by C. G. Blaine
He stops and scowls at me. “You’re such an asshole.”
And then he drops out of my apartment, leaving my hand suspended in the air when he goes. I leave the amulet on the counter by my phone and grab the crystal to reengage the spell when someone knocks.
“Still good,” I call, setting the crystal down again.
The knocking continues, and I shake my head. Rosdan’s erratic episodes always put me in a good mood.
I head for the door, grinning as I let him back in. “You couldn’t possibly have another spell—”
I cut off, my decent mood crumbling. My grip on the wood tightens while Nyx blinks up at me.
“Hey.” Her wet hair drips on the carpet, nothing but a white towel covering her. The corner tucked in the front dips the terry cloth down to show her cleavage.
Fucking hell. I assumed the whining pipes meant Kai was in the shower.
She holds the top of the towel with both hands. “The hot water cut out on me, and Kai said I could finish my shower over here?”
I should say no and send her back across, but then the elevator dings down the hall, and she gives me a pleading look.
Shit.
I back out of the way, so she can rush inside.
“Thank you,” she calls over her shoulder.
I follow her. As she pads across my living room, my gaze stays on her bare feet—the safest place to look right now even if the black paint on her toes is sexy enough to give anyone a foot fetish. She turns around in the doorway, waiting for me when I make it past her legs.
“A coworker took me to one of those places where you drink wine and paint.” She stretches out her arm, splattered with a rainbow along with a swipe of blue on her neck. “She got tipsy and overzealous with the acrylics.”
“Good to know,” I say, not sure why I should care.
“I just didn’t want you to think I randomly bathe at people’s apartments in the middle of the day or anything.”
The or anything sounds like it carries more weight, and my lips twitch, fighting off a smirk. “Got it.”
A non-acrylic pink paints her cheeks as she reaffirms her hold on the towel. “Will your shower work for more than a few minutes?”
I nod. When I moved in, I waited until Avery was panicking over a screwup in her school schedule and suggested the landlord fix a few things. The shitty plumbing was number one on the list. Otherwise, anytime the apartment above or below me used any water, my shower ran cold. Probably the reason Nyx is about to climb into mine.
Once she scampers off, I decide to head across the hall and tell Kai to ask before sending wet and naked chicks to my apartment. But as I turn, the water kicks on, and I glance at the bathroom door—cracked ajar. I forgot to warn her to turn the handle so it would latch without springing open, not a repair priority since I live alone. Even less of one right now.
Steam rolls out of the shower as she drops the towel. Raven hair cascades down to the middle of her back, and the bare curves of her ass are even sexier than I imagined.
My hands flex at the memory of touching her. At how she would feel with her skin slick from the humidity. By the time she turns for the shower, I’m hard. Standing in the middle of my damn living room.
It takes a lot to look away. To pay attention to the heat now flooding through my chest. But then, I couldn’t give a fuck about Nyx because everything inside of me pulses Avery.
It’s instant. All my thoughts are on her face, her light pounding through me. And the floor drops out from under me, the world around me shifting until solid concrete catches under my feet.
I search the abandoned sidewalk, locking on to the blonde hair disappearing around a corner. I drop again to the corner rather than walking, and when I step out, I sense the guy before I see him through the front window of the grocery store that Avery’s heading toward, cliché black ski mask over his face.
What will happen plays out in my head. He’ll grab the money in the cash drawer—the clerk standing there, frozen—and then he’ll shout a vague threat, backing to the automatic doors before he turns and runs straight into the completely innocent blonde who holds my eternity in her heartbeat.
I take off at a dead sprint. The guy stuffs the cash into his coat with one hand, the other waving the gun. He’s only a single step backward when I slam into Avery from behind, launching us into another store’s darkened entryway. Everything falls away but her. And then the ground returns under me, and the two of us are standing on the top level of a parking garage with nothing else but a lonely white Escalade.
The light starts to fade with her no longer in danger, but it picks right back up as she frantically glances around, confused about where she is and how.
