Consume

  "Doesn't work like that," he said dully. Then he looked at me and noticed my paleness, my general fright and want to be anywhere but there. His face visibly softened. "We have to play the part, Clara. No one comes to a Consumed Club for five minutes. And whatever the Witch wants as payment will probably be an act, not a possession."

  "Like what?"

  He shook his head. "We'll see. In the mean time," he let his sentence drift off as he inched closer. I knew I couldn’t stop him from kissing me and so did he. I narrowed my eyes a little to let him know that I knew what he was doing. He kept coming and touched my lips so gently with his. His hands gripped me tightly and passionately, but his lips were feather light and sweet. He was putting on a show.

  I kissed him back. Mad or not, those lips would not be denied. I let my arm - the unbonded one - encircle his neck and he lifted me against him for a moment before putting my feet back to the ground and releasing me. He stopped kissing me so quickly I almost stumbled. I looked up to him to see him looking bored around the room. Oh, right. He was supposed to treat me like he wanted me one second and like crap the next. Check.

  I draped myself on his arm and tried to mimic what I saw from the other mates. It was infuriating and pathetic. They looked sick and drugged…and then I saw them doing drugs. Or at least I thought they were drugs. One Devourer held a baggie with one little purple pill inside it over her head and made her beg for it, like a dog. Then he opened it and placed it on her tongue. She swallowed it easily and kissed his feet before standing and dancing around him. He watched joyfully, a sniveling smile on his lips. She made her way back to his front and trailed her hand down his chest. He snatched her to him and kissed her roughly, but she sighed, sinking into him with needy desperation. They danced together and others joined in.

  The music was something I'd never heard before, but it's what I imagined Devourers would listen to. It was grungy, screaming voices, banging drums and guitars with no rhyme or reason. And the dancing was dirty.

  I'd seen Dirty Dancing and crushed on Patrick Swayze like every other girl in America, but this was so much dirtier than that. I had to look away to keep myself from blushing. But then Eli began to move against me and I realized we had been standing in the middle of the dance floor the whole time.

  I didn't want to dance, but didn't see a way out of it. So I let Eli sling my arm around his neck and kept the other one attached to his. He tilted my head back, kissing my throat and then biting my skin in playful teasing for all to see.

  A girl with green hair and cat eyes was suddenly pressing herself to Eli's back. Her arms snaked around his back to his front and she licked his ear. I waited for him to push her off, but he actually grinned at her over his shoulder. I felt a stab of not just anger, but red hot, boiling jealousy blare through me.

  Then I felt an extra set of hands on my hips and a face nuzzling my hair from behind. I tried to turn to see who or what it was, but it was too crowded and he was behind me. But he was dancing in rhythm to me and if Eli wanted to play along, then fine. I started moving with him and felt a smidge of triumph when Eli glared at the man over my shoulder. What was good for the gander was good for the goose, wasn't it?

  Apparently not.

  "Beat it," Eli growled.

  I turned as he turned away without another word and saw that he was a half man-half beast…thing. He had animal legs. I quickly set my gaze back on Eli, who was now alone with me and the gyrating bodies around us. Green hair was gone and it was a good thing; I was in no mood to be polite anymore.

  "What? Upset that my hands are the only ones left now?" he asked hotly.

  "No. Are you upset that I'm the only one pressed against you?"

  "No," he growled and leaned close so no one could hear us. "I thought I explained all of this-"

  "You didn't explain that you were going to let other girls lick you," I shot back in a hiss.

  "We do things like that, Clara. We all dance together."

  "That's what I was doing, too, but you sent him away."

  "Mates don't flirt with anyone else."

  I huffed. "But it's ok for Devourers?"

  He shrugged. "Yes. It is. I told you that this wasn't going to be fun. I told you that this was a mission for us, not a party."

  "You didn't tell me that you were going to have Finn kiss me, testing me, and then parade me through all of these supernatural things while you let other girls kiss you!" My breaths rushed in and out loudly as I waited for him to start explaining it away again, but instead he stood stunned.

  And then he dragged me across the room, through the crowd and all the way to the back bathrooms. They were both busy, so he shoved me into a cleaning closet. The murderous look on Eli's face was enough of an indicator that he wasn't to be toyed with right now.

  "Now," he growled and slammed the door, throwing the bolt into place, "you explain what you said to me out there."

  "This is ridiculous," I said back and paced around the small room. "Don't even pretend that you didn't let that girl-"

  "Pixie!" he yelled. "She was a Pixie!"

  "Pixie. Whatever. Don't pretend that you didn't let her kiss you! And then you smiled at her!"

  "I was playing a part, I've explained that. What I want is for you to tell me," he came forward and stopped me with his hands on my arms, "in great detail what you meant by saying that I had Finn kiss you." His jaw was taut and angry.

  "Finn said-"

  "There's mistake number one: Finn said."

  "And Enoch said!" I countered. "They both said that you told Finn to kiss me, to test me."

