.
Devin laughs incredibly hard at the amusing misconception, but Jake's stern face allows for nothing but seriousness in his concern. I smile patronizingly at my worried brother.
"Her lease doesn't run out for another year, and she has more to wear at our place than she does here," Devin reassures.
There's that word again - our. It instantly brings a smile to my face, and Devin comes to wrap his arms around me.
"So, why were you wearing dude's undies and tee?" Jake scoffs.
I roll my eyes once more. "His name is Devin, not dude, and again... long story," I mumble.
Jake seems agitated by my unwillingness to divulge the mystery behind our whirlwind romance. His brow rises when he looks over to my windowsill at the shriveled up, crunchy plants that have thirsted to death in my absence.
"I'm assuming you're not allowed to have plants in your new place."
Devin frowns slightly. "I actually do have a no-plant policy these days, but it's been a recent rule."
My eyes narrow slightly as the memory of the killer orchid striking me runs through my mind. Then the imagery of Persia's life taken by a toxic vine sweeps through like the running bulls of Spain.
“I also had the same change of heart toward plants of any kind," I growl.
Devin pulls me in tighter to him and kisses my head. I feel a tear almost escape, and Jake is now incredibly curious about the odd and vague answers we just gave him.
Someone taps lightly against the door to interrupt the conversation we're avoiding.
"It's Camara," Devin answers to my silent, paranoid panic attack.
We've been here too long. What are we doing?
"Come in, Camara," I offer.
She walks in with worrisome eyes, and Jake turns to see the new face. He slips from his unstable position on the couch and pounds into the floor like a ten-year-old boy who just saw a pretty girl for the first time in his life.
Camara stifles a smirk, but my laughter roars free.
"Real smooth, big brother," I tease.
He rolls his eyes as his cheeks burn crimson. I laugh a little more to mock his uncharacteristic stumble before introducing them.
"Camara, this is Jake. Jake, Camara."
He smiles his lady-killing, full-flash, but Camara has been around too long to fall for pretty boys flashing their teeth.
Deacon walks in and quickly throws his arm around her shoulders to stake his claim, and Jake frowns at the new wolf in the room.
Then some more walk on in to my very small apartment - which once seemed so much larger before I stumbled headfirst into the world of Devin Cole and his massive homes.
"This is Ther, Kry, and Hale," I introduce.
"Sheesh. Do you always travel with an entourage these days?" Jake mocks sardonically.
I giggle slightly at his completely baffled and stupefied look. Jake always says I'm too predictable, and I've been anything but such a thing since the moment I met Devin.
“We were wondering if you'd go with us to grab a drink," Devin says misleadingly.
Jake shrugs. "I just found out my sister is getting married, has moved, and my parents have gone on a vacation for the first time in years after our childhood home was destroyed. I think a drink sounds mighty damn good right about now," he huffs.
I smile lightly, and Devin scoops my hand in his as we walk out the door. Jake's eyes keep a suspicious lock on Devin, even though he's not paying Jake any attention at all.
"Which bar are we hitting?" Jake asks.
"Whichever you suggest," Devin offers kindly.
Jake still acts unimpressed by my perfect fiancé. Devin is completely aware of the loathing distaste Jake is demonstrating, but he's not letting on.
"Do Mom and Dad know?" Jake growls.
"Yeah. We told them before they went to Devin's beach home for the month," I say while my eyes stay trapped in Devin's.
"Wow. So he did some major sucking up," Jake jokes.
"They needed a break," I sigh, although it was purely intended to keep them safe.
"So you and Devin were on a boat?" Jake asks curiously, disguising his probing as idle chitchat.
"We all were," Camara adds.
"So you really do go everywhere with them," Jake dramatizes with wide eyes.
Devin smirks slightly, and Hale leans up to whisper in his ear. It's so low that even I can't hear it. Jake tugs on my hand as he whispers to me.
"These people are so... odd. This isn't like a cult or something, is it?" he asks worriedly.
Devin stifles a grin, letting me know he just listened in, while Camara, Deacon, Ther, and Hale suppress a smile as well. I roll my eyes as I speak with an equally dramatic tone.
"No. They're just really good friends, almost like family," I add.
"That's what cult members say. I did a story on one just four months ago," he murmurs in his nearly muted tone - well, nearly muted to a mortal.
"I know you did," I mumble. That was the article that plagued my mind when Devin kidnapped me to take me to his mother. I thought he was psychotic. "But, it's not a cult, or any other sort of brainwashing family. It's a lo-"
"Long story. Yeah, you've said that - over and over," he gripes in interruption while su
lking.
