Page 57 of The Devil's Waltz
Nodding absently, I glance across the room where Adrianna, Phoebe, and Grayson are all dancing together, laughing over the music. “They’re not…” I can’t bring myself to say it.
“They’re human,” he confirms, taking the cup from me and setting it aside before grabbing a napkin from the side table near us and wiping my hand clean.
I snatch it back after far too long. “It’s fine. You don’t have to—”
“I enjoy it.”
I exhale a heavy breath and mutter, “You’re so confusing.”
Xander tilts his head to the side, offering me a faint smile, which only makes things more confusing, especially when my cheeks heat and my stomach flutters. It’s almost as if my body forgets what he is and why he’s here when he’s this close.
So stop letting him get this close, that pesky voice of reason scolds. It makes a good point, even if I don’t want to hear it.
As the party winds down, a lot of the attendees trickle out, calling on their designated drivers and figuring out carpool configurations.
Grayson is chatting with Xander about the craft beer he’s been drinking all night, and I take that opportunity to sneak upstairs to get changed. I need a minute alone, to clear my head and recenter myself. Tonight has been…a lot, to say the least, and I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about everything.
When I step out of the bathroom, my eyes immediately land on where Xander is leaning in the bedroom doorway.
I clear my throat, walking toward him. “What are you doing?”
He readjusts the duffle bag slung over his shoulder. “After that conversation with Grayson, I’m not sure I’ve ever been so exhausted.”
I lift a brow at him. “You didn’t answer my question.”
The corner of his mouth quirks as he pushes away from the doorframe but remains in the hall. “It might raise suspicions if we don’t share a room.”
I open my mouth to tell him he can sleep outside for all I care—which is a lie he’d likely see right through—but knowing he’s wasn’t the only demon in attendance tonight stops me. Instead I say, “I’m not sharing a bed with you.” There are some boundaries I’m going to enforce and this is definitely one of them. He doesn’t get to lie to me over and over, and then crawl into my bed.
Xander nods, thrusting a hand through his hair. “I understand that, but it could make things weird with your friends in the morning if I sleep in the living room.”
He’s not wrong, and that’s a possibility I’ll have to risk, because this feels dangerous. The way he’s looking at me with a mix of desire and something I could easily mistake ashope.
It makes me want to let him in. To surrender to my own desire. Because even after everything he’s done, I can’t stop wanting him, and I hate myself for it.
“Hmm.” I nod, reaching for the door handle as I find the strength somewhere deep within myself to refuse him, to send him away. “Good night, Xander.” I close the door in his face, flipping the lock over. I stare at it and take a deep breath.
Of course he could break it without any effort, but something tells me he won’t.
A minute later, the sound of retreating footsteps echo down the hall.
Xander is gone when I wake up the next morning. He sent me a briefI’ve missed youtext that sends me into a spiral the entire drive back to Seattle. He makes it too easy, at times, to forget why I’m supposed to hate him.
Arriving home, I’m more confused than ever. I can’t stop replaying the moment with him on the dock until the pressure in my chest makes it near-impossible to take a breath.
When Harper walks through the door and finds me deep cleaning the kitchen, she immediately calls me out on what I’m distracting myself from.
I drop onto one of the barstools at the counter, wiping the sweat from my forehead. “If I tell you, you can’t judge me.”
She gives me a look. “Please. Who am I?”
I nod, licking my lips before I say, “Xander showed up at Adrianna’s party last night.”
Harper blinks at me, her mouth set in a tight line. “Is there more? Or can I start in on him now?”
I cringe inwardly. “He…kissed me.”
Anger fills her gaze. “Thefuck? How did that happen?”
