Jeaniene Frost - Haunted by Your Touch

“Rafe,” Billy rumbled. Then he got up and winked at me. “See ya later.”

I didn’t protest Billy’s departure. Acting flustered would have been the same as slapping a sign on my forehead that said Too Damned Interested For My Own Good.

I tipped my mug at the man as he slid into Billy’s seat, admiring Rafael out of the corner of my eye. He moved with a beautiful, controlled fluidity, each gesture full of grace and purpose. His long jacket was open, revealing the trademark black leather vest studded with thin knives over a dark blue shirt. Only Rafael could make post-apocalyptic fashions look sexy.

“You’ve been away a long time,” Rafael said, his voice soft compared to the gaze he lasered on me.

I shrugged, glancing back to the scarred wooden bar instead of his vibrant blue eyes. “Technically, with how it’s always the same endless night here, I haven’t been gone at all—”

“Weeks,” he cut me off as his tone hardened. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

I took another swallow of my beer, but not even supernatural liquor could suppress my shiver as I turned to stare fully at Rafael. His golden-red hair and cobalt eyes accentuated high cheekbones and a face that could make angels weep with jealousy. If it wasn’t for his deadliness, Rafael’s ethereal looks might invite constant challenges to his being ruler. But the three-quarter demon was as ruthless as he was dazzling, enabling him to stay in control of Nocturna for the past two hundred years. He could rule for the next two hundred if he could hold off future challengers. Time froze in Nocturna. Night didn’t turn into day, seasons didn’t change, and even aging stopped—one of the big lures of living in a secondary dimension versus the modernized world.

And I had to stop letting Rafael get to me, especially when I wasn’t sure if he was helping Purebloods shuttle Partials from this realm to the next.

“What, you missed me?” I asked with a softly challenging grunt.

“And if I did?” Rafael caressed his words while tiny lights began to gleam in his eyes. He leaned closer, warm breath falling against my skin with his next words. “Would you like that?”

Truthfully, yes . For many reasons, not least of which was the secret crush I’d had on him since I was fifteen. But Rafael knew more about what had happened to Gloria than he’d let on. All the information I’d gathered in the past two years of poking around Nocturna implicated him either directly or indirectly. Plus, he’d never really explained why he’d been there that night, so conveniently close when the Pureblood had tried to pull me through the barrier.…

“Speechless, Mara?” he asked, a hint of a smile curving his lips.

I took another long sip of my beer—and started to choke as I sucked in a breath instead of swallowing. The bar and its surrounding seats were two steep steps up from the rest of Bonecrushers, giving me an elevated view of its occupants even while seated. And for the briefest moment, my gaze locked with that of a young man who was just ducking out the front door.

One glance was all I needed to recognize him. After all, his face had been burned on my memory for the past seven years. Ashton .

I vaulted to my feet, still choking, beer leaking out of my mouth and nose as I charged into the crowd after the Pureblood. Rafael tried to grab my arm but I shoved him aside, already pulling out one of my guns. Several large bodies blocked me, giving me annoyed glances as I shouldered past them, still coughing and spewing beer, but even though my eyes watered from the burn in my lungs, I didn’t slow down. I knew one day he’d come back!

“Mara, wait!” Rafael commanded.

I didn’t look back but continued to plow my way toward the front, barreling into Billy, who lounged by the door. He grabbed me at a shouted word from Rafael, making me curse as I attempted to wrest away. Only our friendship kept me from shooting him on the spot.

“Let me go!” I tried to scream, but it came out in a gasping cough that splattered more beer. Even if Billy understood, he ignored me, holding my arms in a hard grip and nimbly avoiding the kicks I aimed at his legs.

Firm pounding began on my back a moment later, helping me expel the liquid in my lungs all over the front of Billy’s shirt. Through my watering vision, I saw him give a disgusted grimace, but since he wouldn’t budge from his position, I couldn’t see past him to find out which direction Ashton had taken.

A few more measured whacks on my back later and I could breathe enough to talk, but that didn’t make me less furious.

“Let me go or I’ll blast a hole right through you!”

Billy released me at the same time that strong hands grasped my shoulders and spun me around. Rafael backed me out of the door while managing to block the gun I tried to raise at him.

“Cranky when you choke, aren’t you?” he noted without the slightest hint of anger.

“Damn you, he’s getting away ,” I snapped, looking over his shoulder and trying to jerk free at the same time.

Rafael frowned, glancing behind me. “Who?”

“The Pureblood who kidnapped Gloria!” I all but roared, so frustrated that I didn’t care who overheard me.

Rafael let me go so abruptly that I stumbled. My gun went off when I instinctively reached out with it to break my fall. For a sickening second, I wasn’t sure if I’d shot someone. Then I jumped to my feet, determining to apologize later, if that was the case, but I had to find Ashton now .

When I glanced around, Rafael was nowhere to be seen. I didn’t pause to wonder where he’d gone but ran to the back, behind Bonecrushers. This was where the sneaky Pureblood would go instead of heading into the more well-lit areas of town. Behind the bar was an expanse of dark fields that stretched for miles until they met woods that reached all the way to the end of Nocturna—and the gateway leading to the next realm. But with these high, swaying grasses, I couldn’t see if Ashton was in them, and even at my best run, I couldn’t catch up with him. I needed a horse.

I spun around, hating the necessity of heading in the opposite direction from where I knew Ashton had run, but having no choice. Once in front of Bonecrushers, I grabbed the reins of the first horse I saw, tensing for the blasting pain from a gunshot if its owner saw me. One bullet won’t kill you , I reminded myself as I swung up into the saddle, whirling the horse toward the back of the bar and that cloaking darkness. It would take two shots to be lethal to a Partial like me, though one would do damage, that was for sure.

Luckily for me, no gunshots tore into my back. I spurred the horse into a gallop, one hand on the reins and the other grasping my gun. The horse charged through the tall grass like it knew exactly where we needed to go, to my relief. To stop a Pureblood, I’d need to land at least three good shots, and I needed to be close in order to see Ashton. Let me get him in my sights , I prayed. No way would I miss.

Gloria’s smile flashed in my memory, as bright and mischievous as her personality had been. Mara, this is Drew and Ashton. They’re Partials, too, and guess what—they know how to get into Nocturna!

I remembered the thrill those words had elicited. Our parents had strictly forbidden us from going into any realms and had refused to tell us where the gateways were, so that had made Drew and Ashton irresistible. It helped that they’d been hot, too, and since our parents had thought we’d been seeing a double movie, our evening had been wide open. So I’d cheerfully gone with my cousin and her two new friends to the smelly Dumpster at the back of Bed Bath & Beyond without a single protest, thinking this would be the most exciting night ever.