As mortification douses me, I hurry to my feet, hugging the robe around me and covering myself up the best I can.
He didn’t mean to kiss me, and I had kissed him back so intensely. I feel like an idiot. Of course he didn’t mean to kiss me. He knows about the curse.
He stands up, still avoiding my gaze, and mutters, “Sorry.” Then he walks out, leaving me standing there by myself and feeling vulnerable.
It fucking pisses me off! I’ve spent years perfecting the art of keeping my emotions under control, and now I’m losing everything I worked so hard for.
I feel shaky inside and ashamed. I hate that. I hate that I feel this way.
And suddenly, I’m back there, on that bed, Yellow pushing me down and tearing at my clothes as he touches me. I want to scream. I want to punch something. Instead, tears burn my eyes. I try to fight them back the best I can, but it overwhelms me.
I sink to the floor, pulling my knees up to my chest, breathing in and out.
I’m not even sure why I feel this way—so broken.
When did I get so broken?
And when will I be fixed?
Harlynn
I don’t know how long I sit in the shower, crying, but I eventually pull my shit together. Then, after messing around with every knob possible, I manage to get the water turned on. That boosts my mood up a little bit as I take a quick shower.
By the I climb out, I’m feeling quite a bit better. And my mood only gets better when I walk out of the room and find an outfit laid out on the bed with a note attached to it:
Harlynn,
I am so sorry for how I acted earlier. When I fell in the shower, I was knocked into reboot mode, and when I woke up, you were leaning over me, looking so beautiful. In my dazed state, I reacted on feelings I’ve been struggling with since I met you. But I’m not sure if I’m ready to deal with those feelings yet. It has nothing to do with you. You’re perfect. You really are. Please, can you forgive me?
—Arrow
A small smile touches my lips. Of course I can forgive him.
Feeling ten times better, I set the note down and pick up the outfit that he picked out for me. Well, it’s more like a scrap of fabric. The dress, if you can even call it that, is short and made of thin, bronze, silk material that’s trimmed with lace. The shoulder straps are extremely thin, and the hem reaches mid-thigh, tops.
Frowning, I pick up the other items laid out—leather wrist bands decorated with bronzed gadgets, a velvet choker, and lace-up heeled boots that go all the way up over my knees.
“I’m going to look stupid as hell in this,” I mutter as I drop the towel and start putting on the outfit.
About fifteen minutes later, I’m all dressed and my hair is pulled up, with loose waves framing my face. It takes me another minute to work up the courage to walk out into the living room.
When I enter, I find all the guys lounging on the sofa. Well, lounging is a bit of an inaccurate statement since they all look tense as hell. I also think they may have been talking about me since silence grasps the room the instant I walk in.
East turns around on the sofa and meets my gaze. “We’re getting good at sensing your presence. A couple of days ago, your soundless walking ability would’ve made it so you startled the hell out of us when you walked in here.” He starts to smirk when his eyes suddenly scroll up and down me. “Good gods, is that what you’re wearing?”
I nervously tug at the hem of my dress. “Arrow left this out for me to wear.” I glance at Arrow for help, but he won’t meet my gaze. Internally sighing, I look back at East. “Is it too plain for this world? Should I change?”
East slowly shakes his head from side to side, his gaze never wavering from me. “Absolutely not.”
Asher slants forward, his smoky gaze drinking me in. “I’m going to have to agree with East, but only because you’re supposed to be our aftershow woman.”
I squirm at that remark but remind myself that I agreed to do this. “So … when are we leaving?” I ask since all of them look content sitting on the sofa.
“Yeah, about that.” Asher rises to his feet, swings around the drum sets, and makes his way toward me. He has boots on but the laces are undone, and he’s sporting a pair of black pants and no shirt, so his scars are on full display. “We have a change of plans.” He stops in front of me and wets his pale blue lips with his tongue. “Instead of going to a club, we’re having a party.”
