THE HOUSE WAS PACKED. Music blared, creating a pounding sensation throughout my entire body as we entered the front entrance. A grand wooden staircase greeted us, beautifully engraved with swirling designs in the dark wood. I glimpsed through one of the three doorways surrounding us a thick crowd of people dancing, the room stuffed to the brim with students.
My stomach twisted and I frowned, my head heavy. I shook it off as Maude launched herself at two guys lounging against the railing.
“Maude,” the taller one said, smiling affectionately down at her as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Both of them wore dress pants and white dress shirts. The other one had a navy suit jacket on, the collar of his dress shirt wide open.
“Nicholas, I brought a friend,” she said, giggling. She glanced over her shoulder and both of the guys followed her gaze.
Heat scorched my skin, from the sudden intensity of their eyes and because of my damn coat.
“Well done indeed, sweetheart,” the taller one said, his eyes gleaming with mischief like Maude’s always did.
And that was when I paused. Both of their delicate features popped out at me. “Are you two siblings?”
The taller guy laughed. “Sadly, yes.”
Maude hit his stomach. “Hey! You should be blessed to have a baby sister like me. Who brings you friends.”
I frowned again her words and awkwardly twisted my hands in front of me.
“You should see the guy I brought,” he said, and nodded to the crowd of dancers.
Maude squealed, jumping up and down like a child receiving a brand new toy.
“I’m Wesley,” her brother said, reaching his hand out.
I took it and fidgeted under his heavy gaze. I opened my mouth to speak, but Maude gripped my wrist.
“This is Blondie,” she said, raising my hand.
I cringed again. So generic.
Both of the guys stared at me, assessing me like I was an item instead of a person. I scowled, fisting my hands.
“And this is Truman,” Wesley said, gesturing to the other guy beside him. He had a pale red hair and his skin was fair, freckled with a soft dusting of spots, especially over the bridge of his nose.
He flashed his teeth and took my hand, pressing a small kiss on the back of it. “Pleasure, Blondie.”
Cringe.
“Let me take your coat,” Maude said, but before I could refuse, she had gripped the back and tugged it off of my shoulders. I pulled my arms out of the sleeves and glanced at the guys who still stared, still assessing me like I was from a different planet.
I recognized Wesley now. I had seen him around campus, especially around his sister. Frankly, it was nice they were close and civilized to spend time together. His dark brown hair was gelled back, showcasing his high cheekbones and bright eyes.
He noticed me looking too long and stepped closer. “We have World War I together, don’t we?”
I froze. “Uh, yeah. Yeah we do.” He sat in the very back and I sat a few rows ahead of him, but I didn’t pay attention that much to other students. Memorizing facts wasn’t my thing. I worked better with numbers, hence tutoring Maude for Stats. Anything else—I was shit at. Besides track.
“I noticed you,” he said and my spine straightened, especially when his bright eyes gleamed with mischief just like Maude did when she wanted something.
“Oh Wesley, leave my friend alone. You have all night to bore her with blah blah blah,” Maude said, pushing me toward the room full of dancing. I didn’t bother glancing back at the two guys and focused on the crazy crowd. The music pounded, my bones vibrating in my head.
If I closed my eyes, I swore I would let myself drift away. I had never felt such an odd sensation. To let myself go, to let myself go wild and free.
Maude dragged me into the crowd, elbowing our way to the middle. Hands lingered on my hips, on my ass, my breasts—everywhere and Maude continued to glance back at me, her eyes sparkling.
When we reached the center, she swayed us to the beat.
She smiled at me and leaned forward, pressing her mouth to my ear as we danced. “Close your eyes.”
I stared at the crowd around me and took a deep breath, closing my eyes.
My body eased and all I could taste was sweet honey and all I could hear was the pounding of my own heart racing.
I moved my hips, raising my hands over my head, letting the music take me away.
Time seemed nonexistent.
Hands gripped my hips and I let them roam, pulling me back into a solid body.
