Darkness Falls (Darkness Series Book 3) (11 page)

She rolled her eyes. “Everyone here is like a brother, except you,” she winked, “and you can have all the dirty thoughts you want as long as you describe them to me later.”

“Shit, Connors, will you just call Ronnie?” Avery jammed his phone back in his pocket. I was so lost with Em I forgot he was still there.

“Knock-knock.” Travis appeared into the kitchen. “Hey, guys.”

I gave Garrett, who came in behind him, a quick glance, then let Em play hostess. I was not interested.

“Hey, you came.” She gave him a hug. “You hungry?”

“Actually, I won’t stay long. I just wanted to ask what you thought of the William Hill.” He pointed to her open bottle on the counter.

“I love it, thanks. It will now be one of my new favorites.” I looked at Emily, then Travis, and wondered when they spoke about wine. Garrett was doing the same thing.

“Em, the steaks ready?” Garrett cut in without caring.

Emily opened the fridge and removed the platter of sea-salt marinated steaks. “Just as you instructed me to do via
several
text messages, Garrett.” She handed him the dish. Garrett inspected the meat, then gave an approving nod.

“Yum,” Riggs called out as he carried a case of beer, with Campbell and Vanessa behind him. “I’m starving! Here, Garrett, let me help you with those.”

I swore the entire place went silent as Garrett stared at him, then around at all of us as he saw we were anxiously waiting for his reaction.

“What?” Garrett smiled. “I’m not
that
bad.” He went to leave, but looked at Riggs. “Stay!”

“Wow, you weren’t kidding.” Travis laughed at Emily, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I didn’t like how comfortable he was.

Pete poked his head in the door. “Love, my liver called, said it would like another drink. Would you mind passing me another beer?” I watched Travis as she got the beer. He watched her the way
I did,
with a mix of lust and protection. My fingers gripped the edge of the counter. I didn’t need him to see how much he bothered me.

“Well.” Travis pushed off the wall. “I should get going.”

Smart plan.

***

Avery

I casually stepped back into the shadows as Travis and Emily emerged from the house. I loved how the darkness enclosed me like a shield. My grandmother hated how I could move about undetected. She said I was like a cat in the night. I enjoyed that analogy. I caught her many times in situations she didn’t want me to know about. I watched, but never told her what I saw. Let’s just say I had the upper hand over Father Thomas and would use it if I had to, but it never came to that. I left before I could destroy him.

My thumb slid my phone to silent, and I leaned back against the wall of the little tool shed. Travis’s eyes were glued to Emily’s ass while she walked a few feet ahead, completely oblivious to what was going on. She stopped at the tree line, just a few yards from me.

“Thanks for coming,” she said with her hands tucked in her pockets.

“Thanks for the invite.” Travis looked over her shoulder to the house. He saw Seth and Garrett at the barbecue. Pathetic in my eyes. Emily had always been loyal to the guy, but Seth had issues. “You have a little,” Travis reached over and pulled something out of her hair, “lettuce?” he laughed as he tossed it to the ground. “There.” He grinned. “Well, if looks could kill, I’d be dead a long time ago.” He nodded toward Seth.

Emily waved at Seth. “A lot happened last year.” She shrugged at Travis. “I don’t blame him for being protective. I just bounced back a little faster than he did.”

“Mmm,” Travis muttered, “well, there’s being protective and being smothering.”

Fuck, Travis!
I shook my head.
You’re coming off way too strong there
. I’d have to play damage control later.

“Seth has been like this since day one. It’s nothing new, and it’s everything I love about him.” Emily took a step back.

Fuck!

Travis ran his hand over the back of his neck. “Sorry, that was uncalled for, Emily. I guess sometimes as an outsider he can seem a little controlling, that’s all.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Thanks again for the invite. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Of course.” She waved goodbye as she turned to walk away. Travis walked a few feet into the woods, then stopped and watched her.

