Her breath is hot on my face, her body uncomfortably close. No one has ever touched me like this in my life. The bathroom door flies open. It’s Kyle, his nostrils flared, fangs dropped.
‘Move away from her.’
The scarred dancer lifts her hands, stepping back from me. She’s smirking, though, and takes her time with it. ‘Sorry,’ she drawls, not sounding it in the slightest. ‘Come for your precious Raven?’
‘Keep your voice down!’ Kyle hisses, his shoulders raised, teeth bared, like a snake about to strike. The dancer seems unbothered, leaning against the sink once more and picking at her damn nails.
‘Get out of here,’ he says. I take a step. ‘Not you, Emelia.’ He’s still glaring at the dancer. She huffs out a small breath, then pushes herself away from the sinks. Kyle steps in front of me.
‘Oh, you’re quite the tough guy, aren’t you?’ Reflected in the mirror, I see her run her fingers over the front of Kyle’s jacket. My eyes widen. He’s going to kill her, surely. But he just removes her hand, his expression hard to read.
‘Enough,’ he says, but his tone is calm. I frown.
‘Okay, okay, I’m leaving. But hurry up, will you?’
Hurry up?
She walks past us to the door, still smirking. I wish I could rip her face off.
‘You okay?’ Kyle cups my face in his hands, kissing me. As soon as the kiss ends, I push him away.
‘I want to go.’
‘Don’t let her get to you, Emelia, she’s just?—’
‘She. Knows. Who. I. Am. You heard her. So we need to go.’ What part of this doesn’t he understand? If it’s going to be bad for me, it’ll be worse for him, when my parents find out he took me off the estate.
Kyle lets out a deep sigh, one hand on the wall next to my head. ‘Fuck.’
Indeed.
‘How does she know who I am?’
He takes in a deep breath. Which he doesn’t need to do. There’s a pause. ‘She’s my ex.’
What. The Actual. Fuck.
‘Kyle.’ I keep my voice low because I think I might scream if I don’t. ‘Get me out of here.Now.’
I’m going to kill him. Or her. Or someone. Or everyone. How could he put me in such an unsafe situation? I pull my phone out, but before I can dial Kyle scoops me up, holding me so tight I can’t move. He rushes me out of the bathroom and through the crowd, taking me out of the club into the night. I struggle, furious, digging my nails into him.
‘Ow! Emelia!’ He skids to a stop and puts me down.
‘What’s going on?’ I’m spitting fury. ‘Why in darkness would you take me somewhere your ex works?’
We’re under trees by the side of the road, Kyle a dark silhouette. He doesn’t say anything and, as I can’t see his face, I start to worry. I keep my expression fierce, knowing he can see me. I fold my arms.
He sighs. ‘I didn’t know she’d be there. And this is the closest place to your estate.’
Okay. I can buy that. I guess. ‘What did she mean when she told you to hurry up?’
He becomes still, and I really wish I could see his face. He sighs again. ‘I’m supposed to be helping her.’
‘What?’ My face scrunches up. ‘With what? Why on earth would you help her with anything?’
‘Her family. They were, er, they were good to me. When I was with her.’
I shrug, still frowning.
