Long Live Dead Reckless Read online

  “Admit it and I’ll leave you alone.”

  I didn’t stop, but before I knew it, I was saying exactly what he wanted to hear.

  “No. Ugh, admit what? Yes, you’re a liar. Yes, I think you are one of the worst people I’ve ever known. And yes, I’m attracted to you, and I hate you. It makes no sense, but I admit it. That’s what I think of you! Now go away!”

  “Please wait.”

  I stopped trying to move past him. Something about the way he said wait. It was strange to hear that sound from his lips.

  “What?”

  He didn’t waste another second. He forced me up against the side of the pool house, his arms forming a fortress around me.

  “Enough, damn it.”

  When he pulled me into his lips, I thought I would fight him. I thought I would hate it, but the truth is, I was so in shock at how good a kisser he was that I just stood there and took it. I knew nothing in the world but what was going on between us. I could tell he had lots of practice with women in dark places, and I struggled to find something to complain about – you know, except all his experience. He had mastered at least one thing in his shallow life, and I was enjoying it.

  After I didn’t push him away, he only paused long enough for me to gasp in a good breath. He didn’t bring his lips fully away from mine, probably for fear I’d change my mind and deny them a second taste. They warmed bits of my own lips as they trembled and curved into a smile. The faint laughter from inside the mansion was the only thing reminding us we weren’t alone.

  He buried me in kisses, abating my hesitation. I didn’t expect to be so receptive. I never wanted to like him, and I should never have let him kiss me. It’s odd how I even knew that then. It felt like I didn’t really know myself all of a sudden.

  “I knew you wanted me,” he said, his lips trading the tasks of talking and kissing.

  Every time he pulled back, I grew more docile, diluted, and numb. Everything was on fire, so the itch on my wrist just blended in. Was I getting money soon? Oh, wait…that’s the palm. Ugh, whatever. Lips. Kisses. I had never been kissed so well in my life. His massive list of conquests made so much sense. What woman could pull away from this? I was disgusted with myself, so I focused on being yet another name on his list and that did the job.

  “God, I hate you,” I said with a groan, pulling him closer and drinking in another kiss. What I was saying and what I was doing didn’t match.

  “Tell me about it,” he smirked, running his hands down my hips and gripping them tight.

  Tell him how I hated him? Oh, that I could do. Agitated, he pulled at my skirts, but didn’t try to lift them. Just to be sure, I brought my knee up to maintain space between us. I was glad that even in my frenzied lust, I still had a head on my shoulders. He continued showering me in a cascade of kisses, keeping me dizzy. Since I couldn’t stop kissing him, I did my best to insult him between each one.

  “You evil...kissing...wizard...man-whore! I want to slap your face.”

  That last one made him laugh. Not my intention. He slipped a hand under my knee and with a mild flick, turned it out so his hips were between my thighs. At least there were layers of ball gown between us. I was grateful for that.

  “Yeah? Go ahead,” he murmured.

  His ability to get me in such a compromising position so quickly made me just mad enough to take him up on it. To my surprise, he let me. I hit him square across the face – hard, too. He didn’t even try to stop me. I was shaking so much from adrenaline that I couldn’t believe I landed a well-placed slap. I’d never hit a man before. It was terrifying and invigorating. He just smiled as he touched his cheek.

  “Hmmm ...wanna do it again?”

  I shook my head. It was disturbing the way it turned him on. It was then that I became very aware that I was trapped against a wall with a guy who liked a bit of pain with his pleasure. When he tried to kiss me this time, I turned away. He caught my chin and brought it back.

  “No, no, now. Don’t get all upset. We don’t have to do that. Just trying to see what you’re into. So far, I know you like this,” he purred, sinking me again.

  As he pulled back, a subtle moan escaped and betrayed me. I hoped he didn’t hear it. No such luck. He nodded, taking my head between his hands and speaking in a hushed tone like some desperate prayer.

  “Yeah, I know what you want and I’m gonna give it to you, but I’ve been thinking about this for so long, you know? He tried to steal you. But he can’t have you. You’re mine now.”

