Chase snickered.
Brandy’s mouth dropped open.
And Kailyn looked like I had just given birth to a one-eyed-one-horned-flying-purple-people-eater. I thought I had been in Spring Valley long enough to not get the outsider glares.
Guess I was wrong.
After a few awkward moments of me feeling like an idiot, Brandy wiggled off her safety goggles. “All right. Now you have to come. You haven’t lived until you have been to a country concert complete with tight jeans and buns of steel.”
I grinned. “You had me a buns.”
Brandy giggled.
“Is it cool if I bring someone? A girl of course,” I added quickly as their eyes shifted to Chase who was giving me the, we-are-so-going-to-talk-later glower. I ignored him at the moment, because I was too afraid that Brandy and Kailyn were going to embrace me in a girl-power hug.
“The more the merrier,” Kailyn said in delight. Her cheeriness was making me nauseous.
Chase placed his hand on my elbow. “You and I need to have a one-on-one later.”
“Is that code for something kinky?” I asked, hopeful.
He snapped the goggles on my nose. “You’re lucky you look so adorable with those on.”
I lowered my gaze, unable to stop my eyes from being drawn to his lips. Even the slightest and most far-fetched things made me think about kissing him. It was sad really how much I thought about his mouth.
“Be careful,” he whispered. “Your eyes are doing that color thing again.”
I narrowed my stare. “I hope you break a tooth on that candy.”
He chuckled dark and low, and I tried not to think how good that sounded.
After school his threat was as solid as gold. If he had something on his mind, there was no way I was going to avoid hearing it, so I plopped my bootie on the couch and waited. I didn’t have to wait long.
“Girls’ night is out of the question. It’s not even in the near vicinity,” he ordered with the door barely closed behind him.
I chomped on the inside of my lip, because if I opened my mouth right this second, it wasn’t going to be pretty. I might even try one of this cool flip-him-on-his-back moves Emma had shown me. He knew I hated to be told what to do. Finally, it became too much. “What is your problem? I know you have a lot of stuff you are dealing with, but really?”
He began burning holes in my carpet. “How about, it is the worse idea ever? There is a demon stalking you.”
My eyes leaped across the family room, trying to keep up with him. Eventually, I huffed, giving up. “We are going to be surrounded by thousands of eyes. I doubt he is going to show up at a hillbilly concert.” I was betting Alastair had better taste than that.
“That won’t stop him. It surely wouldn’t stop me.”
Nothing stood in the pompous Chase Winters’s way. “Look, I get the concern, but I was thinking that it would be good for Lexi. I want to take her with me. She needs to snap out of it, step back into the world of the living, and what better way than a night out on the town?”
He opened his mouth to protest then just stared at me. His mouth snapped shut, so I pounced, ready to seal the deal.
I jumped to my feet. “She needs this, and I want my best friend back. Plus we haven’t heard from you-know-who in weeks.” I flattened my hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. Heck, I might have even batted my lashes.
“I am so going to regret this,” he grumbled, sweeping a piece of hair behind my ear.
I grinned. “This will be good for her, I promise. She needs to move on.”
“I know.”
“Does this mean you are going to be creepily lurking in the parking lot?”
He flashed me a quick smile. “You can count on it, and I might even bring back up.”
I rolled my eyes.
***
That night I had another one of my exotic dreams, but this time it took a nasty turn.
Yep. Shit was going down.
Chapter 17
Chase’s lips were everywhere.
By everywhere I meant everywhere. And I had a pretty amazing imagination, but this exceeded that. In this dream, I loved every second of it.
A blue zing ignited in the air between us.
I was spellbound, caught in the web of passion only Chase could spin.
He framed my face with his hands, and my eyes fluttered open. As I peered at him from under my lashes, degree by slow degree the spell began to shatter. Staring into his immorally handsome face, I started to see him differently.
Gold eyes turned black.
His tan skin became pale.
And Alastair was leering above.
A shriek got wedged in my throat, and I felt myself suffocate on my own fear. Choking on oxygen, I struggled to calm the rising panic in my chest. My air passage was clear, but I still couldn’t breathe.