Her eyes came in contact with his hazel orbs. Keirah wasn’t afraid and she wasn’t sure why. His eyes weren’t guarded now, nor were they harsh or angry; they were simply observing her.
She felt like she was under a microscope when he looked at her. She noticed how colorful his eyes were when he wasn’t mad. They were almost beautiful, really. Without warning, Noir loosened his hold on her, disappointing her. He was her only source of warmth and he had taken it away. However, she felt him turn her body so she was resting flat on her back, her eyes still locked with his.
They remained this way for a long period of time, neither of them daring to look away until he leaned toward her. Slipping his hand from her, he reached up and traced Keirah’s cheekbone downwards until he reached her bottom lip. Before she realized what was happening, Noir’s lips captured hers.
The kiss was demanding and rough, his tongue running over her bottom lip, ordering her to open up to him. At first, she refused him, trying to break free from the rigid grasp he had on her, but he would not relent nor would he release her lips.
Slowly, she felt herself give into him; she had not been kissed this passionately in a long time. The slightest bit of pressure he received from her caused him to smirk through the kiss, and the moment a sliver of opportunity was granted, he took advantage of it immediately.
His tongue eased into her mouth, ready to explore every inch of her, as much as he possibly could, tasting her, feeling her, figuring her out. Keirah felt herself open her mouth more to meet his demand, and turned so now she was facing him. Her hands were flat on his chest, and through the thin orange material of his jumpsuit, she felt the firm muscle underneath. She was starting to lose herself and in that moment, she did not care.
Before he pulled away for air, Noir bit down on Keirah’s bottom lip. She was left gasping for breath while he looked unperturbed. She watched him flick his tongue over his lips as though he wanted to taste her remains before slipping it back into his mouth and smirking.
Keirah was ashamed of herself. How could she let this sociopath take advantage of her, use her for his own pleasure? She turned around again, trying to put space between the two, damning the cold. She deserved to be cold for the rest of the night. Her breath had returned to her, but now shivers consumed her and she felt tears gather in her eyes.
Noir gently placed a hand underneath her chin and forced her to look at him. She knew he noticed the tears, and as she blinked, one slipped down her cheek. He watched it roll down her cheek until it gathered at the base of her chin before returning his eyes into hers. She didn’t look away.
“Crying is a weakness,” he stated. He wasn’t being condescending. She said nothing so he released her chin from his hold only to place a hand on her waist. The smirk appeared on his face as he chided, “No need to be ashamed, my love!” The way he taunted her caused her insides to rip apart with guilt. “Oh, what’s the expression? If it makesss you happy, it can’t be, hum … that bad.”
“It did not make me happy,” Keirah said through gritted teeth.
“I beg to differ,” he said. “Now stop crying. I don’t want you to get my arm wet.” He tightened his grip on her, and she had no choice but to place her head down on his forearm once more.
Blinking back tears, her mind kept chanting that the night was almost over. She would be released soon and she would refuse to participate in any more sessions with him in order to save what was left of her sanity.
“Would you like to hear something interesting?” he asked in a jovial tone. She wanted to retort that he needed his beauty sleep, but didn’t trust her voice to come out as confident as she wanted it to be. “The greatest weapon I have ever used is, uh, well, fear. Ya see, fear is only really in your mind, and yet, time and time ah-gain, it takes us over. You, now you, my dear, I may never figure it out, which is, well, it’s a good thing for you because I’m not going to kill you. It’s a good thing for me, because, well, I get a new plaything. That’s you, by the way. You should probably know that, hum … I know what you’re afraid of which may not be so good for you. You think you’re afraid of me, but in truth, you’re afraid of yourself. When I, uh, kissed you, you liked it. And who wouldn’t? I’m a pretty damn good kisser. Just ask any of the whores in the Zone. You, you’re not a whore, but you, you still enjoyed my kiss. And because of that, you will be mine-ah for the rest of your days.”
