Page 31 of By the Moonbeam and the Mist
“Must be an overwhelming magic,” I said, trying not to let him catch my thoughts about his family and how disappointed they would be when—if—he came back without Wild Whispering abilities. I took a quick sip to try to stifle the thought—only to remember that my glass was empty. Shit, my tongue already felt sloppy.
Wilder didn’t see, though. He was gazing sideways, as if he couldn’t bear to make eye contact. “It gets easier every day. And besides, it has its uses. Like for instance…” He paused, his eyes swinging back to my face. “I was coming over to tell you how beautiful you look tonight, but I can tell by your outer thoughts that you’re not interested in me in that way anymore.”
I cringed. It was true, even if I hadn’t come to that conclusion myself. “I’m sorry, I just—”
“Hey.” Wilder placed a brief touch on my shoulder. “Don’t ever apologize for how you feel or don’t feel, okay? It’s the one thing we can’t control, even as Mind Manipulators.” He sucked in a breath as if to say goodbye, then did a double take. “Quinn?”
My head cranked sideways way faster than it should have. A sheet of ruby-red hair paused among two grinding couples. Then turned.
Quinn Balkersaff slowly pivoted to face us.
“Wilder. Rayna,” she said in a flat, empty voice that filled me with chills. “How adorable that you two are back together again.”
“We’re not,” Wilder said before I could, his voice speeding up… as if Quinn’s appearance was a welcome escape from the topic we’d just broached together. “But it’s nice to see you again, too!” He looked back and forth between us. “How often do you two get to hang out, being in different sectors and all?”
I tried to stomp on his foot to get him to change the subject, but missed and ended up stumbling over mine. Quinn just studied him, her hair falling to the side with the catlike tilt of her head.
“I don’t see why I should even answer that out loud,” she said finally. “You can pick out anything you want from here, can’t you?” She tapped her own head.
Wilder’s face fell as he no doubtdidread everything emanating from her blazing mind.
“Oh. Yeah, yeah, I can. Well…” He dragged a hand through his hair and scratched the top of his head. “I’ll see you two later.”
And without another word, he turned to stride back to his pentaball friends, his hands shoved back into his pockets.
Glaring, Quinn twirled to leave, too.
“Quinn,” I started, reaching out with a single hand.
But she was already gone.Okay, then. Maybe that should have hurt me more than it did, but at this point I was used to my ex-best friend avoiding me at all costs… and I knew if I kept pursuing her, it would just end up being harassment on my part.
Plus, the alcohol helped.
Sighing, I started spinning in a tight circle, craning my neck for Rodhi again, when a deep, deep voice said, “You want another one? Or are you just going to keep holding an empty glass?”
I looked up… and up and up… to find a man of nothing but sculpted abs, golden skin, and wavy blonde hair smiling down at me, holding out a new glass of that wonderful liquid with a bulging arm.
“Thanks,” I said, taking it from him. And gulped that one, too.
The man moved closer. “Do you want to dance?”
I found myself face-to-face with his eight-pack. I had no doubt the man was a Shifter and didn’t actually look like thiswithout all his magic jacking him up, but after that shipwreck of a conversation with Wilder and Quinn… “Sure,” I said again.
Because the ceiling was starting to spin.
An hour later, our teeth were clacking together.
I hadn’t been able to find Emelle or Lander again, but I’d finally managed to let loose with the blonde Shape Shifter.
Now, his hands gripped either side of my waist, tugging me toward his body that didn’t feel like a body at all. There was pressure in all the right spots, feeding the fire that had traveled to that spot between my legs, but my mouth—
I tried to break from the kissing, the sucking and squelching sounds of his lips around my tongue. We’d stumbled into this vacant room a while ago, but now the spinning had paused long enough for me to realize how cold and wet his mouth was. How clammy his hands were as they gripped me like vises. How his armpit areas had bloomed with dark sweat.
“Slow down,” I panted, coming up for air.
The Shifter just tugged me toward him again, mashing his mouth so hard against mine it felt like my lips would bruise. I yanked back.
“Okay, stop.”
