Kiss of Awakening Read online

CHAPTER SEVEN

  Warm hands gripped my hips, and I spun to see who it was. At this point in the night, I’d had to fend off one too many groping drunks. While I was feeling a little tipsy, I still had standards. Beer goggles were not an issue for me. Ever. No one grew sexier the more I drank unless they started out that way.

  Delvin’s incredible eyes were what I found. He pressed against me, his movements matching mine perfectly. It wasn’t the typical dry humping most guys I had witnessed dancing tonight did, but even if it was, I didn’t think I would mind. Not from him.

  “I couldn’t help myself.” He pressed his lips against my ear so that I could better hear him. “You look too good out here to be dancing alone.”

  Wiggling against him, I smiled. “Thank you.”

  The song changed to another one, and then another, and another as we continued to grind against each other for what felt like hours. Sweat moistened the back of my neck, making the fine hairs there stick to my skin. Lifting my hair from off my neck, I twisted it into a messy bun on top of my head with the hair tie from my wrist. As I secured my hair in place, I skimmed the people around me, searching for Bree while I caught my breath.

  Delvin gripped my hip and leaned toward my ear. “She’s over there, getting herself another drink.” He pointed to her at the bar.

  Relief trickled through me at the sight of her. “Thanks.” I smiled. “I can’t believe I lost track of her.”

  “I’ve been keeping up with her for you.” He gripped the edge of his T-shirt and moved it in a fanning motion. “Whew, it’s hot in here. I’m thinking about getting something else to drink. You want something?”

  “Sure.” I nodded. “I need to catch my breath for a minute too.”

  Starting toward the bar, I fanned myself. Once I reached Bree, I bumped her with my elbow. She was sipping on another cosmo. “How many is that for you tonight?”

  I’d seen her head to the bar a few times, but I assumed she was still drinking the same one we’d ordered together the previous time, but looking into her glossed-over eyes right now, I could tell I was wrong.

  Bree looked wasted, and the guy standing beside her seemed thrilled about this. While he was decent on the eyes, the slight smirk of anticipation twisting his lips was enough to make me want to smack him silly.

  “A few,” Bree slurred, confirming my suspicion of how wasted she actually was.

  Delvin appeared at my side, holding two bottles of water. “Here. I bought you something.”

  “Thanks.” I took it from his fingers with a wide smile. “How did you know I wasn’t planning on drinking anymore?”

  “Lucky guess.” He shrugged and then that smug little glint from earlier entered his eyes again. “I’m also betting your about to call it a night, aren’t you?”

  I laughed. “Yeah, I think I should probably get her back to the hotel. I’m pretty sure she’s had enough.”

  My eyes skimmed over Bree. She was slurring and waving her arms around animatedly while her eyes continually rolled back in her head as she talked with the guy who had been glued to her all night.

  Delvin quirked an eyebrow. “Hotel, huh? Are you a tourist, then?”

  I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it, but there seemed to be a slight level of disappointment etched into his words.

  I nodded. “Yeah, I’m only here for the weekend.”

  Rolling back on his heels, his lips twisted into the sexiest frown I had ever seen on a man. “Oh, I see. Here for Halloween or something?”

  “Something.” I nodded and took a small swig from my water. The coolness felt amazing against my dry, scratchy throat.

  “So where are you from?”

  I couldn’t believe we’d danced and hung out practically all night, but still hadn’t held a true conversation. “North Carolina.”

  “Awesome. I’ve never been. I bet the mountains are beautiful.”

  “They are.” I spun to check on Bree, not wanting to tell him that I lived in the city and not the mountains. She was still talking with that guy. When I noticed she was nearly finished with her cocktail, I tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey.”

  “Hey!” She spun to face me and slung an arm over my shoulder. “Paul, this is Kenna. She’s my best friend.” She gave me a big, wet kiss on my cheek.

  Paul smiled wide. “Nice to meet you. I’ve been enjoying myself with your friend here.”

  “Oh, I bet you have.” There was loads of bite to my words. I could pinpoint his type from a mile away—he was only looking to get lucky. “Bree, honey, as soon as you’re finished with that drink, we’re leaving.”

  She nodded. “Okay, yeah, sure.”

  Drunk Bree was so freaking happy it was sickening. This was another reason why I loved her. Some people became rude and obnoxious when they were hammered, while others seemed to become just plain mean, but not Bree. She transformed into the nicest person around, ready to toss money at any hobo on the side of the street and feed every stray animal she came across.

