by Brea Viragh
Following a few stragglers around to the back of the building and through a side door, he jogged down a short flight of steps to an open cavern of a room. Throngs of people flocked around a central stage made from pallets arranged in tiers. A large sound system wired the entirety of the room, with speakers positioned in each of the four corners. Strobe lights hung in parallel rows around the soundstage.
He stood in the back watching the scene with detachment until he realized what was happening.
A voice boomed out from the loudspeakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, ghouls and goblins…in a last-minute performance to conclude our season, I would like to present, coming to you live from Major Dunbarton for the first time ever, the one, the only…DJ Tix!”
The crowd went wild, sending a shout out to the universe that likely shook the rafters and foundation. A tremor vibrated across the floor as thousands of feet stamped their delight.
Astix appeared from a cloud of smoke near the back of the room. Her hair looked spun like cotton candy, pieces falling around her large pair of red headphones. Leo reminded himself to breath as the music blared out, thumping with bass and the scream of trumpets.
It was one hell of a view, Leo thought as he watched her. Dark grey jeans cupped her small, shapely behind. He took ample time appreciating the distinctly feminine sight. What man wouldn’t be moved?
She captured him. Her movements, confident and direct, wound around his senses. She was like a siren and Leo found he could not escape. The way she manipulated the music conjured images of wind witches. The way she spun her arms around, as if her fingers were drawing images over the turntables…it was magical.
Time may have passed but he didn’t notice. He let the music sweep him away on a tide of feeling, all while keeping his gaze trained on the woman in question. For once, her meekness took a back seat. Leo saw all the potential buried under her layers of insecurity. Astix had the ability to command the room. The crowd positively bowed before her prowess. How had she managed to garner such a large gathering in only a short amount of time?
The show lasted several hours, with musicality and innovation spun into one dazzling performance. At the end of the last set, the bass line dropped for the last time and Astix took a bow. The entire time she’d kept her lips closed, letting the music do the talking for her instead of adding her voice to the melodies.
She waved her hand in an arc and took her leave. Bernardino’s booming voice came across the intercom one last time. “Let’s give a big hand, ladies and gentlemen, for our favorite lady of the night, DJ Tix!”
Leo took advantage of the lull to make his move. He wound around to a second door hidden behind another pile of pallets. It didn’t take long to find Astix hiding out in a former broom closet.
She clutched a candle to her chest, earphones still on. “I knew you would find me,” she murmured. “Bernardino’s making sure my equipment gets packed. I needed a minute.”
“I can see. You put on a hell of a show.” Leo nonchalantly crossed his arms and stared down at her. “Are you hiding out from an adoring fan or a lovesick boyfriend?”
“Both, in fact.”
“This isn’t your normal venue,” he commented.
“Yeah, well, I can’t go back there yet. Some, ah, issues came up the last time I played there and we had to change location. This is nice though, right?”
“Sure, it’s great.” Leo reached down to pull her to her feet. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Before the crowd gets too wild and wants an encore,” she agreed with a hint of sarcasm.
“You never give encores.”
They walked together back down the hall. Leo remembered the way and led them outside. The night air was cool, bordering on brisk with a touch of lingering winter.
“Do you need a ride somewhere? Anything I can do for the VIP. Especially after inviting me last minute, which I appreciate more than you know.”
“Who said it was last minute?” Astix countered.
Leo swallowed a laugh as he watched her bristle. “Relax. It was just a comment.” He gestured toward the car. “I thought you were worried about the police coming to ask questions.”
“Which is why we changed locations.”
“If you say so. Now, ride?”
Astix stared at him. The shining rays of moonlight played down on him, illuminating dips and valleys in his features. Leo was so gorgeous. How could someone who looked like him be interested in her?
Her brain screamed at her to be reasonable, to think things through. Her heart urged her to jump. Somewhere in the middle of those terrible things, she sat waiting. Always waiting.
Her voice returned to its normal cool clarity. “Yeah, okay. Why don’t you drive me home?” She fiddled with her outfit.
Leo nodded. “I’d be happy to.”
Astix laid a hand over his and stopped his next words. “You can stay. If you want. You don’t have to or anything. It’s not like I’ll force you.”
“Stay here?”
Of course he would make this difficult. “No, jeez. Stay with me.”
“Oh…oh!” His eyes lit up as he grasped her words. “Are you sure?”
“Drive before I change my mind.”
Leo opened the door for her and was in the car before she drew another breath. Nothing motivated a man more than the prospect of sex. He was no different.
What made her decide, she wondered, to break her intentions to swear off any contact with Leo on an intimate level? It most likely had something to do with her mid-afternoon catnap.
Astix thought back to the incident when he’d cooked dinner for her. Right after Leo left, she wore herself out pacing the carpets and lamenting sending him packing. Then the next day, she was sitting quietly for a moment and found her eyes closed, with dreams coming in startling color and realism.
Wide awake and dreaming, she ran through a forest with blackened tree trunks reaching toward the sky like death’s fingers. Leaves had fallen in moldering masses and tendrils of ice skittered across the ground.
