“Ian and I were on our way to Vain. I just needed to pick something up,” Fiona said, giving Ian a lingering glance that worried me. I felt like an old mother hen as I watched my best friend crush on the wrong guy. I wanted to forbid her from seeing him, but unless I wanted Fiona pissed at me for who knows how long, I couldn’t exactly stop her from seeing Ian. What I could do, was act as a chaperone.
“Oh, that sounds like fun! Care if I join you?” I asked with a wide smile. I could see the hesitation in Fiona’s eyes, whereas Ian’s held nothing but amusement.
Fiona began to speak, but Ian interrupted her before she could politely tell me that she preferred to be alone with Ian tonight.
“That would be lovely,” Ian said with a smile. I beamed at Fiona, not Ian, so that she would see that I had no interest in spending time with him. The only thing I wanted from Ian was information on who he really was and why he was so interested in fooling my best friend.
I felt the familiar tingle of my magic as I switched out of my pajamas and into a black ruffled mini skirt, purple halter top and matching purple stilettos.
“All ready!”
“Can I speak to you for a minute?” Fiona all but forced out. I hopped off the couch and followed her back to her bedroom. I knew exactly what she was going to say but that wouldn’t change my mind.
“What are you doing?” Fiona whirled around to face me with ire in her eyes. My own eyes shot wide at her tone, not realizing my tagging along would make her so pissed.
“What do you mean?” I asked, feigning innocence.
“Why are you going after Ian when you know that I like him?” Whoa, I hadn’t seen that one coming. My eyes roamed her small bedroom as I tried to think of a way to tell her that the only interest I had in Ian was keeping him away from her. I didn’t think she’d swallow that pill easily.
“You have Aiden and obviously Micah stills loves you; are two men not enough?” she asked. “Who do I have? Liam?” She let out a sarcastic laugh. Fiona had always been perceptive, able to read people easily. So why weren’t her warning bells chiming when she was around Ian?
I let out a sigh. “Fiona, I have no romantic interest in Ian. I just…don’t trust him,” I finally said, ready for her to blow up. When she was too quiet for my liking, I said, “I also wanted to go to Vain because I haven’t heard from Aiden.” She gave me a look that said she wasn’t buying it and I resisted the urge to literally shake some sense into her. Why did she think that I was after Ian? The kiss! I had forgotten, thanks to my drama- filled day that Fiona had seen Ian kiss me. I still didn’t know what he had told her, or if he had told her anything
. “Ian kissed me, I didn’t want it, that’s why I slapped him. The only vampire that’ll be kissing me is Aiden.” At least, that’s what I hoped. He might not want anything to do with me after finding out Ian and Micah had kissed me.
A sharp stinging sensation erupted across my cheek, sending me whirling into dizziness for a few moments. I placed a hand on the side of my face and realized that Fiona had slapped me! My mouth hung open and my eyes shot wide as I looked at my best friend full of anger and hatred directed at me.
“What the hell, Fiona?” I asked, flabbergasted.
“My father warned me that you were trash and it seems he was right! Stay away from Ian and me. I’ll get my things out of your crappy apartment tomorrow.”
Tears instantly filled my eyes, causing my vision to go blurry. I was so confused by what was happening, all I could do was gape at Fiona, as if I’d never met her before.
“Why?” I managed to get out. Fiona turned around and sneered with disgust, like I was clothing from the Goodwill.
“You kiss the guy I’m dating and then ask me why I’m pissed?” I shook my head with denial; hadn’t I just told her Ian kissed me? Furthermore, she had seen the kiss, I knew with absolute certainty she had, so why was she acting like this was the first she’d heard of it? I didn’t get a chance to respond because Fiona stomped out of her bedroom and within seconds, I heard the door slamming. Tears cascaded down my cheeks like graceful waterfalls as reality slammed into my brain. Fiona hated me and wanted to move out.
Anger slowly replaced my hurt as I thought about how things had been fine until Ian Despereaux showed up. If it were the last thing I did, I’d expose the façade he was parading all over town.
I pulled into Aiden’s driveway and marched up to his door, slamming my fist against the expensive timbered door. Aiden would know what to do where Ian was concerned and I was going to make him talk to me.
The door opened to show Aiden half-dressed, his hair disheveled and a drop of blood along the side of his mouth. I swallowed the bile that threatened to escape my lips.
“Well, hello, my Gwen,” he said in a sultry voice. He stepped onto his porch and wrapped his arms around my waist while his nose roamed up and down the length of my neck. A shudder flowed through my entire body as his breath tickled my skin. I leaned into him, not realizing that I needed his comfort so much. Before I could blink my eyes, he had picked me up and carried me into his house, setting me on his sofa.
