I’m not the same girl. Hell, I’m not evenwhatI thought. I haven’t fully accepted the fact that I’m part werewolf, but I won’t deny it either. The context somehow makes me feel less crazy. I’m not too much. It’s part of my nature.
But does Gigi know? Surely my mom did. Has everyone been lying to me my whole life?
Before the myriad of questions bring me crashing down to earth, I put all of them in a little box and put them on a shelf in my mind. I’ll deal with them later.
Outside, I find Tom outside by his parked car, waiting for me.
“How’d you do?” he asks, opening the door for me.
“My best,” I say, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders.
Even though my heart and conscience are in tatters, for the first time in as long as I can remember, I truly feel things are going to be okay.
Chapter32
Dancing in the Dark
BREXLEY
Ithought we could be done. That I could chalk it all up to the moon craze. Now that I’d satisfied her itch, she’d lose her hold over me. But as I enter the Poison Apple, I’m struck by the sight of Red.
I followed her at a distance to make sure she got to her finals all right. Then I tipped Tom extra to pack some heat and have me on speed dial, while I got some distance. Once Tom informed me she was safely back in my apartment, I knew she was secure. Later, he drove her the short distance to work without incident. I trusted Rap as much as I trusted my own security measures.
I needed to find Grandma, but damned if Theodore Dunkin wasn’t as paranoid and efficient as I was at hiding someone. All my attempts to unearth either of them came to zilch.
Red drops off the carefully concocted drinks to a group on the lounge couches, allowing me the perfect view of her confident stride. Whether she knows it or not, she owns this place.
It pained me to be away from Red for so long. It developed slowly through the day, but a pressure built around my chest with each hour, threatening to cave it in. Now that I’m in the same room as her again, it’s like I can breathe.
Cinder must have dressed her, because she’s wearing a strappy black bodysuit and knee-high boots over fishnet stockings. Her hair is pulled up in a more sophisticated updo than what I’ve seen, and her lips are blood red. She looks like a dominatrix. There is an ease about her that wasn’t there before. I hope it means her test went well. I don’t see how it couldn’t. She proved to herself she knew the material.
When she turns and sees me, the ease I noted in her flees. She stiffens and turns cold.
I don’t blame her. She wanted me to stay with her, reassure her with emotional intimacy. And damned if it didn’t kill me to walk away. But I couldn’t be sure it wouldn’t cause us to mate. I’d been so careful not to touch her while wringing her out of all her built up animal needs. I wanted nothing more than to curl her into my body and hold her afterward, but I walked away.
I can’t walk away now, though.
Before Red can return to the bar, I intercept her at the edge of the dance floor. I back her up into the mass of writhing people. She turns away from me, and I step up until I’m right behind her.
“Your boyfriend is back,” I say into Red’s ear.
She stiffens, her eyes scanning the room until they land on Hunter. He doesn’t push his way over. The stupid sonofabitch wouldn’t debase himself. He’s been playing pseudo security guard the last couple hours, staying out of sight, but always nearby. I’m not sure if he’s waiting for me to slip up, or if he wants Red alone. Either way, I don’t intend to give him the chance.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” she says, her voice tight.
Anger snakes through me, despite myself. “Right, because you weren’t good enough for him.”
“I—” she seems at a loss.
“What? It’s okay for you to say it, but not for me to say it? Maybe that’s because you know he’s wrong. Hearing that bullshit mirrored back makes it clear what a douche nozzle the boy is.”
“Don’t call him that,” she says, but it lacks the usual vehemence when she’s defending her precious Hunter.
My hand wraps around her waist, and I pull her close.
“What are you doing? Don’t touch me.” Panic flares in her voice, but she doesn’t push me away.
“Maybe I’m helping you?” I direct her hips in a slow sway to match mine. “After all, it’s safe now.”
