“Damn, I do miss that fiery temper of yours.” He laughed at my failed attempt to drop him to his knees.
“What the hell do you think you are doing Samuel? This is really wrong, even for you. You know I have a boyfriend.” My choice of words angered Samuel.
“Wrong Len, wrong! I’ll tell you what is wrong, especially about your so-called boyfriend!” The crowd started to disperse as people parted. I looked up to see Clint and Josh striding our way. Samuel’s eyes darted to where he saw them plowing through the crowd. He then pecked me on the cheek and said, “Gotta love you and leave you Len. See you round.” He started to slip off behind the stage, stopping only once to yell back, “Did you like the gifts?” He grinned again like a naughty boy before slipping into the darkness behind me.
“Where is he?” It was the first thing Clint said as he approached me, his voice menacing. Now I truly feared for Samuel’s safety.
“I don’t know. He left behind the stage.” Clint went to follow but I grabbed his arm.
“Don’t go after him, please.”
Clint tried to shake himself from my grip. “You can’t really be saying that to me.”
I continued to hold his arm tightly. “I don’t want you to fight him.”
“Don’t do it Clint,” Josh piped up. He had followed Clint, knowing what was about to happen, knowing he would need to calm the situation for me. “It’s not worth the bruises. Trust me, I know.” I was grateful Josh was trying to help me keep the peace. Josh and Samuel had been in a fight before at a ball back in Morewell, so if anyone could relate, it was him. Clint just stared off into the darkness behind the stage. His whole body tensed and I could see him contemplating his next move. There was more movement into the crowd as a vision in green came running up to us. Choppy red hair, a cheeky glint in her eye. When the figure finally got close enough to us, I recognized the face. I wish I could have been happier, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. It was Tess. She had made it to the Gala after all.
“Surprise!” she announced. “I made it. I’m so excited to be here.” She jumped onto me, hugging tightly. I returned the hug but not with the same enthusiasm.
She stood and looked at all of us in our frozen states, oddly quiet, not moving or making a sound.
Her face went back and forth between me, Josh and Clint, as we all avoided each other’s eyes. The tension was obvious and painful, and Tess, being Tess, couldn’t help but recognize the uncomfortable atmosphere between us.
“Well gee. What? What did I miss? Did someone die or something?”
“Or something,” I thought.
Chapter 12
The Past
~ ~ ~
I lay, face-down on my bed under the moonlight as it filtered through an open window from the other side of the room, near a small bedside table lamp. It was late at night and I was reading a book to kill some time. My eyes glanced at the clock on my table. 1.07 am. I was waiting for the shadow to sneak in through the window, the warmness to creep in behind me and slide up beside my body as I lay patiently in anticipation. There was no alarm in me when I finally felt the smooth skin brush up on my back, and a face come resting near my head, lips finding their way from my neck and then to my cheek. I felt his eyes staring down at my book as I read, taking interest.
“Everyone has secrets. It’s just a matter of finding out what they are.” The smooth sexy voice was reading over my shoulders. I giggled as his hands began to wander under my T-shirt and rub around my ribs.
“I like that,” he said, his lips returning back to my neck. “That’s good.”
“Oh really,” I cooed, enjoying how close our bodies were.
“Whatcha reading?” His voice genuinely wanted to know, but now his tongue was in my ear, almost making me completely forget about the book.
I managed to compose myself and my thoughts. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.”
“Is it good?” he asked, his lips on my ear lobe, biting and sucking gently.
“Well I do enjoy a good thriller.” The back of my shirt began to lift up and I felt tiny kisses being planted on my lower back. I