Skin Deep (16 page)

The next week passed uneventfully for Kiera. Aside from the few visits and phone calls she’d received from Maryline and Darla, she’d spent the week virtually alone. Funny, considering the townhouse was filled with people … or Weres, as they were called. All different kinds of men and women filed in and out of the house. There was always a handful inside, while others came and went doing God knew what. No one told her anything. Even Sparrc had been tight-lipped when he’d removed her stitches the day before. Everyone she tried to talk to avoided her like she was the plague. People she’d never met acted like she was some kind of leper. It was worse than how people treated her before, when she was overweight. Now in her new body, she went from lots of male attention that she couldn’t handle to no attention at all, from anyone, like she didn’t even exist.

The time passed slowly, the hours ticking by like days, even after she’d convinced Ryder to go to the closest JoAnn’s and buy her some yarn. He, too, had been strange around her. He was one of quiet dispositions anyway, but now he acted as if she wasn’t even there, when before she’d seen a tranquil kindness in his dark eyes. To get the yarn, she’d had to corner him in the kitchen. When she’d walked in, everyone else had run for the hills to remove themselves from her presence. Ryder hadn’t been so lucky. She’d caught him with his head in the fridge and refused to move until he met her demands. She could have sworn she saw pity in his eyes, which made her mad. She didn’t want anyone’s pity. She wanted answers. And if she couldn’t have that, then she wanted some yarn and her favorite crochet hook, dammit. She would make their boring townhouse a place of lively color. It would take time, but what else did she have to do? They wouldn’t let her go to work.

Cain avoided her, too. She hadn’t seen or spoken to him in the last week at all. He always came in late and left before she woke up. Maybe he’d finally given up his ploy to sleep with her. The thought sent bitterness running through her body, making her jerk the yarn harder than she should, oftentimes knotting it. More than once she’d missed a stitch and had to redo a whole row.
Why does this bother me so much
?
It’s what I wanted, right?
For him to leave her alone so she could live her life … but now she couldn’t have a life because of the Amari killings.

It’s not like your life was bursting with excitement before.

Her life was definitely more exciting now … During her lonely days, she thought about the way Cain’s fingers had moved against her clit with the deliberate strokes of a man who knew what he was doing. Roth had never excited her body like that, making her come with nothing but flicks of his fingertips, but Cain had. More than anything she reveled in the fact that the memories of the last time she’d had sex weren’t eating at her.

Before Cain, she couldn’t even masturbate without the memories squashing her sexual urges with repulsive hate. Even Luke had brought on the hated remembrance.
Why is Cain different?

Kiera took a deep breath as she rubbed her hands along the high-thread-count sheets. It was almost midnight and Cain wasn’t back from wherever he went during the day. The only thing that had changed over the course of the week was her sleeping arrangement. She’d started out sleeping on the floor, but woke three consecutive mornings in his bed. At first she’d thought he had been sleeping with her, but quickly realized he was bedding down on the floor instead.

His consideration touched her, yet it made her sad because she realized what she had become.
A burden.
He was probably with that waitress bitch right now, fucking her, laughing about Kiera. He had to know the way her body reacted to his, had to be able to tell with his super-human senses, plus he was over a thousand years old … A sobering thought.

She patted around her head, looking for her phone—her only friend, it seemed. Her free Oregon Trail app had prevented her from going completely stir crazy.
Time to make sure Grandpa Jones doesn’t have scurvy.
She didn’t feel the device where she’d left it. Running her hands over the covers revealed it wasn’t on the bed. Hopping off, she felt around on the floor and when that yielded no results, she turned on the light and searched under the bed.
There it is!
She reached forward, grasping it. Her elbow bumped into something else while she pulled it across the floor.

A glance revealed the small purse she’d carried to the bar the night the Wereleopard had attacked her. She pulled it out from under the bed and sat back on the floor. A large black stain marred the dark blue surface.
Blood.
Her stomach twisted. She sat it on the ground with a heavy clunk.
What’s in there?