  “Aw, come on.” Paul cocked his head to the side. “Things were just starting to get good.” He reached out and stroked his long fingers against the side of Bree’s neck. Her eyes widened at his inappropriate touch.

  “I have a boyfriend.” She slapped his hand away and set her cup on the bar with a loud crack before turning to look at me. “I think I’m ready to go home now.” She hiccupped once between her words, breaking up her sentence, and I laughed.

  “No, darlin’.” Paul attempted to spin her toward him. “Stay. The night is still young.”

  I watched him, shocked by his level of confidence, as his lips parted and he ran his tongue along his bottom lip. He stared at Bree with a fake, pleading look pulling at his features. In the dim light of the bar, I could have sworn the guy had fangs. The second I did a double take to be sure, his lips smacked together, sealing his teeth off from my view.

  Chill bumps slipped along my skin as I continued to stare at him. His eyes, while still blue, held an unnatural glint to them, something that made him appear animalistic and ravenously hungry all of a sudden.

  Delvin stepped between Paul and Bree. He gently gripped her shoulder, and pushed her toward me. “Yeah, I’d say you’re done, sweetheart. Let’s get the two of you back safely. Okay?”

  Blinking, the strangeness that surrounded Paul seconds before vanished as though it had all been a trick of the mind. Once again, he was just some creeper who was being too clingy with my best friend. The odd gleam in his eyes was gone, and when he opened his mouth to offer walking us home as well, his teeth were perfectly normal and blindingly white.

  What. The. Hell.

  Obviously, I’d had my fair share of alcohol tonight as well. Chalking my bizarre moment up to alcohol and pure exhaustion, I opened my mouth to tell Paul his offer wasn’t necessary when Delvin cut me off, saying something similar.

  Paul tossed his hands up in the air and grinned. “All right, duly noted.”

  Heading toward the exit, Delvin walked us through the crowd of people. As we passed the bar, I noticed his sister nod at him.

  “Hold on for just one second,” Delvin insisted. “Let me tell her I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay.” I watched him force his way to the bar. He said something to her, but I couldn’t make out what, and then he was at my side again, his hand pressing against the small of my back as he ushered Bree and me outside.

  Pushing through the red door, we stepped onto the sidewalk. The night air was cool compared to the stuffiness of inside. I felt my muscles relax at having put distance between Paul and Bree. Thank goodness for Delvin, who knew how long it would have taken me to convince that creeper we would be fine walking to the hotel alone.

  Delvin dropped his hand from my back and crammed it into the front pockets of his dark jeans. “Where are you staying?”

  I took a small sip of my water before answering. “The Bourbon Orleans Hotel.”

  “Fancy,” he muttered in a joking tone that brought a smile to my
face.

  A blush tinted my cheeks. I was as far from fancy as could possibly be, but Delvin didn’t know that. Bree mumbled something similar to my thoughts, but it was hard to decipher. My eyes lifted to the night sky and I noticed the large moon for the first time.

  “Full moon on Halloween.” I tucked a strand of hair that had fallen from my bun behind my ear as a slight breeze blew across my skin. “That can’t mean anything good.”

  Delvin shrugged his shoulders. “Eh, just another reason for the crazies to get even crazier.”

  “Like?” I prompted, hoping he would elaborate a bit.

  “New Orleans already has a certain energy to it, but add Halloween and a full moon, and things are sure to reach all new levels.”

  The energy he was talking about was something I had noticed upon entering the city. It was unlike anything I’d ever felt before.

  “Got ya.” I nodded.

  “Costumes!” Bree suddenly shouted. “You need to ask him where all the great costume shops are.” Her words were bunched together, but I could still pick them apart.

  “I can swing by in the morning and pick you ladies up if you want? There are quite a few places to costume hunt in New Orleans,” Delvin offered.

  “Thanks, but there’s something else I planned on doing in the morning. I wouldn’t want to tie up your entire day or anything.”

  There was truthfully only one place I wanted to go tomorrow—The Midnight Cauldron. The hope that I would finally get to meet my mother had blossomed in my chest, regardless of the cryptic notes from her, creepy bird sounds, and the fear that my life might turn into something from a paranormal TV show.

  “Oh yeah, Kenna wants to check out some witch shop called cauldron something,” Bree blurted in her drunken state. A hysterical laugh slipped through her lips. “She got a postcard from her mom about it.”

  Shooting her death rays did me no good; she continued to run her mouth between drunken giggles.

