Freak Show (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7)(10)

“Oh God, don’t do that.” Jez was aghast. “That’s too drastic. And I don’t have to be a shrink to tell you what that kind of sudden change often means.”

“That I’m in need of control and can find it only in insignificant things like my hair style because I’m too neurotic to keep my shit together.” I smiled, but I wasn’t joking.

“Yeah, exactly that.” She turned to face me, a serious light in her green eyes. “Please don’t go off the rails on me, Alexa. I can’t lose another friend like that.”

I reached to touch her hand, a brief but poignant connection. “I won’t. I promise.”

She was thinking about Kale Sinclair, our friend and my one time lover. The three of us had been a tight knit group for several years. Recently, that had unraveled, primarily because of Kale’s inability to maintain his sanity. Five hundred years of vampire hell could do that to a person.

“You know I’m always here for you, right? No matter what.” Pulling me into a hug, Jez held tight. She hummed with pent up emotion that sought to escape her restraint.

“I know.” I breathed in her earthy Were scent. It was comforting. “I love you, Jezzy.”

Things had been tough for us both lately. She had lost the woman she loved. We had both lost Kale to his delusions. Worst of all, we’d lost our illusions: safety, peace, self-contentment. Gone. All of it.

“Ok, enough sappy shit.” Jez pulled away and tugged the towel off, letting her damp golden locks tumble over her shoulders. “Should I flat iron or let it curl naturally?”

“Curls, definitely. I can never understand why women with curls straighten their hair.” I studied my poker straight tresses. I was more than a little envious of Jez’s gorgeous curls.

“Go get dressed,” she commanded, grabbing the blow dryer. “Your boys will hit the floor when they see what you bought.”

I still couldn’t believe I’d let her talk me into buying the body-hugging dress. The bodice was a black corset that made my br**sts look photoshopped. The skirt was fairy style, cut into black and white jagged edges that fell halfway down my thigh. It had looked pretty damn good in the dressing room before I bought it.

Now I wasn’t so sure. I brought it from the bedroom into the bathroom so Jez could help me lace up the back. “I don’t know about this. Maybe I should have bought pants.”

“Don’t start. Insecurity is not allowed for Arys Knight’s queen,” she snickered, tying the lacing securely but allowing me room to breathe properly. “I still think the red lipstick would top it all off. Think about it.”

I ran a hand down the tight bodice to the skirt, reveling in the soft material. It was a knockout dress for sure. I felt good in it, sexy. As I gazed at my reflection, the insecurities began to fall away. I hoped this was what Arys had in mind when he said dressed to kill.

“No red lips,” I said, grabbing my choker from the counter top.

I knew better than to walk into a place like The Wicked Kiss with a bare throat, especially one I didn’t run. The choker was black velvet with an oval moonstone hanging from the center. I had found it in my friend Brogan’s magic shop.

“Stilettos?” Jez tried, returning to the hair dryer.

“Not a chance.” I spritzed on some French vanilla perfume and left the bathroom to fetch my boots from the bedroom. They were black leather and almost knee high. The three-inch heels were perfect, not as dangerously high as Jez would prefer but enough to add height to my petite five foot one frame.

I took a deep breath and left the bedroom, glad that the minibar was outside the door. I poured a few shots of vodka into a glass and stood in the small hallway listening to Arys and Shaz talk in the living room.

“And you’re sure we’re going to walk out of there in one piece?” Shaz asked, his tone heavy with concern. “The guy told us to get our asses on a plane out of here, and you really think going to his club is the best response to that?”

“Of course,” came Arys’s self-assured reply. “Jenner’s bark has always been worse than his bite. Threats are his way of throwing his power around, making sure I know my place in his city.”

“And do you?”

“What do you think, pup?”

Shaz chuckled. “You don’t want to know what I think.”

“Jenner was Harley’s favorite after I left. He wants to make sure I remember that. There’s nothing more to it.” Arys sounded confident. Too confident.

I rounded the corner, drink in hand. “Harley had a favorite other than you? Great. So this is a case of spoiled sibling rivalry.”

Both men looked up at my appearance, and their jaws dropped almost simultaneously. I hid a smile, enjoying their shared reaction.

Arys’s blue gaze traveled over me, lingering on my thighs and then my covered throat. “I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted to bleed you as bad as I do right now.” His lip curled in a sexy smirk, sending a tingle through me.

“That’s a compliment, right?” I teased though I was keenly aware of the hunger lurking in his stare.

“You’re smokin’ hot, Lex.” Shaz wore a predatory expression of desire that made my stomach flip. “But you could be wearing sweats with no makeup, and you’d still be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”