1. Lira
1
LIRA
M y chest tightened as bodies bumped into me. Eiric clung to my hand, making sure we didn’t get separated among the masses, adding to my wariness. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we should head home and leave this overcrowded New Year’s Eve party. The air had become electric since we’d joined the crowd for the New Year’s countdown, but now it felt different … like danger was more imminent. Hard to believe because I’d been on edge after waking from my recurring nightmare this morning.
“Dammit, Lira,” Eiric said loudly over the noise of the jazz music. “I can’t believe you talked me into coming to the City Market on New Year’s Eve! We’re just asking for drunk people to spill their drinks on us or, worse, vomit all over us.”
Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either. Earlier, while people-watching from a bench three blocks away, the idea had seemed perfect. Now, the urge to flee damn near overpowered me. Everywhere I looked, I saw dark-slate eyes watching me.
A shiver shot down my spine at the vivid image in my mind. Something made me want to see the person they belonged to, but he was always hidden by shadows and darkness. Only his eyes were visible to me.
I’d had the same nightmare every night for as long as I could remember. Though, through the years, the eyes had become crystal clear, so much so that I could have drawn them perfectly if I’d had the talent.
I’d hoped to calm the restlessness inside me by getting out and around people in the fresh air, but the scents were definitely not refreshing. I wanted to jump into the ocean or take a shower because I was certain I smelled like body odor as well.
Despite the faint chill of late December in Savannah, with all of us bunched together, it felt like it was at least seventy degrees out here, and we were still on the outskirts of the grassy lawn, far away from the stage.
“Look, E.” I paused behind a group of guys who were leering at the women in front of them and turned toward my best friend, who also happened to be my sister. I hated to admit that I’d made yet another bad decision, but my discomfort trumped my pride … for the most part. “If you want to go, I guess—”
“Oh no you don’t.” She arched a perfectly sculpted brow and shook her head, her short, tight curls barely moving in two pigtails piled on top of her head. “You’re not blaming this one on me.” The glitter sparkled on her dark skin as if she were magical. “Since you’re willing to leave ‘for me,’ I’m not taking you up on it.” Her emerald eyes twinkled with glee. She’d purposely worn a long-sleeved shirt the same green color, which wasn’t surprising. She favored shades of green.
I lifted my head and pushed back a few of the long blonde curls stuck to my face. I wrinkled my nose from a combination of the smells and her calling my bluff.
The way she smirked should’ve made me angry with her, but instead, I snorted and said, “ Wow . Some sister you are.”
Something hit me in the back, pushing me forward into the tallest guy in the group of men.
My shoulder hit Tall Guy, and he jerked forward.
“What the fuck?” the guy said angrily.
Eiric grabbed my arm and steadied me so I didn’t hit the ground and get trampled. She glared at the two women who’d run into me and took a few steps back, pushing them away with her butt.
Tall Guy spun toward me. “You made me spill my—” His bloodshot eyes landed on me, and the anger twisting his face smoothed into a grin. “Damn. I mean, are you okay?”
Ew.
Standing a couple of inches taller than my five-foot-ten frame and buff, the guy wasn’t bad-looking. If he’d been sober, he’d have been attractive to most women. Looking at him closely, I realized he might be the tight end on Savannah State College’s football team. And boy, if I was right, he had a reputation as a womanizer.
Not that it mattered. The issue was still the same.
I’d never found anyone I was interested in—male or female—and clearly, that wouldn’t change tonight, though I sort of wished I could find someone I was into.
“I’m fine,” I said, answering the question he’d probably forgotten he’d asked a few seconds ago. “Sorry about running into you. I hate that I ruined one of the many drinks you’ve clearly overindulged in tonight.”
Eiric sighed, but the corners of her mouth turned upward. She liked to tell me that my mouth got me into as much trouble as out of it, which meant I shouldn’t say half the things I thought. However, she could never hide her amusement from me.
“It’s fine.” He threw an arm around my shoulders and pulled me to his side, his stale alcohol breath hitting my face.
I wanted to gag.
“Come with me, and I’ll get you a drink too.” He winked, lowering his head so that his scruff brushed my temple. He tried to lead me away from Eiric, so I dug my white tennis shoes into the grass.
The way he leered at me told me everything. My stomach gurgled, and I regretted coming here. It was still thirty minutes till midnight.
“Actually, I don’t drink.” That wasn’t true. I had in the past, but nothing had ever happened. Eiric and I had watched a ton of people get drunk and tipsy, but we’d never gotten a buzz, not even after splitting a gigantic bottle of tequila between us.