I waited a beat, and then pinched my zipper on my jeans and walked onto the lit patio like I just took a piss in the woods. Vanessa shot me a gross look, and I shot her a playful wink. I didn’t like Vanessa. She was a nosy bitch who had inserted her life into Campbell’s way too quickly. She was one of those girls who saw security and grabbed it by the balls, squeezing until it surrendered. She didn’t get in my way, so I left her alone…for now.

I opened a beer and listened to Emily speak to Seth as she approached him.

“You know, you are one of the biggest men at this party, and you really don’t have to use your stare to scare people.” She placed her hands on her hips. Seth took a step toward her and towered over her petite frame.

“And you need to open your pretty little eyes and see.” He pointed his beer at Travis’s house. “That man is interested in you.”

She sighed heavily. “And you need to see that I’m not interested in anyone but you.”

“Oh, I know that.” He almost grinned, but held it together. “But it doesn’t mean I need to be friendly. He knows you are mine.”

“It’s true, Em.” Riggs closed the grill after he stole a peek. “Travis is sniffing out someone else’s property. There’s a man code, and he’s pissin’ all over it.”

I fought the urge to rub my hands together in excitement…
wait for it
…
wait for it
…

I almost felt Emily’s pulse speed up. “Property?” She cringed at the word. “You speak as though I am something you bought and set out in the yard for dogs to piss on!”

“That’s not what I meant—I’m bad with words, Emily.” Riggs closed his eyes, clearly regretting what he just said.

“Hey.” Seth hooked an arm around her waist and tugged her toward him. “I don’t trust him, I don’t like him, and while he’s hitting on you, I will be making damn sure he doesn’t touch what is mine.” His hand slid into her hair and tilted her head back to look at him. Seth was a natural Dom without even knowing it. “You don’t have to like it, but it’s going to happen.” He hovered above her lips and watched her closely. “You are mine, Emily, remember that.”

She suddenly snapped out of the spell he had over her and wiggled out of his hold. “Shall I remind you?” She turned her head to study him. She seethed with anger, but she pulled it in and let her emotions take over. “Who fought for us?” she whispered as she headed into the kitchen, only to leave Seth to curse under his breath.

I stepped down the stairs and slapped Seth on the shoulder. “Give her a minute.” I clinked my bottle to his, while really I imagined breaking the bottle over the table then jabbing it into his stomach so I could watch the blood drain from his body. “Any man can see he’s into her. He certainly doesn’t have a problem stepping over into your territory, does he?”

Seth sighed heavily. “No, he doesn’t.”

“Well.” I pressed my lips together and thought about how to play this just right. “Maybe you need to go have a talk with him. Let your friendly neighbor know where he belongs.” I moved my head in Emily’s direction. “And where you do.”

“That’s a thought.” He nodded.

Ha!
This was too easy.

I sank into a chair at the table and helped myself to a rather large hunk of steak. I grinned to myself. How I loved to fuck with their lives. There was so much they didn’t know, and it was so easy to mess with them, like child’s play. I saw Emily glance at Seth, letting him see she was hurt by his assumptions.
That’s right, my puppets, dance
.

***

Emily

I avoided Seth most of the night. I just needed some space, and I hated that he thought I would ever cheat on him. In fact, I was a bit insulted. It wasn’t like I hadn’t put my time in to prove how much I loved the friggin’ guy! I chucked the trash in the bin and jumped when I heard footsteps behind me.

“Sorry.” Garrett looked guilty. “Just wanted to check in. Make sure you’re all right.”

“I’m fine.” I slammed the lid down. “Will he ever trust me, Garrett? ’Cause, honestly, it’s getting a little old.”

Garrett leaned against the rail. “He trusts you, Em; it’s Travis he doesn’t trust.”

“Such a
you
answer.” I went to move inside, but Garrett stopped me.