  "Test you for what?" he asked in exasperation. "Answer me," he said angrily as I stayed quiet.

  "I don't know!"

  "Clara," he said and took a deep breath. "Clara, I want to punch something for just listening to you say the words. I would never, ever, ever, tell someone else, especially a Devourer, to put his lips on you." He paused and shook his head. "Please tell me he didn’t put his lips on you."

  "He kissed me," I said, not sure what to believe anymore. "You didn't tell him to test me? You promise?"

  "Clara, would you describe me as possessive?"

  "Yes-"

  "Then how could you have ever thought that I'd tell someone else to kiss you, to take what is mine."

  "I…" Wow. I felt the last couple hours of strain and doubt crumble around me. I wasn't thinking clearly. I was being stupid. I was letting others make my decisions for me once again. "I'm…"

  "He kissed you on the mouth?"

  "Yes," I whispered.

  "I'll be right back," he said low and dangerously.

  "Don't," I said in rush and grabbed his arm. "You can't go out there without me because of the string and I don't want you to start a fight here. We need to get the Witch's stone."

  "He can't get away with this. He was trying to test you, to see if you'd fall for his sway and then try to get me angry about the fact that you kissed him back. He used his lust on you?"

  "Yeah. I could feel it."

  He groaned unhappily. "Then you did kiss him back." He shook his head. "It wasn't your fault. You can't control yourself when we-"

  "No, I didn't kiss him back. Something…happened." He looked puzzled. "I could feel the way he pushed the emotion on me, trying to make me feel it. But I pushed it back." His brow pulled down in a frown. "I made him feel it instead and he…" I bit my lip.

  "He what?" he whispered.

  "He lost it. He kissed me for real and I scared him to get him to stop. That's why he was coming after me when you came in. He was angry because of what I'd done. Eli, something's wrong with me. I can feel something…pulling in me."

  "How could you have done that?" he asked and looked closely in my eyes. "Still green," he murmured to himself.

  "I don't know. But I didn't kiss him."

  "I need to…" He groaned again.

  "What?"

  "I need to see Finn."

  "It won't do any good," I argued.

&n
bsp; "It will."

  "How?"

  "Because I need to hit something."

  I stared up at him and it was the first time all day that I felt like laughing. So I did. I really wanted to let him loose on Finn and punch his jaw for what he did to me. Especially since him and Enoch lied to me! They flat lied to make me think Eli had done that. I was furious, but it was also funny with ridiculousness.

  He cracked a small smile, too, and chuckled under his breath. I wrapped my arms around his neck in apology. "I'm sorry," I said simply, but sincerely.

  "Love, look at me." I did. "I'm not scolding you, but how could you think that I'd-"

  "You're right." I nodded. "You're right. Something is very wrong with me. I mean how could I make him feel-"

  "No more right now." He closed his eyes tightly. "I'm going to figure all of this out tonight, if we don't do anything else." He framed my face with his warm hands. "Please believe that. I don’t want to think about what's going on with you because I'll break apart, but if we keep moving forward and get the stone so we can get into The Wall, we can get answers. I know it. Please just trust me. I didn't want that Pixie's hands on me, you have to know that. And I'm probably not going to want to do what the Witch wants either, but I'll do it. I'll do anything for you." I felt my lip quiver with gratitude. He grinned sadly. "But let a Satyr puts his paws on you? That I won't do."

  I laughed and hurried to wipe my eyes before my tears messed up my make-up. Mates didn't cry in broom closets, I was sure. Major mate faux pas. He tore a piece of tissue and gently wiped under my eyes for me. He was always taking care of me in ways like that.

  "Thank you," I said and grabbed his hands to make him look at me. "Thank you," I said slower for emphasis. I reached up on my tip toes to kiss him. "I'm really sorry," I said against his lips.

  "It's forgotten, love," he replied and encircled me with his arms. "I'm sorry, too."

  He lifted me and set me on the counter as he continued to kiss me. He held my face gently and stood between my knees, his mouth devouring me in more ways than one. I pulled him closer with my fist in his shirt and he complied happily.

  He pulled back a little and licked his lip before looking down at me. "Is it all right to tell you how hot you look now?"

  "Yes," I giggled.

  Someone banged on the door, but we ignored them as he kissed me again. They kept banging. When they yelled a 'Hey' and began to wrench on the doorknob, Eli was done.

  He kicked the door with his boot. "It's taken! Take a hint, buddy!"

  We both laughed as we heard him grumbling on the other side of the door.

  "We better get out of here," he continued. "Let's steer clear of Finn until we get what we need, because I will be having words with him. And fists, too. Don't try to stop it."

  "Be my guest."

  "All right. Let's go find us a Witch." He helped me down from the counter top and unlatched the door, but stopped. "You're doing good pretending that they don't freak you out."

  "Which ones am I not supposed to see?"

  "Well, most of them don’t care in the club, but it's not really the people you don’t see, it's just that you don't really care, I guess. It should be second nature to see those things and not care because you're so consumed with me, your Devourer," he explained carefully.

