Veiled Waters Read online

  Not seeing her, Reid chewed his lip, frowning. Maybe she slipped outside, he thought, and a little voice in his mind whispered to him, You lost her. You lost your girlfriend at a party she didn’t want to go to. Well done, asshole. He frowned.

  Then the changing music caught his attention, and he hesitated. It was a Papa Roach song, his favorite song actually; ‘One Track Mind’.

  He was just about to make his way to the door so he could check for Ember outside, when he caught Ember’s name in hushed whispers. He paused and listened. People on the edges of the dance floor had stopped dancing and were watching something that was apparently riveting. Curious, Reid slunk through the crowd to see what was so fascinating. When he reached the edge of the gathered teens, he stopped and felt his jaw hit the floor, his eyes widening in amazement. For once, he was utterly speechless.

  Utterly lost to the music, Ember was swinging her hips, twisting and writhing to the fast, hard beat. She thrashed her head, running her hands carelessly backward through her tangled hair. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted with her rapid breathing, and even from here, Reid could see her pulse hammering wildly at the base of her throat. Under the flashing colored lights, she looked dangerous and unruly, and her reckless abandon, somehow, reminded him of the way she looked when they had sex. It was a violent, vicious dance, and every guy in the room had his eyes fixed on her. Some were wearing expressions of incredulity, having never imagined this side to the quiet girl. Some guys were openly gawking at her with naked desire and longing on their faces. A few made moves to go and join her, but retreated, not having the nerve. Reid was sure Ember was oblivious to her audience, otherwise she wouldn’t have been dancing at all. If only, he thought, she knew how sexy she really was. She wouldn’t be teasing every guy here if she could see the looks on their faces right now.

  Just then, Ember made a sharp movement that caused her low-riding leather jeans to slip a little lower, exposing a line of red fabric across her hip. Reid nearly choked, feeling his eyes go wider still, his heart lurching into his throat. Ember was wearing a thong. He hadn’t known she even owned one, never seen her wear one before, but tonight, she was.

  Before he knew what he was doing, his feet carried him forward, toward his dancing girlfriend. His presence on the dance floor caused many of the drooling males to snap their jaws shut and avert their eyes, but Reid could still feel the projections of their thoughts.

  Now he was just a few feet from Ember, and she didn’t notice, just kept dancing with erotic abandon. This close, Reid could see the shimmer of sweat coating her skin, the strobe lights spraying blue and green and pink beams over her body. The black leather of her jeans clung to her so tightly, he had to force himself to breathe slowly, had to focus on keeping his heart from bursting out of his chest. The chain looped through her jeans jingled and flashed as she moved. Her hair tumbled in a sexy mess of golden tangles over her shoulders. Her skin was flushed pink, the colorful powder on her closed lids glittered. Reid could smell her, the scent of sweat and energy and boiling adrenaline, mixed with her perfume and her natural scent of grapefruit and sandalwood. It all mingled together into an intoxicating fragrance that just about had him drooling.

  Helpless to stop himself, euphoric heat singing inside him, he reached for her.

  *****

  ** Ember **

  Ember knew Reid was behind her without even opening her eyes. The smell of spiced-apple was unmistakable and she could hear his heart beating even over the music. This wasn’t exactly what she’d planned on when she’d started dancing, but it was certainly a perk. Reid lingered behind her momentarily, and she laughed quietly, waiting for his control to snap. She could still feel eyes on her from around the room, but, for once, she didn’t care. Her fear of being in the spotlight had taken a back seat to the breathless energy burning up inside her. She raised her arms over her head, twisting and swaying, letting her hair fall carelessly around her face and shoulders.

  Finally, she felt Reid’s hands coast down her arms, all the way down her sides to her hips, where he hooked his fingers into the belt loops of her leather jeans and pulled her back against him. Feeling powerful and reckless and hot, she altered her moves ever so slightly to encompass him in the wild dance. She heard him suck in a breath sharply as she ground against him, and grinned victoriously. Now she understood why girls did this, acted too slutty in front of dozens of people; it was a power thing. Being able to hypnotize a guy into doing whatever you wanted just by swaying your hips a little…it was a super power all on its own.

