Incipient A Dark Paranormal Romance - Bianca Scardoni Page 0,105

a disgusting amount of chicken wings and slices of pizza and then convincing Tessa to spend the night since the Blackburn Estate was out of commission, the three of us said our goodnights and then headed upstairs to bed. It had been one of the best nights I’d had in a really long time, which was strange considering we had done nothing but stuff our faces and catch up with each other.

Smiling contently to myself, I quickly changed into one of Trace’s oversized t-shirts and then sat on his bed and waited for him to come back from the bathroom.

He appeared at the door a few moments later and then faltered as he took me in. I wasn’t sure if it was the fact that I was wearing one of his t-shirts again or if it was my bare legs that was doing something for him, but he seemed to enjoy whatever it was he was seeing.

“I borrowed your shirt again,” I said, trying to ignore the blush on my cheeks.

He locked the door behind himself and licked his lips. “It looks better on you.”

“Debatable,” I said as I watched him walk over to his iPod deck and turn on the power. “In case I forgot to say it, thank you for inviting my sister to stay here. It’s nice to have her close again.”

“You don’t have to thank me for being nice to your sister,” he said as he shuffled through his playlist. “She’s like a sister to me anyway.”

“Right. Well, you know what I mean,” I said, staring at his back as I picked at my cuticles. “I missed you at school today.”

He didn’t answer as he continued to shuffle through the songs looking for who knows what.

“It feels kind of empty when you’re not there,” I went on, though I had no idea why the hell I was talking about school in the first place. Mostly, I was just worried about him—about whether what Nikki had said last night was starting to wig him out or if I’d managed to calm him down, though I was too nervous to just come out and ask him.

If he wasn’t bringing it up, I didn’t want to either.

He hit the play button and then walked over to his desk and sat down on the chair, his eyes fully hooded and smoldering when he swiveled the chair around and faced me.

My body flushed with heat as I remembered the last time he’d been in that chair and the desire he’d elicited from me. “You can borrow my notes if you need them.” Oh, for the love of all that is holy, please shut my dang mouth.

He cracked a smile, setting off his right dimple. “I don’t want to talk about school.”

“Right. Good. Me neither.” I nodded nervously, still fidgeting with my fingernails. “So…what do you want to talk about?”

“I don’t want to talk about anything,” he said, spreading his thighs as he watched me.

“Yeah. Good idea. Talking is so overrated.” And yet I still wasn’t shutting the hell up.

Why was I so nervous anyway? I only ever babbled when I was nervous. Maybe it was because I hadn’t seen him all day and had no idea what was going on in his head. Was he freaking out? Were his memories still safe and sound? Had he gotten in touch with that mysterious Caster friend of his again?

Or maybe it was because of what Tessa had started to tell me tonight. About our mother looking for answers about my bloodline. About me being able to do so much more than what any of us had imagined, whatever that meant.

Or maybe I was just nervous because of the way he was looking at me…all predatory and starving, like he wanted to melt me down into a puddle of sex and then drink me up until the last drop.

“Come over here,” he said suddenly, his voice low and gruff and filled with need.

A need I wanted desperately to fulfill for him.

Familiar warmth flitted low in my belly as I pushed off the bed and walked over to him. Without saying anything, I flattened my hands atop his shoulder and then sat down on his lap, straddling him as I had done the other night. There was no point in holding back anymore—in running from what we both wanted. The line had already been spectacularly crossed and it was so much better on this side.

“You looking for a do over?” I whispered as he clutched