White Hot Kiss

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I stayed home Tuesday, spending most of the day in bed. By the time school started on Wednesday, the worst of the bruises on my face had faded and the hardest part of the sickness had passed.

Stacey was waiting for me at my locker. Her mouth dropped open when she saw me. “Okay. I know you said you were in a car accident on Friday, but you look like you need to see a doctor.”

Apparently I still looked like crap.

I kicked my locker door shut and followed her into bio. Roth was a no-show, and by the time lunch rolled around, he was still MIA. Between feeling like I was crawling out of my skin and wondering where Roth was, all I wanted to do was go back to hiding in my bed. The Wardens had been given orders to hunt down the Upper Level demons invading the city. Had they caught Roth? My breath stalled out every time I considered that.

I reasoned that my concern was only rooted in the fact that he was the only one who knew that Hell was after me and why. I needed Roth alive and whole. That was the only reason why I was concerned. Yeah. Right.

At lunch, Stacey’s thoughts mirrored my own. “I wonder where Roth has been. He hasn’t been to school since Friday, either.”

I said nothing.

“At first, I thought that maybe you caved to the wild lust between you two and ran off with him and eloped.”

I almost choked on my half-frozen pizza. “You are insane.”

Stacey shrugged. “What? You can’t tell me that if you were alone with him you wouldn’t jump his bones.”

“I was alone with him, and I didn’t.” My eyes popped wide a second after those words left my mouth. “Crap,” I muttered.

She clutched my arm. “Oh, my God, details—I need details right now.”

Nothing short of a zombie chewing on her head would distract Stacey now, and even then I wasn’t sure if she’d let it go. Coming up with a quick excuse, I played it off. “I ran into him over the weekend and we hung out.”

“In public or at his place?”

“At his place, but it wasn’t a big deal.” I squirmed. No way in Hell was I telling her that he’d kissed me. I’d never hear the end of it. “Aren’t you going to Wick It tonight?” I asked, hoping to change the subject.

Sitting down, Sam rolled his eyes. “Who would want to? It’s poetry-slam night, which means everyone who thinks they can form a couplet will be there.”

“Don’t be jealous,” Stacey said, “because I didn’t invite you. And back to Layla.”

“What about Layla?” Sam eyeballed the rest of my pizza.

I slid my plate toward him. “Nothing.”

“Nothing,” gasped Stacey. “She spent time alone with Roth—time at his place. Was it in his bedroom? Did you see his bed? Wait. Let me start with the most pressing question—did you lose your virginity finally?”

“Jesus, Stacey, why are you so interested in her virginity status?” asked Sam.

“Yeah, I’m wondering the same thing.” I tucked my hair back. “But to answer your question, no, I didn’t put out. It wasn’t anything like that.”

“Look, you’re my best friend. I’m obligated to take an interest in your sexual activity.” She paused, grinning. “Or lack thereof.”

I rolled my eyes.

“That’s kind of disturbing.” Sam elbowed Stacey as he grabbed a handful of her Tater Tots.

“Wait. It’s not ‘like that’ when we’re referring to the hottest guy to walk these halls?” Stacey sat back, throwing her hands up. “You’re unreal.” Another startled look crossed her face before I could respond. “Did you see his bed? Holy Mary, mother of baby Jesus, were you actually on his bed?”

I turned a thousand shades of red. “Stacey...”

“Your face tells me you did see his bed, probably even sat on it. What was it like?” She leaned forward, eyes eager. “Did it smell like him? Like sex? Did he have silk sheets? Come on, he had to have satin or silk.”

“Really?” Sam put his drink down, scowling at her. “Did you just ask her if his bed smelled like sex? Who cares what his bed smells like?”

“I do,” Stacey exclaimed, eyes wide.

“It didn’t smell like sex,” I mumbled, scratching the side of my face.

Stacey scoffed. “You don’t even know what sex smells like.”

