Sterling (22 page)

“Watch my purse.” I slammed it in front of Mr. Leather Pants so it was clear he was not invited. Sore loser?

You bet.

Besides, I wanted to go out there and do a little fishing. I hadn’t really test driven this body.

The thrumming beat was driving the dancers wild as a current of energy was literally melting off of them in fine mist that engulfed me. The lights flickered and I worked my hips intentionally slower than the beat. I was delighted to see a few glances fall my way. I ran my hands through my hair and just let myself go as the swell of bodies moved like an ocean tide.

Just four feet away, bedroom eyes were pouring all over me. A hot guy with short spiked hair moved up without saying a word and began to dance. He lifted my arm to his shoulder inviting me to join him and with every move of our hips to the beat, he cinched closer and closer. He had beautifully tanned skin already glowing with sweat. Steady hands smoothed down my side until they met with the bare skin above my waistline.

The feel of his skin was sinful. I didn’t know who he was, and I didn’t care.

I had been missing out on something all those months—and that was physical contact. The only contact I had received was fists, elbows and heels knocking me down on a mat. Justus never hugged or touched me unless he was healing, he was very peculiar about that. I wasn’t a person who necessarily craved it, but when you’ve been deprived of it for so long the first touch simply ignites you in the most unexpected way.

“I’m Paul,” he yelled out.

His fingers noticed my belly button was exposed as they brushed over my skin sending a shiver through my body.

“You’re fucking hot,” he mouthed. His bottom lip was swollen from biting on it and his eyes were hooded. That man was already having mental sex with me.

He inched closer until our bodies joined and pleasurable warmth spread through me as I looked into his eyes. His fingers clawed at my hips and I felt the raw need in them. Whatever his intentions initially were, he was priming me up and I began to have flashes of this man stripping me down and running his tongue all over my body.

When his lips grazed my neck I exhaled suddenly. The music felt good, he felt good; and those hands continued to move and explore the contours of my body. Energy was culminating within me and my arms dropped to my side as my hair spilled across my face.

Paul stopped moving, took my wrist and urged me forward. “Let’s go somewhere private.”

“Sod off you manky bastard, she’s taken.”

I raised my head as the contact broke. It was then that I looked up and locked on Simon’s softened eyes. The look behind them was amused and intrigued. He smelled good—like cinnamon, and I wanted to bury my nose in his hair.

“Careful love, you’re charged. Reign it back in, you need to level down,” he whispered into my ear pulling me close.

Only, I had no idea what the hell he was saying nor did I really care. I only knew it was further arousing me.

“Why don’t you help me level down,” I said in a husky voice.

Simon managed a groan.

“You’re a very bad girl, Learner.”

Simon’s hips moved with mine and we fell into a comfortable rhythm as I imagined his moves off the dance floor and in the bedroom.

Such sultry, sexual moves. He was the kind of guy you could imagine taking his time, savoring every moment and not hurried at all with his seduction. I spied a hole at the side of his shirt and pushed my hand inside of it feeling the searing heat of his skin. His eyes melted down my body torturing me with their secrets.

When he held me at arms length with a scowl, I broke away and scanned the crowd looking for the other guy. Simon had no interest in finishing this dance and was no better than Justus in merely teaching me lessons. I spun around and began to walk away when he grabbed my arms and pulled me back against him. The room churned around us as we stood like statues, I felt every inch of his body against my back. Arms snaked around my waist and across my chest caging me in.

“Pull back, we can’t do this here, love. Level down before you give them a free light show, will you?”

I turned to face him and snapped out of it. I was losing control, the sexual energy in the room leaked out and filled me like a drug and I was allowing it to take control of me and pull my energy. If I didn’t level it out the night would end early with me passed out. A deep breath later, I was myself.

“You’re a good dancer,” I smirked.

“You aren’t too shabby yourself.” Simon gave me a twirl and we returned to the table.

I couldn’t assess the look on Justus. While had had two girls pawing on him, he appeared to be oblivious to everything except me and Simon walking off of that dance floor.

***

Several hours and drinks later, flirtatious dancing had escalated into more serious matters for some couples. Seduction was a heavy perfume penetrating the club. Once you stripped away civilized behavior, humans were no less primitive than animals when it came down to it.

Justus was in a more private area of the room, led away by the women who became greedy wanting him all to themselves. Simon kept me company the entire evening with interesting stories and plenty of laughs; our moment on the dance floor was likely nothing more than misdirected energy.

I popped the last mozzarella stick in my mouth savoring that delicious deep-fried goodness that always tastes better when you’ve been drinking. I licked the tip of my finger watching a woman run her fingers through the silky strands of her straight black hair, a visual request that Justus could not ignore.

“Women haven’t a prayer, you know.” Simon leaned forward and knocked back another shot of Tequila. He grimaced and the glass tapped on the smooth tabletop that was littered with empty glasses, straws, cherry stems and crumbs.

“For what?” I asked.

“Your Ghuardian over there,” he shouted over the music before leaning in closer. “He’s a Charmer, that one. That’s why they’re drawn to him.”

“Like a bee charmer?” I rolled my head back laughing.

“You could definitely say that, love. It’s one of his gifts, one a Mage cannot easily hide and not many have. He releases a certain kind of vibe that is seductive and irresistible, a magnet that draws in sexual energy. He can’t turn it off either.”

“You’re telling me he’s a sex magnet?”

I laughed so loud it drew attention from a nearby table. “That explains a whole lot. Okay, so if that’s true then how come the men aren’t all over him too?” I thought my question was justified, since when does energy discriminate?

Simon smirked, running his thumb over his bottom lip. “I don’t know his magic, of course that isn’t to say that he hasn’t had the occasional bloke or two wander over, depends on which team they’re batting for I suppose,” he said winking. “Chemistry, protons, electrons, voodoo…” he shrugged.

