My Night Breeze (The Breeze Series) (24 page)

Thinking on her feet, she slipped
out of Stephen’s grasp allowing them to dance together. Finding Mateo and Ryan dancing with Molly made her smile even that much wider. She joined their group, allowing herself to be a little freer with her dance moves. Mateo focused his attention on her just as much as she focused on him while dancing. She was mesmerized by him.

“My turn
,” Ryan said.

He nudged
Mateo out of the way with a laugh. Audra danced with him for a short period of time before thirst started to get the better of her. She nodded in the direction of the refreshment table and Ryan agreed. The table was covered with cups and napkins while two teachers supervised it. Ryan grabbed two cups of fruit punch, handing one to her.

“Thanks. I needed this.”

“Yeah, it’s getting warm out there,” he admitted.

Audra sipped
her drink while scanning the crowd. Even in the dim light and flashing colors, she spotted Jim dancing with a group of girls. Not to be outdone, Tobias had his own fan club surrounding him, too. She shook her head, resting her attention on her group of friends. The foursome laughing and dancing without a care. It was a miracle that everything seemed to come together this way.

“Are you sugared up?”

Audra chuckled before finishing her cup. “I am now.”

“Al
l right, let’s give Chris and Stephen a run for their money.”

“Sure
,” she laughed further.

Following Ryan’s lead throu
gh the mass of people, she lost him, but knowing where the group was, she tried to move through. Maneuvering through the crowd was even more difficult when another popular song hit the speakers. She made it a few more feet until a hand was stretched out with palm up. She looked up into light green eyes and bright red hair with a familiar smile.

When she had
n’t placed her hand in his, he took charge grabbing her arms and wrapping them around his neck. He began to sway their bodies together in time with the music bringing back memories of the last party she went to. It wasn’t welcome…not tonight. As she started to unhinge herself, a fiery heat started to collect in her stomach. An almost unstoppable urge to throw up overcame her.

Audra escaped
his grasp, running towards the exit. Only once outside in the much colder temperature did the urge start to subside slightly. She took deep breaths to calm her system down, but it didn’t make sense, not in the least. Was she still sick? Did she catch something?

She coughed
a few times while inhaling the coldness. It seemed to soothe her further until her nerves settled back down. She had barely been there for an hour, and she was already starting to lose it? There was no explanation to give about what happened; she couldn’t even begin to understand.

“There you are
,” Tobias said. “I was worried.”

Her stomach began
to bubble causing a soft burp to rise up her throat, burning with the acids.

“Sick?”
he inquired further.

“Maybe
,” she barely got out.

Her stomach started
to rumble louder in turmoil. A dry heave started to come up, but she placed her hand over her mouth to hold it back. Panic started to take over as the heat began to rise once again. Her breath came shallower as an odd feeling began to tingle about her. Even so, the urge to scream out loud was strong.

“What are
you doing out here?” Mateo asked.

The tone of his deep voice wa
s authoritative, like an unmovable boulder. She glanced at him standing tall, chin up high with that same stormy look in his eye that she had seen before. His attention was completely on Tobias. Unfortunately, Tobias had no clue what he was getting himself into.

“Go ins
ide,” Audra practically whispered at Tobias.

T
he macho man confrontation seemed to have blinded both of them as to why they were out there. She grit her teeth trying to hold back as much as possible. Deep breaths did little to calm, her but she wouldn’t stop trying.

“Dude, you need to chill out and go back inside
,” Tobias says.

“And leave her out here defenseless? I don’t think so.”

“I wouldn’t let anything happen to Audra. And who are you to say anything to me?” he continued.

“I’m the one who took her home after
you
slipped alcohol into her drinks.”

Audra felt
another wave of nausea hit and ducked between two cars. Bending over at the waist, she tried to calm herself, but it only sent more burning burps out of her mouth. The saliva in her mouth started to hurt as well causing a piercing scream to roar out of her throat. As it pierced through the night air, a burst of orange flame shot out towards the pavement, melting the snow in that spot.

The second his hand touched her back, the heat within her seemed t
o be doused instantly. It happened so quickly that she could barely make sense of what happened. Had she just breathed out fire? She took her time to stand up fully, but he wouldn’t take his hand away. Coolness spread all throughout her system causing her to lean against him with relief. Exhausted, her lids barely lifted to take in Tobias’s worried face. Her insides quivered from the intense experiences but she couldn’t voice how she truly felt. She swallowed, glad to see her body reacting normally once again, to speak to her friend.

“I have really bad heartburn. It makes me sick sometimes.”

“Heartburn? It’s never made anyone scream like that. Tell me the truth,” Tobias demanded.

H
is glare between her and Mateo wasn’t missed, but the topic wasn’t up for discussion. At least not with her.

“I’m not handling it well. And being around you right now isn’t good for me. I know what you did and believe that I’m beyond pissed with you. But I’m not ready to go there tonight.”

“Let me just talk to you,” Tobias finished. “Alone.”

Audra glimpsed over at him
, but Mateo refused to budge from her side. She looked up into his stormy gray eyes once again, but the decision had been made. Not wanting to push further, she shrugged weakly. Deep down, a slight fear started to rise realizing her words may have sent Mateo away completely. What if she were to accidentally hurt Tobias? She was annoyed with him, but she’d never forgive herself if she ever hurt him.

“I trusted you and you made me regret it. You knew how I felt
, but you did it anyway. Regardless that nothing bad happened to me while on it; I won’t be able to forgive you so easily. I’m not saying that I won’t forgive you at all, but it will take time.”