  Then the chorus hit and Reid’s voice, rough and low, murmured in her ear, “You are my nemesis, the one I can’t resist. I got a one track mind.”

  Yes, this was definitely the perfect song for him. Ember adored this song, and it reminded her of him every time she heard it. Of course, she’d never tell him that. He’d probably just laugh. But, while they were at it, she decided to be really mean.

  She turned in his arms and pressed herself against him as she leaned up to whisper more lyrics in his ear, “I’m the pain. You’re the pleasure. Can’t you read the signs? I got a one track mind.”

  Oh, that really got him going. Ember felt him shudder delectably, his breath hitching as he gripped her tighter. Without even looking, she knew his fangs were fully extended. Since she was clasped against him, her chest plastered to his, he had easy access to her neck, and it had to be driving him crazy right now; not being able to bite her because people were watching…Oh, yeah, it was driving him crazy. She could feel it very well from the way she was pressed against him at the hips.

  She laughed wickedly, her own fangs throbbing now. Reid growled, and Ember couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this good, this overwhelming desire. It was on a whole new level, maybe because she was the one in control for once. Normally, no matter how she tried, Reid always got the better of her. But not here, not tonight. Tonight, she was in control, both of herself and of him.

  Suddenly, there was a voice speaking tentatively in her head. Uh, Ember, sorry to interrupt, but, um, Sherry wants to talk to you. Like, now. It was Ricky, sounding distinctly like he’d really rather not be intruding into her head right now. To be honest, she’d rather he wasn’t either. She frowned, but kept dancing.

  Tell her I’m a little busy right now. I’ll talk to her later, she thought back, locating Ricky’s mind hovering somewhere upstairs. Quickly, the telepathic phone line hooked up again, but there was momentary hesitation, like buzzing at the end of the phone line. Ember guessed Ricky was reluctant to keep bugging her, but Sherry was insisting.

  Sorry, eh, Sherry says she needs to talk to you right this minute. Face to face. Uh, please, Emz, she said she’d freeze my fingers off if I don’t get you up here right now.

  At that, Ember had to laugh, not the wild, seductive laughter of dancing with Reid, but a saner, amused laugh. Reid pulled back and looked at her questioningly. She wasn’t sure if his pupils were so hugely dilated because of the dimness or her dancing, but it made him look dazed and cute.

  She shook her head at him and grinned. “Sorry, Sherry needs me,” she said, releasing her arms from around his neck. He still held her hips and he didn’t let go as she tried to move away.

  He glowered at her, flames burning in his blue eyes.

  “Don’t even think about it. I’m not letting you walk away from me now, Emz,” he said in a low voice, his fingers sliding across her hip, playing with the line of her thong. She’d almost forgotten she was wearing it. No wonder Reid had been hypnotized; he’d probably thought he was dreaming.

  The song had changed a while ago and now Creed was pounding through the speakers. Still, Ember was feeling the buzz, and she leaned up to kiss Reid. Usually, she reserved this kind of kiss for when they were completely alone, but hell, she really didn’t care who saw anymore. She parted her lips and drew the tip of her tongue over the points of his fangs, drawing a little blood on the sharp tips. Reid moaned against her lips, jerked her back to
him, holding her so tightly against him she wouldn’t have been able to breathe if she’d been entirely human. Little bursts of fire flared up along her nerves, the burning ecstasy becoming maddening when Reid did something with his tongue that she was fairly certain he’d never done before, not with her. It took all her self-control not to give in to the heat there and then. But, fortunately, another voice shouting in her head distracted her and she managed to tear herself away from Reid – Though it was clear he was severely unhappy about it.

  EMBER! For God’s sake, get your ass up here! I will physically freeze your lady bits if I have to!

  Ah. And that was Sherry, losing her patience. Sherry couldn’t use telepathy, but she knew if she mentally shouted loud enough, Ember would hear her. With a sigh, Ember wondered what the hell could be so important that Sherry had to drag her away from Reid right this second.

  This had better be good, Sherz, or else I’m going to ‘accidentally’ melt your new Panic! At the Disco t-shirt, Ember sent back warningly. Reluctantly, she left Reid staring after her on the dance floor, and she got the distinct feeling there’d be payback for her ditching him later. It didn’t take a genius to guess what kind of payback there’d be, either.

