The kiss was everything I’d wanted from the Prince of Darkness since the beginning. There was nothing sweet in the way he pressed me against the elevator and kissed me while his hands gripped my hips with bruising force. “Mercy,” he breathed.
That woke me up. Fury balled up in my fist and knocked it in his hair. Shocked he released me and took a few steps back. I fell to the balls of my feet dangerous anger burned in me and matched his. “How dare you?” I spit. “I’m not her.”
With two steps, he was in my face. “Doesn’t matter, you both belong to me. How dare you chance to give what belongs to me to that human,” he said, pointing back to the guy still lying in a crumpled mass of limbs. I wasn’t sure if he was still breathing and didn’t care. But Mercy’s conscience forced me to look until I saw the rise and fall of his chest.
“Don’t you ever confuse us. I won’t play second to her. This is as much my body as it is hers. In fact more so, if you count the soul I’m force to share space with. It doesn’t belong here.”
“You will not do anything with anyone else,” he dictated.
“Since when do you care? You aren’t even around much anymore,” I dared to say. “Hell, she and golden boy almost got it on if not for—”
“What,” he growled. His hand raised so quick, I flinched back. But he stroked the side of my face.
“They were nearly there,” I said chin lifted.
He closed his eyes. “He won’t do it. His sense of right and wrong with her is too strong.”
Not disagreeing, I tried a different tack. “What about Flynn? Something isn’t right with that boy. He didn’t come out of the near death experience alright.”
“So it’s happened.” His voice was flat.
Then it dawned on me just what he was saying. Nodding, I said, “I think so.”
“Time is nearing,” he said absently. “It doesn’t matter. He won’t act on it. Not with Luke so close.”
“You sure trust a lot of people to act rationally. If anything, you guys don’t act rationally with her around. And you not being here isn’t helping.”
“I’m protecting you both and it’s no easy feat. Father seems to want me to prove something.”
“What?” I asked since he was being so forthcoming.
“I have to go,” he said.
“Of course you do.” I said rolling my eyes.
His hand came around my throat and squeezed just a little. Black eyes that filled every inch of the peep holes bore into me. His head tilted side to side before he said, “Don’t question me. Time nears and this all will be done.”
His grip constricted my airways, but I refuse to beg to breathe even with my eyes. When I thought I might pass out, damn this human body, he released me. I could help but gag as he leaned down and picked up the boy and spoke a few words. “You never saw us. Go take a nap.”
Then he came at me, taking a handful of my hair. I blinked once and we were back in the room we shared with Maggie. He placed me on my bed and commanded, “Sleep McKayla. Release Mercy and keep her safe.”
Chapter Forty One
When consciousness returned to me, I heard voices. Or maybe it was the voice that returned me to consciousness.
“Did you see her return?” Luke asked.
“No, I was looking for her like everyone else. I just came in and found her like this. Then I called you,” Maggie insisted.
There was silence, but I felt the covers draw off of me. I think they were inspecting me to see if I was okay. My eyes were still so heavy, I couldn’t open them.
“She’s fine, right?” Maggie asked.
Silence. “I think so.” Luke sounded tired. What had I done? Or rather… I feared the worst.
“So that demon thing in her took over?” Maggie asked. Luke didn’t answer. “Is it safe?” More silence. So my best friend feared me. That sucked. And I didn’t hate her because of it. I had no idea what McKayla had done this time.
“Perhaps you should temporarily move rooms. Flynn is on the room on the opposite side. Doug is at the end of the hall.” He didn’t have to add it was probably the furthest point away from Brent. “So choose a room between this one and Doug’s. I would suggest not getting so close to Doug though. His scent on you will drive Brent insane.”
“What am I supposed to do about that?” Maggie pleaded.
“I can’t help you there. Brent’s my friend and he’s not in a good way right now.”
More dead air. “I love him Luke, but—” The bed shifted and I knew Maggie was looking away from Luke. He had a way of looking into your soul. “It’s just it wouldn’t be fair to Doug, you know.”
