Craved (10 page)

“Fine, but you’re buying my drinks all
night to make it up to me,” she compromised and then I heard the
click of the call ending. I flipped my phone shut with a little
more pressure than I meant to. I hoped that Fiona’s date with Liam
would go really well tomorrow night, that girl needed a
distraction.

“Here it is,” Andy said holding out a
white garment bag.

“Thank you,” I said as I grabbed the
bag. “’Night Andy.”

I wanted to just throw her dress into
the back of my Jeep but that would be immature, so I carefully laid
it across the backseat and headed for home.

I flipped my cell phone open and
dialed Aiden; he would’ve been awake for an hour now.

“Yes, my Gwen?

I felt slightly embarrassed about what
had happened between us the night before but not enough to let it
bother me. He was gorgeous and I was single, so we hadn’t done
anything wrong.

“Are you busy tonight?”

“Oh, are you planning our first
official date?”

“No, I’m going to Hemlock tonight with
Fiona and Micah. I wanted to know if you’d do me a
favor.”

“Ah yes, how could I forget
that you’ll be with Micah tonight. What is this favor,
my
Gwen?” he asked, his
voice only slightly annoyed.

“I need you to come with us so that
Fiona won’t be alone while we question someone.”

“So you want me to baby-sit while you
go off with your ex?”

I cringed, not because he sounded mad,
but because what I was asking sounded really bad. I was one hundred
percent sure I was over Micah and interested in Aiden, but I was
doing a lousy job of showing it.

“Just for a short time and then we can
spend the rest of the night dancing,” I told him, hoping that would
be enough to entice him.

“Only if you promise me some really
good dancing, maybe a lap dance?” I could hear the amusement in his
voice. I cringed at the thought of grinding on top of Aiden in a
room full of people.

“Possibly, I wouldn’t risk not coming
if I were you!” I could play games just as well as he
could.

“Consider me intrigued,” he said, his
voice low and sexy. A flashback to our intimacy the previous night
invaded my mind and sent chills racing through my entire body. He
had that effect over me.

“I’m pulling into the apartment
complex right now. We’re leaving within the hour,” I told him and
then I flipped my phone shut. Grinning like an adolescent girl. I
grabbed Fiona’s dress and headed up the concrete stairs.

She had the stereo blaring, so when I
opened the door, I was hit with the thumping bass line to some kind
of techno song. I threw my purse and jacket on the kitchen table
and made my way back to Fiona’s bedroom. She was in the process of
standing in front of her full-length mirror and trying on different
outfits. One minute she was wearing a skimpy red dress and then it
was instantly replaced with a sparkly white one. Magic was a sure
way to save a girl time when it came to choosing an
outfit.

“Who’s the best friend in the whole
world?” I said as I held out the heavy garment bag. She gave her
reflection one last glance and then shifted it to me. “Thanks,” she
said, grabbing the bag out of my hands.

“You’re still pissed at
me?”

“Why on earth would I be pissed at
you? I mean, I planned for tonight to be a girls’ night out and
then I learn that not only is it not going to be just the girls,
but you invited your ex-boyfriend as well as your new
boyfriend.”

I knew she was really pissed because
she flung her custom made dress from Andy onto her bed. Under
normal circumstances, she would have taken it out and admired it
before carefully placing it back in the bag and hanging it
up.

Fiona and I used to go out all the
time when we were younger and liked to party. But since breaking up
with Micah and opening my shop I hadn’t gone to a club in almost
two years. She wasn’t so upset that guys were going with us; it was
the fact that she wouldn’t have my attention all night. We wouldn’t
be able to dance together or hit on cute guys together, she’d be
the odd man out.

“Look I’m really sorry. I told Micah
that I couldn’t go with him to Hemlock because I had plans with you
tonight but he planned on going at night anyway, so he invited
himself. The interview shouldn’t take that long and then we’ll have
the whole night free to have fun, I promise. The only reason Aiden
is going is because I want you to be safe. Amy Harper was from
Hemlock, so whoever killed her could be from there too and we could
be targeted,” I explained, hoping this would be the end of it.
Fiona had a hard time seeing the big picture because she lived in
the now. She wouldn’t worry about being caught by the murderer,
until she was caught.

“Yeah, okay. I’m sorry; I don’t mean
to be so bitchy. I guess when my father told me that I was too old
to still be single, it got to me. I wanted to have a fun night like
we used to, so I still felt young,” she said, her words winding
down to only a whisper.

“We’re only twenty-six. If we’re still
single when we’re forty, then you can worry. You should know not to
let anything your father says bother you.” I threw an arm around
her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. I could feel her tightened
muscles instantly relax and she leaned her head on my
shoulder.

“I’d go with the red dress,” I told
her.

Ten minutes later, after scarfing down
a turkey sandwich, it was my turn to try on outfits. I couldn’t
really go all out club glam because I had to look
semi-professional. I didn’t want to show up in a mini and stilettos
to our interview, that wouldn’t be a good first impression.
Deciding on a pair of black skinny jeans, red halter top, cropped
black leather jacket, and a red pair of Manolo Blahniks I borrowed
from Fiona. I left my long dark locks down so that they flowed down
my back and magicked my makeup. I hated putting it on
myself.

Content with my appearance, I headed
back to the kitchen. Micah and Aiden had both arrived, looking a
little testy to be standing so closely to each other. It’s a myth
that vampires and werewolves are mortal enemies. I’ve known a lot
of vampires who dated weres. In terms of Micah and Aiden, it was
simple; they just didn’t like each other.

