Punished Arelia LaRue Book #2 Read online

  “Arelia?” Tony’s dry voice interrupted my thoughts.

  Why the hell had he followed me? I wiped my tears and prayed that he hadn’t heard me talking to Bade. “What do you want?”

  He sat down beside me. His eyes were filled with remorse. It was the first time I ever saw him look utterly uncomfortable. He tugged down his tie and toyed with his ear. He did that whenever he was nervous. The sunset bathed him in a soft yellow glow, and I cursed myself for not finding him hideous.

  “Please don’t cry.” He reached out and attempted to wipe away a stray tear.

  I pushed his hand away. “Don’t touch me! Go back to mommy. Why are you even at Darkwood?”

  “My mother wanted to come,” he said quietly, as he studied me with his cold eyes. “She wanted to see how large the LaPlante estate was if the rumors of their wealth were true.”

  “Of course she did.” Grand-mere had warned me never to mess with random spirits, but she had never preached against the dangers of messing with the wrong guy. She assumed that I knew that already given my mom’s history and all. Besides, I never told her about Tony either.

  After a long pause, he said, “Arelia, I’ve missed you.”

  “Well, I haven’t missed you.” I lied. At that second, the very sight of him infuriated me, and I wanted nothing more to hurt him like he had hurt me. I wanted to pluck out his hair and make a Tony voodoo doll; it would be a perfect test spell.

  “I know you’re angry at me, but the only thing I can say is, I’m sorry,” he pleaded.

  “You don’t even know the meaning of that word. I don’t need your ‘sorry’. I trusted you. I loved you, but you never cared. Well, you pretended to care because that’s what you do. You get a sick thrill out of making people believe you love them only to hurt them!”

  “I did care about you.” His voice was barely audible.

  “Then why didn’t you ever stand up for me?” I asked the one question that had tormented me for the past year. My voice was cold and detached. “Wasn’t I worth it? Why did you pretend that we were nothing?”

  He shrugged and scratched his nose. “I don’t know. I was afraid, but I’ve changed,” he swore.

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I turned to look at him, furious. “Are you kidding me? Changed? Really? You’re eighteen, but you’re still your mom’s puppet, and that will you never change.”

  “That’s not true, Arelia. You loved me. It was frightening because you didn’t give a crap about my family’s name or status. My money didn’t impress you. You’re the only person who’s ever had the guts to look my mom in the eye. I didn’t know what to make of that. I didn’t know how to handle someone like you, someone…”

  “Someone not safe,” I cut him off. “Someone from the wrong family? Someone with definitely the wrong amount of money?”

  I got up to leave, but Tony stood up and pulled me close to him. He tenderly nuzzled my moist neck. “I miss you, the way you smell, your smile, the way you always put me in my place, I miss us. I’m an idiot for letting you go. Melissa was so dull, and the whole time I was with her, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I shouldn’t have kept you a secret. I was terrified of my parents, but I’m learning how not to be. I promise I won’t let them get in the way of us ever again,” he promised. “I never stopped loving you. I love you, Arelia.”

  To my horror, I trembled in his steady arms; the smell of his overpriced musky cologne was familiar and had once been so reassuring.

  I tried to pull away. Don’t let creepy people near you, don’t let creepy people kiss you, but my heart pounded and my eyes closed, as his silky lips pressed against mine. I gave into the slow, gentle, Sazerac infused kiss. Eventually, I gathered enough force to pull away.

  “This changes nothing,” I snapped. “I don’t feel like being masochistic anymore. This is the last time you’ll ever see me cry.” I left a confused Tony standing under a splendid oak with the sun descending behind him. If this was a year ago, I would have liquefied at the mere sight of him. He was a perfectly dull but strangely beautiful creature.

  I hated to admit that when he kissed me, I had felt something, even though I had no idea what it was. Maybe it was nostalgia or resolution. The last thing I wanted it to be was anything that remotely resembled love. Suddenly, I realized that dealing with people was just as complicated as dealing with powerful spirits. The difference was humans had the power to break your heart. Spirits didn’t.

  Chapter 16

  What will happen to me?