Her lungs worked double-time as her chest heaved. She fought to outrun whatever demon pursued her. The distress threatened to choke her and she scanned over her shoulder. There was no one behind her, no single body she could make out. Instead, a tidal wave of evil rose to encompass the treetops. Rose to blot out the moon.
She pushed her body beyond its peak physical limits, her blood pumping like a prey animal. Her feet pounded the forest floor as she swerved around, jumped and ducked and skidded. Instinctively she knew there was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. Behind her, tree trunks fell with resounding booms. The ground heaved and threw off her balance.
The malevolence suddenly reduced down into a singular entity in an all too familiar shape. The black hoodie she recognized from the park. The man with the make-believe gun pointed right at her face.
Outside forces controlled her body and stopped her flight. Bare feet halted and left divots of moss in her wake. She found herself inexplicably turning toward the faceless nemesis. As she watched, his hand slowly extended, finger pointed at her. A red glow grew brighter beneath the hood. Then her family stood in front of her. Her family, on fire—the flames hot and real and melting their skin from their bones.
Astix felt her body shake and willed her mind to wake up. Please, dear God, wake up. Wake up!
A ring of fire drew up around them as he assaulted her mind, kept her from her screaming family begging for her help. At last she was able to draw herself onward. She ran, with whimpers torn from her throat and the screams echoing in her ears. Here in her nightmare, fear became king, ruling with an iron fist. Wind and brush clawed at her skin and tore her clothing to shreds. Maniacal laughter sounded behind her, closer, closer.
You’re mine.
She jolted awake with the stench of death and decay trapped in her nostrils. Shaken beyond belief, she moved into the kitchen on tiptoe, as though fearful of what she may feel beneath her soles. The wooden floor w
as solid and did not buckle. The walls stayed firm without closing in on her. Still she jerked at every sound, as though the man waited for her just around the corner. Always waiting.
This was her house, dammit. She refused to let her sanctuary be tainted.
So she made up her mind right then to put on a show. She’d dialed the number for Bernardino and set up the time for the show in a new location. If she couldn’t be strong as herself, then she’d let DJ Tix take over for the night.
Now she and Leo were driving back toward her house. Having him there would be a twofold delight. Protection and release, in whatever order.
“Are you okay?”
“Hmm?” Astix roused herself away from her inner monologue and focused on Leo. “What?”
“You’re being quiet. That doesn’t seem like you.” He navigated the dark streets with expertise.
“I’m…riding high on the adrenaline from the show.” Indeed, her hands shook against her lap, all pale skin and black jeans.
“It must be difficult for you,” Leo said softly. “To put on a show with everything that’s going on right now.”
“It is, but it’s also the only thing keeping me sane.”
He caught the inflection in her voice. “Did something happen today?”
“What?” She glanced up with wild, wide eyes. “No. No, nothing happened.”
“Are you sure?”
“Nothing of importance. Trust me.”
CHAPTER 12
They were alone in her bedroom. The room seemed to shrink around them and became smaller until it was hard to catch her breath. Not as if this was the first time she’d been intimately alone with a man. She’d had sex plenty of times.
Leo locked his hand over her wrist and her heart rate increased. They should get some balloons instead of these candles, she thought, to lighten the mood. Candles made it a dreamy, romantic atmosphere. Balloons would have made it fun. It was just sex, after all, and sex was supposed to be fun, and easy. Especially because they were two single adults who felt at least a little affection for each other.
More than affection, she admitted. Arousal and desire and trust. The latter took her by surprise. How had she come to trust this man so implicitly? He was literally the last person she should let into her life. Yet he was the one she wanted. The one her body craved and her heart told her was right. It was a gut feeling. It was magic.
The decision to invite him over had been hers alone. She’d deliberated for days on whether or not to follow through on those niggling emotions attached to Leo and what he represented. In the end she decided, for once in her life, she was going to do something for her, even if it went against her better judgment. Even if it meant risking hurt and heartache.
There was no point floundering in regret before things had started.
She allowed him to pull her close, those muscular arms wrapping around the smallest point of her waist before his hands traveled down to her hips. He lowered his lips to hers and she shook her head.
“I don’t know,” she said, the statement lax and half-hearted. Almost a tease, with a hint of second-guessing. “Maybe we shouldn’t be doing this.”
“Says who?” Leo changed his trajectory until his kiss fell on the small of her neck and he felt her quiver beneath the contact. He continued the pattern along the curve of her shoulder and back up to beneath the whorl of her ear, brushing his lips on every exposed inch of her before returning to the corners of her mouth.
“This is trouble. You are trouble.”
“I never said I wasn’t. But isn’t it breathtaking?”
Astix shivered when heat began to build within her and stretched underneath his hand on her back. How long had it been since a man touched her this way? Never, she admitted. No man had ever taken the time for her pleasure. She did not trust the action; it went against people’s inherent selfishness. More, she did not trust her reaction to it.
But here was Leo, at her request. So, so close.
“Your father,” she amended, still half searching for an out.
Leo drew back for a moment to study her. “My father is probably sitting at his desk trying to flex his iron fist.”
