Four
Kendrick and Maddox laughed stupidly at one another as the illegal, off world drugs they’d snorted took full effect, making them silly.
“I feel like I’m forgetting something,” Maddox said, lying back on Kendrick’s bedroom floor, his head swimming.
“You’re forgetting to call that girl, the one you always refuse to hook me up with, even though you never mess around with her either.”
“Who?”
“You know, that fierce blonde whose mom has that freaky robotic arm,” Kendrick said.
“Oh, Melina.”
“Yeah, that’s her. Melina.”
Maddox chuckled. “I don’t mess around with her cause she’s my oldest friend. Anyway, you’ve got no chance, dude. She’d chew you up and spit you out.”
“I’d enjoy that.”
Maddox snorted. “No you wouldn’t, trust me. She’s kicked my ass before, and it’s an experience I never want to repeat. Anyway, she hates you.”
“Why? She’s only met me once.”
“I dunno. Ugh, I swear I’m forgetting something.”
“Did you forget to call Selena?” Kendrick offered. “You’ll look stupid if you don’t have a date tonight.”
“No, fool. You were only standing right next to me when I called her. Remember?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Maddox sat up, rubbing his temples. “How much longer do we have?”
“About an hour. If you get lucky with Selena, you have to give me details. I’ve had a jones for her since I was twelve. I was going to ask her to go to the party with me, but when she saw me, all she talked about was you.”
“If I get lucky? Please. There is no if. She’s a sure thing.”
“Where do you plan to take her?” Kendrick smirked. “Your folk’s house? That will be hot.”
“Oh, shit! My folks! I missed them. That’s what I forgot. I was supposed to go back home and tell them goodbye before they left for vacation.” He hung his head; it was beginning to throb. “I’m such a jerk.”
“Ah, well. They’ll forgive you. Hey, they’re gone. Now you really can take girls there without it being weird.”
“Yeah, great,” Maddox mumbled miserably.
“Speaking of which, I’ve been thinking. Why don’t you and I get our own place? Get a few anytime girls as roommates.”
“Anytime girls? What are those?” Maddox asked.
“What do you think? Girls ready for it anytime and know that’s their place. Ones that don’t whine for a relationship or fidelity, shit like that.”
“Whoa, I think you just passed me up on the asshole scale there, Kendrick.”
“Hey, we’d be totally upfront about it with them. They’d know what they were getting into.”
“Yeah…I don’t know. Us sharing a house, maybe. Having our own little harem is taking it a bit too far.”
“Getting a little self-righteous aren’t you? King of the one night stand.”
“Whatever,” he huffed, rubbing his head again.
Kendrick punched him in the shoulder. “Come on. Get some water or something. Sober up a bit, and we’ll go get your girl for tonight.”
“Okay.” He got to his feet, the room only slightly spinning.
Erin loosely braided Selena’s light blond hair and teased out a few tendrils around her face. She was wearing a sexy, light blue slip of a dress that made her blue eyes pop. Erin couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of how gorgeous her friend looked. Her skin was flawless porcelain while Erin was plagued with freckles across her nose. She was all warm tones, red hair, and hazel eyes while Selena was fair and her ears were beautifully pointed.
“Thanks, Erin. I’d be a wreck without you. My heart hasn’t stopped galloping since he called me. I’m so nervous.”
“Stop that. How can you show him what you’re really like if you act like a squirrel?”
Selena laughed and then took a deep breath. “You’re right. Are you sure you don’t want to come with us? There will be dancing. You look so sexy when you dance.”
“The dancing is tempting, but the company of Maddox and his entourage is a hell no for me.”
“Are you really going to deny how hot he is?”
Erin huffed. “No. He’s beautiful. I see what you see, but then he opens his mouth or acts like he’s better than everyone, and it just ruins it for me. I wouldn’t touch him with a ten-foot pole.”
Selena’s thin, stylish watch pinged. “Oh gosh. It’s him. He’s on his way here.”
“That’s my cue to leave,” Erin said grimly.
“Wait! You really don’t want to meet him? Just briefly?”
“Nope,” she said, making the ‘p’ at the end of the word pop.
A knock sounded on the front door. Selena gave Erin a wide eyed plea.
She squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Remember, no sex, and don’t act like a squirrel.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
Erin escaped into the bathroom and locked the door to avoid having to meet Maddox. She pressed her ear against the door to hear. They didn’t say much. He complimented Selena on how beautiful she looked and asked if she was ready to go. A chill went into her stomach as the front door shut, leaving her alone in Selena’s house. She knew what she needed to do. She rushed home to throw on a dress and get to that party, so she could look out for her friend.
“I’m going out, Dad!” she called as she came through the front door and headed to her room.
He waved dismissively at her. “Have fun. Keep your eyes open for the one.”
Erin ignored his advice, went to her closet, and grabbed her nicest dress, it would have to do. She wasn’t going to be looked at anyway. The red halter maxi was made of cheap material, but it was cut perfectly to her body and the color matched her hair. She took her hair down, textured it a little, slicked some gloss on her lips, and headed out. She checked her own, old, and inconsistent watch to see if she could reach Selena. No luck.
Her sense of urgency ground to a halt as she walked to the portal hub. What was she doing? She hesitated and then shrugged, continuing on. Maybe she didn’t need to look out for Selena, but she could at least see what the party was like. Just morbid curiosity she guessed. Regardless, something was driving her to go. It felt important.
The portal threw her out close to the main square of Paradigm. She heard the music. Dressed up people were walking with urgency toward the music. She followed them. Her heart sank as she reached the place. A line formed outside, and a bouncer wasn’t letting anyone in unless they were on his list. Well, so much for that. She turned away to go home.
“Hey, Red!”
She looked around and saw Jaris bounding up the street at her. She smiled.
“Jaris. Hi.”
He grinned wide. “You remembered my name. That’s almost as great as running into you again. Will you tell me your name now?”
“Erin.”
His smile grew bigger. “Erin. I like it. You look amazing! I’m assuming you’re going to the party? I’m surprised. Maddox is here, you know.”
She blushed a little and blew out a breath. “Yeah. That’s my problem. He asked my best friend to come with him tonight. I just have a bad feeling about it. I tried to talk her out of it, but she’s got…what did you call it? Maddox fever. I just hoped I could sneak in and keep an eye on her, but I’m not on the list, that’s for sure, so I was just going to head home and—“
Jaris held up his hand. “I can get you in. The bouncer is my cousin.”
“Well, that’s handy. Thanks!”
“No problem. I only ask one thing in return.”
She scowled. “What?”
“Dance with me. Just once.”
“Deal. One dance.”
“A slow dance.”
She chuckled. “Don’t push it.”
He held out his hand. She took it, and he led her straight up to the bouncer. He looked down at them, winked at Jaris, and nodded for them to go in.
“Nice work, cuz,” the bouncer said as they passed.
Erin blushed and smiled. It felt nice to be next to someone so obviously proud to have her on his arm. A heavy door swung open for them, and she was immediately enveloped in the dense atmosphere and music of the party. Free-floating twinkle lights hovered near the ceiling, moving and connecting to one another like molecules, changing color as they mixed. The whole place was dark aside from that. The dance floor was in the center, full of people moving to the heavy beat. Tables and booths were around the edges of the huge open room, where people sat drinking or making out. The whole thing was a little frightening but it looked fun, too. She could clearly see the dangers in the shadows under the vibrant surface.
Jaris leaned close and shouted so she could hear. “Your friend will be up there.” He pointed to a raised area clearly set aside for VIPs, where she saw Selena sitting in the back of a large booth, tucked under Maddox’s arm. Selena had a smile plastered on her face as the other people in Maddox’s inner circle laughed, talked, smoked, and drank. Her heart sank. She could see it was everything she feared. Selena was nothing but the girl on his arm for tonight. He’d replace her in two days. A week tops.
“There are bodyguards there and there.” Jaris pointed to a couple of guys standing at the entrance to the area Selena was in. “If your friend sees you, you could probably get up there. Wanna try?”
She was about to say yes, then Maddox leaned over Selena and kissed her. A pang of rage and disgust she couldn’t account for hit her in the stomach. She turned away to keep from screaming. She didn’t want his filthy hands on her friend.
Jaris grabbed her arm. “Hey, are you okay?”
“This was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have come here. I want to leave.”
“What about our dance?”
The music changed just then, the tempo slowing. She took in Jaris’ expression and caved. “All right. This song. That’s all.”
He pulled her close. She sighed, forcing herself to let go of her dark emotions and rested her chin on his shoulder, closing her eyes. She did love to dance. Jaris wasn’t as confident in his moves as she would have liked, but at least he didn’t step on her toes.
