Jameson
“I should have just Charmed them!” Cass was pacing back and forth before the bed I'd made myself comfortable on. Hands behind my head, sunk three inches into the cushions.
“Don't be ridiculous, someone would have spotted what you were doing,” I said lazily, watching her walk side to side, side to side.
“What if you get hurt?” She turned to me and a lump rose in my throat. Shit, she was beautiful. And now I got to share a room with her for three whole days. Not exactly under the circumstances I would have chosen, but hey, who was I to complain?
“Jameson!” she snapped when I didn't answer, my eyes half-mast as I gazed dreamily at her.
The Larkspur had been taken off of me during the security check and slam-dunked into the bin. I'd tried complaining about my complexion but who was really gonna believe that when they looked at my flawless perfection?
“Chill, Firefly.” I rolled out of bed, moving toward her, arms wide.
Hug time.
She huffed, striding away from me, disappearing into the bathroom. The room she needed absolutely nothing from, designed only for human needs. So I begrudgingly accepted she was avoiding me.
Damn. Had I lost my touch? I hadn't exactly had time to flirt with women lately. Every move I pulled seemed to push her further away from me. But when I'd kissed her, she'd definitely reacted.
I floated toward the bathroom, but before I reached the door, a hurricane erupted from it. Cass barged past me, heading for the door. “I'm going to get it.”
“Are you crazy?” I launched at her, snaring her in my arms so she was crushed against the door, her back to me. “You're not risking it,” I ordered, my mouth by her ear.
“But if you get hurt-”
“I won't,” I growled, holding her arms flush to her sides. I reckoned we were pretty evenly matched on the strength front.
And wow maybe she did care about me. More than a friend, though?
I pushed my luck, twisting her in my hold and eyeing her mouth.
“Kiss me again and I'll rip your lips off,” she warned, her eyes like two emeralds that had burst into flames.
I sighed, releasing her. “You really gonna pretend you didn't enjoy it last time?”
“No need to pretend. And I'm not going to forget that you're a kiss rapist.” She stormed away again and I gazed after her, anger pumping through me.
“Jesus Christ, Cass.”
She glanced back at me from the floor-length window. Fifth floor. Cheapskates. We had a balcony though which was a plus. I wondered how close the others were...
“Alright,” she sighed. “I take that back.”
“Good.” I folded my arms. “And for the record, I won't kiss you again until you ask me to.”
“Great, so that'll be never,” she said lightly, stepping out onto the balcony.
“Game on,” I muttered under my breath then remembered she had damn Vampire hearing.
She turned, pressing her middle finger to the sliding door.
“Give it up, wolf boy,” she snarled, sending an electric current down my spine.
How the hell was I supposed to give up when she was presenting me with the biggest challenge ever? And one that could very well be my last conquest. If there was one thing I was put on this earth to do it was make women fall in love with me. So how was I supposed to resist trying to win what would be my crowing glory?
Well, I wasn't. That much was clear. And besides, I'd need a distraction from the horror show that was going to be our lives for the next few days. Maybe the universe was offering me the challenge of a lifetime as a last hurrah. Or maybe I was just so caught up on this girl that I was gonna convince myself to keep pursuing her no matter what the reality was.
She doesn't like you, bro. Get over it.
Na. Too late. I was gonna have to bring out my big guns. And by that, I didn't mean my pecks. But then again...
I yanked my shirt off, heading toward the bathroom at a casual pace, my eyes drifting to the window and back. She wasn't looking.
Look, dammit. Look.
Jesus, this was a low point for me. What the hell was I doing anyway? There was shit to get done in this place. People to kill, blood to spill. That needed to be my motto. Not: attention to snag, women to sh-
A knock came at the door. At least Cass was looking at me now. But not in the way I'd hoped. She gazed from me to the door, anxiously hurrying across the room and straightening down her dress. Green. Like her eyes. Like my envy of any man who'd ever touched her.
She opened the door revealing Ned standing there, leaning against the frame. A cigar hung from the corner of his mouth beneath the standard black mask we'd all been given to wear. I hated him in that second. Like I'd hated him when he'd taken his mask off in front of Cass. It wasn't just that she'd fallen H over T (heart over tit) for him in less than a second, it was that he had the sort of hold on people that was dangerous. It reminded me of Ulvic. Of how I'd happily trotted at his heels for so many years without question.
