Wicked Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 4)

by Primo, Jaz

  I didn’t ask your opinion.

  I calmed myself to avoid an argument, though it was challenging not to bite her head off.

  “I understand what you’re saying,” I said diplomatically. “However, after what happened downtown the other evening, I’d rather he not be out on the town unprotected.”

  Given the subsequent silence, I thought that our connection had been lost.

  “All right, that makes sense, I suppose,” she said with a tone of resignation in her voice.

  “So?” I asked, shaking my head in mild frustration.

  “Yeah, yeah,” she said. “But what if he doesn’t exactly want to return home? I mean, from what you said, he was pretty pissed at you when he left.”

  I hoped that wouldn’t be an issue.

  No, he’ll vent and then want to come back home.

  “I have a backup plan, but it’s no good until after sunset,” I said.

  Please, just come home, Caleb. I’ll make it up to you somehow…

  “Don’t worry, Red. I’m on the case,” she replied.

  Then she giggled. “This should be good. I haven’t been to a Goth bar in years.”

  “Uh-huh,” I said.

  Well, at least one of us was amused about the situation.

  I just want him safely back home. Maybe if I can hold him and talk to him, we can try to heal the wound that’s been opened between us.

  Of course, I realized that in order to heal the wound, I’d need to understand what type of injury I’d be treating.

  Bruised ego, or bitter resentment?

  Or maybe a little of both?

  I thanked Paige for her assistance and retrieved my mug of warmed blood from the microwave. As I perched on a kitchen barstool and took a sip, appreciating the warm liquid flowing down my throat, my emotions finally began to calm a little bit.

  I quietly analyzed the events of recent days, including the unfortunate exchange with him earlier that afternoon.

  Slowly, the logic of his behavior dawned upon me, like a morning sun peering over the treetops, banishing darkness in its wake.

  Oh, my dear, haunted Caleb. I think that I finally understand what’s really at play here…

  I felt stupid for not seeing it already.

  Chapter 7

  Caleb

  By the time I’d secured a small table in the back and finished my second beer, I was surprised to admit that the bar was starting to grow on me.

  For one, the music was actually pretty good; it reminded me of a harder version of the alternative rock that I liked. For example, I considered that Angelical Tears’ music would fit right in here.

  My mind wandered for a bit before returning to my aggravation with Kat.

  Sometimes she’s just so damned overbearing.

  I stared into my beer, searching for an oracle of some kind.

  Unfortunately, I doubt any answers are coming from this glass of beer.

  When I looked up again to survey the room, the place was starting to fill up, which kind of surprised me. I wouldn’t have expected this kind of crowd to be prevalent in the Atlanta area.

  Maybe New York or San Francisco, but not around here.

  I rubbed at my forehead with one hand, trying to dispel the tension that had formed.

  I removed my hand just in time to see a familiar blonde-haired woman walk into the bar carrying a pile of folded leather riding gear, along with motorcycle helmet and black boots, which she placed on a small table near the entrance. She took only a moment to take in her surroundings before boldly strutting into the bar.

  No way.

  Paige wore a little black leather miniskirt, sheer long-sleeved top that revealed a leather bra underneath, and high-heeled ankle boots. Black eye shadow outlined her smoldering blue eyes and a studded black leather collar accented her petite neck.

  Oh, she’s hot.

  Her edgy, sexy look immediately caught every set of eyes in the place, and she rocked her hips like a dangerous vixen on the prowl to the sound of Razed in Black’s “Oh My Goth!” blaring overhead.

  She flashed a half-grin to patrons both left and right of her as she continued her trajectory directly toward my table.

  Honestly, I felt the sexual tension quadruple in the room, affecting me in exactly the same way. Even the female bartender appeared mesmerized by her.

  She stopped directly before my table and struck an alluring pose. “Oh-my-Goth, imagine seeing you here, kiddo,” she squeaked.

  My mouth opened but words completely escaped me.

  She beamed at me with a feisty-look as she practically poured herself into an empty chair to my right.

  “Oh, how I love your expression right now,” she said with a tone of satisfaction.

  I had to force myself to take a breath before speaking.

  “You. Look. Amazing.”

  Good Lord, if I wasn’t already spoken for…

  She giggled playfully as she regarded me.

  “Just so you know, I could eat you up right now, tiger,” she purred.

  Our eyes locked. A sly smile slowly dawned upon her features as I felt a spark of desire flare from deep inside me.

  Dangerous territory…

  Abruptly, she broke from our stare contest, and I thought that I glimpsed her quickly frowning as she looked away from me.

  She made an overly-lengthy visual inspection of our side of the club before looking back at me with a decidedly more playful expression.

  “You sure can pick the joints, can’t you?”

  In near record time, the bartender made a personal appearance at our table to retrieve Paige’s order.

  “Absolut and cran, please,” she ordered. “And another beer for my boy.”

  When the bartender departed, Paige winked at me and said, “All the good Goths are drinking vodka and cran nowadays.”

  “How do you know so much about---”

  “What, Goth? Eh, I lived in southern California for years; it’s like second nature to me,” she said off-handedly, while flashing a flirtatious look at two black-clad young men seated a table away from us.