“It was stupid
, but you were finally starting to come around. I thought it was helping,” he admitted.

“I won’t tell Jim
, but I need you to go back inside.”

Audra walked
towards Mateo’s vehicle, feeling him with his hands gripped, watching Tobias walk back inside. He placed his fists on the roof of the car. She didn’t touch him, knowing he could feel her presence. When he turned to face her, there was a strange distance in his eyes, something she’d never seen before. All she could do was stare at him, afraid to say anything that would upset him.

“Heartburn
?”

“I couldn’t thi
nk of anything else,” she admitted.

“How long have you known?”

“Known about what?”

Mateo rushed
up into her face, anger pure and headed straight for her. “Don’t play stupid with me. I saw you spit fire tonight. Fire, Audra!”

“I felt sick. I thought I was going to throw up
, and it just happened. Why would you think that I would understand any of this?”

He searched
her face for the truth and seemed only slightly appeased. “Then we have a bigger issue.”

“What?”

“One thing at a time. Do you think Tobias will leave you alone now?”

“Yes
.”

“Good
,” Mateo said clearly.

“What’s the bigger issue?”

“Someone spiked the punch,” he advised.

“How
do…Ryan?”

Mateo
nodded as his eyes scanned behind her. Fear started to trickle in once again, igniting the warmth in her stomach. Panicking, she started to hyperventilate. He placed his hands on her hips, using his powers to cool her down again. What was happening to her? She sighed, unable to help it.

“What happened to Ryan?”

“He had his own attack. That’s why it took me a minute to notice you were gone, but I saw Tobias going out the door.”

“Mateo…I’m scared.”

He embraced her fully, resting his chin upon the top of her head. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise. We’ll figure this out.”

In t
he madness of it all, her body was chilled almost down to the bone between the outside temperature and his cool touch. She tried to snuggle closer against him, tucking her head into the crook of his neck. The warmth of his skin against hers caused her to lick her lips. Anxiousness trembled inside, a warning of past experiences. He pulled back a little to look into her eyes completely; a mixture of emotions flew through them.

“Tonight is our night.”

“This is dangerous.”

Her mind reverted
back to a scene from long ago. Something so far away and yet close enough to touch.

“If we do this, there is no going b
ack. And I understand,” she said.

Shock froze
his features, leaving her with the upper hand. “Mateo, I understand.”

She tilted
her head up towards his to give him the opportunity. Indecision crossed his features once more, but a surge glossed over his eyes. He leaned down, lightly pressing his forehead against hers letting the sides of their noses touch. His breath grazed her lips, allowing her to inhale him. Slowly, he closed the minimal distance, brushing his lips against hers.

The feeling of his pier
cing against her lips encouraged her to press firmly against him, giving him everything she had. As the anxiety dissipated, the same light-weight brightness started to bubble up. She felt like a firework—set, lit and shooting up into the sky—only to burst in beautiful colors for the world to see.

Her heart raced
uncontrollably while trying to soak up every sensation. The passionate kiss seared right down to her soul. One of his hands on her hip started to roam up her back, tugging her even closer as he groaned into her mouth. Audra clutched him just as fiercely; her lifeline of possibilities.

“Well
, look at this.”

Breaking the kiss wa
s almost physically painful. Audra turned towards the voice just as Mateo clutched her back against his chest. Misunderstanding, she tried to wriggle out of his grasp, uncomfortable to be seen in public this intimately. Even in the shadows of the night, she couldn’t miss that bleached blond hair anywhere.

“Was it worth it?” Chris asked
.

“Leav
e her out of this,” Mateo stated.

“It’s her fa
ult to begin with,” Chris stated.

“What are yo
u talking about?” she interrupted.

“Stay out of it
,” Mateo said at the same time Chris asked, “Makes sense now.”

Mateo tugged
her behind him, protectively. She was unsure of what was going on, but metal objects were slipped quietly into her fingers. It took all her restraint not to look down, using her fingers to figure out which had the thick car key shell. While staring ahead, she maneuvered the key into the slot, unlocking it.

“I had no clue about her
, which made sense since she obviously has no clue about herself,” Chris commented, pacing before them. “Want to know what the giveaway was?” He didn’t wait for a response. “Oddly enough, it was Stephen. I baked him something with an extra kick. Not only did it not have any effect on him, but our little Audra here got extremely sick.”

“You tried to feed it into him? That process wouldn’t last longer t
han a few days, tops,” Mateo stated.

“Trial and error
,” Chris said. “But now I can have exactly what I want.”

Chris started
to run with full force towards them, his eyes fixed upon Audra, but Mateo ran just as quickly towards him. They collided and rolled, throwing punches between each other. Chris received two punches into his stomach before Mateo threw one powerful punch to his face. The snap sounded loud even from where Audra was still frozen in place.

Mateo got
up, trying to jog towards her. She opened the car door to slip inside just as Chris managed to get up and run once again full force towards Mateo. Terror severely wracked her body at the impending physical confrontation between them when she suddenly fell down to her knees. Hyperventilating didn’t describe the amount of constant quick breaths causing her to lose control.

Her si
ght was brighter as a sudden burst of heat exploded from inside of her and out towards Chris. His suit jacket caught fire. He quickly tried to take it off and throw it, but she lashed out again, this time lower. Her chest rose and fell quickly with the huge amount of focus and fear and anger all rolled up towards Chris.