Seduction's Kiss

Chapter Five

I don't know what made me agree to dinner. Sure, Reyna would have been annoyed, and it would have made my living situation awkward, but Shaun was a creep. Surely that won out. But I did say yes. I felt a strange surge of confidence that made everything seem easier. Maybe Kalisa had actually done something with that ritual. Only instead of Seduction's Kiss she should have called it Confidence's Kiss.

Whatever the reason, I found myself sitting next to Shaun at an Italian restaurant less than twenty-four hours after creep-fest had started.

"I can't wait to see your costume." Shaun took a big bite of his pasta. "I know you're going to look so hot."

"Oh, I'll look hot." I'd decided to take a different approach with Shaun. He wasn't getting the time of day from me, but that didn't mean I couldn't mess with him a little.

He swallowed hard, and I struggled not to laugh.

"How was your morning exploring, Daisy?" Chad asked.

I paused to take a sip of water. "It was mostly uneventful."

"Uneventful?" Reyna laughed. "You found a Voodoo shop."

"Like I said, mostly uneventful."

"Was it down on Bourbon? Because those places are all tourist traps." Shaun sounded proud of himself, like he was saving me from having the wool pulled over my eyes.

"Yeah. I know." Something felt off agreeing with him though. Kalisa may have played with me, but I didn't like saying the Midnight Cauldron was a tourist trap. If nothing else the ambience had its own value and place.

Shaun set down his fork. "You should have asked me to come with you. You didn't have to do that alone."

I laughed dryly. "Yeah, asking you wasn't in the cards."

Chad suddenly grinned. "What? One night with him was enough?"

Wait. Did Chad actually think something had happened? Hadn't Reyna set him straight?

Before I could mull it over for too long, I felt a hand settle on my leg. I was already wearing the black skirt that was part of my cat costume. I'd packed one far less short than the one Reyna had suggested I wear.

"What can I say? I wore her out." He slid his hand up higher.

I smacked his hand away. "If by wearing me out you mean sending me out of his room running and screaming, then sure."

Chad laughed. "Ouch, man."

"To set the record straight absolutely nothing happened last night except this jerk trying to take advantage of me." Take that. I was on fire. If I'd felt this way the night before Shaun would have had a hand print across his face and a sore groin from me kicking him.

Reyna shot me a funny look, but I didn't care. Chad should know that his roommate was a total pervert. I hoped he didn't already know it. If so, he'd knowingly sent me to the lions and was not someone Reyna should be giving the time of day. You can tell a lot about a guy by the way he treats your friends.

"How drunk were you, Daisy?" Shaun smirked. "I think you're remembering things wrong."

Seriously? He was going to play that game?

"Remembering things wrong?" I tossed my napkin on the table. "No, I'm remembering things perfectly. If we had such a great night, why did you have to self-service this morning?"

The couple at the next table turned to look at us. I didn't care. I wasn't holding it in.

Shaun's response was to put his hand back on my leg.