Revelation (3 page)

H
e motions his hand to the door, encouraging me to walk through it. “After you,” he says, his smooth voice warming my cheeks again.

I walk through the door, r
olling my eyes at his dramatics and my lack of vocal control. Once outside, the fresh air hits me, clearing my head and offering relief from the embarrassing exchange.

“No need to thank me
. It’s truly my pleasure.” I hear his condescending voice come from behind me.

I spin around
in front of him, causing him to stop abruptly before walking into me. Not expecting my sudden movement, his hands grasp my upper arms to steady himself and prevent me from stumbling backwards. Heat pools on my skin where he touches it. Against my will, I close my eyes at his close proximity.

His
scent fills my senses. A heady, masculine combination of smoky wood and leather. I inhale and sway, slightly lightheaded from the whiff, which ignites warmth in my veins.

The good-looking guy
leans in closer and his lips softly brush my ear. His minty breath comes out in a cocky whisper, “Falling for me already?”

This snaps me out of my
daze. I look up and give him my best ‘what-the-hell’ look. He watches me for a second as confusion crosses his face then he releases my arms abrasively, as if I burned him.

We study one another, waiting for the other to say something or make a move. Both
of us are in a defiant stance with our arms crossed. I speak first, clearly a mistake.

“What
the hell is your problem?” I bark, narrowing my eyes.

“The siren speaks,” he says
, feigning awe. “I was beginning to question your familiarity with the English language.” One side of his mouth tilts into a smirk. It’s obvious he’s pleased with himself and his lame answer.

“Charming,” I say
, annoyed. “I happen to be well-versed with the English language.” 

He
places a long finger to his closed mouth in contemplation. “That’s astonishing, considering earlier, I caught you openly gawking at me.” Indigo eyes scan my face as he leans in and lowers his voice to a sensual tone.

“
Pink lips parted, beautiful hazel eyes locked onto my chest, drooling as if I were a piece of chocolate.” He pauses for effect. “Yet not a single word flowed through that pretty, pouty mouth of yours,” blue eyes retorts, staring at my lips, waiting patiently for my response.

I swallow
. Between his scent and nearness, my body is overheating. “Shows how much you know. I prefer salty versus sweet,” I throw back at him, proud that my voice sounds strong.

I
t would be in my best interest to gather my dignity and just walk away. This infuriating guy is getting under my skin by distracting me with insults that appear to be compliments.

He snorts and gives me an insolent smile. “Yeah, I can
tell sweet isn’t your thing, sweetheart.”

My jaw tightens. “I have a name
, and it’s not sweetheart,” I snap.

He crosses his arms, amused at my outburst
, and gives me a crooked smile. “What would that name be?”

“Eve Collins,” I offer
in an even tone.

“Eve,” he says
in a husky voice.

The way
my name rolls off his tongue does crazy things to my body. I secretly curse his good looks for causing my stomach muscles to clench and the butterflies to take flight.

“Eve
,” he repeats, as some form of understanding sinks in. “Without doubt, a suitable name for you.”  The cute guy stands taller and puffs his chest out in some sort of proud posture.

“Meaning?”
I question tersely.

“
Wasn’t Eve the mother of mankind? Of course, she was also seen as weak, allowing evil to succeed in tempting her to the forbidden.” He challenges me with his eyes.

I pull my brows together, confused by his bizarre statement
. “Are you implying I’m weak?” I question with a slight octave change.

He just
stands there, calm and unfazed by my growing temper. For some reason, his lack of reaction makes me even more irate.

“I can assure you
that’s not the case,” I say. “As a matter of fact, I could punch you right now and you’d be seeing stars for weeks followed by a plastic surgeon to reset your nose, pretty boy.”

Clearly unaffected by me, h
e laughs deeply, placing his hands up in mock surrender while backing away from me. “There’s no need for threats of physical harm, Eve.” His gaze locks onto mine, assessing me, probably waiting to see if I’ll actually punch him. I angle my head to the side in annoyance and continue to watch him, watching me.

As soon as he
finds what he’s searching for in my eyes, he nods, seeming to have had some sort of internal dialogue with himself. His face turns passive. “Your lack of knowledge with regard to your name means nothing,” he says, casually shrugging me off.

I feel a migraine coming on
. This conversation is nonsensical and it needs to end. “I don’t think this is working.” I motion between us while giving him an irritated glower.

A mischievous grin forms on his face. “Do we need couples therapy already?”

My frustration is now off the charts so I exhale loudly, hoping he’ll get the hint. “That’s not what I meant.”

He leans in
to my personal space and narrows his eyes, attempting to intimidate and fluster me more than he already has, and for the love of god, it’s working.

