Dark Nebula (The Chronicles of Kerrigan) (27 page)

Smoldering fire
burned
her cheeks but she didn’t know if it
was because of
his comment or the fact
that
he stood, almost naked
,
with droplets of water
forging happy little trails down his
delicious form
, in front of her.

“
Molly did it
.” She was
unable to stop staring at his muscular chest and six pack.
More like an eight pack.
She
thought about
run
ning
her fingers over hi
m
to count
,
and
wis
hed
the towel would fall just a tad lower
.
Suddenly, something Kraigan said intruded on her little daydream, but the fe
eling was gone just as quickly
as it had come.
She turned to shush Julian, knowing
he would
be making a comment.

Devon
gave a low
chuckle
.
“Only
Molls c
ould convince you to wear a
n open back dress.
You’re pretty
sexy,
hot-looking.”

“
And this is
where I disappear
,” Julian
rolled his eyes as he turned
. “
But
I’ll be back in
fifteen
, with my dancing shoes on.” He disappeared down the hall and into his room.

Rae glanced back at
Devon
, giving him the once-over.
“You don’t look so bad yourself
.”
Devon
’s adorable dimple made an appearance.
“I
try to
clean up nicely once
in
a while.
However, I think I’d better
get dressed.
In case you try to
jump me
. You have a
ravenous look in your eyes.” H
e grinned
and then
popped the toothbrush back into his mouth. “Com
m
on inth.” His words j
umbled from the movement of the brush.

Lips sealed
, Rae followed
Devon
into his
suite
and settled on the couch to wait for him.
He headed into his bedroom, not bothering to close the door.
Rae leaned forward, trying to inconspicuously catch a glimpse of him as he dressed.
No luck. I need a
n X-ray
tatù which can see through walls and doors.

He walked out a few moments later, dressed in
a
dark grey
suit, his jacket open. He held a red tie in his hand and began putting it on
.

Rae pointed to the little emblem near the bottom
of the tie
.
“What’s that
?”

“LFC. A friend got this for me.”

“I didn’t know you
had a
favorite
team
.”

“
Every boy in
England
does. Engrained from birth.
My great-great-great-great granddad followed
Liverpool
, so we all do
.”
Devon
kissed the emblem.

She wanted to ask him where he got it. A
random, if unpleasant,
mental picture
of the mysterious Anna
wrapping it
forced
her
to blink
to clear
the green haze of jealously from
her
vision. She didn’t want to start a fight and ruin the evening
,
so she kept her mouth shut.
An image of Julian popped in her head
. H
e
wo
re a simple black suit
with
bowtie
and stood outside
Devon
’s door, about to knock
.
“We should get going.”

When
they walked down the stairs, Ra
e
spoke to Julian
.
“
Did
Kraigan
stop by to talk to you
?”

Julian
play
ed
with his long hair before responding.
“I don’t know the guy
,
but he
’s
—
h
e’s very inquisitive.
”

“
Did you have a vision about
him?” Rae blinked in surprise.

“No, not at all.” Julian shrugged.
“I don’t really know him to be honest.”

“
He’s like me last year,
”
Rae
said. “He’s
the
new
guy
, from an orphanage,
trying to find his place here.
He’ll settle
in
eventually
.”

Julian
glanc
ed at
Devon
, then Rae
. “Do you know what his
tatù
is?
Have you mimicked it?”

“No
.
I haven’t touched him
.
H
e didn’t want me to
and I don’t
blame him
.
I didn’t want people to
know
my
tatù
when I first got it last year. I wanted to figure it out myself.
”

“
Give the poor guy
a chance
,”
Devon
said.
“L
et sleeping dogs lie
.
”

“Huh?” Rae and Julian said at the same time.

“Ignore Julian,”
Devon
said to Rae. “Since we started working with the Privy Council, he’s paranoid about everyone and their pet. Kraigan’s completely harmless. Carter would never have brought him to Gu
ilder if he thought otherwise.”

Good point.
Rae glanced over at Julian.

He
looked like he wanted to
add something
but
pressed
his lips in a tight thin line instead
.

Chapter
1
5

Sleeping Dogs

E
ighties rock m
usic greeted Rae
as
she walked into the
dance in
side
the
Oratory.
The decorations in the room
made her feel
like
she
had
stepped
back
centuries
in time
,
but didn’t match the retro music at all
.
The hall,
decorated
in the Tudor
style
, included
a makeshift stage similar to the
one
King Henry VIII
had used for plays
when he
had
held court
there
.
A
band play
ed
from the stage
,
wearing
Tudor clothing and masks.

A
slow
wave of hot air drifted from the bodies on the dance floor.
Molly
raised an arm
from amongst the throng of people.
With
Reece’s arm close around her waist,
the wide grin on Molly’s face made sense
,
and
it
appeared
that
they wer
e having a great time.
Rae
quickly scanned the room.
Maria and Haley by the punch table
.
Nicholas and
a Roe Hampton girl
walking
to the dance floor
where
Molly
and Reece
a
re,
Desiree heading to the ladies
’
room
and Kraigan, now in a suit, talking to some girls from Roe
Hampton
.
No
Carter
or trouble brewing. All’s good.
She relaxed.

Devon
and Julian
stood on either side of her
, both
grinning like little kids.

“
Too many ladies
for you
to choose from
,
are
n’t there?” Rae elbowed Julian. “
I’m going to see
Moll
s
.
Do you guys
care
to dance?”

Julian pointed to his ear and shook his head.