  Avoiding standing on the people twined together on the stairs, she headed upstairs and managed to mentally locate Sherry – she was thankful she didn’t have to open any false doors. God only knew what she would’ve found behind them – behind the last door on the left. With a sigh, Ember cautiously opened the door, not entirely sure what to expect, and slipped inside. She closed the door behind her before turning to face the room. Much like the rest of the house, it was dusty and crumbling and the floorboards were rotting away, the wallpaper faded and air pockets bubbled up from the greying surface like some ghoul was breathing in the walls. Aside from a filthy-looking mattress on a rusting metal bedframe, and another mattress on the floor, the room was devoid of furniture…Unless you counted the ice statue.

  Ember bit her lip on the laughter that was trying to escape her, and turned to look at Sherry with bright, amused eyes. Sherry was pacing in the corner of the room, anxiously chewing on her fingernail. Ricky, tapping on the ice statue like he might dig all the ice away with his nails, looked up when Ember came in and shot her a half-amused, half-apologetic smile and a small shrug.

  Ember arched a brow at Sherry, who paused in her pacing and frowned even deeper. “I didn’t mean to do it!” she squeaked, toying with her fingers. She cast a nervous glance at the ice statue and made a high keening noise, biting her lip, and shook her head. “Well, can you fix it? Please fix it! It was an accident! I didn’t know it would happen, I didn’t mean to!” She looked pleadingly at Ember. Ember struggled not to burst into laughter, but she couldn’t help cracking a grin.

  “How about you explain how it happened?” she asked, highly amused, and sincerely curious as to how Sherry managed to encase a guy in a block of ice. It was really quite impressive, considering last time she’d checked, Sherry had only been able to throw ice-cubes at people. This much ice took a lot more power.

  Sherry glared at her accusingly. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? Stop smiling! It isn’t funny! What if he dies? He could suffocate or freeze to death or…I can’t have that on my conscience!”

  Ember wandered over to the poor boy trapped inside the six foot tall block of crystalline ice, and tapped on it with her nails, like Ricky had done. The ice was slick and solid, and distorted the features of the boy locked inside. He didn’t look familiar anyway. “Just tell me what happened,” Ember said, circling the ice statue.

  “I was looking out the window, waiting for Ricky to come back with drinks, and this guy came up behind me and put his arms around me, and I knew it wasn’t Ricky ‘cause he smelled like booze and cheap cologne, and I panicked, and then…this happened. I don’t even know how it happened. I just turned and shoved at him and my hands did that tingly thing they do when I’m using magic, and the guy just froze up like this. I swear I didn’t mean to!” Sherry explained rapidly in an ever-increasingly high pitched voice. When she was done, she gasped a breath, and Ember couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore. Sherry’s expression darkened yet more when she saw Ricky’s shoulders shaking with silent laughter, his head bowed to hide his grin.

  Maybe it was mean to be standing here laughing while this boy could be slowly suffocating inside an ice sarcophagus, but it was Sherry’s panic that made it so funny. You’d have thought she’d stabbed the guy, not accidentally sparked her magic off. Clearly she’d been drinking, which led Ember to question how difficult it was to control magic when you were drunk. Maybe she should look into that for future reference. It could be dangerous, when she thought about it…

  “This is not funny! Are you going to melt him out of there or not!” Sherry’s excited squeal brought Ember back to the problem at hand and she shrugged.

  “Oh, come on, it is a little funny, you’ve got to admit. Most people would just slap the guy, but you encase him in an ice coffin. Very dramatic.”

  Ember received a glower in return for her comment, and Ricky finally sobered up. “Just get him out, Emz, before he really does suffocate,” he said with a sigh, rubbing a hand backwards through his hair, making it stick up more wildly than it already was.

