Wicked Secrets

by H G Lynch

  Sherry got the message and snickered, opening the door just a little. “Oh, hi Reid,” Sherry said it too loudly, too brightly, and Ember rolled her eyes. Of course it was him. “Um, Ember’s not–” Sherry started to lie, but Reid cut her off exasperatedly.

  “Don’t tell me she’s not here, because I can hear her panicking on the other side of the door. I know she’s here.” He tacked on the end bit loudly enough for Ember to hear clearly and she scoffed. Sherry stepped aside to let him in and Ember shot her a betrayed glare, shrinking back against the headboard of her bed as if she could escape the room that way.

  “Hey, it’s not like I can fight him off,” Sherry defended herself with a grin.

  Ember scowled. “You could try,” she muttered but Sherry ignored her. But when Sherz made a move to leave, Ember very nearly flew off the bed to grab her. “Don’t you dare leave Missy, or I will make you eat your words to Ricky – maybe I’m not as stable as you think,” Ember warned, and Sherry sighed at the threat.

  Reluctantly, she closed the door and dropped onto her own bed unhappily. Clearly, she thought this was something for Ember and Reid to chat about alone, but Ember did not want to be left alone with the boy. God only knew what she might say or do. “Since you thought it was so funny, you get to live through the miserable aftermath,” Ember added to her friend and then slowly, reluctantly turned to Reid, who was lingering by the door with his hands in his pockets. Before he could say a word, Ember muttered, “Yes, I told her. What did you expect?” She arched a brow, knowing how bitchy she sounded.

  Reid just shrugged. “Hey, whatever. I don’t care if she knows. I’m the school slut, remember? Things like that don’t bug me.” He flashed an arrogant smile and Ember wanted to hit him. Sherry snickered again. Reid’s eyes flickered to her and he opened his mouth to – most likely – protest to her being here, or make some smart-mouthed remark, but he obviously thought better of it and merely sighed instead.

  He looked at Ember again, just for a second. “Look, are you okay?” He wisely kept his distance from her, and he glanced around the room absently…then froze…

  “I’m just awesome,” Ember snapped, but he wasn’t paying attention.

  “Whoa, what the hell happened here?” He was frowning at the cracked mirror.

  “Ember was rather angry when she came in. She even scared Ricky a little witless, I think,” Sherry said.

  Reid nodded. “No wonder. He’s been worried about you two being stuck in together. He thinks Ember’s dangerous. I told him he’s an idiot…you’d never hurt your best friend,” he muttered distractedly as he wandered to the mirror and ran his fingers carefully over the shattered glass. Ember and Sherry gave each other an amused look and almost laughed. Even Reid, who didn’t understand the word caution, thought Ricky was being stupid.

  “Well, now that you’ve established that I haven’t died of embarrassment, would you like to leave?” Ember hoped he’d get the hint that she really didn’t want to talk to him right now. He got the hint alright; he just chose to ignore it.

  Reid turned to her with his usual smirk and said, “Nope, I wouldn’t. I know you’re embarrassed and I came to tell you not to be. It’s stupid.” Only Reid would have the idiocy to say that to her right now, especially after seeing the damage she’d done when she was angry. Ember swallowed the urge to growl at him to get out.

  “Why should you be embarrassed anyway?” he continued, “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about – seriously. Try being, oh I don’t know, a teenager? I mean, hell Emz, you’re so far beyond uptight about this sort of thing it’s insane.” Reid sauntered over to her carelessly, ever graceful. She snarled a warning at him but he just rolled his eyes and sat down on the end of her bed. “You really are too innocent sometimes,” he said, reaching over to brush his fingertips on her ankle. She pulled her leg back hastily.

  He was taunting her, and she knew it. But she couldn’t help the part of her rising up to prove him wrong, the part of her that wanted to be less innocent. She fought against it and just glared at him. He continued mockingly, “Yup, really innocent. Pure as snow. It’s cute, when you’re not being all neurotic about it.”

  “I was just telling her how there’s only two days until her mum gets here and then she won’t have the chance to really see you for two weeks,” Sherry piped up and Ember wanted to throw something at her.