“Would you
please stop? I can’t think with you in my face,” I grumble.

At this, he leans away.
“I make you nervous?” It’s a question with a hint of curiosity.

“Ah, no.
Far from it,” I say, still a bit shaken.

“Your unconvincing ton
e says different,” he retorts.

I’m just about to offer my witty come back when h
is eyes snap up, quickly scanning the area behind me before redirecting his focus back to me. He frowns. Before I can glance at what caught his attention, blue eyes speaks, ending my inquisitiveness.

“As delightful as this
conversation has been with you, I have somewhere I need to be. Try not to walk into anyone or anything,” he mocks as he begins to walk away.

“Whatever,” I mutter and add under my breath, “
ass.” With that, he stops and turns back to face me, stalking me slowly, like a predator.

“Tsk
. Name calling is very unbecoming of you, Eve.” My name comes out like a dig. “Perhaps, you should consider your choice of words within the English language with more care when conversing with others.”

I just stand there, glaring at him
, wracking my brain for a smartass response. Unfortunately, he has me all tongue-tied and at a loss for witty repartee.

Hotness
, of course, wastes no time conquering the silence. “I’ll be anticipating your retort, siren. I’m sure it will be enlightening.” He’s taunting me.

I struggle for words. My
cheeks warm as the pink hue of mortification crawls up them. I should be attempting to form a clever comeback. Instead, I just stand there like a statue.

He
flashes a sexy smile at me, winks, and walks away. “Damn those dimples.” I blow out a deep breath as I watch him leave. I stand there for a moment longer, trying to figure out what just happened.

“It’s probably best to stay away from Asher,” an icy voice says from behind me.

Now what? I turn to see McKenna looking like evil Barbie. Her long blonde hair pulled tight in a ponytail, her striking sapphire eyes glaring at me with hatred, her nostrils flaring and her manicured hands positioned on her athletic hips.

“What are you talkin
g about, McKenna?” I ask, bordering on boredom.

“Asher St. Michael. That
piece of sexy male specimen you were just attempting to converse with. He’s off limits,” she instructs like she owns him.

I cross my arms
. How dare she tell me who I can and can’t speak with? “First of all, trust me when I say he isn’t of interest and secondly, you don’t get to tell me whom I can and cannot speak to so back off, McKenna.” I brush past her as she grabs my arm, forcing me to turn and face her.

“Just trust me when I tell you that falling for Asher would be a bad idea,” she
snarls out of her perfectly glossy lips.

I twist my arm out of her death grip
, looking her in the eyes. “Message received. He’s all yours.” I smile sweetly and walk away.

3
Katana

Exhausted from the verbal altercations, I decide to spend
some time alone in the library with my research paper. Delusional as it may be, I thought Rhetorical and Communicative Theory would be a good distraction from Asher St. Michael.

After
three hours, it’s not working. All I can think about are his indigo eyes, the way his invigorating scent filled me, and why my body reacts of its own accord to his proximity as if pulled by an invisible string. Unfortunately, all attraction ends when he opens his damn mouth. I sigh in defeat as I pack up to leave.

I walk outside the library
and adjust my messenger bag as coldness creeps into my body. But it has nothing to do with the outside temperature. I scan the campus, assuring myself that nothing seems out of sorts. Still, I can’t help the feeling like I’m being watched. I exhale, releasing my nerves, and begin to walk back to my dorm.

As I reach the door to my room, I
notice it’s ajar which strikes me as weird. We all lock the door constantly since it’s one of Abby’s big rules. Little by little, I push the door open and my breath hitches.

“Holy
shit,” I don’t quite whisper. I’m looking at what I can only describe as complete room demolition. There are clothes, shoes, jewelry, purses, and make-up thrown everywhere in the lounge area with a trail leading straight to the room I share with Aria. It looks like the place has been ransacked. On guard, I walk toward our room and open the door. My jaw hits the floor as my eyes go wide and I stand motionless at the sight in front of me.

Aria and Abby are wildly pulling
clothes out of the closets and arbitrarily throwing them on what I’m guessing are our beds. Music blares from an iPod as I stand speechless and immobile, still in shock at the closet destruction I’m witnessing.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re
here,” Abby chirps with a cheerful tone. Finally noticing I’m standing there, she grabs both my hands and pulls me through the doorway into the chaos.

“What’s going on in here?” I stammer out as I trip
over a pair of Abby’s black-heeled shoes, my messenger bag falling on the floor in the process.

