Hell's Gate: Amelia (3 page)

Amelia giggled again, and he was caught up in her spell. Barrett studied her stunning eyes and found
himself
descending into them. If he had any will to begin with, it was now hers.

“No. I’ve never had anyone take an interest in my feet before. I’ve been to Hell’s Gate plenty of times. You could say I haunt the place.” A little bit of color returned to her cheeks. It only heightened her beauty.

Barrett nodded absently, but he was transfixed by the curve of her top lip. It was a perfect heart shape. Before he could stop himself, he leaned over and placed his lips on hers. Amelia stiffened. As he pressed his mouth to hers a little harder, begging her and praying silently she would accept him, she leaned in and returned the kiss. Her lips tasted of alcohol and something else he couldn’t place, something with a musty flavor. He placed his hand on her calf and slid his palm along the line of her glorious leg, feeling the indentations of the fishnets on his fingers. Barrett stopped when he reached her knee. Amelia moaned into his mouth. When he brushed his tongue along her lips, she placed a hand on his chest and pulled away.

Panic swirled along his brain when he realized what he had done. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. You’re just so smoking hot that I couldn’t help myself.”

“You think I’m attractive?”

He nodded. “Amelia, these other women can’t hold a candle to you. That isn’t a line either. I mean it.”

Her eyes grew misty with tears. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. She stared at the teardrops on her hand and then touched one. Amelia seemed fascinated by the wetness. Another tear slipped down her cheek.

“Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

She shook her head. Without warning, she wiggled out from under Barrett and propelled herself off the couch. He tried to grab her hand, but she was quicker than she appeared. By the time she was out the door, he was getting up from the couch. He chased after her up the stairs and caught a glimpse of her red dress flying around the corner, heading up to the first floor. He searched the sea of faces and other dancers, but he couldn’t find Amelia. It seemed she had vanished into thin air. Barrett stood against the wall and banged his head on it a few times, feeling a loss so deep in his
soul,
he wasn’t sure how to react. No woman had ever made him feel the way she did. It wasn’t just because she had worshipful feet or an amazing body. Something about her tugged at him. He had never believed in soul mates before, but being with Amelia for the short time they had together made him a believer.

Chapter Three

Amelia splayed herself against the wall, hiding in the shadows, trying to disappear the way she did when she was a ghost. With the ring on she was flesh and blood. She hid among the crowd and stayed in the alcoves so Barrett wouldn’t find her. She wasn’t sure what she would do if he did. Her heart raced. It was difficult to breathe. Her body felt heavy and light. Sweat beaded along her forehead. It was hard to think. Barrett had been so nice to her. He said that she was beautiful. He had touched her and kissed her. It wasn’t his words or his gestures that got to her, but he made her
feel
. She hadn’t felt anything since the bullet had torn through her heart. Being in the flesh, she felt the agony of the wound. Her fingers trailed over her chest where she had been shot. When she looked at her hands, they were covered in blood. Fright ran through her.
This can’t be happening.
Not again. Not now.

Tears came to her eyes once more. They only meant the pain was coming again. Before she had died, she had cried too. A couple of tears had slid from her eyes onto the
asphalt
and then the life had left her body before they had dried up. She remembered the weightlessness of her spirit lifting out of her flesh, and then she was looking down at herself sprawled on the road. Her lover had already died. The light of the afterlife had shown down on him. The coolness had wafted over her and left
her
tied to the Earth. It nearly killed her all over again because she yearned to go with him.

“Everything okay?”

She glanced over and saw Lila cleaning off one of the few tables in the club. When she blinked, the club had cleared. The lights were dimmed and everything was quiet.
What the hell?
“Where did everyone go?”

“Go? We’ve been closed for almost an hour.”

“An hour?
That’s impossible. I came up here five minutes ago and the place was full. It was halfway into the night.
About midnight.”

Lila shook her blue hair. “Sorry. We’re closed.” She stopped and looked at her, putting her hand on her hip and laughing. “You know. I never thought I’d actually see you and here you are. Will you please leave my shot glasses alone?”

“Is that all you want to tell me? Stop messing with your shot glasses?
Seriously.”
Amelia sighed. “I’m so sorry if it inconveniences you. Did you ever think about how boring it gets in this place? I’ve been stuck here for ten years. Leah’s been great to let me stay. I got tired of dodging the soul harvesters. Hell’s Gate is my refuge.”

“Soul harvesters.
Do they take you to the afterlife or something?” Lila asked.

Amelia shook her head. She ran her finger over the ring
Tig
had given her. This time she felt a buzz of the power that encased her in flesh. “Soul harvesters aren’t what you think they are. They are not the grim reaper types with black robes and scythes. They’re slavers. They either feed off the energy of the spirits they collect or they sell them into service to the highest bidder. I was almost picked off by one of them after I died. Thank goodness I was saved.”

“I didn’t know. Can we call a truce or something? You leave my glasses alone and the nights when you’re touchable all drinks are on the house?”

“Can you throw in some food once in a while too?”

The bartender shrugged. “I’m sure we can figure something out. Anything you want?”

She shrugged.
“Chocolate.
I’ve heard French fries are good. Leah likes to eat pizza with anchovies.”

“I think we can do better than anchovies. I’ll bring something in Friday night when I’m on again and we can eat together.”

