Six rules undying book 2, p.13
Six (Rules Undying Book 2), page 13
“Of course; I was catching up with Tina. I just wanted to see if you two were all right,” Nadia said.
“This drink is delicious. The salad, though, is a little, um, interesting,” Paige said.
“Oh, the drink is tasty?” Nadia asked.
“I’ve never had anything quite like it.”
Nadia paused for a moment. She gave the slightest of nods to Lorcan before scanning the room. Another table had just settled the check, and Kyle and his new friend were starting to hunt for keys and credit cards as well.
“Tina sort of needs a little reassurance right now,” Nadia finally said. “I think she was hoping that opening Sunday would be a little busier. Will you two be OK if I talk to her for a while? I know I promised that I’d make some time for you, Paige—”
“Oh no, it’s fine!” she said. “I can always head home—”
“No, please, finish your drink. Also, I’ll get some real food for you and try my best to let Tina down gently on this salad,” Nadia said as she stacked the remaining bowls. “You know, Lorcan is an amazing listener if you just need to talk, and he has a frightfully strict code of bartender-customer privilege. Seriously, I’ve known him all my life, and there is no one I’d trust more.”
Nadia leaned over the bar and kissed Lorcan’s cheek as she muttered something in Russian. He kissed her back and then
mussed up her violet mane. “I’ll see you later, volchitsa,” he said with a wave.
“In case I don’t see you, night, Paige,” Nadia said before giving her a quick hug with one arm while balancing four stacked bowls in the other.
As soon as the purple-haired amazon disappeared into the kitchen, Paige gave Lorcan an incredulous look. “She’s known you her whole life?” Paige asked.
“I was friends with Nadia’s mother, if you can believe that.”
“Not really, but I guess you are older than you look.”
Lorcan smiled the very same smile from the first night they met.
He toyed with his earring for a second before taking another gulp of his drink.
“Mina and I were Nadia’s godparents,” he said as he stared off into space. “She was the single worst-behaved baby at any christening I’d ever been to, and I adored her for that. She’s always had a way of commanding attention, just like my Mina.”
“I take it Mina is your wife?”
“Is . . . was . . . will be again, I’m sure. It’s—”
“Complicated,” Paige finished. “Is that why you keep hitting on me?”
Lorcan choked down his next sip. Paige quickly turned as flushed as his cheeks. “I’m sorry!” she gasped. “There is just no filter between my brain and my mouth tonight.”
Lorcan covered his mouth and tried his best to contain his laughter. Finally, he gave in and slapped his hand on the bar, sending a squall of glitter across the wood. “Seriously, did he mix it in my detergent too?” Lorcan mumbled as he noticed more sparkles tucked between the fibers of his shirt. Paige started to slide from her stool, but he waved her back and did his best to return to a serious countenance. “Please, stay.”
“I don’t know. Talking to you is so easy but so frustrating. I still feel like you’re hiding something and mocking me every time we talk.”
“As I said before, I’m the joke, Miss Paige. I also find that in my particular family and professional circles, I have to lie so much that
it’s exhausting. I’m always hiding something—”
“But that’s like saying that you always lie, Lorcan,” Paige countered. “It’s a paradox. You can’t honestly say that you always lie because if that statement was actually true, then you would be lying.”
“I need you to work with my legal team sometime, Miss Paige,”
he said with a little salute. “You are right, though, so let me rephrase.
I often lie. I frequently prevaricate, and nine times out of ten I am hiding something from whomever I am speaking with. However, I do not make promises lightly, nor do I ever swear an oath I cannot keep.”
“Really?” Paige asked suspiciously.
“When one’s existence is pretty much a gigantic lie, one tends to cling desperately to whatever truth they can grasp,” he said softly.
“I suppose you could even claim that I am most honest when discussing just how much I have to lie.”
“And you’re proud of this?”