My brows dip. “Like, in this worlds traveling vehicle?”
He shakes his head. “Nah, we’re going to have it just outside. East is going to use his magic to set up some seating areas and stuff.” He tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear then quietly sighs as he pulls back. “We just all thought that, considering the dangers of this city, it might be better if we try to do this soul-stealing mission in a place where we have control over stuff.”
I guess that kind of makes sense.
“Okay. So then, what do you want me to do?”
He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip, pausing before muttering, “There’s a ton of fucking stuff I’d love for you to do, but we can’t get into that … yet.” With that, he spins around and faces East and Arrow, something I’m totally grateful for since his little remark has me feeling all flustered.
Just like all of East’s remarks.
And the whole thing with Arrow in the shower.
It dawns on me then how all of them have been touching me, flirting with me, and even kissing me over the last couple of days. I mean, I know they’re all used to sharing aftershow women and stuff, but I’m not an aftershow woman. I’m just pretending to be one. And they need to understand that. Need to know that I’m not just going to mess around with all of them—any of them.
When I open my mouth, that’s what I fully plan on saying, but then Ash suddenly captures my hand and tugs me toward the door that leads outside, throwing over his shoulder, “You guys start getting set up. I need to talk to Harlynn.”
East gives him a strange, almost surprised look, but weirdly doesn’t say anything. And even weirder, I suddenly get this heated feeling inside my chest, glowing and warm, like something is melting inside me. Like maybe my heart.
What the actual hell?
“Is everything okay?” Asher asks as he glances at me.
I nod evenly. “Yep. Everything’s just peachy.”
He eyeballs me, and I can tell he doesn’t believe me, but he doesn’t press either, which is completely unlike him.
I start to question if something’s up with him when the heat swells inside my chest, building and pressurizing like it’s about to explode out of me. But, by the time we step outside, it fizzles.
Still, it feels strangely like magic, but a different kind of magic than what I’m used to. One that’s a lot more powerful. I can’t help thinking of the nightmare I had last night, where Asher’s father told me to destroy that world. The heat, it felt very similar to what I felt right before I was about to do just that.
And I have this awful feeling in my gut that something terrible is about to happen, and I’m going to be the cause of it.
Harlynn
Asher surprisingly takes me outside. It’s been some hours since I’ve stepped foot out of the world traveling vehicle, so the bronze glow illuminating from the ground, mechanical trees, and shimmering sky burns my eyes. After several blinks, my eyes adjust.
“Where are we going?” I ask as Asher steers me around to the front of the vehicle. Then he stops there, releasing my hand to yank his fingers through his hair as he stares out at the land.
“I think I need to be honest with you.”
“Okay. Honest about what?” Uneasiness stirs inside me. “And why are you acting so weird about it?”
His shadowy eyes lock on me. “Because it’s not in my nature to be honest.”
He’s right. Genies are rarely honest, but I think I’ve already established that Asher isn’t your typical genie.
I recline against the front of
the vehicle. “Well, now that you brought it up, you have to tell me.”
His gaze burns into mine. “Do I?”
I nod. “Yep.”
He forcefully presses his lips together, as if he’s struggling to remain calm. “You know, no one has ever gotten underneath my skin like you can.”
“That’s not the first time someone has said that to me,” I inform him. “And I’m sure it won’t be the last.”
“Yeah, but …” He steps toward me, his boots scuffing against the bronzed polish ground. “I’m not sure if I think it’s bad or not.”
“Me getting underneath your skin?” I question dubiously. “Because, usually, it seems like I’m annoying you.”
“Oh, you do annoy me,” he assures me. “But it’s a different kind of annoyance than I’m used to.” He chews on his bottom lip. “In fact, sometimes I crave it.” He takes another step toward me, his boots bumping into mine.
The way he’s looking at me, it makes my skin crawl, and that heat in my chest begins to sear again.
