Page 45 of The Kiss Of Death
“Stuff?”
“Yes. Stuff you may be into.” I made my eyes look bigger, insinuating what he probably thought of.
“Such as?”
“Sexual stuff.”
I didn’t know why I was staring at his lips. He had nice lips. Kissable lips. Kissable lips I would never kiss again. So why was I clenching my thighs and pulling my knees together?I should stop reading Yasmine’s books.
“Ouch.” He didn’t seem offended, his lips tugging at one corner. “I bet the sound of your orgasm would be a beautiful symphony to my ears, but as amusing as it sounds, it wasn’t for that.”
My cheeks burned. “Why then?”
“You’ll have to come to find out.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“It’s nice you think you have a choice.”
“I do.”
“No, you don’t because you have something to lose. I could make life infuriating for your friend, Yasmine, and I’d be willing to do all that for you… Or worse, team up with your daddy dearest to push you out of Pantheon. So you don’t really have a choice.”
“You have a black soul.”
“Then you’ll pray for my soul like the good obedient Catholic church girl you’ve been raised to be.”
“Or I’ll curse you so your soul ends up in hell.”
He smirked. “That’s more like it. I look forward to playing with you tonight, my little broken doll.”
“This is literally perfect for you. On the downside, you definitely won’t be as popular as the athletes.” Yas’s voice echoed in the grand hall’s high vaulted ceilings.
I snapped a picture of the papers overlapping on the wall of missions. The wall of missions was a place where extracurricular activities were listed, allowing students to participate in competitive weekend events, primarily sports competitions that would grant points for the House Cup. Payers of papers, sign-up sheets, and advertisements were scattered on the board. It also allowed us to explore various opportunities like internships or conferences with world leaders.
That one mission caught my eye: “Mystery and Legacy—how well do you know Pantheon?” It was exclusively for first-year students, and our house headmaster would select his champion to compete against the three other houses at the opera house next Saturday at two o’clock. The prize was five house points for the winner.
“I’m taking this one. It has to be a quiz,” I mused. “You?”
She opted for the essay writing contest, and I shot her a knowing glance; she wasn’t exactly stepping out of her comfort zone.
“What?” She crossed her arms, and we swayed to the common room for Sylas’s almost-win party. “Baby steps.”
I smiled. Tonight, we’d promised to be daring. We were going to our first Pantheon party—my first ever. Yas donned asnug burgundy dress, accentuating her curves, while I opted for knee-high socks, a ruffled skirt, and the pinkish long-sleeved top Grandma gifted me. Dad would 100 percent disapprove of it because it was baring my shoulders.
“Don’t you think my thighs look huge?” Yasmine fretted as we reached Unifiers territory.
“No,” I said firmly, raising my chin. “You are feminine, sexy, and stunning. The ghosts of my family would be awestruck by your beauty.”
“Thank you… I guess?”
I cleared my throat. “Or perhaps that ‘fae king’ of yours might propose a fake marriage because he’s instantly obsessed with you.”
A smile crept onto Yas’s face. “That was sweet.”
I pushed the common room door open, expecting the party to be as Dad had described it—students drinking, puking, dancing to the beat of the devil’s music, and having orgies. But instead, students took turns at the karaoke machine singing anime songs. A group huddled around a table, engrossed in fantasy board games. A circle formed around Sylas, engrossed in conversations, holding vanilla beer, the amber liquid glinting in the warm glow of the room’s green lights.
For the next few hours, I wanted to revel in the moment and not think about Levi and the way he seemed to occupy my every waking thought.
