by Jackie May
Except maybe how much I like it. He’s so close his breath tickles the back of my neck. A shiver rocks my entire body.
“You want this. Don’t you?”
I’m honestly not sure. Part of me does, and part of me thinks if I do this, there’s no turning back. This isn’t safe, no matter what Parker claims.
“Turn around, beautiful.”
I can’t breathe. My anxiety is locking up my entire body. I’m shaking. It’s just a kiss on the cheek. It’s not even the lips. But it’s what it means that scares me. It’s a move to get closer. It’s a stamp on the end of a night. It’s a goodnight kiss.
“Nora, sweetheart,” Parker murmurs, “if you really can’t do it, it’s okay. I’ll still keep Xavier away from the party.”
I let out a giant breath of relief. My entire body deflates, leaving me feeling like rubber. I hadn’t realized I was so tense. I can’t even accept a kiss on the cheek from a guy I’m attracted to. “I’m sorry,” I croak.
I feel like an idiot. There really is something wrong with me. My shoulders sag at the thought. I’ll never be normal. I’ll never have love or a regular relationship.
“It’s all right, sweetheart. I’m sorry I pushed it. I didn’t realize how serious it was.”
“It’s stupid.”
“It’s understandable.”
I still can’t even turn around and look at him. I’m on the verge of tears, and I just want to get out of here. Nick is waiting patiently at the curb, watching the two of us with a curious expression. No doubt he can hear every word we’re saying. “Thank you for dinner,” I say, not knowing how else to get out of this conversation.
“It was my pleasure,” Parker says. His voice has returned to normal, as if nothing awkward happened at all, as if I’m not a hopeless wreck. “Be careful tonight, Nora.”
“You too.”
I head toward Nick without looking back. When I get to the bike, Nick slips his jacket on my arms without saying anything. I appreciate him not asking me what all that was about. I climb on behind him, and as he revs the engine, he says, “You want to ride for a bit first? We’ve got a little time if we want to be fashionably late.”
He is a wonderful man. A motorcycle ride to give me time to compose myself and get my head back in the game is exactly what I need. “Yes, please.”
We take off, and I immediately lose myself to the thrill of being on the bike. I feel better within minutes, but we drive for twenty before we arrive at the sorority house. It seems to be a casual party, not a wild rager like you see on TV. I’m glad for the laid back atmosphere. It’s perfect for mingling, which is exactly what Nick and I need to do.
As I hand Nick his jacket back, I give him one last pep talk. “Okay, once we’re in there, you have to act annoyed with me behind my back.”
Nick shoots me a questioning look as he straightens his leather jacket. “Why?”
“Because this is a sacrificial ritual. They have to believe you’re only using me for my power and that you’d be willing to kill me, or they won’t go for it.”
Nick lets his eyes drop to my feet and slowly pulls them back up, smirking. “I can’t want you for your legs?”
I roll my eyes. “Of course that, too, or we won’t look sincere as a couple. Come on, we’ve got to sell this. It’s our only chance.”
“Okay, okay, I promise I’ll be the douchiest boyfriend ever.”
“Thank you.”
Nick laughs, shaking his head. “You ready, 007?”
I look at the house again and take a deep breath. “Yup. Let’s do this. Let’s go rush.”
One of the Alpha Gamma Delta girls is standing at the door, greeting guests. Her eyes light up as Nick and I arrive, but the look is for me and not Nick. I have to hold back a laugh at his soft snort. I guess he doesn’t get passed up by women often. “Hello!” the girl greets, taking my hand and shaking it with both of hers. She lets go quickly, so I only get the briefest thought from her. She’s so gorgeous. She looks fun. I hope she wants to rush. “I’m Stacia. Welcome to Alpha Gamma Delta. Are you thinking of rushing?”
“Considering it,” I lie as I pull my hand back. “I’m mostly curious about sorority life. I want to figure out if it’s for me before I decide to rush anywhere. Someone on campus told me about your mixer tonight. I hope you don’t mind that we came.”
