Page 168 of Positively Pricked
"Because I wanted to talk to him." An edge crept into Zane's voice. "Withoutan audience."
That sounded vaguely ominous. I gave a nervous laugh. "Without a witness, you mean."
"Something like that."
Now, I justhadto know, "What were you planning to say?"
"Nothing I want to repeat."
"Oh, please," I said. "There's nothing you could say that would shock me."
We'd just reached the elevators, and he turned to face me. "You think so, huh?"
As I looked up to meet his gaze, everything else faded into the background. In his eyes, I saw the promise of secrets and surprises, and all sorts of things that shouldn’t be discussed in public.
Without breaking eye-contact, he reached to his side and hit the button to summon the next elevator going up. While waiting, he pulled me close and nuzzled my neck.
Into my ear, he whispered, "You're mine. You know that, right?"
If he meant to shock me, he'd definitely succeeded. I pulled back to study his face. He actually looked serious.
But what did that mean? His for one night? For a weekend? For longer? Or was it just a pretty thing to say?
I might've asked, if only a sudden ding didn't break the spell. I turned to see the doors slide open, revealing an elevator that was already crammed with people.
And everyone was staring.
At Zane.
Not me.
Thank heaven.
Oblivious to the attention, Zane guided me into the elevator and wrapped an arm around my waist as we turned to face the front. Together, we ignored the whispers behind us as the elevator carried us upward to whatever would happen next.
With every stop, the space became more sparsely populated, until it was just him and me. He was behind me now, cradling me against him as I watched the numbers climb until they reached the penthouse level.
He pulled away and took my hand, leading me out of the elevator and into the posh hallway beyond. I didn't know how many suites were up here, but Ididknow that the doors onthisfloor were spaced much farther apart than they had been below.
With every step, I was feeling more nervous – but not so nervous that I wanted to turn back. In hopes of breaking the tension, I said, "Wanna hear something funny?"
Before he could even respond, I plunged onward, "Charlotte thinks you dragged me to New York because of Professor Lumberjack."
He gave a gentle tug on my hand. "Dragged you, huh?"
I gave him a tug right back. "Oh, you know what I mean." At the memory, I had to laugh. "After all, you didn't give me a whole lot of advance notice."
When Zane said nothing in reply, I said, "But she's crazy, right?"
Almost to himself, Zane said, "Not any crazier than Fergus O'Neal."
My steps faltered. "Wait, how'd you know his last name?" I stopped walking and turned to face him. "Ididn't even know his last name. Is it really O'Neal?"
Zane gave a tight shrug, but made no reply.
I didn’t know whether to smile or frown. "Oh come on. Tell me."
"All right. You want the truth? He's your roommate's boyfriend, right?"
