The Kiss That Saved Me (The Tidal Kiss Trilogy Book 2) (28 page)

It’s shining in the light, a combination of masculine sheen, supple leather seats and an engine with the horsepower to outrun a pissed off leopard.
 

“Get on, Love,” Vex purrs as he mounts the bike with a swing of one of his dark, leather clad legs. I get on the back, the leather of my pants pinching around the crotch.
 

I lean forward, placing my arms around his waist. I can almost feel a smile creeping onto his lips as his chest inflates slightly underneath my fingertips. Without a word he kicks the stand away and starts the engine. The roar of the machine makes desire pool in my stomach, dripping gradually downward like a slowly seductive waterfall.
 

Daryl and Tiberius get on two of the remaining bikes and do the same. Vex pulls his knee up and rests it next to mine as we lurch forward, my black hair trailing behind me like ink dipped ribbon as we race, engine purring beneath us, wheels spinning rabidly, into the darkness of the night.

The vibrations of the motorcycle rattle my frame as I cling onto Vex. We pull onto a road that leads to San Diego State University and weave past large white buildings and palm trees that are blowing lightly in the night air, their leaves like giant feathers. The campus is strewn with straggling students, walking home from the library after long evenings cramming for assignments or back from parties that they’ve left early, either too drunk or too bored to want to stay.

“Where are we going?” I yell over the roar of the bike. Vex’s head turns, his profile outlined against the light of the streetlamps which is just a little too white.

“A party at a frat house,” he says, revving the engine a little as we turn a corner. The street sign says ‘Greek Row’.

“A frat party?” I raise my eyebrows and he nods. I feel excitement bloom in my chest, I’m finally going to get a look into the life I’ve left behind. I’m finally going to a college frat party with a hot guy.
 
It’s almost like the last few months never happened and ended up at SDSU for some reason or another.
 

As we pass the seemingly deserted houses that line the street, a vibration that’s intermittent and familiar reaches through the tires of the bike, reverberating through the shiny metal work and up into my seat. It’s a thumping bass line and it’s coming from the house at the end of the street. All three bikes lurch forward once more before they pull up outside the house. People are spilling out onto the street. The lights are on inside and people are chanting ‘chug, chug, chug!’ in a primitive circle, not unlike cavemen, just inside the door. I dismount the bike and eyes turn to me, or should I say to us, as the others park their bikes. I hear someone yell.

“Hey! You can’t park here man! You’ll get a ticket.” Vex shoots the stranger a stare not unlike one that would freeze the likes of hell. Pulling out a bottle of some kind of liquor and a plastic bag, he unscrews the lid off the bottle and takes a gulp, not giving a crap as always and sending the message that he won’t be told what to do. I laugh as he walks forward, slinging his arm with the bottle in it over my shoulder.

“Ready to party, Love?” He winks at me as Daryl and Tiberius fall in behind us. We climb the stairs that lead to the porch and people part in front of us; boys are looking at me, my breasts, my ass, my face.
 

Is nothing sacred?
I think to myself, wanting all too much to slap them, avert their eyes to some willing target.

“Yeah. So how did you get an invite to this thing?” I look at him and he snorts, taking another swig from the bottle.

“Who said we were invited?” He looks over at me. I throw back my head and laugh.
 

We walk through the crowds of dancing, smooching, and drunken students, finding a dark corner in the expansive living room in which to skulk. Tiberius and Daryl move to join the others, assimilating themselves in with the masses and starting up conversations with random women.

“Don’t you want to go over and find yourself a hot young woman to prey on?” I look over at him as he perches on the arm of a barker lounger.

“Nah, Love, I’ve got the only woman I’ll ever need right here.” I open my mouth to protest against him making such an inappropriate comment about me and he brings the bottle up to his eye line and shoots me an amused stare. “Tequila.”

“Why do men drink spirits? I mean, really? Do you think it makes you look cool?” I say, feeling irritated as he breathes salty musk over me.

“Oh, getting all high and mighty are we?” He snorts and takes another swig. “You think you’re so much better than me, Pierce. But you didn’t seem so high and mighty when you were fucked up on Lionfish venom.”

“Is that what it feels like? Tequila?” I ask him, suddenly curious. I’d never been a drinker, but if drinking made you feel like I did that night at the rave, then maybe it is a tad more understandable.