Her license and credit card were the only things she’d placed in the bag before going out a week before. She undid the tiny metal clasp and reached her hand inside, pulling out the last thing she ever wanted to see again. A tiny video recorder.
That bitch.

“Whatcha doin’?”

Kiera shrieked at the unfamiliar voice. She glanced up to see Ren lying on the bed, looking down at her with bright purple eyes. “What the hell? How did you get in here?”

“Did I scare you, babycakes?” The woman smiled, revealing perfectly straight teeth.

“Why are you here?” Kiera shuffled backward along the floor.

“Oh, just thought I would pop in and see how you were doing.” The velvety texture of Ren’s voice swirled around Kiera like a hot caress. She sat up on the bed, her thick breasts jiggling under the sparkly turquoise triangles of her swimsuit. They matched her hair color.

Kiera closed her eyes and fought against the wave of lust that punched her in the gut and tunneled straight to her core.

“Oooh, you’re a responsive one. No wonder the kitty cat wants you all to himself.” Kiera jerked away at the sound of Ren’s voice against her ear. Ren stepped back, a seductive smirk on her hot pink lips.

“What do you—”

“What’s that?” Ren cut her off, gesturing to the video recorder Kiera had forgotten she was holding.

“It’s nothing.” She tried to shove it back in her purse.

“I’ll take that, thank you.”

Kiera gasped as Ren appeared behind her—out of thin air—and jerked the camcorder out of her hands.

“Is this some sort of video of you and Cain getting freaky? I’d definitely pay to see that.” There was a quiet beep, followed by muffled music. Kiera covered her ears with her hands. She couldn’t bear to hear it. “Wow. So this is Cain getting his rocks off with some other chick. I definitely wasn’t expecting that. Are you into this kind of thing?” Ren was sitting on the floor in front of her again, her legs crossed, holding the video camera. The music stopped, and Kiera let her hands drop.
She paused it. Thank God.

“Of course I don’t like that shit.”

“Wow. Someone’s jealous.”

“I’m not jealous.” Kiera looked away from Ren’s perfect form.

Am I jealous?

“Ooooh-kay. Touchy subject.” Ren ran a hand through her hair and stood up, moving back toward the bed. “So tell me, how is the kitty in bed? Is he a
tiger
in the sack?”

“I haven’t—”

“Say what?” Ren spun on her heel. “You mean you haven’t fucked him? Hah!”

Kiera frowned. “Why do you even care?”

“I wanted to know if he was as good as his dad.”

Kiera choked on her next inhalation. “You had sex with his dad?”

“Oh yes, girl. I rode Slyder to town and back. And that’s saying something. Back in those days it was a
looong
walk into town.” Ren sat on the edge of the bed and Kiera found her eyes drawn to the delicate movement of the woman’s hand moving slowly along her tanned thigh.

“Does Cain know?”

Ren shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know if he and his dad shared their conquests or not. It really is too bad his dad is dead. He was real good in the sack. It’s not often I can attract someone who has found their
feorh
. Zeus and his damned rules.”

“Cain’s dad is dead?” Kiera didn’t know why this surprised her. She had just kind of figured his dad was out there somewhere, living the eternal good life like his whore of a son.

“Yes.”

“But how is that even possible? I thought he was an Immortal like Cain, and you … and everyone else these days.” She tried not to sound bitter, but failed miserably.

“Oh, Kiera.” Ren’s amethyst eyes flared with amusement. “No one really lives forever. Save for the gods, and even they can be killed if everything comes together, which is rare, if you hadn’t guessed.”

“So, all Immortals can be killed?”

“Yes. Most of your
average
Immortals can’t survive a beheading. It’s awfully hard to grow one of those back.”

