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world.”
    Calder’s hands cinch on my waist. “Walk away, Damien, before you can’t.”
    I’m surprised when Damien just laughs at his curt tone, then slides his gaze to me. “Don’t feel sorry for him, Celeste. He’s too damn stubborn to get killed.”
    Shaking my head once Damien walks off, I mutter, “I can’t figure guys out. At least girls react normally to each other when they’re pissed—bitchy with claws bared.”
    Calder’s bark of laughter is cut off by a loud rumble of thunder rolling through the room. It shudders the walls as if perfectly timed to introduce the house music starting up. When the music level jacks even higher, the crowd goes wild around us, people raising their arms and jumping to the crazy beat. While the gathering storm amps their excitement further, they cheer even louder when a loud clap reverberates and lightning illuminates black clouds in the sky outside.
    I hold on tighter to Calder so I don’t get knocked over and laugh at the people acting like nuts. At the same time the power flickers, sending the group into further frenzy, my gaze locks with Jake’s dark eyes. He’s watching me from the edge of the crowd, lust, jealousy, and sheer want evident in his gaze.
    I swallow and force myself not to look away, cringe, or shudder at his steady regard. I’m not Cass. I’m Celeste who has always given him the brush off. Taking a page from Celeste’s book, I keep my expression impassive. Once I slowly slide my attention back to my dance partner, the sight of Calder watching me so intently sets my heart racing.
    We’re suddenly jostled when a guy spinning a girl around bumps us. The second they hit, she squeals and her champagne sloshes across my hand on Calder’s shoulder.
    “Shit! I’m sorry, man.” The reaper guy turns, eyeing Calder’s wet jacket.
    “You need to apologize to her,” Calder says tersely, glancing at me.
    “It’s fine.” I quickly wave the guy and girl off, then try to swipe the dampness from his uniform. “We should get a towel to soak this up so it doesn’t stain.”
    Clasping my hand, Calder tugs me off the dance floor, past the mass of people at the bar.
    When we pass through a swinging kitchen door, a couple of fairies are standing on opposite ends of the massive island, giggling drunkenly. Hands aloft, golden crystals trickling from their clenched fists, the girls freeze in the middle of their glitter sugar fight and turn guilty looks our way.
    “It’s time to leave, ladies,” Calder says in a commanding tone as he removes his hat and sets it on the corner of the island.
    Instead of focusing on the girls, my attention briefly snags on Calder, specifically the two sharp points of ink on his skin just above his collar. What is his tattoo?
    The girl with curly blonde hair closest to us let’s out an annoyed grunt, drawing my gaze back to them.
    “Fine, be a killjoy.” Once her friend with a black pixie cut comes around the island to stand by her side, they exchange devilish looks, then toss their handfuls of glittery sugar toward us like wedding rice, giggling uncontrollably.
    “What the hell…” Calder snaps as the golden cloud scatters all around us, but we all pause when the kitchen lights go out and the music suddenly stops. Someone yells through the silence about the DJ having a generator, and the second the music starts pumping once more, the girls squeal their excitement and head back to the party through the swinging door.
    Grunting his annoyance, Calder walks over to the door and turns a latch at the top, then glances my way. “At least they won’t be able to return with reinforcements.”
    I’m thankful for the dim light coming from the flashes of lightning outside. I can still see him without being tempted to stare at him. My stomach dropped when he first tugged his hat off and I saw his whole face and light brown hair. The man’s sinfully good-looking. With enough champagne in me to be dangerous, I panic. My skin feels all