Lorcan sniffed and took another drink before answering. “Oh, I’m not proud that I lie. I’m simply proud that I’ve gotten away with it for so long,” he said.
Paige took another drink. “Now that, I believe,” she muttered.
Another table packed up and left the restaurant. Paige and Lorcan paused for a few moments as the waitress counted her tips and tried her best to flirt with the Brit. The blonde eyed the two drinks and then tried her best to surreptitiously give Paige the dagger eyes before wandering away.
“She’s not subtle,” Paige sighed once they were alone.
“Apparently, neither am I,” Lorcan said with a little laugh. “You know, I haven’t even bothered to learn her name—”
“Considering you’re supposed to have a photographic memory, that’s bad,” Paige laughed.
“My, my, you have sharpened your claws tonight, Miss Paige.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s the pisco,” she said. “I should probably slow down because I don’t think the kale is absorbing it. I do want to finish it, though.”
On cue, the little blonde waitress burst through the kitchen door with a plate piled with biscuits, fried chicken strips, and a heavenly
smelling bowl of ham bits swimming in squishy pickled collard greens. “Compliments of the chef,” the waitress said curtly as she plopped it in front of Paige. Her face lit up as she turned to Lorcan.
“You know, a few of us were going to have some drinks after our shift
—”
“That sounds lovely, but I’m afraid I already have plans,” Lorcan said gently.
The girl’s face fell, but she mustered up a smile and said, “Oh well, maybe next time!” before wandering off.
Paige quickly scarfed down a chicken and biscuit sandwich.
“Tina is great with chicken,” she said as she licked a bit of the meaty juices off her index finger. Lorcan looked away quickly. “Sorry, did I offend your English manners?” Paige asked as she reached for her napkin.
“No,” he said while blushing. “It’s just a quirk of mine, you could say.”
“You should really try the greens. They are out of this world,”
she said and offered him her unused spoon. He obliged by scooping up a large chunk of meat and tragically little of anything green.
“They are delicious,” he said.
“They are even better if you try the vegetables,” she chastised before scooping another round into her mouth. “What’s that look for?
Do I sound like your mother?”
“Oh no, you are far too pleasant, and comprehensible, for that.
My mother was a witch.”
“How can you say that?”
“Her words, not mine,” Lorcan said.
Both of them took a drink.
“Wow, I guess I’m not the only one without a filter tonight,”
Paige said.
Lorcan eyed the pair of almost empty glasses. “Do you want another?” he asked.
“I shouldn’t—”
“I didn’t ask if you should. I asked if you wanted another one.”
Paige answered by draining her glass and pushing the empty across the bar with a furious nod. Lorcan swept it away to the sink
and started round two of ice, liquor, egg white, and lime. Paige chomped another fluffy, buttery biscuit and let out a contented sigh.
Lorcan slid her glass slowly, so as not to disturb the perfect circle of red nestled in the foam. Paige breathed in the heady aroma again and couldn’t help one coquettish smile at the married bartender. “These are dangerous,” she said.
“Aye, they are,” he said as he finished his own golden-tinted drink. He got a twinkle in his eye and leaned back on the bar. “How about this,” he proposed. “I hereby promise to be absolutely, totally, completely honest with you so long as I am your bartender and we’re both having a drink, on the condition, however, that you promise to do the same.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“Because, frankly, I’m bored of lying, and even bartenders need to use their confessional from time to time. What do you think?”
“Perfect honesty? Is that even possible?”
“As close as humanly possible,” he sighed.
“And if I don’t want to answer?”
“You could honestly tell me that you don’t want to answer. Being mute is allowed; lying is not. I’m pretty sure there is something like that in your Constitution. You’re considering it, aren’t you?”
“Well, it is intriguing. Only while we’re having drinks together, though, right?” she asked.
“Limits make it more fun.”
She raised her glass and tipped it slightly his way. “Very well then. I, Paige Presley Carmichael, being of relatively sound mind and body, do solemnly swear to tell you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth for as long as we share drinks together, so help me god.”