“Right, because it’s the truth.” He stared down. “I spend more time with the guy than you do. I know what he’s thinking almost before he does. I’ve never lied to you, so hear me when I tell you he does trust you, but neither of us trusts Travis.”

“What is it that you guys don’t like about Travis besides his supposed hitting on me? Is it something I don’t know? Something else?” I stepped closer to see if there was something there, but he turned to look away. “Right, so it’s just a jealousy thing. Perfect.”

Pete appeared in the doorway. “Hey, all, we’re heading to the beach pit. Thought the fire might be nice.”

The three of us headed down to the beach, where the guys had already started the fire and were settling into beach chairs. Vanessa joined me and handed me a Bailey’s hot chocolate. The evenings sure cooled down in October.

“Thanks.” I caught sight of Seth, who was reading something on his phone. He looked annoyed as he sent a quick text. I made my way over and sat on the arm of his chair. I couldn’t help it. I loved to be near him, no matter how angry I got. My body was naturally drawn to his.

Moments later I felt him wrap a blanket over my shoulders as he tugged me onto his lap. I tucked my legs up and curled into his chest. He kissed the top of my head. “Don’t be mad, baby.”

“Too late for that.”

I heard him growl deep down in his throat. His mouth pushed my head away from his chest so he could whisper, “Can you blame me?” His stare held me in place. “Any man wants you, any woman wants to look like you, you have a personality men only dream of, you’re incredibly smart, and you’re not married. You, Emily, are the perfect catch.” I couldn’t help myself. I reached up grabbed his head and pulled his lips to mine. He didn’t hesitate, and he swiped his tongue inside my mouth. He took over the kiss and reminded me of his intense love for me. I gave in until I heard Riggs crack a joke about us.

“You’re not off the hook, but thank you for saying those things,” I whispered.

“So, tell me something.” Vanessa pulled our attention to her. “I never heard the story of how you two met.”

I sat up and wrapped my arm around Seth’s shoulders. I’d be the storyteller, since Seth didn’t talk too much about anything personal.

“Three years ago, Erin and I went to a party of a friend of a friend’s.” I glanced at Erin, who loved that she was involved in this story. “It was mid-summer hot, I was itching to hit the pool when we ran into a bunch of friends who were in our Soc class. We started chatting. More and more people started to arrive, the place was filling up fast, but at one point I had this feeling someone was watching me. I was in mid-sentence when I looked up and saw this guy watching me from the doorway. His eyes were shaded by his baseball hat, but I knew he was staring at me.” I looked down at Seth. “You didn’t smile, you just watched.” He nodded and remembered with me.

“Then what?” Riggs asked and made us all laugh a little. Riggs didn’t seem like he cared.

“Well, I couldn’t really think straight with him staring at me, so I had to turn a little and focus on the group.”

“I didn’t like that,” Seth muttered.

“Yeah, I know. After an hour, I checked to see if he was still there, but he was gone. I won’t lie, I was disappointed, but what did I expect? For him to hang around while I chatted in the heat? So I finally decided to take a dip in the pool. I ended up in a volleyball match where we were one player short. Someone, who I now know was Garrett, called over to his partner, and soon enough we had a full team of me, Garrett, Seth, and some guy named Tony.”

“I played against them,” Erin chimed with a wink.

“Yes, you did.” I grinned. “You may not want to brag about that, E.” I took a moment to sip my hot drink. The Baileys was just right. “We started to play, and by the time it ended, it was well into the night. Garrett and Tony vanished and left me and Seth all alone in the pool, and, well, the rest is history.” I took a quick drink.

“Oh no!” Everyone started to shout. “You can’t leave it there.”

“Come on.” Avery raised an eyebrow. “Share the good stuff.”

“Nope.” Seth grinned up at me. “That’s our moment.” I gave him a quick peck on the lips and laid my head down on his shoulder and listened to people protest. Finally, Vanessa started to tell about how she and Campbell met, and the attention shifted to them. I stared at the fire and remembered the rest of our story.