Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
Afterward, Louis helps me into fresh clothes, pressing kisses to my shoulder as he zips up the back of my dress. My skin crawls at his touch, but I let him take care of me because I know it will make him feel good, and because I don’t want him to realize how angry I am until it’s too late.
He puts an arm around my waist and pulls me back against his chest, resting his chin on the top of my head. “We should get back to my family,” he murmurs. “I don’t want to be impolite.”
Impolite. I almost laugh at the word. This man helped his family throw me out into the cold for a monster to ravage, yet he’s expecting me to stick to the rules of etiquette.
“You’re right, we should,” I say mildly. “But… could I have just a few minutes alone first? I’m still… processing.”
“Of course,” he says. “You want me to stay with you?”
“No, no. Go be with your family. Please.”
I send him off with a kiss, and listen to his steps heading for the lounge where the rest of them are presumably still gathered. Then I put on my coat and creep down the stairs and straight to the back door.
I reach for the lock, my fingertips grazing the cool metal. But then I hesitate. Is this really the right thing to do? I’m safe inside now. I could hide in here and leave Krampus out in the cold to rage, and there’s nothing he could do about it.
As far as Louis and his family are concerned, I’ve passed the test. I’ll be accepted as one of them. I got what I wanted. Didn’t I?
“Where do you think you’re going?”
My blood runs cold at the familiar voice. I resist the urge to yank back my hand like a guilty child caught with a hand in the cookie jar. Instead, I school my expression into neutrality before turning to face Louis’s brother.
“Surely you’re not so eager to be out in the cold again,” Adrian says, with that god-awful, ever-present smirk on his face.
I remember the way he manhandled me earlier, his fingers squeezing me in places they shouldn’t have lingered even as he dragged me out into the cold.
My hand clenches at my side, but I tuck it behind my back and plaster on a smile.
“This is all… a lot to process,” I say, as sweetly as I can manage. “I was thinking about getting some fresh air.”
He snorts. “Some fresh air? In a blizzard? You expect me to believe that?”
My smile goes rigid. He’s right, it’s a terrible excuse. He’s drunk, but not drunk enough to believe it, and his eyes are narrowed on me. He can’t possibly suspect what I’m really up to, but he’s gleaned that I’m hiding something.
Little does he know, I’m hiding many things. So I suppose I’ll have to sacrifice a small truth.
“Okay. You’ve caught me.” My hand dives into the pocket of my coat. I hold up my packet of cigarettes with an embarrassed grimace. “What I really need is a smoke.”
He laughs. “Disgusting,” he says. “Didn’t expect a girl like you to have a filthy habit like that.”
I grate at being called a girl, and the fact that his eyes linger on my cleavage as he calls me filthy.
My coat is on but unbuttoned, and I resist the urge to cover myself.
As repulsive as Adrian is, it gives me an angle to work with.
“That’s funny,” I say. “You didn’t strike me as a man put off by a little filth. ”
His gaze darts up to meet mine, and his eyes widen at my flirtatious look before his expression settles into a pleased and unsurprised sort of smugness. Like he was expecting this all the while, and just waiting for me to prove him right.
Gag.
“I’m not,” he says. “Though it’s been a while since I…” He glances at the pack of cigarettes, then again at my face. “Indulged.”
“Oh? What a shame.” I flick open the pack, grab a cigarette.
“Perhaps you should join me, then.” I hold it out to him in offering.
Giving him an excuse to step closer, which he does.
His fingers graze mine as he takes the cigarette, and his face comes close enough that I can smell the whiskey on his breath.
“We’re really not supposed to go outside tonight,” he murmurs, watching my lips.
“Do you always do what you’re told, Adrian?” I ask softly, teasing. I pull my lower lip between my teeth.
He hesitates. I flick a strand of hair behind my back, drawing his attention back to my cleavage. “I suppose they won’t notice we’re gone if we’re quick about it.”
“I suppose you’re right,” I whisper.
He reaches behind me and clicks the lock open.
Grinning, I turn and step outside into the snow.