  It took me a second to realize he was talking about Sage. Oh, Sage. I want Sage! I wanted him breathing penitent pleas on me – his lips, his whispers. Stop kissing Spencer. I wanted Sage, but I couldn’t stop. Spencer’s fingers softly caressed the length of my throat. His lips followed his fingers, spilling kisses down. When he came to the spot where my pulse was beating wildly, he hesitated.

  “Talor, if I wanted to take you far away from here…would you go?”

  I nodded, surprised at myself.

  “Yes.”

  Oddly, I think I meant it. His voice was a blend of excited and mortified, like a kid riding their first real roller coaster.

  “Then don’t be afraid, ok?”

  My eyes shut so I could sort through a sensory overload of moments I had fought so hard against having. My body was burning. I wasn’t really thinking clearly myself, but I thought it was an odd thing for him to say. He took in a deep breath. I felt his tongue slide across the heartbeat in my throat and then his lips touched down, bringing something sharp against my skin with them.

  It was jolting – more surprising than painful. It didn’t make sense that a kiss would hurt unless…he bit me? My eyes flapped open as Spencer lurched back like I hit him. He stood there wide-eyed, looking as though he wanted to cuss me out.

  “Princess?”

  The next moment, he seemed sick. His hands shot up to his head as if he was in excruciating pain and he let out a restrained growl. I started to reach for my neck to see what happened, but he brushed back the wild hair from my forehead. I saw a faint light flicker in his eyes before they went wide with fear.

  “No,” he wailed, his eyes filling with tears.

  “Did you – bite me?”

  We looked at each other like we were speaking two different languages. Suddenly, the skin on his hand crackled and split as though slashed with a fiery whip. The burn wrapped up his arm and went white hot, dropping him to his knees. He let out a sharp, guttural scream.

  As he leapt up from the ground, his blonde curls twisted on their own to form what looked like actual horns. His eyes hollowed into slick, black holes as his face started to change. His teeth sharpened to points inside a face that was no longer human. His body was fast catching up.

  I turned and stumbled a few steps away, but when I looked back, he was gone. All that was left was a fake mustache on the ground. My eyes scanned the edges of the forest around us, but he was nowhere. I stood there in that corner, staring into the eerie candle-lit darkness trying to figure out what just happened. I went limp against the wall wishing I smoked. As I looked across the pool, I saw a set of eyes shine from just inside the thick wooded forest beside the property. The eyes were moving closer.

  I didn’t dare look away.

  9

  I watched as a puff of smoke twisted past the eyes and towards the lonely candlelight. I wanted to run, but I froze there, my body plastered against the cold brick at my back. The reflective eyes lowered and then something small and white flew through the air, landing a few feet away. The embers burned as smoke oozed from the end. A cigarette.

  The eyes came forward into the light and revealed the Assistant Director. As he came closer, his wrinkled hands adjusted his vintage tuxedo cuffs. His voice was hoarse like he’d been yelling.

  “You should go inside. There are all kinds of monsters lurking here in the dark. Don’t you know any fairy tales?”

  With that, he walke
d past me and back into the mansion. I watched him leave, thoroughly confused. Once it was quiet and I was sure I was alone, the recent memories caught up with me like an approaching train wreck in my head, screaming and crashing into each other. I bent at the waist and waited, sure I would be sick just trying to make sense of the turn of events.

  Nothing came up. There was nothing in my stomach but a bundle of nerves. I’d forgotten to eat somewhere along with way. I crouched there for a few minutes anyway – at least until I was breathing normal again. Once I could think clearly, I called the only person who wouldn’t ask questions – my friend, Bex. Wherever she was, it was loud.

  “Oh, hold up,” she yelled into the phone, and then screamed at people to shut up. It didn’t work. A door slammed before her voice came back on the line. Now the noise was muffled.

  “Talorrrrrrrr!”

  “I need a ride. Can you come get me?”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m at the gala thing.”

  “Say what?”

  “Bex, where are you?”

  “Harvest Moon.”