  Reid arched a brow at the green-eyed girl. “And her response was?”

  Sherry giggled, “She hissed at me and said she wouldn’t–”

  Okay, time to shut them up, Ember thought. “On second thought, maybe you ought to go make up with your husband-to-be.” Ember made it clear it wasn’t a suggestion and Sherry snickered.

  “I thought you might change your mind. See you later.” Sherry hopped off her bed and bolted out the door, sending Ember a sly wink.

  “Bitch,” Ember called after her as she closed the door.

  Once Sherry was gone, Reid gave Ember a questioning look. “‘Husband-to-be?’” he quoted, amusement lacing his tone. Ember made a dismissive waving motion with her hand. Reid shrugged and fixed his lovely blue eyes on her intently, searching her face. “So, are you going to stop being so mortified now? What happened wasn’t any big deal. You just worry too much – plus, I am insanely attractive. Before you came along, girls were grabbing at me in the hallways all the time.” He grinned. Ember glared at him, fighting a smile.

  Rolling his eyes, he said, “Come on, it doesn’t make you a slut – and yes, I know that’s what you were thinking. I don’t have to read your mind to get how it works.” Reid lowered his lashes, his grin turning mischievous and making something inside her flutter. “And, you know, if we hadn’t been in the forest and I wasn’t so sure you weren’t completely in control of yourself, I wouldn’t have stopped you. God, I didn’t want to, and you know that.” Ember blushed as she picked up on what he was saying. Okay, so I practically groped him! Nobody will ever let that go, will they?! she thought with a wince. This was going to be one of those things that, in five months, Sherry would still be laughing at her for.

  “And Sherry’s right, you know? Just a couple more days and then–” Reid was saying, but Ember scowled at him. She wanted him to shut up now.

  “So, what? You expect me jump into bed with you just because I won’t see you much for two weeks? Your self-control may slip easily, but I can hold myself together pretty well usually. I’m sure I can last two weeks with you grabbing my butt every five minutes,” she snapped. Okay, so she was being bitchy, but she was uncomfortable talking about this, and she was already in a bad mood, and she really hated that there were all sorts of images popping into her head. For God’s sake, couldn’t he just let it alone already?

  Reid just arched a brow at her, waiting for her to calm down before he spoke. “No. That’s not what I expect. I just think you need to loosen up. It’s like every time I touch you, you shrink away. It’s frustrating. Maddening,” he grumbled, throwing an arm over his eyes. Ember took a deep, slow breath and closed her eyes, trying not to get angry. Some part of her knew he was right, but it was fighting with her pride, and her pride was winning.

  Ember sighed, putting her hands over her face so she wouldn’t have to look at him. “I hate to say it, but maybe – just maybe – you’re a little bit right. I just…it’s just so new to me. I don’t really know how to be with someone like that.” She dropped her hands and cast her gaze down, fiddling with the hem of her jeans nervously.

  She could feel him frowning at her, and then he said quietly, “I’m not trying to push you, Emz. I’m not. I just think you have nothing to be so embarrassed about.”

  She fidgeted, twitching, scowling at her feet. “If I stop being embarrassed, can we end this conversation?”

  He laughed, which helped alleviate a little of her tension. “If you promise to loosen up, we can end this conversation.”

  “Fine. I promise,” she said, still not looking at him.

  Then there was r
ap at the door and Sherry’s hesitant voice came through the wood. “Hey, is it safe to come in? Are you both decent?” She sniggered and Ember sighed.

  “Yes. I didn’t kill him…yet,” Ember called back and Sherry stumbled into the room, grinning. Her hair was ruffled and her cheeks flushed, and Reid and Ember exchanged a knowing look.

  “You were with Ricky,” they said together. Sherry pulled a face at them.

  “Yeah, how’d you guess?” Sherry muttered sarcastically, looking in the cracked mirror uselessly. “Ugh, we need a new mirror, like right now.” She shook her head and grabbed her hairbrush.

  “Sorry. I’ll get one tomorrow,” Ember promised.