I kind of wanted to strangle her. “Can we just—”

“You know what? You’re acting just like the rest of the stupid girls here.” Sam grabbed his bag, stood and slung it over his shoulder. “He’s good-looking. Awesome. You don’t have to go all stalker on him.”

Stacey’s mouth dropped open.

I stared up at Sam, suddenly feeling very sorry for him. I started to stand. “Sam—”

Cheeks flushed, he shook his head. “I’ll see you guys in English. Peace.”

We watched him dump his lunch, then head out the double doors. I turned to Stacey, biting my lip. She watched the doors like she expected him to walk back through and yell “I’m just joking!” and laugh.

When he didn’t, she fell back in her seat, dragging her fingers through her hair. “What the Hell was that?”

“Stacey, Sam has liked you since we were freshmen. It’s obvious.”

She snorted. “How can something like that be obvious to you and not me? Up until Roth, you didn’t think boys had a pulse.”

“This isn’t about me, you jerk.”

“You have to be wrong.” She shook her head as she tossed a Tater Tot on her tray. “Sam doesn’t think about me that way. He can’t. We’ve been friends for years.”

I thought about Zayne. “Just because you’ve been friends with someone doesn’t mean they don’t think of you as something more. Sam’s cute, Stacey. And he’s smart.”

“Yeah,” she said slowly. “But it’s Sam.”

“Whatever.”

She arched a brow. “Forget the Sam thing for the time being. Do you like Roth? I mean, you don’t hang out with any guys besides Sam or Zayne. This is kind of epic.”

“It’s not epic.” I downed the rest of my drink, still thirsty.

“So you do like him?”

I eyed her drink. “No—I don’t know. You gonna drink that?”

Stacey handed me her bottle of water. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“It’s hard to explain.” I wiped the back of my hand over my mouth. “Roth isn’t like other guys.”

“You’re telling me,” she said drily.

I laughed, but it quickly faded. I wanted to tell Stacey about Roth—about everything. What he was. What I was. It wouldn’t be a stretch for her to believe it, not after the Wardens went public. People probably already expected the truth. The need to just talk, to be honest for once, hit me hard.

“Layla? Are you feeling okay?” Concern pinched her brow. “I know it was just a car accident, but you look sick.”

“Yeah, I think I’m just coming down with something.” I forced a smile. “No big deal.”

The bell rang, forcing our conversation and my need to tell her the truth to end. We gathered up our trash, and as we headed out, Stacey stopped me outside the cafeteria. I swallowed thickly. Souls—souls were everywhere.

Then I noticed the blush crawling across Stacey’s face. She never blushed. Never. “What’s up?” I asked.

She fiddled with the strap on her bag, exhaling. The puff of air lifted her bangs for a moment. “You really think Sam likes me?”

In spite of everything, I smiled. “Yeah, I do.”

Stacey nodded, focusing on the stream of students. “He’s not bad-looking.”

“No.”

“And he’s not a jackass,” she continued. “He’s not like Gareth or any other guy who just wants to get in a girl’s pants.”

“He’s so much better than Gareth,” I agreed.

“He is,” she said, pausing. A troubled look pulled at her features. “Layla, do you think I hurt his feelings? I didn’t mean to.”

I grabbed her hand, squeezing. “I know. And I think Sam knows that, too.”

She squeezed my hand back and then slipped free. Turning around, she grinned as she headed down the hallway backward. “Well. This is an interesting development.”

I grinned. “It is. What are you going to do about it?”

Stacey shrugged, but her eyes were shining. “Who knows? I’ll call you later, okay?”

We broke apart after that, heading in different directions. I spent the rest of the day looking over my shoulder, expecting Roth to pop up. He never did, and the gnawing in my stomach expanded until I could barely concentrate in class, or later that day on the conversation at the dinner table. None of the Wardens spoke of catching any Upper Level demons, but they didn’t typically let me in on that kind of stuff.

