"Hey, you put up my scary witch. I totally forgot about her."
Ty grabbed my shoulders. "Think nothing of it, little one. We got your back."
Dillon broke away from our little pack as Ty and Vivi went off in another direction pushing through the crowd. I waved to Adaira as Syd and I made our way up to the bar. "You’re looking mighty hot in that sexy pirate costume …argh me matey!" I winked.
Syd gently placed a hand on my back as we stood and talked to Adaira.
Adaira laughed. "You are looking mighty fine there yourself…stylized 13
th
century warrior?"
I chuckled. "Stylized middle ages, yes, but warrior, not so much."
"Well you look great, Kylah. Guess Syd has his work cut out for him tonight. I have already seen six guys checking out your ass." Adaira winked and then asked Syd if she could speak to him for a moment gesturing to the other end of the bar. Syd looked at me before he acknowledged Adaira.
"I'll be right back. I will only be a few steps away."
I threw my hands in the air. "Oh my god, I’ll be right here. I won’t move, I promise."
As he made his way to the end of the bar, I sat on a barstool that someone had just vacated. Adaira was right, I suddenly felt like a giant piece of steak that half the men in the bar wanted to devour. At least when Syd was next to me, they kept it civil.
Not a problem, I’m a big girl, I can handle a few stares
. Adaira must have told one of the other bartenders to bring a beer down because suddenly there it was in front of me.
"Thanks." I didn’t recognize the girl dressed in a red devil costume, but there was a lot of extra staff around tonight.
Before she left, sandalwood and leather filled the space around me and I wondered if she had been wearing a special perfume. The scent kept getting stronger and more familiar; I knew I had smelled that combination before, but where? I turned to see if it was one of the men standing nearby, but quickly dismissed the two ewoks to my right. Yeah, the furry Star Wars creatures couldn’t possibly smell that heavenly.
"A beer, huh? Not your usual choice, but there are a lot of things different about you these days."
"I’m afraid you have…" I turned around to see who was talking, but my voice froze mid-sentence as I looked up at the man before me.
My body warmed instantly when I looked into his eyes.
The man from my dreams… this is so not freaking happening; he was just a fantasy.
I stood there motionless and speechless for what seemed like forever, just staring at him. He was dressed like a gothic vampire, complete with fangs and preternatural eyes. They swirled a golden amber color that blended with copper flames.
Wow, who made his costume? He looks so authentic.
Mystery man brushed his hand over my cheek when he moved the hair away from my face. Normally this would warrant a kick to the groin, but I was too enthralled by the fact that my dream man was standing before me. I bit my lower lip and he growled as he moved closer to me, his body pressing against mine. In that moment, I was certain I lost all rational thought. I mentally traveled to a place where this man and I were naked and writhing in bed. Hell, the way my body was responding to his, I would be more than okay if he took me right here in the crowd.
"Aerric," Syd snapped, pulling me out of my daze. I turned to see Syd standing behind me, his gaze focused on this gorgeous man.
"Uh…you know him, Syd?"
My mystery man spoke again and I swear I almost died. Damn that voice of his. "Yes, we unfortunately know one another." He nodded his head at Syd then turned his attention back to me.
Syd placed his hand on the small of my back and said, "Kylah, we need to head upstairs. There are some people Vivi wanted you to meet, and they are in the VIP section."
"Oh…okay. It was nice to meet you. Aerric, is it?" I extended my hand to shake it, but instead, he took my hand in his and gently kissed it, all the while glowering at Syd.
"Yes, my name is, Aerric. It's nice to meet you, Kylah."
Syd took my other hand and led me towards the stairs, away from Aerric. I could have sworn he growled when Syd touched me. I guess I should have been offended by Aerric’s arrogance, but instead my heart skipped a beat just thinking of him. I wanted to run back to him and kiss him until we were both breathless, but that was a pipe dream because with all this personal security, I didn’t see a make-out session in my near future.
The noise level in the bar was beyond loud; the crowd was now thick with people of all shapes and sizes trying to impress each other with their costumes. I looked down and saw at least three naughty Snow Whites, but none of them were Olivia. I looked around for Frank, too, but I wasn’t completely sure what he was dressing up as, so I was going to have to wait until he found me.
As I followed Syd up the stairs, I turned to look back, using my new vantage point to try and find Aerric, but he was gone.
Shit. Did I just imagine that whole encounter
?
"Kylah!" I turned my head to see who was calling me and recognized Layne. I tugged on Syd’s hand and told him to give me just one second. He stopped and waited as I went back down a few steps.
"Hey, you look great! Love the Victorian garb, and the powdered wig is the perfect touch."
"Dead Victorian zombie, actually." She stepped back to look at my outfit. "Badass warrior from the 13
th
century, but you improved the look with those Louboutin’s?"
I chuckled. "You’re the second person tonight to ask me that, but no, just a design I dreamt up."
Layne winked as she looked past me. "Is that your date?"
I looked over my shoulder but only saw the back of Syd’s head because he was talking to a beautiful woman with dark hair and lavender eyes.
Man people really went all out this year with their costumes.
I looked back at Layne. "No, just a friend. What about you? Where’s your date?"