  “I’ll come with you. I need a new lip-gloss anyway. And we’ll need a new light bulb, too.” Sherry sighed. Reid got up to leave. He turned to Ember as he opened the door and he shot her a meaningful look. Ember looked at Sherry, slyly making a circling motion with her index finger in a ‘turn-around’ gesture. Sherry grinned and looked away as Ember stepped over to Reid. He grinned, pulling her close, and then he kissed her – nothing R-rated like before, but hot enough that her heart beat a little faster. Her fingers danced along the soft skin on the back of his neck and she felt him shudder a little, his arms tightening around her briefly.

  “Mm, you drive me crazy, you know that?” Reid said as she pulled away from him and shoved him out the door. He winked at her once he was safely in the hallway. God, he was so annoyingly attractive when he grinned at her like that. He was fairly good at driving her crazy too.

  “You’re already crazy,” she said. She shot him a smirk and swung the door shut. Turning, she faced Sherry, who was giggling and grinning like an idiot. “We are never talking about this again. Got it?”

  Sherry just shrugged noncommittally. Ember glared at her and flopped down on her bed, burying her face in her pillow. Damn, it’s going to be a long couple of weeks, she thought with a sigh.

  Chapter Six

  ** Ember **

  That night, Ember dreamt again of Owen. She hadn’t had an Owen-dream since the night before she got attacked by the witches – Monday night? Who knew anymore? It was hard to keep track of the days, but at least she’d been sleeping better…until tonight.

  *****

  “Great. Back to gloat, to say ‘I told you so’? You can save your breath because I really don’t care,” Ember snapped at the dark-haired boy in front of her, and he merely leaned back against the wall. For once they were in a normal setting: Sherry and Ember’s room. Owen didn’t even look at her, gazing instead at his own black trainers. His smooth black hair fell over his face, shadowing his eyes, but she could just see the frown on his mouth.

  “Are you going to say something or just stand there like a statue?” Ember muttered, eyeing the boy cautiously. He glanced up at her sharply through strands of dark hair, his eyes swirling with anger.

  “It's such a shame. You didn’t just submit to the witches, but also to your boyfriend.” He sneered the word ‘boyfriend’ and Ember glared at him. He raised his head to glare back.

  “I didn’t exactly submit to anything. And it’s none of your business anyway. You still haven’t told me why you keep showing up here.” Ember sat down on her bed and crossed her legs; if she was going to have to argue with Owen again, she might as well be relaxed while she did it.

  “I’ve told you several times. I’m here to warn you, and to find you. I will find you Ember, and if you think about it, you’ll realise that.” Okay, they were back to the insane ramblings of a madman. When he started on at this, he stopped making any sense. Ember just rolled her eyes, sadly used to it by now.

  She absently wound a lock of hair around her finger as she said, “Yeah, yeah. I ought to start listening to my dreams. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to–” Owen cut her off, flickering like a holograph and suddenly appearing in front of her. One second, he was across the room, she blinked, and then he was right there, crouching over her and forcing her to lean back on her bed. Her breath caught in surprise, and she swallowed nervously.

  “Ember, listen to me. I’m going to find you, and you have to believe me. Trust me. This is more than a dream and you know it. You’ll see.” His eyes flashed and bored into hers with an intensity that almost hurt to look at. “Ember, I know more than you think I do.”

  Being forced to lean further and further back, Ember’s voice came out uneven when she spoke. “I don’t care what you know. So, stop showing up in my dreams. You warned me about the witches, and I didn’t listen. Go laugh at me in a corner if you want, but stay out of my dreams. I’d rather dream about my boyfriend.” And with that, Ember shoved him roughly backwards and he stumbled against the wall.

  Owen looked surprised for a moment, and then his mouth pressed into an angry line. “You won’t dream of me again then. You won’t have to soon enough.” His words made no sense to Ember but a chill ran through her anyway, and Owen shot her a cold, mirthless smile that made her shudder. Then he dissolved.

