Page 26 of Marked By the Pack
He smiled. “Okay. Just so we’re on the same page.”
“Definitely.” I knew I said definitely. But I was actually completely and utterly confused. Why couldn’t he date me?
His eyes wandered to my cleavage. And I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. I knew why he didn’t want to date me. I wasn’t the kind of girl you brought home to your mom. I was the kind of girl you threw dollar bills at. Even when some days I wished I wasn’t.
He cleared his throat. “Come on, I want to try this lasagna that you made. I’ll be on my best behavior, I promise.”
I wasn’t sure if he meant he’d behave around Callum or behave around me. Probably both. And I really wished he’d only behave around Callum. How had I read this situation so wrong? I really was off my game. I’d felt something when we bumped into each other earlier. But maybe I just misread the scalding hot soup on my skin as a spark.
Screw tonight.I downed the rest of my wine, ignoring Otto’s gaze on me. I’d get through this dinner and then King would make me feel better. Maybe King would also tell me how I could protect myself from a vampire, since Otto clearly didn’t want to help me with that. I grabbed the bottle and my glass and walked past Otto.
But he caught my arm, stopping me.
All the breath left my lungs as he stepped forward, pinning me against the wall.
Chapter 7
Wednesday
Zoey
Otto put his hands on either side of me against the wall, caging me in. “Has anyone ever told you how sexy you are when you’re pissed off?” His gaze fell to my lips.
“I’m not upset.” But my heart felt weird in my chest. I wished I wasn’t upset. But his words had stung.Why couldn’t he date me? What was so wrong with…me?
“You just downed a whole glass of wine.”
“That had nothing to do with you. I’m just a fan of reds.”
“Mhm. It had nothing to do with the fact that I said I can’t date you?”
If he didn’t want to date me, why was he here? Why had he sounded upset when it wasn’t just the two of us? Why was he staring at me like that? And why was he not letting me move? Nothing about what he said matched what he was doing. “No. I’m a big girl. I don’t need to hear the ‘It’s not you, it’s me’speech. Trust me, I know how great I am. So if you’ll excuse me.”
I ducked out from beneath his arm. This time he didn’t stop me. My mind was spinning, and I wished I hadn’t just pounded so much wine. I needed to think straight. Seriously, what the hell was that? Telling me he couldn’t date me one minute and then looking like he wanted to devour me the next?
Callum and Emma were sitting at the table waiting for us.
“Everything good?” Emma asked.
“Yeah.” I filled the rest of the wine glasses on the table.
Otto pulled my seat out for me.
So now you’re polite? Asshole.I unceremoniously plopped down into my chair. I cleared my throat and lifted my glass. “Here’s to…new friends.” I emphasized the word friends and tapped my glass against Otto’s first.
He raised his eyebrow at me. His hazel eyes would have been distracting if I wasn’t pissed off at him. I turned away from him and tapped my glass with Callum’s.
Callum gave me a polite nod.
“So…” I said, my voice trailing off. “Should we just address the elephant in the room?”
“The fact that you invited Callum to a dinner party even though he doesn’t eat normal food?” Otto asked. “You know…because he’s a vampire?”
The lights dimmed for just a moment. Had Grudge messed up something with the wiring last night somehow? I ignored the lights and glared at Otto. “No. I’m actually talking aboutyoursecret.”
“What?”
“Emma and Callum both know it, but they refuse to tell me. They said I just needed to ask you myself. So, I’m asking. What is this crazy secret that makesyouso undatable?”