“Maybe, but it’s not fair for Doug to think he has a shot at you if he doesn’t.”
“Are you always this wise, Dalai Lama?” Maggie quipped.
“Not wise, I just know how I would feel if Mercy was stringing me along.”
Now I wished for unconsciousness. “Flynn.” Oh crap, Maggie had said it.
“Has she said anything to you?” Luke asked sounding almost helpless.
I willed my eyes to open. I needed to stop this. But I couldn’t. “She’s never admitted anything but that she loves you.”
An exhale of breath that sounded like the world had been lifted off his shoulders, escaped Luke.
“Look, I’m going to pack up. But I feel bad, I don’t want to leave her.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay with her.”
The bed shifted again and I was pulled into the cocoon of Luke’s love. Cuddled with him, I finally drifted back off into oblivion.
When I woke, I rolled over and found myself alone. I got up and took time in the bathroom. Maybe I just didn’t want to face my boyfriend and my best friend who now feared me. Whatever, I was sure I’d never been cleaner in my life. Getting dressed, I found the most conservative outfit I’d brought, an extremely loose tee shirt along with khaki shorts.
Heading downstairs, I found Maggie and Sara in the kitchen. Maggie hesitantly looked at me. I met her gaze dead on, giving her a view of my own eyes. She smiled. “Hey sleepy head.”
“What did you guys eat?” I asked feeling the hunger grow in my stomach.
Maggie pointed to a pan of half burnt hot dogs and hamburgers. “Oh,” I said.
“Apparently, breakfast is the most anyone around her can manage,” Sara said with a smile. Damn her for being nice this morning.
“Where are the guys?” I asked.
Conspiratorially, the two girls looked at each other. Sara crooked a finger, beckoning me outside. Following with Maggie in tow, I stepped outside to see a sight I would never forget see. All five boys were passed out on the couch together.
We giggled but Sara shushed us. “We should get a picture.” Maggie and I nodded in agreement. “But this needs something. Wait here.” She disappeared and returned moments later with a tube of lipstick. “We should make this picture more interesting.”
She handed the tube to me. Unable to resist, I took it and walked over to Tom. In the next few minutes, I’d painted his lips, then painting my own, and left a kiss mark on his forehead. Then I painted Luke’s lips, and kissed his cheek. Passing the torch, I handed the lipstick to Maggie who happily took it from me. In turn, she painted and left kiss marks on Doug and Brent. She then passed off the lipstick to Sara who took care of Flynn.
The guys were shirtless. They’d been swimming, and Sara wrote #1 Lover on Flynn’s chest. Maggie and I had a hard time not busting out in full out laughter. Sara handed the lipstick back to me. Taking it, I wrote Lion King on Tom’s chest and Surfer Boy on Luke’s. Maggie finished it off with Skater Boy on Doug and paused. She stood back not knowing what to write on Brent. Then she put Moon Called.
Sara finished it off by drawing arrows pointing toward Flynn plus an arrow on Flynn pointing to his pants. Taking out our phones, we took lots of picture, even posing them at certain points. Thankfully they were so drunk, they didn’t wake up.
“We should go out and see what night life has to offer down
the mountain,” Sara said. I didn’t trust her, but I didn’t want to be here when the guys woke up.
We headed upstairs to get ready. The boys were still passed out when we piled into the SUV and left. I did leave a note on the refrigerator telling them where we’d gone. I didn’t want Luke to worry.
Parking in the lot near the beach bar, we got out. “We should go get drinks,” Sara said, taking control of our trip.
“I don’t have fake ID,” Maggie declared.
Sara scoffed. “Don’t worry about it. You won’t need it.”
On the sand, we headed to the simple square hut with bar stools all around. Several girls sat there talking. When we walked up, the girls focused on us. Rather, they focused on me. “Hey isn’t that the bitch?” said a girl with a short mop of brown curls said. A blonde girl turned around and planted her hateful stare on me. “Yes,” she said viscously.
