Of Water and Madness (5 page)

They had, to his deep regret, never been close. Blythe was much more of a sister to him than his own flesh and blood, and that fact saddened him. But Cilla had never embraced his brotherly advances, had never seemed to want much to do with him, and so he had given up. Though he knew that if she ever asked him for anything, he wouldn’t hesitate to help her. She was his sister, after all, and he enjoyed helping people too much to not want to help her if she needed him. And his mother…well, she was kind, that much he knew. And she was soft spoken, lovely, and coolly distant without appearing cold like Serendipity. But it was still there, this emotional detachment toward everyone and everything. Sure, she could kiss and make it look loving, but he doubted whether there was really much sentiment behind such actions.

But his father had married her, so he must have seen something there worth taking. He’d never really asked him that question before, why he had married Clarity, but given the current circumstances now was probably not a good time.

Pushing the thought away, he turned back to his father, who had quietly begun to read again.

“You know, Jax looks like he could use a real drink…why don’t you go take Blythe off his hands and I’ll take him to our stash of booze in the parlor?” Liam suggested, grinning at the prospect. Maybe it’d be a good idea to snag Rian as well.

“I guess I could stretch out the old limbs for a bit.” Lucian grunted as he got to his feet, smiling as he patted his son on the back. “You never could dance as well as me, boyo.”

“That’s okay, I can still kick your ass at checkers.”

His father laughed as the two of them headed over to where Blythe, Jax, Capri and Rian were all sitting.

Both Jax and Rian looked more than a little bored, while the girls were chattering away about dresses. Content in his role as liberator, Liam leaned in between the two men, a hand on each of their shoulders while his father propositioned Blythe for a dance.

“There’s real booze inside. Whaddya say, boys?” Liam asked quietly, keeping his voice down so the women wouldn’t hear.

“Praise God, get me outta here, son.” Jax grunted, rising to his feet instantly. “I can’t take any more of these females.”

“Yes, but where would we be without them.” Rian shrugged, standing up as well. Capri looked up as she saw him leaving, concern in her eyes.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“I think we’re boring the boys.” Blythe grinned, standing beside Lucian and eyeing Jax with one eyebrow raised. “You gonna go get drunk somewhere, cowboy?”

“Maybe.” He grinned in return, the thin scar that ran down the left side of his face shifting from the movement as his hands tucked comfortably into the pockets of his jeans.

“Bring me some whiskey, will you?” Blythe asked as she waved them off and turned back to Lucian, who led her onto the dance floor.

Clynn approached and handed Capri a fresh flute of champagne before sitting beside her. She smiled at him before glancing up at Rian.

“Have fun.” She blew him a playful kiss and then laughed at herself. “I’ve always wanted to do that.”

Rian’s eyes softened as he leaned in to kiss the top of her head, his hand resting on her shoulder and squeezing gently.

“I love you,” he murmured, earning a sweet smile from her as he walked away with Liam and Jax.

Jax rubbed his hands together, an excited gleam in his eyes as he turned to Rian. “We haven’t had a real drink together since…well, shit, since that time in Transylvania. Remember that? Asshole demon thought he’d pretend to be Dracula and terrorize the tourists.”

Rian snorted and stared up at his friend. “I can’t believe you even remember that night.” He grinned at Liam as he patted Jax on the back. “Murphy let the locals talk him into drinking an entire bottle of some crazy Eastern European liquor that was in an unmarked bottle. Needless to say, I had to drag him back to the hotel while he sobbed for his mother.”

“Whoa, now.” Jax stopped mid-step and pointed a finger at Rian in warning. “I thought we weren’t gonna talk about that part of our little excursion ever again.”

“Oops.” Rian shrugged, grinning as Jax punched him in the arm.

“Hey now, no fighting till there’s booze. That way it’s fair,” Liam laughed, leading the way into the parlor.

“I don’t want to leave Capri alone for too long, so just one drink for me,” Rian told them, earning an amused look from Jax.

“Son, this is your engagement party. I’d say you deserve more than one drink. She’ll be just fine without you for awhile. Blythe will keep her plenty entertained.”

Rian still looked uncertain, but he smiled at his old friend. “Just don’t make me have to drag you upstairs to your bed this time.”

Jax just slung an arm over Rian’s shoulders and grinned.

“I could find Blythe’s bed even if I was deaf, blind and stupid,” he joked, earning a disparaging look from Liam.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” He shook his head as he stepped up to the wooden bar in the far corner of the parlor, pointing to the two stools in front of it. “Sit down, gentlemen, and tell me your poison.”

“Jack Daniels, straight up,” Jax drawled as he took a seat. “And get my boy here the same thing.”

Liam obliged, pulling out the bottle of Jack with easy finesse and pouring three glasses. He set two on the bar top and then lifted his own in a toast.

“To Rian and Capri.” He beamed, pleased when Rian nodded appreciatively.

“Rian and Capri.” Jax grinned, tapping his glass against the others before taking a deep sip and sighing. “Reminds me of home.”

