Page 81 of Just the Pool Boy at Vampire Mansion

“I think so. Hey . . . did you guys see the inky figure that kinda . . . looked . . .” They both stared with blank faces. “Like . . . me? No? Never mind.”

Yup, definitely imagined mirror me.

Bentley eyed the piano leg in my grip. “You didn’t do half bad for a pool boy.”

Was that a compliment from Benny? “Right back at you, for an airhead vampire. Your suit’s ruined, though.”

Bentley looked down at the bloody, shredded, tangled mess that was the front of his suit. “Fuck my life.” He looked at me. “This is your fault. You owe me for the suit and all this shit. I am never babysitting you again.” And with that, he stomped off in the direction of Witherborne Mansion.

Theo and I watched his pale figure vanish among the now stationary gardens.

“You can lower the bat,” Theo said.

“I’m not lowering the bat.”

Theo chuckled. “Alright, but the more intimidating you look, the more I want you.”

I blinked, thoughts tripping over themselves again. I’d just been drugged, dragged through a broken window backwards by some kind of evil tree creature, brought my potential boyfriend back from the dead, talked to my dark self, closed a gate to some kind of supernatural prison hell, seen things I was pretty sure humans were never supposed to see, and Theo was flirting?

“I really need to go home and sleep all of this off. Tomorrow, I’m going to wake up and none of it will have happened because it’s all a dream, and I’m just a pool boy who sometimes washes cars.”

“Sure. That’ll probably happen.” Theo sighed and tilted his head back to look at the stars. I watched his throat move, and tracked up the line of his jaw to those soft lips. “I suppose things will be different now?”

He stood there, shirt torn and askew, hair a wet mess, looking like something I would absolutely let ruin me in the next three seconds if I did not walk away. Right now. Walk, feet. Move.

I did move, finally, backwards, keeping the bat up. He was gorgeous, and dangerous, and everything I’d fallen for before, but with teeth, and a toxic family, and a whole murder vibe. I just really, really needed to leave.

Theo turned his head and watched me go for a few steps. His eyes softened. “Come by for the party?”

“Uh, sure, maybe? I’ll uh . . . I’ll see you.” I turned my back on him and hurried away from the pool, and the house, and all its nightmares.

One glance behind me showed Theo still by the pool, still lit up like something supernatural, and I was absolutely coming back for more of that, just not yet. I needed space to breathe, to think . . . needed to figure some things out about myself, and all of this, and what the heck I was doing.

“Friday night. Be there,” he called.

I waved like an idiot. Theo raised a hand and waved back.

And that was how the worst night of my life ended, with me carrying a broken piano leg away from murder mansion, evil tree man dead, while I’d agreed to come back, like the idiot I was. Because I couldn’t resist the bad ones, and because inside, I was a bad guy too. And I had a feeling we definitely hadn’t seen the last of mirror me. Or the Briars.

In fact, that night had been the beginning of a story that helped me discover who, and what, I really was.

CHAPTER 19

The Witherbornes knew how to throw a party.

When I showed up that Friday, their entire house was full of people. Glittery and pretty and probably important people. So naturally, I had no idea who any of them were and felt invisible. The invisible part I liked. I still had a controlling ex I needed to avoid, which meant no social media and keeping a low profile. But I’d been at the house for thirty minutes, only the staff had acknowledged me, and I still hadn’t found Theo.

Different music played depending on what side of the house you were in. Different food and drinks too. The quieter, more sophisticated side had to be Theo’s mother’s territory. The wilder, noisier side probably belonged to the brothers, although I hadn’t seen them yet.

I grabbed some wine, hopefully not drugged, and headed out onto the patio. Some of the partygoers had climbed right into the pool, fully clothed. That was going to play havoc with the chemical balance, but at least they were having fun.

Where was Theo?

I spotted Fleur by an outside bar, chatting with someone, and made my way over.

“Hey, Fleur.”

“Owen!” she squealed, then flung her arms around me. She wore a cute little bikini with a baggy pink shirt over it, and strappy sandals.