Текст книги "Next-Door Incubus"

Автор книги: Emilia Rose

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Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

CHAPTER 7

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Dani

“What the Heaven happened to you?” Kasey asked, staring at my neck with wide eyes. Coffee was brewing behind the counter, filing the room with the bitter scent of mocha. I was just glad that it wasn’t cinnamon.

I fiddled with Mom’s necklace and scooted into the leather booth across from Kasey at Ollie’s. Her lipstick was almost as bright as the blood red cushion covers. “Just-uh…”

I tried to think of a quick excuse, but what would explain this big, disgusting bruise? Burning myself with the straightening iron? My hair wasn’t even straight, just a big frizzy mess. No one was that stupid.

“I don’t know.” I slumped against the table and gazed out of the windows. People in suits were rushing down the sidewalks, coffees in hand. A woman who looked as if she just walked out of Hell itself—with zombie-like eyes and knotty hair—stumbled down the side of the street. She gazed in my direction, and I sucked in a breath. Her eyes—for a split moment, I swear—were yellow. I blinked once, and the color was gone.

Was I going crazy now? Seeing yellow eyes. Thinking Eros actually gave me a hickey. I needed sleep.

Kasey cocked a sharp brow. “Yes, you do.”

“No, I really don’t. I just woke up with it.”

“You have a suspicion though, don’t you?”

The whole thing was stupid. Eros. My dream. Him actually being in my room. But there was no other explanation for it. “There’s this guy…” And, so I told her about my next-door neighbor—about him stealing my panties, about him constantly flirting with me, about me—possibly—enjoying his attention.

She placed her fingers at the edge of the table, plump lips wrapping around the straw in her smoothie. “You think he’s doing more than just creepily staring at you while you sleep?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

“It’s not like that,” I said. But who knew? I wasn’t awake while—if—he was in my room.

The light in the mason jar above us swayed slightly. She leaned back in her seat, inhaling deeply through her nose, and giggled. “I bet he’s just waiting to dig his claws into you.”

“Claws? Jeez, Kasey, he’s not a cat. And, besides, I have a boyfriend anyway.”

Trevon had been my excuse for a few days now, and even that wasn’t doing it for me anymore. If I didn’t get my shit together before I saw Eros again, the past five years would be for nothing. I would hurt a man who had loved me even in my awkward middle school stage that I never seemed to grow out of; I would hurt a man who had helped me through every night that I woke up sobbing while thinking about Mom. I’d be a sinner, and Mom would be looking down on me with so much disappointment.

A waitress approached our table, and Kasey looked over. Her dark, natural curls rested around her glowing brown face. She pulled her pen from her pocket, cheeks flushing. “What can I get you ladies?”

“Eggs and bacon, please,” I said.

Kasey smiled at the waitress, fingers grazing against her forearm. “Can I have a strudel?” She leaned forward, her breasts pressing into the table, and brushed her fingers against the waitress’s name tag on her pink uniform top. “And, Mycah, make sure it’s extra creamy inside.”

The waitress blushed harder, her dimples appearing on her round cheeks. “I’ll put it right in.” Kasey’s gaze followed her until she disappeared behind the kitchen door. When she looked back at me, she pushed my hair away from the bruise, examining it further. “Speaking of your boyfriend, has he seen what your boy-toy did to you?”

“No.” And he wasn’t going to because it might’ve never even happened. I could be one of those people that gets unexplainable bruises on their body. Anything was possible… right?

The bell on the diner’s door chimed, and Kasey gazed behind me. “Is your boyfriend a bit muscular, dark eyes, has a blue baseball cap?”

Oh, God. He was here, wasn’t he? He would see my neck. He would ask about last night. He would find out—everything.

My heart thumped against my chest, but I took a deep breath. Damn it, Dani, you have done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about.

Kasey leaned across the table and pulled my hair in front of my neck. “Don’t move and you should be fine,” she said.

“Dani!” Trevon called from across the diner.

I gripped the edge of the table harder. I could just imagine him walking down the aisle toward us, arms swaying front to back, with a huge grin on his face. After moments of waiting in pure agony, he finally approached the table. “Where have you been?” He placed his baseball cap on the table between us. “I’ve been looking for you all morning.” He turned to Kasey. “And who is…”

Kasey wrinkled her nose and pulled her hands away from my hair. “I’m Kasey.”