“Not as much, but it’s as good as humans can hope to get without the hard stuff, yeah. Don’t tell me you’ve never had a drink?” He looks at me and I shake my head. His eyes widen. “Wait… you’re not a virgin, right?” I slap his arm and snatch the bottle out of his fist, leaning back into the cheap corduroy hold of the armchair and throwing the liquid into my mouth. The salty burn of the tequila feels like sea water mixed with paint thinner, scoring its way down the back of my throat. I stick my tongue out and shake my head like a dog, closing my eyes and pinching my nose.

“Bleughh!” I exclaim and he laughs, pulling the plastic bag up from the floor where he’d perched it. “I don’t feel any different,” I say, allowing the burn of the liquid to dull.

“Keep drinking, Pet. I’ll introduce you to Tequila’s mistress, Ms Slammer,” he pulls out a bag of limes, a knife, and a white box of salt from the bag as I sit back into the chair. He looms over me, leaning across the back of the chair, still perched on its arm next to me.
 

I watch as the humans buzz around the room, clinging to one another for dear life like insects. I see boys eyeing women and women eyeing Daryl and Tiberius. It was like the supernatural beings in the room were magnetic, pulling in and putting out sexual energy at the same time.
 

I look up at Vex as he starts to slice a lime and I wonder why nobody is looking at him. Maybe it’s something you have to turn on, that attraction, and maybe, just maybe, he’s content just sitting with me, drinking in the shadows. He may be invisible, but after a few moments it is clear to me that I am not. A young blonde boy, with baby blue eyes is staring at me, his eyes drawn to my darkness from across the room.

“You’ve got an admirer, Love. Why don’t you go say hello?” He tips the head of the bottle in the boy’s direction.
 

“Why should I?” I ask him and he smirks.

“Ahhh… but the real question, why wouldn’t you? Take what you need, Love, but give nothing back. I’ll be watching,” he pushes me out of the chair and toward the crowd of people. A number of boys turn their heads to look at me, running their eyes over my form like hungry wolves. I breathe and flutter my eyelashes, unafraid… a lioness.

“Hey there…” A dark haired boy touches my arm. I pull away from him.
What the hell gives him touching rights?
 

“Hi. What do you want?” I ask him pointedly, I see Vex out of the corner of my eye and he’s smirking.
No.
I think.
Not what he wants. What do I want?
I ask myself the question and look up into the boy’s dark eyes and square jaw. He’s not unattractive exactly, just human.

“I…” He looks at me as I stare at him square on, losing his train of thought. I feel someone else tap me on the shoulder. I turn again, away from the dark haired boy and come face to face with the blonde boy who was standing across the room before, watching me with his baby blue eyes.

“Hi…” He murmurs slightly, I look up at him and he examines my face like it’s a masterpiece of shadow and light.

“Do you guys want to dance?” I ask them, hearing the music change to a quicker beat.

“Both of us?” The dark haired boy asks with a raised eyebrow and a look of disappointment in his eyes.

“Take it or leave it,” I say, sure of myself. Vex looks surprised from the corner, I smile, impressed with myself. Am I being slutty? Maybe. But at least I’m not pained with making a decision between the two boys in front of me. I don’t want drama. I just want to feel wanted.

“Okay,” the boy with dark hair nods and I turn to find the blonde nodding too. I smile. I can do this.

We dance together, the boys sandwiching me, using my body as a buffer between them. The blonde is at my back, with his hands on my hips, and the dark haired boy stands in front of me as I let my arms dangle around his neck. I can hear their blood, susurrations… pulsations and a throbbing fullness within their veins, like juicy stalks waiting to be ripped open and the nectar let run.

Vex watches us from the corner still and I can’t work out if he’s getting off on watching another man’s hands running over me or whether he’s debating killing both the boys for laying a single finger on my person. I watch him take another slug of tequila. It’s odd. I’m loving the feel of strangers’ arms around me, of their eyes brushing across my skin, painting an image of me onto their minds that will stay with them forever. However, I can’t quite help but wish it was Vex who was adoring me. I wonder if it’s because he isn’t the adoring type. Is it because he’s the one man who I could never love and who can never love in return?
Do I just want him because I can’t have him? That must be it.