“But what if he comes for me again…” She trailed off.
He could not stop touching her. She’d flashed the green light and he took the initiative with gusto. He pushed the straps of her shirt aside, revealing sharp collarbones beneath velvet skin.
“You feel good,” he muttered. “Damn good. You’re like a present I’ve been waiting to open all my life.”
Any blood left in his head zipped down to his nether regions when she sighed. Impossible to reason. To do anything but feel.
“I can’t think when you touch me.” She shivered, his fingers dancing up her ribcage. The romance of the moment should not have surprised her. Yet it did.
“That is exactly the point. Give yourself up to feeling. To relax, release…” Leo lowered his head once more to the skin beneath her chin. He hummed as he kissed her, licking and nibbling toward the lovely swell of her breasts.
His fingers rose up to lightly brush against the sides of her breasts, teasing her nerves to a response. Her bra was gently moved aside to give him access to the rest of her.
Astix sucked in a breath and held it, wanting more than anything to throw herself into the water and never resurface. A girl could get lost in a man like him.
Leo’s humming trailed off as his mouth finally took hers. With a groan, she opened for him, helpless against the tide of his attentions, her body willing and warm. The softness of her breasts pressed against his chest in a contrast of hard and lush.
“Are you sure you can love me?” she asked.
She felt his smile through the kiss. “Yes. Always yes.”
Their lips mated, tongues floating lazily together as he swiveled their bodies around and scooped her up off her feet. Astix let her hands tangle in the golden hairs at the nape of his neck as he carried her across the room.
Leo deposited her on the mound of pillows on her bed. She looked up as he loomed over her, loosening the knot of his tie before yanking the shirt overhead. There was something about a man undressing himself for her pleasure, she thought, all those layers until nothing showed but naked skin. It built her anticipation like the embers of a blaze. She ached to touch him, to run her hands over the planes of his chest with arousal humming in her blood.
Though she did not call on them, every gemstone in her bedroom burst to life with an inner fire. They glowed in a dazzling display, brought on by the height of her feelings.
Leo dropped to his knees before her, close enough to touch.
Her fingers reached of their own accord to touch the intricate tattoo of knots above his heart, to trace the lines of the maze leading inexplicably toward the center.
“We match,” he told her, his own fingertips traveling along the black lines of a similar Celtic knot tattoo on her chest.
“It appears we do. Great minds and all that.” Chills rose on his skin at her touch. “I didn’t expect this.” Astix ran the tips of her nails over his muscles, stopping to pinch his biceps before moving on.
“I…uh…I work out. Surprise.” Leo closed his eyes and savored her ministrations.
“It’s a good surprise.”
He pushed her back until his body lay between her legs, using his forearms for support. This time the kiss promised more, anything she could ever dream of to be hers. Leo moaned, drawing a response that had her blood humming beneath the skin. She moved against him, itching for closeness. Wanting it. Needing it.
Air caught in her throat when he ripped her shirt from her body, bra included. Buttons snapped like firecrackers and shot into the air to reveal a dusky rose nipple. Heaven help him. She deserved seduction. She deserved to have him go slow and relish their time together. Then he saw the nipple and lost all capability for rational thought.
Leo tossed the garments away and stared down at her, entranced by the sight. He dropped his head down to
catch the bud in his mouth, and using his teeth and tongue teased it to a rigid point.
Astix gasped, arching her back and pushing forward into him. “Oh my God!”
The muscles of her torso were as taut as tightropes under his hands and he wondered what would happen once she let go.
She was every man’s fantasy then, soft skin and long, lean legs. Her abdomen tapered down to a narrow waist and flared hips. Oh boy.
He yanked her up against him. His lips plundered hers and Astix let her tenuous grip on control snap. Fingernails skittered along his spine, leaving grooves in their wake. Instead of springing away in shock, he drove forward.
She allowed him to tear off her pants in the same way as he had her shirt and watched the tattered shreds float to the floor out of the corner of her eye, gravity pooling them across the room.
“What are you going to do to me?” she asked breathlessly, bared for his scrutiny and unbearably aroused.
Leo stroked his finger along her inner thigh. “Wonderful things.”
Desperate murmurings coupled with eager hands and hungry mouths. Neither had time to catch their breath as they waged war, demanding more and more. His attentions left her dizzy, greedy for whatever he gave and ready to match it.
Leo moved between her knees and pushed her legs to the side. His fingers probed the sensitive part of her, maneuvering her folds and drumming against her intimates with practiced ease.
Astix shot up and nearly bowled him over. “Yow!”
Leo glanced at her like the cat about to eat the canary. “Problem?”
Would her inexperience give her away? None of the men in her past had taken time out of their night to do the things to her that he was doing.
There was a first time for everything.
She shook her head and fought for calm as she lay back down. “Not at all.”
“So you wouldn’t mind if I did this?” Leo shifted until his face leveled between her legs, and then his tongue darted between his lips, lapping at her.
Astix shot up again before she could stop herself. All thoughts of normal bodily functions left as her face reddened and she forgot to inhale. “Eeep!” The sound escaped in a strangled rush.