Chapter Four
Marius stared at the woman who’d just given him the kiss of his life. There was a television series he’d watched, Limitless, where this guy would take a drug and become super intelligent and insightful. The way it had been filmed made it so whenever the guy was on the drug, there was some kind of camera filter to make everything look warmer and clearer. Off the drug, the filming was dark and dull, almost bluish.
Hayley’s kiss had been like that drug. He didn’t know how long it would last, but a warm filter had come over the bar and everyone in it.
She smelled and tasted like Red Vines. Sweet. The taste of her was still in his mouth.
He really should stop staring at her, but he couldn’t.
“So, what the hell?” Jackson said to her.
First, Hayley turned to Marius. She held out her hand to shake his. “Hi, I’m Hayley Jaynes. Sorry to steal your lips, but I had to scare off a guy.”
Automatically, his hand shot out to shake hers even while he was thinking that their tongues had enjoyed a thorough handshake already, and this palm to palm action seemed pretty fucking redundant.
“Marius Nichols,” he said. There were more words clunking around in his brain, but he couldn’t figure out what order they were supposed to go in. He shook her hand and dropped it quickly.
“You had to scare off a guy?” Summer said from the other side of Jackson. She started laughing. “You nearly scared off your brother, that’s for sure.”
Jackson was shaking his head. “What guy? What the hell is going on, Hayley?”
Hayley gave him a pitying look. “Nothing to worry about. Someone who wouldn’t take no for an answer, but he’s gone now. Did I scare you, brother? With my big tonguey kiss with your hottie friend, here?”
“It’s not funny,” Jackson said. “I thought you were…possessed or something.”
She laughed. “Just because you haven’t seen me make out with anyone before, doesn’t mean I haven’t.” Her gaze turned serious, and Marius was mesmerized by her beautiful blue eyes, even though her focus was on her brother. “Jackson, I think I ought to tell you that I’m not a virgin. I have had sex before, you know.”
Jackson had just taken a sip of beer, and now he choked on it. “That isn’t funny.”
“Didn’t say it was,” Hayley said. “I’m an adult, Jax. Get fucking used to it.”
Jackson opened his mouth to argue with her, but Summer put a hand on his cheek. Immediately he faced his mate, a soft expression in his eyes.
“She’s right,” Summer whispered.
Marius watched as Jackson took a big breath and settled down. Immediately the tension in the air dissipated, and Jackson turned to the bartender.
“Hey, Ross,” Jackson said. “A beer for my baby sister, please!”
The giant behind the bar gave Jackson a hard look. “Your baby sister have some ID?”
Hayley was already reaching for her wallet. Ross checked it and slid a beer across the counter.
“Let’s grab a table,” Summer said, “so we can visit better.”
Marius followed them stupidly, unable to look away from Hayley. It pissed him off that she seemed unaffected by that kiss, while he was holding the edges of his coat forward in the hopes of hiding the giant boner he still sported. She’d started something incredible, and then just walked away. He couldn’t recover that fast.
He was mostly quiet while Jackson, Summer, and Hayley talked. Every now and then he spoke up. Once, he mentioned a good place to “go for a run,” which for shifters meant a place where they could change into their animal without fear of human discovery.
“There are some good spots at the base of Mount Rainier, if you go at the right time of year,” Marius said.
“Yeah, we used to go out there, remember Jax?” Hayley said, her blue eyes alight with excitement. “We should go again.”
“I could take you out there, if you want,” Marius said.
She looked at him suddenly, as if just remembering he was there. Marius sucked in a breath.
“Yeah, sure,” she said.
He knew a noncommittal answer when he heard one. Shit. Had that kiss only been good in his mind? Maybe he’d imagined the whole thing. He narrowed his eyes at her.
Her cheeks colored to a faint pink and she quickly looked away.
If her damn brother wasn’t here, he’d reach right over and nudge that pointed little chin of hers to angle her face back to him. Then he’d make her look at him and she’d see that the kiss wasn’t something she could just ignore.
And maybe she’d kiss him again.
But now Summer was talking about her collages, which were currently on display at the coffee shop near her work, and Hayley was flipping through Summer’s phone, looking at photos Summer had taken of them. When Hayley looked finished, Marius held out his hand. “Can I see them?”
“Sure.” Hayley carefully handed him the phone, as if she were afraid of her skin touching his.
Was he that repulsive? He shoved the thought aside and looked at the phone.
“Wow,” he said. He’d thought he would mindlessly look at Summer’s collages and make sounds of admiration, but shit, these showed talent. He was no art critic, but he knew when he saw something good, something that wouldn’t allow him to look away. He caught Summer’s eye. “These are amazing.”
“Thanks.” Her cheeks grew dark with a blush.
He passed the phone back to Hayley, purposefully brushing his fingers against hers. She jerked away as if he’d hurt her.
Hell, that hadn’t been his intent. Acting like it hadn’t happened, Marius drained the last sips of his beer. He had to get out of this place, away from Jackson’s sister.
Standing up, he said, “Thanks for inviting me out, guys. This was fun.”
“You’re leaving already?” Jackson said. “We just got here.”
“Early morning tomorrow.” Marius’s lie was a half lie. There would be an early morning tomorrow. For someone. Just not Marius, who planned to sleep in.
Jackson’s nostrils flared slightly, as if he was trying to scent the lie. But then he shrugged, because even if it were a lie, it wasn’t a big deal. Marius had come out like Jackson wanted, and been kissed not like Jackson wanted, and now Marius was going home to mind his own damn business and not have to be stuck next to Hayley anymore. Smelling her Red Vines smell. Fruity, sweet.
“Thanks for coming out, man,” Jackson said, clapping Marius on the back.
Marius gave a half wave to Summer and Hayley. He grabbed his coat and marched outside.
It had stopped snowing and the air was clear. No intoxicating, fruity scent. Inhaling deeply, he walked toward his pick-up, which he’d parked a block away.
Quick footsteps followed him, and the scent of Red Vines filled the air once more. Fuck, what was she doing to him? He turned to see her rushing down the sidewalk, her shadow bold in the reflections of the street lights on wet pavement dotted with slush.
Her hands were shoved into her pockets, and he wondered if she was cold. He started to search his own pockets for a set of gloves before realizing he was going completely insane.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey.”
“Just wanted to say thanks for saving my ass in there.”
“No problem,” he said.
She laughed. “You’re scowling at me like it was a hardship.”
Oh, she had no idea how hard it had been. “Not at all. I was wondering if you’d want to do that again sometime. Maybe after dinner.”
Where the hell had those words come from? He wasn’t interested in seeing anyone…or at least he hadn’t been, until Hayley had walked into The A-Hole and kissed him senseless. Marius stared at her, feeling horrified and hopeful all at once.
“Um, yeah, no,” she said, taking a short step away from him, back toward the bar. “Not a good idea.”
“Really?” he said, his voice low. “Why not?”
Her eyes widened, probably at the tone he was using to mask his irritation. She recovered quickly, and straightened her spine. “Because I heard about you already—you were with that Clausen guy. Harassing Summer. Maybe she and Jackson have forgiven you, but I sure as hell haven’t.”
It was his turn to step back, because the hatred in her voice was so strong and clear.
He kept his reaction off his face as he said, “Fine.”
Hayley turned and walked back to the bar, her boot heels clacking sharply on the sidewalk.
Marius told himself he wasn’t into her anyway, with her too-pert nose and her dirty mouth and her attitude.
But as he watched her walk away, his hard cock said differently.