Midnight Surrender: A Paranormal Romance Anthology (3 page)

“
I’m getting up anyway. Besides, if you don’t know what it is you will have to let me keep buying them for you.” I enjoyed the look of annoyance that flashed across her face.

“
Don’t worry, she’s not always so uptight.” Jess’ voice surprised me as I ordered some more drinks. I hadn’t expected Jared and Jess to follow me. That left Allie alone with Owen—not the plan—definitely not the plan.

“
I’m not worried about it,” I said offhandedly, wanting the bartender to move faster. This was taking far too long. Owen was laughing. What could she be saying? At least she didn’t look as amused.

“
Levi’s good at, uh, breaking through tough exteriors.” Jared ordered them a couple of shots.

“
She’s worth it,” Jess said as I walked away.

“
It looked like you two were having a good conversation. Did I miss anything?” I shot Owen an annoyed look. He was seriously beginning to piss me off.

“
Nothing worth repeating.”

Owen smiled. “Well, Allie was telling me that she isn’t interested in you.”

Hmm, well at least they were talking about me.

I leaned in close to her, letting her know what I thought of the statement. “It’s because she’s sworn off men. But I think I’ll just have to be the exception.”

She took a few large sips of the second drink I’d gotten her. “What in the world would make you think that you would be an exception?”

“
One, you’re attracted to me and two, I can be very persistent.”

“
I am not attracted to you!”

“
Like hell you’re not,” Jess said before bursting into laughter. She hadn’t even sat down yet.

“
You know there could be a few females alive that are not into you Levi,” Jared mocked. I was ready to knock that smirk off his face.

“
It’s always a possibility, but that’s not the case this time. She likes me, she just won’t admit it.” I scooted my chair closer to her.

She sighed and closed her eyes. I actually felt a little bad. She seemed pretty stressed out. I’d love to do something about that… I put an arm around her shoulder, it felt nice, natural.

I moved close enough that I could kiss her, but I resisted. It wasn’t time yet. She moved to turn away but I caught her chin, making her look up at me. “Stop looking away. I love green eyes.”

“
Does that line usually work for you?”

“
Usually. I’m guessing it’s not going to work tonight.”

“
Not a chance.”

“
I’ll just have to get more creative.” As frustrating as her resistance was, it was also a nice change of pace. It would make finally getting her all the more worth it.

“
You do that.” Her look was teasing—she was definitely challenging me.

“
So, what do you think of New Orleans so far?” Owen asked her, having to pull her attention away again.

Jess answered. “It’s been fantastic. It’s so awesome to get away and meet new people.”

“
And what about you, Allie?” I asked, finding I actually cared about her answer.

“
Well, considering we’ve been here less than twenty-four hours, it’s hard to have much of an impression, but I like it so far.”

“
You’ll have to keep me posted as you have more time to form an opinion.”

“
I’ll be sure to keep you updated.”

“
You girls want to see the rest of the Quarter?” Jared asked.

“
Yes!” Jess squeaked. “We haven’t seen anything but here and the hotel.”

“
You interested?” I whispered in Allie’s ear. I liked how it made her shiver a little. I definitely had an effect on her.

“
Sure. Why not?” She finished off her drink and stood up. She tugged down on her skirt. I had to resist the urge to reach out and stop her. The skirt was fine the way it was.

I put an arm around her, leading her out. I shot Owen a backwards glance to let him know to stay away. “I guarantee you’re going to love New Orleans.”

She slipped away from me. I held in a frustrated sigh.

“
Is that right?” She sounded distracted and I noticed her staring at her friend and Jared. Was she worried about her?

We walked down St. Peter’s Street, and crossed over into Jackson Square. Allie seemed impressed by it. I noticed her eyeing the wrought iron railings. That was the second time I’d noticed her checking out architecture. Maybe we had that interest in common.

We maneuvered through the square, past the usual crowd of musicians and artists showing off their work.

“
Care to have your fortune read?” a palm reader called out.

“
No thanks.” Allie waved her off.

“
Are you sure you don’t want a glimpse into your future?”

“
I prefer surprises.” Her response seemed at odds with how uptight she seemed. I sensed there was a lot more to her that I still wasn’t seeing.

“
Same here,” Jess agreed. “This is too cool. It might be even better than Washington Square Park.”

Washington Square Park? So they were New Yorkers.

“
Of course this is just where all the tourists hang out. There are much cooler places, hon. Maybe I’ll show you sometime,” Jared crooned.

“
Like where, your apartment?” Allie raised an eyebrow. She had a nice sense of humor.

“
Why, you want to see my place?” he threw back at her.

“
In your dreams.”

I laughed. She had some nerve. I couldn’t resist touching her. I came up from behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She fit perfectly. “Would you change your mind about that if you knew I was his roommate?”

“
Why would that change my mind?” She pushed away. I reluctantly released her.

I held back, maybe I needed to give her space so she’d come to me.

I tried to pay attention to everything else going on but then, of course, Owen had to go talk to her again.

I heard them talking about the crow on the fence. She seemed to find it creepy. I wondered what she’d think if she knew what I was. When I heard them talking about going home, I had to intervene. She was thanking Owen for giving her a heads up.