They stood. Sara turned to face them, stepping in front of me, which was odd. “Problem,” Sara warned. I couldn’t see Sara’s face, but the girls in front of her paled and turned around then moved away as fast as they could. Maggie and I traded glances. Sara faced us with a grin and said, “I guess they were mistaken.” Mischief was written across her face like a tattoo.
Summoning the bartender, she ordered some drinks for us. Three clear shots came our way. Maggie picked hers up with no hesitation, and I followed suit. Soon enough we were drunk and were shaking our hips on the beach when starlight canopied us.
Dancing was my second favorite thing to do next to cooking. I was caught up in the rhythm of the beat, sandwiched by two guys who took more liberties than I might have allowed if I hadn’t been drunk off my ass. Hands were on my hips only to find my bottom. Other hands skated my rib cage and skimmed the underside of my breast. The boy at my front, with sandy hair and grey eyes that sparkled like the stars above, dipped his head as if to kiss me. I leaned back into boy number two to avoid him; I wasn’t drunk enough to cheat.
Boy Number Two spun me around to face him, his hair was cut close and his ebony skin contrasted with mine making an interesting combination. His face was nothing short of gorgeous, which everyone on this island seemed to be.
When he pulled me tight to him, grinding into me to let me know just how happy he was to do so, I finally came to my senses. Or was that my phone vibrating in my pocket? I pulled away from both of them, stumbling to a stool at the bar to answer it.
“Heelloo,” I said, and laughed, not at all sure what was funny.
“Mercy,” my beautiful boyfriend said. He sounded concerned.
“Heeyyy babbbyy,” I slurred.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“Dancing,” I managed to sound reasonably sober.
“Where?” he asked.
“Between two guys on the beach,” I confessed. When the pause became uncomfortable, I said, “Luke.”
It was a moment or two before he said, “Are you in town?”
“Yes, you didn’t find my note.”
“No,” he answered.
“Sorry. But Sara’s been really nice. She got us drinks.”
“I bet,” he said. “Is Maggie there?”
“Yeah, but she is soooo drunk,” I giggled.
“Do you see Sara?”
I looked around suddenly. “No.” Where had she gone?
“Do you have the keys to the car?”
I felt around in my pocket. “Yes.”
“Hey, where are you going?” Boy Number One asked.
“Nowhere,” I said, swaying to the beat.
“Too much to drink,” he said helping stay on my feet.
“I’m on the phone with my boyfriend,” I said.
“I guess he should be here.”
Around the corner, a head of blonde curls appeared. “He is,” Luke said dangerously.
Boy Number One shrugged then winked at me. “You know where I’ll be if you get bored.”
“She won’t,” Luke said with finality. Boy Number One slunk off back to the dance floor floating in the middle of sand.
With Luke’s hands on me, I pulled his head down to kiss him with all the passion I felt. Letting him up for air, his eyes were dark with desire. “I need to get you home.”
Wrapping myself around him, I pulled him in tight. “Don’t go.”
“Mercy,” he said. “We need to find Maggie.”
Sighing, I let him help me to my feet. Maggie wasn’t hard to spot stuck in a man sandwich. Luke left me for a second to pull her away warning off the guys with a glare.
“Let’s go,” he ordered.
Chapter Forty Two
Tom waited outside when we pulled in. Opening the door, he scooped up Maggie, who was passed out, and headed inside the house.
“Do I get the Cinderella treatment?” I teased.
With my car door open, Luke eyes glittered with something I couldn’t describe in my current state. “Do you deserve it?”
“Kiss me,” I said, avoiding the question.
“I’m not sure I want to kiss you right now.”
Leaning back sideways on the seat, I sighed and teased, “I’m sure I can find someone to do it.” Then my heavy lids closed firmly.
I felt myself sliding across the leather seat and into Luke’s strong arms. “Not unless you want someone to die tonight.”
The corners of my mouth turned up slightly before I submitted to the darkness. I roused only when I felt myself enveloped in a cloud. “Stay with me,” I muttered.
Fitting himself to me like a glove, he kissed my cheek. I had enough presence of mind to turn into the kiss meeting it head on. “You want me, right?” I asked. Something I would have never done sober. But liquid courage had me asking.