She spins to face me, and my hands fly to her cheeks.
“Shh,” I tell her when she whimpers, panic swimming in her eyes. “You’re okay.” She calms, vision glazing slightly, and I continue, “You changed your mind about going to the store. It wasn’t such a bad day after all, and you haven’t smoked in weeks. Why start again?”
The light starts to fade as she nods.
“Head to your car and go home. You won’t remember seeing me or talking to me.” Before I lose all the light, I let go of her and drop back to my apartment, landing in the same spot I was standing in a few minutes ago.
I grab the palm stone from my pocket, flipping to Avery’s side. She’s just coming out of the daze, her head swiveling side to side until she finds the elevator. I watch for her to slip the keys into her ignition, and then I collapse into my recliner, listening to the water from the shower.
Avery is safe. Nyx is naked. And as fucked as it sounds, I’m still hard.
The next day, Kai plants himself at the coffee shop with his laptop again. In high school, he interned for a tech company and scored a job with them right after graduation. Perfect for him since he can work when and where he wants. He mostly dicks around and then works a week straight to meet a deadline.
Since he’s immobile, I decide to stick close to Avery. It has nothing to do with Nyx or how I keep undressing her in my head each time she walks past the glass storefront.
Aves works at a daycare a few days a week after her classes. By the time she finishes her shift, it’s already dark. She parks her car under a lamp in the lot and keeps a hand on the pepper spray in her purse, senses peeled for any creeps she might encounter on her way into the building. A Watcher’s dream come true.
I give her a head start before I follow inside. Running into each other in the lobby might lead to a conversation about work in the elevator. They think I sell life insurance—not the most creative cover, but boring enough that they rarely feign interest. Which is good because I know shit about it.
I’ve barely walked into my apartment when my phone vibrates. I toss my keys on the counter and fish out my phone to check the message from Kai.
Chinese. Get your ass over here.
Wednesdays are the one night of the week he stays in without question. Kai and Avery usually drag me over to their place or else show up at my door, barging in when I answer. Not my preference, given the hidden compartment in my closet chock-full of scrolls, vials of Nephilim blood, and other shit that might land me on a few lists.
Rather than waltz my way into another awkward night, I pull out the palm stone. I turn to Kai’s side and focus on his face to avoid any unwanted visuals—something all Fallen have learned the hard way at some point or another. Once his image appears in the crystal, I slowly pull back to reveal more of his surroundings. I scan for Nyx, but I only see the twins, sorting through paper bags and carryout containers.
Before heading over, I jump in the shower. I’m getting dressed when my phone lights up with another text from Cursed One. I swipe my phone off the bed and read through the spell he sent. I grab the amulet from the nightstand and clasp it while I chant the words. Unsurprisingly, nothing happens. Our brother was smart. He wouldn’t have used anything easily figured out to access the power.
I
put it on, hiding it in my shirt. Call me a sentimental bastard, but I still can’t stomach throwing it in the closet with the rest of my mystical stash. As I walk into the twins’ apartment, I’m texting Rosdan to keep searching. And when I look up, my eyes land on Nyx.
She’s on the couch, her back against the arm and her legs draped over Kai with Avery on the other end. Damn it. I should have rechecked the palm stone. I blame Ros, getting his Cursed One juju all over me via text message.
“About time,” Kai says as I cross in front of the TV to a shitty papasan chair. The wicker creaks under me, and I’ll count myself lucky if it holds for the next few minutes until I leave.
Kai tosses me a set of chopsticks, but I throw them right back.
“I already ate,” I say, glancing at my phone.
I haven’t, and I am starving, but it’s almost eight, which means—
“Shit.” Avery drops her chopsticks into the container before setting it on the end table. She grabs her laptop out of her bag on the floor and then rushes into the hall that leads to their bedrooms.
Weekly video chat with their grandparents for the save.
Kai’s not far behind, sliding out from under Nyx’s legs. He rounds the couch and leans over the back to plant a kiss on the top of her head. “Be back in a few.”
