Amaretto Flame (15 page)

“You won,” he said. I returned his smile
involuntarily, and excitedly took another long drink. Paula won the
second hand, and when she did, she looked straight at me with an
icy-cold smile. I could practically hear her thinking,
There
bitch. How do you like that?
Refusing to be flustered by her, I
smiled back genuinely. I picked up on the rules quickly and by the
third hand, I realized I needed just one more card to have a full
house. When I got it, I sat straight up and smiled from ear to ear.
Everyone except for Paula laughed at me.

“You’re not supposed to squeal when you get a
card you need,” Erika laughed. “You’re supposed to keep a poker
face…so no one knows what you have. Then, you can bluff if you need
to…you know, make the others think you have something you don’t or
make them think you’re losing so they’ll throw more money in the
pot.”

“Oh,” I laughed at myself. The others put
their cards down, because after my outburst, they knew I had a good
hand.

So, the third pot came to me as well. Renee
refilled the drinks and I sucked at mine greedily. The warmth was
becoming even more pleasant, and in it I recognized the same
feelings from the other rebellious things I had done; numbness,
thrill, and excitement. We played several more hands, most of which
I won, and Paula’s glares became more frequent and more heated. I
barely paid attention to her. By then, I’d had three more drinks
and felt wonderful. Everything was moving in a surreal sort of
haze.

I felt like nothing had the power to get to
me in this state, and even thoughts of the Venator didn’t scare me
the way they should have. Jenny had been drinking just as fast as I
was, and she started whispering things to me that I found hilarious
for one reason or another.

“Olivia, look at me. Hurry up,” she slurred.
When I did look, she focused on my face with an exaggerated
concentration. “You’re so pretty.” She put her hand on my face and
added, “I think you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. Also
you’re even prettier because you don’t really know that you’re
pretty.” Then she squeezed my cheeks together with her hand and
collapsed in a fit of giggles. For some reason, I also thought it
was funny and started giggling.

“You don’t know you’re pretty either,” I
said, and patted her leg reassuringly, which made her and Erika
laugh even harder.

Jackson leaned over and put his face next to
my ear. “I thought you said you didn’t drink.” I turned my face to
look at his and realized we were just an inch or two apart.

“I don't,” I replied. He raised an eyebrow at
me and took a shot of his whiskey. A bit of the liquid lingered on
his lips and I had a sudden urge to kiss it off. The feeling shook
me, and I looked away from him quickly, only to see Paula glaring
at me again.
Her hand moved quickly and tipped her drink in my direction. She
gasped at the same time and said, “Oops.”

The liquid poured across the tabletop in my
direction, but as the others were moving to get out of the way, I
put my hands under the table and tipped it up. The alcohol and ice
changed directions quickly and Paula’s reflexes weren’t as fast as
mine. It ended up in her lap, and she emitted a true gasp of
surprise, her jaw opening as she shot me a look of hatred.

“Oops,” I mimicked her, putting my napkin on
the table in front of her.
The others around the table were quiet, and then Jenny began
giggling quietly. Paula apparently decided she didn’t want to give
me the satisfaction of watching her get mad, so she took the napkin
and began to brush the ice off of her lap. Even pissed and drenched
in whatever drink she’d been enjoying, she managed to look elegant
and beautiful.

“Well,” she said when she looked back up,
“I’m going.” Then she gave Jackson a sultry look and said, “Want to
get lost with me, Jackson?” She looked so amazing when she said it
that
I
almost wanted to get lost with her, whatever that
meant. The tension around the table was thick as everyone waited to
see what Jackson would say. I looked down at my hands and was hit
with a wave of jealousy that surprised me. It was a new feeling for
me.

“I’m already lost, Paula,” Jackson said
quietly after a long pause.
I drank more as she slid out of the booth and glanced from Jackson
to me. Without another word, she turned and left.

“That,” Jenny whispered loudly to me, “was
awesome.” She laughed, and I tried to hide my smile. Now that the
awkward moments were over, the haze returned with a force. Before
long, the others began leaving one by one, while Jenny and I kept
sipping as fast as we could. When Rick stood, he gave me a lopsided
grin.

“It was fun guys. Olivia’s not invited next
time.” He winked.

