Page 13

I laugh. “Why?”

“Because depending on how big of a douche he was, I may just need to hop on a plane,” she answers with a smile and I laugh again.

“I don’t think they’ll let you bring your taser or gun on board.”

She sighs. “Shit. That’s true… whatever, I can get creative. Tell me anyway.”

I relay the whole story to her, starting with the shitty night I was having at work but careful to leave out where I was working since I’m sure if Lincoln found out I was stripping, he would lose his damn mind. When I finish, she beams at me with pride on her face.

“Well, if it had been me, things would have gotten much more violent but I am proud of you for telling him where he could stick it. It’s just a shame that none of those shards of pottery landed sharp side down in that whore’s chest.”

A startled laugh spills out of me as I look up at her and shake my head. “I didn’t feel like dealing with the blood so it’s probably for the best.”

We laugh and as I finish my food, she fills me in on how things have been around here but remains pretty tight-lipped on this threat she mentioned when I first got here. It’s annoying but if nobody fills me in soon, I’ll demand answers from Linc. When I’m finished with my dinner, we wander back out into the main room. Someone has started playing music and a few of the couples are paired off, dancing together in the middle of the room like we’re at some kind of middle school dance while others are lounging on the couch, talking. Tate tells me she’s going to find Lincoln and I nod, turning back to look around the room as memories of Ash and his betrayal flick through my mind. It’s not even that I’m all that upset about losing Ash… I mean, I am but not as much as I should be, which tells me all I need to know. I think it’s mostly a pride thing combined with the fact that I lost someone else from my life so close to my mom’s death. I don’t wish him any ill will but I am furious that he made me look like an idiot and embarrassed that I didn’t see what was really going on. And, on top of all that, to find out Holly wasn’t the first girl he cheated with was just icing on the cake.

Gritting my teeth, I grab a bottle of dark liquor from the bar and sneak up the stairs when no one is watching, hoping to get just a few moments of peace and quiet. And maybe a distraction from my own thoughts. I take a sip from the bottle as I wander down the hallway, wandering aimlessly past locked doors on each side of me. The room at the very end of the hall is wide open and before I tell myself that I shouldn’t do it, I step inside and look around. It’s a little messy but I’m not all that surprised and there is a desk in the middle of the room with three computer monitors on it. The thing is massive and it dominates the space. In one corner are a stack of files and I barely resist the urge to snoop through them before turning to take in the rest of the room. A full-sized bed is shoved into one corner and it looks like it hasn’t been made… ever. Clothes litter the floor but I wouldn’t say that the room is all that messy, just… well lived in. It’s obvious that someone spends a lot of time in here and I wonder whose room I just wandered into.

“Find anything interesting?”

I whirl around, my heart jumping into my throat as I come face-to-face with Streak. His hands are shoved in the pockets of his jeans and he’s staring at me with curiosity mixed with something else, something intense that makes my stomach feel all fluttery. His jade green eyes bore into mine as he takes a step toward me, eliminating the space between us, waiting for an answer. I shrug.

“Not really.”

He places a hand over his heart and his face crumples in mock hurt. “Are you saying I’m boring?”

“Pretty sure that never came out of my mouth,” I answer and he nods as his gaze drops to my mouth and his tongue darts out to wet his bottom lip. Heat rushes through me as my body screams in protest over the fact that he’s not pressing up against me right now. My thoughts jump to the bed behind us and my heart thunders in my chest.

Did someone just suck all of the air out of the room when I wasn’t looking?

“So, you’re in my room because?” he asks, arching a brow as he waits for my reply and I shrug as I take a step back, moving around him to look at a bookcase built into the wall by the door. Anything to stop myself from climbing him like a goddamn tree.

“Just bored, I guess…” I say, irritated by how out of breath I sound and the way my skin is zipping with need. I touch one of the knickknacks on the shelf, pretending to inspect it. “I’m Rowan, by the way.”

“I know.” His voice is soft but he’s closed the distance between us again so I hear every word perfectly and his warm breath ruffles my hair. I spin around, backing into the bookcase as I look up at him. A few things rattle behind me but I can’t pretend to care. There is something about him, something that makes me feel like he understands a part of me that most people can’t even see and when our eyes meet again, all the shit I’ve been through in the past month fills my mind like he called it to the surface. It’s hard to believe it’s only been a month since my mom died when it feels like it’s been years, each day dragging on as I try to wade through my grief and that’s not even taking into consideration what Ash did to me.

Jesus Christ.

I need to get control of myself.

“Rowan?” he asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. I look up at him and he flashes me an expectant look.

Shit, did he say something?

“Huh?”

He takes his thumb and drags it over my knitted brow and I realize that I’ve been scowling at him this whole time. “What are you thinking about?”

“You don’t want to know,” I tell him as I turn away and lift the bottle to my lips, taking a long sip. It’s a terrible idea but right now, I just want to forget and feel something other than… this. When I glance back at him, he tilts his head to the side and it’s like he is looking right through me again. It feels like someone has zapped me with a live wire and I fight the nagging urge to tell him what he wants to know for a moment before giving into it. Sighing, I meet his gaze. “It’s just been a hell of a month.”

He nods, releasing a heavy breath. “Yeah, I know the feeling.”

“I suppose the healthy, mature thing for us to do would be to talk about it to someone who might understand what we’re going through,” I reply, studying his face and I swear, the air between us crackles. He flashes me a lopsided grin as he braces his hands on the shelves next to my hips and nods.

“You’re probably right… but what if I don’t feel like being mature and healthy tonight?”

My breath catches in my throat and he leans in closer, almost like he is being drawn to me, like he has no control over this either and my heart hammers relentlessly as my skin aches to feel his hands on me. I’ve never been this attracted to someone in my life and I am so desperate to feel good. Setting the bottle down on the bookshelf behind me, I lean back on one of the shelves, placing my hands right next to his so they barely brush as I arch my back and meet his gaze. His eyes are darker and full of all sorts of dirty thoughts, commanding me with just a look to give him the green light. I’m more than happy to comply.

“Then you should probably lock the door.”