Centaur Rivalry (Touched Series Book 3) Read online

  His finger slid along the paper and tapped the area that showed the nightly rate column: it was $0. I couldn’t believe it. “They comped the suite?! Are you kidding me?”

  Daniel’s only answer was a cheesy grin. I didn’t know how to respond. I should be angry; he had put us all in a lot of danger. In five minute’s time he could have had us in jail, our picture out on the wire, a beacon for everyone looking for us. But he didn’t.

  Daniel took my hand in his then looked toward Katherine and Brent, “Excuse us for just a minute.”

  My hand felt stiff and cold in his warm hand. He tugged me toward the staircase and led me up the steps to the suite’s second floor. I had noticed the view when we first walked in but hadn’t paid attention to the furnishings. It looked like they came straight out of a home design magazine. Everything was perfectly coordinated, the pile of the carpet was thick and lush, and I was sure no matter where we stood, the view would be breathtaking.

  When we were upstairs and out of earshot from Katherine and Brent, Daniel continued holding my hand as his blue eyes stared into mine. “I know you’re still mad about the kiss.”

  My eyes slid to the carpet on impulse. Was I still mad? Embarrassed, yes. Irritated, no doubt. But, mad? “Look, you’re a lot of fun, but. . .”

  Daniel cut me off, “Stop. Once you say the word ‘but,’ it negates everything you said before it. I’m not asking for anything from you. I don’t have any expectations beyond wanting you to have fun. Is that so bad?”

  Wanting me to have fun? Was he serious? What kind of game was he playing? I knew how he felt about Camille. I didn’t have to be able to read his thoughts: it had been written all over his face before we left. Who was this guy in front of me now?

  When I didn’t respond he said, “Live a little. You’ve been muzzled your whole life. We’ve got a few days before you and Katherine figure out what you’re doing next. While you’re here, we have fun. No strings. No expectations. Okay?”

  “What are you?”

  “Just call me the Morale Fairy.”

  Somehow teaming the image of Daniel with any kind of title including the word “fairy” seemed absurd, but if he was trying to make me laugh, it worked. He was tall, with light brown hair, blue eyes, wide chest, and a perfect smile – definitely not a fairy. I stood motionless, realizing that he still held my hand in his. “No strings?”

  “No strings. Maybe a thank-you would be nice.”

  I shook my head at him in disbelief. As much as I hated how he went about it, we were in an amazing room that couldn’t be traced to us. We had armed security provided by the hotel to make sure no one sneaked up on us. We were being treated like royalty, and we were in the city whose motto was: What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. He had exceeded my wildest expectations, and we’d only been here for less than an hour. “Thank you.”

  “I was thinking of more of a personal thanks.” Daniel eased toward me. We stood only inches apart. He let go of me and shoved both his hands in his back pockets. He leaned closer, enough that I felt the heat off of his skin. Every fiber of my being told me to back up – I didn’t. Alarm bells sounded in my head warning me to move away – I stood motionless, mesmerized by the blue of his eyes. I watched his eyelids close slowly as his lips descended to mine.

  The softness of his lips flush against mine created a fluttering in my chest. Instead of the shock of our first kiss in the bitter cold and in front of everyone, this one was slow, gentle, inviting. I forced my mind to quiet, allowing my senses to focus on his lips and how they felt against mine. Too soon, he eased his lips away, but rested his cheek against mine. In a breathless voice, he murmured, “You’re welcome.”

  Daniel leaned over the banister looking down onto the living room below. “You two up for the Casino?”

  Katherine answered, “You three go ahead. I’m just gonna order room service and park it in front of the TV.”

  Brent’s voice still sounded frustrated, the way it had when we arrived, “No. I’m going to stop by the business office. Mom set up a Facebook page where I can check on my family. I want to see if anyone’s left messages.”

  Daniel grabbed both my hands, his voice sultry, “Looks like it’s just the two of us.”

  I wasn’t sure if it was his devilish smile, his fiery touch, or his smooth voice, but heat spread through me. I tried to remind myself Daniel was dangerous. No strings. He was good for some laughs, and laughter was exactly what I needed right now.