“Oh.” His forehead lined as if he’d heard the world’s most complex math equation. “That’s fine. You can keep me company while I get a new brewski.”
Not rolling my eyes physically hurt me. How did this guy get any women? Yet I was certain he’d slept with numerous girls on campus. I felt bad for every one of them, knowing there was no way he could possibly be a good lay. “No, I’m good.”
“Please?” He pouted and tugged on me again.
Eiric stepped up next to me, her face stoic with a look that could make any grown man feel like a child. My sister placed her hands on her hips, ready to give Tall Guy a lesson in etiquette. But that wasn’t all. She was preparing.
Our parents had taught us as children how to defend ourselves, and we never left home without protection, especially on nights like this.
We each had a knife strapped to our ankle—which was why we favored boot-cut jeans—and a pocketknife in our right pocket since we were both right-handed. We had easy access to a weapon if we needed quick protection.
“My sister said no.” Eiric glared. “So let her go.”
Tall Guy pretended she hadn’t spoken, keeping his gaze locked on me.
Something inside me suddenly tugged , and the hair on the nape of my neck stood in warning. My skin crawled at the unsettling sensation, one I only ever experienced in my nightmares.
“There you two are,” a deep voice with a faint accent boomed from the edge of the crowd where Tall Guy had been trying to take me. Even though there was no way this man was talking to us, my eyes homed in on him like he was a glass of water I desperately needed.
And what I found shattered me.
Gray eyes the color of storm clouds met mine, causing my heart to quicken. They were so familiar, yet I couldn’t place them. Still, they spoke to something deep inside me.
He slid gracefully toward us through the groups of people, and my palms became sweaty, which was ridiculous. He wasn’t looking for me.
But I wanted him to be.
“Don’t be so uptight,” Tall Guy shot back at my sister. “You’re hot too. One of my boys will gladly take your attention, but blondie here owes me a drink.”
I swallowed as Sexy Man scowled. His pale complexion reflected the various lights from the stage, adding more allure to his devastating good looks.
“I hate to inform you, but blondie here is with me .” Sexy Man’s dark hair fell into his eyes as he reached out and took my hand then pulled me away from Tall Guy and toward him.
My skin buzzed where he touched me, and my legs moved with ease. I didn’t realize what I was doing until I was nestled into Sexy Guy’s side with his arm around my waist. Between the way my body reacted to him and his unique scent—a mixture of wet earth, jasmine, musk, and amber—I had to fight to keep myself from burying my nose in his shirt.
Eiric tilted her head, taking in the newcomer. Her hand lowered to her pocket, readying to take out the knife at the first sign of distress.
I wasn’t sure what she saw in Sexy Man that made her more uneasy than Tall Guy, yet it was sort of funny that the one I’d labeled Tall Guy was at least two inches shorter than the newcomer.
Tall Guy gritted his teeth as he noted my relaxed posture. “She’s your girl?”
Sexy Man chuckled darkly. “The one I’ve been searching for almost half my life.”
My stomach somersaulted, and my cheeks hurt from how huge I was smiling. Great. If Sexy Man was interested in me, I was definitely not playing it cool. I finally felt something for someone! Though the sensation was startling. Being next to him felt right … and I never wanted to be apart from him again.
“Come on, man,” one of Tall Guy’s buddies said and clapped his back. “We all need a refill and a girl to kiss at midnight.”
Eiric gestured between the two guys and said, “If all else fails, you could kiss one another.” She shrugged and moved to my other side. She gave Sexy Man a quick glance then focused back on Tall Guy.
“If you’re so worried about us finding someone, you can kiss me, Green Eyes.” Tall Guy grinned and winked at her.
“I’ll pass.” Her nose wrinkled, making her disdain clear. “I’m sure you can find someone as drunk as you. You’ll be fine.”
Sexy Man’s hand tightened on my waist as he glanced from Eiric back to me. He nodded to the left, which would take us farther from the crowd. “Are you ladies ready to go, or would you rather stay in this ?” His body stiffened, conveying he was as uncomfortable as Eiric and I were.
“Let’s go.” I didn’t give a damn if Eiric gloated. I wanted to get away from the crowd. I’d heard on campus that this was one of the best places to go for New Year’s, but it wasn’t for Eiric and me. We both preferred hiking, swimming, and gardening to being around drunk people. When I’d suggested we go, she’d asked me if I’d lost my damn mind, and our parents hadn’t been thrilled, but what could they do? I was twenty-two, and Eiric was twenty-one. We were both of legal drinking age, and we lived at home to save costs while I attended Savannah State College to study environmental science and Eiric went to Georgia Southern for her geology degree.
