by Jaime Rush
Sarai snapped her gum. “There was quite a stir at first, as you can imagine. The women were all gaga and the guys were all ‘why’s the pretty boy Caido working here?’ But people are starting to warm to him. He’s nice. Not snotty like Tad or slutty like Donnie was.”
Kye’s gaze went right to the new face behind the bar. The gorgeous new face. Red lights within the thick glass counter cast a glow over the angles of his cheeks and the gloss of his dark-blond hair. Kasabian might be new to the Brew, but he was clearly not new to tending. He flipped bottles, poured, and returned them to their places with the speed and grace of a juggler. By the relaxed smile on his face, she could tell he was enjoying it. So were the people watching him in rapt awe. Of course, that could be the Thrall, the way Caidos could hypnotize with their preternatural beauty. Because of what Kye did for a living, she’d learned to shut out that allure.
But damn, fascination stirred deep in her chest.
Whoa, cut that shit out.
Kye shrugged. “Just another pretty Caido.” She pushed her long blond hair back over her shoulder. “Think I’ll order a drink now.”
“I totally know you’re checking him out—” Sarai’s teasing smile disappeared. She gripped her arm, the mist in her eyes stirring like storm-tossed clouds. “Don’t do it!”
“You’re freaking over me ordering a drink from the guy?”
Sarai shook her head. “I’m feeling a lot more than a drink. First, I sensed that there could be something good and hot and sexy between the two of you. Then I got a really bad feeling.”
Kye splayed her hand on her chest. “Uh, remember who you’re talking to. The girl you’re always giving a hard time because I never date.”
“Remember who’s doing the talking. I had a feeling about that guy Katie was dating, and he ended up being a drug dealer. I warned Rhea that her brakes were going to give out, and the mechanic said they wouldn’t have lasted another day.”
“I don’t doubt your forecasts. Maybe something good and bad would come from getting involved, but I’d never get romantic with a Brew employee anyway.” She patted Sarai’s hand. “I need to meet him. He’s in my world, after all.” The Brew was her second home, the employees a sort of family.
Kasabian looked up, zoning right in on her as she approached. His green eyes held the Caido glitter, like sun on early morning frost. Each of the three types of Crescents held their unique magick in their eyes, visible only to other Crescents.
He watched her, even as he shoved limes into two Coronas and pushed them across the counter to the men waiting for them. “What can I get you, love?” he asked when she reached him. “Love”? What kind of Caido was this guy?
The smooth edge of the counter pressed into her palms as she leaned forward. “Know how to make the Whis-Kye?” she called out over the pounding beat of Katy Perry’s “E.T.”
His mouth curved into a heart-stopping smile as his gaze lingered on the patch on her black leather jacket that read NO DOES NOT MEAN CONVINCE ME. “You must be Kye. Before he left, Donnie filled me in on the special customers. From what I’ve heard, you’re quite special.” He held out his hand. “I’m Kasabian.”
A strange twist of anticipation and fear overtook her, but she slid her hand into his—and instantly knew why. A jolt like a low-level electrical surge went through her. She pulled her hand back, heat flushing over her. He was watching her as though he expected her to react, so she did her best not to.
He turned and pulled down the bottle of Johnnie Walker Black whiskey with one hand, a highball glass in another. There were no available stools, but the couple beside her shifted so she could settle in more comfortably. Which she shouldn’t do. Which she did.
Kasabian mixed the drink Mike, the club’s owner, had concocted for her years ago. Whiskey, Mountain Dew, and a splash of orange juice, just enough liquor for a tiny buzz. He snuggled a wedge of orange on the rim and slid the glass in front of her. Someone farther down the bar flagged Kasabian down.
“Don’t go,” he said, moving away to take an order. He made three different drinks and pulled one draft. His tight yellow shirt showed off a physique he got doing more than tossing bottles. Not bodybuilder thick, but lean and well defined. He returned to her. “Mike told me you’re a Zensu Deuce, that you pick up people’s sensual pathos and fix them. He thinks you’re a goddess.”
