"Thing?" He snorts a laugh and looks at me curiously. His gaze dips down the front of his pants, then up again—full smirk. "That's what you call him? Couldn't you think of something more reverent? Or powerful?"
Groaning, I bury my face in my palms. "Seriously, Ben. Just—go."
He pries my hands away, then spins toward the girls who are waiting like hungry moths.
For one horrible second, I'm sure he'll go—become king of Aphrodite's heir club—but he says, "No. Not interested."
Oh.I stare at him because it's the most absolute, merciless "no" I've ever heard from Ben.
Back in the day, he didn’t mind a little flirtation, and now he's here, fixed on me like the rest of the world can go to hell.
"Are you sure?" one girl asks. "It's a lot of fun."
"Very sure," he says nonchalantly, drops his arm over my shoulder, and pulls me closer. Then he looks into my eyes. "Why would I go when I have my girl here?"
I blink as the girls scatter away. Did Ben just—? Or am I hallucinating again?
"Your girl?" I tilt toward him, craning my neck to meet his eyes.
He nods, calm as sin. "That's exactly what I said."
I'm tempted to shoot him another glare just for the sake of it, but he grabs my hand and my waist and presses me against him.
And then the two of us move to the rhythm of music, and there's nothing wrong with it—it's sweet, I swear, it's friendly.
We're swaying and turning and he doesn't just move with me, doesn't just lead—he makes me feel alive. I'm laughing and god, I haven't laughed like this forever.
And maybe it's not that friendly after all because when Ben presses his cheek on mine, I think of Richard for a second and he wouldn't like this very much, but I don't let go because Ben's smiling too and it's too precious to let the moment die.
Jonah somehow appears out of nowhere, his peacock feathers on full display as he walks toward us with a handful of silver rune tattoos. That temporary kind, adorning even his arms.
"Hey, hey." He nudges his palms toward Ben. "Pick some for your lady?"
I frown. What's up with everyone today?
"I'm not—"
Ben raises his brow at me. "Yes, Emma?"
My mouth shuts.
Alright, I'm his lady. For today.
No. For now. Just for now.
"Thanks buddy," he tells Jonah, plucking two tattoos.
A quick handshake and Jonah disappears in the thick pink fog again.
"Haven't seen those since third grade," I mutter, watching Ben peel the backing off one.
"Me neither," he says, eyes flicking from the paper to me. "Stand still."
He leans down, shoulders shadowing me and then his tongue—his tongue—finds my collarbone and drags up, making me feel the warm slick of it.
My eyes shoot wide, every nerve in my body flaring, sparks racing down my spine. My hand twitches with half a thought of pushing him away, but I don’t.
"What—what the hell are you doing?" I say, shaky.
