Witch In Charge - Celia Kyle Page 0,15

He swept his arm majestically toward the iced keg. “Your chariot awaits.”

It was surrounded by a clutch of well-built shifters, all of whom devoured Kelly with their eyes as she sauntered up. Relishing the attention, she added a little swing to her hips and leaned forward just a hair to show off the ample peek of cleavage her top offered.

“I don’t suppose one of you could pour me a beer?”

The helpless damsel bit was one of her favorite modes. It sent the group of drunken, beefy shifters fumbling over themselves to fill her a cup. Just behind them, a trio of female shifters hung back, firing daggers at Kelly through narrowed eyes.

Tough luck, girls. Maybe next year.

The beer was cold and far too foamy, in the way it always was at house parties. Still, another belt of liquor cut through the burbly atmosphere. Kelly started to feel like herself.

“Thanks.”

She somehow managed to bat her eyes and smolder at the men simultaneously before turning back to Ryan. He had also been helping himself to glimpses of the rippling flesh their deeply unbuttoned shirts revealed.

“Girl,” he smirked, “you are trouble.”

“Am I?” She batted her eyes at him mockingly.

“Let’s get you out of here before those three leopards decide to take you apart.”

“I'd like to see 'em try,” Kelly said.

For some reason, she was spoiling for a fight. Or a good one-night stand. Something to get her blood pumping.

“Time for me to fly. I’ve got my next set in a minute.”

“Hang on.”

She tugged at his lapel, winked, and downed the rest of her beer. Traipsing back over to the keg, she made a show of filling her own beer, bending over far enough for the short skirt to do its work. A whole basement of meatheads did their best not to get caught looking, while whatever women they'd been chatting up fumed.

If Kelly knew one thing, it was how to make a splash. Besides, just because she hadn’t picked Ronun out of the crowd didn’t mean he wasn’t around.

Ugh! Why am I thinking about him? Especially with so many cute boys here.

She surveyed the array of faces, some of them coupled with jealous-looking women of various magical stripes. In her heart, Kelly suspected she could have had any one of them she wanted. And she wouldn’t even have to cast a spell to get them.

Back upstairs, Ryan was almost immediately dragged away by his band mates. They looked a bit grumpy that he had gone for a little stroll, but he just rolled his eyes at Kelly and shrugged. The packed room grew even tighter as The Night Sparrows kicked it into gear. As much as she loved listening to them wail, Kelly wasn’t in the mood to get crushed. Not like that, anyway.

As much as she was looking to do a bit of making out—maybe more, if the night went well—she kept scanning for that particular, dark-edged face. For whatever reason, rather than softening her desire for him, the booze intensified it. The drunker she got, the more she wanted to see Ronun.

After casing the joint, it became well and truly evident he wasn’t anywhere to be found.

“Oh, well,” she muttered to herself. “Screw ‘im.”

She tipped her purloined liquor bottle and drained it to the last drop. What were the chances some tight-assed security guard was going to come to a raging vampire party anyway? His idea of a fun night probably consisted of hanging around, guarding stupid buildings. Whatever.

Music pealed out in a massive, throaty hum and rattled the walls. As much as another cold beer would have been welcome, Kelly didn’t relish the thought of pushing her way back across the crowd to get to the basement steps.

Standing in the kitchen doorway, it seemed as though the entire party had migrated into the main room to listen to Ryan and his band play. So much for them only wanting thumpa-thumpa dance beats.

Instead, she turned her attention back to the castle of bottles on the table. It was her kingdom and she was the lone queen of it. Plunking her empty around the suburbs, she hunted into the center of the city for her prize. It had been cute of her to think that the bottom third of a bottle was going to serve for the night.

Nope, the party animal was out. And it was thirsty!

“Half a bottle of whiskey?” she said aloud. “Don’t mind if I do!”

As the music poured over her in the empty kitchen, she drifted into a