"Oh, he’s down there somewhere. Would love to introduce you to him later though."
"Sounds good, I’ll find you in a bit. I’m needed upstairs…work stuff."
"No worries. I am certain we will run into each other soon." Layne turned to leave as Syd touched my shoulder.
"I didn’t mean to interrupt you."
"Oh no, you didn’t interrupt, she was just saying hi."
When we reached the top of the stairs, I punched the code to the secure door and walked in with Syd hot on my heels. The VIP section wasn’t packed at all; only a few private tables were occupied. I didn’t recognize these people, but they were certainly noticeable. The woman with the lavender eyes walked up to a male that seemed to exude sex. His shaved head appeared harsh compared to the softness of his eyes but maybe that was all part of his costume. Two women that looked like sisters stood talking to my cousin Evan but he had yet to notice me.
As I waited for my chance to talk to Evan, I leaned against the glass window overlooking the first level. As I scanned the crowded pub, I finally found him. Aerric was casually leaning against the bar and looking right at me. He smiled a sexy grin and tipped his glass in my direction. I smiled but was interrupted when Evan grabbed me from behind and lifted me off the floor.
"What the hell is it with you Keenan men and tossing me around like a rag doll?"
"I missed you, little one." He laughed a hearty laugh and put me back down.
I adjusted my outfit and moved the wig on my head to make it fit perfectly again. "I missed you too, Evan, but you don’t have to pick me up."
The loud banging on the VIP door put everyone on this floor on edge. They all went on high alert, waiting to see who dared make such a racket. Syd opened the door and Aerric barged in, his eyes set on me.
"Aerric, this isn’t necessary and you know it. It was Evan. She’s not in any danger."
"Um, I’m confused here. You two say you know one another, but exactly
how
do you know each other?"
Syd never took his eyes off of Aerric when he responded to my question. "He works for your grandmother. He is her personal guard and Dillon thought it would be a good idea to add security he was already familiar with instead of strangers."
"Are you fucking kidding me? So it wasn’t bad enough that he sent you to babysit me, Syd, but he actually sent all three of you?" My anger reached a boiling point as I poked Evan in the chest. "You’re in on this too, huh, Evan?" The fact that he hung his head was answer enough for me.
"DAMMIT!" I pushed past Aerric, who was blocking the doorway, and ran down the stairs, but was stopped by the crowd at the bottom.
I felt a hand on my neck and turned to yell at Syd for following me, except it wasn’t Syd. It was a man with black makeup around his eyes, which made his own eyes seem black as tar. The paleness of his skin along with those eyes made my skin crawl. I forcefully pushed past the people to get away from him, and stumbled when I reached the bottom step. The man stared down at me as he licked his lips.
What the hell?
When I reached the bar, I leaned over to ask Adaira where Dillon was, and she shrugged. "Haven’t seen him, sweetie. I’ll tell him you are looking for him though."
I looked back to see if the man was following me, but he was gone.
"Yeah okay, thanks."
I turned to walk towards the front door but was pulled into a deep crushing hug.
"Kylah, baby! Look at you."
I grinned as Frank continued to gush. I hugged him again, trying to calm my now rattled nerves. "You okay? You’re shaking."
"Yeah, I’m fine." I changed the subject by checking out Frank’s costume.
Frank had gone all out, creating the perfect dominatrix costume; he wore a skin tight leather outfit with a deep v that went all the way to his navel. When Frank was dressed as Coco, she was a stunningly beautiful woman. By the way the men were staring at her, I was sure they were unaware that Frank was actually a man. I felt a hand on my shoulder and shuddered.
"Please let me explain." Syd’s voice was firm but gentle as he spoke.
"Pissed her off already, baby? That didn’t take long."
"Hi, Frank." Syd’s focus was on me until he looked up to see Coco instead. His jaw dropped when he looked at her a second time.
"Yeah, baby, not Frank…Coco." She leaned over and kissed Syd’s cheek, startling him. I raised an eyebrow at Syd’s reaction; I was certain his look was more about the invasion of his personal space than the fact that a drag queen just kissed him.
"Coco it is, but at the moment, I need to speak with Kylah in private. Please excuse us."
I didn’t really have a chance to refuse because I was being dragged into an empty corner of the bar.
"I’ve never lied to you, and I have no intention of starting now. You didn’t ask who was going to be on the staff tonight, so why would I tell you? When you asked who Aerric was, I told you without hesitation, so please do me the honor of not insulting me by calling me a liar."
I stood there fuming, but he was right. I was taking out my anger on him, when in reality I should have been taking out my frustration on Dillon.
"Fine, Syd, but this is bullshit and you know it."
"It may be, Kylah, but the fact remains that you are in danger. From who, I do not know, but I will not stand by and let someone harm you because you are too stubborn to accept my help."
I lowered my head and steadied my resolve. "Let’s just try and have a good time tonight then. I’ll deal with Dillon’s bullshit tomorrow."
I looked up to see Aerric a few steps behind Syd, his arms crossed in front of his broad chest. I wanted to be angry at him too, but from the way he was staring at me, I could sense it was out of concern and the fact that Syd was still holding my hands. I moved out of Syd’s grip and crossed over to Aerric.