Red (Siren Publishing Menage Amour)

by Eden French

  For the past two weeks, Zev shut himself off to everyone as he wrestled with what he should do. He tried to play it off, tried to act as if nothing was wrong, but keeping something like this to himself was torture. He wished he could tell Calen, but ever since the shoot, something was off with his friend. He was in a mood. He just wasn’t the same old Red that led SAE to top house status. There was something about him a tad grumpier than normal. Zev had considered asking about it but decided against it, so wrapped up in his own personal turmoil he had been.

  Now, Zev stood in front of the full-length mirror in his room and straightened out his light gray Armani shirt, tucking the ends into his charcoal fitted slacks. He dropped his shoulders and stared at the reflection looking back at him. He approved of what he saw. Thank God for excellent genes, and shifter charisma. Zev rubbed his fingers along the length of his jawline, questioning if he should have cleanly shaven or if the short bristles, leaving the appearance of a rugged five o’clock shadow, would help him attain his goal for tonight.

  “Pull it together, Zev,” he said to himself in frustration. “You can only do so much. Remember what the tome said…a mate will be drawn to you; you cannot force a union.”

  He had taken extra care in his grooming tonight to give himself an added edge, but in reality, he knew when it came down to it, Celeste either was his mate, or she wasn’t. He really didn’t have a say in the matter. And, after all, Celeste may not even decide to show up.

  Zev thought about everything he had done since the photo shoot to gain the young coed’s affections. He had stalked the arts department for three days before he finally gathered the courage to walk into it. He hadn’t even been sure if he would see her in the building, having no knowledge of her schedule, but had taken a chance anyway in hopes of crossing paths. She had been sitting in the main common area of the entrance. He had spotted her immediately.

  “Celeste? What a nice surprise,” he had said as he approached her group.

  She was sitting with the two people he recognized from the photo shoot and a third long and lean girl he’d never seen before. They had all stopped talking and stared at him when he said her name.

  “Oh, uh, Zev…hi.” She had been sitting sideways in a chair and struggled a bit as she tried to turn her body out of its position to stand. “What are you doing here?”

  “You know, I was thinking when I left the other day, I didn’t really give you much detail about the party I mentioned. Have you given any thought to if you’d want to come?”

  Zev felt the biological pull toward her. His muscles tensed as he fought against the urge to grab her around the waist and pull her body into his. He wondered how the length of her torso would feel crushed against his body pressing up against his hardened cock. He clenched his teeth. No, that was the animal talking, it wasn’t him. Okay, maybe a little bit him. He took a long shallow breath, hoping she didn’t notice his strain.

  Celeste did not make it easy. She looked at him, her round eyes boring through his very soul. She parted her lips just slightly, her hand placed on the delicious curve of her hip. Zev could see the very tip of her tongue as it grazed her top teeth. He cleared his throat.

  “Oh, um, I’m sorry, I really hadn’t,” she replied, her voice heavy. “I was so busy preparing the shots for the program it slipped”—she swallowed—“it slipped my mind.”

  He sensed her heart racing. She was lying. Interesting. Zev’s heart lurched, and he pressed on. “Well, then consider this a friendly reminder. No pressure, really. But, it’ll be a good time. The invite is for four so you can bring who you’d like. I’d love to see you there.” He handed her the invite in official SAE stationary.

  Celeste reached out and took it from him, their fingertips barely touching in the exchange. A spark of electricity coursed through their bodies on contact. Zev knew she had felt it. He heard her sharp intake of breath in surprise. He swallowed hard and ignored the twitch in his pants.

  Now, Zev studied himself in the mirror once more. He’d left her standing in the arts building more than a week ago. Since then, he had made it a point to avoid her presence. There was something about her that awoke a primordial side of him, definitely not at all how an evolved contemporary man should behave.

  Zev ran his hands through his hair a final time before glancing at the clock. It was almost nine. Soon, guests would be arriving, in their semiformal attire. Would Celeste be one of them?