Abbot didn’t address the clothing issue either or even broach the topic of Petr’s attack and the subsequent demonic involvement. Waiting for him to say something, to confront my lies, was driving me insane. In my own home, with all these secrets building between everyone, I felt like an outsider and uneasy in my own skin.

Not to mention I was trying to keep myself from freaking out. Knowing there were demons out to either use me in some kind of bizarre incantation or kill me made me jumpy. What also didn’t help was the fact that Elijah was still out there. When it was quiet, my imagination got the best of me.

Thursday morning, I’d officially decided that the craziest thing to happen over the past couple of weeks had nothing to do with learning I was the child of the Lilith or that I could somehow raise a horde of soul-eating demons. Or that there was more than a crap ton of demons who wanted me dead. Nope. The craziest thing was Stacey.

She was acting weird and surprisingly subdued. She didn’t talk about sex or boys within the first five seconds of a conversation. In English on Wednesday, after the lunch fallout with Sam, she’d laughed at everything he said, which was awkward to watch. Sam kept sending me looks, and I tried to ignore them. I had a feeling it had to do with her newfound knowledge of his crush on her.

Not that she’d admit to it.

Grabbing her bio text, she kicked her locker door shut. “You still look sick. You should go see a doctor, Layla.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t change the subject. You’ve been acting like a weirdo since lunch yesterday.”

Stacey turned around, leaning against the locker as she looked at me with raised brows. “You’re weird every day. You disappear when you’re supposed to meet up with us. You hang out with the hottest guy on the planet and say ‘it’s not like that.’ Hello. You’re the weird friend here.”

I winced. All of that was true. “Whatever.”

She pushed off the locker, linking her arm through mine. “I just don’t want Sam to think I’m...one of those girls anymore.”

“But you are one of those girls,” I said slowly. The steady stream of shimmery souls demanded my attention, but I focused. “And Sam likes you for who you are.”

“Obviously he doesn’t.”

I hip-bumped her. “You’re being a spaz.”

She opened her mouth, but stopped as a tall body crossed our path. I knew before looking up that it was Roth. That sweet, musky scent could belong to no one else.

“Hey there,” Stacey said, recovering. “We thought you’d died or something.”

I lifted my head, feeling off-kilter when our eyes met. His gaze traveled over me. I looked pretty frumpy today, wearing loose jeans and a hoodie that had seen better days. A slight frown appeared on his full lips.

“You two missed my face that much?” Roth teased, his eyes fixed on me.

“Where have you been?” The words came out before I could stop them and, God, did I feel like a tool.

Roth shrugged. “I had some things to take care of. Speaking of which—” he turned to Stacey “—I’d like to steal her away from you if you don’t mind.”

“I try to tell my mom all the time I have stuff to do, but I still have to go to school.” Stacey slid her arm from mine, pursing her lips. “I wish I had your parents. Just let me come to school when I feel like it. But anyway, you’re not planning on showing for bio?”

“No.” He winked as he lowered his voice. “I’m going to be a rebel and skip class again.”

“Ooh,” Stacey cooed. “And you want to corrupt my wholesome, pure friend?”

Arms dangling at my sides, I sighed.

His golden gaze heated. “Corruption is my middle name.”

“Well, you can only steal and corrupt my friend if she wants to be stolen and corrupted.”

Enough was enough. “Hey, guys, I’m right here, remember? Shouldn’t I get a say in this decision?”

He arched a brow at me. “Do you want to be stolen and corrupted?”

I had a feeling I was already corrupted just by his mere presence. “Why not.”

“Great!” Stacey chirped, backing off and gesturing wildly behind Roth. She was doing something with her hand and mouth that I knew Roth would be oh so down for. I tried to ignore her. “But promise to return her, okay?”

“I don’t know.” Roth stepped around, dropping his arm over my shoulders. “I may steal her away from you permanently.”

I couldn’t stop the shiver that went through me. The way Roth’s hand tightened on my shoulders told me he hadn’t missed it, either.

“Whatever.” Stacey gave us a short wave and flounced off toward bio.