“Is it strange for you, living here?” Liam asked, leaning against the bar top and enjoying the burn the whiskey left as it slid hotly down his throat.

Jax shrugged. “I never expected I’d live here, that’s for sure.”

“Funny how things change, huh?” Liam asked, turning to Rian. “And here we are, three very lucky men.”

Rian chuckled, sipping more of his whiskey. “I never thought I’d love anybody, much less her. But I do.” He paused, staring into his glass, his brow creasing. “She’s my light.”

“I know what you mean,” Jax agreed, smiling at his friend. “Hell, I never thought you’d get hitched either, but here we are.”

“And I never thought you’d let a woman hang around longer than a day,” Rian put in with a knowing smile.

“Hey now,” Jax started, wagging his nearly empty glass at Rian defensively. “She isn’t like other women, okay? You both know that. She’s…damnit, I don’t know. But there’s something about her that gets under my skin and stays there. She sticks, and she doesn’t let go. But by the time you realize she’s got you, you don’t want to let go either. Does that make sense?”

Liam shifted his weight and nodded, pleased to hear the honesty in the other man’s voice. “Perfectly. Blythe’s never been one to do things halfway. It’s all or nothing with her, and once she has her mind made up, she stays the course. I’m glad she found you, Jax, I really am.”

“I’m the one who should be glad,” Jax acknowledged, shaking his head. “That little redhead is the best thing that ever walked into my life.”

“How is Rhiannon doing?” Rian asked suddenly, watching Liam with serious eyes.

“Better, much better. She’s nearly herself again.” Liam played with the glass in his hands, watching what remained of the whiskey slide around seductively. “I’ve waited my entire life for her, you know?”

Rian nodded, and Jax reached over to pat Liam on the shoulder. “I didn’t give her enough credit at first, but she’s tough as nails, that girl.”

“Yes, she is,” Liam agreed, lifting his glass for another toast. “To the women.”

They touched glasses and downed what was left of the whiskey in an ancient and time honored male tradition.

“Another,” Liam announced, reaching for the bottle and cheerfully pouring more dark amber liquid into the glasses.

“I should go back,” Rian began, only to be halted by Jax.

“Oh no you don’t. We aren’t done with you yet.” His mouth flashed into a wicked grin, and Rian took a deep breath and obligingly sat back down.

“One more. Then I’m calling it quits,” he told them seriously as he lifted the now full glass up for another toast.

“Sure thing, pal. Whatever you say.” Liam grinned, enjoying the sound of glass hitting glass as they toasted.

“So I told
him,I said ‘Jax, you gotta keep a level head if you’re gonna date my sister, because she’s crazy.’”

Rhiannon scowled at Liam as she tried to support his weight, rolling her eyes. “That’s not a very nice thing to say about Blythe.”

“What? She is crazy,” Liam reasoned, dragging his feet as Rhiannon led him up the stairs to his room. “But that’s what makes her so special.”

“I can’t imagine she’d appreciate you warning her boyfriend that way. Now he might think she’ll try and poison him or something.”

“Eh.” Liam waved the thought away, letting out a whoosh of breath the second they reached the top step. “God, that’s a lot of stairs.”

“You’re just a lot of drunk.” Rhiannon sighed, her own head swimming slightly from too much champagne. “Now come on, you need to sleep this off.”

“With you around, baby, who can sleep.” Liam chuckled, his hand squeezing her waist playfully.

Rhiannon snorted out a laugh as she pulled him along the hallway, hoping she could make it to his room before he passed out. At least he was still awake, though, along with Jax. Rian had already passed out at the bar in the parlor by the time they had found them.

Rhiannon smiled to herself at the memory of Blythe bursting into the parlor, Capri and herself in tow, wanting to know where the hell they were. They found the two of them laughing like manic fools and falling over drunk, and Blythe’s expression of both relief and spitting mad anger had been priceless.

Capri had soothingly awoken Rian and helped him up to his room, while Blythe and Jax had viciously argued and then lustily made up within a shockingly rapid two minute altercation. And she had been left to deal with Liam, who thankfully was the least drunk of the three. But, gauging by the way he kept swaying away from her and stumbling, he was still way drunker than she had ever witnessed.

“Promise me I won’t have to haul you around like this ever again. It’s so embarrassing,” she managed, huffing a bit as he leaned into her and she had to support nearly all of his weight so he wouldn’t fall to the floor.

“Hey, I’m fine,” he said, attempting to straighten himself and walk on his own. “See?”

He ran headlong into the wall, causing her to laugh despite herself. By the time he’d righted himself, looking both embarrassed and confused, she had to cup her hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter. Others were already asleep, after all, and they had to at least try and be quiet.

She shushed him when he started laughing as well, and in response he rounded on her, pressing her into the wall, his hands running up and down her sides.

“You look good enough to eat, Rhia,” he murmured with a slow smile, leaning in to trail his lips along her neck and nibble at her collar bone. It took all the control she had not to melt to the floor that very moment.

“You’re drunk, and I’m tipsy, and this is probably not the best idea right now.” She had to bite back a groan when he pressed against her, his lips finding hers hungrily.