  God, he wished there was some other way he could figure out if she was the one. As it was, he would just have to wait until the next full moon, or so the tome had said. Maybe he would call his father after the party.

  The doorbell rang, and Zev heard Cutter answer it. Good. Though a bit of a cad, Cutter was trustworthy in his house duties and wouldn’t shirk the door. There would be no chance Celeste’s knock would not be answered.

  Clenching his fists a few times, Zev closed his eyes and imagined, no hoped, how this night could be the first step in finding his true mate. Turning off the light, he headed downstairs and joined the party below.

  * * * *

  Calen saw her as she walked into the entryway. She looked stunning. She was wearing a black knee-length dress that dropped low in the back. Calen felt his throat tighten as he watched her hand her coat to Cutter and walk a few steps further into the foyer.

  He wasted no time. He knew Zev was nearby, and it was only a matter of minutes before he saw Celeste and swept her away. Forever. If Calen was going to have any chance to even speak with her, this was it.

  He wasn’t even sure why he was trying to steal her away, he only knew he had to be with her. Calen covered the short distance from the living area to the entry, weaving in and around the other guests effortlessly. As he reached Celeste, he noticed she arrived with a small group, two girls and a guy.

  Calen briefly wondered who the male could be, but decided not to put too much thought into it. If he knew Zev, and he thought he did, then he would have less than three minutes to move in and get Celeste to a place where they could have a conversation without interruption.

  He felt a little creepy planning it out this way, but there was something about the way Zev looked at Celeste that told him Zev meant business, and when it came down to it, he wasn’t sure any girl would pass Zev up for him. He was just trying to give himself the best possible chance, to level the playing field, so to speak.

  “Celeste,” Calen said as he approached her. “Wow, you look amazing. Who are your friends?”

  “Oh, Calen, hi.” Celeste’s smile widened when she saw him. Calen’s heart leaped. She was genuinely happy to see him, he could tell. “These are my friends Heather, Essie, and James.”

  Calen gave Celeste’s friends a quick glance. The two girls looked pleasant enough, both smiling at him, the shorter of the two a little too excited. But, the guy, James, looked Calen over suspiciously. Calen narrowed his eyes. Who was this guy to Celeste? He could tell from the distance between them they were not romantically involved, but just what their relationship was remained a mystery.

  “Please, come in and help yourselves to anything,” Calen responded, keenly aware he had already used up at least a minute and a half of his three-minute lead on Zev. “Celeste, if you wouldn’t mind coming with me for a minute, I really hate to bother you, but I wanted to pass along some information about the lacrosse schedule before I forgot.”

  “Um, sure…I guess,” she replied, looking over to her friends with a shrug. “You guys, I’ll just be a minute.”

  “I can come with you,” James offered, pushing his way to where Calen and Celeste stood.

  “Chill, Hunter,” Essie said. “Celeste will be right back. Besides, I need you to go over there and get me a drink.” Essie grabbed James’s arm and pulled him over to her side, shooting Celeste a quick wink.

  Calen noticed James’s frown but was thankful he didn’t put up much of a fuss and went with the two girls to the bar area. He looked over at Celeste.

  “Well, let’s do
this,” she said to Calen, her voice easy, playful. “’Cause apparently, I need to loosen up a bit, and my friends will not be pleased if I spend the majority of the night working.”

  “I’ll be as quick as I can, I promise,” Calen said, offering his hand.

  She took it gently, and a wave of joy crashed through Calen’s body as she entwined her fingers through his and squeezed as he led her through the house to the president’s den.

  Chapter Six

  Celeste followed Calen through the SAE house until they reached a small office on the other side of the building. The house was quite larger than she had anticipated. She only stood in it now because both Heather and Essie had threatened certain death upon her if she refused Zev’s invitation. And, since the group wouldn’t be complete without James, she had dragged him along with them. Not that it took much convincing. When James had found out where they were going, he was more than agreeable to go.