Sexy Man led me out of the crowd with Eiric on our heels. He moved fast, but surprisingly, I had no issues keeping up with his pace. We dodged people who’d been drinking and hanging out on the roads of the oldest section of Savannah until we made our way to Telfair Square.
When the crowd thinned, Sexy Man released his hold but stayed beside me. Eiric cut her eyes at me, and I could hear the unasked question— What’s the plan?
The thought of heading home and leaving this man had my heart squeezing in discomfort. And it’d be rude to abandon someone who’d rescued me, right? Not that Eiric and I couldn’t have handled the situation on our own, but still … he’d been considerate and heroic. Speaking of which, I hadn’t said another word to him since we’d left. How rude of me.
My tongue felt thick and heavy, and I wondered if I was getting sick.
After much concentration, I cleared my throat and rubbed my hands together, already missing the way my body fit perfectly against his. “Thanks for that back there. I’m sorry if we ruined your night. I’m sure you were meeting a girl or something.” My voice damn near cracked on that last part as I realized how it could be taken.
Eiric smirked, and my blood ran cold. She must have figured out that I had a thing for the man. She’d had sex with dozens of guys and a few women, whereas I couldn’t fathom even kissing anyone. It had never appealed to me, so seeing me like this had her grinning widely. I’d kill her if she didn’t stop since he could see both of us.
“When I saw you, no one else mattered.” Sexy Man winked, turning his attention to me. “But don’t fret. No one will miss me. I didn’t have set plans.”
Warmth spread through my chest. He didn’t speak like most people our age, and I found that fascinating. “My name’s Lira.” I motioned to my sister. “This is Eiric.”
“Lovely names. They sound as if they’re from another world.” He bowed faintly. “I’m Tavish.”
Head tilting back, Eiric furrowed her brows. “That’s unique. How did your parents come up with that?”
“It’s a family name, and we aren’t from anywhere close to here.” His irises darkened, and I missed a step.
They reminded me of the eyes from my nightmares, but they weren’t dark enough … and, most importantly, I was awake.
What the hell was wrong with me?
It must have been the stress from being close to completing my Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science in May and having to find a job.
We headed into the section of Telfair Square with a brick path and trees everywhere, toward where we’d parked our car, but I wasn’t ready to go yet. I glanced at my watch. It was only five minutes to midnight. If I was ever going to kiss someone, I’d love for it to be Tavish before he disappeared from my life.
A few people loitered around, and I could still hear the music from the City Market.
“E, is that you?” a woman called, and I looked toward where the path split and circled some bushes with three benches spaced around the grass. She waved my sister down from thirty feet away. “Come ring in the New Year with us!”
My sister smiled but shook her head, ready to turn the woman down to stay with me. She was protective of me like that, and I loved her for it usually, but not tonight.
I touched her hand and smiled. “Go hang out with them for a minute.”
She stiffened and looked from me to Tavish. “I thought we were going home.”
“We are, but in four minutes, it’ll be midnight. I’m sure we can wait that long.” I stared into her eyes, wanting her to get the message. Give me a few minutes alone with Tavish.
“I can stay with her.” Tavish smiled, becoming more breathtaking. “No one else will talk to her or touch her while you’re gone.”
Eiric grumbled, “That’s what I’m worried about. ”
I reached out and squeezed her hand, urging her to go. It would be four minutes. Nothing could possibly go wrong in that short amount of time.
“Fine.” She huffed, relenting, then leaned toward me and whispered, “You owe me. You better kiss him, dammit, and don’t disappear on me.” Then she said out loud, “I’ll be right back.”
Tavish moved closer to me, taking my hand again, and when my sister reached her friends, he tugged me off the brick path and under a huge southern oak tree. He pressed my back against the bark and grinned.
“It’s dangerous to go off with strangers,” he whispered as he touched my chin, his thumb pulling down my bottom lip.
He tasted faintly of winter air and the night, and my body warmed for more of him. I breathed, “After what you did, I believe I’m safe with you.”
His lips grazed mine, and if I thought my skin had buzzed when he’d touched me, now I jolted … and it wasn’t even a full kiss. I couldn’t imagine what I’d feel next.
He placed a hand over my head, trapping me.
I licked my lips, eager for his kiss.
Instead, he chuckled. “Oh, sprite, I’m the one you should fear the most.” His eyes darkened to a deep slate … the very eyes that haunted my nightmares.
The tree behind me disappeared, and I fell.