Chapter 28
Chapter twenty-eight
Asoft whirring at her side had her hand moving before she opened her eyes. Shutting off the phone's silent alarm, Ebony stared up into the darkness. Bringing her phone upward, she checked the time: seven in the morning. The sun was up but her room was pitch black.
Laying the phone back down, she lay there in the dark letting her mind and body fully wake.
A soft constant sound, barely audible, sounded from her right.
Slow and rhythmic it was the same sound she had fallen asleep to for weeks, a sound she wasn’t sure she could ever go without again.
Carefully, she turned her head and stared at the figure next to her in the dark.
She smiled. Gavin was the vampire who needed the total blackout to sleep.
She could count on one hand how many times she had used the heavy automated curtains.
When she had told him that he had scoffed.
Now the curtains were set on an automatic timer.
In a few minutes the sunlight would rouse the nosferatu from his sleep.
Pulling back the covers, Ebony glanced at him one last time and froze, her legs halfway out of the bed.
Despite the dark and half of his face buried in the pillow he was hugging, his unguarded expression stopped her.
Turning onto her side she stared at him.
From the shape of his brow to his soft lips, there was nothing about him that wasn't captivating.
Guilt twisted in her stomach as she hovered a hand over his defined jawline.
Somehow, he was taking up more and more space in her life.
There was hardly ever a moment in the day when they were apart.
After class, he stayed with her, helping on various year-end projects with deadlines that were approaching far too fast. He claimed it was all in the name of help but she knew he was really there to make sure she didn’t run herself into the ground again.
She scowled. One little cold. She got one little cold and he blew it all out of proportion.
For three days he wouldn’t let her leave the bed and had even called a doctor for a home visit.
Because of him she had to get a painful steroid shot in her ass.
Annoyed all over again, she stood up and went to the bathroom.
Taking her bonnet off, she began to undo the braids holding down her curls.
She glanced down at the toothbrush charging next to hers.
He was everywhere in her life. When was the last time he slept in his own room? Or used his own bathroom?
Her face heated at the memory. Last night she’d been in bed, half-distracted by an email to the prom photographer, when he’d walked straight through her bathroom wearing nothing but a towel.
He hadn't even bothered to close the door.
That half-second glance at him had felt like a flash of lightning sticking in her brain like afterburn.
His damp hair was slicked back, the towel slung low on his narrow hips, his abs flexing with every step.
Ebony let out a sad sound as she grabbed her own toothbrush, next to his. He was trying to kill her. Slowly torture her to death, she was sure of it. Every boundary, every rule they had coexisted with for years was dissolving with each passing day.
"Morning," the sudden gravelly sound of his voice made her jump and she stared back at him through the mirror with wide eyes as he walked past her to the water closet.
His eyes were barely open as he walked past, still halfway asleep.
Ebony bit down onto the head of her toothbrush as she stared.
His muscles shifted easily beneath his skin with each stop, smooth and hard.
His boxer briefs, criminally small scraps of cloth in her opinion, did absolutely nothing to stop her wandering eyes.
They were snug enough to leave little to the imagination, sitting low on his hips and pulling her focus to the hard ridge pressing against the fabric.
She couldn’t look away. Her throat went dry as she watched it bob and sway with every step he took.
He was definitely trying to kill her.
A half hour later they were downstairs. The forecast predicted a sunny day, just warm enough to let her pull out a jean skirt and a polo shirt topped off with her favorite sneakers.
Looking forward to picking up an ice coffee before class, she turned the corner sharply and nearly toppled over Duke who was sitting and waiting.
“Duke!” She bent down, laughter and relief breaking through her surprise as she cupped his cute face.
His tail whished back and forth and he answered with an unexpected and enthusiastic jump up, licking her directly on the face.
Ebony squealed in shock. She grimaced at the feeling of his tongue warm and sloppy against her skin.
"Okay, okay," she laughed, shaking her head with a smile. He looked as if he was ready and willing to give her more kisses. "Thank you, sweet boy."
“What a good idea,” Gavin's voice behind her stilled her.
