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Again, I felt the heat from his touch, despite still holding a cold glass beneath my palms. Something simmered in the pit of my stomach. It definitely felt like this was a dance of words, lingering on something dangerous, something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Just like the last few encounters we’d had.
It was inexplicable why I would keep on pushing him, but I didn’t want it to stop, unfortunately. Not yet. I licked my lips slowly, trying to measure my words. “But why would the lion settle for a lowly rabbit when there are even more far larger animals he could feast on?”
His fingers curled around my wrist, jerking me close until we were nose-to-nose. I felt my heart race and had to steady my breathing. My inner self was warning me about biting off more than I could chew, but I foolishly blocked it out.Too late for that.
His eyes were brilliant this close, and I felt myself drowning in those mesmerizing blue depths. “Because,” the word was a whisper on my skin as he began, “thislion knows the rabbit would taste sweeter than any fucking animal in the jungle.” His lips feathered over my cheek, or maybe it was my overactive imagination, and I closed my eyes, inhaling sharply, as warmth whizzed down my body, pooling at my core. My galloping heart was about to take a nosedive off a cliff.
Then his final parting words threw a lasso around my vital organ and squeezed it tight until it stopped beating. “Don’t play games you’re not well-equipped to handle,moy zaychik. I will always win.” With that, he dropped my wrist and stood up, shifting around the table as he strolled away.
I clenched my teeth, still somewhat shaken by his touch. Still feeling the sting of his words. However, I was more irritated by him than ever. “Stupid lion,” I grumbled, not willing to let him leave with the last word.
The sound of his laughter behind me grated on my nerves even more.
On Monday, I walked through the halls of school, which buzzed as people were obviously talking animatedly about Jared’s party, at least I assumed. But as I came close to people in the main hallway, the voices lowered, and a few people watched me in curiosity as I passed.
I self-consciously ran a hand over my hair, then wondered if I had something on my face, or food stuck in my teeth. I clicked on my phone and turned on the camera, checking my appearance. Nothing was out of the ordinary.
Walking through the door of my chemistry class, I passed by Jared, who ducked his head as if fascinated by the boring cover of his textbook.
“Hi,” I said, thinking he didn’t see me. I wanted to apologize for taking off like I did the other night because it was kind of embarrassing. However, he acted like he didn’t hear or see me. “Jared?”
“Go.” He waved me off, not bothering to look at me. Why was he ignoring me? Maybe he was mad I left the party so soon. Or was he serious about me returning later that night?
I clutched my books tighter and moved over to my chair. Throughout class, he said nothing to me, nor looked my way. When the bell sounded, he quickly grabbed his books, sliding out of his seat. When I caught a glimpse of his face, my jaw fell open. Before I could say anything, he stalked off without a backward glance.
Collecting my things, I took off after him. “Wait. What happened?” I asked, catching up to him in the hall. He kept walking, and I desperately followed. “Jared?”
He pulled up and ran a hand through his chestnut hair before slowly twisting around to face me. “What do you think happened?” His mouth twisted in disgust before backing away and walking off, leaving me stunned. He had a cut on his lip and a deep bruise under his right eye. My shock quickly turned into anger when reality set in.
“Dmitri, I’m going to kill you,” I whispered under my breath.
Later, I was pacing in my room after having stewed over this all day. This time, he’d gone too far. My blood boiled. Suddenly, I heard his door close across the hall. Common sense told me I should count backwards or try to calm down before I did something rash. Too bad I was impulsive. I wrenched my door open and stomped across the hall, barging into his bedroom.
He sat on the edge of his bed and started up a stupid game on his Xbox. After what seemed like an eternity, he glanced at me without changing expression before dismissing me and turning his attention back to his flatscreen. I clenched my fists together, holding back from attacking him like a wild animal.
“Are you going to stand there all day, or what?” His deep, condescending words scraped against my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.
“You are unbelievable,” I hissed.
He pressed buttons and kept studying the screen. “I know. That’s what everyone tells me. Glad you finally acknowledge it.” His voice dripped with cockiness.
He wasn’t going to acknowledge what he did? I stomped in front of him and yanked the controller out of his hand.
He raised his eyes dispassionately. “Are you throwing another tantrum?”
“You punched Jared.”
He blinked, giving a blank stare, apparently indifferent to what happened.
I had an overwhelming urge to bash in his head with his remote. “Why did you do that?”
He rolled his lips together. “He crossed a line.”
“And what line would that be?”
Dmitri stood up slowly, towering over me. His nostrils flared, and a fire ignited in his ice-cold eyes. “He touched something that wasn’t his to touch.”
“What are you talking about?” I huffed in disbelief. Then it dawned on me—Iwas the something. “Jared did nothing wrong.” He’d never tried anything shady with me. He was always friendly and nice to me in class until today. He even helped me when I had to leave his party. Yeah, he’d told me to come back, but I thought he was teasing.
