Page 149 of Wicked Dreams (Fallen Royals 1)

Does Caleb love me, too?

33

We’re dancing. I don’t think we’ve stopped dancing.

It’s an excuse to touch Caleb. And to feel his hands on my bare back. Each tiny stroke of his thumb under the edge of my dress, inching closer to my ass, sends sparks through me. It’s dangerous and dirty, and I desperately want him to take me upstairs, already.

Tonight has been an exercise in ignoring Amelie and Ian, who always seem to be in the corner of my eye. She came in with a gorgeous black mask that has feathers and jewels, and a tight, tight red dress. Ian matches her: red mask, black-and-red suit.

I wonder if anyone’s compared her to the Queen of Hearts. Off with their heads!

Luckily, Amelie doesn’t have that much power.

Savannah brought a new boy to the dance. His mask obscures too much of his face, but people are whispering.

The slow song ends, and I step away from Caleb. My feet ache.

“Thirsty?” he asks.

I nod, searching for Riley. After a moment, I find her and point. “I’ll be over there.”

He grins. There’s a spot of red lipstick on his lip, and I start to rub it off for him.

He stops me. “Leave it. I like your mark on me.”

I grin, shaking my head. Of course he does.

Halfway to Riley’s table, a girl approaches. She grabs my arm and pulls me out a side door, into a hallway.

“Excuse me,” I snap.

She lifts her mask.

Claire.

“What are you doing here?” I gasp.

She rolls her eyes. “Nice seeing you, too, sis.”

“Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting you to crash the party.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t expecting you to ignore my phone calls.”

“I’m not. I haven’t got any from you.”

She scowls.

“Seriously. And my phone is in Caleb’s jacket…”

“I have something important to tell you, Margo.”

I hold up my hands. “Okay, okay.”

It must be bad if Claire is willing to travel all the way to Rose Hill to tell me something. Bad or good, I guess. My bet is on the former. And as I think that, my stomach twists.

“I was worried about you,” she said. “And you know how we met your foster mom the other day?”

Last week, at the mall. How could I forget?

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