Page 160 of The Villain We Tempt

She laughs and rolls her eyes. “Galina. You know I love you?—”

I grin wider than I’ve ever grinned before. “Oh my Gooood.Ari, I love yousoooo much?—”

“But it'sreallytime to go home.”

Okay, absinthe might be my new favorite drink, because I am legitfloatingafter Arianna as she drags me back to the rest of our friends.

…Who are allwasted.

Lucia is smiley and can barely stand, to the point that Aaron and his boyfriend are literally holding her up. Wren is giggling at who-knows-what and slumped against Aaron’s other side.

“Where’s Lena?” I hear myself blurt.

“She’s fine,” Ari says.

“But whereiiiiisssssshe?”

“She’sfine, Galina,” Arianna repeats. “Someone took her home.”

“Who?” Wren mumbles.

When Ari shoots her alook, Wren’s brows furrow, then suddenly jump up.

“Oooooh,” she giggles, grinning. “Hiiiim.”

“Wren…” Ari mutters in a warning tone, eying Lucia and cocking her head in my direction.

“Right right right,” Wren blurts, dramatically zipping her lips. “He who must not be named…”

Before I can pout about my friends keeping secrets from me, I’m suddenly aware of what’s happening around us.

What the fuck…?

It’s not just Wren, Lucia, and me. Thewhole partylooks like it just drank all the absinthe in the world.

People are grinding on each other, hands stroking faces and bodies as the music thuds and churns. A gasp of pleasure draws my attention in one direction before a low whimpering moan tugs my gaze in another, where a group of guys and girls are indiscriminately touching and making out.

“Yeah, so, I don’t know how it happened,” Aaron frowns as he turns toward Ari. “But this whole fucking party looks like it’s on Molly, and Ithinkit’s time to leave.”

“He totally likes you,”I giggle at Ari as she helps me out of my dress.

Aaron and Chris have taken Lucia to her dorm and Wren to her room at Morvaine Manor. Ari and I are back at The Atheneum, where she’s being the greatest friend ever.

“I have no idea who you’re talking about,” she chuckles, shaking her head at me as I step out of the dress on the floor at my feet.

“Adrik,” I wink at her.

“Yeah, sure,” she snorts, rolling her eyes. “Anyway. You good? Aaron texted me that Lucia’s pretty messed up, so I’m going to go check on her.”

“Ooo!I’ll come with!”

“You will do nothing of the sort,” she laughs as I stumble naked across my room having kicked off my underwear. “Seriously, you're all right?”

“I amexcellent,” I grin, flashing her the “okay” sign.

She ends up making me drink a big glass of water and get into bed before she leaves. But as soon as she’s gone, I’m bouncing back out of it.

I’m too anxious. Too antsy. I do feel fucked up, but it's different from being drunk. It’s almost like everything feels floaty andwarm and sensual. Even the rug under my feet…so much so that I stand there naked in the middle of my room grinning like an asshole as I scrunch my toes into the rug and try not to moan.