Grabbing them off the floor
, Abby squeals in delight. “Eve! You found them, thank you. It’s like fate because these,” she dangles the five-inch heels in my face, “are what you’ll be wearing tonight with a black dress,” she searches the mess with meticulous care, like a cat stalking a mouse, “ah ha, here, with this black dress.” She holds up a mini sequin dress and the shoes then shoves them both at me.

“Once again, what’
s going on?” I repeat, slowing down my tone this time, waiting for someone to answer.

“We’re going out! It’s Friday night and we’re on the guest list at Katana, a very hip, very cool,
very dark nightclub in the city,” Aria says while shooting me a
don’t argue
look.

“Yes!” Abby confirms
, clapping with glee and causing my eyes to widen for the second time. “Since it’s twenty-one and over, we need the perfect outfits. I think, after two hours of searching, I’ve got everyone all set and ready to go. Now, we need to shower and get ready.”

“You guys have been at this for two hours! Are yo
u fucking crazy?” I screech in complete astonishment that they would spend so much time looking for a dress and shoes.

Abby pushes me toward the bathroom. “N
o, we’re preparing for fun. You go shower. By the time you’re done, I promise we,” she motions to Aria and then herself, “will have this all cleaned up.” I stare at her while she slips on her sweetest smile so I can’t argue.

“Fine
.” I huff and head into the bathroom. 

Two
pizza, primping and plucking-filled hours later, we’re deemed ready to go by the glam squad.

“I have to say
, we clean up well. I do good work.” Abby pats herself on the back.

“You’re
right. We all look smoking hot,” Aria’s enthusiastic voice agrees.

I’m so out of my elem
ent. “I miss my jeans,” I whine, trying not to kill myself in these high heels.

Abby gives me stink eye. “Eve, for once you look
like a hot college girl so stop bitching.”

R
esigned that I’m stuck wearing the mini and heels, I just sigh. Abby completes the look by pulling my hair into a sleek ponytail and Aria does a smoky eye on me, which make my hazel eyes look fierce.

To be truthful
, Aria did smoky eyes on everyone since it’s her ‘specialty.’  Hers are in pink tones highlighted with black heavy liner, all complimenting her sleek, pink strapless mini dress, black fishnets, and black combat boots. The combination sounds odd, but she looks fantastic.

Abby
looks majestic in a gold shimmer mini and gold sparkle heels, which make her long legs look even more incredible. Reminding me of a Grecian goddess, her eyes are done in browns and gold.

Out of all of
us though, I have to admit that McKenna looks the sexiest. She strolls in wearing a grey mini that drapes on her lean body with a black belt, black tights, a faux fur vest and knee high boots.

“Let’s go,”
she orders in a sharp pitch as she twirls her index finger in a circular motion, instructing us to get moving out the door.

Twenty minutes later, we pull up to the valet outside Katana. The club is housed in a
n elegant two-story building made of a shiny, smooth black stone, maybe granite. On the roof of the building are four dragon statues, one on each corner. There’s no sign, no windows, and only one glass door guarded by two very large and intimidating bouncers dressed in all black.

“There must be a hundred people waiting in line
. It’s wrapped around the building,” Aria breathes out in awe.

We get out of Abby’s Mini Cooper while McKenna
strolls us up to the bouncers, bypassing the line like she owns the place. “Tadhg. Leo. Looks busy tonight, boys,” she greets the guards like they’re old friends.

“Aye
, Kenna,” Tadhg says with an Irish brogue. The watchdog has tattoos that run the lengths of his very muscular arms and some run over his bald head and neck. His green eyes sparkle with joy at the site of us. “Yar lookin’ as lovely as evah, darlin,” he throws out with a thick accent as he eyeballs her from head to toe. McKenna seems to have that affect on all men.

“McKenna
.” Leo nods in a more formal manner. “How many with you tonight?”

“There
’re four of us. Abby’s here too.” She tilts her head in Abby’s direction, obliging Tadhg and Leo to both gesture to Abby. She signals back just as she reaches the two gigantic guards.

“These are our friends
, Aria and Eve. Ladies, Leo and Tadhg are friends of the family, and they also work for the club,” Abby chirps, making the introductions animatedly.

I
wave to both goliaths. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you, guys.” They both nod their hellos. “Tadhg is an interesting name,” I remark.

Tadhg
smiles at me. “Tis actually pronounced Tigg, meaning poet, in Gaelic,” he corrects with a captivating enunciation.

Aria
cozies up to Leo and squeezes his biceps. “Hey, you remind me of my ex but way hotter and sooo much bigger.” She bats her eyes and flirts with no shame.

“I’m just a gentle giant with a
heart of gold,” he coos at her, encouraging the attention.

I
bark out a short laugh as Abby giggles and McKenna snorts.