  *****

  “We should quit while we’re ahead.” I recognized the look in Daniel’s eyes. It was the same one Katherine had when I helped her win the motel in Deadwood. Being able to see what cards were going to be dealt made winning too easy. We had plenty of winnings already, so there was no good reason to keep playing. If anything we’d attract attention that we didn’t need if we continued.

  “One more hand. I’ve never had this good of a night before.” Daniel’s excitement would be short-lived if I told him I was helping him. Of course, what little I knew about him – maybe not. We were already up several thousand dollars. If by some chance the hotel manager figured out we weren’t who we said we were, at least we had money to settle the bill.

  “I’m beat. Come with me.” I tugged his arm in a playful way.

  He made eyes at the dealer as if I were asking him to sacrifice his first born son. “If you’re beat, why would I want to come with you? You’ll just be snoring.”

  My hand let go of his arm and slapped him harder than I probably should have, but the dealer thought it was hysterical. She’d noticed our security entourage, but didn’t ask any questions.

  I pushed all of my chips toward Daniel. As far as we knew, no one was looking for him. He looked at the enormous pile and asked, “You sure?”

  “What, you’re going to skip out on me after the lights go out tonight?”

  Daniel quickly scooped up both our stacks of chips and poured them in a plastic bucket. I didn’t wait for him so he had to sprint the few strides to catch up to me. Slyly his hand went to my waist with a gentle pinch, “Unless you can think of a way to keep me occupied, you’ll never know what I’ve got up my sleeve.”

  “Says the human to the psychic Centauride.”

  “Psychic?”

  His surprise caught me off guard. Didn’t he know? He had to know. Cami was his best friend: she would have told him. Well, maybe not. Not all Centaurides had the same powers. If he didn’t know, was there was a reason Cami had kept it from him?

  Chapter 17

  (Jessica Baker, Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada)

  Daniel looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “What do you mean psychic?”

  We were walking toward the cash office. The two security guards assigned to us were a few steps behind, so they wouldn’t overhear us, but I felt weird talking to him out in the open. “Cash out first. I’ll tell you when we get upstairs.”

  Within minutes, Daniel’s wallet was full of cash. One of the security guys yawned, and I looked at my watch. It was already after 2 a.m. I was so used to closing my bar that my body rarely wanted to find sleep until after 4 a.m. I didn’t feel like going up to the room right away, but the constant chiming of the slot machines was grating on me. I remembered seeing an atrium near the registration desk and led Daniel toward it.

  A few benches set in the middle. Although the casino never closed, no one else was here, and we wouldn’t have to share this part of the hotel with anyone else. As we walked on the path toward one of the benches, I turned back toward our security detail, “Would you boys give us a couple minutes?”

  They both nodded and posted themselves on opposite sides of the atrium.

  Daniel looked almost giddy, “You’re psychic? For real?”

  “No, I’m a fake psychic.” I shouldn’t have made fun of him, but the answer was folded up neatly in his wallet. “Where do you think all the chips came from? Your lucky day?”

  “Maybe. Prove it.”

  “It’s not that
big of a deal. All Centaurides have powers.”

  “So, you can’t prove it?”

  Frustrated at his disbelief, “I didn’t say that.”

  “Quick, how many quarters are in my pocket?”

  “This is silly. Can’t you just believe me?”

  “I knew it. You aren’t psychic. It’s okay, babe, a smokin’ body and a sense of humor are fine – you don’t have to have cool powers, too.”

  Was he serious? I was rationalizing with a juvenile. “I’m not going to do parlor tricks for your entertainment.”

  “What would you rather do to entertain me?” He wagged his eyebrows like an eighth grader.

  Did he really think he was funny or did he act this way just to annoy me? “Grow up.”

  “Just tell me you can’t do it.”

  “I said I’m not going to, I didn’t say I couldn’t.”

  He reached his hands into his pockets and jingled the change together. “C’mon, take a guess then.”

