Page 45 of Ink & Stardust

“What if I don’t want tojustbe your friend?” His face is closer now, his nose sliding against my cheek when I turn my head to avoid him head-on.

“Owen.” I press my hands to his chest, though it’s no easy feat, given how close he’s standing. Even still, I manage to get enough leverage to attempt to push him back. Note that I said attempt, which is basically all I do because he doesn’t budge.

“I like you, Lyric.” His mouth is at my ear now, my entire body tensing when his teeth graze my lobe. “We could be so good together. I know you see it.” He nuzzles my neck, his lips finding the soft spot below my ear.

“Owen.” I try to push him away again, but it does little to deter him.

Gone is the playfully obnoxious man who’s had me buckled over in laughter all night. He’s been replaced by a very persistent, borderline inappropriate man, who is about one grind of his hips into mine away from a knee to the groin.

“Lyric.” His lips touch my cheek and I pull back, preparing to take physical action to get him off of me. Only before I can even formulate what that would even look like, the heat of his body disappears in a flash.

It takes me several seconds to process the next set of events because the instant I register Kai’s face, everything else becomes a blur.

“You were always shit for taking no for an answer.” Kai seethes, pinning Owen to the opposite wall, his forearm pressed to his throat, cutting off his air supply. His expression morphs to panic, his mouth opening and closing, trying to find air. “Only this time, you fucked with something that belongs to me.”

My heart leaps into my throat.

“And that I simply cannot have.” His voice is eerily calm and yet somehow disturbingly menacing at the same time.

“I’m...” Owen tries to speak but can’t get out more than a syllable before Kai presses against his throat harder. I watch in horror as his red face begins to take on a purplish hue.

“Touch her again and I’ll fucking kill you. Is that understood?” He growls, getting nose to nose with Owen, who tries to nod but can’t really move, his eyes wide in fear.

I’m frozen to the spot, unable to intervene—hell, unable to move—paralyzed by the dozens of people who have gathered in the hall, their gazes bouncing between the two men and me. I press my back tighter against the wall, wishing for it to swallow me whole.

Even though Kai looks seconds away from killing Owen, not a single soul dares to step in. Just when I think he might actually do it, he drops his arm.

Owen sinks to his knees, gasping for the air his lungs so desperately need.

I watch on in horror.

“In case I didn’t make myself clear...” I don’t even realize Kai’s moved until he’s in front of me. “Mine.”

My eyes flash to his to see he’s looking right at me.

Wait... Is he...Staking his claim?

I don’t know whether to be offended or turned on. Hell, maybe I’m a little bit of both.

“Mine,” he repeats, louder this time, as if he wants to make sure everyone watching can hear.

Taking my face in both of his hands, his mouth meets mine, kissing away any rebuttal I might have come up with. And while my initial reaction is to push him away, feeling the burn of various sets of eyes as people watch on, once he drags his tongue across mine in that seductive way he does, I melt against him, having never stood a chance.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” he murmurs against my lips, and all I can do is nod in agreement, words evading me.

Stepping back, he tucks me into his side, his arm going around my shoulder, and only then do I allow myself to look at the crowd gathered around us. Most of them showed up for the altercation with Owen, who’s still on the floor gasping for air, but that didn’t stop them from staying once Kai’s attention turned to me. Some looked shocked. Others angry, including a couple girls who look torn between tears and clawing my eyeballs out. Some seem indifferent, just looking on, hoping for a real fight. And even a few look almost impressed, including Maisie, whose gaze I meet seconds before Kai shuffles me out the door.

Any worry I had that she’d be upset with me for not heeding her warning about Kai seems to have been unwarranted if the way she smiles at me is any indication.

The evening air is cool on my overheated skin as we step outside, some of my sense seeming to return.

“What the hell was that?” I wait until we’re clear of the yard before asking, dipping out from under Kai’s arm.

“What was what?” He pivots to face me, his expression completely at ease, like he didn’t just nearly choke someone out for trying to kiss me.

“That!” I gesture back toward the house. “You could have killed Owen.”

“Only I didn’t.” His brow furrows like he doesn’t see the problem here.

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