Embarrassment stung her cheeks but warmed her heart. That was a lot more appreciation than she’d ever gotten from her own family over her gift. She couldn’t go into how she’d helped Mike with his sexual dysfunction, discovering it stemmed from an impotency spell cast by an ex.
“I’m a certified sex therapist,” she felt compelled to say. “With a doctorate in clinical sexology.”
“Plus a dash of magick.”
“To be honest, it’s mostly the magick.”
Kasabian regarded her with a curious expression. “You pick up people’s feelings?”
“It can work that way, if someone asks me to open the door. I don’t make a habit of eavesdropping. In fact, I keep the psychic door closed most of the time.”
He gestured for her to lean closer, then did the same. She had the bizarre notion that he was going to kiss her. Even more bizarre, she involuntarily licked her lips in anticipation. His mouth moved close to her ear, brushing the shell of it ever so slightly as he said, “So, what do you get from me?”
She tried to stifle her shiver at his touch. He leaned back, and she saw that his question was a challenge, maybe a test. She opened the door and … holy Zensu, a wave of desire, pain, and heat washed over her. Desire for her. He’s Caido. This can’t be right. It spiraled inside her like a vine, a dark hunger twining through her until she slammed the door shut.
She worked to mask her surprise, along with the flush on her face. She had to lean close to him now. “Caidos don’t have sexual pathos … or sexual anything. You’re all shut down.” She grabbed her drink.
Kasabian’s raised eyebrow and smile said, I don’t believe you. He gave her a wink and tipped his chin toward the dance floor. “Go dance, give me something to watch.”
Was he serious? His playful smile could go both ways.
A woman tugged her sleeve. “Are you Kye? I was told you could help me with…a problem.”
“Yes, yes, I can.” Kye gratefully led her to her usual table, a RESERVED sign sitting on the shiny black top. Mike let her conduct business in the club, and she insisted on giving him a cut. Some people felt more comfortable talking about their sexual issues in loud, smoky surroundings. The club had become her second office.
It was damn annoying how Kye’s attention kept straying to Kasabian through the night, how her mind kept replaying their conversation. Women gawked and flirted, but he didn’t flirt back. He was friendly with everyone, but Kye didn’t see the kind of intense attention he’d shown her. She was glad to see him leave while she finished up with a client session after closing time.
Her relief evaporated when she stepped into the well-lit parking lot and spotted him leaning against a deep yellow sports car. As though he were waiting for her. The thought fluttered in her chest. Not helping, the Lotus’s license plate read NOANGEL, and black angel wings spread across the hood. Caidos in particular were drawn to fancy, fast cars, funded by the good investments many had made in real estate before the boom.
But the man himself was far sexier than his car. His legs were stretched out in front of him, ankles crossed casually. His arms were loosely crossed in front of his chest, which made his biceps bulge nicely. She told herself it was enough to enjoy the view. Men who took care of their bodies, working out enough to build muscle without looking too jacked up, were eye candy. No calories in looking.
The thick black heels of her short boots clunked on the asphalt. She felt such an odd pull toward him that she forced herself to give him a brief smile and bypass him.
“Aren’t you hot in that?” he asked, gesturing as though he were wearing a jacket.
She slowed t
o a stop in front of him. “Only when I dance.” No matter how warm she got, she never took off the black leather jacket with her patches and studs.
“And you didn’t dance.” He tilted his head, giving her an oh-my-gods-stop-my-heart pout. “Pity.”
“Are you flirting with me?”
He arched an eyebrow. “You make it sound like a crime.”
“What you’re hearing is surprise. I know it’s painful for Caidos to feel desire, punishment you unfairly suffer because your angel forefathers fell to human temptation. Don’t worry. As a therapist, I’m sworn to secrecy,” she added. “Caido clients tell me it’s easier to shut down their desire. Yet you do … feel desire.”
“Ah, so you did sense it.”
