Burn (16 page)

Ellis comes down the hall with that scary clown mask he terrorized me with a few weeks back.

I suck in a lungful of air as he charges at me and tries to nip at my neck.

“Get away!” I push him off. I hate clowns, almost as much as
I’m hating
Ellis right now.

He snatches the mask off and laughs. And strangely I find myself laughing right along with him. Freaking stupid Ellis.

Ellis. I’ve never noticed before how cute he is in his own right. In fact if I wasn’t with Logan and Gage, I could totally see myself with Ellis. I laugh a little louder at the thought. It’s sort of gross the way he’s always stoned, but I could probably change him if I wanted.

“Would you give up pot for me?” I giggle into him as he wraps an arm around my waist. He’s smiling wildly with his seductive half closed eyes—then I see him—Gage.

A tall sexy vampire stands near the roaring fire. I hadn’t even noticed how magnificent the fire is, how ferocious the flames look as they lick outside the confines of the hearth, and for a second, I’m mesmerized by the taunting orange blaze.

Gage heads towards me. I push Ellis away, and he drifts effortlessly into a group of girls.

I can’t believe this. Gage has his entire face done up—sickly pale skin offset by his dark peaked brows, lips as black as death. God, he’s got lipstick on—
I’m transfixed by this
.
 

He gives a devilish smile and pulls me along by the hand down the long hall at a quickened clip. We end up in a dark corridor, nothing but rows of closed doors one after another. Gage opens the one at the end with caution before ushering us inside.

It’s quiet in here. My ears pulsate in protest to the powerful silence. I stretch my arms in front of me and flail around in the shadows. It feels like I’m about to fall, like the whole world has inverted into an alternate dimension for just Gage and me, and now we’re here alone.

I run my hands down his chest and rest my fingers on the rim of his pants. I can feel him brushes his lips over my face, light as a feather, and it makes me want him even more.

“Kiss me,” I say.

A tremor of laughter rumbles deep inside his chest. He darts a kiss behind my ear and it tickles me mercilessly.

“Stop.” I giggle the word out unintelligibly.

He bites down on my earlobe hard. The pain spears through me—hot, like an errant ember, then dissipates into something softer, a more manageable ache.

I gasp for breath as he makes his way down my neck. He grazes and gnaws on my flesh until it feels like I’m being invaded by razor blades.

“Your teeth.” I manage the words in a spasm. “So sharp.”

“You like that?” He rumbles. “I had them filed.” He leans his head back and a thin seam of moonlight catches the tips of his canines.

“That’s so hot.” I close my eyes as he lunges back at my throat. “Hey.” I want to tell him that it hurts, but the words get jumbled in a series of moans. Gage suckles off my neck, pretending to drink deeply. My entire person responds in spasms alternating between pleasure and pain, and I’m starting to feel light headed. I give a halfhearted struggle to push him away, but he lingers for several more minutes before finally coming up for air.

He whispers hot in my ear, “Gotcha.”

***

Gage leaves in a hurry—probably has to get to a restroom fast. Lord knows I’ve been there.

I filter through the crowd. The party is still going strong when I finally make my way out of the maze of hallways. I swear these houses behind the gates are like self-contained labyrinths.

Finally, I spot Logan and Gage sitting by themselves near the pool and head on over. The backyard is lit up with hundreds of jack-o-lanterns. That must be Ellis’ other talent, aside from baking, because each one is expertly carved up with an intricate design.

“We were just thinking you got eaten by
Fems
. Where’ve you been?” Gage pulls me into a giant hug.

“I was…” I jerk my hand back at the house and start to laugh. “I was with you, and you took off.”

“When were you with me?” His forehead creases, and I realize he doesn’t have a stitch of makeup on.

“Just now.” Is this like some stupid prank? “What are you guys doing out here? It’s freezing.” I rub at my arms vigorously—it feels as though my entire body is vibrating from each little goose bump. It almost feels as though Marshall were touching me.

“I was just telling Gage how much I like his dress.” Logan nods over to his cape.

“And I was just telling Logan my
girlfriend
asked me to wear it.”

“Nice. Hey, where’s your make-up?” I’m starting to think that really wasn’t
Gage
back there. Shit. I probably just hooked up with some
drunk
guy form East. Everyone at West knows I’m with Gage, right?

“I draw the line at face painting.” He tightens his grip around my waist and glares over at Logan. “Your strategy of forcing me listen to your big bad plan of how you’re going to battle the Counts, just so I would miss half the party—backfired. And now she was molested by some idiot in a cape.” He looks to me. “You remember what this guy looked like? His name?”

 
“I thought it was you.” I shake my head over at Gage.

 
“What did he do to you?” Logan stands and gently rubs my arm up and down as his eyes widen with horror. It’s only then I notice he’s in jeans and wearing his football jersey, looking like his scary hot self.

“He took me in the back room and kissed my neck.” I tilt my head to the side.

