Page 102 of Wicked Curses
Elsa had used her home, a whole town away from the other witches, to further distinguish herself from them. Sahira wondered if the other witches gave Elsa any trouble over this and why she’d separated herself when it would have been safer to align with them, but those were questions for another day.
Now, all she wanted was to get past all the commotion at the door, a hot shower, and sleep. She absolutely didnotwant Orin to somehow fit into the lovely picture she’d painted in her head.
When the memory of his mouth against hers and having him inside her tried to intrude, she shoved it away. She had no expectation of him coming to her room tonight… or ever again.
He’d won, and now he would move on.
And she would be left to pine for him. Her body, which he’d awakened in ways she hadn’t known possible last night, still craved his touch when it should have been beyond satisfied.
She’d almost worry he’d shadow kissed her, but even in her moment ofgreatweakness, she hadn’t allowed that to happen. Yes, the sex was amazing, but she’d never lost herself enough to become shadow kissed. And she never would.
Which meant this misery was allherdoing. She had no idea why he affected her as badly as he did, but she had to get it together, or her life would turn into a never-ending nightmare.
When the lycans finally finished having sex and returned to drinking with their pants around their ankles, Sahira took a deep breath and slogged up the steps. She elbowed her way past the vampires, lycans, and dwarves gathered around the doorway.
They finally parted enough to grant her entrance to the mobbed pub. She came up against a wall of backs as she tried to weave through the crowd.
She slid sideways around one immortal, ducked under the elbow of another, and almost got on her hands and knees to scoot past two dwarves with their arms locked as they waved their battle-axes and belted out a battle song.
The pub always smelled of alcohol, sex, and immortals, but now the stench was overwhelming as liquor spilled across the bar top, tables, and sloshed from the glasses immortals raised while shouting cheers. Some held their glasses over their heads as they sang, and more than a few drops rained onto her.
Sahira brushed away the trail of alcohol running down the side of her face. At any other time, she might have joined the celebration, too, but she was too exhausted to party.
She’d made it about ten feet into the pub and was contemplating backing out and heading for Elsa’s house when she spotted Orin sitting at the bar. He lifted a glass into the air and clinked it against others as a raucous cheer ran through the crowd.
A big smile lit his face, but then he had every reason to be happy, as he had alcohol and a pretty nymph sitting on his lap. Her pink hair spilled over his hands, and what little clothes she wore left nothing to the imagination.
Something twisted inside Sahira as she swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She couldn’t decide if she was hurt, angry, or jealous as an unexpected tidal wave of emotions bombarded her.
She’d told herself this was going to happen, told herself not to expectanythingfrom this man. After all, he was a dark fae, andthiswas what they did and who they were.
Despite mentally preparing herself for this, seeing him sitting there was still a kick in the chest. He had his hand on the thigh of a woman who happily wiggled her ass all over his crotch.
Move!
Somehow her brain slammed back into action while her body remained a useless, immobile lump. She couldn’t stand there, trapped like a deer in the headlights, andstare.
Would there be anything more humiliating in her life than to have him look up and catch her? No, there wouldn’t.
She had to go and couldn’t retreat, as the immortals had created a wall behind her. It was like they knew she was experiencing the most mortifying moment of her life and were determined to make her face it.
And she would face it. She would use the memory of the nymph now pouring beer down her chest to drown out all the memories of what passed between them last night. When Orin bent his head to lick the alcohol away, Sahira focused on getting through the crowd.
She dodged a berserker and almost swatted away Fred when he flew into her face before bouncing off, burping, and darting away. “Toots,” he slurred before crashing into an imp.
A trail of red dust clogged the air behind him; she waved it from her face. When the air cleared, she wished it hadn’t, as her new position gave her a great view ofOrin… who was now staring at her with an amused gleam in his crow-black eyes.
CHAPTERSEVENTY-SIX
Somehow,and she hadnoidea how, she managed to keep her face impassive as the nymph draped her arms around his neck. Orin’s cocky grin set her teeth on edge, and when he wiggled his fingers at her in a little wave, she wished she was close enough to cut off those appendages. She doubted he’d still smile with his fingers all over the bar.
Juggling the books in her arms, Sahira smiled as she waved back. Then she turned her attention to getting through the rest of the crowd.
She had to get out of this place, get some fresh air, andbreathe,but that wasn’t an option. She could only keep going.
Sahira refused to look his way again as she weaved through the crowd until shefinallymade it to the stairs. Her eyes kept trying to return to Orin and the bar as she climbed, but she refused to let them.
She could be as casual about all this as him. No, she wouldn’t jump into someone else’s bed tonight, like him, but she could pretend none of this bothered her.