Kiera watched Ren’s hand as it continued to slide up and down her toned thigh. Even the woman’s nails matched the sparkling aquamarine color of her hair. They were sharp like claws and glittered under the florescent lighting. Kiera imagined what it would be like to have those nails raking down her back, along the inside of thighs, her … Kiera coughed into her hand and shook her head to stay focused. “Average Immortals? Who isn’t average?”

Ren flashed her straight white teeth. “As if you even need to ask.”

“So, you can re-grow your head?” Kiera tried to picture it in her mind and couldn’t.

Ren rolled her eyes. “Enough about me. Let’s talk about you.”

Kiera wanted to argue, but didn’t. Her head was filled with so many questions, not to mention unexplainable lust, she didn’t know where to begin. But then it hit her. “What’s a
feorh
?” Kiera let the word roll around on her tongue, recalling that Maryline had said the same thing in the parking lot the night the leopard had attacked her.

“Like soul mate. Everyone’s got one, even you humans. I rarely ever attract someone who has found the other half of their soul.”

“Wait … someone said I’m Cain’s
feorh
 … thing.”

Ren kicked her legs back and lay on her stomach, her head propped up on her wrists. “I’m sorry to break it to you, honey buns, but whoever said that was wrong. Cain would know if you were his and he sure as hell would have marked you already. You know how possessive animals can be. Always marking their damned territory.”

Kiera couldn’t help the sinking feeling in her chest.

“Plus, he wouldn’t be face-fucking some trashy bitch at a bar if you were.”

Kiera glanced down at the video recorder on the floor and clenched her fists.

“Slyder even let me feed off him, too, which was nice. Nothing like the pure blood of one of the
Born
.”

Kiera looked up at Ren, who was twirling the ends of her hair around her fingers. “Feed? So, you’re like a vampire?”

“Vampire? Oh no, no, no. I’m a Muse, honey, and don’t you forget it.”

Kiera wanted to ask more questions but found the words stuck in her throat, swamped by the knowledge she’d just absorbed.

“I wanted to have a go at Cain, too, but he was all moody and dramatic.
Boooring.
”

The bitter anger in Kiera’s chest flared hotter. “Stay away from him.”

The Muse’s gaze fixated on her. An even smile spread across her face. “Okay, girl, you got it. But you have to tell me why.”

“Why what?”

“Why you won’t fuck him. Duh. Just because you aren’t his
feorh
doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to fuck your brains out. The man has been stressed all damn week.”

Kiera’s cheeks heated. “Has he really?”

Ren flipped onto her back and leaned her head over the side of the bed. Her long blue tresses pooled on the floor. “Yes. I didn’t realize that’s what it was until now, but it makes sense. That man needs to get laid. Good Zeus, I’ve never seen a guy so worked up over a chick before and I thought you were fucking him. You’re probably the first person in eternity who has turned him down.”

Kiera couldn’t help the small smile that spread across her face.

“Look at you getting all cheeky and embarrassed. That’s it!” Ren snapped her fingers. “I know why you won’t fuck him.”

“Huh?”

“You love him.”

The word
love
drilled a path through Kiera’s mind, blowing all earlier shock out of the water.

“Love?”

“Duh.”

“I could never love someone like him.” A sharp pang tore through Kiera’s heart.

“Eh, that’s probably a good thing. Love is overrated anyway.”

Kiera frowned. “Everyone deserves love … even if it is overrated, for the most part.”

“Who needs love? Enslavement is way more fun.”

“What? You are strange …” Kiera let her words trail off. She didn’t want to piss this … Muse off when she didn’t know what she was capable of.

“I’m strange? You’re the one who’s jealous!”

“What are you talking about?”

“I said one thing about Cain and you threatened my life.” Ren licked her lips.

“I—”

“Enough about that overgrown cat.” Ren held a hand in the air. “There’s something else more important at hand.” She hopped off the bed and knelt in front of Kiera. “I’m hungry.” The last word rolled off her tongue like syrup.