I look away from him, my heart pounding in my chest. “That’s kind of fucked up.”
“Well, I’m kind of fucked up.” He places his hand against my cheek and forces me to look at him. “We all are, really.”
He’s right. Every creature and human out there is fucked up in their own fucked-up way, which is a lot of fucks.
I nod in agreement, the movement shaky, though I don’t know why. Or maybe I do and just don’t want to admit it.
He’s touching me again.
And looking at me with heat in his eyes.
And that heat is spreading through my chest.
“So, why did you bring me out here?” I ask in an attempt to change the subject and hopefully put a simmer on this heat kissing the air and my skin.
He blinks, as if he completely forgot why. “Right.” He pauses, a crease forming between his brows. I expect him to step back then, but he doesn’t. “I need to tell you what’s going to happen tonight, but before I do, I want you to know we won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Okay …” I say warily. “I thought you guys were just having a party to steal a soul so we can steal the steel books and find out what I am.”
“Actually, if tonight works out the way we hope, we might not have to steal the steel books.”
“Oh. Really?”
He eyes me over curiously. “Why do you seem so sad about that fact?”
“I’m not,” I lie.
“You are,” he reads right through my bullshit.
I don’t want to tell him. Tell him that I was looking forward to impressing the three of them with my awesome thieving skills. I’ve been relying on them so much that it was going to be nice to be useful for once
“I was just looking forward to stealing,” I tell him a half-truth. “That’s all.”
His eyes search mine. “While we might not be stealing the books anymore, the role you’re going to play tonight will help us out tremendously.”
It’s like he can read my thoughts, which is very, very unnerving. Being able to read someone either means he can read minds or he’s been observing me enough that he’s starting to pick up on my little ticks. And since I know genies can’t read minds, it has to be the latter.
I try to clear my expression of all emotion, but I’m pretty sure I miss the mark.
“Okay, what will I be doing?”
He hesitates for a moment. “We need you to be … bait.”
I crinkle my nose. “Bait for what? The incubus’s soul you’re gonna steal? Because I’m fine with that. I just thought East said he didn’t want me doing it.” He didn’t want me to have to try to seduce a creature so soon after the incident with Yellow. And I’d been oddly touched when he said it. So much so that I had to leave the room so I could cry.
“It’s not for that,” he assures. “For now, we’re not focusing on trying to steal the books.”
“Right,” I say. “Okay, then what am I bait for?”
Again, reluctance flashes across his face. “We want to lure Maple out of her hiding spot.”
My eyes widen. “Maple, as in the half-genie that’s related to you and tried to capture me with Maxton?”
He heaves an exhausted sigh. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but if we can get ahold of Maple, then we can find out what you are, why my father wants you, and how to break your curse.”
While I hate the idea of seeing Maple again, if they did capture her, he could find out all those things. Still …“How do you plan on capturing her?” I wonder.
“Leave that to us. What we need from you is to go to this party, and we’ll make it known that you’re there. More than likely, Maple is going to show up and try to kidnap you so she can take you to my father.” He cups my face between his hands and looks me straight in the eye. “But I want to stress two things. One, if you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to. I know how you feel about being around genies.”
Again, I’m touched. They’re always so worried about how I’ll feel.
“I don’t feel that way about all genies,” I find myself saying without any forethought. The moment the words leave my lips, I want to retract them.
Then he starts to grin, and I mentally start kicking my own ass.
“I didn’t mean you,” I lie, and it’s probably the stupidest and worst lie I’ve ever told.
“Liar,” he mocks, but his eyes don’t match his playful tone.
No, his eyes are swirling with smoke.
My heart begins to thunder in my chest so forcefully I can barely breathe.
“What’s …? What’s the other thing you wanted to tell me?” I manage to get out in a shaky tone that makes me cringe.
He looks me straight in the eye. “The other thing is that I want to make sure you understand that, if you do this, I promise that East, Arrow, and I will make certain nothing happens to you.”