  Celeste thought it ironic how her friends, so concerned about her loosening up before, had pretty much ditched her while she went to go tackle work with Calen. Oh well, she was sure it wouldn’t take too long, whatever it was. And besides, she actually enjoyed talking to Calen. She had regretted she hadn’t had more time with him before Zev interrupted their conversation.

  Zev. Just the name sent that funny feeling running through her body. What was it about him that incited such an instinctual response? Celeste shook the guy out of her head.

  She watched the back of Calen’s head, his brown wavy hair gelled in place, as he unlocked the wooden door and opened it for her. Celeste walked through the threshold. Calen closed the door behind them, leaving the music from the party muffled.

  * * * *

  Celeste watched Calen carefully as he walked over to the desk. She was on high alert. She didn’t feel threatened in the moment, but she had heard about how situations turned quickly, and Calen was still a stranger to her.

  In fact, she chastised herself to be in this position to begin with, but quickly brushed it off. Her friends knew she was with him and if she didn’t show up soon, she was sure one of them, James, would come looking for her. Besides, she didn’t feel threatened with Calen at all. It was quite the opposite. The easy, comfortable feeling that had been there at the photo shoot was there in the den, as well.

  “So this is where you do all your elite presidential biddings,” Celeste teased as she took a seat in the leather chair in front of the desk.

  Calen smiled. “Oh, yeah, all of the biddings are done here.” He walked to the back side of the desk and, opening the top left drawer, pulled out a piece of paper.

  “Here,” he said handing it to Celeste. “I know you’ll want to know our schedule and we just made some preseason changes.”

  Celeste took the paper and gave it a quick glance. It was on the athletic department’s university letterhead.

  “Thanks,” she said, folding it up and tucking it into the top front of her dress. Calen’s jaw dropped.

  “What?” Celeste blushed. “It’s not like this dress has any pockets, so I sewed a small pouch into the lining. See? Amazing and functional.”

  “I’ve never wanted to be a piece of paper so much in my life,” Calen admitted.

  Celeste laughed loudly. “You wish.” Then, feeling bold with the large desk between them, thoughtfully added, “Calen, did you really drag me all the way back here to give me a piece of paper I’ll probably get in my box from the athletic department on Monday?”

  Calen hesitated before speaking. Celeste eyed him carefully as he decided what he would say.

  “Truthfully—no.” He gave her a sheepish grin. “I was actually hoping we could have a minute together, just the two of us, you know, talk.”

  Celeste blanched at his honesty. It was refreshing. Calen continued.

  “It was just when you were taking pictures, and we were talking, I kind of felt that maybe we had a…connection, or something. I mean, it was just nice talking to you, and I was wondering if you enjoyed it, too.” His face grew red. He pulled at the collar around his neck. “I’d like to get to know you better if you’re open to it. I mean, for all I know you already have a boyfriend or at the least dating someone. I’m not, at the moment, just in case you were wondering, and I’d like to take you out sometime if you’re interested. Or, well, I don’t know, maybe you’re not interested at all or didn’t feel the connection or…why are you smiling like that? Are you laughing at me?” Calen cringed.

  “A little,” Celeste conceded. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to poke fun, really. It’s just that you seem so nervous, and, well, it’s just me you’re talking about, right?”

  “What?” Calen’s mouth twisted in confusion.

  “I’m just asking if all this fuss you’re making is over, well, me?” Celeste’s voice was sincere. Never had she been on the receiving end of such attention. Heather, sure. Men went gaga over Heather on a twice-daily basis. But her?

  And, by Calen Reddington? She would have thought a guy of his prominent social status and good looks would be well past the insecurities she now saw oozing from him. It was cute—real. It showed Celeste a vulnerable side that made her want to grab him and pull him close and eat him right on up. Yum.

  Whoa. Where’d that come from? Celeste blinked as the thought flitted through her mind. How strange that for an instant she had likened the good-looking boy in front of her to a meal.

  “Are you okay?” Calen asked noticing the change in her demeanor.

