Page 39 of The Claiming

I nudge him and he chuckles softly.

“Are you just figuring that out?”

He offers me his beer and his eyes flash as he says darkly, “Prove you’re not afraid of alcohol. Show me you choose soda over it because you prefer the taste and not because you are afraid of it.”

“I have nothing to prove to you.”

I scoff and he shrugs, taking a swig of it himself. I’m surprised when he reaches up and pulls me toward him, his hand fisting in my hair and as his lips descend on mine, it’s a surprise attack I never saw coming. As my mouth opens in surprise, beer fills it and I pull back in disgust and spit it to the ground.

“What the fuck was that for? You’re disgusting.”

“I knew you hated the taste.”

“Perhaps it’s you I don’t like the taste of.”

I’m furious, mainly because my defenses were down.

“I should punch your smug face, you bastard.”

I spit the remains of the beer as he chuckles softly. “I would welcome it, Cassandra. I have never been punched by a girl. It would add to my experience.”

“You really are a–”

His eyes glitter as he leans closer and rests his lips against mine and whispers, “Jackass?”

This time he brushes his lips against mine softly, his breath mingling with my own and his unshaven jaw scratching against the soft skin of my face.

I should back off. Punch him in that sinful mouth, but he entices me. I love how edgy he is, so manipulative and so secretive. Maybe Iamone of those girls and want to experience the darkness, but I’m not giving him the satisfaction of knowing that, so I push him away with a violent shove and stand.

“You’ve got to try harder than that, Frankie, because if you think I’m interested in kissing a man who will probably work his way through most of the girls inside that house, you’re doing me a disservice. I’m not one of them lining up for the fleeting attention of a psychopath. Where’s the challenge in that?”

I turn my back and head inside because if I don’t create some distance between us pretty damn quickly, I’m liable to break every fucking rule I’ve set because God knows I wanted to kiss Frankie Majerio back then more than I wanted to breathe.

* * *

When I head inside,I notice Siri laughing at something Jack is whispering in her ear and for some reason my world stops spinning at the sudden realization that I don’t like it.

Jack is mine. He always has been and not in any other way than he’s my closest friend. Seeing him with Siri is a bolt of jealousy I wasn’t expecting because what if Jack likes her? What if she likes him? I won’t be his number one priority anymore.

They notice me coming and Siri waves me over and I’m pushing my reaction down as a result of what happened outside. I wanted Frankie, and in that moment it was the most important thing in my life and when I walked away, it was to run to normality. To regroup in the familiar to prove I am in control. Jack is my rock. He grounds me every single time and yet what if things change?

“Hey, Cassie. Jack’s a scream. You never told me how funny he is.” Siri catches Jack’s eye and grins and I hate the weight growing inside me as I sense their friendship growing.

“What’s up, Cass?”

Jack’s eyes narrow as he watches Frankie entering the room shortly after me.

“Nothing. I’m just tired, I guess. It’s been a long day.”

I yawn as if to prove my point, and Siri nods in agreement. “Yeah, I’m the same. Perhaps we should leave. We have an early class in the morning.”

“I’ll walk you back,” Jack says quickly and I notice Kennedy heading toward him and grin.

“Is that out of concern for us, or you?”

He groans. “Both. Come on before she gets here.”

We move as one toward the stairs leading up to the main house and as we leave, I catch sight of Frankie watching us go as he leans against the wall, several girls already circling his orbit waiting to dock.

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