The girl giggled, shaking her head. “You’re so dramatic. Are you sure you weren’t meant to be a performer?”
“You mock my pain.” He placed a hand over his heart. “I mean what I say. I was ready to run to you and steal you out of that house. Now that you’re here, I don’t think I’ll let you go.”
“You don’t have to.” Odette kissed his cheek, standing up from his chair.
“And don’t think that I’m letting you go down there. I don’t want those other boys to see you in your swimsuit,” he ordered.
Odette snickered to herself, her hand skimming over his cape. “If I don’t go down there then you don’t get to see it either.”
Grayson’s eyebrows furrowed and he blinked. It was several seconds later that he pouted. “Fine. Only after it gets dark, though. And you’ll stay by my side the whole time. I don’t want those idiots to get grabby.”
“Look, I’m you!” Odette beamed, disregarding his words. She had his cape on her shoulders now and she struck a dramatic pose that he would do. “It smells like you too.”
Although he was agitated that she was changing the subject, Grayson smiled at her. “You look better in it than me.”
“That’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one. No one looks better than you in a cape.” She smoothed out the ends of it to make sure that it was laying on her correctly.
“Except you.”
Odette played with the ties, making sure they sat properly on her shoulders. “Will you be my lovely assistant?” She winked at him playfully and extended her hand to him.
“Okay then.” Grayson took her hand and twirled her around and, when she stopped, she was facing the mirror with her back against his chest. He placed his palm on the back of her hand and lifted her hand so she was palm up. Grayson looked into her eyes through the mirror and moved, so his mouth was near her ear. “Concentrate.”
Odette nodded dutifully, her eyes flicking between his and her open palm. Eventually, he looked away and only focused on their hands. She took his cue and did the same, holding her breath.
Warmth circled around hers, not the warmth that she was used to from Grayson’s body heat though. Blue and silver wisps rose from his palm and wove over hers. It never actually touched her skin like it did Grayson’s. It took her several seconds to realize that it was actually fire.
She was caught between yanking her hand away in fear and staying completely still. Odette didn’t want to mess up his trick and hurt him.
“It’s beautiful,” she said hoarsely.
Grayson’s nose nudged against her. “Don’t be afraid of it. I won’t let it hurt you. Just trust me.” “I do.”
The flame grew larger and it swayed back and forth teasingly. Odette had the strange desire to touch it but she resisted. Even if it was magic fire, fire still burned.
Grayson’s fingers twitched against hers and the fire receded back into his hand. Her skin was a light shade of pink from being so close to the heat, but it didn’t hurt. It was actually a nice change to the mansion’s cold atmosphere.
“What else can you do?” she asked curiously.
The hand that was on the bottom of hers came up, so he was holding it. Her first thought was, Great, an excuse to be cheesy, but soon she felt something inside of her palm. Something that most definitely wasn’t a part of Grayson.
He pulled his hand away to reveal the head of a blue rose. It bloomed right before her eyes, the petals tickling her skin with their softness. When Odette looked closer, she could see that the tips of the rose were purple and they almost seemed to sparkle in the light.
“Wow,” was all she could say.
Grayson smirked, a breathy chuckle leaving his lips. “I’m glad that you like it.”
“Thank you,” she said. Odette held it close to her chest and turned her head to look at him.
“Anything for my princess.” He kissed her slowly, trying to make up for the rough treatment earlier. “You’re my princess, remember that.”
Neither of them were very keen on actually joining the party but Grayson had to, at least for a little bit, because of keeping appearances. He was more than happy to just have Odette locked up in his room while he stood in a corner for five minutes, and even told her so, but Odette insisted on coming down.
“Why do you guys have two pools?” she asked him.
“My sister and I were in swimming for a while. In the colder months, when we couldn’t use the outdoor one, we used the indoor one.” He shrugged his shoulders, holding her hand firmly. “You don’t plan on getting in, do you?”
Odette made a face. “I’d rather not be an easier target for being drowned again.”
“She can’t do anything if I’m by your side,” he assured.
He was actually wearing shorts for once, which was strange for Odette. They were a mauve color and he wore a grey T-shirt over that. His amulet was on a leather cord and he wore it like a necklace. He looked very uncomfortable and he didn’t bother to cover it up. His pout was enough to dampen Odette’s mood.
“I don’t like these things,” he said out of nowhere. “Too many people, people our age that is. Screaming girls. People who want pictures.”
Odette nodded in understanding. “So, Greer invites random fans?”
“No. She invites ‘friends’ and other people who give me a headache. If we invited random fans to our house, they would never leave.” He shuddered in disgust.
Grayson led her down the main stairs and then behind them where the door to the backyard was apparently. Odette’s eyebrows shot up when the door opened, the noise alarming her.
Music was playing at a loud enough level but the people there were screaming. It was an infestation of fake tans and neon bathing suits. Even in the fading light, it was pretty blinding.
Greer was—as expected—in the middle of all the action. Her bikini matched Grayson’s swim trunks and her hair was pulled up into a bun. Nadia and Bonnie flanked both of her sides and they were surrounded by a fourth of the guests.
