Changing Beauty (Book 2) (The Deadly Beauties Live On) (3 page)

“Get lost while I take care of this,” he says, leaning back up and motioning to the mess of water that Captain Jack Sparrow could navigate his ship through.

He winks at me, and I study him, angling my head back so that I can fully appreciate all of his amazing features. He really is a work of art. But why is he so persistent with me?

“Can I ask you why you’re doing all this?” I ask, proud that my voice has finally returned to normal.

His smile quirks up, and he tilts his head. “I would have thought it’d be obvious by now. I’ve never been accused of being subtle.”

He bends, moving his lips too close to mine, and I reflexively take a step back. Instead of acting insulted, he seems to grin bigger, a challenge in his eyes.

“I’ll wear you down, sweet girl. Then I’ll make you desperate to tarnish that halo.”

No halo to tarnish.

He winks again, backing away, and strutting out my door. “I’ll be back in an hour. It’ll be hard for my friends to work with you here. Just leave the door unlocked,” he says without turning around, and I finally take a breath.

Definitely not subtle. And I really like that.

Jenny is scowling at me when I finally acknowledge her again, and she rolls her eyes.

“You’re only on the menu until he realizes you’re as boring as they come.”

She turns on a heel and storms toward her room. Apparently she’s not as happy as I am about Thad’s obvious intentions. That’s the first time she’s ever been mean to me.

Chapter 4

THAD

“You really could wear a shirt on occasion,” Gage says as he walks into Alyssa’s old house—Roslyn’s current home.

I smirk over at him, glancing down at my modest attire—jeans and boots. Good enough.

“Roslyn will be back soon, and I’m going to make sure she gets another eyeful.”

I waggle my eyebrows, and he groans while sloshing through the small flood in the house.

“How the hell did this happen?” he asks, taking in the standing mess.

“The roommate tried to play plumber for something she dropped, but the water flow was ridiculous. Any chance there’s some residual magic here that Alyssa’s spells left behind? Something this bad could have only been caused by something less mortal.”

He studies the house for a minute, closing his eyes. Finally, he opens his eyes again and shrugs. “There’s some residual magic. I guess Alyssa didn’t clean it up as well as she thought.”

I motion around the house. “You gonna help me out?”

In less than a few seconds, the water is gone; the floors are clean, appearing freshly refurnished; and any damage the water might have done is gone.

“This is the easy stuff,” he says, offering me a lazy, proud grin, as I inspect the house. But he starts studying me. “What’s going on with you and this chick?”

My smile returns. “Nothing yet. She’s playing hard to get. But I’m me. I’ll win her over.”

He snorts out a laugh while leaning against the counter. “It’s been a while since I was in this house.”

“Yeah,” I say, my grin turning taunting. “The last time was when you were trying to get into Alyssa’s pants. Now you’re staying in her sister’s.”

He narrows his eyes at me, and I laugh. I love pissing him off.

“Real funny.” He shifts his attention to the old sofa Alyssa left behind years ago. Thanks to magic, it still looks brand new. “My view on life was distorted then. Kimber has changed pretty much everything I thought I knew. Alyssa and I were good, but Kimber and I are epic.”

Ah, hell. Is he really grinning and talking about girly shit? At least he’s not walking around in a depressing stupor.

“So what’s the deal with this girl you’re having me clean house for?” he asks.

“Roslyn Porter is her name.”

He stares expectantly. “And what’s her story?”

Shrugging, I explain, “Orphaned at infancy, parents unknown or presumed dead, and put into the system shortly after due to no other family members being available. She bounced around homes, ran away numerous times, fell off the grid between eighteen and twenty after finally getting out of the system, and now she’s in college full time. Despite her erratic living situation, she managed to maintain great grades all through school, and she has always had a job until the past two years.

“She doesn’t have any social media going on, her phone rarely gets used, she doesn’t have any bank accounts… I assume that’s because she has always been sort of isolated, and it’s made her not too trusting. This house is the first permanent investment she’s ever made.