“Come on, Jenny. You can stay with me
tonight,” Erika said, standing. She looked pointedly at me with
concern on her face. “Are you going to be okay, Olivia?”

“Me? I’m going to be perfect,” I said,
smiling back at her. Jenny laughed and Erika hauled her up out of
the seat with gentle hands.

“I’ll take her home,” Jackson said to Erika,
and Jenny gasped.

“Don’t corrupt her.” She said. “We don’t want
her to turn out like Paula.” Then she giggled, but when I glanced
at Jackson, he was looking down at the table, not sharing her
amusement.

“Jesus, Jenny. Come on,” Erika said, shaking
her head, and led Jenny toward the door.

“I guess I should take you home,” Jackson
said.

“You don’t have to,” I said. “I can walk.” I
didn't want him thinking he had to babysit me.

“I want to,” he said. The way he looked at me
sent a wave of nervousness through me. A moment later, he smiled a
sweet smile that seemed familiar somehow. I realized it was the
smile I’d seen in my dream, and I couldn’t look away from him.

A moment later, I was kissing him. I don’t
know what came over me, but my usual inhibitions were gone...way
gone. His arms went around me and he returned the kiss with heat,
his mouth pressing hard against mine. My hands cupped his face, and
I savored the feel of the stubble on his chin and the silky
softness of his hair. The tingling feeling was more intense than
ever, and I was lost in the kiss.

“Whoa, Slayer,” Jackson said, pulling back
from the kiss to look at me. He was flushed and he looked at my
lips for a few seconds before he spoke again, huskily. “We better
get you home. Come on.” Jackson led me to the door, where he turned
off the lights and locked up. I stumbled a little on the way to his
jeep, but he kept his arm around me and prevented me from
falling.

“Wow,” I said, looking out into the night. As
small as Staves was, the lights looked beautiful to me. Jackson
followed my gaze and then looked back at me, raising an eyebrow and
chuckling.

“In you go,” Jackson said, and then he lifted
me into the passenger-side of the jeep. When he leaned across me to
buckle my seat belt, I could smell the subtle, deep scent of his
cologne.

During the ride home, I tried to keep my eyes
away from Jackson by looking out the window, but the lights we
passed blurred and made me feel woozy. Most of the time, I kept my
eyes on my hands, and once Jackson reached over and touched my
shoulder.

“Are you okay? You’re not feeling sick, are
you?”

The look of concern on his face made me grin,
and I shook my head. When we stopped at the curb in front of the
house, I watched him get out and walk around, opening my door.

“Hi,” I said.

“Hi,” Jackson chuckled. “Can you walk?”

I made a sound of exasperation at him and
then hopped out of the jeep quickly. It's a good thing he put his
arm out to steady me, because I
was
feeling dizzy.

Despite the warm feeling I had from Jackson's
arm being around my shoulders, another feeling was trying to worm
it's way into my muddled consciousness. Maybe it was the fact that
I'd trained to stay vigilant always, but here I was, more
vulnerable than ever. My reflexes were no doubt impaired, and more
than anything I wanted to sit in a quiet place and examine my
growing fondness for this human.

I was definitely distracted, and that's
probably why it took longer than usual for the warning to penetrate
my brain. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up just as we
reached the porch. My eyes flicked up to the door and my senses
automatically stretched out so that I could attempt to hear or see
the danger that my body was picking up on.

Although I'd shut and locked the door before
leaving earlier, I could see that it was open a tiny bit; a small
crack of yellow light spilling through it and pooling on the wooden
porch.

In the space of a second, my mind began going
through the possibilities. Could Everett or Max have come back?
Perhaps they'd gone inside to wait for me. No. That was impossible.
Not because I didn't think they were capable of showing up
unannounced, and not because Ivanna had forbidden them to come back
here - but because their presence in the house would never have
sent waves of alarm through me. I'd felt this feeling before. Every
cell in my body was buzzing and trying to fight past the alcohol to
go on alert. It had happened in New Orleans when I'd encountered
those two Venator in the alley.