Roth’s hand slid off my shoulder, grasping my hand. “You look terrible.”

I couldn’t tell if my cheeks were burning. I already felt unnaturally hot for a whole slew of wrong reasons. “Thanks. Everyone keeps telling me that.”

He tugged on my messy ponytail with his free hand. “Did you even shower this morning?”

“Yes. Jeez. Where have you been, Roth?”

“Why are you sick?” he asked instead. “You look like you haven’t slept since I last saw you. You couldn’t have missed me that much.”

“Man, you’re self-centered. It has nothing to do with you. I get like this after...”

“After what?” He leaned in, waiting.

I looked away, lowering my voice. “If I taste a soul, it makes me sick afterward. Only for like a day or so, but taking a soul seems to last longer.”

Roth let go of my hand. “Why?”

“It’s like withdrawal or something,” I said. Roth was unnaturally quiet as he watched me, expression pensive. “What?”

He blinked. “Nothing. I’m really not planning on going to bio.”

“I figured as much.” Taking a breath, I decided to corrupt myself. “Where are you planning on going?”

He flashed a quick grin, which made me think he was about to say something perverted, but he surprised me. “Come find out. What I’ve been doing the last couple of days has to do with you.”

“Lovely.”

Roth took my hand, his skin pleasantly warm against mine, and I didn’t pitch a fit about the hand-holding thing. He led me into a nearby stairwell and then down a flight of steps, into the old part of the school where there were a couple of empty offices and a decrepit gymnasium that smelled like mold. Thankfully the boiler rooms were on the other side of the school. With all the cubbyholes in the bottom part of the school, it was a notorious hangout spot for the stoners.

It didn’t surprise me that Roth knew where to go in the school if you didn’t want to be found.

He stopped in the bottom stairwell. Torn orange safety tape hung from the gym’s double doors, hanging against the dull gray metal. One of the windows was covered with so much muck it looked tinted. The walls of the stairwell hadn’t fared much better. Entire sections were missing paint, exposing the cement walls.

Roth stopped and took both of my hands in his. “I’ve missed you.”

My heart did a weird little jump. Stupid heart. I needed to focus. With all the lying in bed I’d done the past three days, it gave me time to think about what he’d revealed. “Roth, we need to talk about what you told me.”

“We’re talking.” He dipped his head, brushing his cheek against mine.

“This is not talking.” Not that I didn’t enjoy it. “And I really do have questions.”

“So ask away. I can multitask.” He tugged me forward, circling an arm around my waist. Dipping his head to where my neck sloped, he inhaled deeply. “Can’t you?”

I shivered against him, my fingers curling into the front of his shirt. I didn’t think so, but I was willing to try. “Where have you been?”

“Where have you been?” His hands dropped to my hips, grip tightening deliciously. “You weren’t at school on Tuesday.”

“How do you know?”

“I know a lot of things.”

I sighed. “I stayed home. I figured with being sick and with the...bruises, it was best to take another day off.”

“Good idea.” A slight frown appeared on his lips as he lifted one hand, trailing a finger along my temple. “It’s barely noticeable.” His gaze dropped to my mouth, and I felt my lips part. “And your lip looks...”

“What?”

The frown turned into a slow, seductive grin. “Well, it looks good enough to nibble.”

I sucked in an unsteady breath, trying to calm the wild beating in my chest. “Roth, come on.”

“What?” He gave me an innocent look. “I’m just saying I could do all kinds—”

“Got it. Anyway, back to my question.”

“Hmm...” Roth moved his hands to my waist. Warmth flared from where his fingers pressed in through the hoodie. “How was everything when you returned?”

Distracted once more, I answered his question. “It was...okay, but I forgot to change back into my clothes before I left your place.” At his raised brows, I reminded him of the borrowed clothes and how Abbot had asked about them. “I don’t think he believed what I’d told him, but he hasn’t pushed it.”

