Tainted Kiss (Tainted Knights 1)

“What do you think?” Kale asked close to my ear, making me shiver at the feel of his breath on my neck.

I glanced up at him. “I like it. It would take some getting used to for me, though. I don’t hang out in places like this much.”

“I’m glad. Especially if you go out like that.” His eyes roved over me, those green orbs on fire. For me. “My sanity is already starting to crack, doll. These vultures are staring at my girl, and I’m about to lose my shit.”

My girl? Damn, I really liked the sound of that.

I leaned into him and stepped onto my tiptoes to brush my lips over his cheek. “I think it’s super cute that you’re all possessive, but you should know that I wouldn’t ever look twice at this crowd. I like you, Kale. A lot.”

Even over the pounding music, I heard his sharp inhale. “Doll …”

“Kale!”

I jerked back at the sound of a female voice calling his name.

Turning my head, I saw a group of girls standing by the bar. Two blondes, two brunettes, and a redhead who stood several inches above the others were heading straight for us. I recognized the redhead and one of the blondes—Kin and Kassa were hard to forget—but the others were strangers to me. And they were all so beautiful I suddenly felt pathetically plain.

It was the smaller of the two brunettes that reached us first, and for a moment, I thought she looked familiar. She had long, curly hair and a complexion that was a mixture of both olive and cream. Her eyes were a darker brown than my own, and her face was so beautiful I doubted anyone could look at her once and get their fill. I was having trouble looking away myself. She had a bright smile on her face, and when she raised her hands to hug Kale, I saw a huge rock on her left hand.

“Hey, stranger,” she greeted, hugging the drummer tight for a second.

He hugged her back with one arm, but it didn’t last long, and then she was turning that smile on me.

“Hi, I’m Lucy. You must be Santana. My aunt talks about you all the time.”

It took less than two seconds to put together who this girl was.

“You’re Emmie’s niece?” I didn’t know much about Emmie’s family, other than what I saw in the tabloids on a regular basis, but I did know a little about this particular member because Emmie had told me about her a few times.

She was the adopted daughter of Jesse and Layla Thornton, and she was going to UCLA and majoring in English. She was also engaged to Harris Cutter, who owned the club I was standing in.

Lucy nodded. “One of many,” she said with a wink. “Aunt Em talks about you every time you do a shoot for her. I’ve seen some of your work. You have some sick talent.”

“Thank you,” I murmured, a little embarrassed, yet touched that Emmie raved about my work to her family.

Emmie Armstrong didn’t hand out compliments often, so when she did, people took notice. They also took her word as gospel and jumped when she referred someone to them, which was how I had gotten such an extensive cliental list at such a young age.

She glanced at the other girls in her group. “I think you know Kin and Kassa.” She motioned to the other two girls. “This is Angie. She’s Kin’s stepsister.” The small little blonde waved. “And this is Jenna.” The taller brunette lifted her chin, giving me a half-smile.

“Hi,” I murmured, a little intimidated by them.

I felt frumpy and dull around this group of hot chicks. I probably would have felt the same way no matter what I had worn or how long it had taken me to get ready.

When Kale’s hand returned to the small of my back, I instantly felt more at ease.

“Where are we sitting?” he asked.

“Harris and the guys are in the back corner.” Lucy pointed to our right. “Come on; we won’t bite.”

“Lies,” Kin teased, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl and winking at me. “She will eat you alive.”

“Sh … Don’t scare her off,” Lucy chided with a laugh.

I was starting to relax, and I had to admit that I liked what I was seeing of their personalities. Lucy seemed sweet, but I could easily see her tearing into someone if they pissed her off.

“It takes more than that to scare me off,” I assured them.

Lucy’s dark eyes brightened. “Good. You’ll fit right in with us, then.” She hooked her arm through mine, pulling me away from Kale and walking me toward the group of guys who were waiting in the back corner.