  “You want to know how many quarters are in your pocket?” I couldn’t believe I was going to stoop to the equivalent of a magician at a 5-year-old’s birthday.

  “Yeah.”

  “If I tell you, will you drop it?”

  “Of course.”

  “Fine. Five.”

  Daniel reached into his jeans and pulled out a handful of change. “Oh, so close. Sorry, babe. Four.”

  “Check your other pocket.”

  He pulled a lonely quarter out of the other pocket, and the smug look on his face was gone. His cockiness ebbed a little, “Lucky guess.”

  “Sure. It’s your story. Tell it any way you want.”

  “Oh yeah?” Still not believing me, he asked, “What’s my dad’s phone number?”

  “716-4210.”

  This was more fun than I’d expected. Daniel was seriously clueless about Centauride powers. He was sure I’d made it up. There were rules about revealing our powers to humans, but he was more Centaur than human – none of this should have been a surprise to him. If his mom were a half-blood and his father a pure-blood, maybe there was no one who would have told him. I guess it made sense that he might not know.

  “Is Cami psychic, too?”

  Of course. Everything always went back to Cami. I shrugged my shoulders. “She’s a Chiron.”

  “So, she’s psychic, too?”

  “You should ask her.”

  “Yeah, that’s not going to happen. She left, remember?”

  “It’s not like you won’t see her again.”

  His shoulders slumped and he looked away from me. The glee disappeared from his voice. “She told me goodbye, Jess.”

  “Weren’t you listening? We’re all meeting in Omaha in a couple weeks. Ask her whatever you want then.” He didn’t say anything. I was so used to him talking a mile-a-minute, it was odd for him to remain quiet. Didn’t he plan to go back to Omaha with the rest of us?

  He stared at the floor. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was memorizing the geometric patterns on the tile. His words were distant, “You ready to go up to the room, or what?”

  What wasn’t he telling me? I began searching his thoughts, but they were strange, different from before – detached. He said he didn’t like the cold – maybe he was swearing off Nebraska because of the temperatures. Maybe he was homesick and wanted to go back to his family. “Do you miss home?”

  He looked at me as if I’d grown a third eye. “Why would you ask that?”

  “I don’t know. Just wondering.”

  “No. Not much anyway.”

  “So why aren’t you going back with us to meet the others in Omaha? Is it the cold? Winter doesn’t last forever, ya know.”

  Daniel shook his head. “She told me goodbye.”

  “Cami? She told all of us goodbye.”

  “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “I bet I understand more than you know.”

  “Really?”

  “You have a crush on her and she’s with Drake now. You’re jealous. Get over it.” Wow, that felt good to say out loud.

  Daniel shook his head, “Not even close. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Drop it.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  “Okay, fine, I’m jealous. There. I said it. Let’s go upstairs.” He stood up and started walking toward the elevators. Something wasn’t right. I was really confused: he was lying to me – I could feel it. He wasn’t jealous of Drake, or if he was, it wasn’t jealous the way I’d believed.

  “Wait. Daniel. Stop. I don’t get you. Are you angry with her or something?”

  “Let it go. I’m fine. It’s been a long day.”

  I couldn’t miss the defeat in his voice if I’d tried. I tapped him on the temple with my index finger, “Tell me what’s going on inside that thick skull of yours.”

  “I can’t, Jess.” Only two people had ever called me Jess – Katherine and Gayle. It shouldn’t have mattered, lots of Jessicas shortened their names to Jess – but not me. I wanted to tell him it wasn’t okay, that “Jess” was reserved for people I couldn’t live without. Reality hit me – I had found a way to live without Gayle.

  Since Katherine and I ran away – thoughts of Gayle seemed to consume me. If she were here, she’d tell me to go for it with Daniel. She’d still be laughing about how he checked us into the hotel. I missed her. I wanted to know why he was being so evasive. I tried a different approach: lowering my voice, I looked up into his eyes, “Just try. Please. I want to know.”