“
Ye feeks have a grand time and ya stay outta trouble, yeh?” Tadhg says, opening the black rope and permitting us entry as the line of people groan in complaint.

“
Thanks, honey,” McKenna says, planting a kiss on Tadhg’s cheek as we walk in. 

“Feeks?”
Aria questions.

“It means gorgeous girls,” Abby answers.
  

We walk into the club and
the first thing I notice is it’s smaller and more intimate than it looks from the outside. Though stylish and sophisticated, it’s also dark and sensual.

The only light source
comes from the twenty or so oversized chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The amber beams of light reflect off the crystals, wrapping the entire nightclub in a warm glow. Even with the luminescent radiance, they don’t provide much brightness against the dark interior.

The walls are black and the floor a dark grey concrete
, giving the entire club a contemporary feeling. There’s an all black, square granite bar in the middle of the open space with a countertop that runs the entire length of it. Everything is meant to feel sleek and smooth, modern.

Abby and McKenna push
us in the direction of the bar as they step up and order our drinks. My eyes roam and I notice a considerable dance floor with more giant chandeliers lighting the dancers in red tones. There are tons of people dancing sensually while post punk music pumps throughout the entire club. This whole place screams sex.

All around the
outskirts are high back, black leather booths with small grey stone, circular tables in front of them. There’s also a mezzanine overlooking the main floor. It’s decorated with black leather couches and tables.

“This is so amazing
.” As Aria jumps up and down, I smile at her enthusiasm.

“It really is
.” I nod in agreement.

Abby and McKenna
return with drinks in hand and we head toward a couch area with a stone table in the center that has a VIP note on it.  McKenna and I sit on the couch facing the dance floor as Abby and Aria plop into chairs across from us.

“How were you able to get us in here?” Aria inquires
, taking a sip of her drink.

“My boyfriend and his brother
s own the club,” McKenna announces with pride.

I shoot a pointed glance at Aria as her eyes widen. I guess the ice queen has a boyfriend.

“I didn’t know you were seeing anyone,” Aria responds
, stunned.

McKenna just glares but doesn’t elaborate.
Odd. I was about to ask her to go into details regarding her secret boyfriend when the familiar heat begins to hum in my veins. My eyes lift and scan the dance floor, landing on Asher. He’s dancing provocatively with some random blonde girl as an irrational pang of jealousy rolls through me.
What the fuck?

At my reaction, Abby’s face morphs into one of confusion
, causing her to look back at Asher and then at me again with puzzlement before she draws her manicured brows together.

“You want to
tell us why your nose is flaring like you just smelled dog shit?” Aria asks with candor as she watches my every move.

I can’t answer her. All I can do is focus on the many places his body touches hers while I’m consumed by illogical envy. My blood is actually boiling in my veins as I hold my breath and just stare at him grinding against her.

This
girl’s cleavage is falling out of her silver dress, which hugs all her curves. She entwines her hands around his waist as Asher buries his face in the crook of her neck. He secures her against his body and they sway as one to the erotic music. With lustful eyes, she smiles up at him and bites her lower lip. He leans in as if he’s going to kiss her, maintaining eye contact with her.

I clinch my fists tightly to prevent myself from going over there and
clawing her damn eyes out.
Crap. I need to pull it together
. I don’t even know him, and what little I do know, I don’t like. Right?

“Looks like someone needs to start listening when I
give advice.” McKenna leans in and whispers into my left ear while I try to calm myself down.

Asher snaps his head toward us a
s if he heard her, which is impossible over the loud music. His eyes shift and lock onto mine, holding them for a moment, taken aback. They grow larger in surprise and snap back to McKenna. He’s pissed. She waves wickedly at him, causing his face to turn furious with rage.

The tension is too much. I grab Aria
, forcing her out of her seat.  I realize I’m being irrational, but the need to escape is overwhelming and I get tunnel vision.

“Aria, come with me to the ladies room.
” I drag her like a rag doll behind me.

“What the hell
, Eve,” she screeches.

“I need some a
ir and you need to come with me,” I attempt to explain while I walk faster, pulling her into the ladies room and slamming the door closed.

Of course
, the bathroom is as chic and dark as the rest of the club. I throw myself down on one of the leather chairs in the sitting area and put my head in my hands, sighing and feeling overwhelmed.
Yep, I’m unstable.

Aria just stands there, arms folded. Crap, the angry pixie’s back.
“Are you going to tell me the absurd reason why you heaved me through the club to hide out in the ladies room? I mean, it is a lovely room,” she motions her hand around, “but this isn’t a seventh grade dance, so spill it, sister,” she coaxes. Thin chocolate slits stare at me in partial amusement.