“Her medical records prove she suffered abuse as a child, which is probably her reasons for her running away. You’d think she’d be a little less sweet, given her past. I guess that’s what has me so intrigued. She acts unjaded even though she’s faced a tough world. It means she’s pretty damn strong.”

Gage tilts his head, studying me like I’m a freak of nature or fucked up science experiment, and I shift uncomfortably. I don’t like that damn look in his eyes right now. And why the fucking hell did I just tell him all that?

“You’re cyber stalking her? I was just asking if she was into you, and I was curious about how into her you are. Apparently I’ve found my answer.”

I scowl at him. “You did that, didn’t you? You made me have fucking diarrhea of the mouth or some shit.”

His eyebrows cock up, and his knowing smile grows. “I don’t have that sort of spell. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been seducing another girl for information back when I was dating Alyssa—which got me dumped. Sounds like you just needed someone to talk to, buddy.”

The immature, mocking lilt to his voice isn’t the norm for him. Jackass dark user.

I’m not going to start talking about my motherfucking feelings with him like a couple of chicks. I can’t help it the girl has a story that has me intrigued. I can’t help it that she got under my skin that first night at the bar. But I can help how much I divulge.

“Any word on what we’re looking for?” I ask him, shifting the topic before we skip to painting nails and braiding hair.

He shakes his head, his serious face returning. “Some of the bodies are mauled, some of them are just drained—which definitely points to blood drinkers.” He pauses to eye me, and I shrug. I don’t drain anyone dry—anymore. “And there are numerous reports of missing immortals from this area, by the way,” he adds.

Always something.

“Don’t we have enough shit to worry about?” I ask rhetorically.

Gage glances out the window, and he smirks before backing away, staying out of view of the front door. “Probably should put a tack in this conversation. Your girl is back.”

My smile returns just as… her stupid and annoying roommate walks in.

“Wrong girl,” I mumble under my breath, and he chokes back a laugh.

“There you are,” the roommate says, batting her lashes as she tosses her red hair over her shoulder, smiling wickedly at me. “I was hoping you’d still be here.”

“She’s your type,” Gage says under his breath, keeping his voice low enough for only me to hear.

“Dick,” I retort, shifting my attention back to… what was her name?

My brain only stores important information.

“Where’s Roslyn?” I ask, casually reminding her that I’m not here for any other reason.

Her eye-roll is enough to announce her jealousy. “I don’t know. We split up.”

She takes a few saucy steps toward me, and Gage smothers a laugh with a cough while moving farther into the kitchen, staying as out of view as he can.

“You know Roslyn is all blushing and shy, right? The wildest she ever gets is ice cream on a school night.”

Which is something I steer very clear of. Usually. But something about the dark-haired beauty has me entranced, and I’m sure as hell going to explore what it is.

“I happen to love ice cream,” I quip, prompting Gage to laugh loudly this time.

I grin when she scowls, making it obvious she’s used to getting her way, and she moves in farther to view the dark user with all his piercings and exposed tats on his arms.

“Hi,” she says, her smile quickly reforming. “I’m Jenny. And I’m very single.”

She thrusts her hand out toward him, but Gage’s humor dies into smugness. “Gage,” he says curtly, ignoring her proffered hand. “And I’m not single at all.”

Her frown forms instantly just as Roslyn walks in. That’s more like it.

“Oh,” she says, her eyes wide. “You’re still shirtless… I mean, you’re still here.”

Fucking sweet.

“Yep,” I say, grinning bigger when her cheeks heat with a flattering shade of pink.

In barely a whisper that immortals can hear, Gage says, “Way too sweet for you.”

Sweet is becoming my new favorite flavor.

I look over to see he has covered his mouth with his hand so that neither girl would see his lips moving.

“Did you hear something?” Roslyn asks, tilting her head.

Apparently he didn’t whisper that as quietly as I thought.