She never had the chance to move. His hand was already at her waist, turning her and tugging her into a quick kiss, hard enough to steal her breath.
Her body locked. Her eyes didn’t close. Instead, they darted, almost on instinct, to the nearest camera at the corner of the room.
Gavin saw her panic and let her go. The flicker in his eyes was a mixture of hurt and something else, something darker, before he looked away.
Ebony's chest squeezed. That familiar ache she thought she would never feel again was suddenly back. All she could see was him leaving again…maybe even going back to Sienna. The image of him with her that night in the pool house hollowed her insides. She couldn’t watch him walk away. Not again. Not even one step.
Desperately she reached out, grasping onto his shirt. “Wait… can I ride to school with you? Please?”
He stilled, letting her grip on his shirt stop him and then turned back to her. A slow, knowing smirk curved his lips. “You never have to ask.”
He reached for her and Ebony felt the air return to her lungs. He pulled her close until his arm draped over her shoulder, molding her to his side, staking his claim. Together, they walked to the garage.
"Holy shit, you look amazing," Ethan blurted as he stared at her.
Luis didn’t say anything with a drink in his hand; he just stared at her wide-eyed.
The second they stepped into the gymnasium turned ballroom, the air changed.
Ethan's and Luis's reactions weren't isolated.
One after the other, people either stopped to stare at her or gush out compliments.
Ebony wasn't sure how to handle it. Running a hand over the puffy skirt of her dress, she tried not to frown.
Her dress wasn't that different from everyone else's.
The attire was formal, of course, but the school had a long-standing prom tradition that the seniors would go to the beach afterward meaning it was kind of an unspoken suggestion that the girls wore some sort of cocktail dress.
And that's exactly what she was wearing.
So why was everyone acting as if she was wearing a gown made of diamonds and gold?
"Thank you, Ethan," she said warmly. "You look handsome too." Like Luis he was dressed in a beige linen suit. The senior boys deciding to go for a Hamptons preppy look.
Again, she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt.
"Relax, you look fine," Pulling his hard gaze from the onlookers staring her way, Gavin looked down at her. A muscle rippled along his jaw. "More than fine actually. Fucking stunning."
He was giving her the same hard look he had given her when she had come down the stairs that night, his eyes taking in every detail of her.
From her wedge heeled sneakers to the halter top white dress with black polka dots that stopped well above her knee.
His luminous blue eyes seemed to stop at her breasts.
For what felt like agonizing minutes he just stared at the rounding cleavage the tight square neckline seemed to create.
She had known the second she put it on it may be a problem, but she had steeled herself for his reaction ready to argue if needed.
But how could she prepare for his stone-cold simmering silence?
Nervously she patted the back of her head where her hair had been pulled into an elegant little up-do. "You don't look like you like my outfit."
"Oh, I like it. I like it a lot. I just didn’t think I’d end up playing Caesar waiting for my fucking friends to slide the blade in my back," he said, scanning the crowd. A glimmer of fury darted through his eyes before he looked back to her with a smirk.
Realizing he was joking…partially, Ebony relaxed.
Months and months of planning was finally done and she was free.
Jina Lee, a junior and next year's new student council president, had the reins tonight, leaving Ebony completely free to enjoy the evening.
Taking her by the hand, Gavin escorted her through the night as they mingled with friends, smiled and posed for photos, feasted on random hors d'oeuvres she let Gavin pick out,and voting for the best dressed couple.
It was the final song of the night, an R&B song settling over the room. The fun playful mood of the room shifted. Drawn from their tables and standing groups along the wall, couples formed, one after another drifting onto the dance floor.
Gavin who never left her side all evening, turned to her. He cocked his head toward the dance floor, his bright eyes gleaming in the low light. "Wanna dance?"
Her heart stuttered in her chest. A sweet warmth suffused her body as she lost herself in his eyes.
Those eyes. Those sharp eyes that saw every part of her.
In his pale blue linen suit and cream shirt, he looked like a summer storm.
Inviting yet lethal and just as unpredictable.
Enthralled by him, Ebony couldn’t form a sound, instead settling for a nod.