I was high, I was lost and I didn’t want to be found. I didn’t care who touched me or if I touched anyone else around me. Each touch was a spark of arousal, of thrill and I wanted more of it. I gasped as hands skimmed my hips and leaned back. Sweat rolled down my neck, beading on arched spine, but I didn’t care. Maybe…maybe one night I could let go. Let the tension roll off my shoulders, not think about exams or track or the holidays.
Just be. Alive. Free.
I opened my eyes and the lights engulfed me that hung from above. Maude wasn’t in sight, but I didn’t care.
I laughed and threw my head back.
My throat grew dry and when I heard someone vomiting, I elbowed my way out of the crowd.
Even when I escaped the dancing, my skin burnt. I fanned my face and moved around a couple making out on one of the many brown leather couches.
I found a set of French doors and threw them open, stumbling outside.
The bitter cold wind assaulted my heating skin, but I welcomed it.
I walked onto the back porch, overlooking dark woods that sent shivers down my spine. I was alone and as I caught my breath, my feet ached and my body throbbed.
I was an athlete, it took a lot to make me sore, but dancing for like ten minutes didn’t cause that.
I wiped my hand against my forehead, finding sweat building on my brow. I coughed, attempting to relieve my dry throat.
“Thirsty?”
I jumped at the sound of the dark voice behind me and spun, gripping the stone balcony. Leaning against the side of the stone mansion was a tall, dark figure, but his platinum blond hair stood out in the night.
“You shouldn’t sneak up on people,” I managed to hiss out, clenching my chest as I breathed heavily out.
He snickered. “I was already here. So technically, you snuck up at me.”
I took a deep breath. “And I was just getting some fresh air.”
He stood up taller and I paled at how much taller he was than me. Well over six feet three. I swallowed when he stepped forward, my eyes tracing his features.
I wasn’t sure if I recognized him, but my heart stopped.
Olive smooth skin. Bright green eyes. Harsh cheekbones that could be a weapon. A fat bottom lip and a soft top one. His platinum blond hair was tousled, like he had just woken up and rolled out of bed and onto the back porch.
When his lips quirked, I froze, realizing I had been obviously checking him out and turned back to face the dark woods. In the corner of my eye, I could see him approach.
“Who did you come with?” His voice was light, not a hint of darkness, but I still felt on edge.
I glanced at him, puffing out a breath visible in the cool air. “Maude.”
He laughed at that. “Maude is very persuasive.” When his eyes danced over me, my stomach clenched, heat flooding me. I bit my lip to hold back a gasp. “Did she explain what happens tonight?”
I stared at his full mouth and then realized he asked me question. I blinked, shaking my head. “Uh, just that you guys get together for a party.”
He smiled, shoving his large hands into his pant pockets and stared at the dark woods. “Longest night of year.”
“Yeah,” I said, frowning at him. “Maude said the same thing.”
“The Winter Solstice,” he added, a smirk forming.
I cocked a brow at him. “Is that something of importance to the estate?”
It was then he turned that wicked
smile on me and again the heat stirred impatiently inside of me. I felt a strong desire to walk toward him, to touch him, to taste him.
“It’s pretty important. We give back,” he said, turning full to face me and leaning against the railing. “Some say this time of year the spirits are powerful and hungry and that they need to be fed. Some believe we must pay tribute with sacrifices to those spirits.” I furrowed my brow and before I could speak, he sent me another blinding smile. “But that’s just what some say.”
“So you have a party to give back to these—spirits?” I cocked my head to the side, staring back at him—fascinated, but confused. I hadn’t ever heard of this tradition for the Winter Solstice. Maybe it was a New England thing?
He smiled and that heat in my stomach simmered under his gaze. “You don’t have to piss off any of those spirits.” Even as he said it though, with a smile and a shake of his head, he sounded like he meant it. His eyes scanned me once and lingered on my chest. “You cold?”
I reddened, knew he saw my hardened nipples through my sweater. “I’m fine.”
Instead of frowning, he smiled at my harsh tone. “Want my coat?” Before I could say no, he shrugged out of his pea coat and held it out. Underneath he wore a white t-shirt.
