Page 67 of Worth

“I did,” she answers. She snaps her fingers at me. “Let’s go.”

I launch to my feet, crushing the hand that she snapped at me with in my grip. To her credit, she doesn’t back down. Nose-to-nose, we glare at one another, my hand still covering hers.

“Come on, Zander,” she taunts, keeping her voice low enough so that only Aiden and I can hear. “What are you going to do? Force me to my knees in front of your friends?”

It reminds me we’re not alone. My eyes dart around the beach and I realize everyone is watching us. I press my arm out—the one holding her hand—so her body isn’t so close to me anymore and release her.

“Get your things,” I snap. “We’re leaving.”

She gives a coy smile. “I know. I already told you that.”

I let out a growl of frustration. “Go get in the goddamn car, Blake.”

“After you,” she retorts, gesturing toward the general direction of where we parked.

I’m two seconds away from grabbing her by the throat and putting her on her knees like she suggested, just because I’m that goddamn frustrated with her. Not wanting to do this in front of the others, I storm past her without another word.

I hear the snicker as she falls into step behind me, followed by some murmured comments from Aiden that I can’t make out. Blake is the only one that calls out any farewells, getting a shouted, “Good luck”, from Val as we go.

The car is quiet as we drive back to the house, the twenty-minute drive silent save for the whistle of the wind around the vehicle. Aiden sits in the back with Blake, but he’s respectfully keeping his distance from her despite looking like he wants to sit in her lap. Blake is sitting up in her seat ramrod straight, her eyes locked on me via the rearview mirror.

I jerk to a stop once we finally make it to the house, throwing open the car door and trying to put some distance between me and Blake.

“That’s it, Zander,” she calls after me. “Run away. Too fucking scared to actually talk to me.”

I stop in my tracks and spin, going rigid. We lock into a standoff, both of us fuming.

“Kitten,” Aiden says, glancing between us. “Let’s get you to bed.”

“No,” she answers, snarling. “I’m tired of his shitty attitude.”

I laugh darkly. “What are you going to do about it?”

There’s a pause where she’s making a decision, and when she does, she runs at me. I brace myself, which helps when she slams into me, but it’s not enough to keep us from stumbling backward while locked in a wrestling match.

Blake strikes at me with a fist, landing it squarely on my jaw. I don’t react or attempt to hit her back, butgoddamn,that hurt. Aiden rushes forward but stops, looking unsure of what to do.

“Fight back, you dickhead,” she growls. “I know you want to hit me.”

I lurch forward, seizing her by her hair. I yank up, making her go on tiptoes to relieve the pressure of my pulling. “You don’t want to do this, baby girl. Go to bed. Sleep off your drunk.”

“Fuck you,” she spits, grabbing my arm and digging her nails in hard.

I shake her off my arm and shove, making her stumble back. “Go. To. Bed. Blake,” I bark, feeling my self-control waver.

“Make me,” she replies, smug.

My self-control snaps. Aiden reaches for both of us, but it’s too late. I tackle her to the ground, rolling so I don’t totally crush her into the dirt with my weight. Her fist aims true, connecting with my jaw more than once or twice as we land in a tangled pile of limbs.

“Poor little girl,” I sneer, dodging a blow. “Angry because nobody wants her.”

“Me?” She tries to headbutt me, but misses when I shove her off the top of me, sending her rolling across the ground. She scrambles to her feet before she comes to a full stop. “Look at you, asshole,” she continues without missing a beat. “Poor Zander. Too fucked up in the head to realize that he’s not special. There’s lots of us who went through hell as a Skin. You’re not better or special. That just makes you like us. It makes younormal.”

Blake moves to kick me and I grab her ankle, twisting to take her down to the ground. She strikes out with another kick, catching my shoulder hard enough to make it throb. I roll, holding her legs down with my body.

“And you’re not acting as if you’re not some goddamn spoiled princess, demanding to get her way?” I spit, ducking as she tries to slap at me. “Newsflash, Blake. I may not be special, butneither are you.The only difference between us is that I might be a prick, but at least I don’t lie to myself about it.”

She gets a leg free from underneath me and kicks hard, making me see stars for a moment when her foot connects with the side of my head. I snatch up her leg by the ankle before she can kick me the second time and jump to my feet. I pull her with me, holding her by one ankle in the air—no easy feat considering she’s tall.

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