Page 290 of Midnights
Another buzz.
Kane: Tick Tock.
I can feel the heat curling through my veins, unraveling whatever logic I was hoping to take with me going into the conversation I planned on having with him. I bet he's enjoying every second of this. If only he knew how worked up I was getting over nothing.
Two hallways split in front of me—one leads deeper into the estate, the other toward the library. Since I was already heading that direction, I keep going that way. My stomach flips at the memory of the last time we were in there. That might as well have been years ago.
The second I step inside, the smell of leather and something familiar wraps around me. My eyes sweep the shelves and the dark corners swallowed in shadow, but I don't see him.
Okay, Raven, think. There’s only so many places he could be if he’s in here.
Another buzz.
Kane: Warmer.
I swear under my breath, scanning the space. “You’re enjoying this way too much.” I mutter, knowing damn well he can hear me.
Silence.
Then I hear a whisper of movement, and my head snaps to the left, while my heart hammers in my throat. I suck in a breath, trying to convince myself to calm down. I might actually end up punching him in the face, and it’s going to be his own fault.
But, alright, fine. If he wants to play, I’ll fucking play. I school my expression and straighten my spine.
“You know, if you’re trying to scare me,” I say, brushing my fingers over the worn leather spines like I've got all the time in the world, “you’ll have to do better than this.”
Still nothing.
But I feel him.
“I really don’t like hide and seek,” I go on, still looking around like he might pop out of a corner. “Never have.”
I pause, letting the silence stretch, when my phone buzzes again. Only Kane would turn hide-and-seek into foreplay. How the hell am I turned on and on edge at the same time?
Kane is typing…pops up on the screen and I glare at the dots like they personally offended me.
Kane: “...”
That’s it? Oh, fuck no.
“What are you, in high school? Where the fuck are you?” My voice echoes through the library, swallowed by the rows of books towering around me. “I mean it, if you jump out and scare me, I’ll hit you, and I won’t even feel bad. Consider yourself warned.”
Another buzz.
Kane: You’re beautiful when you’re angry. Did you know that?
I stop breathing.
My fingers tighten around my phone as heat rushes through me again. That smug, insufferable fuck.
Oh, he wants me. His eyes give it away every damn time, tracing me like he's memorizing all the ways he’s going to ruin me. Every smirk, every crack of tension between us… he's not even trying to hide it anymore. Not since our little date.
I've got nothing. What would I even say? I could ignore him, or call him out? But I can't act like I'm not throbbing in all the wrong places over one stupid text.
“Flattery won’t save you when I find you.”
A beat of silence and then… another buzz.
Kane: Who said I wanted saving?
