Page 33 of Bitter Sweet Love

Chapter Thirteen

We all stared at Zayne in varying degrees of morbid fascination, watching him happily take a Twizzler from a pack he’d brought into the ’50s-style ice-cream parlor and dip it into his chocolate ice cream.

“That is so disgusting.” Layla watched him, her spoon hovering above her banana split. “I mean, there’re really no words for it.”

“What?” Zayne laughed as he looked at her and held the chocolate-covered red licorice close to her face. “Just try it.”

“Ew.” She jerked back, scrunching up her nose. “Get that away from me.”

Beside me, Dez leaned back and smiled. Since he’d already devoured his cone, I expected him to start patting his belly. “That is gross.”

Zayne scoffed. “Whatever. It’s the best thing ever.”

“It’s not,” Layla said, scooping around the cherries. “You could try chips or French fries like a normal person.”

“What fun is being normal?” Zayne countered.

Layla pulled her spoon back as he reached over and plucked up a cherry, popping it in his mouth.

There was no doubt in my mind that these two were close, probably as inseparable as Dez and I had been. And just like my younger self, Layla made no attempt at hiding how she worshipped him.

The more time I spent in her company, the worse I felt about how I’d acted toward her earlier. She really was a sweet girl, and once she got comfortable around Dez and me, she opened up. The chick was spunky.

“Abbot is letting me attend public school next year,” she told us. Excitement sparkled in her odd eyes and shone in her wide smile. “I’m so—”

“I think it’s a terrible idea,” Zayne cut in, eyeing her. “You’re going to be at school during the day, when most of us are resting. If something happens, it will be damn hard for any of us to respond.”

“Nothing is going to happen.” Layla rolled her eyes. “And besides, you can’t keep playing at being my teacher. There’re better things you could be doing.”

Dez frowned. “Has Zayne been teaching you?”

She nodded as she twirled her spoon around. “Yeah, he set me up with this homeschool stuff on the computer and checks my work, but come on. No offense, but I’d like a real education.”

Zayne was quiet, gaze fixed on the old portraits of the ice-cream parlor’s previous owners adorning the walls. It was obvious, at least to me, that he was not a fan of this conversation. I didn’t know what to be more shocked over: that Layla would be attending a public school or that Zayne had been tutoring her.

I knew Zayne had said the other clansmen didn’t want her in their home with their families, but there had to be a female overseeing her education. Someone who’d looked past what she was. “One of the older females isn’t teaching you?”

Zayne scratched his cheek, answering for her. “The main house is outside the city, near Charles Town, where the females and the young ones are. Most of the females don’t travel here anyway, as I said.”

Which was normal. It was the same for us. Our clan had houses in New York City, though the main compound where the mated Wardens and children lived was several hours north.

“Not to sound rude, but why isn’t Layla with them?” Dez asked, and I winced.

Layla laughed. “I think they’d throw themselves headfirst out of a window before they shared the same roof as me.” She shrugged as she took the last bite of her ice cream. “Obviously none of them are willing to teach me, and Zayne can’t keep doing it, so Abbot relented and is letting me go to public school. All in all, it’s a good thing.”

I smiled at her. “I’m a bit envious. I would’ve loved to attend public school.”

“It’s dangerous, though.” Zayne shifted in the booth. “You know how the demons like to come after—”

“Not me,” Layla cut in. The smile faded from her face as she looked over at us. “Abbot doesn’t think it will be dangerous for me, and honestly, I’m not a huge asset to the clan or anything. I’m kind of defective.”

My mouth dropped open, but Zayne’s reaction was a whole lot more explosive. He turned on her, eyes flashing a teal blue. His fingers wrapped around her chin, forcing her gaze to him, and he leaned down, his head inches from hers. Knowing what Layla could do, I stiffened—as did Dez, who must’ve known more about her ability than I did when I met her earlier. Zayne was too close.

And he didn’t appear to be worried at all.

“You are not defective. There is not a single thing wrong with you.” His voice was low, but there was no mistaking what he said. “Do you understand me?”

Two pink spots bloomed on her cheeks as she held his gaze. “Yes, but—”

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