Logan looks from me to
Gage
with a clear look of hurt.

Great. Now he’s going to think that’s all we do when we’re alone. Then it occurs to me it sort of is and I feel like shit.

“Here you are!”
Lexy
comes up from behind Logan. She swings him by the waist, and they both sail into the pool with a giant splash that drenches me from the waist down.

Logan pops up like a cork and shakes back his hair. His teeth glow as he offers me a soft sad grin, but the moment passes too quickly.

Lexy
charges at him with open arms and he stops her midflight by playfully dunking her under water. I hope he holds her down at least a good four minutes.
 

A steady rise of steam drifts on the surface of the pool.

“Feels warm.” Gage shakes the water off his hands. He gently lifts my hair back and examines my neck under the paper lantern, wincing. “That’s looks like one mean bruise. I’m
gonna
kill this guy. Are you sure you’re OK? Did he do anything else?” His face lights up with worry.

“No. I don’t think so.” I bite down on my lip to stop the river of laughter trying to bubble out of me.

“It’s not funny,” he says quietly. “I don’t like the idea of some guy laying his hands all over you. You could have been killed.”

I set off on a long stretch of titters before holding my stomach and engaging in a full-blown hacking laugh.

“Are you OK?”

I gasp at the one lucid thought that sails through my mind.

“Ellis fed me brownies.”

Gage gives an exasperated blink before leading me towards the house.

“Make that two people I’m going to kill.”

I look over at the pool and see
Lexy
ruffling up Logan’s hair in the deep end as he attempts to climb out.

I might kill
Lexy
just for fun. And I laugh.
 
 

Chapter Twenty-Three
 

Fight Night

Gage is in a fury. He subdues my incessant need to giggle by vexing me with the truth of what Ellis has done. His rage builds as he pushes through the crowd looking for the perpetrator of my inadvertent high.

The house is crowded, dark—it sways in rhythm to the boisterous music blaring from the speakers. I see Brielle and Drake, gyrating, letting loose on a table with another girl I don’t recognize.

The fireplace captures me again. Low blue flames sweep through the air, calling out to me lethargically. They spit out an occasional spark that spears across the hearth like an errant shooting star.

“This him?” Gage thrashes some kid in a vampire costume hard against the metal railing. “
Skyla
?”

My mouth falls open. He’s got the right face paint and the cape…

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.” Gage pushes him to the ground and walks deeper into the house.

“You can’t go knocking people around.” I try to keep up with him. “You’re
gonna
to hurt somebody.”

“That’s the plan.”

I’ve never seen him caged in so much fury. We scan the living room, kitchen— pan all of the downstairs vicinity.

“Never mind.” I pull him back by the elbow trying to abort the mission. “I swear it was probably a misunderstanding. I thought it was you, and maybe he thought I was someone else.” I cup his face gently with my hands. Gage is staggeringly attractive with his eyes blazing, his heart thumping wild for revenge. “I want to enjoy the party. Can’t we just have a good time?”

“Are you sure you’re OK?” His hard expression gives a little.

“Yes, I’m fine. I feel weird, but that’s Ellis’ fault.” I can’t believe he lied to me.

Outside the open double doors we hear the faint sound of Ellis’ very distinct laughter. It doesn’t take long for Gage to bolt in that direction.

I try to trail after him at top speed, but end up flailing and turning my ankles every step of the way. It’s strange the way my body feels—relaxed and yet unusually aware of every movement.

I spot Michelle stooped over the porch with her head between her knees. Emily is stroking her back as though she were a cat. I pause to see if she’s about to puke or something. Her back jerks in a series of vibrations until it becomes clear Michelle is crying.

“What’s going on?” I ask Emily rather impulsively. We are all on the squad together. I did visit her in the hospital after she dove off Devil’s Peak, plus evidently I’m stoned, so it reasons with logic that I should inquire about Michelle’s almost humanlike behavior.

“Dudley broke up with her.” Emily divulges without giving it much thought.

“What?” I’m stunned. “Didn’t the Mayans predict this?” A shiver of laughter gets locked in my chest as I try to digest my own absurdity. No sooner do the words fly out of my mouth than Michelle appears in my face. She shoves her fist through my abdomen, knocking the air out of my lungs. I roll into the planter bed—face down. Michelle lands on my back and begins pulling violently at my hair. She maneuvers me around like puppet causing the incision on my neck to stretch every which way, and suddenly I’m acutely aware of the sharp line of pain.

I let out a shrill cry. Before I can turn, or grab her, or close my mouth, she plunges my face into the dirt and grinds it in for good measure.

“Don’t let me catch you near him again.” Her hot breath sears against the back of my neck.

I roll over in time to see Michelle and Emily ditch into the house. I scan the porch and I’m alone save for a scarecrow sitting on a rocking chair. It seems
the entire exchange was witnessed by nobody
. I get up and spit into the flowerbed over and over— pretend it’s Michelle’s face every single time.