She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes and she’s still tense. “You catch on quick, I’m impressed. Want to make a bet on how long it will take the others to figure it out?”
Shaking my head, I chuckle, trying to ease the mood. “Atlas might get there eventually, but Lucien is too lost in his own world to see it. Maybe before they guess your abilities?”
She takes another small bite. “Figured that one out too?”
I take a shot in the dark. “Mesmerizing? Glamour, obviously, and there might be others, but I think that’s the only thing I’ve witnessed so far. The way everyone stops what they’re doing to focus on you goes beyond just the fact that you’re hot. It’s like they’re entranced.”
She lies down and stretches out on her stomach, resting her cheek on one hand while her legs shift behind her and make her skirt ride up further than it already was. “You’re too observant for your own good. It’s no wonder it got you into trouble,” she teases, but doesn’t deny it either. “Are you worried that I’m using it to manipulate you and your friends to feed and clothe me?”
I’m shaking my head before she’s even finished speaking. “No, because I know what it feels like now. That first time we saw you in the club when you pickpocketed us, you were using it, but you haven’t since.”
Her smile falters from teasing to serious. “I don’t think I’ve ever had someone understand the difference before. Everyone just assumes the worst of me.”
“Maybe you’re hanging out with the wrong sort of people.” I shrug, trying to lessen the serious turn the conversation is heading. “Come on, let’s get you situated before I reopen. I don’t imagine that anyone would try anything, but I also don’t want to advertise that there's a sexy schoolgirl sleeping in the back to this crowd,” I snort.
She releases an amused breath while standing up, the odd tension from the room abating. Falling into step behind me, we head up the back stairs that lead to my apartment. It’s set up with the storefront below and my home above, so it’s made things insanely easy to manage.
“Make yourself at home. Bedroom’s down the hall and to the left. I’ll come wake you up so you have time to shower before we need to leave.”
Turning to look over her shoulder, she waggles her eyebrows as me. “So, you’re coming with me later?”
A surprised laugh slips out, enjoying how openly perverted she is. “We all are.”
Not believing me, she aims a challenging look in my direction. “Hate to be the one to tell you this, but Lucien doesn’t exactly seem the sort to go to those kinds of places. How’d you even get him there in the first place?”
I bite my tongue and she bursts out laughing. “You were trying to hook him up with someone?” When I just blush she smiles as big as the Cheshire cat. “Oh, youallwere. No wonder you want to go back.”
She saunters down the hallway as I start to object, but she waves it off laughing. “It’s cool, Dorian, I’m just getting a kick out of imagining some drunk girl wrinkling Lucien’s dress shirt in the alley. Heck, it’s been a while for me too; maybe we’ll all get lucky tonight.”
I shake my head, locking the door behind me just to be safe as I make my way back downstairs to open up for the afternoon. But all the while, all I can think of is Cambria getting banged in the back alley and I can’t seem to stop myself from feeling jealous, even though I have no right to be. She may not be mine, but we’rehers.
That sounds sappy and pathetic, even in my head.
***
Irest my folded armson the rail that runs around the pit at the club, watching Cambria at the turntable. Compared to her last performance, one could argue that she’s trying not to draw undue attention onto herself. But hell, this girl stands out, even in this crowd.
Hers isn’t the only shock of multicolored hair, and she’s dressed far more modestly than the people grinding all over each other, but there’s just something about her. She surrenders herself to the music, dancing with reckless abandon and grinning ear to ear. She looks so full of life, so fuckin’ happy, that it’s like looking at the sun. You strive to get near, but get too close and you’ll burn from her intensity.
“What did Atlas get us into with this woman?” Lucien asks, coming to lean next to me and grimacing.
I pull the pair of ear plugs I grabbed for him out of my pocket and pass them over. He nods his thanks and stuffs them in his ears, already looking far less stressed because of it. After everything he went through growing up, he doesn’t do well with an abundance of overstimulation. He never explained that to Atlas, and it wasn’t my place to do so, but I should have known better than to let my friend talk me into dragging Luce here in the first place.
“Lay off, L. She’s not that bad.”
He gives me a dry look. “You’re just saying that because you want to get in her pants.”
I flip him off without tearing my eyes away from Cambria, who’s now taken to weaving through the crowd, singing along to the music. It’s hypnotic, even without all of the smoke and mirrors of last time. She twists and turns across the floor seamlessly, never missing a step or getting jostled unless she intends to.
A hard shove to my shoulder snaps me out of my musings and I turn to see Atlas staring at me with concern. “Dude, that’s the third time I tried to get your attention. You’ve got to be on your guard better than that. Yeah, we need to hang out and make sure she doesn’t get killed, but we need to keep an eye on what’s happening around her to make sure that doesn’t happen.” He adds on a mumble, “Damn siren, is what she is.”
I scowl, realizing I got ensnared in her using her abilities without her meaning to. If she’s using them on this big of a crowd, chances are she can’t control it from affecting us if we get too close. A quick glance at Lucien shows he isn’t nearly as focused on her as I was, so I make a mental note to pick up more ear plugs.
“Sorry.”
A little while later, Cambria makes her way towards the bar, and I don’t think she’s even noticed us nearby yet in the heavy crowd. She hops up onto the bar and hollers for Cy, who promptly shoves her back to her feet, scowling playfully. She sticks a hand down her shirt and pulls out a few bills as we approach, taking seats near her.
“You’re going to end up with some man trying to strangle you if you keep this up. What would happen to us if you keeled over?” Lucien demands as he scolds her, one of the main reasons he and Atlas have decided we need to look after her better over here if she’s going to act like this.
