ELEVEN
WILLOW
Kissing Dante is a rush every time. He makes me feel with an intensity I’ve never experienced before. This feels right.
As much as we’ve clashed together, I can’t imagine being with anyone else the way I was with him tonight. Being that free and raw. Wild.
Dante is the only one who reaches inside my walls to pull out the deepest parts of me. He’s right, I am his. I’ve been his, because no one affects me like he does.
I moan as his tongue slips into my mouth.
Chuckling, he speaks against my lips. “I want you again.”
The warmth spilling into my center agrees, an aching need building at the thought of his hands on me again. I slide my thighs together and brush my lips over his sharp jaw.
“Why not start out with a date, pervert.”
Dante smirks. “Done. But this weekend doesn’t count. I’ll pick you up next Friday.”
I bite my lip around a smile. “That easy?”
“I don’t play around when I want something.”
“What do you want to do, see a movie? I hope you don’t plan on taking me to your race and calling that a good first date.”
His smirk stretches into a smug grin. “It’ll be a surprise.”
He steps back and offers me his hand. “Let’s go back to the party. We’ll dry off faster if we’re by the fire.”
Back to the party, holding his hand? My stomach dips. He’s serious. This won’t be a secret we hide in the woods or in secluded cabins. He wants me by his side.
“Hey, it’s after midnight.”
“Yeah?”
“That means it’s my favorite day of the year. Halloween.”
“It’s mine, too. Happy Halloween.”
He gives me a wicked look that sends hot and cold chills over my body.
I take his hand and his smile steals my breath.
We return to the party. A few people seem surprised, but what shocks me is how many aren’t. Maybe because of all the little ways he was possessive of me tonight. We did arrive together. He got me drinks, got angry with anyone who gave me trouble.
Those actions might have been part of his original plan to throw me off by the time he got me alone, but it made a statement.
The heat of the fire is welcome against my face. I let him pull me close and huddle into his side.
“Better?”
he murmurs, grazing his lips over my forehead.
“Much.”
I gesture to myself. “This might look badass, but velvet isn’t that warm, and fishnets are more for aesthetic purposes.”
“Ones I approve of.”
He slides his hand over my ass. “Shit.”
“What?”
“I was just thinking about that hole I ripped in them. And that you’re not wearing any underwear.”
I laugh at his tortured groan. “We can go back to the cabin. There’s firewood there. We’ll share body warmth. It’s a safety measure.”
I laugh harder, leaning into his side. He tugs me close, kissing my neck.
“How many variations does your costume have?”
Eliana snarks.
The effect of her attitude is ruined by the way she sways, eyes glassy. She’s wasted.
But her question means someone actually noticed the state I was in when I came back earlier. “What do you mean?”
“Is it supposed to be some avant-garde statement to have your outfit shredded, then soaked?”
“If you didn’t notice, I’m drenched too.”
Dante flaps his wet coat and gives her a cocky grin. “We went for a little swim.”
She folds her arms. “This is a party. No one cares about your attention-seeking performance.”
“I appreciate the view,”
Ryder says as he strolls up with his hands in his pockets. He smirks at Eliana’s bitchy scoff and makes sure she’s watching when he checks me out. “Very much.”
Eliana’s expression shutters and her arms tighten around herself.
“Hey, back off.”
Dante puts himself in front of me. “That’s my girlfriend you’re hitting on.”
I blush as he turns around, takes my face in his hands, and claims me in front of everyone with a sultry kiss that leaves me dizzy. I smile into it, kissing him back. The coyote howls and cat-calls people at Silver Lake High use to signal someone getting some sound around us. I break away and hide my face in his chest.
“Get used to it, baby,”
Dante rasps. “I’m not letting you go.”
A happy laugh bubbles out of me, muffled into his firm body.
He lowers his voice so only I can hear him. “I’ve caught you.”
Yes, he has.