“You threw me off back at the bar. First that you were flirting, then that you asked me outright to feel you. I mean, to sense your feelings. You’re different.”
“Very. I don’t usually flirt.” He let his gaze drift down over her black leather skirt and fishnet stockings. His eyes met hers again, jumpstarting her heart. “You have a strange effect on me.”
Ditto, buddy. Which made her all too aware that they were outside alone together.
His chuckle rolled across her skin. “Don’t worry, I’m not waiting out here to pounce on you.”
She’d forgotten how Caidos could pick up others’ emotions. “But you are waiting for me.”
“Yes, I am.”
“You’re not going to ask me out or anything, are you? Because I don’t date.” He didn’t say anything, which made for a really awkward few seconds. “It’s a general rule, nothing personal. If…that’s what you were going to ask.” She would have thwapped herself on the forehead if it wouldn’t look stupid.
And, of course, as a Caido, he picked up everything she was feeling, which put an incredibly sexy smile on his face. “As much as I’d love to hook up with you, it’s not feasible. Or wise.”
He’d love to hook up with her. She tried to stanch her reaction to those words.
He gave her a sympathetic smile. “The love guru doesn’t date? That’s sad.”
She debated being obtuse but decided it was better that he know she wasn’t just playing hard to get. “Being involved with someone interferes with my abilities. The drama and distraction, even if things are going well, takes over my mind. All I get is noise when I read someone.”
“And that terrifies you. Why?”
She really hated that he could read her. “Helping people is important to me.”
“Which leads beautifully to the reason I’m waiting for you. The Caido/Deuce couple who came in and greeted you like you were their best friend, who danced together, and kissed…you helped them, didn’t you?”
Kye had watched them snuggling together on the dance floor with just a tiny bit of longing. “Sorry, client confidentiality.”
He rubbed his chin. “So you did help them. The only way they could be together is by doing the Essex. I assume you know what that is.”
She had been horrified and saddened to learn that the emotions Caidos picked up from others cut through them like a knife. It was a secret they held very closely, for their own well-being. Kasabian was testing her. She knew he wouldn’t volunteer the information to just anyone. “That’s when a Caido facilitates the exchange of his magick essence with a Dragon’s or Deuce’s. It’s how a Caido heals other Crescents’ emotional or physical pain. Unbeknownst to those Crescents, their essence has a balancing effect on him so he’s not as sensitive to others’ emotions. Or desires.” She almost wanted to give him a Did I get it right? smile.
He nodded. “But it only temporarily eases his pain. So a long-term relationship would eventually deplete her essence, because he would have to do it with her every day. No self-respecting Caido would endanger someone he cares about. So how is it that they’re together?”
“I can only give you a general answer. Not one specific to any couple in particular. I’ve come up with a way to make the Essex permanent.”
He pushed away from the car, interest crackling off him as he came closer. “Tell me more.”
She fought the instinct to back up a step. “I’ve had a few mixed-Caido couples approach me about circumventing the pain. They hadn’t meant to fall in love, but now they wanted to be together. I tried several different spells and magick devices, but nothing worked.”
He crossed his arms in front of him and rocked back on his heels. “And you take it very hard when you can’t fix someone.”
“You get that from me, too?”
“I suppose we both bear a similar burden in picking up feelings we have no business sensing. How does it work?”
She laid one of her hands on top of the other and let her fingers barely settle between each other. “With the Essex, you’re limited to how much essence you can exchange, kind of the way my fingers can’t slide together. That’s why it’s temporary. The Cobra, which I named for the tantric position, allows both essences to reach fully toward each other, like this.” She laced her hands together, fingers straight so that they formed an X. “This starts the bonding process. The last step is when both parties actually pull each other’s essence into their souls, permanently locking them together.” Her fingers wrapped over her hands as though in prayer. “At least, I think it’s permanent. The first couple did it four months ago, and it’s still holding strong.”
“Why haven’t I heard about this magick of yours? The Caido community should be buzzing.”