“Okay.” I grabbed it and draped it over my shoulders, shivering the moment the heat from the coat swam over me.
“What’s your name?”
I blinked, frantic under his intense gaze. “It’s—” I paused abruptly and my eyes snapped to his. His lips twitched, fighting back a smile. I squared my shoulders. “Blondie, for tonight.”
“Blondie?” his voice was low and raspy as he pulled his hand from his coat pocket and touched a fallen strand of hair beside my cheek. I shivered, the heat in my belly burning at the contact and fought back a moan. He tucked the strand behind my ear, still staring deeply into my eyes—as if trying to go deeper than surface deep. “Reed.”
“Is that your real name?” I blurted out.
His hand hadn’t left my cheek and I wanted to step closer. What was wrong with me? “Last name.”
I cocked a brow. “What’s with using nicknames tonight?”
He stroked a finger down my cheekbone, chills rolling over me and I felt my nipples harden through my black sweater. Fuck me. “Names are powerful and in the wrong hands—or mouth—they’re deadly.”
I sucked in a breath and he shifted closer. “That seems…silly.” I could barely speak, too flustered by his presence, by his touch that continued to stroke light circles on my flushed cheek.
His eyes gleamed playfully. “Then tell me your name.”
I swallowed thickly and lowered my eyes to his mouth. I knew it was silly, but I couldn’t say my name. Now after Maude had told me not to and not after he had said names were powerful. Even if I thought it was ridiculous.
“Just Blondie,” I whispered, looking up at him through my lashes.
He opened his mouth, but a scream from the dark woods broke through our tension.
I jerked out of his touch and glanced at the woods ahead. “What was that?”
“The Wild Hunt,” he said, as if it meant nothing.
“The what?”
Another scream echoed and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Before I thought clearly, I sprinted toward the steps and down onto the frozen ground.
Reed grasped my wrist. “What are you doing?”
I hadn’t heard him follow me. I glanced back at him, furrowing my brow. “Someone’s screaming in your backyard! They need help!”
For once, he didn’t wear a smile. His face was eerily expressionless. “It’s harmless fun. Do you really want to in there?”
I blanched. “Harmless fun?”
His thumb stroke the bone of my wrist and the heat in my belly returned. “I’ll show you.”
Somewhere—deep inside—I knew I should have turned around and left then.
But with his hands on my skin, his eyes digging deep into mine, I was under his spell.
Chapter 3
REED TUGGED ME ALONG IN THE DARK WOODS. Branches snapped under our feet and the deeper we went into the forest, the more my skin prickled and heated. My breath came out in hot puffs.
“The Wild Hunt?” I asked after all we heard was our heavy breaths.
He shrugged a shoulder and gazed back at me, his eyes so bright in the darkness of the night. “It was an ancient hunt during the changing of seasons, most of the time thought to be around the Winter Solstice. Scholars have differing opinions of who leads it—some say Odin, some say the King Arthur, or the Queen of Fae. Warriors and hunters chase through the woods. Some believe if you see the Wild Hunt you’ll be taken by them or that it’s a bad omen of death. Some believe it lasts a day—others say a week.”
I furrowed my brow, stepping closer to him for warmth. “And you guys…celebrate that? What? Do a bunch of you guys run around in the woods?”
He laughed lowly. “No. We do hunt though.”
“Hunt what?”
“Some believe…that with Winter Solstice, a sacrifice has to be offered to the Queen of Fae.”
I gave his back a look. “A sacrifice? Like human?”
“Yes, but not what you think.”
I couldn’t wrap my head around these traditions, but my head also heavy and hot. I couldn’t think straight, only wanting to stay close and find where the screams were coming from.
“You’re probably drawn to it,” he said softly.
“What?”
He sent me another smile over his shoulder. “Just talking to myself.”
Another scream filled the silence and my heart sped up. It was closer, so much closer than before and I jerked out of his touch, sprinting forward.
