Chapter 22
22
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“ T his is the last thing I want for my birthday.” I glare at Ambrose, who’s gyrating and dancing in front of me. We’re in the VIP area of one of his family's clubs in Mystic Hollows. Anything even vaguely related to entertainment in this town is owned by the Roth family. The local theater, the one music venue, the only decent nightclub, a handful of restaurants–all owned by the Roths.
“Oh please. If we never forced you outside of your house, you would just sit in a dark room brooding and grunting at things.” Ambrose raises his glass up to salute someone on the other side of the bar.
The name of the club is Scarlett and everything inside feeds into the vibe. The lighting is red, the couches and chairs a deep burgundy leather. It’s like someone from the fifties took their concept of what they thought the sexy future would look like and threw it into this place. There’s seating and a dance floor, and a chrome circular bar with glowing red lights that make everyone look slightly evil.
“I leave my house,” I half-heartedly defend myself.
“Work and going for a run don’t count.” Odie signs next to me. She checks her phone and then points to the entrance. My brother is headed our way along with Josephine, Stellan, Piper, and Ava.
My heart seizes and then works overtime to catch up when I take in what she’s wearing. Compared to some of the outfits in this place, it’s tame. No sparkle or frills, but my breath catches. A pair of jeans hug her curves and a fitted top that shows off her incredible tits. I didn’t look the other day when I was undressing her, but holy shit. She’s been hiding a whole fucking lot under her baggy, ugly-ass sweaters.
Her skin glows with vitality and her lips are full and red. Her brown hair tumbles over her shoulders in a fall of silk. My fingers itch to feel the strands slip between them.
“Damn,” Ambrose groans next to me. My head snaps around, and I’m ready to bite his head off.
“Keep your eyes to yourself.” My words are sharp. I want to pluck his eyeballs out for even looking at Ava.
Except he's not.
I follow his gaze to where Piper’s tentatively pushing through the crowd. Her normally blood-red hair looks darker in the club lights, her skin somehow paler. She could be a vampire from another time.
“Don’t fuck around in the friend group.” I ease up on my snarl, but still dole out a warning. Ambrose doesn’t know how to keep it in his pants, and the last thing we need is tension in this newly formed group because he fucks Piper. If it would even get that far. Piper’s so quiet I can’t imagine Ambrose seducing her. She’d probably blush and hide if he even tried.
Ambrose sips his drink and raises a brow at me. “Does someone need a dose of their own medicine?”
“What are you talking about?” My eyes are back on Ava as she weaves through the crowd. Her brother’s basically glaring at people to form a path through the busy club.
Odie slaps my shoulder and gives me a look. “Please.” She signs and rolls her eyes.
“What?”
“Okay, we can all pretend that you don’t look at that little witch like you’re about to eat her. And yes, I mean that exactly the way it sounds.” Ambrose chuckles.
No, I don’t look at Ava that way. Sure, I may have accidentally kissed her, and she does occasionally make me laugh. And fine, it’s way more than anyone else. And our strange little prank war has brought me more enjoyment than just about anything in my life in the last decade, but I don’t see her like that. She’s a fellow coven member who I’ve been paired up with to plan a party, regardless of my feelings on the matter. So what if we get along? That’s not a crime, and it doesn’t mean anything.
“You two are seeing fire where there’s no smoke.”
“Sometimes lightning strikes and starts an inferno with a bang.”
Before I can reply to Ambrose’s idiotic metaphor, Ava breaks through from the crowd and punches my arm. “Happy birthday, bitch.”
My eyes drift down her body without my permission. “You’re looking good, Vandenberg.”
“Thanks.” Stellan fluffs his beard, batting his eyes as he hip checks his sister, knocking her to the side so he’s standing in front of me. Ava stumbles and my hand shoots out to grab her elbow to steady her. A spark zips from her skin to mine that reminds me of Ambrose’s stupid lightning comment from moments before.
Ava shoves her brother back and calls him an idiot. The others circle around us, offering up birthday wishes. Ambrose pops up with a tray of shots from who the fuck knows where.
“Oh, so it’s going to be that kind of night?” Odie signs. She holds up the shot in a cheers in my direction before throwing it back. The rest of us follow her lead. After that, the night is a blur of drinks, loud music, and laughter.
The dance floor steadily gets busier until the people are crushed together in one gyrating grind of humanity. Ava is standing at the end of our table, her eyes closed as her body sways to the music. I’m not even sure she knows how she’s moving. Her body writhes to the rhythm in a way that’s so fucking primal I’m hard just watching. This woman, who normally wears clothes a grandmother wouldn’t touch, should not be able to move like that.
