A Discovery of Secrets and Fate (Chronicles of the Stone Veil #2) - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,100
seems to slow down as golden eyes meet my own. They darken to amber, and his face is a mask of granite. I tilt my head, wondering why he seems angry. Then he spins, time moves regularly, and I get just a flash of Deandra glaring at me hatefully before they’re gone.
“It’s working,” Pyke says in a singsong voice.
“What’s working?” I mutter, looking over my shoulder and trying to catch a glimpse of Carrick and Deandra. I can’t find them as the crowd is too thick, and Pyke is spinning me another way.
“You’ve totally made Carrick jealous,” Pyke announces proudly.
“I have done no such thing,” I retort with indignation.
“Well, then I made him jealous, which is the same thing, and it’s what’s needed.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I sputter, and then Pyke slows us down so abruptly that I go crashing into his chest. The music has slowed to a swaying beat, and Pyke uses my momentum to bring his arm possessively around my waist so he can hold me tight to his muscular body.
His hand tightens on mine, and he pulls it against his heart to rest. Dipping his head down, he puts his lips near my ear. “If I didn’t think Carrick would kill me, I’d dare to kiss you right now. But as it stands, I’m going to be lucky if he doesn’t punch me in about three—two—one—”
And then I’m jerked out of Pyke’s embrace and facing a furious Carrick.
“About fucking time.” Pyke laughs and claps Carrick on the shoulder. “Now, you two kids go dance and have a good time.”
My head is swirling as I have no clue what just happened. I look around for Deandra, wondering if she’s going to come and jerk Carrick back into her arms.
“Let’s go,” Carrick growls, taking my hand tightly in his. We start to move around the edge of the dance floor, Carrick pulling me along like I’m a wayward child.
It pisses me off and I jerk back against him, but to no avail.
“I think I know how to find my way back,” I snap at him from behind.
“Not about to let you walk around this place by yourself,” he barks back, then starts to move more briskly once we clear the floor. My heels immediately sink down into the unnaturally colored grass, and I almost trip.
“Slow down,” I demand, and Carrick instantly complies. I glance back over my shoulder, but I don’t see Pyke, Deandra, or their parents. I assume Carrick will come back to socialize after depositing me in my room, for this party is in his honor, after all. For now, he has to put his wayward human back in her cage.
Carrick confidently navigates the castle, whereas it probably would have taken me hours to find the wing and floor where my room is located. When we reach the door, he propels me through, finally releasing my hand.
I take a few stumbling steps, right myself, and turn to glare. “What is your problem?”
Carrick takes two long strides, barreling toward me fast, but I hold my ground. He comes toe to toe to me, dips his head, and says on a low rumble, “My problem is how Pyke was touching you, especially with you,”—and here he pauses and runs his gaze down the front of my body—“looking the way you do.”
I have to restrain my natural inclination to cover myself because the silky tone of his last words has me feeling vulnerable.
It also has me feeling quite achy between my legs. “I offered to change outfits, and you wouldn’t let me.”
“I like you in that outfit,” he rumbles with clear appreciation in his eyes. “So not your style, but I enjoy watching you step out of your comfort zone. But all of that is beside the point. I told you not to move from that table, and you accepted a dance with Pyke.”
“So it’s okay for you to dance with a half-naked woman who has made it abundantly clear you two have been intimate before and wants to be intimate again, but I can’t have a lousy dance with Pyke?”
Carrick blinks, taking a tiny step back. “You were bothered by Deandra?”
“No,” I immediately blurt out—incredibly fake sounding, so I just decide to own up to it. “I mean… yes.”
“Why?” he demands, eyebrows pulling inward.
My mind whirls with an answer. I can’t admit I might have feelings for him. That would be stupid, because there’s no way in hell he would ever return them, and I would probably be crushed.