Course, none of that mattered now. Ned was an ally. And any internal feelings I had toward him, justified or not, needed to be put aside for the sake of this mission.
“Thought I'd introduce myself to the neighbours,” he said overly loudly.
Great actor, this one.
“Oh- sure. Would you like to come in and meet my husband?” Cass offered and heat pooled in my stomach at her referring to me like that.
Damn. Never wanted to be anyone's husband before. Why her? Why now?
Intense situations. That's what it was. We'd been through hell and back together. Now I was experiencing an attachment to her that she wasn't reciprocating.
Ned strolled into the room, at ease as he closed the door behind him.
“I saw you enter this room,” Ned announced, dropping the act. “I figured Selena and Varick would be close too but the next room along isn't theirs.”
“We'll find them,” Cass assured him.
Ned dropped into an armchair, flicking his cigar ash on the coffee table.
“Did you have any trouble with security?” Cass asked, perching on the sleek, white sofa.
Ned shook his head. “It went as smooth as a baby's bum.”
I wrinkled my nose, but remained silent. Who even was this guy? What was his reason for marching in here like he gave a steaming shit about the Helsings? Had he been captured and forced to compete in death fights for days on end? Doubted it.
“So what's your deal, bro?” I folded my arms, figuring I might as well call bullshit while I smelt it.
“My deal?” He echoed in a mocking tone, raising a brow beneath his black mask. Guy was average-looking at best. I didn't need to be a Siren to pull chicks. Sucked for some.
“Yeah.” I approached him, jaw set. “Why are you risking your nuts to bring down this place? What's it to you?”
Ned puffed on his cigar, leaning back in his chair. “None of your business.”
“We don't need to talk about why we're all here. Everyone has their reasons,” Cass sided with him, giving me a hard stare. My gut tugged uncomfortably. She didn't want to offer an explanation to Ned if I forced him to open up, I got that. But shouldn't we all have been on the same page before charging into battle together?
I shrugged at their cool expressions, heading to the balcony and shutting the door behind me. The rush of air nearly froze my lungs, but I was too stubborn to go back inside. Damn arctic wind.
I gazed down at the strip below, the sound of laughter and music reaching me. I'd visited Vegas once with my pack. Lost eight grand in a hand of poker. The gutting part was, it had been Ulvic's credit card I'd used to make the bet. Didn't feel so bad about that now, funnily enough.
I wondered where he was, thinking of Mekiah and Reason. Pain pricked my heart like someone was using it as a dart board. I might not ever find out what happened to them. Might not live that long. But if I did, I'd go after them. I'd stomach Ulvic's company for the sake of them. But ideally, I needed to find a way to break Ulvic's hold over me between then and now. Not that I had any idea of how to do that.
I sighed, resting my elbows on the icy railing. That was a problem for another day. Another life.
Down in the street, a huge billboard lit up and a woman's voice projected throughout the whole resort. “The arrival ball will start shortly. Please make your way to the ballroom on the ground level of the Troposphere.” The video showed a grand room, panning over tables dressed for dinner and sparkling chandeliers above them.
I turned, finding Cass on the balcony, silent as ever, gazing at me with worry in her eyes.
I moved to her with the sole intention of evaporating that look from her face. “Looks like the big bad wolf is taking you to the ball, Red.”
I could see her fighting a smile and triumph bloomed in my chest. I glanced over her shoulder, checking that Ned had gone, having stubbed his cigar out on the coffee table. Was that a dig at this place or at me?
Cass took hold of my chin, making my heart do something weird. I snapped my eyes to hers and she grinned, angling my neck to the side and baring her fangs.
“Pretty sure this wasn't in the fairy tale.” I watched her from the corner of my eye.
“Pretty sure this wasn't either.” She sank her teeth into my neck and I yelped like a puppy.
Real smooth.
“I thought the wolf was the one with the big teeth?” I tried to continue the joke, but she held me in place as she fed from my neck and my muscles tensed against the restriction. I wondered if I could have fought her off, but didn't try. She needed to be strong. And, admittedly, her touching me at all was a total turn on, even if she was gum-deep in my neck right now.