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“Who?” Kinslee placed her glass down on the bar. “That went down far too quickly.”
“The guy Cade’s talking to.”
She glanced over. “Oh, he’s in one of my classes. I think his name is Dave? Not sure. I didn’t realise he was friends with this crowd, though.”
Our conversation was interrupted by the magician, who proceeded to do some complicated card trick that ended up with Kinslee’s chosen card inside her empty cocktail glass. I watched her, smiling as she examined her glass from all angles, completely enthralled.
“How did he do that?”
I shrugged. “Magic.”
The Four were all sitting on the sofa as Kinslee and I walked into the lounge a bit later in the evening, giving me a sudden flashback to the first time I’d ever laid eyes on them. This time, though, there was no hostility. Just Caiden’s slow, deliberate perusal of my body, and the fire in his eyes that told me he wanted to do bad, bad things to me.
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry, as I was held captive by his darkened gaze. A slow smirk spread across his lips as he watched me watching him, and he cocked his head in a silent invitation.
Stepping closer, I stared down at him.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” He slid the tip of his finger up my
bare leg, out of view of everyone else, and goosebumps broke out over my body.
Casually perching on the arm of the sofa, I turned to the others, my voice rising an octave to be heard above the music. “Uh, can I say something to all of you?” It took all my focus to ignore Caiden’s finger trailing across my skin. “Can you stop teasing me?” I hissed out of the corner of my mouth, aware of everyone’s eyes on me.
I heard Caiden’s low chuckle, but he stopped the torturous movements. I curled my finger around his, a subtle, hidden touch, and he mouthed later to me, when I met his eyes.
“What is it?” Weston’s voice interrupted the moment.
“Oh, sorry. I was miles away.” I turned back to the boys, taking in the amusement on their faces. “I just wanted to say thank you. For this.” Holding up my arm, I jingled the charm bracelet on my wrist. “It…it means a lot to me.”
Cassius gave me a grin. “All Cade’s idea, wasn’t it, mate? He just asked us each to pick a charm for you.”
I glanced back at Caiden, who shrugged, a small smile playing across his face. I love you, I mouthed, and his smile widened.
“The jester hat’s perfect for me, right? I know I’m the most hilarious guy you know.”
“Well…I don’t know about that, Cass.” I held his stare, keeping a straight face, and his smile disappeared. “Course you are,” I said eventually, and he threw me another blinding grin, pretending to wipe his brow in relief. “Anyway, I just wanted to thank all of you. So. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Weston leaned over and squeezed my hand, his finger brushing against my bracelet. Zayde gave me a wink, and I smiled at him.
“Winter.” Kinslee’s voice cut through the music, and I spun my head to see her beckoning at me.
“See you all later.” I extracted my fingertip grip from Caiden and headed back over to Kinslee.
“James is here,” she murmured discreetly in my ear, and subtly indicated her head to the left. I saw him standing with a group of his friends, looking completely relaxed and at ease. Okay, maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as I’d imagined.
“I’m going to talk to him. Why don’t you find a dance partner?”
“I’ve sworn off men,” she sighed.
“Since when?”
“Since New Year’s Eve—it was my New Year’s resolution. I’ve decided I’m going to focus on my studies and let the right man find me.”
“Um. Okay. That sounds…sensible, I guess?” I shrugged.
“It is.” She gave me a huge smile. “This is the new, improved Kinslee.”