Beside her, Odette could hear Grayson swearing about something or another while he looked in the opposite direction. His hand tightened around her fingers, so she squeezed back to give him comfort.
“Let’s go over here.” He tugged her over to a less populated area of the lawn. There were a few guys with their phones out, chatting about whatever. One girl was crying while her best friend consoled her.
“What is this party for anyway?” Odette asked, looking around the yard. She didn’t think that there were even this many teenagers in Sunwick Grove. Some of them must have been from out of town.
“Our birthday,” Grayson admitted.
Odette spun around and pointed an accusatory finger at him. “It’s your birthday and you didn’t tell me!”
“No, our birthday was at the end of May. We had to keep canceling the party, so here we are.” He huffed. “It isn’t that big of a deal.”
“I wish you would have told me. I could have gotten you something.”
He shook his head slightly. “I don’t want anything.”
“Too bad, life isn’t fair.” Odette stuck out her tongue. But, really, what could she get the boy who had everything?
Grayson had a strange look on his face. “I would want you to stay with me forever.”
Her face began to heat up. She wanted to say that it was too soon to be thinking about forever, that anything could happen in the future … but he made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside when he said that. Forever with Grayson? Realistically …
No, I don’t want to be realistic right now. I just want to enjoy right now.
“Yeah … me too,” she said softly. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he didn’t hear her over the loud music and the shouting but he did. She could tell by the way that his face brightened, even in the dark.
“Brother!” Greer sang, catching both of their attention. She had a parade of people behind her but either she didn’t notice them or she didn’t care. “There you are! And …
Odette. You, brother, have a lot of people to greet. It’s your party too.”
“I think Zeke greeted them for me.” Grayson pulled Odette closer to his side by her hip.
The action didn’t go unnoticed by Greer. She scanned them both, her eyes cold. “You two look cozy.”
Grayson wasn’t amused. “She is my girlfriend, sister.”
The crowd of people started whispering. Didn’t they already know that Grayson had a girlfriend? He hadn’t been very discreet, not when he started putting stuff on his social media. Maybe the fans were in denial about it. Odette received a few ugly looks from the girls.
“Well, don’t just stand there and mope in a corner. Join the party.” Greer wasn’t giving him much room to refuse. Everyone knew he was outside now and she was dragging him away. Grayson wouldn’t let go of Odette, so she was forced to go with them.
Greer was not a fan of that. She took her brother on a lap around the pool, which happened to be the size of a large lake. They said hello to everyone it seemed and, with each person, Grayson’s hand became tighter and tighter.
They had almost completed a full circle, or rectangle, around the pool when Odette felt something wedge itself between her ankles. She stumbled forward, her hand yanking free from Grayson’s, and she tumbled towards the hard ground.
A pair of hands caught her. “Are you okay, doll?”
She looked up to see a guy with short blond hair. Not Grayson. “Um, yeah, I think so. Thanks—” her sentence died in her throat when a familiar hand landed on her hip. She was instantly jerked away from the male and into her protective boyfriend’s arms.
“She’s fine.” Grayson answered, his tone dark. He glared at the man—who was most likely older than him and yet obviously intimidated—until he backed away and left them alone. “Who did he think he was?”
“He helped me. I was falling,” she scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
Grayson rolled his eyes. “No, he’s been watching you all night, princess. The guy thought he had a shot, so he took it.”
Sure, she thought sarcastically. That’s some sound logic.
He glared at her, sending her a message that said, “Don’t push my buttons.”
She shrank back, wondering why he was so irritable. He must really hate parties.
“Come here.”
Odette made a face, “I’m right next to you.”
“Come. Here.” He was scary calm but his eyes were blazing.
She shuffled closer by two inches, her arm pressed against his chest. Grayson rolled his eyes and wove his arms around her waist. Her arms were pinned to her sides and she was immobilized. Grayson bent her back and planted a kiss on her lips. Her eyes were open the whole time, staring into his. She silently asked him what he was doing and why he was doing it in front of all of those people. He only held her tighter.
Grayson wasn’t trying to crush her into him or suck her soul out—no, this was possessive. This was him telling the others to back off if they were even tempted to approach. He was staking his claim.
When the two finally broke apart, Odette could feel the blood rushing to her face. Him and his stupid possessiveness. Grayson stood her upright, stepping back. In the dim lights, she could see how flushed he got. Odette wasn’t any better—if anything, she was worse. She also felt too sweaty but she wouldn’t dare step foot in that pool.
“I’ll never allow other guys to be around you,” he said quietly. “Just get used to it.”
Odette didn’t think he had left her much of a choice,
Grayson wrapped his arms around her. “Do you want to go back inside? There isn’t anyone I want to talk to.”
“I don’t know. I think I have to go home soon. I don’t want my parents to worry too much,” Odette said, holding him back.
He tensed beneath her fingers. “Don’t leave me yet. Please. I don’t want to give you up again.”
She couldn’t help it, she laughed. His words were stupidly childish. “Don’t worry. We’ll get together soon. I promise. It’s just my parents are protective of me. Yeah, it can be stupid and annoying and frustrating at times, but they care. They want to make sure that I’m safe.”
