6. Andrea
6
Andrea
C alloused hands snake around my body, heating my skin in their wake. A warm breath skates down the back of my neck before a hardness is pressed to my back.
I suck in with a small gasp. My senses are suddenly flooded with his scent, making my head fall back. My body feels like a live wire snapping the air with electricity. I don’t care who is touching me, I just don’t want them to stop.
A low growl from behind me causes goosebumps to erupt covering my entire body. My middle pulsing for more of this stranger. My body doesn’t react as if it’s a stranger. It knows this other entity and is familiar with its touch.
The cold air startles me as the warmth behind me pulls away. I turn my head slightly to the side, only to meet a dark room. I turn my body completely around and realize I am alone. I never heard footsteps, or the door shut.
My heart picks up speed and my eyes spring open to the ceiling. My breathing is heavier than normal. I sit up and look around my room—another stupid dream. Two weeks. Two weeks and this dream haunts me every night, the same hands roaming my body, the same lips burning me in their wake.
Stars from the beautiful night sky twinkle through my window along with the purple and pink hues from dawn nearing illuminate my room. The moon still very bright. A hand slides up my leg, and Zach’s hazel eyes are squinted as he glances around, still half asleep.
“You okay, baby?” His morning voice heating my core. I slide back under the covers and let him pull me close.
“It was just a dream,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to his hand before placing it back on his side. “You should go to your room before Brielle finds out you were in here all night.” I have to bite back the smile trying to form as I think about last night.
With Brielle’s disappearance, Zach and I have gotten closer in ways I never thought would happen. I’ve always loved Zach as my best friend’s brother, but when she was gone and we were both worried sick and searching for her, new feelings started to bloom. It wasn’t until after his girlfriend, Sabel, was revealed to be a demon that we went a step further while Brielle was in the Forsaken.
I’m still not sure what these new feelings are, but I do know Brielle can’t find out. At least not right now. She has entirely too much going on to worry about Zach and I’s relationship. If that’s what we are even going to call it.
Gentle hands run over my shoulders and down my arms. My back warms as a hard body presses against it, soft lips pressing against my exposed shoulder. Arching slightly, I notice he’s ready for me again.
“Zach,” I whisper, his tongue swirling gently on my skin, mixed with small kisses. Goosebumps erupt on my skin as I push back into him. All he would have to do is lift my oversized t-shirt and slide in. I’m still not wearing any underwear from our time last night.
His large hand snakes around my body until it reaches that sensitive spot between my legs. His fingers drawing lazy circles as my head tilts back into his shoulder.
A loud clash has both of us jumping up from the bed. “What the fuck was that?” Zach tries to keep his panicked voice low. I look toward the window where the sound came from. The early morning dew coats the glass except for a perfect outline of a… of a bird?
Getting closer, I realize that’s exactly what hit the window, a damn bird. An uneasy feeling turns my gut. I search around through my window to see if any more birds are flying around. I’m not shocked when I’m met with clear starry skies.
“It was just a bird, but you should really go back to your room now in case they come investigating what that noise was.” I push Zach out as he grabs the trail of clothes he left last night. He turns quickly, planting a kiss on my cheek before walking out the door.
“I love you,” he whispers from down the hall, his smile lighting up the dark hallway. Shaking my head, I place my finger on top of my lips to shush him. I wait until I hear his bedroom door close before peering down the hall to see if any other door is open. Especially the one across from mine.
It has been locked since I arrived and its occupant has been gone since as well. Glancing back and forth in the hallway again, I tiptoe across. There’s a slight shake in my hand when I reach for the knob, the cold metal biting into my palm as I turn the knob.
Click
I freeze as the door cracks open, and my head snaps to both sides of the hallway, still empty. I have tried opening this door many times in the last couple of weeks and had no luck. Never knowing why, I would still try.
Taking a deep breath, I open the door just enough for me to slip in and gently close it behind me.
Whoa
This room is even larger than mine and if the moon wasn’t so bright, it would be pitch-black in here. The dark wood floor meets dark gray walls, the mattress of Ash’s four-post canopy bed is wrapped in silk sheets and a duvet that reminds me of a vicious storm cloud.
The room is pristine and empty of anything that might catch my eye. There is a small desk by the large window, along with a large armoire by his bed and a… mirror… on the ceiling and in the corner of the room.