  As I approached the porch, I saw Lucus pacing back and forth. He slowly sipped a drink from a crystal glass and stared at something in his hand. I stopped for a moment and admired the breathtaking sight of his broad shoulders and lustrous hair against the colorful fading sky. He was bathed in an eerie glow and even from where I was standing; I could see his face was uneasy, as if he were struggling with a decision. My shoulders tensed and I stood frozen on the freshly cut lawn. I didn’t want him to see my tear-streaked face. The last thing I felt like doing was answering questions.

  “He saw you Arelia,” whispered Bade.

  “Saw me what?” I asked, even though I kind of already knew the answer.

  “You know.”

  “So what if he saw me kiss Tony? Lucus and I are just friends. I’m only helping him. There’s nothing more to it.”

  “You’re so silly Arelia, you’re still running.” Obviously Bade thought he knew more about me than I did.

  “Thanks for the info, Bade.” Shoes in hand, I took a deep breath and walked up the humid steps. I tried to be totally calm and composed, but without the heels, the dress was too long and I almost tripped over the stupid thing.

  Luckily, Lucus secured me before I fell flat on my face. “You disappeared,” he said, as he slowly released me.

  I let out a nervous laugh. “Why, did you miss me?” I teased, not wanting him to know that I was secretly flattered.

  “Perhaps, just a little,” he confessed, as he put his glass down and reached out to wipe the mascara streaks that had accumulated under my eyes and down my sweaty cheeks. His touch was cool and inviting from the icy drink that had been in his hand. It was a welcome release from all the craziness that was going on around me. I allowed him to wipe away the stains and ugliness that marked my face.

  “How did you even notice? You were too busy being harassed by Mrs. Dumpty.” I raised a suspicious eyebrow.

  His eyes danced as the vanishing light hit them. “I notice when you’re not in a room,” he said simply. “How can I not?”

  “So you are my stalker, aren’t you?” I joked, but in reality, those words filled me with unexpected elation. I kind of wanted him to stalk me, as twisted as that sounded.

  He let out a small laugh, as he gaze held mine. “I’m not admitting to anything.”

  “Where’s Sabrina?” I asked. I hoped she was still dancing with Mr. Dumpty or arguing with Ivan. I wanted to stand on the marble porch with Lucus for just a while longer.

  “I believe she’s dancing with Mr. Dumpty.” He took a deep breath and reached into his pocket. “I wanted to give you something.”

  Curiosity got the best of me, as I eyed the object in his hand. “What?”

  He demonstrated a delicate silver necklace adorned with a small dagger charm.

  “This necklace was given to my mother by your great great-great grand-mere. After we found out about the curse, my mother went somewhat mad. She questioned the meaning of her devotion to God and the church, the significance of heaven and hell. She prayed infinitely for my soul, but her beloved Father Rodrigo couldn’t provide her with any answers. By some miraculous force, your grand-mere was the one who gave her comfort by telling her that each and every soul had a purpose, and nature would not let anyone suffer unnecessarily. She told her that this necklace was a representation of Erzulie’s strength and that my mother needed to be strong for my sake. For some reason, those words were the ones that she needed to hear, wanted to hear. She
put aside her own prejudices and finally understood that nature wasn’t confined to one church or belief. After that she never took this off. It hung alongside extravagant pearls, jewels, and crosses, but it never once left her neck. After she died, I took it from her. I never could bring myself to look at it until now. Now, I think it belongs to you, as a reminder that whatever happens, you need to believe in your own strength.” He examined me for a reaction.

  “Why do you have so much faith in me? How can you believe something that can’t be proven by logic?” I asked. “You believe in my strength even after what happened last night. Don’t you have any uncertainty that maybe I’ll turn out to be useless?”

  “When I choose to believe something, I never believe with half my heart. What’s the purpose in that?”

  Lucus’ belief in me was unwavering even after I had let him get sucked dry by Sousson Pannan. His faith was strong; he didn’t need proof or logic. Maybe I could learn something from that. I reached out and took the necklace from him; it was much heavier than it looked. In the middle of the dagger, there was a small ruby.

  “Seven stabs of the dagger,” Lucus whispered, as he watched me pass my fingers against the shiny surface of the jewel. “My blood is pouring down.”