  *****

  Ember rolled over, refusing to open her eyes and check the time. It was still early – that much she knew – and she was going to go back to sleep. Hugging her duvet, she waited for sleep to swallow her up again, trying to forget her disturbing dream.

  Chapter Seven

  ** Ember **

  The sexy voice of Enrique Iglesias filtered through the stereo, filling the room with an intoxicating beat. Ember was listening to one of her old CD’s and couldn’t help but dance a little as she whirled around the room, tidying after her most recent fit of anger.

  It had happened just after she and Sherz had returned from shopping – funny that they’d been picking up things to replace what Emz broke yesterday – and they’d happened to bump into Kara and some of her bitchy friends. Of course, insults were exchanged, only this time Kara got quite the fright when Ember grabbed her by the front of her low-cut shirt and lifted her three inches off the floor. If Reid hadn’t rounded the corner at just the right time…well, Kara might’ve seen what a ‘five-foot skanky midget’ could really do. Reid had snarled at Kara, and led Ember and a stunned Sherry back to their room. Ember had been so angry she’d punched the wall hard enough to dent the plaster, and a bottle of her perfume had toppled off the dresser, smashing on the floor.

  Sherry had left to let her calm down for the moment and Reid had gone off to…okay, she wasn’t actually sure where he’d run off to, but she didn’t mind. Ember dumped the shattered remains of her perfume bottle in the bin and resumed dancing. She was glad nobody was watching as she lifted her arms and swayed her hips dramatically. She didn’t normally dance, not even at parties, but she supposed she was taking a little of Reid’s advice to loosen up.

  She hummed along to the words, twisting and smiling and laughing at her own ridiculousness. Shouldn’t vampires have more composure? She thought vaguely, flipping her hair out of her eyes and winking at herself in the brand new, shiny mirror above the dresser. Light pouring through the window caught in her hair, making it gleam as she tossed it back over her shoulder.

  Her heart was beating a little faster from the exercise, and she was feeling free and careless despite all the problems she had stacked behind her. Her mother was coming tomorrow but she didn’t care. The witches were still out there somewhere, probably conjuring some sort of spell to bring her to them, but what did it matter really? She was no longer human; she was some half-breed creature who couldn’t control her powers or her emotions. So what?

  She let out a little exuberant giggle and danced on the spot, swaying her body in time to the music, mouthing the words to herself. And then her heart jumped as the chorus started. Suddenly there were hands on her hips and a solid warm body pressed against her back. Her pulse sped up considerably.

  “’Cause it’s the way you touch me baby.” The words weren’t just from the stereo, but from a sensual voice by her ear, from the soft lips brushing her neck. She took in a slow, shuddering breath and her eyes slid closed, her heart th
umping hard in her chest. Holy hell, she thought, feeling her stomach flutter. Lean, strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back against a muscled chest, that soft mouth pressing a kiss onto her neck. Lovely chills ran down her spine and her stomach tensed as Reid’s fingers played along the edge of her jeans. She gasped.

  “Hi. You’re back,” she managed to murmur breathlessly. With his fingers hooked through the belt loops of her jeans, he was forcing her to move against him, and it was doing delicious things to her own body.

  The stereo continued to pour out lyrics and Reid just hummed against her neck, one hand snaking under her loose t-shirt. His fingertip circled her bellybutton, and Ember bit her lip, wanting to beg him to stop before she ended up as a melted puddle on the floor.

  “Oh it’s the way you touch me baby,” he whispered the words into her skin, sending flashes of heat out around her whole body. She wanted to turn around and slide her hands under his shirt and kiss him until they were both senseless. Reid chuckled seductively in her ear and she felt his fangs touch her neck as he kissed her throat, making her shudder in delight.

  “Reid…” She breathed his name hopelessly, painfully aware of his light breathing against her neck and the unquenchable fire building in her stomach. She was going to melt if he didn’t let her go, but part of her didn’t want him to. Part of her wanted more, much more–

  “Hey, Emz, have you calmed down…oooh.” Sherry came striding into the room, grinning, but her smile dropped when she realised what she’d walked in on. Her green eyes widened, and Ember groaned internally, why does this keep happening?