Lorcan raised his glass as well. “You know, back where I come from, if you swear an oath by your true name and call upon god, you can be killed if you break such an oath,” he warned.
“Oh, really?”
“Indeed,” he said with a sage nod. Still, he leaned even closer and whispered in Paige’s ear, “And I, Lorcan M. Darcy, as all other humans know me, do swear upon my ancestors and their gods to tell
you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth for as long as we share drinks together, or let there be retribution upon me for breaking the fourth law.”
Paige shivered as she felt his cold breath in her ear. She held her breath as a chill ran down her spine even as their glasses touched. The clink echoed surprisingly loudly in the room. She pulled away and sipped her drink. The sinking feeling became flooded with a heady rush of alcohol, and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest.
“And by this sip, let an oath be made,” he said as he drained his entire glass. As he set his glass back down, he clutched his chest.
“Damn it, that worked,” he said, wild-eyed. “It really worked.”
“What? What worked?” Paige asked as her head started to spin.
“Ask me anything, anything you like. The vow worked . . . with a human!” he said with a maniacal grin.
“What? What do you mean?” Paige said as she grabbed her temple and shook her head. She barely managed to set down her drink without spilling it. “I’m a little dizzy.”
Lorcan took her hands. “Please, just ask me something, anything you want to know,” he begged. “Anything.”
“Why am I dizzy?” she asked.
“Because of the drink and the emotions; it’s complicated.”
“Did you spike my drink?” she asked.
“Yes. I’m sorry,” he said as the world started to spin.
Paige woke up surrounded in dark, heavy fabric. She moaned pleasantly as the fabric slid over her bare back, and she felt pleasant warmth radiating next to her. As her eyelids fluttered open, she saw long dark waves and beautiful bare shoulders peeking from under what looked like a wolf pelt.
The lights were dim and flickering, and she could smell ashes in the air. She tentatively ran a finger along her companion’s shoulder and then slid it slowly down the blade and onto the spine. He shuddered as she slipped lower.
“Now, how did you end up here?” a thick Irish accent asked.
Paige gulped in surprise as none other than a naked Lorcan rolled over and wrapped his arm around her waist. She squawked even more as she realized that she was completely naked under the covers as well. Soon they were pressed hip to hip, and Paige turned scarlet from cheek to cheek.
“What the hell?” she asked as Lorcan pulled her closer.
“Is this really hell?” he asked as he pushed the hair away from her face and leaned in closer.
“No,” Paige whispered as she finally let him kiss her. She tugged at his hair as her mouth pressed into his hungrily. Soon he was on top of her, kissing her mouth, her neck, and sliding his teeth delicately along her throat as his body pressed against hers.
“I’ve waited so long for this,” he whispered as his hand started to slide along her thigh.
“You have?” Paige asked as she raked her fingernails across his back and started kissing his neck. He moaned and pushed her head to the side so that he had easy access to her jugular.
“Indeed,” he whispered before sinking his teeth into her skin.
Paige cried out in pain as her eyes snapped open. She clutched her chest and felt a damp tank top stuck to her clammy skin. The pile of pelts was replaced by a polyester comforter, and the smell of cinders was replaced by detergent, latex, and post-coital funk. Instead of a slender, smooth Irishman, a rather huge, furry American snored as he slept on his belly.
Paige fished her underwear from the bowels of the tangle of sheets and staggered into the bathroom. She immediately tilted her neck but found nothing other than a mundane hickey. She started the shower before stumbling back into her bedroom. A small pile of stuffing oozed from the mattress on her side. A closer inspection revealed five slashes in her sheets. She gingerly picked up the comforter and found similar scratch marks on Cal’s back, ripping his T-shirt to shreds and leaving angry welts on his skin.
Paige stared in horror at the clock and hustled to find work clothes and a towel. She stopped short as once more words cut through the steam on her glass. “He is lying to you,” it said this time.