I stare at the ceiling mirror for longer than I’d like to admit. It isn’t until a thump from outside the door catches my attention and I pull my gaze away from imagining what kind of things that mirror has seen.
Darting toward the door, my hand halts when it touches the knob.
Andrea
A faint whisper comes from somewhere in this dark room, and my heart pounds in fear. I quickly run out of the room and shut the door behind me. I don’t care how loud it might have been. I sprint a few feet to my room.
I spent the next hour staring at my door with the covers to my nose. I don’t do haunted houses. No, no, no. I can handle wings and disappearing and magic, but not ghosts. A result of my dad telling me the most ridiculously scary ghost stories growing up. For a reason, I still don’t know. Maybe he got a kick out of seeing me dart through the house at night because I was scared something was behind me.
Azra decided for us all to meet for dinner tonight before the ball tomorrow evening. Celeste told me about the last time they all had dinner together when Brielle was first here and how Cyprian almost lost an ear. I’m only surprised Brielle didn’t do worse than a flying knife.
Celeste and I are setting the table while everyone else helps the cooks prepare the platters. Torin will show up as soon as he is done with his duties for the day and Ash wasn’t invited, I have been told.
“Are you okay? You seem a little distracted today,” Celeste asks while placing the napkins in each setting. Her burgundy chiffon dress makes her blonde hair cascading down her back even brighter than it already is.
Her dresses always make me feel under dressed. Especially today in my satin champagne slip skirt and cropped tee. The split in my skirt runs all the way up my thigh to allow the warm breeze today had to offer to cool me down.
“I’m fine.” I pause, contemplating how much I want to share. I never talk about my dreams with anyone, not even Brielle. I know it’s not normal to have the same dream over and over again. I’ve heard the rumors of Brielle’s grandma being psychic. I can’t imagine my dreams are anything but dreams, so I suppress them.
My eyes meet up with the soft ocean-blue ones across the table from me. I give Celeste a smile before placing the last fork in the correct spot.
“I’m fine.” Repeating it did not make her believe it.
The room fills quickly with servers as we all take our seats. Brielle and Azra are sitting at the head of the table together, Zach and I are to their left while Cyprian, Celeste, and Torin are across from us.
Brielle is smiling, but the small purple lines under her eyes and her loose clothing tell me something else. The way Azra has been particularly careful and gentle with her should be enough to tell me she is breaking. I’ve seen it many times before, her crawling back into herself to not burden anyone else.
The conversation drowns out around me as I watch how Azra cups her cheek and kisses her frequently, carefully, as if she might break in his hands if he puts too much pressure. Her tired brown eyes finally meet mine.
You will get through this, I try to convey to her with my worried glance. She knows by my facial expression that I understand her. The warmth of a hand on my thigh pulls my gaze away from the head of the table.
I turn to Zach, who has been engaging in a conversation Celeste and Cyprian are having about the ball tomorrow night. His thumb rubs my skin back and forth, the smallest smirk pulling at his lips as he continues to converse ahead.
The chatter in the room halts, and my eyes dart from the side of Zach’s face. Swirling darkness gathers at the opposite end of the table, and I see the glowing eyes first. The bright white smile, second, then all of him is visible.
Every muscle in my body tenses as my eyes land on the winged male that attacked me almost three weeks ago now. It’s like his stare is burned permanently in my vision because I haven’t been able to forget it since that day.
Ash’s tattoos of black flames lick his arms, disappearing under his rolled-up sleeves of the same darkness. Swirls of black, smoky markings lead up his neck at the collar of his black shirt. His perfectly tanned skin is almost completely covered with something, whether it be the tattoos, scars, or the jewelry he wears on his fingers and wrists.
They all have different variations of these black markings, but he has the most. My whole body feels like it’s being licked by the same black flames that cover his body.
Ash’s eyes burn into me through his pierced brow. Brielle’s chair flies into the wall behind her when she shoots up from it. His black hair is split to the side and neatly styled back.
I didn’t notice the small piercing on his right brow the day his hand was around my throat. I recall the deep, painful, soul-crushing stare. Nothing that was said or done, only his agony pouring into me. His smile fades but the whisper of deviance on his face stays, his piercing blue eyes darken. As if he is recalling that day as I am.
I haven’t talked to Brielle about thoughts of him constantly stalking my mind, because I don’t want her to freak out more than she did when he attacked me. I know she will do anything to keep me safe, but I don’t necessarily feel in danger. I don’t feel fear when staring into those hard baby blue eyes.