  Celeste tried to play it off. “Yeah, I’m fine, thank you. I was just thinking. Umm, to answer your questions, no, I currently don’t have a boyfriend. No, I’m not dating anyone. Yes, I had a nice time talking with you, too, and I would definitely be interested in getting to know you better, as well.”

  Celeste watched the emotions pass through Calen’s expressions. She was excited at how he responded to her. It made her want to incite more excitement out of him. She stood and he followed suit.

  Such a gentleman.

  Celeste walked around the desk and approached him with care. She could almost hear his heart as it beat in his body. How could she be sensing this? She zeroed in on Calen’s neck. The vein there pulsed with every beat. Celeste clenched in between her legs and held her breath. She was turned on. She could feel the allure of him in every cell in her body. She, Celeste Wolfe, quiet, studious, mild-mannered artist was straight-up hot for this guy.

  She took another step toward him. He took a step toward her. She brought her hands up to his chest and ran them up to his shoulders as his hands found their way to her waist. Their eyes were locked, their faces inches apart. Celeste could feel his breath on her lips.

  A knock from the door broke them apart. Celeste quickly walked over to the chair she had been sitting in and ran her fingers through her hair. She watched as Calen brushed his shirt a couple times before speaking.

  “Come in,” he called from his place behind the desk.

  Zev walked into the room. Celeste’s eyes widened as he turned his gaze to her.

  “I saw your friends here,” he said deeply. “I was wondering where you had run off to. I’m glad to see you weren’t very far.”

  “Not far at all,” Celeste spoke in a whispered tone.

  “Calen,” Zev said in a measured tone. “The Tri Delts are at it again. You’re gonna need to set up interference.”

  Celeste noticed how Calen’s jaw stiffened at Zev before he forced his lips to smile.

  “Of course,” he said as he stepped around the desk. “I’ll just escort Celeste back to the party, and—”

  “No need,” Zev interrupted. “I’ll do it”—he turned to Celeste—“I’ll take you to your friends. They’re just out back.”

  Celeste took the hand Zev offered. Again, she felt the electricity flash through her body to his and back again. She sucked in her breath.

  “Fine,” Calen said through gritted teeth. “I’ll talk to you soon, Celeste.”

  “I’d like that,” Celeste
absently answered before Calen left the office, the door open behind him.

  Once he was out of her sight, she slowly turned to look at Zev. His eyes bored into her soul. Was he always this intense? Her body thrummed to find out.

  “We should get back to the party.” Her voice was hoarse, ragged, under his gaze.

  “Of course,” he replied, not moving.

  Celeste felt the pull toward him. It started at her center and spread out to her extremities. Her body was like a giant magnet, and Zev was her polar opposite. Neither of them moved from their spot, each afraid of what would happen if one of them did.

  Celeste felt her body contract. It tightened in all the right places raising her temperature by the second. She could feel Zev’s heat, as well. It emanated from his form and wrapped around her like a mantle.

  “Celeste,” Zev whispered.

  “Yes?”

  “I’m afraid to move.” His words were barely audible.

  “Why?” Celeste breathed.

  “I’m afraid of what I may do to you if I do.”

  “That’s funny,”

  “Why do you say that?” Zev’s voice lowered.

  “Because I had the same thought myself.”

  Zev closed his eyes.

  “Kiss me, Zev. I want to feel your lips on mine.” Celeste was astonished at the boldness of her words. She had no idea where they had come from. But, they rang true. She wanted his lips on her, tasting her. She wanted to taste his skin just the same.

  Zev’s eyes snapped open, and Celeste jolted as she noticed his usual dark eyes now had a tinge of yellow to them. She opened her mouth, her tongue poking out to moisten her bottom lip in anticipation of what she knew was about to happen.

  “Celeste?” A male voice called her name from down the hall. “Celeste? Are you down here?”

  Celeste shook her head, bringing herself out of her lust. She dropped Zev’s hand.

  “James? Is that you?” she called back, taking a few steps toward the door leaving Zev standing by the desk.