Sanctuary Bay (15 page)

“They're always a little different,” Karina replied. “But they're always fun!” She took a pair of earrings from the top drawer of her nightstand and waved them at Sarah. “Put these on. They're perfect with that sweater.”

After a lot of protesting, Sarah had finally agreed to let Izzy loan her a sweater for the party. It was cream-colored, long-sleeved, with a V-neck that was lower than what Sarah usually wore. The earrings would be great with it. They were beautiful, long with a gentle S shape, and sparkly with jagged crystals in purple, green, lavender, ruby, and pale blue. When Sarah held them up next to her face in the mirror, she had to admit she loved the way they looked against her dark hair.

“Put them on,” Karina urged. “We need to get going.”

“Okay, okay.” Sarah smiled as she put them in. “Ready,” she announced, and together they all headed down to the door near the school's back entrance. Karina pressed her fingerprint on the pad next to the door. Somehow one of the pack members had hacked the system and added everyone's fingerprints to those accepted by the door pad.

After they went down the first set of stairs and crossed the cavernous furnace room, Sarah got the honor of unlocking the door to the subbasement, because she'd just gotten her key. She felt a little thrill of anticipation as she started down the rough wooden stairs.

“Wrong way,” Izzy told her as she started to turn left at the bottom. “We only use the Bone Man room for ceremonies. The robes too.”

“For parties and other social stuff, we use the den,” Karina added. She moved into the lead, and they followed a twisting corridor, until they reached a room about as big as the coffee shop. It was much warmer than the rest of the subbasement, probably because the damp stone walls had been covered with thick Oriental rugs. The room was lit with dozens and dozens of candles.

Small groups of kids lounged on piles of cushions scattered all over the floor. “Hmmm. That looks interesting.” Izzy nodded toward a tangled heap of very long leather strips that were a couple of inches wide. Sarah couldn't believe her eyes hadn't gone there first.

“You don't know what they're for?” Sarah asked quietly, hoping it wasn't a stupid question.

“No, it's a new addition,” Izzy said. “Nate's a genius for coming up with ways to keep the parties lively.”

Lively?
Sarah shot another glance at the leather strips.
It's not another initiation,
she reminded herself.
I'm already in the group
. Still, a little apprehension mixed with her excitement.

“We need drinks.” Karina raised her voice. “Who wants to bring three gorgeous girls some drinks?” she called. Four boys were instantly on their feet, including Logan. “What'll it be?” one asked. Sarah hadn't officially met him yet, but she thought his name was Cody.

“Martinis,” Izzy replied, dropping down onto a cluster of pillows. “Okay?” she asked Sarah and Karina.

“Sure,” Sarah said, and Karina nodded, as they joined Izzy on the floor. At least her roommates were getting along tonight. Sarah continued to look around the room. More people had arrived. She thought it was close to being the whole group, about twenty in all. Something on the wall across from her snagged her attention. “You guys have a flat-screen down here?” she exclaimed.

“We have everything you could possibly want,” Karina assured her.

“I thought there wasn't any electricity,” Sarah said.

“The candles are for atmosphere,” Izzy explained. “Thanks, boys,” she said as their drinks arrived. Sarah took a small sip. She'd never had a martini before. She wasn't sure she liked it, but she was willing to give it more of a try.

A long howl interrupted the buzz of conversation in the room. Sarah turned toward the sound. Nate was in the rough stone doorway holding the ceramic bowl from Sarah's initiation in both hands. “I don't think it's a full moon, but I feel my wolf coming out!” Nate shouted.

Everyone howled in response. Sarah threw back her head and let her voice blend with all the others. Nate wandered from group to group, bringing the bowl to the lips of each member of the pack. Sarah's stomach tightened when he reached her. Nate's intense gaze always made her feel as if he was looking deep inside her, seeing much more than her face, taking in her secret wishes, fears, and desires. He'd always been able to understand her, from day one. She stared back at him as she took a swallow. The taste—what she could identify—was a mix of mushrooms and berries and alcohol. Nate smiled at her before moving on to Izzy. She felt his smile brushing across her face as the Blutgrog took hold.