“You haven’t told me about her, Babe.” He sat next to me.

Of course, I hadn’t. He hadn’t given me much of a chance to tell him anything since Sunday.

Grabbing my hand above the table, he interlocked our fingers. “I wanted to ask what time you’ll be at the Halloween party on Friday.”

“Halloween Party?” Kasey asked.

“My bar holds a Halloween Party every year,” Trevon said. “It’s the biggest one in the city.”

I tensed and pulled my hand away from his. “Don’t you remember what happened last time?” I asked. “I can’t do that aga—”

He pushed some stray strands of my hair behind my ear. “You promi—”

“We’ll both be there,” Kasey said, grabbing my hand from his. “But we’re having a girls’ day right now, so you have to leave.”

Trevon placed a kiss on my cheek. “I have to work tonight, so I’ll see you tomorrow.”

When he left the diner, I gave him a half-smile through the window.

Kasey glared at him. “What an asshole.” She gripped her smoothie in her hand tightly, bringing the straw between her red-painted lips.

“Why is he an asshole?”

“I don’t like him.”

“Any particular reason?”

She shook her head, jaw clenched. “No.”

A few moments later, Mycah appeared with a plate of eggs and bacon in one hand and Kasey’s strudel which was oozing cream in the other. I grabbed my fork. “Well, I’m not going to the Halloween Party.”

“If I’m going, so are you.” She smiled, eyes lighting up. “And I know the perfect costume for you.”

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CHAPTER 8

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Dani

“Dani!” Maria yelled from the living room. I groaned and rolled onto my side, gazing at the city lights glowing in the darkness. It was Thursday night, and all I wanted to do was figure out an excuse for missing Trevon’s Halloween party tomorrow night. There was no way that I was going. There was also no way that Kasey would let me stay at home. So, my excuse needed to be believable.

So far, I had come up with running late with Dr. U’s clients, catching the measles, and getting possessed by a demon.

“What?” I shouted back. When she didn’t answer, I got up and stuck my head out the door. The bathroom light was on. “What, Maria?”

“Do you wanna get dinner with the guys next door?” she asked.

“No.”

“Awh, come on, Eros will be there!”

“Maria, I have a boyfriend.” For the fiftieth time. What didn’t she get about that? It’s not like I had ever been single for the past three years we’ve lived together.

She walked out of the bathroom, blue mascara stick in her hand. “There’s no harm in some innocent flirting, is there?”

None of the flirting that we’ve done was innocent. It was sinful.

“I’m not going.” I shut my door.

“Your loss! I guess I will get to toy with him for the night.”

I pressed my lips together, peeled off my striped blouse, and hurled it into the hamper. She got to flirt with him? Is that what she did when I wasn’t around? I inhaled the scent of my candle and rubbed Mom’s necklace. It didn’t matter what they did. I didn’t care.

A few moments later, the front door closed, and I dug my fingernails into my palms.

Damn her.

An hour later—after I had calmly paced around the house just thinking about what Maria had said—I was lying in bed, about to fall into a peaceful sleep without worrying about Eros for once.

Someone knocked on my bedroom door, and my eyes snapped open. I gripped the white sheets in my hand, pulling them over my bare legs. If this was another one of Eros’s little games, I swear to God I would—

The door opened, and Trevon walked in juggling a pizza from Giorgino’s in one hand and a bottle of white wine with two glasses in the other. “Delivery for a sexy, little lady.” He planted a kiss on my lips and dropped the pizza on my bed.

A smile crept onto my face, and I sat up. “What are you doing here? I thought you had to work tonight,” I said, grabbing the bottle of wine.

He took off his baseball cap and tossed it onto the dresser. “I took the night off, wanted to see you.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight into his chest, fingers lightly scratching the top of my head just where I liked. “I miss you. I feel like we haven’t spent any real time together in a while.”

His arms relaxed, and he sat back against the headboard. I poured two glasses of wine for us and snuggled up against him. We stared at the city lights through my window, watching the lights turned off in the buildings downtown every few minutes.

At 8 o’clock sharp, I watched Dr. U’s office go dark and silently thanked her for that little talk she had with me.

