I lean back into Donovan, letting him fully support my weight, and drift on the music while every nerve ending in my body tingles. Feeling him mouth the song lyrics against my shoulder, my lips part, and my breathing hitches. He smirks every time the song talks of her touching him and him touching her.
There’s a little voice in the back of my head chanting,Friends. We’re friends, remember?But it’s heavily drowned out by the overwhelming heat and pleasure that I feel. The whole reason we started this is forgotten, and I grind back with each thrust, feeling them grow more turned on the longer we dance.
Nolan’s face is only a few inches away from mine, his mouth parted and breath heavy flurries as my hand drops from his neck down his chest to the sculpted lines of his abs. I slip away from underneath his hand around Donovan’s neck, so I can then lace my fingers with Donovan’s, who is exploring the flesh of my right leg, leading it to wrap low around my waist. The leather of my costume is thin, and I can feel his scorching heat through the material.
Their hands join around my leg that is still hooked over Nolan’s hip, fingers wide and reaching every inch of my bare skin, while Nolan runs his hand from around Donovan’s neck down his shoulder. The multicolor party lights flicker on the beads of sweat that drip down our bodies and the air feels heavy and thick with each panting breath.
While each song bleeds into the next, I welcome the feeling of their hands on my skin and relish the sensation of their hard bodies against mine, drowning in the pleasure of this dream world with sparkling lights and throbbing beats.
As if the little voice in my head grew horrified witnessing our touching grow bolder and stomped over to the DJ to do something about it, the music changes again. The new song is R&B and though it still has a sexy beat, the lyrics are so hilariously Nolan that we can’t help but bust up laughing.
Nolan steps back so he can hold up his hands, owning it, while the vocalist warns listeners that he’ll flirt with every girl around and men should reconsider leaving their girlfriends alone-- because they may go home with him. He particularly hams it up when the vocalist emphasizes that it isn’t his fault that the girls are looking for a “platinum type of guy.”
We keep dancing, but there’s a little more breathing room and a lot more of mocking Nolan. By the time the song ends, we’re laughing, smiling, and I’m feeling less like I’m going to melt into a puddle on the floor.
“I’m going to get some air,” I yell, pointing toward where the room opens up to the outdoors.
Worry furrows Nolan’s brow, and he replies, “Do you want me to come with you?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m okay now. Go play host.” Donovan lifts a brow, but before he can offer, I decide to flatter his ego and add, “You stay and dance. A girl can only handle so much ab exposure without breaks.”
Donovan smiles and shrugs, but seems satisfied, having far more faith in my self-assessment than Nolan, who still looks dubious.
I weave my way through the crowd before either can follow, being sure to give Gina one more smug grin as I go. This time one of the Barbie followers-- a blonde girl with an hour-glass figure and dressed as a sexy dark fairy-- wraps one arm around Gina’s shoulders and adds her glare to Gina’s already flushed scowl. Based off of what the guys have told me, she’s likely the infamous Anastasia that chased Nolan around the school yard when they were kids. Her expression holds more warning than rage, and after whispering something I can’t possibly hear, she snaps her fingers producing a small spark of fire that quickly extinguishes.
And putting down a heavy mark in the column of Gina and her goons as likely suspects in the fire that nearly burnt my house down.
I roll my eyes, refusing to give them any indication that their little stunt bothered me, and walk away. Somehow no one has connected my little episode at the Whittaker’s party as having anything to do with my fear of fire, and it’s going to stay that way. Gina has enough ammunition to torture me; no way am I giving her more.
On my way outside, I notice Kaleb leaning against a wall, his cell phone to his ear, while he chats with Felix, and there’s a feeling of relief he isn’t wrapped around some girl I don’t know. Even though it has nothing to do with Nolan, I’m still going to blame this sensation on the bite, because the alternative is too complicated to consider at the moment.
Finally outside, the cool air feels amazing on my heated skin. I pick my way along the back patio careful not to fall on my face, while delicately lifting the long strands of the wig off my neck. I can only imagine what a mess it must look like now considering the trying not to bleed on it only to get hot and sweaty dancing.And we’re not thinking about what kind of dancing. Talk about being thrown into the deep end. Yeesh.
Why are boys so complicated?
Finding one of the few open bars that doesn’t have a crowd, I order a bottle of water and look for a place to sit down. The residual effects of Nolan’s bite still flow through me, but it’s muted enough that I feel in better control of myself… which unfortunately means my feet hurt again. Down one of the patio tiers, tucked near a bubbling brook, looks to be an empty bench only lit by a single outdoor lamp, and I wobble my way over, seriously considering going barefoot for the rest of the night.
“Holy shit!” I yelp, when I sit down, because further in the darkness is Connor reading the damn book from his English class. “You came out of nowhere!”
His amber eyes glow, catching the soft light from the lamp, and he smirks, pointing to the word ‘Ninja’ that’s taped to his chest.
“You’re hilarious,” I mutter, unzipping my boots, making sure to grab my phone from inside and place it on the bench beside me. A sigh of bliss hums from my lips when my sore feet hit the cold cement. “And how are you reading in the dark?”
“Wolf shifter,” he answers simply but does get up from the giant rock he was sitting on to join me on the bench, laying his book down on the space beside him.
“I should have guessed that,” I laugh and shake my head.
Realizing I’m sitting on my Lasso of Truth, I get up to unbutton it from the belt that’s strapped across my chest, and an idea slowly forms in my mind. There’s so much about him I don’t know, and that’s mostly because I’ve been too scared to ask. But as I’ve handed him my past in little pieces, he’s stayed strong beside me… carried the weight with me. Hopefully, now he’ll let me do the same. This isn’t the best time to ask, but honestly, when is?
Playfully, I drop the loop of my lasso over his head, the circle so wide that it hangs off one of his shoulders. “Now you can only speak the truth.”
Connor looks amused, tugging on the rope and pulling me closer until I’m standing between his knees. Even though he’s dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, body heat pours like waves from his skin.
I bite my lip, pushing down the anxiety climbing up from my stomach, and start with a softball question, “What’s the deal with Sam? Why does she hate me?”
The humor falls from his face and his gaze shifts away from me.That’s not promising.
“Lasso of Truth,” I remind him, lightly shaking the rope.
