Page 89 of Ward Willing
I let my eyes slide away from his. “Truth or dare?” I ask her.
“Dare,” Layla replies, giving me a knowing smile.
Looking between Orion and Layla, I make a bold decision. “I dare you to kiss Kai.” Layla’s eyes widen as Miles huffs a knowing laugh. Arching a brow, I cross my arms. “Go on, then.”
Orion isfumingas Layla walks over to Malakai, and she gives him a friendly peck on the lips. It’s over in less than a second, but Orion looks like he’s about to body check his older brother.
Miles winks at me before Layla turns to Juliet, who is the next youngest. “Truth or dare?”
“Truth, always,” Juliet says, smirking at Chase.
I hardly hear Layla ask her question as Liam pushes off the wall and comes to stand next to me. My pulse begins to whoosh in my ears, and everything else sort of drops away whenever he’s nearby. His hand rests on the arm of the chair I’m sitting in, and somehow, I can sense the anger radiating off him just from how the pronounced veins and how it’s splayed out on the bright turquoise fabric.
Almost like he knows he’s staking a claim over me.
“Are you kidding, Zoe? Dropping out of college?” he asks, his voice low enough for only me to hear.
“I know it’s hard for someone in education, someone like you, to think outside the box?—”
“When I told you to take the time to figure out what you wanted, I didn’t think that meant dropping out of school.”
My nails dig into the fabric of the chair.God, he’s so aggravating.
“If I’d known your advice had stipulations”—I narrow my eyes as I look up at him—“maybe I wouldn’t have listened to you. So, what, it’s okay to follow my dreams as long as they align with your normative views on higher education? Which is, by the way, a crock of capitalist bullshit?—”
“Careful, Zoe,” he growls, his hand leaving the couch to brush the hair from my face. I’d taken the witch’s hat off to eat earlier, and I knew my hair—despite being in braids—is a wild mess of waves. The rough pad of his fingers grazes my jaw. It’s an oddly gentle action, and I try not to react to the way my skin breaks out in goosebumps at his touch. “You’re not exactly in a position to defy me right now.”
I’m about to respond with something snarky when Layla saunters over to us. Liam takes a couple of steps away, smiling politely at the redhead as she comes to sit down on the arm of the chair.
“You okay?” she whispers.
“Fine,” I explain, letting my eyes wander over the people in the room. I didn’t hear Layla’s question or Juliet’s answer, but everyone is laughing so it must’ve been funny. Stella is tucked under Miles’s arm drinking a martini. Malakai is sipping whiskey with Chase nearby. It takes me a second to realize the youngest Ravage brother is missing.
“Where’s Orion?” I ask.
It’s not that I’m not close to the rest of Liam’s family, but Orion and Layla are much closer in age to me, so the three of us usually hang out at these kinds of events.
“No idea. He skulked off a minute ago,” Layla says absent-mindedly. Sipping from her drink, a mojito, by the look of it, she turns to faces me. “So, how mad was Liam earlier?” Her eyes follow something—or someone—over my shoulder.
I turn to find Liam walking away, his dark gaze finding mine for a second before his hand pats the pocket of his jacket.
A warning.
I squeeze my thighs together subtly, my skin hot from the anticipation. I can still feel the vibrator inside of me, and I’ve been wet all evening from the anticipation.
“Very mad,” I breathe, suddenly wanting something alcoholic. “How are you doing with Orion?” I add casually. “That was some show he put on earlier.”
Layla rolls her eyes. “He takes his role as protective stepbrother very seriously.”
“So are you on speaking terms again, then?” I ask.
Neither of them ever told me what happened, but one day they just… stopped talking. They’re cordial in person, but that’s about it.
She chews on her bottom lip. “No.” Pinning me with her large, hazel eyes, she frowns. “You’re changing the subject on purpose. What’s going on with you two?”
I shrug. “I don’t know.”
“Have you…”