“Oh, of course not! That’s what this party is for. To welcome any who are interested,” Stacia says. She’s got a nice attitude about her—very happy and friendly. I kind of like her. “Drinks are in the kitchen,” Stacia goes on, “and anyone wearing the Alpha Gamma Delta T-shirts are here to answer any questions you have or show you around. Please, come in and enjoy yourselves.”
I reach deep down inside me and pull up my best happy-go-lucky bubbly Nora. It’s not easy, and I know even though I like Stacia’s outgoingness, I’m 100 percent not sorority material. “Thanks! It’s nice to meet you. I’m Nora, and this is my boyfriend, Nick. We’ll be sure to talk to a few different people while we’re here. Thanks for having us. It looks like a great party.”
Nick slides me a glance once we’re finally in the door. I match his wry look. “Don’t even say a word.”
“I wasn’t going to,” Nick says. His laugh makes me think he’s lying. “So, should we hit up the kitchen for a drink and then do a lap? You can point people out to me, since you’re the only one who knows what any of them look like.”
“Sounds good, but just water for me. I don’t drink.”
Nick grins. “Well then, I guess I’ll have to drink for the both of us. Gotta blend in, right?”
“Don’t get slobbering drunk. We’re working tonight, remember?”
Nick shrugs. “My metabolism burns off alcohol too quickly for me to get drunk. I’ll be fine.”
I want to ask so badly what kind of underworlder he is, but he doesn’t offer, and Cecile confirmed my suspicion that it’s rude to ask, so I hold my tongue and let him lead me to the kitchen.
Once I have a bottled water and Nick has the customary red Solo cup in hand, we wander through the house. It’s huge and nice, though it’s not fancy like I would think a house this big would be. It’s very normal feeling, homey. Another point for the sorority. Who knew I’d like it?
“Bingo.” Seeing a familiar face, I nod my head in the right direction and murmur behind my water bottle. “Blondie with the muscles, at two o’clock. That’s the guy who took Shandra. The even bigger guy next to him with the sandy hair is the owner of the one and only banana boat hooptie.”
As Nick casually looks them over from behind his plastic cup, I add, “Look for a shorter redheaded guy. That’s Elijah. He seems to be the human in charge.”
“Excuse me,” says a voice behind us, clearly trying to get our attention. We both turn to find none other than Elijah standing right behind us. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but did I just hear you say you’re looking for a human in charge of a fraternity?”
I’m busted. But how to play it off? He obviously heard me, and he’s looking at me with dangerous suspicion. Hopefully he didn’t hear me mention Shandra by name. I’ll have to be more careful. For now, I may as well own it.
I pull out Bubbly Nora again and give the guy a huge smile while bouncing up and down a little. “Oh! You’re him, aren’t you? Are you Elijah?” I grip Nick’s arm, grateful for his long-sleeved leather jacket. “Oh, Nicky, I told you we’d find him!”
Nick grimaces at me. It could be because we got caught, or it could be the girly whine I throw into my words, or more likely, it could be that I called him Nicky. Either way, the grimace is perfect, because Elijah looks between us and his eyes narrow even further. “Yes, I’m Elijah. Is there something I can do for you?”
There’s more disdain in his voice than wariness. Condescending asshole. I want to tell him where he can shove his self-importance, but I have to keep up the act of the annoying underworlder. “Actually, there is.” I giggle. It almost kills me.
In a bold move
, I take Elijah’s arm and drag him into the living room to snag a seat on an empty couch. “You see, my boyfriend Nicky wants to rush your frat, but we looked everywhere for information on you guys and couldn’t find anything.”
Elijah sits down with me but pulls his arm out of my grip, making me lose his thoughts. All I got from him on our short walk across the room was that he’s really irritated for several reasons. First, he thinks it’s a pity I’m so hot, because I’m super annoying. He doesn’t like that I know about underworlders—and I must, because I mentioned humans—and wants to know how I know about him and his brotherhood.
“Unfortunately,” he says, frowning at me with all the arrogance of Mr. Darcy, “joining our brotherhood is a private thing. It’s by personal invitation only, and all of our slots are full for the year.”
“Oh, bummer.” I pout for all I’m worth. “That’s a shame.” I duck in close to his ear and lower my voice. “Nicky was so excited when he learned there was an underworld fraternity.”