  “The notes were like rhymes or something…” Bree trailed off. “The Midnight Cauldron, that was the name of it!”

  Glancing at Delvin, I noticed from his reaction the name of the shop rang a bell with him. I wondered if he had been there before. If so, maybe he knew who owned the place. The website hadn’t listed a name for an owner, nor had it given specific directions to find the place.

  “What do you need from there?” Delvin asked. His jaw became hard set as his lips formed into a thin line.

  “I take it you’ve heard of it,” I stated the obvious.

  “Yeah. That place deals with some serious magic, some of it dark.”

  A shiver ran along my spine at his words. This wasn’t something I didn’t know already—in fact, anyone who visited its website could see the type of place it was—but hearing it confirmed was spooky.

  “Have you been there?” I asked.

  “No. I haven’t ever had a reason to.” He took in a deep breath. “The lady who owns the place is a true witch. A lot of people around here claim to be—they dabble in pretending to know what they’re talking about—but that woman, she’s real. Everyone knows it. If you can, I’d recommend staying away from there all together.”

  His words had lodged a lump in my throat. I was finding it hard to swallow. I wondered what the chances were that the woman he claimed to be a real witch was my mother. Was Bree right when she’d said I might leave New Orleans with the knowledge that I was a real life witch?

  “I can’t,” I admitted.

  “And here we are…” Bree slurred. “Home, sweet home.”

  Glancing to the building we stood in front of, I noticed we’d made it back to The Bourbon Orleans Hotel in what seemed like record timing.

  I glanced at Delvin, noticing an awkwardness that seemed to be constricting his features. He obviously wanted to ask why I was so adamant on visiting The Midnight Cauldron, but didn’t.

  “Are you okay getting her up to your room by yourself?” he asked instead.

  “Yeah, we’ll be fine. Thanks though.”

  I looped my arm through Bree’s. Her head dipped down to rest against my shoulder, and a soft moan pushed past her lips.

  “I love you,” she mumbled as she nuzzled into the crook of my neck.

  “I love you too.” I chuckled. She was definitely ready to call it a night. “Well, I guess this is goodnight.” I shifted to glance at Delvin once more.

  He flashed me that same wolfish smile I had seen on his face numerous times tonight, and cocked his head to the side. All the tension from moments before had melted from his features. “What, no goodnight kiss?”

  My head fell back as I laughed loudly, his bold words surprising me. “Nope. Maybe tomorrow night though.” I winked.

  While I might not be looking for a one-night stand, that didn’t mean I wanted to pass up the opportunity to hang out with him again before I headed home on Sunday. There was more to him than met the eye, and I wasn’t opposed to learning as much as I could while I had the chance.

  He lifted his chin. “Tomorrow night, she says.” Smoothing a hand along his scruffy chin, he smiled. “I can wait that long, I guess. Are we still on for in the morning?”

  “We’re on for tomorrow, but I don’t know about in the morning.” I nodded toward Bree. “I’m not too sure how she’ll feel. How about we shoot for the afternoon?”

  Bree muttered something about feeling perfectly fine, and then burst into a fit of tinkling laughter.

  “Can I get your number now, so we can discuss a time tomorrow?”

  My lips quirked into a small smile. “You’re all about getting my number, aren’t you?”

  “I did say at the beginning of the night that I had my work cut out for me, but that the challenge had also been accepted,” he reminded me. “I’d say I’ve proven myself worthy tonight. I managed to find some fun for you two and get you both back to your hotel safely.”

  Letting go of Bree, I slung my purse around and dug through its contents for my cell phone. Once I found it, I handed it to him.

  “You’re right. Thank you.” I smiled. “Add your number please.”

  Delvin licked his lips, and flashed me his most charming smile of the night. “With pleasure.”

  After adding his number into my phone, he handed it back to me.

  “Thanks.” I locked arms with Bree again. “I’ll see you tomorrow sometime.”

  “Absolutely,” he said while walking away from me backward, his hands crammed into the front pockets of his dark jeans.

  I pushed through the hotel doors and headed straight for the elevator. This night had been never-ending, but it had also been a blast. I was thankful I had let Bree talk me into hanging out with Delvin and enjoying everything New Orleans had to offer in terms of nightlife.

  Exhaustion crept through my limbs in the form of a pulsating sensation as the elevator stopped at our floor. Steering Bree toward our room, I vowed to designate tomorrow night as my night to get shitty, because taking care of her tonight was going to be the pits and she would owe me. Big time.