Eros was nothing compared to Trevon. I knew that. And I was so glad that I hadn’t gone out with them. I would’ve had a bad time, sitting next to Eros at dinner, having him flirt endlessly with me, gazing at that stupid damn smirk. So confusing, overwhelming, unnerving.

Trevon gripped my waist, pulling me closer, and tugged on one strap of my tank top. “What’re you dressing as for tomorrow?” He brushed his nose up the side of my neck. “Something sexy?”

“I’m not going.”

“Oh, come on, Babe. What happened last year is over. Nobody remembers anything.”

“I do.” I couldn’t go through that kind of embarrassment again.

He grabbed my glass of wine and placed it on my dresser, then crawled on top of me, pressing his lips against mine. “What do I have to do to get you to go?” He dipped his fingers into my underwear and pressed them against me. “This?”

“Trevon,” I said, smiling. I grabbed his hand. “No.”

“No?” He placed kisses down the middle of my chest to my navel and smirked up at me. “What about this?” He kissed me through my underwear, hooked his fingers under the string, and pulled them down.

I giggled softly at him and shook my head, pulling him back up to me. “I just want to spend time with you.” I brushed my fingers across the side of his head, where the kinky texture of his hair faded out. “I don’t want to go out.”

“Will you at least think about it? For me?”

I sighed. “Fine, but no promises.”

At 12am, I walked Trevon to the door. He told me he had to be at the bar at 6am for delivery, so he wouldn’t be able to stay the night. Again.

The apartment was deathly silent since Maria still wasn’t home yet, and it was making me anxious. I leaned against the doorway, bouncing my foot up and down, and watched him walk toward the elevators. “See you tomorrow night, Babe!” he said as the elevator doors closed.

I groaned and rubbed my hand over my face. The sacrifices I made for that man. I was stuck going now.

“That bad, huh?” someone said from behind me.

Damn it.

Eros was leaning against his door frame, arms crossed over one another. The sleeves of his gray crew-neck sweater were pulled up his forearms, and he was giving me those eyes again.

“What?”

“That’s the first time I heard you groan all night.” He smirked. “I think it’s safe to say he didn’t please you like he should have.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I don’t think you’d understand, but you don’t have to fuck in order to enjoy the time you spend with someone you like.”

He raised his brow. “Like? You don’t love Trevon?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “That’s not what I meant. Of course, I love him.”

“Maybe, you wouldn’t have to pretend to love him if he could actually please you.”

My nostrils flared, and I stepped into the hallway. “Well, maybe, you wouldn’t have to flirt with a girl who’s already taken if you could actually get someone to like you.”

He took a step toward me. “Maybe if you didn’t like it so much, you wouldn’t flirt back.”

I marched right up to him and stared into those deep, dark eyes. “You think I like your constant, uninvited flirting?”

“Oh, I do, Dani.” He brushed his fingers against my hips and pushed me against the wall. “I think you love every… single… second of it.” He posted his hands on the wall next to me, trapping me.

Push him away, Dani.

I swallowed hard.

He was close. So damn close.

His stubble brushed against my neck, making me shiver. His fingers felt rough against my skin. I inhaled his cinnamon scent, eyes fluttering closed. Don’t fall under his spell, Dani. Don’t do it.

“Aren’t you supposed to be out with Maria?” I whispered. I didn’t know why I was still standing here this close to him. Maybe it was because I couldn’t move—my arms felt heavy, my legs wouldn’t budge, my head felt muddled—or maybe I just didn’t want to.

He chuckled, and my heart raced at the sound. I didn’t know how far gone I was until now. How could I ache for something so immoral? Why did I want to sin with him? Mom had to be cursing me out up in Heaven for thinking such devilish thoughts, but I couldn’t stop.

When he gazed into my eyes, all I wanted him to do was to push his lips against mine, tug on my hair, thrust me against the wall over and over until I was gasping for breath, until my nails were digging into his back, until I was screaming out his name.

He trailed one finger up the column of my neck to my chin, his gaze following, then gently wrapped his hand around the front of my throat and drew me close to him until his lips were against my ear. “You can try to fight it, Dani, but you won’t win.”

I placed my hands on his taut chest, wanting to push him away.