Elijah can’t help himself; he’s as drawn to me as any man. His hand falls to my thigh, half on my dress and half on my bare skin. I hate his touch, but I swallow back my revulsion and let him leave his hand there. “And how is it that you came to know about us?” he asks, sugar in his voice now instead of irritation.
His thoughts haven’t changed much; he still wants to know how I know who he is, but he’s a lot less annoyed with me. Now, instead, he keeps thinking about how beautiful I am, and he’s wondering how serious Nick and I are. We don’t seem to be that serious, because Nick hasn’t stopped me from talking to Elijah and sitting so closely to him, and Nick’s eyes keep drifting to other girls.
“Oh!” I say, laying my hand on top of his. “Well, that’s a funny story. I met your friend Xavier at Underworld the other night. He was with a friend of mine. He was cool, but he kept hitting on me. He kept trying to get me to come home with him even though I told him I had a boyfriend. I sort of had to glamour him a little to get him to back off.” I make an oops face and giggle conspiratorially.
Elijah perks up at this. “Glamour? You’re fey?”
I bite my lip and try to look nervous since underworlders aren’t supposed to talk about the underworld. Elijah begins rubbing small circles on my bare thigh with his thumb. “You can trust me, Nora. I myself am a sorcerer. I’ll keep your secrets.”
I pretend to consider it while I listen to his thoughts. He’s excited at the possibility that he’s found another underworlder, but he’s not sure he believes me. I seem human to him.
“Okay,” I say, biting my lip again. It draws his gaze to my mouth. “I’ll tell you, but you have to keep it secret. It could be dangerous if the wrong person found out about me.”
He grins and grips my thigh in a gesture meant to be supportive and comforting, but his thoughts say, Oh, honey, I am the wrong person, you just don’t know it.
And then I get images of past rituals. I see him sacrifice a water sprite—a young woman, looking so sickly and helpless, drugged by a dark magic roofie—and he takes her life force by drinking her blood. I want to be sick. I want to kill this jerk.
Nick must see the change in me, because suddenly he’s right there, grabbing Elijah’s hand and taking it off my thigh. I don’t want to know how hard he’s crunching it, but Elijah’s face flushes red and he winces, flexing his hand when Nick finally lets him go. Nick leans in close to him as he hauls me to my feet and says, “Get your own. This one is mine.”
It’s the perfect line, because it challenges Elijah, who is obviously prideful; it clarifies that I am indeed an underworlder; and most importantly, it tells Elijah that Nick only wants me because I’m an underworlder. For these reasons, I don’t kick Nick in the balls for treating me like a possession.
Nick pulls me away from Elijah, but not far enough that he can’t still hear us. “Baby,” he admonishes me quietly, “what are you doing? You can’t tell people what you are. The sidhe are so powerful, especially the Summer Court. You’re fey royalty, baby. People would kill you to get your power.”
Nice. Now I don’t have to come up with a type of fey on my own. Nick’s just given me the perfect cover story. I love that he’s right in sync with me on this mission. He’s the perfect partner. “But Nicky,” I whine. “He’s the leader of that group you want to join. We want him to trust us. I thought if he knew I’m an underworlder, maybe he’d let you in.”
“But we don’t know him yet. We’re just checking them out, remember? We don’t know if we can trust them.”
“Don’t forget I’m powerful, Nicky,” I say in full-on girly pout mode now. “I can take care of myself.”
Nick smiles at me and caresses my cheek. He lets his fingertips linger near the corner of my mouth. I’d be shocked by the move if it weren’t for the thoughts he’s sending me. It’s startling to hear him talking directly to me with his mind. He’s the first person who’s ever done that. You’re a hell of an actress, Spitfire. Too good. I didn’t like the way he was looking at you. Let’s just lie low for a bit. Let them chase us now.
I nod to let him know his message was received, and he lowers his fingers. “Come on,” he says. “Let’s go mingle with sorority girls.”
I snort, but we go find a couple of girls in Alpha Gamma Delta T-shirts and start learning about sorority life.