"I know it's your nature to seek out a story, but there's nothing to seek out here. It's really just a bunch of boring details you won't understand until you fall in love," I lie.
"Love," he laughs. "Me? You've been in la-la land for too long it seems," he snarks, and just like that, this conversation has shifted.
I suck at diversions my ass.
We make it outside to the vehicle, and we all load up with Kry taking over the driver's seat of the large SUV. Deacon, Camara, and Ther hop in the very back. Hale acquires the passenger seat up front, and my brother, Devin, and I load up in the middle.
"You still changing flavors weekly?" I scoff.
"More like daily. Women are so frigging annoying after a minute," Jake dramatizes.
Camara turns to scold him with her eyes, and the guys begin chuckling at the little remark.
Jake slumps down under the offended eyes of Camara glaring at him. I laugh a little as I try to scold him.
"I'm a woman, too."
"Yeah, but you're my sister, so you don't count," he says with nonchalance.
"The human race would cease to exist if all men had your finesse and perspective," I grumble.
"I don't know," Hale says with an intrigued tone. "I see his point."
I roll my eyes at the male equivalent to Aphrodite. None of them would say such things if they loved someone like I do Devin.
"Same here," Kry retorts.
"What about you?" I dare Devin.
He smirks lightly, but Ther interjects before he can answer.
"Devin has flown through more women than any of us," he pops out with an absentminded accident.
His eyes grow wide when mine cut to him, and Devin lets a small chuckle escape. Jake leans up so he can see around me to meet Devin's eyes.
"So you're the love em' and leave em' type, eh?" Jake asks with more suspicion.
"I've only ever loved one, and I'll never leave her," Devin says while his eyes stare into mine.
The stupidest grin inches across my face, and Jake pretends to be gagging at the super sweet comment.
Ther and Kry laugh a little at what must be a rather uncharacteristic side of Devin, but it's the only side of him I've ever known.
"I love you," he murmurs.
"I love you, too," I whisper - a mortal whisper.
"Oh, I'm going to be sick," Jake grumbles.
I roll my eyes just before Devin's lips reach mine, and then I turn to scold my brother.
"Really? Are you that immature?"
He shakes his head, and I see the almost puce color invading his face.
"No. I'm really going to be sick." He grimaces while holding back an upchucking motion.
Kry squeals the car to a halt, and Jake dives out into the night air. He doubles over, hands-on-his knees, and does his best to catch his bearings. I climb out slowly with worry etching my face.
"What's wrong?" I ask, feeling anxious.
He holds up his hand in a "stop" motion, while gingerly taking soft breaths as if he's trying to steady his hurling impulse.
"I'm okay. I guess I just got carsick or something," he mumbles as he stands back up very slowly.
"Are you sure?" I worry.
"Yeah," he reassures. "Hey, look. It's the first bar I ever took you to," he says while pointing to a sign.
"You want to go here?" Devin asks as he climbs out.
"Yeah. I need a good walk down memory lane with all the shit that's apparently happened in my absence," Jake grumbles while grabbing his head.
Everyone hops out, except for Kry who drives off to park. I lean over to whisper - our whisper - as everyone starts making their way into the hazy bar that is dimly lit with tacky neon and cigarette embers at the entrance.
"Is it safe to be here?"
He nods to Ther and Deacon who walk in first upon his permissive motion before he answers.
"It should be. The smell of alcohol, cigarettes, lust, desperation, and sorrow should drown out any of our scents as well as his. The more disrupting sounds and scents, the better. That's why I suggested a drink. The jet has to refuel and prep for another trip, so hold off on forcing his willingness to leave until they call," he instructs.
I shiver slightly when the anxiety rumbles to the surface, and Devin wraps his arms around me in response.
"He's fine now. He's with us," he murmurs soothingly.
He holds my hand as we walk into the bar. Jake is already chatting up some pretty blond sitting alone at the bar. Poor girl.
"Well that took five seconds," I snark.
Devin laughs lightly as he pulls me to be beside Jake. The girl squirms while giggling foolishly on the barstool. I roll my eyes as I order my drink.
"Vodka, straight up," I yell over the dreadful karaoke music.
Jake spins around with quizzical eyes, his blond prey forgotten.
"Since when do you drink the real stuff?" he gasps.
"It's a long story," I tease.
He just rolls his eyes at my favorite line of the night.
"I'll have whiskey on the rocks," Devin says as he hands the bartender his credit card. "And start a tab for all of us."
Jake's eyebrows etch up. "You drink hard, too, eh?"