Micah was dressed in dark washed jeans
that looked brand new. His shirt clung tightly to his broad chest,
naturally muscular from being a were with an incredible alpha
line.

Aiden was dressed completely opposite.
He wore black pinstripe dress pants with a turquoise dress shirt
that had the first two buttons undone, showcasing his smooth toned
chest. His dark hair framed his face and contrasted beautifully
against his blue eyes. “Hey guys, looking good,” I told them as I
went to get a bottled water from the fridge. Arms wrapped around my
waist and pulled me against the hardness of a chest. Even if it
wasn’t obvious, I would have known it was Aiden, even if I was
blindfolded. His energy affected me like nothing else. The scent of
spices and soap wafted all around my body and I inhaled the
pleasure of his essence. Aiden always smelled amazing.

He pulled my hair to one side to
reveal my neck. A shiver danced up my spine. He pressed a kiss at
the crook of my neck and I leaned against him, forgetting Micah was
standing only five feet away.

Fiona cleared her throat in an overly
loud tone, her way of telling us to break it up. I turned to face
her and blushed when I noticed Micah staring at me.

“You guys are worse than two horny
teens,” Fiona said. Aiden chuckled and I wanted to die of
embarrassment.

“I find it’s hard to contain myself
whenever my Gwen’s in the room.” His hand trailed down to rest on
my ass and I nudged him with my elbow. He was purposely trying to
piss off Micah and although it wasn’t prominent, Micah’s jaw line
had tightened the tiniest bit.

“Yeah, yeah, Gwen is a
mouth-watering piece of ass; can we get a move on?” Fiona said with
humor. If there was ever a person who did not crave the limelight,
it was me. I grabbed my purse and gave Aura a head rub before
heading for the door.

Rush had a long line that wrapped
almost around the block. It was only eight o’clock, still early for
the club scene to be as busy as it was. We parked a block away and
set off toward the red neon sign that seemed to be beckoning us to
approach. It sounded strange to get the heebie-jeebies from a sign,
but everything about the club set me on high alert.

After waiting for what seemed like an
eternity, it was finally our turn for admittance. The bouncer, who
I suspected had been a bodybuilder before being turned vampire,
inspected me and Fiona’s I.Ds. carefully. Micah and Aiden were
ushered inside with a nod of his shaved head. In the few
otherworldly communities that existed in the United States, it was
law that our species be listed on our driver’s licenses. Mr. big,
bald, bouncer guy seemed overly excited that two witches were
willingly walking into Rush. I figured there would only be one
reason they’d be excited about witches, and it had everything to do
with brew.

The meathead stamped both of our hands
with an ink I couldn’t see; maybe it showed up under a black light?
With a sly grin, Fiona and I were also given the head nod to enter.
The fact that the bouncer’s fangs had peeked out ever so slightly,
should have been a warning that this night wasn’t going to go as
smoothly as I had hoped.

The inside of Rush was dark. Green and
blue laser lights pulsated in sync with the loud techno music while
the entire floor was alive with gyrating bodies. Only their shadows
were visible, lending a sort of eerie feeling. I could tell there
was a balcony that surrounded the entire floor, but I couldn’t see
who or what was up there.

During the car ride, we agreed that
Micah and I would pretend to be a couple, while Aiden and Fiona
would do the same. Aiden had not been happy about it, but since
they would be left at the club while Micah and I went to interview
Anthony, it was the logical thing to do.

Micah wrapped a protective arm around
my waist and I felt the tiniest bit safer with it there. Aiden
caught the motion and his fangs descended as he stared bullets at
Micah. I gave him a look that said he’d better knock it off. It
wouldn’t be helpful if our covers were blown within the first
couple of minutes. Reluctantly, he pulled his attention away from
Micah and wrapped his arm around Fiona.

Pretending to be normal club goers, we
went to the bar and ordered drinks. The bartender, a woman in her
early twenties, seemed to be experimenting with her look. Her hair
was jet black with hot pink streaks throughout and cut so
asymmetrical, it looked like a child had taken scissors to it. I
noticed she eyed my hand when I grabbed my mojito and cast a glance
up toward the balcony. Weird, I thought.

Once everyone had their drinks, we
made our way to the dance floor. I could feel bodies pressing up
against me while we pushed through the congested crowd. I noticed
glowing blue eyes in my peripheral view, so I swiveled my head to
get a better look but they were gone. The bar was so dark, I
shouldn’t have been able to see anyone’s eyes, let alone eyes that
electric blue.

Finally finding a spot big enough for
the four of us, we stopped and started to dance. It was really
uncomfortable dancing with Micah, but I focused my mind on the task
at hand, instead of the way his hands felt on my body. Within five
minutes, the blue eyes appeared in the darkness again, six feet in
front of me but I still couldn’t make out who it was or why they
were watching me so intently.

I leaned into Micah, wrapping an arm
around his neck so that I could press my lips close to his ear. The
music was loud but weres have terrific hearing.

“Someone is watching me,” I told him
in a whisper. I knew he’d be able to hear me but if I spoke above a
whisper, any vampires surrounding us would hear also, and I didn’t
want that.

Pressing his cheek against mine, his
lips hovered right next to my earlobe.

“Who is it? Interested guy or bad
guy?” His voice was a little louder because witches don’t have
supersonic hearing like vamps and weres. I hoped his words hadn’t
triggered any one. I also caught Aiden eyeing us with disgust. His
hands were fisted at his sides while he danced, but when he caught
my gaze, he slipped an arm around Fiona’s waist and pulled her so
close to his body that you couldn’t tell where he began and she
ended. Trying to make me jealous?