by J. N. Colon
“Okay, sure.” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them, and my feet were already descending the blood red stairs. What was one little drink? I’d gotten a much better handle on my powers since working with Lucas and Rafe.
I slipped past the crowds and settled at the end of the bar. Rafe’s head lifted, his brow quirking up when he caught sight of me. He quickly took care of the customers in front of him and headed my way, ignoring the group of girls vying for his attention. They sent dirty scowls my way.
Geez. Who peed in their cereal this morning?
Rafe shot me a crooked smile. “Angel, I didn’t expect to see you here.” He winked. “What can I get for you, darling?”
I scoffed. “Wow. You’re laying it on thick. I think you’re going to make that girl die of a broken heart.”
He flicked a glance over his shoulder at the pouty blonde. “I’ll just have to mend it for her later.”
I shook my head at the scoundrel while fighting a smile. Learning what happened to Rafe and his mom made me see him in a new light. What was annoying before was kind of endearing now.
Rafe reached under the bar and pulled out a bottle of glittering blue liquid. “Try some of this.”
I examined the shimmering substance. “What is that?” It didn’t look like any normal drink.
“It’s called Delirium.” He leaned forward. “It doesn’t work on humans, but it gives creatures like us the best feeling in the world.”
My lips thinned. “Is this the stuff you magic-roofied me with?”
He shot me a wry look. “Do you really think I’d do that in the middle of Le Revenant?”
I shrugged. “You might still be a little mad after I kicked your ass in practice yesterday.”
He let out a barking laugh. “Right, princess.” He grabbed the bottle and poured a tiny bit into a shot glass. “Just try some. It’s not going to hurt.”
I glanced around, shifting uneasily in the stool. “Is it safe for someone like me?”
Rafe’s eyes softened. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Angel. I promise.”
Shocking as it was, he’d become one of the few people I trusted. “All right.” Why not? It was only a drink, right? I grabbed the shot glass and tossed it back.
A flood of icy coolness seeped down my throat, spreading to my lungs. I shivered and breathed, a cloud of cold air puffing from my mouth. “What the hell was that?”
Rafe rested his cheek in his hand. “Wait for it.”
“Wait for—” My words were cut off as a jolt of heat exploded through my body. The entire club tilted and spun.
Woah!
I grabbed the edge of the bar, hoping like hell I wouldn’t fall off the stool. An electric tingle melted over my skin, crackling and popping. I glanced down, expecting to see tiny sparks dancing over my arms. Nope. Just the colorful lights from above.
I rubbed my arms, shivering from the rush of new sensations. “This is weird.” A giggle slipped out.
“It gets better.” A violet twinkle lit his chestnut brown eyes. “Trust me.”
Better than this?
“It’s hot in here,” I said over the thumping music. “Aren’t you hot?” I shed my lacy sweater, leaving me in shorts and a tank top.
“Here.” Rafe handed me a cup of ice water.
I gulped it, welcoming the cool, crisp liquid down my throat. It reminded me of the shimmery blue drink. I should have more of that.
I leaned against the bar. “Let me have more Delirium.”
Rafe chuckled. “Oh no, little witch. Just one was plenty for you. Etie’s either going to kick my ass or thank me for this.”
I pouted. “I won’t let him beat you up anymore.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He jerked his chin toward the dance floor. “Why don’t you go dance?”
I shook my head. “Not by myself. That’s weird.”
“A hundred people are on the dance floor. You won’t be alone.”
I glanced over my shoulder. They looked like they were having a good time. Didn’t I deserve to have a good time too?
My feet were on the ground, but it felt like I was floating instead of walking. I peered down just to make sure I wasn’t levitating.
Nope.
A giggle slipped out again. Marisol would love this stuff. She’d love this place. This was right up her alley. I’d have to bring her here after Fete Gede.
Thinking of my sister sent a twinge through my heart. I missed her and the rest of my family.
Before another dark mood had the chance to sink in, I made it to the edge of the dance floor. The music pulsated, and I started moving to the sensual beats.