“Let’s go dance.” She opens her eyes and grins at Josephine. She grabs Piper’s hand and tugs, pulling her to her feet. Ambrose hops up after her, his eyes fastened to Piper’s ass. Josephine drags Roman with her, and I’m surprised when he goes willingly. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen my brother dance.
Stellan and Odie are already out on the dance floor, which just leaves me at our table. When I settle back in my seat, Ava winds her way around the low table and stands in front of me, her hands on her hips. “Get moving, birthday boy.”
“I don’t dance.”
Ava’s lips are painted a deep red tonight, and I can’t stop staring at them. Her cheeks are flushed from the heat of the club, and I don’t think she’s ever looked this beautiful.
“You need practice for the masquerade.”
“I’m not dancing then either.”
“Fine, you’re going to come dance, because otherwise you’ll make everyone else stop. They’ll feel bad if you’re sitting here alone on your birthday. And even though you’re an asshole, you don’t like making the people you care about feel bad. They all want to dance; therefore, you are going to come with us so that you don’t ruin the good mood.”
I blink up at her while her words register. Fuck. She’s right. She knows it too. A sly grin with those fucking red lips is aimed my way as she holds out her hand.
“Come on, old man. Need help getting up?”
Snatching her hand, I tug her closer before pretending to bite her fingers. She yelps and skips away with laughter. I obediently chase after her like an adoring puppy. Pathetic. My eyes fasten on her hips as they sway away from me. I catch up and grab her hand. When the dancers refuse to part for her, I take the lead and guide her through the crowded dance floor to our friends.
Not a single one of us is sober and the energy in the club is thick with joy, as if everyone came out for a good time and left all their shit at the door. Making me wonder if Ambrose’s family has a spell on the place to boost the mood. I’ll have to ask him. Ava spins around and gives me her back. She’s not shy, but I’ve never seen her let loose like this. Her back hits my front, and she starts to move. I don’t know when my hands land on her hips, but her body sways under my touch. Ava moves to the music until the rest of the club falls away and it’s just the two of us. Sparks of energy zip through my fingers when they touch the skin between her pants and top. Her head falls back, her mouth slightly parted, and I’m not sure I’ve seen anything so sexy in my entire life.
“Water,” someone shouts, and my head jerks up to find all our friends watching us. Stellan is the one who called out, and he’s pointing at Ava. Roman has one eyebrow raised and Ambrose is grinning at me. Ava fans herself and trips after her brother. She doesn’t even look back at me. Like she wasn’t just grinding all over my dick. I’m still in the middle of the dance floor trying to come to grips with how turned on I am. Bodies gyrate and move around me, but my eyes follow Ava all the way back to the bar.
The bartender passes her a water, and she chugs half of it. I don’t know where Stellan has gone, but he isn’t with her. A familiar head bobs through the crowd and slides into an open spot next to Ava.
“That motherfucker.”
Ava’s ex-boyfriend, Jamie the fuckface, is grinning at her like he’s the Crone’s fucking gift to women.
For a moment, all I can do is watch as Jamie leans in to speak in Ava’s ear, his face nearly pressed to hers.
The darkness that resides inside me, the curse that I have always loathed, bursts free from my tight grip. I keep it as leashed as possible, but now I let it loose. I want to do damage. The world goes dark around the edges. I carelessly shove through the crowd. People call after me and curse as I push my way through the thickening crowd. One look at my face, and the people stumble away. Regular humans won’t see my magic, but any witches will. My brother is calling after me, but I’m laser focused on the little prick less than an inch away from Ava’s face.
My shadows snap free, hooking around Jamie’s arm and dragging him away. I can’t even blame that on my curse. That’s all me.
Jamie spins around. “What the fuck?”
As soon as he sees me, all the color drains from his face, and he holds up a hand as if to ward off a demon.
“Go away.” The two words are punctuated with a growl. My shadows snap like flames around me. Jamie skitters off like a rat, and then I round on Ava.
Her eyes are hooded. The pulse in her throat visibly throbs. When she exhales, her fucking breasts tremble. I grab her hand and pull her behind me. Her fingers clutch mine tightly and she’s practically running to keep up. I should slow down, but I can’t. There’s this angry, urgent need thrumming like a plucked wire inside me. That man was touching her. He has touched her, kissed her.
Fuck.
I punch the bar on the door at the back of the club, pushing it open. We spill out into the alley, and the cold bites my skin the second we’re outside. I barely feel it. My shadows are leaking out of me like a billowing cloak. I turn to face Ava, the door slamming close behind her. Neither of us says anything. What can I say? Sorry I just shoved that fucker off you. I might be an asshole, but I’m not a liar. I don’t want him anywhere near her.
Why? A tiny voice in my subconscious asks. I snuff the thought out like a candle, and aim all my attention at Avalon Vandenberg.
