AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I stared at her, heart pounding. Wanting her and hating her at the same time.
She could’ve followed me to New York. She must’ve known I couldn’t come back to Montreal, but she could’ve tried to come to me. Instead, she’d chosen to remain with her mother.
Maybe she’d even believed that “hype” crap she’d thrown at me.
“If you need me,” Jean-Michel said, “I’ll be in the ops room.”
“All right,” Zoe said without looking up from her book.
Jean-Michel started to shut the door. I shot, cat-quiet, past him into the living room, and halted, my back to the wall.
I stared at Zoe. A heartbeat passed, then another.
Her brow crinkled. “Who’s there?” she said and rose to her feet.
Bad idea, coming this close. She clearly sensed someone else was in the room.
My hands clenched and unclenched. My head saidhell, no, but the rest of me wanted to touch her so bad I could almost feel her soft skin beneath my fingertips.
But to do that, I’d have to leave the shadows, and she’d have Jean-Michel on my ass in five seconds flat. Even if she didn’t, the cams would detect me.
Another wave of dizziness struck me. I had to get out of the chateau, ASAP.
Reluctantly, I decided to stick to my original plan. I’d attend the Crimson Ball under cover of my glamour and explain the situation to her. Ask for her help.
And if that didn’t work, I’dmakeher help me.
At the front of the chateau, I heard the tower clock strike ten. Someone knocked on Zoe’s door.
I ran into the bedroom, sprang onto a stone windowsill and took a flying leap through the casement window into the garden.
“Zoe?” came a voice from above me. “I found the cutest armband on Insta…”
5
ZOE
The sounds of the Crimson Ball drifted up to my bedroom. Steamy jazz from 1920s Paris mixed with the clink of glasses and the low laughter of vampires on the hunt for sex and blood.
I grimaced. Happy birthday to me.
I contemplated myself in the mirror. Lainey had outdone herself. I looked stunning, all long legs and mysterious hazel eyes beneath the black fringe, my only jewelry a gold arm band and the necklace Lainey had had shipped from Manhattan.
Stunning…and untouchable in the white gown. The Ice Princess in all her glory.
Rafe had teased me about the nickname.
I touched up my lipstick, stepped into my high heels. Settled my mask over my upper face and gave myself a bitter smile. Zoe Tremblay was going to snag herself a mate.
Why not? The only man I wanted would never have me.
Not that I wanted him anyway.
Okay, that was a lie. I did want Rafe.
I might not trust him, but I wanted him. For those two weeks, he’d brought color and excitement to my boxed-in existence.
Victorine’s ultimatum had forced me to take a hard look at myself. I’d been in a holding pattern for two years. Trying to find a way around the obstacles.
