Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
“No means no,” I say, giving him a slap much too hard to be considered a friendly pat to the cheek. I lean in a little closer, keeping my voice low enough so Thayer doesn’t overhear. “If you so much as look in her direction again, I’ll rip your fucking nuts off and feed them to you.”
He nods, red-faced and seething, and I stand. The crowd of bodies parts to let us through now that we’ve gained their attention. I can feel Thayer’s eyes burning into my side profile as we head over to Shayne and Valen.
“What?” I ask. “Foot slipped.”
He arches a disbelieving brow that I ignore. Valen’s back is to us, so Shayne spots us first, breaking away from the group and making her way toward us.
“How’d it go?” she shouts, looking between us expectantly.
“Tell you later,” Thayer says back, pulling her in for a hug.
Shayne shakes her head, pulling away. “Tell me now. Let’s go out back so I can hear you.”
“I gotta piss.” The excuse easily rolls off my tongue as I take a couple backward steps, pointing toward the hall. “Meet you out back in a few.”
Shayne nods before leading Thayer to the backyard. When she passes Valen, she motions with her hand that she’s going out back. Valen nods in understanding, and I don’t miss the way her eyes scan the room. She can deny her feelings all she wants, but she’s always looking for me. My feet are propelling me toward her before I’ve made the conscious decision to do so, like some kind of invisible string pulling us together.
“You look lonely,” I hear the flirtatious voice a second before the person it belongs to intercepts me on my way to Valen. I vaguely recognize the blonde standing in front of me, but I couldn’t tell you her name if my life depended on it.
“I won’t be in about two seconds if you’ll excuse me,” I say, moving around her. Her palm lands in the center of my chest, stopping me. I give her hand a pointed look, then meet her eyes with what I know is an impatient expression.
Undeterred by my disinterest, she looks up at me through hooded eyes. “I could help you with that?”
Pre-Valen, I might’ve taken her up on the offer. Post-Valen me isn’t even slightly tempted. I should be concerned about the revelation, but I can’t find it in me to give a fuck right now. She takes my silence as acquiesce, running her finger down my chest.
“Not interested.” I seek out Valen again, but I’m surprised to find her already looking at me. More specifically, at the finger still trailing down my chest. She’s so focused on that pink fingernail that she doesn’t notice me watching her, her eyebrows pulled together, lips pursed. Oh, she’s jealous. And I couldn’t feel more satisfied by that fact.
Ryan suddenly appears, pulling my attention away from Valen. He hooks an arm around the girl’s shoulders, the beers he’s double fisting sloshing over the side of the cups with the movement. “Holden can’t help you tonight, baby. But I can.”
She laughs, leaning into his side. “Hi, Ryan.”
He flashes his megawatt smile at me. “It’s about time you showed your ugly mug.”
“Thought I told you not to let anyone touch her?”
He frowns, confused, handing me one of the cups. “I watched her until I saw you walk in, then I grabbed us beers. Did something happen?” He looks over at Valen and I follow suit. Her expression turns from burning hot jealousy to blank and vacant in two seconds flat. I almost wonder if I imagined the reaction, but her stiff posture tells me I didn’t. She pins me with those emotionless eyes for a second longer before she breaks contact. The ice princess is trying to take over, but it’s too late. I already saw what I needed to see.
“Nothing she couldn’t handle.”
“No harm, no foul then. It’s not like she’s your girlfriend, anyway, right?” he taunts.
Blondie presses up on her toes to whisper something in Ryan’s ear and I take the opportunity to gulp down my beer, blocking out whatever the fuck they’re saying. No, she’s not my girlfriend. But the idea doesn’t bother me like it would with anyone else. By the time I look over to where Valen is again, she’s gone.
I barely notice when a few more of our friends and some girls I don’t know join our group. I’m on autopilot, giving one-word responses, too busy trying to catch a glimpse of Valen. Maybe she went outside to find Shayne. Maybe she left.
Finally, I catch sight of her near the stairs, being approached by yet another guy I don’t recognize. Her back is to me, so I have a prime view when he bends over to hug her, his hands lingering on her lower back a little too long for my liking. She must know him because she doesn’t scowl or kick him in the balls for daring to touch her. Valen doesn’t like anyone. So who the fuck is this douche in boat shoes who can walk up to her and hug her with the familiarity of an old friend? Or lover?