Filed to story: Kissed by Claw and Fang
That only makes them laugh harder.
I give Zane a WTF look, but he’s just kind of shaking his head at them. Then he leans in and says, “I’ll walk you to class, Ivy.”
He’s so close that his breath tickles my ear, sending shivers down my spine that have nothing to do with Alaska and everything to do with the fact that I want this guy. That, despite all the warnings and bad behavior, I really do think I’m falling for Zane Vale.
“That would-” My voice breaks, and I have to clear my throat a couple of times before I can try again. “That would be nice, too.”
“It would be nice.” There’s amusement in his voice, but when our eyes meet, there’s no trace of laughter in his. There’s also no trace of the coldness that’s as much a part of him as the dark hair and long, lean body. Instead, there’s a heat-an intensity-that has my hands shaking and my knees going weak.
“Should we head over now?” The question is ripped from my dry throat.
He looks pointedly at my tray. “You should eat now.”
“You should eat, too.” I reach for the silver package on my tray, hold it out to him.
He looks from me to the breakfast pastries and back again. “Pop-Tarts aren’t what I’m hungry for.”
This time, Macy’s not the one making the choking sound. I look up, tracing it to its origin-the only member of the Order who looks like he might be Native Alaskan, a guy with bronze skin and long, dark hair tied into a neat ponytail at the nape of his neck.
“Something funny, Rafael?” Zane asks, eyes narrowed and tone silky smooth.
“Absolutely not,” he answers but glances at me even as he says it, eyes brimming with mischief and delight. “I think I’m going to like you, Ivy.”
“And here the day was going so well.”
He grins. “Yeah, definitely going to like you.”
“Don’t feel too flattered, Ivy. Rafael’s not exactly the most discerning guy around,” says one of the others, a boy with twinkling blue eyes and gold hoop earrings.
“Like you are, Liam?” Rafael shoots back. “The last girl you dated was a barracuda.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s an insult to barracudas everywhere,” chimes in another one of Zane’s friends, his Spanish accent sexily rolling his
R s.
“Luca knows what I’m talking about,” Rafael says.
“Because Luca’s dating history is so impressive?” Zane drawls, joining the conversation for the first time.
The quip is so unexpected-so what I’m used to from his texts but not in person-that I can’t help staring at him. Then again, everything about this morning has been unexpected-especially the dynamic among the members of the Order. Every time I’ve seen them, they’ve appeared so tough and unapproachable. So unfeeling.
But sitting here with one another-and no one but Macy and me to witness it, since Cam and his group took one look at who was sitting with us and headed in the other direction-they’re just like any other group of friends. Except funnier. And way, way hotter. Knowing he’s got friends like this-and that he can be a friend like this-makes me like Zane even more.
Zane catches me staring and raises a questioning brow in my direction.
I just shrug at him like it’s no big deal and reach for my glass. Then nearly choke at the look in his eyes as he watches me. Because there’s a craving there, a dark and devastating desperation that has my breath stuttering in my chest and heat blooming deep inside me.
He holds my gaze for one second, two. Then he slowly blinks, and when he opens his eyes again, the emptiness is back.
And still, I watch him. Still, I can’t look away. Because there’s something just as beautiful-and just as devastating-in their emptiness as there is in their heat. Eventually, though, I force myself to look down. Mostly because if I don’t, I’m afraid I’ll do something foolish like throw myself at Zane in front of the entire school.
Turning away from him, I forcibly yank my attention back to the conversation at hand, just in time to hear Luca say, “Hey, now. How was I supposed to know Angie was a soul-sucking demon?”
“Ummm, because we told you so?” Mekhi answers.
“Yeah, but I thought you were biased. You didn’t like her from the start.”
“Because she was a soul-sucking demon,” Liam repeats. “What part of that are you not getting?”
“What can I say?” Luca gives a careless shrug. “The heart wants what the heart wants.”
“Until what the heart wants tries to kill you,” Rafael teases.
“Sometimes even then.” The words are quiet, spoken from the haunted-looking guy sitting to Macy’s right.
“Seriously, Byron?” Mekhi grouses. “Why you always got to shut the conversation down?”
“I was just making an observation.”
“Yeah, a depressing observation. You need to lighten up, man.”
Byron just stares at him, lips twisted in a tiny little smile that makes him look like a modern-day embodiment of his poet namesake.
Mad, bad, and dangerous to know.
The famous quote from Lady Caroline Lamb goes through my mind. But I’m not focused on Byron’s wavy black hair and dimples when I think about her words. No, in my head, they’re all about Zane, with his scarred face and cold eyes and smile that borders on cruel at least half the time.
Definitely bad. Definitely dangerous. As for mad…I don’t know yet, but something tells me I’m going to find out.
When I think of him like that, I wonder what the hell I’m doing even contemplating feeling the way I do. After all, in San Diego, dark and dangerous wasn’t exactly my type. Then again, maybe that’s because I never ran into the genuine article back home. Here in Alaska… Well, all I’m saying is, there’s a reason half the girls in the school are swooning over Zane.
Besides, there’s more to him than meets the eye. No matter how angry he is, he’s never been anything but gentle with me. Even that first day, when he was so obnoxious, he still never did anything that made me uncomfortable. And he’s certainly never hurt me. To everyone else, he might be as dangerous as Macy warns. But to me, he seems more misunderstood than malicious, more broken than bad.