Kiss of Awakening Read online

CHAPTER ELEVEN

  After spending nearly two hours in the costume shop, Bree finally decided on being my opposite and going as a slutty-looking, good angel. Once we left there, Delvin showed us a few of the amazing things New Orleans had to offer during Halloween. We went to the Voodoo Music Experience in the city park, and listened to different types of music playing while getting to experience some authentic New Orleans culture. There were various shops we stopped at, along with some type of street fair. The best place by far, though, was the Hermann-Grima House Mourning Tour. It might have just been a place to see how the Creoles lived, but because it was Halloween, the place had been draped in black, and one room had also been set up to look like a funeral was occurring. The entire place was gothic creepy, which suited my mood for the night fine.

  Somehow, I had managed to keep my cool the entire time while seeing various-colored auras surrounding men around every corner. When it came to the creepy flashes of people morphing into wolves—or at times what I thought were vampires—before my eyes, I attributed it to keeping with the Halloween theme and continued doing my best at pretending to appear normal.

  By seven o’clock, Bree and I parted ways with Delvin so we could all change into our costumes and meet back up in an hour or so. I couldn’t have been happier for the break.

  “So…do I need to leave the two of you alone for a while tonight?” Bree walked to where I stood in front of the bathroom mirror reapplying my eyeliner, and adjusted my wings. “I’m not opposed to it, you know.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I mean, do I need to head downstairs to that stuffy bar and give you two an hour or so alone so you can finally get laid?”

  I gawked at her. “Are you serious? You know I don’t do the whole one-night stand thing.”

  “Please.” She waved a hand at me. “I think you would more often if you’d give it a shot. Guys are always falling all over you. You’re hot. This guy happens to be sweet and sexy all tied together with a perfect little bow. You’d better have a one-nighter with him.”

  “Oh my God, would you listen to yourself?” I attempted to go for a serious tone and expression, but my lips betrayed me as they twisted into a smirk. “If it happens, then it happens, but I’m not looking for it. Okay?”

  Bree’s eyes widened. “Ha! I knew it. You are so into him.”

  I was, but now that he had some creepy yellow shimmer shit floating around him, it was sort of hard to focus on him anymore.

  Once we finished making ourselves up, I shot Delvin a text, letting him know we would met him at the front of the hotel in about twenty if he was ready. He instantly sent back a text, telling me he was heading out the door. Turning out the lights and gathering our stuff, Bree and I headed downstairs to meet him.

  Foolishly, I had assumed I would feel stupid walking through the fancy hotel wearing devil horns and black wings, but surprisingly, I felt incredibly hot. The guy who worked the front desk seemed to be drooling as the two of us walked past him toward the double doors, which boosted my confidence even more.

  “I love Halloween.” Bree smiled wide. “It’s the one night of the year I can dress as slutty as I want and get away with it.”

  “You know, Kellen would die to see you in this outfit right now.”

  “Oh, I know.” She winked. “That’s why I just blew up his phone with pictures of me in it before we headed down here. I should be getting a response back from him any minute now.”

  I laughed as we pushed through the doors and out onto the sidewalk. Her phone chimed with an incoming text the moment the door closed behind us, and I knew it was Kellen. Her giddy giggles confirmed my theory. Taking in the night sky and early nightlife scene of the city, I realized Bree and I weren’t the only ones decked out in full costume already. There were numerous people dressed up walking the street and popping in and out of shops. A guy in a giant pea costume—his yellow aura adding to his look—drove past us in a small red car, and I nearly died laughing.

  “What’s so funny? I don’t look that bad.” Delvin breathed against my ear. I flinched at his close proximity, having not heard him walk up. “Do I?”

  “Hey.” I smiled, taking in his appearance.

  Dressed in a deep red suite, it was hard to see where his suite ended and his aura began, because the color floating around him resembled the fabric. Obviously, he was enjoying seeing me in the costume I was wearing as much as he’d said he would.

  When he stepped closer, the scent of his masculine cologne filled my nose and kick-started my heart. Bree was right. I truly needed to get some action tonight, and from the looks of it, Delvin was ready and waiting for the taking.

  Tugging at the collar of his deep red blazer, he cocked his head to the side. “So, do you like?”

  Skimming my eyes over the length of him, I took in his striking suit, shiny black shoes, crisp white shirt beneath, and red silk tie. A set of red devil horns were perched on top of his head, and he’d drawn a wiry mustache above his upper lip.

  “Yeah, but what are you? The devil?” I wondered.

  “I figured every dark angel needs a devil on her arm.” He winked, sending chill bumps across my skin.

  I arched a brow. “I can’t argue with that logic.”

  “Oh, and I hope you ladies don’t mind, but we’re meeting up with a few of my friends.” His eyes were still trained on me and as hungry as ever, but his voice was calm, collected, and hinted that he was in control of his emotions.

  From the way his aura was shifting from yellow to red, I highly doubted he was as in control as he seemed.

  Bree snapped her phone shut and was finally back in the present with us. Sometimes, once she got on her phone, with Kellen it was like everything else around her faded into nothingness.

  “All right, let’s grab something small to eat from someplace, and then start our bar hoppin’ for the night.” Bree locked one arm through Delvin’s and the other through mine, oblivious to the tension-filled moment we had been sharing. “Come on, bartender. Show us where the best drinks in the city are made on Halloween night.”