Tessa distracted me then by hauling her butt off the dance floor and running – as fast as she could in her hooker heels – over to me, screaming the entire way.
“Shit, Charlie, you’ll never believe it.” Her eyes were wide and full of excitement.
I pulled myself up, dropping the half-full glass of bubbles onto the table.
“What,” I said, laughing as she grabbed my arm and bounced agitatedly.
“They’re here – holy fuck, they actually came out before curfew and are downstairs right now.”
My breath caught in my throat. I tried to swallow down the flash of nausea assaulting me. I wanted to believe she was talking about One Direction or the Biebs, but since there wasn’t actually a rule about them being out after curfew, I knew it was not any humans that had her panties in a twist. It was the ash.
I dropped my eyes to my wrist. My slender gold watch was telling me that it was far too early for those creepers to be out. So what the hell? Even though I wasn’t hammered, I was regretting the heavy alcohol choice by now. I wanted a clear head if I was going to be around the ash. They got the drop on me once.
Never again.
I realized I was clenching my fists, so I relaxed them and let Tessa drag me across to the dance floor to get a closer view. Sure as shit, there they stood, two tall, gorgeous men. One had dark hair and gave off a creepy vibe; the other was a yellow blond and looked like a bad guy’s sidekick. The women surged closer to them, some practically dry humping their legs. I shook my head. Suddenly, Tessa ripped her hand from my grip and bee-lined it in their direction. Oh hell no! She must be hammered. She wasn’t that stupid was she? Completely sober now, I pushed my way through the gaggle of girls until I reached the front.
I arrived in time to hear: “Tessa! With a T,” my best friend slurred.
Then I realized that she was sitting on dark-haired creeper’s lap. Anger flooded my chest. It was before curfew and she was drunk – this was so wrong.
“Tessa!” I said in my best mom voice, gripping her arm and yanking her off his lap.
Now that I was closer, my nose was assaulted with scents of copper and musk. Bad boy glared at me with those goddamn black and silver eyes. The eyes that haunted my nightmares.
“Hey, relax, honey, we’re just having some fun. Right, Jessa?” His voice was all smooth and low.
“It’s Tessa,” I ground out. “And fun’s over.” I held Tessa against me. She felt like a dead weight and I wondered if the alcohol was getting the better of her.
As I went to turn around, his arm snaked out and grabbed my wrist, holding tight enough to cut my watch into my skin.
What the actual fuck? Twice in one day.
My vision went a little red then, thoughts flashing across my mind in rapid succession. You know how you kind of wonder if you’re capable of murder? Everyone has the wild thought on occasion. I had definitely wondered before.
Well, this moment gave me my answer.
I pushed Tessa behind me with my free arm, thankful that she managed to stay on her feet long enough to stumble away. I turned back to the owner of the hand gripping my arm.
“Let. Go!” The sound of my own voice scared me. It was raw and animalistic.
His eyes started to pulse then, like with the ash in class, and he licked his lips as he looked me up and down. He did not let me go; he started to yank me closer.
Wrong answer.
My free hand flew out, my palm straight, and smashed into his nose. I felt the crack of cartilage, and almost immediately blood covered my palm. His grip loosened and I wrenched myself from his hold, before doing a quick pivot, prepared to grab Tessa and flee. A hard grip landed on my shoulder, dashing those plans. Fear was taking hold of me, saturating my movements and sending my thoughts into a tizzy. I tried to focus, forcing my defense instructor’s words through the fear. Deep breaths, don’t panic. In one swift movement I spun, prepared to kick the guy who was holding me right where it counted. Ash or not, a knee to the nuts hurt every man alive.
I did not hesitate, going straight for the shot, but of course no human stood a chance against an ash. He moved quicker than my eye could track. Somehow he managed to step outside my range but still fill the space with his presence. Sucking in a ragged breath, I halted my attack, watching him with caution. It was a new ash standing before me, not the creeper or his sidekick. Somehow I knew immediately that this one was not like the other two. They had been annoying d-bags, but just normal run-of-the-mill ash. This new ash was different. Everything about him screamed dangerous. Pure and simple.
The longer I stared, the more I felt compelled to examine him. Every single one of these creeps were beautiful, designed as first class chick magnets and killing machines. But I had been right the first time; this ash was so much more.