This time she growled at her mirror and yanked off her shirt to wipe it down. Her angry face changed slowly to horror as a streak of glitter transferred from her collar to the glass. She choked out a silent scream as she saw the pale face of Lorcan standing behind her. He raised a clawed finger to his lips to shush her through the reflection. He then smiled, showing off clearly bloodstained fangs.
She whirled around and found nothing more threatening than a loofah on a stick. She rushed into the shower and tried her best to wash away the cold sweat pouring out of her veins. Terror then turned to exasperation as a brand-new coat of fur had sprouted from the legs she had shaved only a day before.
She hurried to deforest more than depilate and yelped as the razor slashed into the back of her ankle. She reached for a washcloth to stanch the bleeding, but by the time she touched the cloth to her Achilles tendon, the cut had already closed.
“What the hell is going on?” she asked the torrent of water. She let it pour over her neck and back and breathed slowly in and out, letting each exhale take away the tension in her body. She closed her eyes and let the water wrap around her. As it coiled around her side, she could feel hands sliding seductively around her hips.
“I’m still here,” Lorcan whispered in her ear.
Paige snapped her eyes open. Over and over she slapped the tile in her shower, growling and grunting at the ghost haunting her.
As she closed her eyes again, the growls softened into moans. She snapped the shower dial sharply to the left and let the icy blast of water knock her back into reality.
By the time she crawled out of the stall, she barely had enough time to dry off, slip into her work clothes, and dab concealer on her neck. She spied her fitness bracelet on the floor next to Cal’s shaving cream and even more glitter.
“What did I do?” she desperately asked her reflection. “What did I do?”
She ran back to the bed and gave Cal a quick kiss on the cheek. As her nose touched his skin, a nauseating mix of musky smells made her step back. Above all other scents, a sickening,
floral perfume made Paige gag—a perfume that smelled nothing like her one bottle of Chanel No5 that her mother gave her for Christmas.
Paige stumbled back and ended up falling to the floor, shaking her head. “It’s my own guilt,” she whispered. “It’s me . . . it’s me . . .”
she whispered over and over before rushing to work.
She nearly rammed her old Civic into someone’s sedan as she hurried to work. Her stomach growled and complained as she tried her best to focus on the road and not the fragmented mess the past few weeks had been.
She stopped at the drive-through and collected four chicken biscuits and a lemonade. By the time she reached her office park, all of the fast food had disappeared, and an accumulation of fluffy little crumbs littered her floor mat. Even the soothing strains of Above and Beyond could not keep her from yelling at a jerk in a minivan cutting her off at a turn. She parked in the farthest corner of the lot and cursed under her breath as her stomach continued to complain.
“No wonder you gained twenty pounds, bitch,” she snarled at her reflection.
She contained her hair in a bun, fixed her collar, and took a deep breath. After her walk across the entire lot, she finally had the customary bland smile of a good corporate drone and started her day in the office. She hadn’t made it through a single hour of e-mails and expense reports before a strange scent made her pause mid-mouse click.
Her cheeks slowly turned red as a strong, sweaty masculine scent wafted into her nose. She could detect tree bark and sweet earth among the aromas that distracted her. She even had to shift in her seat as the scent became stronger. All around the admin pool, the younger women started to smile. Paige tried to focus on the words on the screen, but none of them seemed to be in English; she had to unbutton the top button on her blouse and bite her lip to keep it from quivering.
Suddenly Marcy from Accounts Receivable came barreling in from the break room—moving so fast that she sloshed coffee on the carpet. She ran straight to the other accounting gals and gushed,
“Oh my god, Eric has brought in some clients, and I think I’ve died and gone to heaven!”
Paige stayed frozen at her seat, trembling, but she could easily hear Marcy going on and on about the new prospects from the Chicago area. “One is a dog, but their sales guy looks like Robert Redford and Brad Pitt had the world’s most beautiful baby together.