“Not with him.
”
Devon
nodded towards Julian
.
“He’s got two left feet and no sense of rhythm. My poor toes couldn’t take the beating.
” H
e had no problem hearing Rae with his
tatù
.

She rolled her eyes at his bad joke.
“
Come m
ee
t
Molly’s flame.
”

“
I gotta meet the guy who can handle her.”
Julian led the way.

Devon
placed a hand on the small of her back, leading her to the center of the hall.
The warmth of his fingers made her skin
tingle and she barely resisted the urge
to lean back against him.
No way could anyone else create this feeling inside me. I could handle this temptation forever.

A
slow song
started to
play
when they reached Molly
and Reece.
After a quick introduction, Rae
sense
d that
Devon
liked Reece immediately and vice versa
.

“Since w
e’re here,
do you want
to dance?”
Devon
smiled
, showing off his dimple. He held his
arms
out to Rae.

“
Only because Julian’s about to ask
.” S
he
grinned at Julian’s surprised look.
He obviously hadn’t been planning on it
,
but it worked as a good excuse for anyone with ears listening in
, and she knew Julian would play along
.
She
stepped
forward to be as close to
Devon
as she could without
rousing suspicion
.
She slung her arms around his neck and lightly brushed the
hair at the nape of his neck
with her fingers.

They moved together
as the band played.
A
n inner tingling inside of
Rae began to
grow stronger.
It had nothing to do with her tatù
,
and everything to do with
being close to
Devon
.

She
felt
his arm
s
tighten around
her waist
.
She bit her lip, afraid to look up and yet, unable to stop herself.
Searching his face, she
caught
the same feelings of desire in his eyes as he stared
back
intently.

“This is crazy.
We shouldn’t be here
—
like this,
” he whispered, only loud enough for Rae to hear.

“I can’t think of anywhere else I’d want to be.” She t
hought back to
Molly and
Reece
outside of
Aumbry
House.
Why shouldn’t
we
be allowed to have that?

Trying to clear her head, she leaned against
Devon
’s chest.
She needed to take her eyes off
his soft
lips
before the urge to cover them with her own overwhelmed her
.
His chest and throat offered no peace.
S
he inhaled deeply through her nose, s
melling aftershave mixed with his
personal
,
lethal
scent
. She
breathed in
again,
wanting
to capture the
aroma for memory
.
Her f
ingers, with a mind of their own, lightly scratched down his
muscular
back.

Just when Rae didn’t think she could hold back any longer, the song ended.
Part of her reluctant, part of her needing space, she
stepped back.
Without thinking,
she
pressed her lips to
her fingers and lightly blew the kiss in
Devon
’s direction.

He
twisted his neck
and pulled at his collar, trying to loosen
his
tie.
“It’s a bit warm in here.
I think I’m going to step outside for a minute.
” He smiled at Molly and Reece.
Molly’s eyes furiously
shifted
back and forth between the two of them.
Devon
made good his escape.
“
I’ll catch up with you
gals
, later.”

“I
just
need
to nip to the
bathroom
.
” Rae
almost ran
, eager to escape the hot dance floor
.
She passed Kraigan leaning against
a
wa
ll
,
surrounded by
a
large
group of
Roe Hampton
girls.
They
crowded around him
as if
he was a movie star.
He crossed his arms
—
a sly grin appeared
as he watched her
.
He winked at her.

No problem with girls I see
.
She smiled at him, hoping he enjoyed himself. Rae
thought back to
Devon
and quickened her pace to the bathroom, hoping no one would see how dancing with him had affected her.

Squinting against
the bathroom’s lights, so bright after the romantic dimness
in the Oratory, Rae exhaled the breath she
held
.
The concrete
walls
muffled the music
but
her ears still rang slightly
.
She
made a beeline for
the porcelain sink to
wet
her hands
and
pat her
cheeks
, careful not to ruin her
eye
makeup
.
The mirror
reflected that
she looked as flushed as she felt
,
and the bruised spot, where
she had
bit her lip so hard, proved impossible to miss
.

A soft moan
from a nearby stall
brought her attention back outside herself, into the environment. She chastised herself for not realizing that she wasn’t alone. She knew better
.
The
mirror
didn’t show anyone behind her
.
Turning around, she checked under the bathroom stalls until she came to the last one.
A lovely pair of black dress shoes met her gaze.

“Desiree?” she whispered.
“Are you alright?”

“Rae?”
c
ame
the weak reply.

“Yeah, it’s me. Is everything okay?”

Tears were
the only
reply.

“Are you hurt?”
She
gently pushed
on the door.
It was unlocked
,
so
she
opened it gently
, not sure if Desiree would slam it back shut. She didn’t want to impose.

Desiree
sat on the closed toilet seat
.
Her elbows rested on her knees, her head dropped into her hands. Rae reached out to lightly touch her shoulder
, immediately shrinking back in shock
.
She knew something was wrong, even if she didn’t know what exactly.

“I think something’s wrong.
” Desiree
stared
up with tear-stained eyes.
Still
beautiful even with black mascara running down her cheeks
, she
appeared oblivious to her looks
.

“W
hat do you mean?” Rae wh
ispered.
A memory niggled in the back of Rae’s mind, telling her she knew what the problem was
, that
she had
seen it before
.
It’s impossible
—
Desiree’s next words confirmed it.

“I think it’s gone
—
my
tatù ability
.
I can’t feel it.
I felt strange
a moment ago and now
I can’t get anything inside
--
like someone
’s
pulled the plug.” Tears formed in her eyes
again
.