“Go ahead,” he said, fingers stroking my jaw. “Tell me that you never want me to touch you again.”

I dug my nails into him softly and parted my lips. Say it, Dani.

“Do it.”

Cinnamon. Sweet cinnamon. Drifting through the air, coiling around me, consuming me.

When I didn’t answer him, he pushed himself away from me and sneered in victory. “I’ll see you at the party tomorrow then, Dani.” He turned around and walked to his apartment. “Oh, and, if it makes you feel any better”—he stopped and looked back—“I didn’t go out with Maria tonight.”

Then the door closed.

I parted my lips, staring at the gold label 56C on his stupid door. “Yeah… well…” I said to myself. “I don’t care.”

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CHAPTER 9

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Dani

Kasey banged on the bathroom door. “Come out!”

I gripped onto the latex costume that she had given me and tried to pull it up again, but the damn thing wouldn’t even go past my hips.

“Just give it a little tug!”

After a few more pulls, I released the material from my fists. “It’s too small. I guess I won’t be able to go tonight. Oh, darn, maybe next year,” I said. I couldn’t go to a Halloween party without a Halloween costume. It was the perfect excuse to get out of tonight and it wasn’t even an excuse which made me feel that much better about it.

She wiggled the handle and pushed open the door. I covered my chest with my hands. “Kasey!”

She leaned down and grabbed the one-piece. “It’s gonna fit!” Then, she pulled, prodded, yanked, and yelled for ten minutes. When she had finally got it up over my curves, she took a deep breath, wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead. “Almost done.” She reached for the straps of my bra and tugged on them. “Just take this off and pull it up.”

“My boobs don’t just stay perky without a bra,” I said, pulling the straps back up.

“That’s why this costume has a built-in push-up bra, Sweet Cheeks.” She pouted her red lips, unclipped my bra, and pulled up the costume. When she stepped back and looked at me, she grinned wider than I had ever seen her grin before. “You’re so hot. It looks so good on you.” She dragged me to the toilet seat and forced me to sit. “Now I just have to add the final touch. Close your eyes.”

I sighed and closed my eyes, letting her do whatever she wanted to do to me. She tugged on strands of my hair and clipped something heavy to my hair on each side of my head. Then, she squealed. “Oh, my gosh. He’s gonna love it!”

When I opened my eyes, she was holding a mirror in front of me. I gazed at myself, my eyes widening. She put horns on my head—horns. My fingers grazed against the black matte curves on my head. “You think Trevon will like this?”

She toyed with the curls in my hair. “Oh-uh, yeah, Trevon. He’ll like it, I guess.”

I gazed at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. The black latex suit showed every single curve of my body—my hips, my waist, my breasts—leaving no room for the imagination. She had painted my lips a maroon color and eyelids a smoky black.

“You’re going to be the hottest demon there.” She wiggled her brows at me and applied another coat of red lipstick. I’d probably be the only demon there.

I grabbed Maria’s lilac perfume off the counter near the sink. If I was going to go all out, I might as well finish the look. But before I could spray it, Kasey grabbed it from me. “Don’t use that. You smell too good already. He won’t be able to resist you.”

And, after giving myself one more lingering look in the mirror, I took a deep breath. I sure hoped that he was going to like it.

Trevon’s bar, Elysium Taproom, was crowded when we arrived. People were hanging around the wrap-around bar in the back which was lit with dim white lights. Others were crowded around in a tight circle in the middle of the room, dancing on each other. And the stench of alcohol was overwhelming me with bad memories of last year.

All I wanted to do was walk right back out.

But Kasey had intertwined my fingers with hers and was pulling me toward the group dancing. I pulled away, shaking my head and telling her I was going to find Trevon first. Maybe I’d dance later, when everyone was too drunk to remember me from last year.

I shuffled through the crowd, careful not to get too close to any guys that might actually be Eros dressed in a costume. Someone grabbed my hips, but I pushed him away and continued towards Trevon’s office in the back of the bar.

“Hey Dani!” Samantha, the bartender, called from behind the bar. She pushed a drink toward someone, collected money from a woman that looked like she had already had one too many, and smiled at me. “Didn’t think you’d come back after last time.”

God, everyone did remember.