I shifted and swayed, getting lost in the Delirium and dancing. I was free for the first time in months. Nothing could bring me down. Nothing could chain me up—not my powers, not other witches or casters who wanted to use me, and not even the voodoo king.
A hand brushed my back, and then another slid down my arm. I was suddenly squeezed into the middle of the floor, dancing with complete strangers. The lights above swirled, turning everyone into colorful humanoid shapes.
My own chuckle vibrated through my chest. Humanoid. What a weird word.
Magic churned inside, swaying to the same tempo as the music. I let it slip around me, coating my body in electric tingles. No one around seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary.
Time passed. It could have been hours or minutes. It didn’t matter. Nothing was going to steal this warm, fuzzy existence. A fine sheen dampened my skin. It felt as if I were glowing. Maybe I was.
A guy with golden hair appeared, his blue eyes raking over me. “I’ve never seen you before.” He stepped closer, his hand dragging down my arm.
Faint tingles popped along my skin. I laughed.
The guy smiled and leaned closer to whisper in my ear, violet stirring in his irises. He was a witch. “Want to dance with me?”
I laughed again and pushed him back. “You don’t want to get that close, buddy.” I lifted my hair off my neck and swayed to the beat of drums. “He’ll break your hand for touching me.”
His brows furrowed as he glanced around. “Who?”
“Me.” Etie materialized out of nowhere and yanked the guy away, his nostrils flaring.
Oh crap. “Don’t hurt him. He didn’t know.” My fingers brushed over the swirling tattoo above my collarbone. He probably didn’t know what a toujou was.
The guy held his hands up in surrender. “I-I’m sorry, man. I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.”
A growl so deep it vibrated the ground beneath my feet seeped out of Etie. “Now you know.” He pushed him back.
The witch stumbled into another group. They began to protest until they caught sight of the terrifying voodoo caster snarling in their direction. They quickly turned back around and went about their business.
Smart move.
Etie stalked toward me, ready to spew a bunch of French obscenities. He halted, watching me dance. I gave him a come-hither smile—or at least tried to—and licked my lips.
I missed his taste. He hadn’t kissed me since this morning.
The hardness drained from his face. “Angeline?” he sang, a grin pulling at his mouth.
“Étienne.” I matched his playful tone.
“Have you been drinking?”
“Just one.” I held up my index finger. “Deli something. I don’t know. I forgot.”
His smile dropped. “Delirium?”
“That’s the one.” I clapped. “I like it.”
His lips thinned into a hard line. “I bet you do,” he growled. “I’m going to kill that mohawked witch.”
A giggle slipped out. I was just full of those tonight. “He said you’d either kill him or thank him.” My fingers hooked in his belt loops, and I drew him closer.
“Did he now?” His voice dipped.
I nodded and stared at him through my lashes. “Dance with me, and maybe you’ll find a reason to thank him.”
His eyes narrowed. “You know you’re drunk off magic, right?”
“Want to get me drunk off you?” I wiggled my eyebrows.
Etie shook his head. “You’re in rare form tonight, cher.” His hands found my swaying hips. They were so hot they seared the skin through my shirt. “How can I resist?”
I tilted my head. “Simple. You can’t.” My palms flattened on his chest, trailing up the familiar ripples and planes of his muscles.
We danced, moving in sync to the slow, melodic beat. It wasn’t anything played on the radio. Hell, I wasn’t even sure it was English. It didn’t need to be. The words weren’t important. It was the feeling it created. Heady, hot, and dizzying.
Etie’s scent melted over me, and everywhere we touched, electricity sparked. It wasn’t from the Delirium. The drink only made it that much more intoxicating. His fingers dug into my hips, pressing me closer until not one single molecule of space existed between us. His heartbeat crashed into my chest as if it were my own.
“Angeline,” he whispered in my ear, his hot breath ghosting down my neck. “You ain’t got a clue of what you’re doing to me right now.”
