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“You said he won’t,” I remind him, my stomach raveling with knots. “You said it’d be okay.”
“And it probably will, but if he does … and word gets back to your father or mine, or if word gets back to Ryder,” he stresses, “shit’s gonna get bloody fast, baby.”
My heart is pounding in my chest as his words seep through the fogginess in my mind. “Do you think Ryder will kill him if he finds out?”
He gives me a look. “You know him as well as I do, so what do you think?”
“No, I don’t know him as well as you do,” I disagree. “Not anymore. I never did.” I may have thought I did once upon a time when I still believed that princes saved princesses from evil queens, back when I was naïve. But then I learned that princesses can only rescue themselves, and that sometimes, the princes are the evil queens.
“Al—”
“Stop calling me that. And stop calling mebaby,” I cut him off, stabbing my fingernails into my palms.
“Why?” he questions. “I used to call you both all the time.”
The muscle in my jaw ticks. “Yeah, well, you lost your right when you stabbed me in the back.”
He remains silent for a moment. “Fair enough.”
His compliance throws me off, so much so that when he takes another step toward me, I don’t move back, and he ends up so close that I can actually smell the scent of his cologne.
“I’ll make sure Trystan doesn’t say a word.” He brushes his knuckles under my chin, causing me to look up at him. “Now, please tell me why you’re at this shitty party.”
I could lie. Maybe I should. But … I don’t know; part of me wants to tell him the truth so that he’ll be annoyed.
Maybe I’m about to kill the last breath of air in this tomb that I’m currently living in. Perhaps this is my last drop of air, and I’m just handing it over to him. Whatever the reason, I find myself handing the truth over to him.
I shrug. “Because I wanted to get trashed and have fun one final time before my fate is sealed. Thanks for ruining that for me, by the way.”
He searches my eyes. “So, if you just wanted to get trashed and have fun, why were you in here, fooling around with Trystan?”
I lift a shoulder.
He narrows his eyes at me. “Why?”
I almost give him a taunting smile but bite it back. “Because it’s fun.”
He cocks a brow. “Messing around and almost fucking that guy is fun to you? You didn’t use to be that way.”
My cheeks stupidly flush, but I pretend to be cool. “Who said I was about to fuck him? I was just fooling around with him. But if I wanted to, I’m sure he would’ve been down.” Well, until he found out who I am.
“Oh, I’m sure he would’ve.” He wets his lips with his tongue. “What I really want to know, though, is: why are you blushing right now?”
Shit. I was hoping it was dark enough in this room that he couldn’t tell I was.
“I’m just flushed … from being stone.”
He studies me. “You don’t seem that stoned.”
I cross my arms. “Well, I am.”
“No, you’re not. And you have goosebumps on your arms.” He brushes his finger along my arm, causing me to jolt.
I hate that I do.
I hate that I react at all.
“Stop being so observant.” I’m flustered, and he smiles amusedly. “And besides, like I said before, why I’m here is none of your business.” With that, I try to leave, but he steps in front of me, and I run into him.