“What the hell has gotten into you?” I asked, half turned on and half scared. Aiden was always flirtatious but gentle in his actions; this was a side of him I hadn’t seen before.
“I find myself craving you.” His eyes gobbled up my short mini skirt, halter top and stilettos which I formed when I thought I was spending the night at Vain. The reason
I was not there slammed into the forefront of my mind and erased any ounce of lust I possessed.
I stood up from the couch, but Aiden slid up behind me, his erection straining through his pants and pressing against my backside. He drew my hair to one side to expose my throat and began trailing kisses down the nape of my neck. My eyes closed with pleasure as he began to grind against the back of me. This certainly hadn’t been the welcome I anticipated, but I wasn’t complaining. His hand caressed the bare skin of my legs, disappearing underneath my skirt. When his fingers trailed between my legs and pushed on my center, a moan escaped my lips, which he echoed. He bent me over and ripped away my panties in one quick motion, his fingers sliding into my wetness. I grabbed the sofa as the friction from Aiden’s fingers sent me over the edge.
When he withdrew his fingers from me, I silently pouted. He turned me around and pushed me back onto the sofa, edging himself between my legs with a sexy glint in his eyes. His head disappeared under my skirt and I bucked up as his tongue discovered a different set of lips. With sheer desire, I arched my back against the sofa and moaned with delight; the boy could do wonders with his tongue!
All of my euphoria was squashed as soon as I heard footsteps on the stairs. I turned my head and froze with anger, seeing a woman as naked as the day she was born descend to the first floor. Her hair was auburn and hit just below her shoulders and her breasts were as fake as Aiden’s feelings for me. She gave me a smile but I could see a hint of jealousy as she watched Aiden between my legs. My chest heaved with anger rather than pleasure and my breath seemed to fail me as I gasped for understanding.
I formed a white orb of magic in my hand and sent it to the side of Aiden’s face, throwing him six feet across the living room. He quickly regained his footing and snarled.
“Who the hell is that?” I yelled, pointing to the woman in question. Aiden shot a look at the nude woman as if it were a perfectly normal to have naked women in his house. Had Aiden’s claim on me meant something entirely different than what I had thought? It didn’t fit; I knew Aiden loved me as sure as I knew that if he didn’t explain the woman’s presence, I’d fire another shot of magic at him.
“Dinner,” Aiden said, his voice sounding confused as he looked between the woman and me.
“You are some kind of asshole, you know that? And to think, I was ashamed of kissing Micah when all the while you were playing me like a fiddle. Kudos, you really had me fooled.” I shook my head as if trying to dislodge the information I just learned from my memory but I wasn’t that lucky. The thoughts that I’d been betrayed by the man I just realized I loved, swirled around my brain like a hailstorm. His half-dressed appearance and the drop of blood on his lip all explained themselves to me now…What a night this had turned out to be.
“You kissed Micah?” he asked in a tone as cold and sharp as an icicle. I felt stupid and wanted to ball up in my sheets and cry until the whole mess worked itself out, but in my experience, disasters didn’t clean up after themselves. Aiden’s hand stopped me from walking through his door and just as I was about to throw another orb at him, he caught my hand. It was hard to catch a vampire off guard. The only reason I was able to earlier was because Aiden’s focus was on more carnal needs. His eyes seemed to be at war with his thoughts as he looked at me, but those gorgeous blue pools wouldn’t fool me again.
“Aren’t you coming back upstairs?” the naked woman whined. Aiden kept hold of my hand but turned to face the bimbo and said, “Get out.” The woman’s fear was evident as she scrambled upstairs only to rush back down with a pile of clothes in her hands. She pushed past me and I cringed when one of her fake boobs brushed against my arm, I wanted to vomit!
“Let go of me!” I snarled and fought to break free but my attempts were about as effective as trying to tip the Statue of Liberty over. Aiden’s grip didn’t budge as I pulled away from him.
“Calm down,” he said.
I laughed bitterly. “Calm down? I just caught you with a naked woman!” I kicked my leg out, landing a blow between Aiden’s legs, which rewarded me with a snarl and being pinned to the floor. He held my hands to the cold tile while his hips pinned my legs. Fear rushed through me when Aiden’s fangs fell from his gums and his eyes turned as black as his heart. Tears I couldn’t stop, fell from my eyes as I wondered if this would be the end of me.
“I’m having a very hard time controlling myself, so unless you want to end up drained, you should calm down,” Aiden hissed. I stopped fighting against him and closed my eyes, taking deep breaths to calm myself, per Aiden’s instructions. When I opened my eyes, Aiden’s head was hung as he himself took deep breaths.
