Page 28 of The Bloodfeather Promise
Chapter Seven
Putting up defenses
gotta watch my back,
tearing walls apart
while pulling in the slack.
Looking at her palms
For secrets hidden there,
I’ll bring the darkness
Maybe then she’ll care.
~Seven Seconds
Greyson
Rational thought has eluded me since the day I caught Emerson Jane Banner’s smoking hot body in my arms and backed her against the bookshelf in her own bookstore. The girl is driving me fucking crazy.
And goddamn, her eyes are blue. No. More than blue. They are the deepest, darkest, bluest part of the sea. Indigo. Azure. Sapphire. London topaz blue. Sparkling and mysterious. She smells of sugar and vanilla and something mysteriously spicy. Like the downy feathers of a young sparrow, her skin is impossibly soft. Just the thought of her and my hands shake, wanting to stroke her, pet her. Discover all the warm and gentle pieces of her with my fingers. With my mouth, my tongue and my teeth.
Tonight, I watch her from across the Run. Watch as she and her friends drink and their discussion snaps from playful and lighthearted to serious and tearful. My hands tighten into fists when Noah enfolds her in his embrace, but oddly enough, it’s not jealousy running rampant through my brain. No, it’s more a sense of sadness. Worry. I want to be the one consoling Emerson. I want her looking at me for comfort. I can resolve whatever troubles her. Whatever upset her, I have the means to make it disappear. I’ll be her knight in shining armor, if she will let me get close enough.
It’s confusing. Why I’m worried about her. Anxious about solving any problems she might have. I’m only interested in fucking her. She’s a fine piece of ass that’s gonna help pass the time while I finish this damn album. While I haven’t gotten so much as a kiss from her, I’ve jotted down the lyrics for five songs already and am working on the chords and music for a sixth now.
I wish Alex was here. He’d tell me what to do.
I almost wish Dylan was around, too. In the old days, we would have taken turns screwing this girl until we all passed out from exhaustion. We did it with Jessica, sharing her before she decided she was done with my moodiness and increasing cruelty. Dylan was convinced he loved her and she felt the same. While some might disagree, it irritated me more than anything. It wasn’t like I was in love with her; I just didn’t like being on the losing side of the triangle. Yeah, she was a fabulous fuck—I hated the thought of Dylan winning her and having her all to himself. Although, according to him, he hadn’t really won her at all. It was my brother who’d stolen her affections with relative ease.
I shove my thoughts aside. Fuck Dylan. It’s his fault Alex is dead, and because of him, I’m stuck in this stupid village, lusting and stalking some damned girl who won’t give me the time of day.
Emerson must know who I am by now. So, why isn’t she draped all over my cock? Cooing and rubbing herself on me, asking what she can do for me? They all do.
After flirting with me every time I stepped foot in the bookstore, that bold-eyed employee of Emerson’s gave it her best shot last night. It was around eleven when Lacey appeared at the gatehouse, ringing the video intercom. I was working on some songs out by the pool and, hearing the buzzer, the crazy hope that maybe it was Emerson had my heart racing. I nearly tripped over a lounge chair in my rush to the monitor.
Once I saw who it was, I rudely asked if she was lost.
“Just seeing if you need anything…” Lacey had replied in a coy manner. I knew what that meant. It was code for she would screw my brains out if I wanted her. Which I don’t.
“I’m fine.” Letting go of the button, I thought carefully about my next words, because obviously, I’m burning bridges left and right here. It’s fair to say she’s an attractive girl, one I would normally screw and discard. A replica of so many girls I’ve been with. Stabbing the speaker with my index finger, my words came out in a growl. “I value my privacy and don’t appreciate stalkers. Show up uninvited at my house a second time, and I’ll report an intruder on my property.”
Lacey stared wide-eyed, open-mouthed, at the monitor. Just as she stalked away into the darkness, her hand raised, flipping me off. After the slam of a car door and a loud spin of gravel, I watched from the monitor as she sped off in a sporty BMW her daddy probably bought her. Maybe she would tell Emerson I blew her off, maybe she wouldn’t. Anyway, what the fuck do I care? I’m interested in Emerson. Everyone else is just noise.
Noah and Devon leave the bar together around ten while Emerson hops in a little golf cart alone. She’s only had two drinks so she’s not intoxicated. Looks like my target isn’t much of a party animal.
She drives off in the general direction of her house, so I decide I’ll head that way, too. Tossing a hundred-dollar bill on the bar, I start toward the door of The Shayla, a gulf-front restaurant almost directly behind the AlleyGator. It sits up high, like a catbird seat, complete with a wrap around, glassed-in bar overlooking the beach on one side and the shops and other restaurants below it on the other. It provided a clear view of Emerson and her friends from my bar stool. Holly texted a few times during the hour I sat there, and I consider blocking her number. After ignoring the messages, I finally send a terse reply that I’m working on something and she should stop bothering me.
It’s somewhat the truth. I’m working on how I can talk Emerson out of her panties and onto my lap, straddling me with her breasts easily accessible. Working on how I can replace the faint hostility shining in her eyes with glowing pleasure.
“Sir. Sir, your change…” the bartender calls out to me as he finishes ringing up my drinks. He would have kept them coming, but I limited myself to two Crowns. Progress, I guess. Not too long ago, I would have finished a whole bottle by myself, closed this bar down, and taken a couple of the most attractive females there home with me.
I wave my hand. “Keep it.”
I’m on the prowl, my heart beating so quickly it feels like I snorted a few lines of blow. I remember how much I like this feeling. How alive it makes me feel. How far I’ll fall when it ends.