  I perked up, remembering Sage’s band was playing there that night. Quickly, I made my way over to the two-acre Zen Garden on the safer side of the pool. There was more light, more people and a better cell phone signal over there. Oh, and the Zen. I needed the Zen. Frustrated, I kicked a pebble; the garden wasn’t working. I wasn’t feeling peaceful. Sand squished underneath my heels as they sunk in the thick cold.

  “Can you drive?” I asked, knowing the answer.

  “Girl, I’ve had a beer. Oh! That speckled cutie of yours is here.”

  I stopped kicking pebbles and drawing heel circles through cold sand.

  “God, Bex! Come get me.”

  She was a good friend, but she definitely didn’t know when to stop talking.

  “Yeah, I think they play next.”

  I clinched the phone tighter.

  “Pick me up on Plantation Court – I’ll be walking. I’m in a…ball gown. Can’t miss me!”

  She laughed in a long, drawn out way.

  “Ohhhk then, crazy. I’ll bring you some clothes.”

  “Are you kidding? I can’t wear your size. Just –”

  “Listen Cinderella, don’t hitchhike. Your pumpkin carriage is coming!”

  I gathered the layers of my dress and started walking. I passed the long row of cars lining the grand entrance and headed out onto the road. When I got far enough from the bright lights of the mansion, I realized I was on a dark road alone. As expected, I began to freak myself out. Had I just become that stupid girl in a horror movie? Why did I leave the safety of the gala?

  I should have just gone back inside and waited for sanity to show up. Spencer was gone, but his car was still sitting in the driveway. He was probably laughing his butt off somewhere with Jesse. I started to wonder how bad a kisser I really was if he acted like it nearly killed him. Should I dare embarrass myself with Sage? And was I really a bad dancer, too? I ran my fingers along my lips as I pondered the whole thing.

  I had plenty to think about on my lonely walk. It was a good thing, too, because the longer I traveled down the winding country road, the more I feared that Bex would forget to come get me or drive down the wrong street. She’d never been to Beaty Plantation before. I’d forgotten that not all my friends were friends with each other. The edges of my stilettos started to rub the sides of my feet raw, so I stopped to take them off.

  As I bent down, I caught a whiff of something dead and had to cover my nose. I hoped I wouldn’t trip over a dead raccoon in the middle of the road. It wasn’t a good time for a twig to snap nearby. I tried to pretend it was a deer. I wasn’t about to start looking around for more eye shine. After all, it was the outskirts of the city, otherwise known as the country. There were plenty of fields and forests; protected places full of wild things because millionaires like to have miniature countries to lord over.

  In an effort to lighten my mood, I escaped into childlike imagination. Maybe the deer and the road kill raccoon were old friends. Maybe he was coming to pay his respects. For safety’s sake, I hoped animals were that sentimental.

  I knew it was something else, but I didn’t look back. I couldn’t muster the courage. I quickened my pace, knowing that if something strange was lurking around, it was going to have to work up a sweat to catch me. I was jogging a solid six-minute mile in my ball gown by the time Bex’s headlights were on me. I could hear her ridiculous cackle and blaring beats before I got in. She didn’t even try to suppress it.

  “Takin’ a pleasure jog in your evening gown, Miss O’Hara? Aren’t you supposed to be sipping mint juleps or something?”

  I slammed the car door and waved her on without answering. I was out of breath and sweating a little more than I wanted to in a silk dress and cinching corset. As I laid my head against the window, I caught the glimpse of something in the rearview. It was standing in the middle of the road where I had just been picked up. It looked like…

  “Stop,” I screeched.

  She slammed on the brakes.

  “Ohmahgod, what?”

  As we sat idling there in the road, I turned around; I’d seen something in the rearview. It was gone now. What I saw, I didn’t dare say. It wasn’t real, but I was sure it was what had been following me.

  I slammed down the door lock. I saw something that shouldn’t be there. Something that didn’t exactly exist.

  “No. Just go. Go now. Go fast, please.”

  Shrugging, Bex hit the gas and barreled down the winding road. She gestured at a pile of clothes covering half of the back seat.

  “There’s some stretchy stuff in there. Oh, and you need to freshen your makeup, girlfriend.”