“Thanks, Lila.”

The other woman nodded and headed back to the bar. Amelia watched her for a while. Soon, a man came up behind her.
The same one from the other night.
It was
Draig
, the dragon shifter who had come into the bar only a few months ago. He had been nice to Amelia from the get go. The dragon had told her his sad story and was the last of his kind. He tied women up, suspended
them
ten feet from the floor, and swung them around. Women lined up for hours to be bound by him, but Amelia figured it was more for a chance to get into his pants. From what she could tell Lila wasn’t even jealous. The pang of seeing them together made her regret running from Barrett.
If I had stayed, what would’ve happened? What does he think of me now?

“Hey, Amelia.
I talked to Leah. She said there were a couple of extra rooms on the second level of the club. I’ll take you down.”
Tig
smiled, showing more of his jagged teeth.

Amelia followed him to the second level where she had been with Barrett. The lounge wasn’t open to just anyone; neither were the rooms. The second level was just available to supernatural club goers. If regular people tried to get to it, then they would find a wall. The second level was actual living quarters for those beings
who
had nowhere to go. Being a ghost, she could float anywhere she wanted in the club, even the third level below them which was above the basement. She hated to go that far underground.
Tig
led her to the end of the hall and then pushed open a gray door. Amelia stuck her head inside and found a bed, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers, and a flat screen television.
Don’t know how much I’m going to use the bed. But it should do.
Tig
went in and then opened another door. Inside was a tiny bathroom with a shower stall.

“There are some clothes in the bureau left by the previous occupant. Wear them if you want. Use the room for however long you need it. Leah wants to see you tomorrow night, so don’t phase out the way you normally do at times. Got it?”

She nodded, taking it all in. “Got it. Thanks again for all of this.”

Tig
waved his hand. “It
ain’t
nothing
. Now tell me about that cute hunk you had with you earlier, rubbing all up on you.”

She blushed, feeling the fire of blood searing her skin. Her heart beat slowly, but she wasn’t sure she was going to get used to the warmth after not feeling anything for so long. “He was nobody. Just someone I picked in the foot fetish area. You left
me
right there and Sandra assumed I was all in for having my toes sucked.”

“Was it a bad experience?
The toe sucking?
Feet aren’t my thing, but I hear they can be quite stimulating.”

Amelia shook her head, glad that
Tig
always made her laugh. “No it wasn’t bad, it was interesting. Barrett was so sweet. He kissed me and...I haven’t been kissed in a long time. He made me feel something, and I’m dead. I ran away from him and hid. I wanted to disappear, and the next thing I knew, the club was closed. I thought the ring was supposed to make me
alivish
and not fade away.”

Tig
sighed. “Are you more afraid of what he made you feel or that you suddenly went all spooky and became part of the decor again?”

“Both, I guess. I don’t know if this will last or if I’m allowed to have a semblance of a life and maybe do more than kissing. What if I go transparent on him while we’re in the middle of making whoopee?”

“Look, I can’t tell you the secrets of the ring. All I know is that it gives you a second chance. So take it while you can. The witch I know will be here next week for something that Leah wants her to do. You can ask her when she’s here. Until then, live it up, girlfriend. Eat. Fuck the handsome boy in the kilt who blew your fuses. Obviously, you like him. Sandra wouldn’t have let kilt boy rub your feet if she didn’t get a feeling about you two. She’s kind of a matchmaker.”

Amelia felt the blood drain from her face. She wasn’t looking to be hooked up with anyone. All she wanted was a change of pace and scenery. Not to fall for a guy. “That’s impossible. I’m not looking for love.”

The manager shrugged.
“Doesn’t matter.
Things happen for a reason. Sandra’s good at what she does.”

“Isn’t she mortal?”

Tig
smiled and turned to leave. “Whatever gave you that impression?”

Before she could answer, he slipped away. Amelia sighed and took in the room, thinking about everything she had learned. Was she supposed to be paired up with Barrett? What was going to happen when he found out she wasn’t exactly alive or that she couldn’t leave the club? She slumped on the bed and stared at the silver band on her right hand.
Maybe I should just take it off and forget about the whole thing.
She gripped the ring and began to pull it off, but Barrett’s face flashed in her mind. Even after all her doubts, she yearned to see him again. Even if he had a weird fascination with her feet, he was sweet.
No matter what, I do feel something for him.
With a sigh, she pushed the ring back on. In her life Amelia had never run from her fears, and she wasn’t about to dash away from this. If she was meant to do something else in her existence then she was going to find out and have fun doing it.

Chapter Four

Barrett stared at the computer screen. The lines of numbers had long ago blurred together. However, he kept punching in the data from his sheet. Instead of the numbers he was supposed to be cross checking, all Barrett saw were Amelia’s beautiful legs. They were bare without the fishnets, and he was sliding his hands over the lovely expanse of her thighs, down to her calves, over her ankles, and then to her succulent feet with the perfect round toes. Each with their delicate nails that he wanted to pull into his mouth, flick his tongue over the tops until he learned all the curves of her legs. Then he would start with the other luscious parts of her body. He would beg to taste her thighs and glide his tongue between her toes and wash her feet.
Whatever she wanted.
Amelia was his goddess. He didn’t understand why she had gotten under his skin so quickly, but he couldn’t get her out of his mind.