Page 10 of Bonded Ever After

As they go to pass me, I shove Ferone back. He glares. I shove him again. Elora tries to get between us, but I move around her, a fighter even in my drunken state. He finally punches me, but it’s nothing. Barely a blow. I wind back, and at the last minute, I gentle my punch. I hit him square in the face, knocking him to the floor.

He doesn’t get up, but his chest continues to rise and fall.

Turning to Elora, I don’t think, I just act. I pick her up and toss her over my shoulder, then head down the stairs. She punches my back. She kicks. And she must actually be trying to hurt me, because it does hurt. I carry her out of the party and down the street, deciding on a whim to head to my house, since it’s only a couple streets away.

“Put me down, you oaf!” she screams.

I pat her butt, then caress it. I’ve missed that butt.

“I’m going to kick your ass when you put me down, you idiotic neanderthal!”

It’s weird. I don’t even mind that she’s yelling, or that she’s mad at me. I just like being near her, like hearing her voice, even though that’s fucked up.

We reach my dark house, and I step inside. I flick on a lone light switch and then set her down in front of me. She regards me with a mixture of anger and wariness. I just hope she can’t see my desperation as I look back at her.

“You can spend one night without Ferone’s dick.”

She glares. “You don’t get it.”

I angle her until her back hits the wall in my foyer, and then I lean close and say, “I get it. You’ve been fucking that asshole every night since you got back from Neverwood, and you can’t bring yourself to spend one night without his wimpy, tiny little dick.”

To my surprise, she looks confused. “I haven’t been sleeping with Ferone.”

I laugh, but the laugh is filled with anger. “Everybody knows. You haven’t exactly been subtle about who you’re letting into that pussy of yours.”

She gives me an irritated look. “People talk, Callum, that’s what they do. If the rumors are true, you’ve banged your way through the whole cheerleading squad, all the science geeks, andyou’re making your round through the art club. All in a week. I imagine your dick is pretty tired after all that.”

I study her face, trying to see any signs that she’s lying, but there are none. “You’re telling me that after what I just walked in on, you’re not sleeping with Ferone.”

Her cheeks heat. “That was actually going to be our first time. Not that it’s any of your business.”

I take her by the back of the neck and force her to look at me. “Don’t lie to me.”

Her eyes glare into mine. “Why would I lie to you? I’m a free woman. I can do whatever the hell I want, and it’s none of your business.”

“People said they saw him leaving your house.”

“He’s never been to my house,” she says, emphasizing each word.

I release her, feeling strange.She hasn’t slept with Ferone?It’s like all the strength leaves my body, and I just want to sit down. Over the past few weeks I’ve been fueled by jealousy and rage, and just about nothing else.But I was wrong? How is this possible?

“Time to go,” she says, taking a step toward the door.

“Go?” I say, the word coming out broken. “Go where?”

She gives me a strange look. “Back to the party with Ferone. I have plans.”

I stare. “Plans to fuck him?”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “Yes.”

It’s like I’ve gathered the broken pieces of myself in my arms, and now I don’t know what to do with them. “You don’t have to go back to him. You don’t have to sleep with him.”

Looking away, she says, “Yes. Yes, I do.”

When she tries to head to the door, I catch her arm. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” she asks quietly.

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