  "Well," I smiled, "now that I'm not mad at you, I shouldn't have a problem with that."

  "Ha ha." He grinned, but it slowly faded away as he got serious. "Now things will probably start to get fuzzy to you. The Elves are smoking double time tonight and their smoke removes your inhibitions and control. We need to stay focused and get what we need quickly. Witches are not to be toyed with. They are evil and manipulative; every bad thing you can think of. They'll probably try to offer you all kinds of things, so just let me talk or be coy if someone talks directly to you. Just be flighty."

  "Flighty. Got it," I sighed. I squeezed my eyes shut as a new headache started to build. Oh, no. The worst possible time.

  "Hey. Love?" He lifted my chin. "You all right?"

  "I will be," I said firmly. "Let's just go do this. I'll be ok."

  He kissed me once more and rested his forehead to mine. "You'll be ok," he repeated. "You can't leave me. You'll be ok."

  I didn't refute him or agree. I just accepted his comfort and let him lead me from the room. A group of annoyed creatures who were waiting for the bathroom awaited us in the hall when he opened the door. Eli smiled smugly at them and took my hand as he led me down the hall.

  I wanted to roll my eyes at them, knowing exactly what they were thinking. When we reached the dance floor again, he put his front to my back this time as he moved us to sway our way through the packed crowd.

  We were stuck in the packed bodies and the heat was almost unbearable. I felt sweat dripping down my back under my long sleeve shirt. Eli pulled my hair away from my neck and blew his breath to cool me as we swayed. Goose bumps made their way down my arms and legs and I giggled. He leaned forward, letting his lips touch my neck. I felt his tongue and leaned back against him.

  "Your sweat is sweet," he murmured and kissed me again. I opened my eyes and saw another Pixie girl in front of me. She reached over me to Eli, as if I wasn't even there between them. He pushed her hand away carelessly and said, "Not this time. My hands are full."

  Then he turned me to him and unleashed the full force of his mouth on mine. It was like being drunk - well, what I assumed being drunk would feel like. I was hot, but I shivered and felt light as air, but also like I could barely hold myself up. He took care of that as he held me in his arms, crossing them on my back and backside as if to shield me from other hands and eyes.

  We finally made a little progress in the crowd and Eli released me. He gave me a long assessing look to check on me. I nodded slightly, licking my lips and tasting the salt of our skin there.

  We went to the bar again and ordered something called a 'Worry Wart'. When he took it from the bar, it steamed and the smell almost made me gag. Eli looked at me sympathetically before carefully taking the drink to a nearby table.

  I straightened my back and wiped my face clear of any expression except loving adoration for my Devourer as he set the drink on the table in front of a Witch.

  Showtime.

  Twelve

  "A Witch's brew?" she said and I struggled not to wince at her words. Her voice was grating, scratchy and high to the point of being painful to my eardrums. "You have a request for me, Devourer?"

  "I do," he said calmly. "I want a stone."

  "Of course you do," she said sarcastically and cackled as the Elves laughed around her. She was short, dark skinned and round where the Elves were tall, seriously pale and too skinny. It was a drastic contrast. She downed the drink in one gulp, but the glass sizzled and crackled as if it'd shatter when she put it back to the table empty. "They always want a stone."

  "Just tell me what I have to do," Eli answered back, unfazed.

  "I'm not sure if I'm in a stone giving mood, Devourer. I've already got my drink. What else would I need from you?"

  "The drink was to butter you up, Witch." He gripped my hand tightly, soothingly. "Give me the task and I'll do it."

  "Oooh," she crooned and leaned back in her seat leisurely. Her nose was too big for her face, her eyes small and black, her skin dry with wrinkles and blemishes. And she was wearing a moo-moo of some sort. A freaking moo-moo! "I like the sound of that. What do you say gents?" She looked at the three Elves sitting at her table. I suppressed a cough as they blew smoke our way. "Should we bargain for a little entertainment?"

  Eli stiffened next to me. "Entertainment isn't what I had in mind for payment."

  "Beggars can't be choosers, now can they, Devourer?"

  Eli rumbled low in his chest. "No, I guess not."

  "Let's see," she thought, letting her long, dirty nails scratch at the wood of the table. "Show your mate to me."

  "No," Eli said clearly, pulling me behind him just a bit. "She has nothing t
o do with this and I'm not into sharing."

  She laughed and shook her head in chastisement of him. "Aye, we’ve touched a nerve. You Devourers; so stingy and superior. If you'd open your minds up to the possibilities-"

  "Not. Going. To. Happen."

  She held up her hands. "Ok. Show her to us anyway."

  He paused for a few seconds before pulling my hand and moving me in front of him. He grimaced as he lifted a finger and turned it in a circle in the air, indicating for me to turn for them. I looked up at him and did as he asked, only looking away when I wasn't facing him, but latching back onto his gaze once I was. He never removed his eyes as he said to them, "That's all you're going to get."