Grayson shook his head, the action shaking his whole body. “But what if one day they wanted us to break up? What if they tried to keep us apart again?”
“Grayson … are you okay?” It was really obvious that he wasn’t. “Why are you so scared I’m going to leave you?”
“Because that’s all everyone does. They all leave. My parents, any … any friends that I ever made. They all left me. If you were to leave me too, I don’t know what I would do. I’m at my breaking point, Odette,” he breathed, holding onto her for support.
Odette forced herself out of his arms, looking over his face. He didn’t look well. He was a little too flushed and his eyes were heavily dilated. “Let’s get you inside. I’ll text my parents that I’ll be here a few more minutes, okay? Come on.”
Grayson seemed to relax a little more when she took him by the hand and led him to the door. She didn’t exactly remember the way back to his room but she knew that he would help her. She had her hand on the door knob when she heard some shouts. Odette turned around and saw a group of people pointing in the same direction.
“There’s a fire!” some girl screamed.
A fire? Had one of the tiki torches fallen over?
Odette whipped her head around and looked where everyone was pointing. Her heart caught in her throat. She didn’t know how she could have missed it before. Some distance away the woods were on fire as orange flames licked the dusk sky and a smoke stack several stories tall towered over the trees.
“Oh my God!” Odette cried. She took off running without a second thought. Her home was over there. “Mom! Dad!”
She could hear people exclaiming in horror as she ran from the party and towards the raging fire. They grabbed at her but she shoved past them and sprinted down the street. The thong of her flip-flops dug between her toes painfully, so she threw them somewhere in the woods but she didn’t look back.
The smell of the smoke got thicker the closer to her house she got. The brilliant light nearly blinded her. They had to have gotten out of the house. Their room was on the first floor and it wasn’t like there would be anything to get in their way. It was still early in the night too, so they would have been awake. These thoughts comforted her as she sprinted. They would be waiting on the lawn or in the street for the fire department to show up. They might be a little dirty from escaping their burning house, but they would be fine. After all, they were her parents. They were always fine.
Trees around her were on fire. It was a bizarre version of the home she had come to know. Instead of the cool tones of the trees and the house itself, it was all oranges and reds, turning the white of the house brown. She could make out the side of the house that was supposed to hold her room, the glass shattering from her window and scattering onto the grass. The heat was nearly unbearable and she brought her hand up to protect her face.
“Mom! Dad!” Odette screamed again. They weren’t on the lawn or on the street. “MOM! DAD!”
Glass shattered from an upstairs window, the sound startling her. If they weren’t outside, where were they? Had they gone out for the evening? No. Both cars were in the driveway. Her throat constricted painfully and she huffed and wheezed as more smoke blew into her lungs. Odette ripped off her hoodie and used it to cover her head and her mouth as she raced for the front door. It was suicidal; the house was teetering on the edge and on the verge of collapsing.
She shoved her body against the door, the weakened hinges giving away instantly and smacking onto her burning living room floor. A large plume of the flames erupted from close to the kitchen, blowing towards her.
“MO—AHHH! NO! STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Odette beat against the person’s arms.
They were wrapped tightly around her torso and had her hoisted up in the air. More smoke blew into her face and she coughed
and sputtered but it didn’t hinder her fighting.
“LET ME GO! I NEED TO FIND MY PARENTS!” Odette screeched, twisting and kicking wildly.
“Odette, stop it! I won’t let you go in there!” It was Grayson. Of course it was him. He probably took off after her when she left him at the party.
“BUT THEY COULD BE STUCK INSIDE!” She was hysterical. She couldn’t think straight or see clearly, all of the cells in her body were urging her to elbow Grayson in the stomach and run back inside.
“That isn’t your problem! You go in there and you die too!” Grayson shook her for emphasis, to help her gain perspective.
You die too.
Odette sobbed loudly, her nails tearing at his bad arm in hopes of gaining some leverage. “SOMEONE NEEDS TO SAVE THEM! I NEED TO SAVE THEM! IF YOU DON’T LET ME GO, I’LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!”
Grayson ignored her words. “Maybe they got out. Maybe they got to another house.” But both of them knew that, had her parents gotten out, they would have gone to the Mages. They didn’t know anyone else.
“MOM!” she screamed again, hoping that she might hear something from the inside. “DAD!”
The crackling fire taunted Odette as it flicked back and forth. The flames were reaching higher and higher into the night sky, creating stars that lasted for three seconds as they blew away. It was sweltering, even without the jacket.
Odette finally gave up fighting Grayson, so he sat her on her feet. She just sunk down to the ground and hugged her knees, watching the bonfire from hell along with forty other teenagers she didn’t know. She could feel her heart fluttering erratically, and she probably should have been doing something about it, but she couldn’t move. It just didn’t seem important at that moment.
More glass shattered like fireworks, scattering onto the road. Odette thought to herself, maybe she should have one last ditch attempt at getting inside. Even if she didn’t save her parents, she wouldn’t have to live with the crippling emptiness that was already setting in inside her.
Violent Delights Page 21