  I looked up at him in surprise. “You know that chant?”

  He nodded. “It was the chant you used to ward off that spirit.”

  Oh God, he had heard that. Did he also hear me sing to him while he slept? I was mortified. If he had, he didn’t say anything. “I can’t take it, it’s yours.” I handed it back to him.

  “It’s yours now.” He gently spun me around. His fingertips on the nape of my neck sent vibrant chills through my body despite the heat.

  “What was my great great-great grand-mere like?” I asked suddenly curious to know where I came from.

  “She was like you, stubborn, moody, determined, but kind,” he said, as he clasped the necklace around me.

  I turned my head to face him. “I’m not stubborn.”

  “I’m the pathetic one?” Tony’s voice alarmed me. He stood on the porch with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed.

  I pulled away from Lucus and stood to face him. “What do you want Tony?”

  “We just kissed, and now you’re with this guy? I know you felt something Arelia. You and I aren’t over.” His expression was hard, as he eyed Lucus with contempt.

  “What I do is none of your business,” I said, as I stood on my toes and defended myself.

  Tony looked over me and set his eyes on Lucus. “She’ll never really love you,” he said with a vain confidence that only the truly privileged possessed.

  “Arelia there you are.” Sabrina came stumbling through the front door with a Hurricane in her hand. Obviously, Mr. Dumpty was rubbing off on her. “Hey Tony.”

  “Hey,” I said, as I stepped down and backed away from Tony.

  “Lucus! I’ve been looking all over for you. The ballroom is empty without you, sugar.” She stood on her toes and gave him a long smooch on the cheek. It left a huge red lipstick stain. My left eye twitched at the sight. “Come on let’s get a dance in before dinner.”

  “Sabrina, I can’t. I apologize. I have to go attend to things in the kitchen.” His eyes met mine, and he gave me a small smile which went unnoticed by Sabrina. “Excuse me.” He acknowledged Tony, peeled Sabrina away from him and headed inside.

  “Ah, what’s with him! He’s so sullen, why doesn’t he just kiss me already? It’s been forever!” Sabrina whined as she chugged down the rest of her Hurricane. Her make-up was smudged, and she was oblivious that she had lost one of her diamond earrings.

  “Why don’t you ask Arelia?” Tony said.

  “Huh? What you mean?” Confusion crossed Sabrina’s face as she looked from Tony to me.

  “Go on Arelia; tell Sabrina why that guy isn’t interested in her.”

  “Shut-up Tony,” I hissed. “Sabrina don’t listen to him, he’s just like his Mom.” My eyes blazed with fury as I saw a sparkle form in Tony’s eyes.

  “Arelia, I’m thirsty tonight, I can help you,” whispered a familiar voice. It was Sousson Pannan. Shivers overtook me at the sound of his wicked tone. “I can help you get revenge on this Tony; he’s hurt you, hasn’t he? Give me a bottle of rum and I can take care of him.”

  Although Sousson Pannan’s offer was beyond tempting, I knew that it wasn’t right. No one deserved to die like that, not even Tony.

  I needed to get Sabrina inside the house and safe. “Let’s go inside, I’m hungry.” I grabbed her and pulled her inside the house before Tony could say another word.

  Sabrina’s blue eyes were suspicious, as she examined my face. “What did he mean, Arelia?” she demanded, as she tapped her stiletto against the marble floor.

  “I’ll be in there when you’re ready to talk,” Tony said, as he headed back to the ballroom.

  How was I going to explain this one to her? I took a deep breath and decided to tell her the truth about Tony and me. “Do you remember last summer when you went to Spain?”

  “Yeah, a few weeks after your grand-pere died, you said you were okay.”

  “Remember I worked at one of Tony’s family’s hotels?”

  “I don’t know how you put up with horse-faced Mrs. Dreaux, but yeah, so what?”

  I took a deep breath. “Well, I kinda fell for Tony.”