She let herself sink into the sensations. Branching lines of warmth pulsed through her body. She became acutely aware of her mouth, her tongue lightly touching the soft roof, lips meeting in a light touch. Aware of the small tinkling sound made by the crystals of her earrings as she turned her head slightly, of the gold wires running through the tiny holes in her earlobes. Aware of the colors in a single candle flame, gold, yellow, cream, a bit of blue.

“I bet you're all wondering what these are for,” Nate said when everyone had drunk. Sarah focused on him, trying to concentrate on his words. He tapped the pile of intertwined leather strips with one foot.

“I know what I'm hoping,” Logan yelled.

“Here's the deal. Guys grab the end of a strip with a knot in it and tie it around your wrist. Girls do the same thing, except use the end with no knot. When you find out who's tied to you—well, you take it from there. Just have fun and be safe.” That got another round of howls. When Sarah howled along, it felt as if she were already tied to everyone in the room, their joined voices connecting them.

Nate held up his hands, and the room went quiet. “There are black strips, red strips and green ones. Girls who want girls, use the green, either end. Guys who want guys, same thing with the red. Experimentation, as always, is welcome.”

Sarah felt a little nervous as she approached the strips. There were a bunch of guys in here she'd never even spoken to. A bunch of hot, smart guys handpicked to be in the group, she reminded herself. She smiled as Karina helped her tie the end of a black strip to her wrist. The leather was cool and pliant. She wouldn't mind it wrapping around her entire body.

As she tied one to Karina, she suddenly thought of Ethan. She wanted to ask Karina if this was weird for her, but she seemed fine with it. She turned to Izzy to see if she needed help. Izzy held the end of a black strip and a green one. “I'm trying to decide if I'm feeling adventurous,” Izzy explained, then dropped the green strip. “Maybe another night.”

“Go time!” Nate yelled.

Sarah felt a tug on her wrist, but she had no idea who was doing the tugging. The strips were too tangled. “I think I need to go over yours,” she told Izzy, and Izzy crouched down so Sarah could step over her strip. A jerk from the other end of her strip suddenly took the slack out and brought her tight up against a guy with short blond hair, her chest pressing against his back, her nose at the base of his neck. She vaguely remembered his name being Luke. He laughed and so did she. “Um, I think I need to squeeze in front of you. I don't have enough rope to go anywhere else,” Sarah told him.

“Do whatever you want. I'm at your service,” he replied.

Sarah inched around him, her leather strip loosening just a bit. Then she noticed that Grayson had been pulled up against him on the other side. This was going to be tricky. She had to cross in front of Luke to get more slack, but Grayson was standing super close, facing him, and there was only a little gap Sarah could squeeze through.

“You have room,” Luke said, and she could feel the tiny vibrations of his voice inside her ears. She giggled. It felt like he was tickling her without even touching her. The Blutgrog was incredible stuff.

She wasn't convinced that there was enough room, but she began wriggling between them, her back to Luke. “Hey, new girl,” Grayson purred. Their faces were almost touching, so Grayson closed the small distance and kissed Sarah on the cheek, smiling as she pulled away.

Kissed by an Olympic hopeful,
Sarah thought giddily.

Slowly she managed to work her way past, feeling Luke hard against her butt as she did. She gave her hips a little wiggle in response. She'd never felt like this, so accepted, so connected, so desired.

She continued weaving through the jumble of bodies, light-headed with sensory stimulus—fingernails lightly sweeping across the skin at the small of her back where her sweater had ridden up, hands running through her kinky hair, her own hands exploring, stroking a stubbly cheek, the hollow of a throat, the curve of a waist.

The leather strip between her and
him,
whoever he was, was really loose now. She had to be getting close. Her heart began beating faster, the heat lines running through her body becoming almost electric. A few couples had already broken free of the twisted web. Sarah could see Karina and David lying in a pile of cushions near the door. He was using their leather strip to blindfold her, and she was laughing, head tossed back. Ethan would—

The thought shattered as arms wrapped around Sarah, one just under her breasts, one across her belly. “Found you,” a low voice growled huskily in her ear. Nate. She twisted around to face him. God, he was beautiful, all blocky jaw and bumpy nose, and hard body. He made her think of a boxer. The candlelight reflected off his dark hair, his caramel-colored eyes gleaming. She ran her hands over his biceps, lightly squeezing, confirming he was just as muscular as she thought. “And now that I've found you, exactly what am I going to do with you?”

