Page 32 of Property of Azrael

“A sock? Really?” she asks incredulously. “She could walk in on us at any moment.”

“She already has, remember?” I roll my eyes. “We’d have never made it down to the party had she not barged into the room when she did.” An idea pops into my head. “I could call Fox to distract her.”

That has us both bursting out in laughter.

HALLIE

As much asI wanted our night to continue, Eden had other plans. By the time we made it back to our room after stopping by a shop downstairs to get something to eat after missing the dinner, Eden was already passed out in her bed, snoring loud enough to hear outside the door.

Though Azrael had some creative ideas around our current problem, including going back to our bench, I decided against it. I’d already performed for one unaware audience today. Reluctantly, Azrael agreed, but even as I fell asleep in his arms, I could feel his need pressed against me. I felt guilty that he’d made me feel so good, but I hadn’t returned the favor. It rode me hard until his warmth dragged me under an hour later. I had fallen asleep in his arms and awoke in them. This time on my own terms, and not my body’s.

After getting dressed and packing my books back into their boxes, we head downstairs for breakfast, only to find Orion and Fox waiting for us, much to Eden’s delight. Azrael heads off to talk to them, while Eden and I head for the buffet.

“What happened to you last night?” she questions while we fill our plates from the parfait bar. Starving after our meager meal from the shop, I fill my plate full of strawberries, chunks of pineapples, and sliced kiwi. I ignore Eden’s question, but she asks again, “What happened to you last night, Hallie?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” I answer flatly. I leave it at that, but Eden shoves her way in line next to me, cutting in front of Geri Glenn and GM Scherbert, two of my favorite authors.

GM glares at Eden. “The line’s back there.”

Eden ignores her, so I apologize to them both on her behalf.

“You ghosted me as soon as we got to the meet and greet.” Eden looks up from the bowl of fruit, her eyes flashing with guilt. “You dumped me and Azrael to be with your friends.”

She flinches. “I’m sorry. I got so wrapped up in talking to them I didn’t realize you’d left. I swear, I didn’t mean to leave you out.”

“It’s my first event, Eden. You know I’m horrible at small talk and socializing.”

“I know,” she groans. “This is totally my fault. I should’ve realized you weren’t with me.”

“Yes, you should have,” I bite out. “Had it not been for Azrael, I’d have been completely left on my own.”

Her expression quickly turns from shame to gleeful. “You spent the evening with your biker boy? I told you that dress would do the trick.”

“Your dress did nothing but aggravate the hell out of me.” We exit the line and find a large open table near the back of the restaurant. Large enough that if the rest of the guys joined us, we could all fit. I take a seat and dig into my breakfast, while Eden sits across from me and stares.

“You fucked him last night, didn’t you?”

“Excuse me?” I scoff. “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”

“Oh, my god!” she squeals. “You totally did! Holy shit, Hallie. This is huge. Is he huge? Tell me everything.” Scooting her chair closer to mine, she rests her chin on her fisted hands, looking at me expectedly.

“I’m not telling you a thing.”

“Oh, come on. At least tell me where it happened?”

“No,” I mutter, chewing on a strawberry. She continues to question me, but I keep feeding my face, pointedly snubbing her. Azrael, Orion, and Fox join us a few moments later, to Eden’s delight. Taking the open seat next to me, Azrael kisses me on the cheek before diving into his food. Both Fox and Orion stare at us, mouths agape.

“When the fuck did that happen?” Fox huffs.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Eden sneers. “I’ve been trying to pry it out of her since we sat down, but she’s not sharing a damn thing.”

Azrael and I look at each other and smile. What happened between us is no one’s business but ours, especially after Eden’s antics last night. Best friends share everything, but with how pissed I am, I doubt I’ll divulge anything to her. The torture of not knowing is punishment enough for making me feel so horrible last night.

“Hey, Eden!” Two women with name tags around their necks approach the table.

“Hey, Melissa! Hey, Jaime!” she greets them with an enthusiastic wave. “Girls, have you met Hallie? This is her first event.”

I peer over to Azrael, who rolls his eyes.

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