“
The heads up on what?”

“
I was simply suggesting she pry Jess away from Jared if she wants to get her home tonight.”

“
What’s the hurry? The night is young.” I smiled at her, resisting the urge to punch Owen. If I wasn’t stronger, my eyes would have changed.

“
We have our first day of work tomorrow.”

“
Your first day of work at your father’s hotel. Can’t you skip out?” I was definitely not ready to say goodnight, and it was looking unlikely she was coming home with me.

“
No! I am not missing my first day of work. I’m not like that.”

If I couldn’t have her that night, I’d just have to try again. “Really? Maybe I can learn more about you tomorrow night? Maybe over dinner?”

“
Not a chance.”

“
Oh, that’s right; you think you’ve sworn off men.”

She pretended to ignore me, but I saw the tiny curl of her lips. “Jess, let’s go!”

“
Now? Seriously?” Jess whined.

“
I’m sure you can meet up with your friend another time.”

Her friend? Allie had a bit of edge didn’t she?

“
What’s the rush all of a sudden?” Jared asked, glaring at Allie.

“
Owen decided to point out the late hour to her.” I knew Jared would appreciate it as much as I did.

“
What the hell, man?” Jared lunged at Owen; his eyes turning black. I hoped the girls didn’t notice, and I put myself between my friends. We’d have to settle this later.

“
Let it go, Jared. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of opportunities to see them again. We’ll walk you girls home.” I wasn’t happy to see Allie leave, but I also wanted another chance—it was time to cut our losses and regroup.

She waved. “Goodnight.”

“
I’ll be seeing you,” I said before walking away. I’m sure she had no clue how true my words were—there wasn’t a chance in the world I was letting this girl go.

Learn more about Alyssa Rose Ivy and The Crescent Chronicles at:
www.alyssaroseivy.com

Channie bolted upright, smacking her forehead against the pine log above her bed. She groaned and ran her fingers over the wet, sticky lump already forming over her eyebrow. Blood. Yuck. She considered using a healing spell, but with her luck, she’d wind up with more bumps than a hedge-apple.

What time was it, anyway?

Moonlight streamed in through the window, casting long shadows across the braided rug on the floor — which meant it had to be well past midnight. What had startled her awake?

The triplets were cuddled up against Abby’s side like a litter of pups, sound asleep.

The pine tree outside their window swayed back and forth as if rocked by a storm. Something was in that tree. Plink, plink-plink. And something was tossing pinecones into the loft.

Channie’s heart stopped. She reached out with her magic and felt the presence of another mage. Confident that Momma’s keep-away spells would protect her, Channie probed a little deeper to read his energy field.

He raised his shield and blocked her, but not before Channie sensed his strongest emotions. He was excited and … hopeful? Not exactly what she’d expect from an intruder. And no thief would announce his presence by chucking pine cones through the window. Whoever he was; he wanted to wake her up.

Or maybe he wanted to wake up Abby. He could even be the trips’ daddy. The thought spread a grin across Channie’s face. If she could discover that little secret, she’d never have to do dishes again. Only an idiot would pass up such a perfect opportunity for blackmail.

Channie kept to the shadows as she made her way to the window. She had to see his face before he saw hers. The low angle of the moon striped the landscape with bands of light and shadow — perfect cover for lurking.

Fog swirled over the ground and flowed down the hollow like a river of milk. Channie strained her ears but didn’t hear so much as a single cricket. Well, two can play at this game. She picked a pine cone up off the floor and threw it at the tree.

Branches shifted and swayed, but Channie couldn’t see a darn thing.

A dull thud drew her gaze to the ground. Whatever had been hiding in the tree was now in the back of Daddy’s old Chevy truck.

That vehicle had been propped up on cement blocks since before Channie was old enough to crawl under it for afternoon naps. All sorts of critters had nested in it over the years, but that was no varmint creeping onto the truck’s cab. Channie craned her neck to get a better look, but all she could see was a vague shape … until he sprang straight at her.

An instinctive burst of defensive magic shot out of Channie’s power-well, surrounding her with a protective wall of energy.

She covered her mouth with both hands to stifle a scream. She recognized Hunter Feenie's mop of light blond hair, shining silver-blue in the moonlight. She slid her hands to the base of her throat and lowered her shield.

Hunter grabbed the splintered windowsill, dug his toes into the chinks between the logs and clung to the side of the cabin like a tick on a dog. “Gimme a hand.”

Channie leaned out the window and grabbed the straps of Hunter’s overalls while he adjusted his grip. The scent of pine sap clung to his skin. How long had he been hiding in that tree? Had he been spying on her? Watching her sleep? As soon as Channie was sure he wouldn’t fall into Momma’s protection spells, she let go.

Hunter poked his head inside the loft and flashed a crooked grin at her — as if climbing through her window in the middle of the night was the most natural thing in the world.

“
Hey, girl.”

Channie folded her arms across her chest. “How the heck did you get past Momma’s protection spells?”

No one but a family member could get within ten feet of the magically enhanced shrubs surrounding the cabin. Not without getting hit with a bolt of pure energy.

Hunter smirked at Channie. “Move over. Let me in.”