“Don't you mean what am
I
going to do with
you
?” Sarah untied the leather that bound her. “Uh-uh,” she impulsively told Nate as he started to unfasten his. He looked surprised, but intrigued. She added an extra knot to the leather secured around his wrist, then used the loose end to lead him over to an unoccupied pile of pillows. She hesitated a fraction of a second, then put her hands on Nate's shoulders, turned him around, and tied his hands together behind his back. He wasn't the Jager right now. Or the class president. Or the most popular guy in school. He was hers.

Again, Sarah moved her hands up to his shoulders, letting her thumbs caress the sides of his neck, running over cords of muscle, fine little hairs. She almost became lost in the intensity of her perceptions, but she caught herself and pushed down gently with her palms. Nate obediently dropped to his knees. Sarah knelt behind him, spreading her legs so that she held his body between them. His neck … she still hadn't finished exploring it. She lowered her mouth and ran her tongue across the edge of his hairline, loving the faint taste of his sweat, a tiny bit salty, a tiny bit sweet, but mostly just clean, like water. Nate let out a long, shuddery breath. Sarah smiled against his warm skin, then gave him a little nip, enjoying the give of his flesh under her teeth.

She wanted more, more of him. She slipped her hands around him, running her palms under his shirt and over his bare stomach, tracing the muscles that defined it. His body jerked when her pinky dipped into his belly button. It jerked again when she slid one hand higher and let her fingernail flick across one of his nipples. She could experiment like this all night, feeling his textures, tasting him, discovering his most sensitive spots.

But Nate had managed to work his hands free. He swiftly turned around to face her, grabbed her by the waist, and let himself fall back on the cushions, taking her with him, giving her hundreds of new impressions to absorb now that her body was stretched out against the length of him—his fingers sliding under the waistband of her jeans, his heart thundering against her chest, her own heart pounding on the other side, his mouth on hers.

It was almost too much, too intense, too powerful. Sarah shuddered underneath Nate, her world narrowed to the sensations he was creating in her. Who cared about the rest of the world when she had this?

 

8

The lights came up in the theater and Izzy and Sarah started sidestepping their way out of the row of seats. “Karina would have loved that movie,” Izzy said. “All fate and destiny and true love.”

“I texted her to meet us, but I didn't hear back,” Sarah said.

“I guess this is one of the rare nights she and Ethan have managed not to piss each other off. Did you see that card she made him? She's the absolute perfect girlfriend, always doing romantic things. I think that's partly why I hate that she's with Ethan. He takes it all for granted,” Izzy commented.

Sarah was glad to hear Izzy say something nice about Karina for a change. They'd been sniping at each other for weeks. “Maybe he…” She trailed off as she spotted Nate walking up the aisle. “Hi, Sarah,” he said.

“Hi.” Hi. That was all she'd come up with.

“Hi, Izzy,” Izzy said.

“You didn't give me a chance,” Nate protested. “Bye, Izzy.” He waved as he passed. “And Sarah.”

Hard to believe I spent hours making out with him,
Sarah thought. When she saw him in the halls or the dining hall, it was like they barely knew each other.

That's how the Wolfpack parties work,
she reminded herself. Like with Karina. She'd spent hours on that homemade card for Ethan. But that didn't mean she didn't have a good time with whoever she wanted to down in the den.

“So you didn't like the movie?” Sarah asked. She didn't want to think about Nate anymore. It made her kind of crazy.

“Not enough explosions.” They pushed through the double doors and out into the corridor. “Huh. Guess I was wrong about Ethan and Karina being together,” she commented.

Sarah followed her gaze, and saw Ethan coming out of the coffee shop. Alone. As if he felt her looking at him, his head snapped up and his eyes met hers. He finished the coffee, crumpled the paper cup, tossed it in the trash, and headed straight for her.