  “The real question is what you’re doing here,” she said.

  “Kat and I had a bit of---”

  “Yeah-yeah, I heard; the drag-down cat fight with your Dom,” she interrupted.

  My mouth dropped open.

  Kat told her?

  She frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t believe that Kat told you,” I said.

  “Told me what?” she asked. “That you had a big fight?”

  I paused. “What exactly do you know about that?”

  She appeared puzzled. “Not as much as I thought, apparently. But maybe you can fill me in now that I’m here.”

  Yeah, not gonna’ happen.

  She snapped her fingers repeatedly. “C’mon, dish. I want all the gory details.”

  I slowly let out a deep breath that I’d been holding.

  She frowned at me. “Hey, is there something important I should know here?”

  “Nah, no big deal,” I said.

  Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “O-kay, then. Back to my earlier question. Why did you end up here?”

  I shrugged. “First place I came to.”

  She gave me a shrewd look. “Well, aren’t you just Captain Adventure today.”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” I muttered under my breath.

  The bartender returned and our drinks were smoothly placed before us.

  “Thanks,” Paige and I both said simultaneously.

  We locked eyes and Paige grinned brightly.

  “She’s on my tab,” I said before the bartender walked away.

  “Why, thank you, kind sir,” Paige said.

  We sipped our drinks in silence as she swayed to the industrial music playing.

  “How did you track me here?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “Red did all the work. She sounded pretty worried about you, in fact.”

  Yeah, I bet.


  I offered a sour expression in silent response.

  “Oh, that look says it all,” she said. “Somebody must have been really raging when they took off. Am I right?”

  “That’s about the size of it,” I said.

  “Good for you,” she said. “My boy has some balls after all, it seems.”

  I nearly winced.

  Yeah, well, I’m lucky Kat didn’t step on those while she was at it.

  “Penny for your thoughts,” she said as she produced a cell phone from God-knows-where and started texting.

  “What are you doing?” I demanded. “Aww, c’mon, don’t text Kat already.”

  “Hey, chill. I’m only tellin’ her you’re safe and sound,” she said.

  “Well, you can tell her to stay the hell away and leave me alone while you’re at it.”

  She glanced up at me wide-eyed. “What? I don’t think I’ve heard you servin’ ’tude like that before,” she said, placing her phone onto the table before her. “Just what the hell happened today?”

  I took a long swig of my beer, and then told her about our argument, but without any mention of the ‘floor episode.’

  “And just where’s your cell phone?” she asked with an arched brow.

  “I left it in the SUV somewhere,” I replied.

  “Notta’ cool play, dude,” she said. “Bad Caleb; no biscuit.”

  I rolled my eyes. She always had a unique way of lightening my mood, no matter the circumstances. She was one of the best friends I’d ever had, and under different circumstances, I could see her as so much more.

  She snapped her fingers before me. “Hey, stop broodin’ over your old lady and perk up,” she said with a playful expression. “You’re in a Goth club all alone with Little Miss Dressed-to-Kill! How often does that happen, kiddo?”

  I chuckled.

  “I’m betting not often enough,” she said.

  “You are dressed to kill,” I said. “In fact, you look absolutely hot.”

  She squealed an endearing laugh. “Good boy,” she giggled. “Let’s rave!”

  Rave?

  Before I knew it, she had grabbed my hand and practically jerked me out of my chair. I trailed behind her as industrial music blared from the overhead speakers.

  I took comfort in the fact that a crowd of people were already dancing, so at least I didn’t create a spectacle.

  Paige’s enthusiasm was infectious, and before I knew it I was thrashing about with her on the dance floor and having a great time. Between her and the rhythmic beat of the music, it didn’t take long for me to banish my former gloomy thoughts in favor of some fun.

  In fact, it felt really good.

  I wasn’t paying attention to how many songs we danced to, but I worked up quite a thirst.

  We made a couple of brief trips back to our table to our drinks but always ended right back out on the dance floor.

  Paige looked like she was having as great of a time as I was. I felt relieved to suspend my angst-ridden, depressing thoughts about my relationship with Kat, particularly everything that had happened earlier.

  We returned to our table, and this time, Paige let me sit down to wipe my perspiring forehead with a cocktail napkin.

  “Awesome dancing, tiger. I noticed somebody’s been doin’ their cardio,” she said. “Good boy; we’ll reconsider that biscuit.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh as I looked past her toward the club’s entrance.

  As if following some cosmic script, “Stripped” by Shiny Toy Guns blared overhead at the moment that the newest entrant to the bar made her presence known.

  Kat was attired in an alluring black leather halter dress with matching stilettoes, and she carried a small leather clutch wallet. Her red hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and her black lipstick gave her a dark, foreboding look.

  Her penetrating gaze scanned the bar, flashing bright green as soon as she fixed her gaze upon me.

  My breath caught in my throat as I watched her part the room while she approached me in a stalking, methodic fashion.

  She looked like a beautiful but dangerous red-haired demon that had come to collect her next unsuspecting soul.