  I wiped sweat away and tried to take a body check of how I felt. I didn’t feel drugged, but I had to be. What I saw wasn’t real. Spencer had to have slipped something in my drink. I sifted through the mound of dirty clothes. I found one dress I could wear with my corset still on.

  While it was a little tight, it emphasized all the right places. I slipped on some ankle boots and unpinned my hair. We pulled up to Harvest Moon just as I finished. Somehow, spandex could be less mentally comfortable than a corset. When I stepped out of the car, Bex looked at me and did a lively dance step.

  “Damn, kid. What did Spandex ever do to you? I don’t know who’s spankin’ who!”

  “Gee…thanks?”

  Harvest Moon was packed and loud, so I waited by the car while Bex went to talk to the doorman. Wearing a tight dress around drunken men suddenly didn’t seem like such a good idea. I was very self-conscious, but I didn’t want the gawkers to know it. Feigning confidence, I threw my chin high in the air.

  About then, everyone started filing out of the bar like kids on field trips. Some people were stumbling, obviously drunk, while others were laughing hysterically enough to need a white room. Something weird was going on inside – something that made me want to get out of there. Bex came back pouting a minute later.

  “They’re closing. Somebody set off a fire alarm, so the cops are coming.”

  “Let’s go. I need to get home. It’s been a long night.”

  Bex squinted her eyes and twiddled her thumbs.

  “Ok. Lemme say bye to some folks.”

  “Bex –”

  “A minute,” she called, waving me off.

  She rounded the car to get her jacket. I buried my cold nose down in the scarf around my neck and stared at the pavement. I was glad that I hadn’t asked Sage to go to the gala. He would’ve said no because he had a show. Just then, gray and white Saucony shoes were in front of me. Sage had a pair like that. I snapped my head up; hoping Sage was the only guy in Cypress with those shoes. The magical moment dissipated when it turned out to be a drunken frat guy instead. He was just drunk enough to be annoying.

  “Hey, what’s yours name?” he slurred.

  His breath was its own interesting cockt
ail.

  “Married, thank you. Bex, look for some Tic-Tac’s in there, would you?”

  He turned up the beer bottle in his hand until it was empty. His eyes were bloodshot, but they looked like they were normally brown. He stumbled a little closer and almost fell against me. I moved just in time for him to fall against Bex’s car. Bex stopped throwing clothes around and popped her head out of the backseat.

  “Hey, get off my car!” she said, scowling.

  He was oblivious.

  “But do I know…you look like this girl I…I know you. It’s Brandi – isn’t it? That’s it! It. Hey, Brandi.”

  I shook my head.

  “Not it.”

  “Oh…then what’s it? I’ll buy you. Drink?”

  He offered me his empty bottle. I knew he was basically harmless, but I had enough harassment for one night, so I started to walk away.

  “Bex, can we go now?”

  “Brandi?”

  He reached out and tried to grab my arm, but he missed and lost his balance. He hit the ground with a thud and his glass bottle shattered, cutting his hand. Bex slammed the door shut, pointing at him. With her other hand, she waved a bouncer over.

  “Greg, get this fool before I break his head over my hood.”

  I couldn’t imagine Bex hurting a fly with her petite frame. Still, she was tough. She had a no-nonsense way about her that made men straighten up as she passed. I leaned back against a parking meter to watch. Bouncer Greg ran over and forced the bleeding stranger to his feet. The drunk tried to apologize to Bex for not knowing her name was Brandi. Apparently a bodybuilder in his free time, Bouncer Greg grabbed the poor guy up by his collar and swung him around like a rag doll.

  That’s when Sage came out of the side door of Harvest Moon. I glanced at Bex, who was cussing the guy out. Since she was busy, I turned to go after Sage when I came face to face with him. I didn’t concern myself with figuring out how he got to me in a matter of seconds. I wasn’t sure whether I should act surprised to see him or play it cool. I didn’t do either; I batted my eyelashes at him like an idiot. My default. He pulled at his hat; I think he was tipping it. I nearly did a courtesy with all that chivalry.