Roth didn’t appear too concerned. “I am sure he knows the truth—about everything. But what can he say without exposing all the lies he’s fed you?” His hands slid up an inch, resting just under my rib cage. “And besides, he’s not going to kill you or anything.”

I scrunched up my nose. “I sure hope not.”

He chuckled softly. “I don’t think your fearless leader will do anything to upset Stony. Speaking of which, Stony seemed relieved to see you on Monday.”

“He was...” I shook my head. “I told you. I’ve known Zayne for most of my life. We’re close.”

“He seemed really relieved to see you on Monday.” His thumbs moved in slow, idle circles that made it difficult to concentrate. “I think I’ve only seen a Warden run that fast if it was actually chasing after a demon.”

I felt heat creep back into my face as I gripped his wrists. “Roth, I don’t want to talk about Zayne.”

“Why don’t you want to talk about Stony?”

Irritation flared hotly. “I don’t know, because there are more important things to talk about?”

Roth dipped his head again, and when he spoke, his breath was warm against my ear. “But I want to talk about Stony. Remember when I said he cared for you, Layla?”

My grip on his wrists tightened. “Yes. Like I said—”

“You’ve known him all your life. I get that.” His lips brushed the space below my ear, and I gasped. “But has it ever been...like this?”

Before I could even ask “like what,” Roth’s lips traveled across my cheekbone. Tiny, fiery shivers darted along my nerves. His lips brushed the corner of mine, and my pulse fluttered wildly. I was so far out of my league with him it wasn’t funny. “Is it like this, Layla?”

Like this? Ah, the touching...the almost kissing. “No.” I barely recognized my own voice. “I can’t...”

“Can’t what?” The very edges of his teeth came down on my lower lip. A little nip, like he’d mentioned before, and my entire body arched against his. “Can’t what, Layla?”

“I can’t be this close to him,” I admitted in a breathy voice.

Roth’s lips curved into a smile against mine. “What a shame.”

The lack of sincerity was epic. “I’m sure you really feel that way.”

He laughed, and this time, when he pulled back and bent his head again, his lips were against my pulse. This was ridiculous. We needed to talk about stuff. Important stuff. I wasn’t skipping class to do...well, whatever this was with Roth. But damn, what he was doing was all fresh and new to me.

And it felt so unbelievably good—this wild anticipation he was building, a promise that could actually go somewhere. The fierce yearning was like a tempest inside me, swirling and spinning me up so high that I knew the fall would break something valuable. Because this was different—this wasn’t built on hopeless fantasies. Realizing that was as thrilling as it was terrifying.

With effort I didn’t realize I had, I broke away. Roth quirked an eyebrow as he dropped his hands to his sides. His eyes were a heated tawny, consuming in their intensity and frightening in their ability to draw me in, make me forget all that really freaking important stuff.

Clearing my throat, I looked away. “Okay. Back to my question.”

“What did you want to know?” Amusement clung to his words. “I forgot.”

“I’m sure you did.” I sighed, wondering if I was ever going to get Roth to stay on target. “Where have you been?”

He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “I had to go home.”

“Home as in...?” I lowered my voice even though there was no one else around. “Hell?”

Roth nodded. “I needed to check in and I thought it would be a good chance to ask around, see if anyone knows which demon is pulling the strings.”

I switched my bag to my other arm. “Did you find out anything?”

“Everyone is pretty tight-lipped about it. No one is willing to say who it is, which tells me it’s someone with a lot of reach.”

“Obviously an Upper Level demon like you?”

“But definitely not as awesome as me.” He winked, and, God help me, he actually looked good doing it. “But I didn’t come back empty-handed. I was right about the whole Lesser Key thing. The exact incantation to raise the Lilin is in that Key, and a lot of demons are looking for it, on both sides.”

It clicked together. “That’s why there are so many Upper Level demons around here.”

“Do tell?”

I nodded. “That’s what I hear.”

“And where did you hear that?” When I didn’t say anything, Roth pushed off the wall. His slow, precise steps forced me backward, until I was flush with the wall. Tiny flecks of paint floated into the air. “Sharing is caring, Layla.”