  “What!” Sabrina exploded. I could see drool forming at the corner of her thin lips as she digested the juicy tidbit that had been thrown at her. “You and Tony! But…you’ve never gone out with a guy ever! Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I don’t know. It happened so fast. Grand-pere’s death hit me a lot harder than I thought and then when you left for the summer, I was kind of lost. Tony was around and he seemed really nice, you know… He listened to me at a time I needed someone to talk to. I thought he was hot, and one thing led to another.” I didn’t want to start crying again.

  “But he treated you like crap?” Sabrina filled in the blanks.

  I nodded sullenly. “It was my own fault. I didn’t stand up for myself. He convinced me that we should keep our relationship low-key, and I stupidly agreed. After his parents found out, they fired me. He just left me hanging and then went out with Melissa Labouf.”

  “Eww, why would he go out with her? She’s got such bad hair. You’re way hotter.” She suddenly stopped talking, and her eyes grew wide. “Ohh.”

  I knew what Sabrina was thinking even though she didn’t say it.

  “I know,” I said softly. “The Labouf’s are the fourth richest family in New Orleans. Anyways, the Dreaux’s are here for the summer, and Tony won’t leave me alone. When he saw me with Lucus, he was just being an ass.”

  “I’m sorry, Arelia.” Sabrina wrapped her arms around me and encased me in an overwhelming cloud of Chanel 5. “Mrs. Dreaux is a bitch, Mr. Dreaux is a cheater and Tony isn’t that hot.” She paused and looked at me. “Do you still love him?”

  I let out a heavy sigh and shook my head. “I don’t know, I don’t think I do.”

  Her lower lip trembled. “So, there isn’t anything going on with you and Lucus?”

  I know I should have told her the truth, but I couldn’t. I honestly didn’t know what was going on with me and Lucus. All I knew was that… I was…just… “I’m being polite. That’s all,” I said the first thing that came to mind.

  Sabrina let out a huge sigh of relief, as she let go of me. “Do you want me to go say something bitchy to Mrs. Dreaux? You know I’ll do it,” she offered.

  I let out a dry laugh. “No, that’s okay.”

  “If Lucus doesn’t fall in love with me who’s going to take care of me?” she grimly asked out of nowhere. “What will happen to me?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked not really sure what she was meant.

  “Oh please, Arelia. You know ever since Vanessa died, my parents can barely look at me. My Mom’s a psycho who thinks her daughter is still alive even though it’s been
forever.”

  Sympathy washed over me as I thought about Vanessa, Sabrina’s older sister whose body had never been found. The accident happened eleven years ago, but Sabrina’s Mom refused to give up hope that her daughter was still alive and basically spent all her free time in Morocco chasing after a ghost.

  “Hey, you always have me and grand-mere.” I put my arm around her. “You don’t need a guy to take you in. You’re not an orphan or anything. Plus, there are tons of other guys out there.”

  She let out a small laugh. “Not like him! I want him to love me,” she pouted. “I need him to love me.”

  My heart stopped for a few seconds as I tried to think of what to say. “I’m sure he will,” I said finally, as I dropped my hand from her shoulder.

  Sabrina immediately perked up and ran her fingers through her blond hair. “You’re right! He will. I’m going to go fix my makeup.” She gave me another tight hug. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

  Chapter 17

  People Like that Don’t Care about People like Us

  After she left, for some strange reason I felt guilty. I hadn’t really lied to her about Lucus and me, because there wasn’t anything going on, or so I told myself. I headed to the kitchen and let myself into the garden, so I could visit my flowers and be alone for a few minutes. To my surprise, Lucus was there. He sat on a white metal chair and stared at the chrysanthemums. The sight of him mixed with the bitter-sweet scent of the flowers made me faint and light-headed.

  “Hey,” I said. I suddenly felt very unsure of how to act or what to say.

  “Arelia.” His face brightened as he rose from the chair. “I thought you’d come here.”

  “Of course you did.”

  He shook his head and gave me a large smile that made my knees weak.

  “Thank you for the necklace,” I said, as I tried to regain my poise.

  “It looks beautiful on you,” he whispered, as he came closer.

  “That thing you saw outside with…” For some reason, I felt the need to explain my kiss with Tony, but I didn’t know how, so I stared at the ground. I felt so bad for feeling the way I did, especially when I knew Sabrina was basically obsessed with Lucus.