Page 36 of Dance of Defiance
He stares at me. “Did you get punched in the head? Or is this selective amnesia concerning your raging hard-on the other night when I had you on the ground in the woods? Because for the record, memory loss is no fucking joke?—”
“Look, I realize now it was all anonymous. But you weren’t messaging with me,” I snap. “You were messaging mysister.”
The room goes still as Val freezes. Slowly, his brow furrows deeper and deeper, and then his mouth starts to turn down at the corners.
“FUCK!”
I flinch as Val roars and whirls away from me, yanking his arms from either side of my head and shoving his fingers through his dark hair.
“Fucking FUCK!” He suddenly bends at the middle and makes a gagging sound. “Jesus fuckingfuck…”
After a moment, Val shakes his head and stands up, his face pale as he angrily shoves his fingers through his shaggy hair again.
“What thefuckwasEviedoing on that site?!”
I shake my head. “Not a fucking clue.”
“God.” His eyes squeeze shut. “She’s like a sister to me!”
“Yeah, well, sheismy sister,” I snarl.
“So…” Val’s face twists in disgust as he turns to look at me. “So that’s why you were in the woods… You wanted to beat the fuck out of whoever…” He makes a face and gags. “I’m going to be fucking sick.Fuck.”
“You and me both,” I grunt.
He collects himself, throwing his head back and drawing in a deep breath. He fishes inside his pocket, pulls out a pack of American Spirits, and slips one between his lips.
“The fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“It’s this or hurl, man.”
I yank the cigarette from his lips and throw it in the general direction of the trashcan. “Then puke, asshole. You’re not smoking in here.”
He glares at me and dramatically rolls his eyes. Then he turns, raking his fingers through his hair again before he glances back at me.
“Sothat’swhy you were there.”
“Obviously,” I mutter.
“Not because you were curious.”
I swallow heavily, my brow creasing. “No.”
“But are you?”
That same electric tingle from before creeps up my spine as Val slowly turns to look at me, the silvery glow of the moonlight illuminating half his face and giving him a devilish visage.
“Am I what?”
He cocks a brow, his mouth turning slightly up at the corners. “Curious,” he murmurs.
I don’t answer. I just turn my back on him and start toward the door. Then I gasp when he grabs me viciously from behind, spinning me around and slamming me back against the bookshelves.
“Thefuckare you?—”
“I think you are,” Val growls, his blue eyes glinting, shadows etched across his chiseled jaw. “The way you squirmed and moaned when I took control…”
A hum begins in my head—pulsing, twisting, arresting my every thought. My throat works, desperately trying to swallow. And why thefuckis my skin tingling and prickling like I’m getting a sunburn?