Noir stopped so his words could fully sink in. Keirah hoped her face gave nothing away because she was having difficulty wrapping her mind around what he said. Her eyes dropped to half-mast and she tried to keep her lips pressed together in order to conceal a yawn.
“Go to sleep, my love,” he told her, placing a kiss on her forehead.
Keirah felt her eyes get weak with exhaustion, and as she shut them, a sense of peace washed over her despite her current situation.
“Tomorrow is a very big day,” he continued. “Ya see, tomorrow is the day I escape from this, hum … wretched holding cell. Tomorrow is the day I’m, uh, well, taking you with me.”
She should have been more alarmed by his statement, but Keirah was too close to the brink of sleep to be brought back by mere words.
12
Reese
Reese found out nothing new about Henry besides the fact that he had a really long name and an inexplicable issue with people addressing him by it. There had to be more to this guy, especially since no one knew anything about him. Secretaries and arrogant jocks alike were afraid of him and he had eyes that she knew—she knew—but she couldn’t figure out from where. As she changed into her baggy soccer shorts and practice shirt, her mind scrambled to try and figure out what she should do with her unrelenting curiosity. It was only when she was lacing up her cleats as Piper came over to change that she finally get some sort of solution.
“So are we still on for today?” Piper asked in her usual perky voice. “I know it’s raining and all, but knowing you - even for like, a few days - I doubted that would stop you.”
“Actually,” Reese said, absent-mindedly tightening her ponytail, “yes, but maybe we could tweak our plans just a bit?” She winced, giving her friend big, wide eyes.
“Oh, no,” Piper said, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “I thought we were going to get mani-pedis and then some frozen yogurt, and go shopping at the Spectrum.”
“We are,” Reese assured her friend. “We are. I was hoping, though, we could take a detour…” She let her voice trail off, her eyes shifting left as she leaned toward Piper so no one would overhear her. “Don’t get all weird on me, but Henry leaves school around the same time, and I was hoping—”
“Oh my God,” Piper said, cutting her off. “You want to stalk him.”
“Shhh!” Reese hissed, wrinkling her nose. “What? No! Stalk? That’s such a harsh word. And I am not a stalker. We’re going to conduct an investigation.”
“Whatever gets you to sleep at night,” Piper said, rolling her eyes.
“Are you in?”
“Do I have a choice?”
A brilliant smile eclipsed Reese’s face, and she could barely contain her excitement as she all but barreled into her friend for a tight hug.
Before practice officially began, players were supposed to be juggling their soccer ball, using every body part they could think of, save for their arms and hands, to keep it from touching the ground. Even in the rain, the Onyx High soccer team was expected to train. Luckily, it was only drizzling or else Reese would have needed to throw on a sweater. She had never been good at juggling; she wasn’t very coordinated and she had no sense of balance, but she tried. That had to count for something.
It was the fifteenth time she dropped the ball—at least she juggled it three times now, a new record for her—and as she bent down to pick it back up, someone whistled behind her. She rolled her eyes before holding the ball against her hip as she turned around. She wasn’t surprised in the least to see Gabriel Burr standing there, arms crossed over his chest, a cocky smile on his f
ace.
“Ugh, what do you want?” she asked.
“Nothing, just enjoying the view,” he said, shaking his head.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
He pushed his brows together, wrinkles marring his symmetrical face. “I don’t kid,” he said in a serious voice. “In fact, I was going to discuss something with you. In case you aren’t aware, juggling means you can’t use your hands to keep the ball from touching the ground."
She didn’t appreciate his condescending remark. “Yeah, well there goes your social life,” she quipped.
Piper let out a surprised bout of giggles and Reese felt her lips curl into a smirk.