“Yeah, me either.” I rubbed Mom’s necklace.

“Can I get you anything? White sangria? I know you like those.” She tossed her chocolate-colored hair over her shoulder and smiled.

“Water,” I said. “Please.”

After she poured me a glass, she slid it toward me. “Have fun tonight.”

This was going to be a long night. I could already feel it. I sipped my water and looked at her. “Do you know where Trevon is?”

She leaned against the edge of the bar, gaze lingering on my lips. “I think I saw him walk back through the crowd.”

I scanned the room for Trevon, wanting to show him that, yes, I did show up. But my gaze fell on the one man that I didn’t want to see tonight. Eros was pushing his way through the throng of people, walking in my direction. Some girl dressed in a sexy nun costume trailed her black manicured fingers across his chest, but he continued walking. Not sparing her a single glance.

Go find Trevon, Dani. Don’t just wait for Eros to get here.

Yet, I didn’t move. Even in a crowd of a hundred people who reeked of sweat, bad perfume, and spilt drinks, I could smell his sweet scent of cinnamon.

He shoved through the last group, and when finally he saw me, he stood still. His eyes grew wide, and he stared at me like I was the only person in the entire room.

Large, white wings hung off his back, a silver chest plate covered half of his bare chest. An angel. A seductive, sexy, sinning angel.

Moments passed, and I still didn’t move. My heart was racing in my chest at the way he was staring at me.

A woman brushed her hand against the back of his neck, whispered something in his ear, and grabbed his bicep, trying to pull him to the dance floor. But he didn’t budge. Instead, he started walking forward again—each step dreadfully slow—until he was mere inches from me. I gripped the glass in my hand.

I should’ve been terrified that Trevon would appear at any moment and see me this close to Eros, but all I could think about was how I had never seen his eyes this soft. They were always fixed on me with such intent, always so intense. Never so gentle.

“Wow,” he finally said. His gaze traveled across every inch of my face. “You look… amazing.”

My breath caught in my throat. I didn’t expect a compliment from him. I expected one of his flirtatious remarks. Mom’s pendant rested in the center of my chest—its usual cool feel now burning my skin—and I had the urge to tug on it.

His fingers trailed up my jawline and grazed against the horns in my hair. “I’ve never seen someone look so good in these.”

“I-uh…” What do I say to something like that? “I’m a demon,” I said.

My cheeks burned. What the hell was that? Way to state the obvious.

He chuckled, lips curling into a tender smile. “I know. Me too.”

I took a deep breath, trying to brush off my embarrassment. “You look more like an angel to me.” He had the whole costume—except a halo on his head. My gazed traveled down his bronze abdomen to the white-skirt-like material that hung loosely off of his hips. It was so small and thin.

Don’t think about it, Dani.

But it was too late.

“Dani!” Trevon yelled from somewhere in the crowd. I snapped my head in his direction, stepped away from Eros, and sipped my water—hoping to cool off the parts of my body that were burning.

Trevon curled an arm around my waist, pulled me to him, and pecked me on the lips. “You actually came.” He smelt of booze, and his tie was off-centered.

“For you,” I said.

He took my hand, stepped back and looked me up and down. “I’m glad. You’re the sexiest witch here.”

I furrowed my brows together. “I’m not a witch.”

“She’s a demon,” Eros said, clenching his jaw.

Trevon grinned. “Well, you’re the best-looking demon here.”

Neither Eros nor I said a word. For some odd reason, I felt offended. Did I look like a witch? Was Trevon just too drunk to even realize what I was? I smiled tensely at him and readjusted his tie. And what was with his—

“Trevon!” Samantha shouted from the bar. “Can you come here? I need your help with something?”

After quickly kissing my cheek, he disappeared through the crowd and reappeared a few moments later at the bar. Chatting with Samantha for longer than I wanted. I hoped that it wouldn’t be like this the whole night.

Eros grasped my elbow. “Come sit with me and the guys.”

“I’m here with a friend,” I said, looking for Kasey. If I spent one more minute with him, I would rip off that tiny costume and—

“It looks like you’re alone,” he said. “Come on.” He nodded to the corner of the bar where I saw his roommates and Maria sitting in a booth. And—only because Kasey had disappeared and left me by myself—I followed him.

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