Something about Selena bothered Maddox. She seemed a bit too innocent for him. Just the way she held herself and responded to him made him wish he hadn’t asked her to come with him. She was beautiful but…
He took a drink and shook himself. It didn’t matter. She was doing her job, making him the envy of the guys around him, and he could tell he’d been right about her. She was a sure thing. He’d have no problem getting her out of that dress later.
Kendrick and Selena talked about some of their personal history, knowing each other as kids. Maddox didn’t care to listen. He leaned back and let his gaze roam over the room. The floating lights drifted up and down over the heads of the people dancing. His eyes caught on a redhead, his stomach swooping, and goosebumps slid out on his skin. All he could see was her profile, but damn if that wasn’t the most amazing promise of pure beauty he’d ever seen.
Why didn’t he know that girl?
He stood abruptly.
“Is something wrong?” Selena asked.
“No.” He walked swiftly toward the short staircase that led to the dance floor, his eyes still glued to the girl. He couldn’t afford to lose her in the crowd and felt a wave a panic that he might.
“I wouldn’t advise it, sir,” the bodyguard said as Maddox tried to shove past him.
“Just move!” he barked.
As soon as he hit the dance floor, he was swarmed with girls all trying to touch him and get him to dance. He tried pushing through them, keeping his eyes on the redhead. A girl slid her hand into his front pocket and groped him. He turned on her.
“Really?” he demanded angrily.
She smiled up into his face, a naughty glint in her eyes. “I’ll give you everything you could ever want, Maddox.”
He sneered. “You think you’re on my level? As if. Now get away from me, slut.”
He looked back for the redhead. Damnit. Of course! His gaze darted around. He couldn’t see her anywhere. He’d only taken his eyes off her for a second.
He turned back and climbed the stairs again, the bodyguard moving back into place, blocking the girls still trying to get to him. He hoped getting higher would allow him to spot her again and he’d send someone to go get her and bring her to him instead of trying to wade through the crowd.
He swore under his breath as he continued to scan the dance floor. She’d vanished into thin air. Losing the redhead and being sexually assaulted soured his mood. He plunked back down next to Selena and Kendrick.
She leaned in close to him. “Who were you chasing?”
“A ghost,” his tone was clipped.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked.
His mood continued to plummet. He reached for his drink and downed the rest of it. “No. I’m sick of this.” He gave her his smolder. “Let’s get out of here. Alone. Just you and me.”
Her eyes widened, and she pulled back a little. “I don’t know…I…”
“I can hardly hear you. How are we supposed to get to know each other in this kind of a setting?”
He toyed with the ends of the hair framing her face before tucking it behind her ear. She flushed and looked down. He waited, watching her internal battle play across her face.
She looked up again, her bottom lip caught between her teeth, and nodded. He took her hand and pulled her to her feet.
“She’s all yours after tonight,” he said into Kendrick’s ear as they headed for the door behind the protected area.
Kendrick smirked and raised his glass in a toast to Maddox.
In one hour, Maddox was back at the party, without Selena. He sat back down next to Kendrick, grabbed a shot off the table, and tossed it back.
“Where is she?” Kendrick asked.
“I dunno,” he sighed. “I sent her packing when I was done with her.”
“Shit, that’s cold. Even for you. Oh well, it will make it easier for me to comfort her. Was she good?”
Maddox rolled his eyes and shrugged. “Meh.”
“What nasty bug crawled up your ass?” Kendrick asked. “I thought you were into her.”
“I was, until I saw something better.”
“So why did you screw her?”
“Because I’m pissed off, and I could.” Maddox spat.
Kendrick held his hands up. “Okay. So tell me about this piece of tail that’s better.”
“A redhead…in the crowd. I don’t know her, but I will—I can promise you that. I’m going to find her.”
Kendrick chuckled. “Since when have you been into redheads?”
“Never, until now.”
“Maybe she’s a shifter.”
All the blood drained from Maddox’s face. “Damnit, I didn’t think of that.”
“Hmmm…Mystery Girl. I like it. I’ll help you track her down, shifter or not. Here.” He slid another drink toward Maddox. “Knock that back; it’s awesome.”
He picked up the small glass and eyed the pink liquid inside. “What is it?”
“Syrup. Off world import. It will fuck you up fast. I promise.”
“Perfect.” Maddox swallowed it all.