“What's wrong, Slayer?” Jackson brushed a
strand of hair from my forehead and I realized that I'd frozen, my
foot still on the bottom step as if I were going to ascend. “Don't
tell me you're going to throw up,” he added, chuckling.
Jackson!
I had to get him out of here. My brain went into
overdrive. Using my enhanced senses, I listened as hard as I could,
directing my attention inside and around the house.

Jackson's heartbeat was a loud, steady
drumming that threatened to block out all other noises, but I
pushed past that and reached as hard as I could. There were
feminine voices coming from my left. I glanced in the direction and
immediately disregarded those as belonging to the neighbors. Then I
heard it; a muffled footstep coming from within the house, as if
someone were trying to walk quietly. The sound of breathing from at
least two people. The elevated heartbeats as they waited for the
fight. They'd heard us pull up and were now waiting for us inside.
Shit!

Slowly, I put my finger to my lips and
signaled for Jackson to be quiet. He furrowed his brow, and started
to say something else. He was probably blaming my behavior on the
alcohol that was still making my thoughts jumble up. I had to make
him leave before the enemies inside - Venator, surely - saw that he
was here.

“Jackson,” I whispered. “Get out of here.” I
began pushing him back toward his Jeep. He wore his confusion on
his face as he tried to figure out whether I was joking or not.
“Seriously. I need you to leave right now,” I added, still
listening to the sounds inside the house. “You're right. I'm not
feeling well.” My voice came out as a hiss in the dark; more
forceful than I'd meant, and Jackson was clearly wondering what in
the hell was going on.

“At least let me help you get inside, and
make sure you're okay,” he said. I winced at how loud his voice
sounded with my senses still stretched. Despite that, I picked up
the noise from behind us, in the direction of the jeep. A footstep;
probably a lookout for whoever was inside the house. No! That meant
there were at least three of them and without a doubt, the one
outside was watching Jackson and me at this very moment. His
leaving was now out of the question. I couldn't risk the Venator
attacking him when he was alone. Only a few moments had passed; a
couple of heartbeats, but my time for thinking was over.

I grabbed Jackson's hand and looked into his
face. “Jackson, listen to me. You have to do exactly as I say. I
know you don't understand, but we're in trouble.” My body was in
motion now, and I pulled Jackson up onto the porch, keeping him
behind me. Just as I heard the bodies coming toward me, I kicked
the door the rest of the way open. It connected with the first man,
sending him flying back a few feet into the living room.
This bought me a few moments, and I moved into the house, keeping
to the left side of the living room. I could see them now; two
Venator dressed in black. They both towered over me, and their
bodies were bulging with muscle. The man I'd hit with the door was
still surprised, but the other wore a scowl as he came toward me.
Then, something happened that I wasn't expecting. One moment,
Jackson was behind me and then the next, he was in front, his arm
pushing me backward.

His kick hit the man with the force of a
truck, and my jaw dropped open. My surprise only lasted a second,
because the third man was coming in the door - the one from the
street - and my body kicked into action. With a flick of my wrist,
the door slammed behind him, and at almost the same time, my fist
connected with his nose. While this might have put a normal human
out of commission, to the Venator before me, it was only enough to
stun him for a second. My eyes flicked to Jackson, and I could see
that he was handling himself well. One of the men was picking
himself up from the floor, and while I was wondering what Jackson
had done to him, my attacker kicked, hitting me in the ribs.

The stab of pain took my breath for a moment,
and then I was pissed. The red haze was tinting my vision, and with
a few quick moves, I had my attacker pinned. His hand was around my
throat, squeezing, but I quickly pulled myself up so that I could
get a grip on his head. I slammed it against the wall and my
attacker slumped, unconscious. Taking a few quick gulps of air
through my stinging throat, I turned to help Jackson.

Only one of the Venator were still standing,
and this one was obviously using magick. Jackson was kneeling on
one knee, his hands covering his ears and an expression of pain on
his face. The Venator was looking at me strangely, probably
wondering why whatever he was doing wasn't affecting me the way it
was Jackson. When I kicked him, it broke his focus long enough for
Jackson to get up. Between the two of us, we dispatched the third
man easily enough. This worried me. Typically, the Venator were
deadly. The three men we'd just fought had gone down too easily, as
if they hadn't even really been trying.