"Yeah. It's a nasty habit," Devin chuckles.
It's impossibly hard to get drunk as an immortal, and beer doesn't even come close to cutting it.
"Adisia can't drink like that for too long. She's a lightweight. I used to have to carry her home after a few beers. I hope you're ready to hold her hair back," Jake teases.
I smile as the guy hands me my drink, and I guzzle it without so much as making a face. The burn barely stuns my immortal throat.
"I bet I can out drink you," I dare while staring into my naïve brother's eyes.
He swivels his whole body to face me and holds up a hand to the bartender.
"I'll have whatever she's having for the rest of the night," Jake says as he takes me up on my little challenge.
The guy hands him a glass of vodka. His eyes close tightly, his nose turns up, and his throat forces the drink down once he finally attempts to guzzle it as I did.
"Okay," he breathes harshly. "What's next?"
"Another," I say with an air of fearlessness to the bartender.
He gives me an insuppressible grin as I swish the strong liquor in my mouth and gulp it down. Jake shakes his head with a surprised smile as he follows behind me.
Devin doesn't seem too amused with the charade. As the bartender reaches for another, I whisper to my distracted man.
"What's wrong?"
His eyes stay focused as he pulls out his phone.
"I don't know. I can't see anything in your brother's future," he murmurs vaguely as he types away.
"Maybe it's because he's drinking and talking with me," I try to explain.
Devin doesn't seem convinced as he mutters, "Maybe." His eyes shift up to offer me a less worrisome look. "I need to call Mom and the others to see where we're at with the jet. I'll be right back."
I lean into him as his hand slips over the back of my neck, and he kisses my forehead. I turn back to Jake and clank my glass against his before turning it up again.
He shakes his head in disbelief, but he refuses to back down from the fast pace I've set.
"Since when can you drink?" he spouts.
"Things change when you stay gone for too long," I snark.
He rolls his eyes. Then a voice interrupts our playful sibling rivalry.
"Well I'll be damned. Aphrodisia and Jake Titan," a piercing, unwelcome voice bids.
I stifle a scowl as I turn to face the girl I've long despised. Her blond hair wraps around her shoulders with a bit of frizz, due to the hot, humid air tainting the bar. Her makeup is smeared from the beads of sweat forming around her brow and upper lip.
I don't even feel the heat or the cold anymore - at least not because of the actual temperatures. Aphrodite's passionate fever is sometimes challenging.
"Sharon," I
cordially force.
"Well, you look... different," she says with a displeased and somewhat surprised tone.
Yeah. I look like a goddess, bitch.
I smugly stare her down, and notice that time hasn't been as friendly to her.
At the ripe old age of twenty-five, she has crow's feet and terrible brown roots sticking out above her store-bought blond.
It would be sort of pitiful if she hadn't been a perky, popular, cheerleading, boyfriend-stealing bitch in high school.
"I am different," I retort.
Her eyes seem sad for a brief moment, and then the bitch eyes I've grown accustomed to return.
"I see you're still relying on your brother to hang out with you. It's sort of a sad thing to do on a Saturday night, don't you think?" she snarks.
Jake rolls his eyes as he motions for more drinks, and a semi-attractive man comes to slap Sharon on the ass. She giggles at him as he does so, and she quickly introduces him.
"This is Tad. He's my husband," she says with an even smugger, in-your-face tone, but I'm so far from jealous. As petty and shallow as it is, I want to rub Devin in her face.
Tad's eyes dance excitedly as he stares me up and down, and I try to fight the urge to vomit.
"You're far too hot to be from around here," he gushes.
Sharon elbows him in the ribs, growling her disapproval, and I just roll my eyes at the crude and inappropriate remark.
Devin walks back over like my real-life hero. No doubt he's been listening in and saw my discomfort. He snakes his arm around my waist while kissing me on top of the head.
"Sorry it took so long," he says with a menacing smirk, and then he turns to face the gaping mouth of Sharon as she stares with a stupefied and dumbfounded gaze at the beautiful man in love with me. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met," he says with such an innocent tone.
"I'm... uh... Sharon," she stutters, and she completely forgets to mention Tad.
"I'm Devin Cole, Adisia's fiancé."
I've never been happier to rub that in someone's face. I'm deriving the most surreal joy from her gaping disbelief.
"Oh. I didn't know she was engaged," Sharon mumbles while staring dreamily at my man.
"Join the crowd," Jake gripes as his eyes narrow at me.
Sharon giggles in her awkward fashion, and Tad grows restless behind his drooling wife.
Immortal Dreams Page 81