She nods. “Take your time.”
We both watch him until he disappears too.
A few seconds later, Avery says, “Hi, Grandpa,” and Kai shuts the door, muffling her voice.
I’ve already stood by the time Nyx turns her head around, and I feel her tracking me through the living room.
“Really?” she says. “You’d rather leave than be alone with me for five minutes?”
I stop a few feet from the end of the couch. “Who said I was leaving?”
I was, but now that she called me out, I veer into the kitchen. When I come back with a beer, I take Avery’s seat and pull her carton of dumplings onto my lap.
“Oh.” Nyx twists at the gold earring wrapping around her cartilage. “Sorry. I thought you—”
“Weren’t mature enough to treat meaningless sex like exactly that?” I open a set of chopsticks and add, “Trust me, it will take more than you to get rid of me.”
She drops her hand and presses her lips together, glancing at the closed door like Kai will burst out and save her. Serves her right. I could be across the hall already instead of swimming in awkward silence.
“So,” she says after a minute.
Oh, fuck me. I should have just left.
“How did you and Kai meet?” She smiles, tight-lipped and forced as hell. “He said you’ve been friends for a while but didn’t give me any details.”
“Skydiving.”
“You’re one of those people too, huh?”
I look up, dumpling suspended halfway to my mouth, and a hint of her real smile appears.
“Ready to throw yourself out of a plane or off a cliff like you have a death wish,” she says.
I snort. “Not exactly.”
It’s more like, I was sick of constantly trying to differentiate between real danger and the kid’s adrenaline. I needed a way to keep closer tabs before I went insane—or even worse, before I missed something. Now, I can be right there with him, enjoying the rush of light while we casually fall from ten thousand feet.
Nyx waits until I’m done chewing and readjusts, bringing a knee up to her chest. “Explain it to me then because I don’t understand why Kai does it.” One more glance over her shoulder. “What’s the appeal?”
“It has nothing to do with wanting to die. The exact opposite, actually. The thrill makes him feel alive.”
Kai’s done the same math I have, noticed the pattern emerging in his lineage. He thinks he’ll die young and plans to do all the living he can before it happens. Even as an immortal, I get it. If I thought I would lose the light forever, I would be doing whatever I could to drown in it. To feel it in every space of my being for as long as I could before it was gone.
She studies me for a second. “But not you?”
I shrug, less interested in the conversation now than thirty seconds ago. The next question she asks, I’ll fake a phone call. But instead, she stares at the couch cushion between us. “I guess that’s the difference between Kai and me.”
I should leave it, but the word tumbles out of my mouth. “What?”
“I’m not so worried about feeling alive as much as I am interested in surviving.” She looks up. “You know?”
My jaw clenches as I nod, dropping my attention back to the container in my hand. Surviving. What my entire time on Earth has been in a sense. Just getting through each day, snailing my way toward what I really want.
Nyx averts her gaze fast when I look up, but not fast enough for me to not notice she was still staring at me. She scans the room, pretending I didn’t catch her. I rest my head on the cushion, my face turned to see her. It doesn’t take long at all for her eyes to return to me, and they stay fixed on mine.
Ninety percent of us knowing each other has been just this. Watching each other. From across the bar, from down the couch. She leans to the side, her cheek against the fabric. Fuck, I need to leave. Haul my ass across the hall and stop imagining take two with her.
Maybe Nyx comes to the same conclusion because when a faded laugh reaches us, she jerks her head up. She checks the door before swinging her feet off the couch.
“Tell Kai I needed to go?” she asks, slipping on her shoes.
She doesn’t wait for my answer, beelining for the door. Unlike her, I make no attempt to stop her. In fact, I’ve just made the decision to lie low until this chick vacates Kai’s life. Back to shadow mode. And while I’m at it, I need to get laid. Preferably by a woman who can keep her damn eyes to herself.
“I have got to get rid of Nyx.”