“What are you doing here?” It isn’t until his eyes shift to the other end of the table that I register Brielle’s anger in her tone. Zach’s hand squeezes my leg. I had forgotten he was even next to me. His hand twitches before he suddenly pulls it back into his lap. The cold air in place of his hand barely penetrates my flushed body. Ash’s eyes flick to Zach momentarily before returning to his brother and my best friend.
“I figured my bed was getting a little too dusty for my liking.” The smallest smirk pulls at Ash’s lips and my chest tightens at his rough voice and how I was in his room earlier today. I immediately drop my gaze to the ground to force myself to stop staring. It’s as if all the manners my mama taught me flew out the door, along with my conception of reality. “And when I heard about this little dinner, well, I was offended.” Ash’s marked hand rests on his chest, his expression pinched like he is truly upset.
“Ash, we were under the impression you were not in this realm.” Azra’s voice is tight but soft, his hand reaching for Brielle’s white-knuckle grip on the table. Her eyes never left the shadow-ridden fallen angel across from her, the chair she was sitting in pushing toward her on a phantom wind.
“Apology accepted, brother.” Another sly grin splits across Ash’s sharp features. The tendrils of shadows coil through the air and circle the chair before him and pull it out for him. A place setting, exactly like ours, appears in front of him.
We are all awkwardly silent for a moment as I avoid Ash’s gaze that’s burning into the side of my face. Azra clears his throat, then Ash begins to speak.
“I want to apologize to everyone about my behavior when our guest first arrived.” He clenches his teeth and his peppered jaw tics before he continues, “I don’t know what came over me.” He strains to finish as if it was painful to mutter those words.
After his eyes bounce around the room, they once again land on mine, like a magnet snapping to metal. I clear my throat and nod. Zach is tensing on the side of me once again, but I ignore him.
It surrounds me and suffocates me to know he has avoided me like the plague since I have been here. Swallowing, I reach forward over Zach before I can talk myself out of it. I need to touch him. I need to know that the burning sensation I had when his hand was around my throat was nothing.
Ash stiffens, watching me carefully. Extending my hand, I’m close enough that he only has to lean forward to reach it.
“I think we got off on the wrong foot. I’m Andrea.” My voice comes out a little shakier than intended. I want to put all of this tension behind us. Hopefully we can coexist while I visit. That’s if he even bothers to stay here.
Ash’s jaw tics as he swallows. His eyes strip me bare and I’m unbearably vulnerable as I anticipate his warm hand taking mine while all of these eyes are on us. Though, he looks like he might very well throw up all over my hand. That doesn’t help with the burning in my cheeks.
Black shadows swirl from his large wings he has tucked tight behind him. Why do I make him so uncomfortable? I slowly pull my hand back, my teeth sink into my bottom lip to feel anything other than the embarrassment from him not taking my hand. I sink back into my chair, wishing it would swallow me.
Brielle’s soft scoff brings my attention to her. I wince, anticipating whatever foul words she is about to send hurling his way. Azra’s hand moves to her leg under the table and I practically see the steam release from her. I let out my own breath of relief. I will never dull Brielle’s fire, but the last time she was angry with him, she broke her hand.
The rest of the dinner was quite awkward for me. I barely talked to anyone. Zach avoided eye contact with Ash and avoided touching me again for some reason. Brielle continues to stare at Ash, as if looks could kill.
Brielle only asked if I was okay when I excused myself from the table shortly after. I reassured her that I was tired from my day, although I have done absolutely nothing other than snooping today.
She believed me, for now.
Anytime he is near, I can’t get the burning sensation in my chest to go away. It’s nearly intolerable when he’s close. Part of me is happy he chooses to stay away, but the curious part of me wants him to stay a little longer. Just so I could explore this feeling.
No man has ever caught my attention longer than a few casual hookups. I even ventured into my attraction for women, wondering if that’s what I preferred, but nothing. I finally accepted that maybe it would just take the right one to come along and spark something within me and give me a reason to believe in true love.
I see it all around me, my parents, Brielle and Azra, but I have never experienced it. Zach is the closest thing to loving a boyfriend for me, but I loved him before, as a friend. Does that even count? Can love like that shift into the love of a soulmate? It has to.
I don’t know if I will ever forgive myself if I hurt Zach. So why can’t I get that blue, piercing glare out of my mind?