Nick and I kill about an hour chatting with sorority girls and having drinks. Nick even talks me into a dance. The entire time, members of Elijah’s brotherhood keep a close eye on us and start seemingly random friendly conversations with us. We can always tell when it’s one of them, and I’m pretty sure we’ve met all eleven of them now. They’re vetting Nick pretty hard, so I think they’ve decided they believe I’m sidhe, and now they’re just trying to find out if Nick would be willing to play along with their sick game.
They’ve managed to separate us, but we’re still in each other’s sight. Hooptie guy and a couple of his brothers have Nick cornered in the kitchen, where he went with them to get more drinks. The second I was left alone, Elijah reappeared, and now we’re sitting on the same couch as before. He’s got his arm around the back of the couch behind me and is leaning in very close.
He might be trying to seduce me, but his intentions are a lot more nefarious, because from the moment he came over to me, my intuition kicked in, sending tingles up my spine. Elijah means me harm. The feeling that I’m in danger isn’t too bad, so he must not mean to do anything to me tonight. My guess is that he’s decided to let Nick into his brotherhood, and he plans to have Nick sacrifice me on Tuesday during the blood moon. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to get the hell out of here, but I force myself to keep playing my part. We’re so close. We’re going to get Shandra and the others back.
“So you said you met Xavier at Underworld?” Elijah says. “Is he the one who told you about us?”
Xavier is a great out, considering he isn’t here and won’t be showing up to contradict me. I bob my head in a nod. “He wasn’t just spilling your secrets, of course. He met Nicky. See, there aren’t usually any humans in Underworld. Most humans don’t even know the underworld exists, so Nicky can’t ever talk about the things he’s learned with anyone. When I saw Xavier there, I got a little excited and told him Nicky was human, too. They hit it off right away.
“That’s when he told Nicky about your brotherhood. He said he thought there might be one spot left, and he’d rather Nicky join than some guy named Noah. He said he’d ask you about it, but then he ended up in the hospital. When he called to tell us about this party tonight, he said he didn’t get the chance to talk to you about Nicky yet, but that we should come and meet you guys anyway.”
Elijah sighs. “Not that I don’t like both you and your boyfriend, but Xavier still should have been more secretive about us. That’s one of the rules when joining; you don’t tell people about us.”
“Oh, I know all about that. Rule number one in the underworld is don’t tell humans about the underworld.”
I look away and try to blush. Who knows if it worked? But the feigned shyness does have the desired effect. Elijah moves his arm from the back of the couch to officially around me, letting his hand fall on my shoulder. His thoughts are a little jumbled. He’s attracted to me, and interested in my power, but he’s still suspicious. The fact that I feel human to him is keeping him wary. He doesn’t like how much I know about him. He doesn’t think Xavier would have blabbed about the brotherhood. He was a solid recruit. He’s also a little wary of Nick still. Nick is too perfect of a candidate. Elijah is concerned about the coincidence that he found us right when he was so desperate for one last member of his circle. He doesn’t like coincidences. He’s not quite ready to trust us yet.
“What are you doing dating a human anyway?” he asks in a soft voice. “Aren’t you supposed to keep to your own kind?”
“I’m sidhe,” I say in the demurest voice I’m capable of. “I’m part of the Summer Court. But I don’t like to stay there much. The sidhe are so emotionless and aloof. It gets boring.” And…I look up at him through my eyelashes. “Humans are a lot more fun. I don’t normally tell them my secrets, but Nicky is special. He’s so persuasive. I’ve really fallen hard for him.” I glance around us as if to make sure no one is listening, then whisper, “He wants me to petition the Summer King to turn him fey. He says he loves me and wants to be with me forever. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen when the humans are intriguing enough. I think Nicky has a chance. He’d make such a handsome faerie, don’t you think? He’s so strong and good-looking already, I can’t imagine him with the power of my people inside him as well.”
There. Let Elijah chew on that. He drops his arm from around me so that he can lean back. He looks me over with a very considering stare. When I frown at him, he forces a smile. “You’re a very interesting woman, Nora. And, if you don’t mind my saying so, the most beautiful one I’ve ever met.”