away from the trees. His entire body tensed and I followed his eyes toward the tower. An older man in a black suit with striking silver hair observed us, emotionless.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, without breaking eye contact with the somber man. The stormy expression on his face didn’t look like he wanted to discuss the weather. He was the first person I’d seen that exuded more darkness than Finn. His body seemed to blur and shift within the shadows of the tower. It was very unsettling and I forced myself to look away.
“Anastasia?” I looked up into the small, cold eyes of a petite girl with light brown hair, wearing a blue dress. She was holding a champagne flute with her pinky finger extended high in the air. She instantly reminded me of Laura Beth, which was not necessarily a good thing.
“Yes?”
“So it’s true?” she asked with a hostile undertone.
“So what’s true?”
She stared at me. “Don’t you think it’s a little ironic that you’re here with the Scion?” She twirled a ring on her finger that had a bright blue stone. A sapphire, maybe? If she was a Siren that could explain her hostility toward me, being a Tyde.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I turned to face her, not concealing my frustration.
“Stasia!” Phoebe ran up to the table and threw her arms around me. Thankful for the interruption, I turned my back to the Siren, and then patted the chair beside me.
“Hey Phoebs! Have a seat.” She sat down beside me and I could tell pinky girl was put out by her sudden appearance. She turned on her heel and walked away without another word.
“Who was that?” Phoebe asked as she took a sip of something pink. Her face was flushed and her eyes were shining with excitement.
“Your guess is as good as mine. So, are you having fun? Ian looks pretty good tonight – he cleans up nice.”
A Texas sized grin spread across her face. “This is the best dance I’ve ever been to! I found some of these little guys…” She held up an airplane bottle of vodka with one hand and lifted her glass carelessly with the other. The pink concoction inside sloshed out and on to the table. “Whoops!” she giggled and continued, “And…I have the hottest date here. Besides Finn, of course,” She winked at me and I couldn’t help but laugh. Somebody was going to have a hangover in the morning.
“Speak of the devil!” She bolted out of her chair and threw her arms up with excitement, “Hey Finn!” She hugged him and stumbled away to find Ian. Finn chuckled and handed me another pina colada. I immediately took a sip. I could drink these all night.
“You are truly a gentleman,” I told Finn in a horrible British accent, “These mocktails are bloody delicious.”
“This gentleman would like to ask his lady to dance,” he answered in an equally terrible accent. He stood and extended his hand formally. I took it and raised my eyebrows in feigned surprise.
“His lady?”
He raised my hand to his mouth, holding my gaze the entire time and gently pressed his lips to it. “His lady,” he confirmed with obvious devotion and pulled me out to the dance floor as a slow song began. I watched the lights above play across his handsome face and I wished I could hear his thoughts.
“Who was that man you were talking to earlier?”
“A friend,” he answered vaguely, and then searching my eyes, he whispered, “I need to ask you a question.”
“Okay, shoot,” I smiled up at him.
“Do you trust me?”
I took a moment to think about what his question. On one hand, he wouldn’t tell me certain things about himself; he only gave me cryptic answers and seemed to know way too much about me.
On the other hand, I felt completely safe with him, even though I had every reason to believe he was capable of murder. I knew he wouldn’t intentionally do anything to hurt me and my intuition told me he was actually guarding me from something. Keeping me safe. I just didn’t know what that
‘something’ was yet. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
“Yes,” I answered with certainty.
“Good.” His features relaxed and he let out a breath, “I need you to trust me, Stasia. No matter what.”
“I’m much stronger than you give me credit for. I want you to know you can tell me anything. I can handle it.”
“Be careful what you ask for,” he warned, more to himself than me. Desperation flashed in his eyes as he looked over my shoulder at the ocean. Eventually, he met my gaze again. His was so unguarded and pure, it left me breathless. I looked down at my feet, momentarily overwhelmed by my own emotions. Every time he looked at me, my resolve wavered and I knew it was only a matter of time before I fell hard for him. Which terrified me.
“Do I still make you nervous?” He cocked his head to the side with a devilish grin.
“Nope. Not at all,” I tried to lie convincingly.
“You’re not a good liar, Stasia.” He hid a smirk, repeating a similar conversation of ours.
Suddenly, he cloaked us and we were covered with sparkles from head to toe. Finn stopped dancing abruptly and pulled me close; his intentions clear in his hooded eyes. An emotional frenzy sparked inside me and my breath came faster as he leaned in ever so slowly. His mouth brushed mine lightly, enticing me. I grinned and took the bait, kissing his bottom lip, and then biting it gently before pulling back. Taking my challenge, he delicately kissed the skin beneath my ear down to my collarbone. Goose bumps raised on my skin as every sensation became heightened. Couples danced around us, completely oblivious that we were making out right in front of them. The thought sent a thrill through me. He touched my necklace, looking at me with warmth.
“It looks magnificent on you,” he said in a low voice and a thought occurred to me.
“How did you know it would match my dress?” A forced whisper was all I could manage.
He paused, his eyes filled with desire, “You aren’t the only one with foresight, Pasha.” My eyes widened, but before I could respond, he kissed me with a searing urgency that made my entire body ache with longing. He broke our kiss, grabbed my hand and led me towards the same door we had entered through earlier. He pulled me down a different hallway and we fell against a wall. I was trapped against it from the pressure of his body on mine. The flame burning inside me threatened to explode into a raging inferno, as his hands seemed to be everywhere at once. He moved backwards, taking me with him and we crashed through a door, landing clumsily onto a well-placed chaise lounge chair.
I fell on top of him, but he flipped us over effortlessly so that I was lying on my back instead.
His lips grazed mine, sending tingles down to my toes, then moved downward as he kissed my neck. I tilted my head back, giving him full access. His cool lips offset the heat of his tongue as waves of passion took hold of my body. He continued kissing the other side of my neck as his right hand gripped my waist with hunger, pulling me against him. I tucked my hands inside his jacket and ran them along his strong shoulders, urging him to continue.
His lips met mine again and suddenly there were way too many layers of clothing between us. I wanted to touch him, feel the heat coming off of his skin as it caressed mine. His strong hold on my waist released and his hand moved up my rib cage, inching ever higher. My chest suddenly felt fuller, anticipating his touch. His hand lingered just below, as if he was trying to decide if he should continue. His palm moved to my side so that only his thumb grazed the bodice of my dress, causing the skin beneath to tingle and ache. Suddenly, he grasped my waist again with what seemed like a lot of effort.
“Don’t stop…” I whispered and put my hand over his, trying to guide it higher again. He easily threaded his fingers through mine, preventing it. He leaned back to look at me.
“I have to stop myself before I lose all control and rip that beautiful dress to shreds.” The fate of my dress was the last thing on my mind, but he grinned and crouched on his knees in front of me, pulling me into a sitting