I shifted against him and grinned. “I’ve got a pretty good idea.”
His electric blue and mossy green eyes smoldered beneath his sooty lashes. “You’re being very bad tonight.”
“You like it. Don’t lie.” I spun around and pressed my back into him, swaying.
Etie growled again. One of his hands slid across my stomach, pinning me to him. “I like it a lot.” His lips found my neck, dropping kisses on the heated skin.
A shiver rolled down my spine, and I closed my eyes, letting the music and Etie take me away. I wasn’t the powerful conduit being hunted by a voodoo loa. I wasn’t the witch confused about how to save herself and her sister. I was just Angel, a girl dancing with her boyfriend.
Drunk on magic liquor.
Etie’s other hand traced my ribs. My head fell back on his chest as his mouth continued to spread kisses along my neck and jaw. Heat enveloped me, and my toujou tingled. The gwo-bon lyen was ecstatic. So was I. And Etie was definitely happy right now.
I laughed. It wasn’t a giggle anymore, but a deep, smoky sound. Blood coursed through my veins hot and fast. Steam swirled around us, coating us both in a glowing sheen. Etie’s touch moved to my hips and then back up again, tracing my sides as if he couldn’t decide where he wanted to settle.
It didn’t matter. My body was melting.
But I wanted more. So much more.
I spun around and grabbed his face. His mouth crashed into mine, his tongue slipping past my lips. His taste exploded through me, and I groaned, rolling my hips against his.
No one else was in the club. No one else mattered. I was riding high on Etie now, the Delirium second fiddle to the voodoo caster’s effect. He was an addiction I could never quit. Why would I want to?
My hands roamed down his chest, savoring every dip and curve of his hard muscles. My fingers slipped beneath his shirt, his stomach jumping as I brushed the hot skin just above the hem of his low slung jeans.
“Angeline,” Etie murmured. “You’re killing me.” He kissed my jaw and his teeth grazed down my neck. His head suddenly snapped up, his hazy eyes darting back and forth. He cursed.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, the shiny bubble I was floating in threatening to pop.
He looked at me, a wry smile tugging his swollen lips. “You need to stop using magic, cher.”
My brows knit. “I’m not.”
His dark laugh made my insides squirm. “Yeah, you are.” He spun me around, drawing my attention to the others on the dance floor. “Your conduit powers are heightening the spell Mama CeCe cast to draw their energy.”
Was that where she got all those jars of energy Rafe had me suck up and spit back out?
I hadn’t stopped moving against Etie, and his hands found my hips again. I watched the other patrons. The couples were gyrating against each other. Several were kissing, and hands were disappearing. They were about two seconds away from ripping each other’s clothes off. Some of the guys had already tossed their shirts.
My eyes widened, and I whirled back around. “Why am I making them all want to drop and go to town?”
Etie’s chuckle was way too sensual. “I guess Mama CeCe was using a spell to draw that kind of energy.” His eyes dipped, wandering over my body. “It’s a powerful thing. It can fuel even the most complicated rituals.”
Had that slippery voodoo caster known this would happen? I glanced up, but the balcony was vacant. Had Rafe given me Delirium on purpose?
I shook the thought off. Rafe wouldn’t let her use my powers like that. In a way, he knew what that was like.
Etie covered my mouth with his, shattering the anger beginning to build. “I should stop,” he whispered, his tongue tracing my bottom lip before dipping back into my mouth.
I tried to concentrate on reining my power in, but all I could think about was the dangerously hot voodoo caster undoing me. My hands crept beneath Etie’s shirt again, sampling his skin. They traveled lower, fiddling with the button on his jeans.
He gasped and snatched my wrists. “Angeline, w-we’re in the middle of the club.” His husky voice was raw with desire. He didn’t really want me to stop.
“Don’t you want me?” I stared up at him, my bottom lip snagged between my teeth.
His head lowered. “Of course I do. You have no idea.”
I pressed into his body, wishing I could feel his bare skin against mine. As if he heard my thoughts, Etie began to draw my shirt up.