  Ember rolled her eyes. “Fine, but if he gets scalded, it’s not my fault.” With that, she began sucking up the heat from around her, and there was plenty of it. Heat poured off the bodies of the dancers downstairs in vital waves. Ember reeled in the heat, felt it tingle in her hands, and put her hands on the slick, cold surface of the ice. Immediately, the ice began to crackle and melt, steam rising to join the floating dust motes in the air. Ember turned up the heat, spreading the magic through the ice, white lines spidering through the crystalline block, accompanied by the popping sounds of cracks breaking it apart. A pool of water formed on the floor, seeping out around Ember’s feet, soaking into the moldy floorboards.

  It took several long minutes, but finally all the ice was melted and the boy trapped inside was free. Instantly, he gasped and choked, coughing up water. Mild red marks appeared on his skin, scald burns from the heated water. Before the guy could start spluttering questions or accusations, Ricky jumped in and began working his compulsion. Ember frowned at the drops of water clinging to the toes of her boots and the mess of the red polish on her fingernails.

  “Damn. I should’ve known not to wear nail polish,” she muttered, sighing. She flicked her hair back and flashed a quick smile at Sherry. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d kind of like to get back to Reid. Try not to freeze anyone else. Ricky, keep her away from the booze. In fact, both of you, behave yourselves.” Ember tossed the door open and closed it again on the scowling Sherry.

  As she made her way back downstairs and through the crowd, looking for her boyfriend, she was intercepted by a dark-haired boy in a green hoodie and jeans. He stepped right out in front of her, blocking her way, and stuck out an arm to lean against the wall, ensuring she didn’t slide past him. “Hey there. It’s Ember right? You’re Reid’s girl.” The boy smiled at her, and seemed to be one of the few here that wasn’t drunk yet.

  Ember recognized him as one of the guys from her Art class, but she’d never spoken to him before. She thought his name was Trevor. Biding her time to decide whether or not this guy was going to be worth flame grilling, Ember hesitantly answered, “Uh, yeah, if you want to put it like that.” She still didn’t like being referred to as ‘Reid’s girl’, like she belonged to him. Her heart belonged to him, the rest of her was her own.

  Trevor gazed at her with steady grey eyes. “He’s a lucky guy. You’re really pretty.”

  Okay, maybe this guy wasn’t as sober as she’d thought. But at least he wasn’t trying to grope her – Yet. The minute he did, he’d likely lose a finger.

  “Um, thanks,” Ember muttered, eyes darting around for Reid. But he wasn’t to be seen, so she was going to have to worm away from this guy some other way. Great. S
he really hated parties.

  The music had moved on to some gentle, eerie song and couples were slow dancing in the other room. It looked like quite a few people had left already, and Ember was distantly happy to note that Liandra was nowhere in sight. She just hoped Reid wasn’t with the little slut.

  “What do you say to a dance? Just one. Please. I’m sure Reid wouldn’t mind.”

  I’m pretty sure he would, Ember thought.

  “Come on, one dance.” Trevor reached out and took hold of her wrist, which instantly set off alarm bells in Ember’s head. Still, she tried to remain calm. Not everyone panicked at physical contact from strangers. It didn’t mean she had to hurt the guy.

  She thought quickly, scanning the crowd again. No luck. “Um…” She didn’t like the firm grip of his fingers on her wrist, but she really didn’t want to have to burn him. He wasn’t hurting her, wasn’t being sleazy…What could one dance hurt? Sure, it was a slow dance, but the first time she’d met Cris, she’d slow danced with him. “I guess. One dance.”

  Ember reluctantly followed Trevor into the crowd of dancing teens, and he turned her to face him. Swallowing, feeling just a little sick, Ember put her hands on his shoulders, and let him put his hands on her waist. Her skin gave an uncomfortable shudder. Still, she swayed from foot to foot as Trevor chatted at her, complimenting her and such. She tried to nod appropriately and make responsive comments, but mostly, she was worrying about the eyes watching them and whether or not Reid’s pretty blue eyes were amongst them. She hoped not.

  She tried to pay attention to what Trevor was saying. “…look amazing tonight. I think a lot of the guys were stunned when you showed up ‘cause nobody thought you’d wear something so…something like that.”

  Uh oh. That direction of commentary could get him a slap across the face if he wasn’t careful. Yet, he continued, and as he did, his hands started slipping. First to her hips, and then to her ass, and that’s when she pulled away and glared at him.