“Do you want that piece of shit touching you?” I stalk toward her.
Ire sparks in the honeyed depths of Ava’s eyes. “What does it matter to you?”
I press forward, trapping her against the brick wall. Ava gasps. Whether it’s from the cold of the brick or because I’ve eliminated any space between us, I don’t know. I lower my head until we’re eye to eye, and she stares right back at me.
“He doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as you.”
Ava exhales, and my mouth is so close it plumes across my lips. I suck in a breath like I’m inhaling her soul. It’s pure and kind and a balm to my own darkness.
“Maybe he’s the best I get.” Ava’s eyes darken, but her jaw juts out in defiance. I grip her chin, tipping her head back.
“Not if there’s any justice in the world.”
Ava’s lips tremble. “There isn’t.”
“Fuck.” I close the last bit of distance between us and kiss her. To trap those words so they don’t escape into the universe. To let her know that she’s wrong. And because I can’t do anything but kiss her.
Her arms twine around my neck. Mine wrap around her lush body, pulling her so close there’s not even room for a shadow between us. Everything about her is warm. Her skin, her lips, her kiss. I lean into her, pressing her against the wall. Her body writhes in my arms, her hips bucking as she rubs against me.
Ava kisses like she dances, with complete and utter abandon. I get the sense she would kiss this way even if we were in a room full of people. Her attention is completely focused on me, and I’ve never felt so enthralled.
I pull back and we both gasp for air, but I can’t stand the distance between us. Even if it’s no more than a whisper. I bury my face in her neck and suck on the skin beneath her jaw. She moans and arches her neck, her fingers tangling in my hair. My hands find their way under her top and I finally cup the incredible breasts that she’s been hiding all this time.
“Fuck,” I hiss and yank up her shirt while pulling down the cup of her bra. Ava gasps, her head falling back when my lips wrap around her nipple. I suck, and her body bucks against me. She’s too short, and this is not the ideal place, but I can’t stop touching her. I snap the button on her jeans and slide my hand between her legs.
I lift my head, panting and cursing at how wet she is. Ava grabs my face and guides me back to her mouth, moaning into another kiss when I drag my fingers through her soaked folds. My cock is so hard it fucking aches. Ava rubs her palm over my dick, and I buck into her hand.
The freezing air barely registers. The dirty alley is a blur compared to the feel of this woman in my arms.
“Oh shit.” Ava breaks our kiss, throwing her head back when I slip a finger inside her. She fumbles with my fly, and suddenly my dick is in her warm hand. I nearly come from that one simple touch.
I rock into her touch, and Ava presses into me. Sliding in a second finger, I pull them out to circle her clit. Her nails dig into my back as she claws me closer. I’m so hard my pulse is throbbing along my length. We’re both thrusting against each other, my fingers sliding back inside her pussy while my palm rubs over her clit. Ava drags her hand up and down my shaft, and I swear to the fucking Crone, nothing has ever felt this good.
With her forehead pressed against my chest, she wraps her fingers in my shirt, holding on as if her life depends on it. Her breaths are rapid and warm against my chest. Her hand never slows its rhythm while she rocks against my hand. I tug on her hair and pull her head back to kiss her again, sucking on her bottom lip until she makes a desperate sound. Her hand tightens on my cock and I shudder. Fuck, I’m going to come.
As I work my fingers over her clit, Ava responds by stroking me harder and faster. My hips jerk in her grip and tension builds low in my belly. Ava grinds on my hand, making soft sounds that I want to devour.
“Please. Don’t stop,” Ava pants against my skin as her thumb brushes over the head of my cock. She grips me tight again and then jerks wildly against my hand. I thrust my fingers back inside her, feeling her squeeze around them as she cries out her release.
All it takes is one more stroke of her hand. My orgasm barrels through me, and I come with her name on my lips. We stay there, locked together in the alley behind the bar, catching our breath until the cold seeps into this bubble we’ve created. Ava pulls her hand away and I free mine from between her legs. I bask in the warm glow in my chest.
A truck rumbles down the nearby road, and reality hits me. I just had Ava half naked in a dank alley, when it’s freezing outside. That’s the least concerning part of what happened. Everything about me is dark and tainted. I’m a ticking bomb, slowly counting down until I implode.
“This should not have happened. I’m not even sure how things got to this point.”
It’s too dark to see Ava’s expression, but I don’t miss the way her shoulders stiffen. She tugs down her shirt and zips up her pants.
The need to explain myself, to rationalize my words, thumps in time with my heart.
“My curse is a darkness. I won’t put someone in a position to get hurt.”
Ava doesn’t say a word as she opens the door and slips back inside the club.