 
I write off my fascination with him as being his taboo factor. The song finishes and the two boys look to me for further instruction.

“You can go now,” I mutter and they both look disappointed again. “Shoo,” I reiterate and I feel my eyes turn dark. They both flee at that, turning and moving back into the crowd. I return to Vex.

“How did that feel, Love?” He asks me handing me the tequila bottle.

“Good.”

“Well, that was a successful lure if I ever did see one,” he compliments me but I feel slightly horrified at the word ‘lure’.

“I didn’t lure anyone.”

“Sure, because two boys just happened to want you at the same time. Look around, Love.” I do as he suggests and turn, looking back over my shoulder. Male eyes are staring at me, transfixed on the back of my neck.

“That’s just lusting, Vex, mermaids have that effect on humans,” I explain to him and he laughs to himself.

“Sure it is, Love.” I roll my eyes and raise the bottle to my lips.

“And you know… the thing about Onion, he asked me in front of everyone. AND THEN HE GETS MAD!” I lick another line of salt of my spit strewn wrist and throw back the shot. Vex leans in and feeds me a slice of lime, taking his thumb and running it to catch a drop of the zesty juice.
 

He licks his thumb. My head is swimming.

“Prick move. I’d kick his arse for you, baby. You know that right?”

“He’s kind of good with the punching. Like this,” I demonstrate with a few flailing jabs.
 

“I’d kick his ass, knock him into next Tuesday if it made you happy, baby.”
 

“Stop calling me baby.”
 

“Stop acting like one.”

“I’m not!”
 

“I’d say you are, crying and waiting for some man to realise he’s not good enough for you. Doesn’t sound like something an independent woman would do, now does it?”

“And what would you know about independent women?” I take another shot of tequila into my mouth and his reply causes me to almost spit it out.

“Well, I have a Master’s degree in British feminist literature.”
 

“What?” I gurgle slightly, the last remnants of the alcohol still swilling around the back of my throat.

“I used to go here you know.”

“You? Went to college??” I spit out before I can stop myself.
 

“Oh… I see how it is! Thought I was too dumb for college did you? I was here on a PhD studentship I’ll have you know!” He looks self-satisfied. Smug.

“Okay, sorry professor Vex…” I hear how ridiculous my slurred insult sounds and burst out laughing all over again.
 

“My name wasn’t Vex,” his tone is suddenly dark again.

“What was it?” I ask him and he frowns.

“I don’t tell my real name to drunk girls. I usually just shag them and then never call again,” he smiles and I laugh.

“How very Mr Darcy of you,” I think of the only literature reference I can remember with such a large amount of alcohol coursing through me, impressed I can remember anything I’ve read at all.

“Fuck Mr Darcy. That Ponce…” He smiles salaciously and holds out a piece of lime for me to suck on. I do and he rolls his eyes over my body which is spread out over the armchair now. I grab the sour fruit and throw it across the room; it lands in some guy’s hood. I giggle and Vex does too. “You… are too naughty,” he whispers and I laugh again. When did everything get so hilarious?

“And you… you’re a bad…bad man,” I slur my speech, bringing my feet up onto the seat and turning to face him.

“But at least you know I’m bad. I don’t have a noble steed. Just a motorcycle,” he reminds me and I nod, taking the box of salt and starting to make another pile on my wrist.

“I like your motorcycle,” I say, not looking him in the eyes.

“I like you like this… the darkness. It suits you. You’re like… some sort of dark Queen or something.” I laugh. “No… no I’m serious. You are just… dangerous, Love. I mean… I misjudged you…” He takes another swig of tequila and passes me the bottle.

“Misjudged?” I say the word like a question but I can’t remember what it means. I want to grasp the concept but it’s not quite within my mental capacity to reach it. It sounds funny.

“The blonde you… before, you were so righteous I couldn’t see it. But you’ve got power, Love. It’s thrumming underneath your skin, I can feel it when you brush against me, when we dance, when we fight. He tried to tame you, but that’s impossible, and that, Love, is why you ran. You’re wild. Ain’t no taming that and before you blame me, it’s not something anyone did to you. It’s who you are.” He is inches away from my face but I don’t recall when he got there. His lilac irises are burning into me. I snort and laugh, throwing my ladylike behaviour to the wind.