Page 77 of Forbidden Magic
“I’ve been better, but I convinced my parents to let me stay.” She offers me a smile. That’s a start.
“No date?” Jeremy asks my sister.
Allie rolls her eyes. “One day you’ll have to stop chasing me, Jer. Besides, it’s a dick move to sniff around me when you’re here with Lydia.”
She drops her flute on a table and hurries off to god knows where. I almost want to punch Jeremy for driving her away.
The rest of us chat and try the specialty chocolates. The flavor I pick is marked as “salted caramel surprise” and starts out as a regular piece of chocolate before slowly fizzing into an explosion of bubbles rolling pleasantly off my tongue and tickling all the way down my throat.
I grin at the taste and plop another one in my mouth.
Trent steals a taste with a kiss. “Yum. If you’ll excuse me for a minute, I’ll be right back.”
Lydia hums after biting down on a “singing dulce de leche.”
Maybe we can be friends again. As much as I’d love to sweep this whole nonsense under the rug, I’m still raw about it. Strict parents or not, she stood there while I was tied to a tree and did nothing to stop it.
Jeremy whisks her out to the dance floor, and I’m left alone with the tray of delicacies before Melanie corners me.
The train of her dress rattles behind her like a snake’s tail. “You’re hurting him. You see that, right? It’s bad enough that he’s into you, but he’s alienating everyone else trying to defend you. He’ll go to war for you. That’s who he is. You should do the right thing and cut him loose.”
I swallow the last of the spicy “hot fudge” and press a napkin to my lips. “Why would I turn away the only immortal who’s decent enough to talk to me?”
She scowls. “Because you don’t love him. You’re just curious about the whole vampire thing. It’s me, girl. We both know who you’re really into.”
I roll my shoulders back, meeting her suspicious gaze without an ounce of shame. I won’t take crap from a girl who’s fucking Flynn willingly. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“Save your badass savior crap for your own kind. I see you. Your little crusade is not about making things better for mortals. It’s about you and your war against the Fae. Do us all a favor and fuck one already.”
She scampers off as Trent returns. “What did she want?”
“Nothing,” I lie.
We laugh, kiss, and drink the night away until more and more people filter out.
He drags me to the dance floor and holds me close to him as a lovely rendition of an old love ballad blasts through the speakers. The way his body molds mine is intoxicating.
I rest my head on his shoulder.
His hands skim my ass before settling in a safe spot at my lower back. “Want to go somewhere more private?”
My mouth is dry, and I search for an answer in the crowd.
Melanie and Flynn are immediately on our right, Trent’s twin shooting murderous glares my way.
Lydia is dancing with Jeremy on the side, the wolf’s tie hanging around his neck, undone. My cheek bumps against Trent’s as we sway to the languid music.
Cole is pressed against Jessa barely a few feet away. His large shoulders are stiff underneath his black jacket, his long fingers digging into the silk of his partner’s dress.
So far, I’d been doing a stellar job of ignoring his existence.
I drag my gaze from Cole’s sleeve up to his freshly shaved jaw to the rings on top of his ear. The disheveled curls give him a wild look. Jessa is the perfect trophy wife, her blue hair styled into a glamorous bun. The white dress reveals her every curve. A shine reverberates off them as though a special spotlight illuminates their path.
My lids flutter, erasing their presence.
Trent’s cool thumb traces the slope of my neck. “Are you game?” Trent asks again, his voice heavy with promises.
I open my mouth to answer, but the words die on my lips. I’m staring right into Cole’s amber gaze, the rich shade turning into liquid gold, his eyes narrowing slightly.