Telling Roth what the Wardens knew wasn’t easy. Guilt settled in my stomach like cement blocks, but I trusted him. Besides saving me from Petr and Lord only knows how many other times, he’d never asked me to trust him. Not once. Maybe for that reason alone, I trusted him.

“We’re in this together, right?” I said, glancing up at him. “I mean, we’re going to figure out the demon behind this and stop it?”

Roth’s eyes met mine. “You and me are like peanut butter and jelly when it comes to this.”

My lips twitched. “Okay, because I don’t feel right telling you this, but I...I trust you.” Pausing, I took a big gulp of air. “The Alphas have said there’s been a lot of Upper Level demon movement in the city. The Wardens are trying to capture and detain. I thought...well, anyway, what’s going on is on the Alphas’ radar.”

He turned his head, a lopsided smile playing across his lips. “You thought they caught me? Me?” He let out a loud laugh. “I’m flattered by your concern, but that’s nothing you’d ever have to worry about.”

I was pretty sure my face was burning, so I focused on the pot leaf someone had carved into the wall behind him. “I wasn’t worried about you, you douchebag.”

“Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that.”

My patience started to fade. “So it’s obvious that the demons are looking for the Key, right?”

Roth got all up in my personal space once more. Why did he always have to get so damn close? And should I be complaining? “Right,” he murmured. His hand curved around my shoulder, and I inhaled deeply. A heartbeat passed between us, and my body tensed. “That’s not the only thing I’ve learned.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “We need to find the Key before anyone else does. And finding an ancient book that’s probably well protected isn’t going to be easy. But I do have a lead.”

“Okay? What’s the lead?”

Reaching out, he caught an escaped strand of hair and twisted it around his finger. The paleness stood out in stark contrast to the darker tone of his skin. “There is a seer nearby.”

I snatched my hair back. “A psychic?”

Roth snorted. “Not a psychic-hotline kind of psychic. A seer who has a one-way connection upstairs and downstairs. If anyone knows who the demon is or where the Key is located, the seer will.”

I was still doubtful. “Seers are protected by the Alphas. How would a demon know where one is located?”

“I said I got a lead. I didn’t say it was easy.” Roth stepped back, shoving his hands into his pockets. I opened my mouth, but he cut me off. “And before you ask, you don’t want to know what I had to go through to get this lead.”

Dammit. I did want to ask. “So where is the seer?”

“Just outside of Manassas,” he answered.

“So not very far at all.” A bubble of nervous excitement rose. “We can go now.”

“Whoa.” Roth held up his hands. “I’m all about you skipping school and committing acts of general mayhem. I am a demon, after all, but ‘we’ are not doing anything.”

“We aren’t?” I couldn’t believe it. “Why?”

The look on his face said he wanted to pat me atop the head. “Because I’m probably not the only demon who has done unspeakable things to gain the location of the seer. It could be dangerous.”

I folded my arms, digging in. “Everything could be potentially dangerous right now. Going to school? A zombie could show up again and try to take me back to its evil leader. A demon could possess a teacher. I could get demon-napped on the way home from school today.”

A frown appeared. “Well, that brings on the warm fuzzies.”

I rolled my eyes. “Look, I’m not going to stand on the sidelines and let everyone else risk their lives for me and do all the hard work while I sit in history class.”

“Well, if you’re against sitting in school, you could always go to my apartment and keep my bed company until I get back.”

There was a good chance I was going to hit him. “This has to do with me—my life. We’re in this together. That means we’re going to the seer together.”

“Layla—”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not taking no for an answer. I’m going with you. So deal with it.”

Roth stared at me, looking sort of stunned. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“What?”

He tapped the tip of my nose. “You’re feisty underneath all that fluff.”

“I’m not sure if I should be offended or not,” I grumbled.

“Not.” He said something under his breath in a different language and then extended his hand. “Then come on. Let’s do this. Together.”