And then he dropped it, spewing a couple different French curses. “We need to get out of here,” he growled. He wrapped his arms around me and started tugging me through the crowd. His body trembled as if it took every ounce of control to keep moving.
Several moans echoed, and I turned my eyes away from a couple who was really getting hot and heavy.
Talk about dirty dancing.
We finally emerged out of the crowd. I swallowed hard, my body still filled with so much longing. “Will they stop when I leave?” I didn’t want them to continue mauling each other.
“They should definitely tone it down,” he gritted out, having as much difficulty as I was.
“What about us?” I stepped closer without meaning to, brushing against him.
A loud moan of pleasure slithered from the dance floor. Etie cursed again, his nostrils flaring. Without warning, he picked me up, and I barely had time to wrap my legs around his waist before he was running up the stairs.
Once we made it to our bedroom, Etie slammed the door and dropped me to my feet. He leaned against the heavy oak, his eyes smoldering. Our heavy breathing bounced against the walls for several long, tense moments.
I finally broke the silence. “We’re not in the club anymore.”
With an angry growl, Etie’s lips crashed onto mine, stealing my next breath. His kiss went from zero to sixty within a matter of nanoseconds. I reached for his shirt, tearing it off him. My hands roamed his bare skin, savoring his hot flesh. I fumbled to find the button on his jeans.
He grabbed my wrist, stopping me. Again. “You’re on Delirium,” he panted. “I don’t want… It’s not… We shouldn’t.”
“Not anymore.” The magic liquor was out of my system by now. “I’m only high on you and my own damn powers.”
His jaw flexed. “You’re making this very hard to say no to.”
A dark smile twitched my lips. “So don’t say no.” I pressed a kiss to the center of his chest, tasting his salty skin. “You’re my soul mate, Etie. What the hell are we waiting for?”
He gave a throaty laugh. “The right time.” He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “I just want it to be special for you. It’s your first time and—”
“If I have to wait one more damn minute for you to start taking my clothes off, I’m going to set them all on fire.”
Etie’s eyes widened.
His body trembled from the restraint he was exhibiting.
He was being ridiculous. We loved each other. We were both adults. And we were soul mates for crap sakes!
Another beat passed and something inside him snapped. His control didn’t just break. It obliterated into a million pieces.
His mouth was on mine again, ripping out every bit of sanity I had left. His taste of cherries and sin consumed me. I’d never wanted anything more in my life than this. Right here. Right now.
I finally got that damn button open and pushed his jeans to the floor. I’d seen Etie in his boxers plenty of times, but this was different. All the moisture evaporated from my mouth. He had to be the finest male specimen ever created.
And he was mine.
Etie slipped my tank top off, his calloused fingers running over my sides. I shivered.
“Cold, cher?” His hot breath blew down my flushed cheeks.
“Definitely not cold.” I was a burning inferno. I forced him backwards, and he dropped on the bed.
A dark, sexy smile hitched up his lips. “I like when you get bossy.”
“You say that now,” I whispered, crawling over him. “But you’ll take it back later.”
He licked his lips as he watched me. “Oh, I definitely like it, Angeline.”
I lowered, kissing that hot, infuriating mouth of his. He groaned, his hands pressing into the small of my back. It wasn’t long before I found myself beneath him. His fingers trailed down my ribs, halting at the hem of my shorts.
I held my breath, thinking he was going to stop.
Nope.
He undid the button with one quick flick of his finger and drew my shorts over my hips.
Finally. It was happening.
A long sigh of relief slipped out as my body sank into the silk covers. Etie stared down at me with a look that sent hot tingles over every inch of my skin. His hand slowly traveled up my inner thigh.
A moan slipped out, and I arched in anticipation.
“If you’re making those kinds of noises now, just wait until later.” His smile was pure wickedness.
A deep booming laugh exploded behind us accompanied by fervent clapping. “What a party you got going on here!”
I screeched and scrambled for cover. Baron Samedi stood in the center of the room.