A flash of something dangerous tainted Gabe’s eyes, and as he took a step toward her, Reese had to tense her muscles in order to ensure she wouldn’t take a step back. It was as though the light vanished, the people froze, and it was just the two of them, alone, where he could do anything he wanted to her and she couldn’t stop him. He could probably crush her throat with one hand. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a small crowd start to form around them. Judging by Gabe’s posture—crouched, like a panther ready to pounce—he noticed it too. He took another step toward her, and then another, until there was only a breath of air between them. Reese shoved her free hand behind her and gripped the ball tighter so he wouldn’t see them shaking.
“I don’t appreciate the disrespect,” he said in a voice just above a whisper. For some reason, yelling wouldn’t have had the same effect as the voice he used now.
“That’s funny, coming from you,” Reese said. She could hide her hands but not her voice.
“And what is that supposed to mean?” he asked.
“You hit on every girl with a pulse, and when they reject you, you come back harder than ever. Do you really think that whistling and complimenting my ass is charming? Do you really think that that is going to get you in my pants?”
“Rejected? I’ve never been rejected before.”
“Then I’m honored to be the one to pop your cherry,” she said. Reese turned and was about to head over to the other side of the field in order to attempt to juggle with Piper in peace when Gabe grabbed her wrist and yanked her back to him.
“You will not be my first,” he said so that only she could hear. “I don’t think you know who you’re dealing with.”
“Right, right, the son of Onyx’s District Attorney,” Reese said, rolling her eyes. “Your daddy can’t make me go out with you, let alone sleep with you, Gabe. I don’t care if he’s the devil himself, he can’t make me do anything I don’t want to do.”
His lips twitched up into a smirk at her words. “We’ll see,” he murmured, dropping her wrist.
It was only when she was a good distance away from him and his group of cronies that she was finally able to breathe. She grabbed the ball and was about to drop it to her laces when a hand touched her shoulder. She jumped and whipped around, prepared to do something to Gabe, though she wasn’t quite sure what that was. She had never been in a fight before, much less hit anyone.
“Whoa,” Piper said when she saw Reese’s aggressive stance. She gently squeezed the blonde’s shoulder in hopes to reassure her. “It’s me. Piper. The goalie. Your getaway driver when we go on this stalking mission.”
“Oh,” Reese said with relief, completely missing the last part of Piper’s statement. “I’m sorry, I thought it was—”
“Gabe,” Piper finished. She dropped her hand, but continued to keep a close eye on her. “Yeah, I figured. So let me get this straight: Gabe makes you want to sock him, and Henry makes you want to know more about him.”
A whistle shrilled in the middle of the field, indicating the coaches’ arrival.
“Yeah,” Reese said, dropping the ball to her feet and walking over to where the coaches wanted the girls to assemble. “That pretty much sums it up.” Piper smiled as she shook her head. “What? What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing,” Piper replied. “You’re just the weirdest person I know. But don’t worry. That’s why I like you.”
“Thanks,” Reese said with a grin. “I think.”
By the time practice was over, Reese rushed to the showers. She wanted to take a quick one and change fast in order to make sure she and Piper wouldn’t miss Henry. Reese was pulling up her knee-length socks—this pair a sky blue shade—when Piper walked out of the shower, her dark blonde hair wrapped in a towel while her slender frame was wrapped in another one.
“I know, I know,” she said, snapping open her locker. “Give me five minutes, okay? I just need five minutes.”
“It’s fine.” Reese had to force an extra dose of sweetness into her voice. She didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but this new feeling of impatience was causing her brow to furrow and her jaw to tighten. “I’ll wait for you outside. That way, if he does get the jump on us, we’ll at least have his general direction.”
“Good idea,” Piper replied as she pulled on her shirt.
Once her ankle boots were on, Reese grabbed her bag and headed out of the locker room. She was in the same hall where she had seen him before. Luckily for her, she managed to snag a locker—bottom row thanks to her late arrival—so she had a legitimate reason to be in this hallway whenever she needed it. She knelt down as modestly as she could to make sure her skirt didn’t ride up and slowly spun her lock in order to open it. Once she did so, she closed it and proceeded to repeat the process. It was five open-and-shut cycles later when she finally heard footsteps on the tile floor. Her spine stiffened and goose bumps inexplicably littered her bare skin. They already sounded familiar to her, which made no sense since the sound of his steps was the last thing she heard in his presence. Not that she had been in it much.