“Your water is gone,” I say to distract her. “Which means you owe me a date at the party. Take the sidewalk all the way to the lake beach. Don’t cut through the woods. It’ll be the house with all the people.”

I wink at her, moving toward her in a way that has her lip quivering. Damn, I’m good.

She looks up to meet my eyes when I crowd her space, and a smile blooms across her lips that I wasn’t expecting. In fact, it catches me by complete surprise, and I almost kiss her lips just to see how that smile feels.

“You did all this that quick? We’ve only been gone a couple of hours.”

It would probably freak her out if she knew it took less than a minute for Gage to do it.

“My friend brought a crew. You’ve already missed them. Now, about that date. I can come pick you up if you prefer.”

Her smile broadens beautifully, and she looks away bashfully. She’s pretty fucking cute right now. Most hot chicks aren’t cute.

Her nearly-black hair stops just past her shoulders, hanging loose and straight. Her eyes are almost violet, which is definitely all the more appealing. In her jean, cut-off shorts and loose shirt that hangs off one shoulder, she looks good enough to eat—literally. I wouldn’t mind a small taste of her.

But, unless I get someone to dust her memories, I won’t be getting that sort of taste. That’s fine. There are other ways to taste her.

My grin only grows at the thought of those
other
ways.

“Can I pick you up?” I repeat, twirling a lock of her soft, dark hair around my finger and giving it a tug.

“I don’t even know your last name.”

Oh shit. What name am I using right now? It’s hard to keep up with. Unlike some of the ones from our group, I change mine regularly to stay under the radar.

“Jameson,” I say at last, hoping that’s the right one. If it’s not, it’ll be the name I take while I’m here.

“Thad Jameson. Nice name. Mine is Porter, by the way,” she says, smiling that sweet shy smile of hers.

“And mine is Thompson,” the roommate says. She’s persistent, I’ll give her that.

“What time will I be picking you up?” I ask Roslyn, still ignoring the other girl.

“Um… whatever time you want,” she says unsurely.

And score. I knew she’d eventually cave. I’m irresistible.

“Then I’ll be here around ten. Unless that’s too late. But honestly the party won’t get going good until at least eleven. Never does.”

Please don’t let her say that’ll be too late. I have to do scout duty until then.

She bites that damn bottom lip of hers that I fully intend on sucking later, and she gives me a quick nod of acceptance.

“Any chance I can steal you away from your girlfriend for the party?” the roommate asks Gage from behind me, and Roslyn bites back a smile while shaking her head.

“You can try.” Kimber’s voice has my eyes snapping up, and I cough on a laugh when I see her leaning against the doorjamb, her eyes alight with mild amusement. The roommate is in for an ass kicking if she pisses off Kimber.

The roommate scrambles away from Gage who is covering his smile with his hand, and her jaw drops when she sees the immortal beauty standing at the entryway.

“Am I interrupting?” Kimber drawls, mocking Gage with her eyes and her tone.

He reaches her in just a few strides, and he doesn’t waste time with useless words. Instead, he makes a statement by kissing the hell out of her. Rolling my eyes, I turn back to Roslyn.

“I’ll see you sooner than later, considering I’m the boy next door.”

She smiles at me even though she’s trying not to. Got her.

“We need to go. I tried calling both of you, but your phones are apparently not working,” Kimber says.

Shit. Work. Too much work and nowhere nearly enough play. I just got Roslyn warmed up to me.

Gage and I both check our phones, but I have no missed calls or texts.

“Signal in here is bad,” Roslyn says, her eyes still on my bare chest. I’ll never wear a shirt again if she keeps staring like that.

The sun is already setting, and I unfortunately do my best work at night. So that means I actually need to leave.

“Then let’s go,” I say on a reluctant breath that has Kimber giving me an I-don’t-care-that-I’m-cock-blocking-you look.

Then I turn to Roslyn, and I make sure to give her the smile she seems to love the most. “Soon, Roslyn.”

She blushes again, and I follow everyone out. I’d better get to see her before the party. I’ll be pissed if I don’t.