“You can’t promise that,” I whisper.
“I can promise whatever the hell I want.”
I smash my lips together, unfamiliar emotions stirring inside me. Never has anyone looked out for my wellbeing like this.
“I don’t … Why …? Why are you doing this?”
His brows furrow. “Doing what?”
“Helping me. Trying to figure out how to break the curse.” Deep down, I know why. He just doesn’t know I know. I want him to admit it. Admit that he’s been cursed, too, with the same curse I have.
But all he says is, “Because we want to help you and take down my father.”
His avoidance to tell me the truth causes something to shatter inside me. More like, snap.
“I know,” I find myself telling him. “I know about the curse.”
He stares at me like I’m being stupid. “I know you know. It’s your curse.”
I give him the same look back. “No, I know about your curse.”
A heartbeat of a moment ticks by, and then the color drains from his face. I didn’t know that could happen to a genie.
“I don’t know … How …?” He sucks in a gradual breath then leans forward, placing a hand on each side of my head and trapping me between his arms. “How did you find out?”
I honestly thought he was going to try to lie his way out of this.
“I overheard you guys talking, like, my second day with you,” I say with a shrug.
He gapes at me. “And you didn’t say anything until now?”
I shrug again. “It didn’t seem important at the time.”
He intensely carries my gaze. “And it does now?”
I shake my head then shrug for the third time in the last minute. “No … I don’t know …” I bite down on my tongue so I’ll just stop talking.
He stares at me questioningly, and I wait for him to ask something, although I’m not sure I’ll give him truthful answers. Then his lips abruptly come crashing down onto mine.
I gasp, and my first instinct is to lean back. But then warmth—his warmth—spreads through me, and
I end up leaning in. He groans as I do, then he sweeps his tongue into my mouth. He pauses for a split-second, and I think he’s going to pull back like he always does, but then he’s kissing me. Like, really kissing me, his movements out of control and almost sloppy, but it doesn’t bother me. No, my dumbass falls into the kiss, all thoughts of why I shouldn’t be doing this—kissing him—vacating my mind.
He eventually slows down and, again, I think he’s going to pull away. He doesn’t, though, just slowly kisses me, branding his lips against mine as he lets his hands wander to my hips. Then he delves his fingers downward, digging into the fabric of my dress and causing the hem to ride up. I should reach down and tug it down—my legs are so exposed—but my dumbass lifts my leg up and hitches it over his hip.
He moans, biting down on my bottom lip and causing me to whimper. Then he trails his fingers down my hip to my thigh, bare skin to bare skin.
His skin is so warm, is the first thought I have, followed by this weird butterfly sensation fluttering in my stomach. And that sensation only gets more fluttery as he slides his fingers underneath my dress, traveling up my leg to cup my ass.
My heart slams against my chest.
Holy shit. Holy shit. Asher is touching my ass.
I should stop this.
Stop this now, Harlynn.
“I should stop, right?” he whispers against my lips, apparently on the same thought wave as me.
No, Harlynn. Say yes.
But all I do is kiss him, fusing my lips against his and slipping my tongue into his mouth.
A shudder rolls through his lean body as he grips my ass, pulling me flush against him and grinding his hips against mine.
Memories of the last time we did this flicker through my mind. It was right after the thing happened with Yellow. Asher had put a stop to the kiss when I started to cry and told me I was trying to cover up what I was feeling. And I was. Right now, though, all I feel are those fluttery butterflies, the warmth of his hand, the hardness of him, and this sparkle ticking across my skin. I have no fucking idea what that is, but it feels so good.
He grinds his hips against mine again, and the sparkle turns to sweltering, wonderful heat that spreads through me like magic. And maybe that’s what it is—his magic. But I’ve tasted and felt his magic before, and this feels different. It feels more potent, more out of control, more within me.
Chasing Promises: (Capturing Magic, Book 3) Page 6