When she could hear the footsteps fading away, she locked her lock again and stood. Reese noticed his hair flutter behind him, the ends just barely brushing his shoulders. Today he was in a pair of grey slacks and a black long-sleeved shirt. She never got to see what color his skinny tie was, but she had no doubt he was wearing one. As predicted, his feet were wrapped in that same old pair of Converses.
Her heart sped up and she all but jumped upright, ignoring the pain in her calves from the movement. As soon as Reese heard the door to the parking lot shut, Piper made her appearance.
“Are you ready to—?”
Reese grabbed Piper’s wrist and yanked her in Henry’s direction. “He just left,” she whispered. “If we leave now, we can still follow him.”
Piper said nothing but let the blonde drag her across the hall, and after a left and right look-about, Reese led her to her car.
“He drives a Rolls Royce,” Reese recited, her stormy grey eyes locked on the silver car turning right onto Campus Road.
Piper nodded, and for the next fifteen minutes, the two girls followed Henry through the city. Because it was only three o’clock in the afternoon, there wasn’t much traffic so they had to keep a safe distance behind him. Without warning, Henry pulled into a parking lot. A few minutes later, Piper followed suit. Reese ducked in her seat so he wouldn’t catch a peek of her or her telltale hair. She couldn’t explain why, but he seemed to know exactly where she was.
“It looks like he’s going into …” Reese could hear Piper scrunch her nose. “… the Spirit Museum. Huh. Well that’s weird.”
“What?” Reese asked as she eased herself in a sitting position. Piper parked in a slot that secluded her car. “What’s weird about that?”
“It’s just …” She turned off the car but made no move to leave. Reese, on the other hand, was already out of her seatbelt. “The Spirit Museum is a place that encompasses all beliefs. So there are holy books, symbols, musical instruments, everything you can think of in a designated religion’s theology. Not just religion, either - mythology, too. Most of the artifacts are just replicas but there are rumors that certain artifacts are real.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Anyway, it’s weird that Henry is here because I don’t see him being spiritual.”
Reese pressed her lips together, digesting what Piper said. Henry didn’t seem all that spiritual to her either, but maybe they were wrong. People took one look at her and thought she was a bimbo with big boobs, and either shot her dirty looks or talked to her like she was five. Just because Henry looked like some slick mobster without the greased back hair and muscle, it didn’t mean he didn’t believe in something.
“Although Jack Phillip practically owns the place, what with his hefty donations and sway over everyone on the board, so …” She let her voice trail off before turning in her seat to face Reese, her brown eyes big. “Reese, are you sure you want to go through with this?”
“Duh,” Reese said with a teasing smile. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Piper didn’t return the smile. In fact, her eyes were filled with worry. “Reese, I know you’re new here and you don’t seem to be afraid of anything or anyone, but trust me: Henry may not look like much, but you don’t want to be on his bad side. There’s a reason why even the school faculty are freaked out by him. I don’t know the specifics, but there is a reason.”
“Piper, I really appreciate your concern,” Reese said, her voice genuine. “I know he has this mysterious, dangerous reputation, but I’m not afraid of him. I barely even know him. What if he’s looking for someone to reach out to, you know, extend an olive branch, so to speak? If everyone’s afraid of him then that means he has no friends. I don’t care who you are, no one likes to be alone. If he doesn’t want to talk to me or be friends, fine, I’ll leave him alone, but I have to try.”
Piper sighed in defeat. “I had a feeling I couldn’t talk you out of it,” she said more to herself than to Reese. “Fine, but if you’re not back in twenty minutes, I’m coming after you.”
Awaken: Book 1 in The Dark Paradise Chronicles Page 9