Page 49 of Shadows of Nightshade
“You want to have a slumber party, baby girl?”
I glanced up, wondering why Damen’s voice sounded strange. His intense eyes captured my attention as he slowly brushed a loose strand of hair back from my face. I nodded.
“Sure, we can have a slumber party. We’ll make it a party to remember.” Damen’s mouth twisted into a breathtaking grin, and I wondered if he was being serious. “In fact, we can have as many slumber parties as you want.”
“Why would it be a party to remember?” I hoped that my eagerness wasn’t too obvious. “Because I almost died?” That would make for a memorable party.
“Do you like pink?” Damen ignored my question, his tone still weird.
I blinked at the strange question, my excitement slightly ebbing. What did that have to do with anything?
“And lace?” he continued.
My focus drifted to Julian, who stood nearby—his hand over his face.
“Yes…” I replied, now a little weirded out. Damen apparently had particular tastes that I couldn’t begin to understand. And it was probably for the better. “I like both, although,” I added, “Green is my favorite color.”
What kind of party was he planning?
“Oh, Bianca.” Damen was in a mood. He reached for me and grabbed my hands. “You’re going to be so spoiled.”
That sounded awful. “I don’t want to be spoiled.”
“Want to go shopping when all of this is over?” he asked.
“Not really,” I told him. What I wanted was for him to drop that goofy expression. It was almost the same look he wore in the library, and it wasn’t the least bit appealing. Besides, I would haveno money until I got paid, and I had to save up for more grand purchases than anything I could find at the mall.
Damen opened his mouth, but, thankfully, Julian intervened. He was clearly a man of manners. “Just stop,” he said, pushing Damen’s shoulder as he moved between us and took my hand. “You’re embarrassing yourself. Come on, Bianca, let’s get ready.”
14
The moonlight shonethrough the foliage in Damen’s front yard, throwing the swaying shadows across the ground. It would have been creepy if it weren’t for the fact that I was flanked on both sides by two hulking men.
So much changed over the last two days.
“Home at last,” Damen said, unlocking the front door. “Why don’t we get everyone settled while Julian and Miles fetch our dinner?” he asked. “Not that I’m hungry,” he added musingly. “It seems like we just ate.”
A sense of dread washed over me—curling past the gnawing pains of my hunger. Like Finn, it appeared as though Damen was one ofthosepeople. Was I going to have to take care of him too? In school, Finn was always packing things that he didn’t like and I’d have no choice but to eat his food. I had to remember to packhisfavorites just so he’d be fed.
“We ate over six hours ago,” Titus remarked, unfazed at Damen’s callous behavior. “Normal people are hungry.”
I looked at Titus and, as Damen hung our jackets on the coatrack, he lowered his face to my ear and cupped his hand. I was only able to catch the tail end of an indiscernible whisper before his breath suddenly caught, and he pulled back.
“Right,” he said, the strangest thread of awkwardness appeared between us as he led me through the long hallway. “Well, when Damen gets obsessed with something, he’ll forget about taking care of basic needs, including eating and sleeping,” he explained.
Oh.
Well, that didn’t sound very healthy.
Was that Finn’s problem too?
Suddenly, I realized where my thoughts were drifting, and I closed my eyes and covered my ears. It wasn’t time to think about him. Tonight wasn’t supposed to be about Finn, and I refused to let him get to me.
Not even if, at this very moment, he was probably cowering in anger.
“Bianca?” The sound startled me, and I opened my eyes, meeting Titus’s gaze. “What’s wrong?”
I glanced around the room. Apparently, he’d led me into the kitchen. He dropped my duffle bag on the floor as I looked around the space. It was huge, at least twice the size of my parent’s moderately-sized kitchen. The stainless-steel appliances and gas stove sparkled against dark cabinetry, and the white wrap-around countertop seemed to glitter under the low-hanging bar lights. A wine fridge took up one long wall, and there was ample seating between the barstool seating area and the large, round breakfast nook in the bay window.