“I haven’t made it public yet. There are some side effects I’m still working out. The Caido is bombarded by every emotion he’s ever repressed. It can be intense. One Caido had to, as he put it, get deprogrammed. Another effect: the couple is emotionally bonded, perhaps permanently. And one Caido experienced a resurgence of buried memories.”
Kasabian’s eyes shimmered. “Buried memories?”
“It apparently caused some big problems, but he couldn’t give me any details beyond that. He just wanted me to know that it happened.”
He went silent for a few moments, rubbing his fingers across his mouth. “Can you do it so a Caido can simply experience desire?”
“Only if you have a committed partner who wants to be permanently bonded to you.”
“That would not be a good thing. For any woman.”
“Why?” The mystery of him pulled at her, the dark desire she’d sensed.
“Oh, love, there you go, needing to help even though you know you should run the other way.” He lowered his chin, the streetlight reflecting off his razor-sharp jawline. “And you should. I’m forty ways fucked-up.”
She swallowed. No one had ever made her this off-balance. “I do want to help. Too many messed up people are not only suffering but also inflicting their misery on others.”
“I assure you that I’m not inflicting my anything on anyone.” He reached out with the back of his hand and brushed it down her cheek. “As much as I’d like to.”
She stumbled back, his touch curling throughout her body. “I should go.”
Hunger flashed in his eyes. “Yes, you should.”
Go, run, and never look back.
Chapter 2
One more game, Mr. Grey?” one of the Youth Haven kids called out as he ran the basketball down the court.
Kasabian dropped down on the bleachers, catching his breath. “I’m done.”
“Getting old, Kasabian?” one of the older kids chided.
“Yeah, thirty-two and over the hill.” Of course, that was to these kids. They couldn’t yet comprehend how long Crescents lived, how those years would drag on. “Five hours straight, and I can’t take a break without getting harassed?” Had he been this relentless when he lived here at Youth Haven? Yeah, probably, in his eagerness for a grown-up’s attention.
Most of the Haven kids were Caidos, but some were Dragon or Deuce orphans.
“I’m done, too.” Daniel Portofino, another volunteer, flopped down beside him, panting. “Man, I can’t believe you do this and then
work until three in the morning.”
“Helping out here is recreation for me.” He liked giving back to the place that had taken him in after his mother’s murder when he was twelve. “Actually, so is bartending.”
“I don’t know how you do that either. All those emotions, people getting hot for each other, jealousy…that’s got to kill you.”
Even joy felt like a thousand razor blades across their souls. “I’d rather suffer than shut myself off from humanity.” Kasabian wasn’t about to tell anyone he craved emotions. He leaned back on the bleacher behind him. “Ever been in love, Daniel?” At his surprised look, Kasabian added, “Not seriously in love but crushing on someone even though you knew it wouldn’t work? Because we’re Caido.”
Daniel stared at him for a long second, some odd emotion flashing behind his dark blue eyes. “Once. Long time ago. You?”
Kasabian chuckled, shaking his head. “There’s this Deuce chick who hangs out at the Witch’s Brew, and she’s freakin’ amazing.”
“A Deuce?”
Caidos couldn’t pick up each other’s emotions, but Kasabian didn’t need supernatural ability to see that the idea annoyed Daniel. Who cared? It felt good to talk about her. “Long blond hair, the creamiest skin I’ve ever seen, dresses all biker-chick in black leather and fishnets. Last night she finally danced for me, within sight of my bar. She kept checking to see if I was watching.” And he was, every spare second. It had been a long time since he’d desired a woman, and then only fleetingly. With Kye, he couldn’t seem to stop.
“Sounds painful. You going to act on it?”
“I have to do the Essex twice a night to dull the pain. But wanting her is as far as it’s going to go.” The only thing he and Kye could ever do was exchange furtive glances.
“Smart. That kind of thing never works.”
“Actually, it could.” For normal Caidos, anyway. “She’s a Zensu Deuce, and she’s come up with a permanent Essex so the Caido is immune to his lover’s emotions.”
