Gray chuckles, then lowers himself to eye level with me. “I can easily remove your top, if you’d like.”
I feel myself heat at the offer, knowing full well that if we were alone, I would let him sink his teeth in me. But, I’m not feeling brave enough to break any of Tannis’s rules. So far, I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary to hint at the fact that we’re commingled with the undead. Their rules are absolute.
“Hey!” Emma comes rushing toward us, her face flushed from drinking. She has Nate behind her, dragging him along, though he seems happy to go wherever she plans to take him. “There you are!”
She crashes into me. “A little tipsy?”
“Duh!” She throws her arms around my neck and kisses my cheek. “I mean, have you had the cocktails? To die for! Best club ever.”
I laugh along with her, then tap at her arms to pull away. “Where’s Jill?”
Emma points up. “Taking a break upstairs.”
“Oh! I’ll go check on her.”
“You do that. I’m going back for a dance!” She and Nate are gone before we even move. I hop off the stool and feel Gray pull in beside me.
“I’ll go with you.” I’m about to tell him to wait when he points at his wristband. “Escort, remember?”
The walk seems shorter than before, and by the time we’re outside the lounge, I can barely keep Gray’s hands off of me. He’s being particularly handsy, and I’m trying to push him off when the door flies open and we’re both falling through it in a tangled mess of limbs. He catches me just before I hit the ground.
“Get your fucking hands off of her, youleech.” Jill’s voice rings out impossibly louder than the music downstairs.
“What?” My mind can’t catch up with what I’m hearing. “Leech?”
“Don’t play dumb, Millie. He’s a vampire.” She turns from where she’s standing at the center of the room, a hard expression on her beautiful face. With a flick of her wrist, I feel Gray move off of me, falling to the ground at my feet with a crunch.
“Holy shit!” I scream and try to reach for him, but he slides across the ground into the couch by some unseen force. “Jill! What… what thefuck?”
Gray clambers to his knees, cradling one very broken arm to his chest. He’s clearly in pain, and from where I’m standing, he’s beyond angry. Black seeps into his eyes, encasing red jewels in total darkness. Black veins spider web around them, sinking so low onto his cheeks they almost look like tears.
“Tell me now,” she demands, her voice tight. “Has he compelled you? Are you enthralled by him? What’s he done to you, Millie?”
Another bone cracks as Gray tries to stand, and he sinks back to his knees. Both of his arms are seemingly broken.
“Jesusfuck, Jill! Stop it, stop it now!” I try to move, but I can’t leave the spot where I’m standing. “He hasn’t done anything to me! I’m fine, I’m fine!”
Jill’s eyes flicker between the both of us, but her stance is resolute. Whatever she’s convinced herself of, I won’t be able to talk her out of it.
“If you aren’t compelled, why did you bring us here? It’s a nesting ground for thesethings.”
“Wait, wait!” My heart is beating so fast, so hard, I’m afraid it might burst out of my chest. “How do you know? About vampires? And what thehellareyou? How did you do that?”
“She’s a witch,” Gray chokes out, a mistake. Jill squeezes her hand into a fist, and he lurches forward with a sharp cough, spewing dark blood all over the floor. He falls forward, head hitting the floor with a thunk.
I’m pretty sure I scream again.
“A what?”
“A witch,” she repeats, her face paler than ever. “I’m a witch. So is Emma.”
Blood rushes in my ears. Vampires, witches, evil exes—they’ve all got my head spinning on a very thin stick. I cover my eyes, pressing the heels of my hands into them to try and find some semblance of focus. However hard I try, though, I can’t seem to get my thoughts straight. It isn’t until I hear Gray groan, as if he’s dying, that I snap to.
“Jill, you have to stop.” His head is turned, facing me. I see the pain glittering in his red eyes. He isn’t healing, so whatever she’s doing to him, it’s doing real damage. “Please, stop. He hasn’t done anything to me.”
“If I do, he’ll kill you, then me.” She sounds so certain, so convinced, I’m not sure I can stop her from hurting him more than she has. I know vampires can die from a number of things, but without a stake or sunlight, I’m not sure what she can do to end him. I definitely don’t want to find out.
“He won’t, I promise.” I don’t even recognize the sound of my voice—soft and pleading… desperate. Iamdesperate.