Kai lets himself in while I fucking sing the “Hallelujah” chorus inside. Once he’s rifled through my cupboards for chips and grabbed us beers, he falls onto my sofa. I crack open my can and throw back the footrest on the recliner. His announcement is unsurprising since he’s creeping up on the three-week mark of no sex.
He leans forward, hanging his head between his shoulders. “You can fucking tell just by looking at me that I haven’t gotten any, huh?”
“Yeah, you’ll have to explain that one to me.”
Kai slumps back, sipping his beer and staring off at nothing. “She said she’s sick of meaningless sex and she wants something real.”
I raise my eyebrows at him. “That sounds like the opposite of everything you want.”
He shrugs. “It is. But she’s so hot, dude. You know she’d be a phenomenal lay. Maybe I should just hold out a little longer.”
Before I can encourage him to lose her number, he snaps his head up, digging in his pocket for his phone. “Shit.” He stares at the screen, and I get a flash of warmth in my chest. “There’s a fight tomorrow night. At the Border Heights Hotel.”
Underground boxing. Not my favorite of his activities, but I figure I can work it to my advantage.
“So, kick some ass in the ring, and then we’ll go celebrate by ending your dry spell.”
The smile spreads across his face in record time.
Fuck. Yes. My charge is back.
The first sign of warmth hits my chest as we cross the dark parking lot. We take the service entrance into the hotel. The light stays at a steady stream and then spikes with Kai’s first step over the threshold. Adrenaline runs high on fight nights and not just in him. The air buzzes, everyone in the room on another frequency. It also means a cramped space with sweaty mortals with just as much alcohol seeping out of their pores and a fifty-fifty shot at someone puking near me.
“I love this,” Kai says, bouncing around. He shakes out his hands to redirect his energy. “The feeling right before a fight. Nothing better.”
I nod and slap him on the back, more energy flowing through me. This is why I haven’t put the suggestion kibosh on boxing. I’
m just as addicted to the high. It also helps that the kid has yet to take a hit in ten fights. I have a feeling the first time a fist connects with his jaw and knocks his ass out cold, I’ll change my fucking tune.
We’re almost to the stairwell that leads to the basement when he slows down, checking his phone.
“Hold up.” He turns back the way we just came, and as I look, the door at the end swings open.
In walk two burly dudes. One holds out his arm to keep the door open for someone.
And I sense her before she passes him.
“Are you fucking kidding?” I say.
He just shrugs. “She’s fucking hot, and I’m so close.” He holds up his finger and thumb, showing me just how fucking close, before he saunters down the hall toward Nyx.
I shake my head, bringing my hands to the back of my neck. My reaction isn’t only to the fact that I can’t avoid this woman, even when I try, but also to her outfit in general. A short black leather skirt and a tight white tank top. The clicks of her knee-high boots echo through the hallway.
Once she’s in reach, Kai pulls her to him, his hands running over her. His lips brush hers, then they move up her jaw. Our eyes meet as his mouth reaches her ear. She half-smiles at whatever he said and looks away from me to him, and my jaw clenches.
As they walk toward me, I glare at them both. “You plan on taking her in the ring with you?”
He waves me off, ushering her into the stairwell. “She’ll be fine with you.”
They disappear down the steps, and I follow, inwardly cursing myself for not locking him and Aves in a room somewhere. Again.
Kai ducks into a hallway, leaving Nyx with me at the base of the stairs.
I flip him off when he glances back and shouts, “Take care of her for me.”
“That bad of a request?” she asks.
I look down at her as she’s staring up at me. Melty. Fucking. Eyes.
“Not an easy one. You’re barely wearing clothes and about to be in a room full of dudes riding high on hormones.”
Shouting fills the stairwell when I push the metal door open.
Nyx walks through but stops just inside. Her gaze drifts over the sea of unwashed men spread in front of us and then down at her bare legs, and she crosses her arms over the peek of skin between her top and skirt. “Oh.”