“Yes,” he breathed. “And it takes every bit of self-control to say no.”
“You would have taken me last night until that girl stopped us. I bet she did it on purpose.”
He didn’t answer. I managed to open my eyes to look into his. A storm was brewing in the ocean depths. Slowly his head came forward before I felt the soft pressure of his lips on mine in the sweetest release. His hand clamped on my waist and molded us together. His hand skated up my back under my shirt until he had a hold of the back of my neck. “What you do to me should be outlawed,” he whispered. “Now sleep, Cinderella.”
“No fair,” I said, my eyes closing anyway.
Chuckling, he said “I’m the one that’s wound up tighter than a spring.
“I do that to you,” I said. Darkness closed in like a thief.
“That and more,” he said, still holding me close.
Like the last chord in a melody, I drifted off into the currents of space.
I wasn’t sure how long I slept, but Luke was still there when day claimed me for one of their own. When I opened my eyes, I immediately regretted it.
Closing them again against the drum beat of pain wasn’t worth the night of recklessness. My eyes popped open when I remembered one thing. “Did you leave Sara?” Luke hadn’t gotten her before we left. I may have been loopy but I remembered that much.
His eyes hardened. “She can take care of herself.”
“So you left her?” I asked. My Luke wouldn’t do such a thing.
“She got you guys drunk and left you to fend for yourselves.”
I closed my mouth. It was probably true. I didn’t say anything. I wanted to believe the best in people, but I didn’t want to be naïve. She most likely set us up.
Shortly after, Luke went to get ready for the day. I hadn’t told him about my headache. Instead, I got ready myself and headed downstairs.
I found Doug looking through cabinets. “Need help,” I said. The boy nearly jumped a mile. He turned and pushed some of his floppy brown hair from his eyes. “I take it you don’t cook.” Shaking his head, I teased, “And don’t speak either.”
“Sorry, Mercy.” Doug’s voice was surprisingly deeper than you would expect by looking at him. He sounded like he could belt out some notes and get y
ou swooning.
“Sit,” I said, taking over. “Tom’s not around?”
“No,” he said. “He took Brent hiking.”
I stopped what I was doing. “Hiking?”
“Yeah, the plan is to get Brent tired out and hopefully leave him on one side of the island far from us.”
“Oh. “Tom was trying to take Brent out of the equation as best he could. “So Tom’s not going to be there for you all.”
“Um, I think that Sara girl is going to get him just before moon rise, leaving Brent far from us.”
“Oh.” I grabbed ingredients.
“You don’t like her,” he said slyly.
Facing away from him, reaching for a mixing bowl, I said, “What’s not to like?”
“Ah, maybe that she wants Luke.” That was obvious but I didn’t want to say it.
“Luke can make his own decisions about who he wants to be with. I don’t own him,” I said.
I was reaching for a mixing cup on a high shelf which seemed an odd place for it, when a hand got it for me. I turned assuming it was my knight in shining armor but was dead wrong.
“You need this doll face,” Flynn said holding it a bit out of my reach.
We were so close and as much as it hurts me to say, his presence unnerved me. “Yes.” Without preamble, he handed it to me. “Thanks,” I muttered, turning away from him trying to keep my cool.
“I should get you back for that little stunt you all pulled.” Flynn looked like he had ideas of how to do it when he spoke.
I stared at him for a second. My head still rang with the aftershocks of my drinking. “You know the lipstick.” I couldn’t help myself, I laughed. “Funny huh? We’ll get you back.” He looked at Doug, who nodded in agreement.
“We have pictures. So if you retaliate, they will end up on Facebook.”
Doug looked horrified, “You took pictures.”
Maggie walked in. “Of course we did, silly.”
Flynn looked disgusted as he headed out the back door over the bridge and out of sight. “Crap, I forgot my iPod.” Maggie muttered, as she left the room.
Once I assumed she was out of ear shot, I asked the one question I had. “How are you doing with all this?”
Angel Of Mercy (Cambions #3) Page 20