  Me.

  A number of people stopped dancing and simply stared at her as she passed, giving her a wide berth.

  “Subtly was never Red’s strong suit,” Paige said.

  Kat stopped just short of our table, her eyes never leaving mine.

  “I’m gonna’ snag a fresh vod and cran,” Paige said, smoothly slipping from her chair as she grabbed her cell phone and headed toward the bar.

  “I hope you don’t mind if I join you,” Kat said, commandeering the empty chair immediately to my left.

  “A lady wouldn’t presume,” I said.

  “A gentleman would’ve offered,” she countered reproachfully.

  Okay. I didn’t have a response for that.

  “You haven’t returned any of my calls or text messages,” she said. “I was worried about you.”

  “And now you’re here to retrieve me?” I asked.

  “That’s rather unkind,” she said coolly. “Don’t you want to feel wanted? Shouldn’t I want to seek you out and show my love and concern for you?”

  I hesitated and took a long swig of beer.

  “Caleb, it’s quite an interesting little place you’ve discovered here, but please, let’s go home and talk things out,” she said.

  “I’m not leaving.”

  “Well, you can’t camp out here forever, you know,” she said.

  “Ever hear of hotels?”

  I got a small, perverse thrill over her resulting stony expression.

  “Oh, please,” she said. “Don’t you think that’s overreacting a bit?”

  Oh, really?

  I simply stared back at her.

  Her eyes narrowed. “I see,” she said. “At the very least, perhaps you’d permit me to sit with you while appreciating your new hangout?”

  “Okay,” I said with a shrug. “Actually, this place will grow on you if you just give it half a chance.”

  “I’m sure,” she said. “But home would be more comfortable for us to talk, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “I’m not going home,” I said. “Things are still a little raw with me right now.”

  A sad expression permeated her features, though it didn’t alter either my resolution or my feelings.

  One of the servers who had been making her rounds stopped by our table.

  “Welcome to Old Skools. What can I get for you?” she asked, fully focusing her attention on Kat.

  Maybe it was merely the lighting in the place, but I’d swear our server’s skin flushed as I watched her.

  “Dark and Stormy, please,” Kat said.

  “Right away, ma’am,” the server crisply replied, making a beeline for the bar area.

  The irony of Kat’s drink order wasn’t lost on me.

  Fitting, actually.

  In addition, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy over how quickly she had commanded attention and responsiveness from our server.

  Typical vampire allure.

  Was I so different?

  “I see you have a fan club already,” I said.

  “What?” she asked, taking notice of the attentive stares that she was receiving from those nearby.

  As I watched, she swept each of the faces of onlookers with a flat, icy stare. Almost instantly, prying eyes averted to other locations.

  Then, she calmly interlaced the fingers of both hands before her on the table and returned her full attention to me.

  Jeez, she’s in full-on alpha mode right now.

  Though I wasn’t about to admit it, I found it both intimidating and somewhat sexy.

  “I realize and accept that you’re upset with me, and I’m willing to concede that my little demonstration went too far with you earlier this afternoon,” she said.

  “No. The way that you treated me today was no less than downright cruel,” I said
. “I came to you to rationally discuss my feelings, just as you’ve suggested in the past.”

  She scowled at me. “To calmly accuse me of emasculating you,” she said flatly. “Do you have any idea how that made me feel, Caleb? To think that after all the efforts that I’ve given to love, nurture, protect, and support you that it had all been in vain; because instead I’ve merely emasculated you? You seemed to throw that word out like it was some new toy to play with. That’s a hard, harsh word; or at least to me it is.”

  I fought back a wince from the venomous tone in her voice.

  She closed her eyes and clenched her jaw, as if in the midst of struggling against some hidden, yet intense, urge.

  When she finally opened her eyes, she appeared composed and more relaxed, though I still noted a look of strain in her eyes.

  “Please, go on,” she said. “You were saying?”

  “There’s no point, really.”

  At that moment I didn’t have the stomach to say much else. It seemed we both felt hurt and affronted at some level.

  We looked away from each other for a time.

  When I finally looked over at her again, she gazed into my eyes in a suddenly tender manner that threatened my firm resolve.

  Never breaking eye contact, she leaned closer to me. “Please. Talk to me. Something else is bothering you, and I need to know what it is.”

  What was it about her that made her so maddeningly obstinate and hard one minute and then seemingly gentle and nurturing the next?

  The server promptly arrived with her drink and carefully placed it on a crisp-looking napkin before her. The woman stared down at Kat like she was in a degree of awe.

  “Thank you,” Kat said with a polite expression.

  “You’re very welcome,” she said with a lilt to her voice. “I’m Ellie. Please don’t hesitate to motion to me if you need anything.”

  I nearly gawked over the way the woman was gushing over Kat.

  Seriously?

  Ellie was blushing, and honestly, I’d noticed in the past that Kat had that effect on a number people; men and women.

  And me.

  Kat nodded and waited for Ellie to depart before returning her gaze to me and gesturing for me to continue.

  “It’s very simple,” I said. “The point is you were wrong to do what you did to me today.”