  “Fine.” He sighed. “When she told me goodbye, it was like a piece of me walked away – a big piece. I’ve known everything about her – her whole life. I know why she won’t wear red shoes. I know why she’s scared of pigs. I know why she hates roses. I know everything about her past, but there’s no place for me in her future. I’m glad she’s got Drake. If I can’t be around, at least someone’s looking out for her.”

  “She won’t wear red shoes? Pumps or flats?”

  “What?” He shook his head as if “idiot” were printed on my forehead. “It doesn’t matter – she doesn’t wear any red shoes, ever. Why she won’t isn’t important. The fact that I know that and I’ve known it since eighth grade is what matters. How is Drake going to know that? What if he buys her a pair?”

  “You’re not making sense. So she tells him she doesn’t like them. Are you sure you’re not upset that they’re together?”

  Daniel shook his head. “I’m not human and I’m not a Centaur. I don’t fit anywhere. So, no, I’m not going to be that guy, the one everyone keeps around because they’re too kind to tell him to leave. I get that no one wants me around, and don’t worry, when you’re done with me – no hard feelings.”

  Daniel held out his hand to walk me back to the room. I was speechless. No one wanted him? I was at the airport when Camille screamed his name and he refused to turn around. I was at my bar when she first saw him and she lit up like a Christmas tree. I was in Katherine’s entryway when he risked his life to give her the man she wanted – even though Drake’s fury could have been a death sentence. Was he blind, deaf and dumb?

  “What makes you think I’m anything like Cami?” The words were out before I could take them back. I couldn’t lead him on. He wasn’t a Centaur – not really. A radical thought occurred to me. If I never went home, who would tell me I had to choose a pure-blooded Centaur? Who would tell me I had to choose anyone?

  We were kids when Gayle announced she was going on a date with a human. I thought she was kidding at first, but when I realized she was serious, I remember being so envious – jealous even. If my family couldn’t find me, I could be with whomever I wanted.

  “Duh, you’re both Centaurides. So you have the same powers and everything, right?”

  I covered my mouth to try to muffle the laugh. “Are you serious? Uh, no. I can’t do a tenth of what Cami can do.”

  Daniel turned his head as if he didn’t believe me. “Why not?”

  “Centaurides usually have
two skills. They come from the two dominate blood lines in them. Most can read minds, a lot of us can see hidden objects, some can communicate telepathically, some can move objects with their minds, some can see the future, and a few can communicate with spirits – only a Chiron has all the abilities.”

  “Wait, how do you know?”

  “Everyone knows. It’s always been that way. I’ve never been telepathic, but when Cami wants to talk to me that way, I can hear her and she can hear me. When you two came to my bar she started talking to me telepathically – it was amazing. I had heard about telepathic connections, every Centauride shares one with her betrothed, but I’d never experienced one before.”

  “Seriously? Why didn’t she tell me she could do all that stuff?”

  Because you’re not a Centaur. That’s what nearly slipped out. I shrugged my shoulders, “It’s not something easily worked into a conversation.”

  “Yeah, I guess not. But you’re really psychic?”

  “I can see objects, like cards. I can hear thoughts, and with some people I can dig through their minds to find thoughts.”

  Daniel blushed. Not a rosy pink, but a bright red embarrassed blush. “You know what I’m thinking?” An image of the two of us in a passionate embrace danced across his thoughts.

  My eyes went to the escort standing half way across the atrium. I lied. “Only if I try. I’m used to blocking everybody out. It gets a little overwhelming to hear thoughts in a crowded place like this.”

  Daniel looked relieved. “You ready to go upstairs? Ten bucks says Brent’s wrapped up in a snowmobile suit hiding in a closet, so he doesn’t inadvertently come in contact with Katherine.” Daniel’s hand rested on the small of my back as he led me toward the elevator. He didn’t mean anything by it. I’m sure it was a harmless gesture – something gentlemen do. His touch gave me a strange sensation – his hand didn’t bother me; the fact that I didn’t want him to move it scared the crap out of me.

  Chapter 18

  (Camille, Cancun, Mexico)