I tucked my chin neatly in my palm. “Well I’m immune. Even when we first met I was the only girl in there that wasn’t having an illicit mental affair with him.” My grin widened. “I think that really pissed him off too. He’s got a certain lure about him, he’s handsome, but I guess I’m not feeling whatever vibe he’s sending out.”

There was a sexual frenzy unraveling near Justus. One of the girls was stroking his stomach as if she might get a wish. Meanwhile, he continued talking like he was telling the most interesting story.

“Yes, that is quite the curiosity. I’ve noticed that about you two,” Simon said to himself as he circled his finger around the rim of a short glass. “You realize that’s why he doesn’t know how to behave properly with you? He’s a cad because he can’t trust women; they’re too drawn to him sexually for him to know if it’s genuine. That bloke has a wall around him with a moat, and yet there is he is talking up a storm as if they even cared what came out of his mouth. I feel a bit sorry for him.”

“So that’s why he acts like a manwhore?”

Simon laughed into his glass spitting out some of his drink. “I’ll tell him you said so.”

“Please do.”

“What I mean is, it’s not unlike being rich; most women like you for your money but how do you really know when they like
you
? His charm is his curse; he’s never had a real friendship with a woman so he doesn’t know how to treat them. He’s got his hands full with you, that one—I bet you have him stirring in his boots.” He looked thoughtfully in Justus’s direction and began to mutter to himself, “Maybe this will do him some good having a female Learner immune to those charms of his.”

“Maybe it only works on his type, which I am not.” I pointed my head at the newly formed harem of big-breasted vixens, before I rolled my eyes back.

“You’re everyone’s type, you’ve got a charm of your own,” he said, letting his voice slide to a seductive purr.

“You don’t know me very well then.”

“Let’s remedy that, shall we?”

The dimple in his cheek winked as he gave a playful grin.

Suddenly the lights went dark and the there was a blue laser flashing, I started to buzz and needed to remove myself from this predicament before I ended up electrocuting half the city as I watched Simon’s pierced tongue run over his teeth. Too much alcohol would only lead to regretted mistakes.

“I’ll be back.” I popped up out of my chair and tried to focus on the path to the bathroom. It was packed tight with only seven stalls, so there was a bit of a wait in line. Girls stood in front of the mirror in their tightest skirts and Band-Aid tops, leaning forward to plump up their lips and apply more perfume. Nothing like a nasal assault in a sweaty club to get the guys going. Eventually, I made it to the finish line and squirmed through a sea of silicone to head back.

I pushed against the crowd in the hall that had grown exponentially in just the past few hours. I awkwardly bumped into a couple making out and they hardly noticed.

Shit.

Simon and Justus were nowhere to be found. I scanned the crowd with my blurred vision and decided they must have headed out to the car.

My boots stomped erratically on the cement as I emerged and nearly stumbled down the steps. The frigid air splashed against my feverish skin and felt delicious. I thought about the dance with Simon and a tingle of energy rippled through me.

“Stop it Zoë, getting all worked up over nothing.” My shoes scraped the gravel noisily as I fumbled with my tangled hair.

“You got a light?”

I followed the sound of the voice—sizing up a brawny man leaning against a car who could have been a bouncer for the club, probably on his smoke break. His hands were tucked beneath his biceps that were completely covered all the way down with tattoos like he was wearing an ink shirt.

“Sorry I don’t smoke.”

I kept moving and scoped the lot for the car. My eyes were useless at this point, squinting was only allowing me to get a closer look of my eyelashes.

“So you don’t have a light, huh?”

“No.”
Jesus, was he deaf?

A gust of wind swirled my hair around and when I looked up I was suddenly facing the man. He was intimidating, unmoving, and watching me in a way that made my skin crawl.

He yanked my arm when I tried to step around him.

“I didn’t ask if you smoked, I asked if you have a light. And my guess is…you do.”

Justus taught me that we were not permitted to use any of our gifts around humans. I twisted my arm breaking his hold and stepped to the side. Just as quickly as I could move, he corralled me against a car with his humongous arms spread wide and low. He flashed a grin, lips pressed tightly together.

“Look, my friends are right behind me and they’re big guys,” I lied. Well, Justus was sizeable but Simon didn’t have a prayer against this guy. “They’d be pretty pissed to find someone out here manhandling me so let me go.” It was as if he didn’t hear me, as if he were appraising me. “I’m warning you, I can scream loud and if you don’t step off right now—”

“Shut the fuck up bitch, you talk too much.”

Adrenaline knocked at the door and asked if it could come in, so I let it.

I swept under the open gap but he snatched a handful of my hair and jerked me back. I was able to knock his legs enough to throw off his balance and when he lost his grip I backed away slowly, eyes fixed on him. I learned to never turn my attention from the enemy, even when retreating.

“You’re a new one.” His tongue came out of his mouth making an obscene gesture. “I can’t wait to taste you, Learner.”

He knew what I was
.

He was a Mage, and I was in deep shit. My heart hammered against my chest as my eyes darted around for help. No one was near, no one who could help. Was I ready to fight a Mage?

“That’s right, I know what you are.” He studied me a moment. “You
are
new.”

When right foot inched forward—I flashed to the side.

“It’s fucking rare to come across an unclaimed female, a definite two for one. I don’t know whether I want to juice you or fuck you first. Maybe both, but your ass is mine.” His laughter was chilling. “What’s the matter…you scared? Can’t play with the big boys?” His eyes lowered straight to my skirt and his tongue traced the corner of his mouth as he stepped towards me. I took a step back and thought about making a run for it. “That’s ok I’ll be real fucking gentle seeing how it’s your first—”