I pushed branches out of my way, stumbling down a tiny hill. Dead leaves crunched under my boots.
I stopped and listened, closing my eyes. I heard voices, faint, on my right.
My heart raced, blooding drumming in my head. The sound of branches breaking behind me told me Reed was following me still.
And somehow that brought comfort instead of fear.
I hadn’t even drank anything—why was my head so jumbled.
I just needed—
I lost my footing, stumbling down a hill and rolled into a pile of leaves. My knees burned and I groaned, looking down to see I had torn my stockings, burns on my kneecaps.
“Ow,” I whispered, sitting up.
And then I heard moans.
I paused, staring ahead to a clearing, lit under the moonlight.
My eyes widened.
A man, completely naked, was on top of a woman from behind, taking her hard, the sound of their flesh clapping together each time he bucked against her. Her fingers dug into the earth, anchoring her and she wasn’t quiet as he took her. Her moans, loud and breathy, filled the clearing.
But they weren’t alone.
Another girl walked up to the first girl and bent, kissing her and playing with her breasts.
As I sat up, I eyed other groups of couples—intermingling.
Black boots appeared beside me and I jerked my head up to see Reed standing there, eyeing the group of couples.
“What is this?” I stared at him, watching his jaw clench.
Those bright eyes flickered to me. “An orgy.”
“A what—” I stood up, trying to catch my breath and I couldn’t look away from the sight behind me. That had been the last thing I expected to see.
“Some say—during the Winter Solstice that the cries of pleasure call to others nearby,” he said.
“I feel…hot.” I didn’t know why I admitted that out loud, still staring at them before me.
His eyes flared and he stepped closer, his hand slipping behind to cradle my head that felt so heavy.
“Because you’re aroused,” he whispered against my heated cheek.
I shuddered, my chest growing tight.
“You have been since I found you outside. I smelled it. Thick, sweet, hot.” His
fingers massaged my scalp, dragging me closer to his face. He pressed his lips to mine, but didn’t move them, only breathing hard. My fingers ached to grip his platinum strands and force him to move, but all my emotions warred inside of me. “I can take it all away.” His mouth kissed the corner of my mouth, then my jaw, then my neck as he stretched it back. Like I was a puppet for him to toy with and fuck me, I wanted that. “Give you that high tonight.”
“Yes,” I whispered dreamily, drunkenly as his hands peeled off of his coat. I jumped when my back hit the bark of the tree.
His mouth brushed across my skin like a match, igniting something powerful, lethal inside me that clawed to the surface. My fingers dug into his shoulders, broad and strong. The moaning in the clearing faded and became my own, loud and breathless in my own ears.
In the corner of my eyes, I saw more guys and girls joining, shedding their clothes, dancing like hypnotized something unseen. Something deep within their core.
I wanted to dance with them, I wanted to strip and be laid bare—
“Easy,” Reed muttered as I yanked my sweater over my head, revealing my plain black bra.
His eyes settled on my chest, heaving air like I couldn’t get enough.
His once bright eyes—darkened to a dangerous heat of smoldering and chaos and he kissed the tops of my breasts. I groaned, throwing my head back as his hands cupped them, tenderly kneading them.
I yanked his head up and pressed my lips to him, needing him close, needing him now.
His fingers gripped my thigh and lifted it in one large hand, bending it back. His other hand danced up my inner thigh until he reached my soaked panties. At the touch of his fingers on my aching core, I moaned into his shoulder.
He laughed lowly and he kissed along my jaw, peppering his mouth, each leaving a burning sensation of arousal in his wake. “You humans are so bendable, so easy, so weak. Too easy.”
In the haze of my lust, his words stabbed me deep in my chest.
I gasped, almost as if breaking out of a trance and stilled.
“Excuse me?” Easy? Weak? Bendable?
Humans?
He froze against me and lifted his head, his thick brows knitted together in confusion. He opened his mouth, but he didn’t say a thing, only stared at me in shock.
Such Violent Delights: A Holiday Paranormal Romance Anthology Page 43