Quinn’s eyes swept over my body one final time, but he obeyed, turning until he was completely facing away from me. He put his hands behind his head.
My eyes on Quinn’s back, I peeled off my ruined Halloween outfit, scrunching up the dress and using it to wipe as much of the mud as I could off my arms and legs. An icy breeze blew from the ocean, raising goosebumps over my bare skin and caressing my nipples into hard points.
“I didn’t lure you into the grotto,” Quinn said.
“Bullshit. No peeking,” I snapped as his head jerked to the side. He promptly jerked it back.
“It’s the truth, Hazy. I asked you to swim because you’re fucking hot and I wanted to go swimming with you. Trey told me to invite you to the party—”
“And you’re Trey’s bum boy.” I pulled the dress over my head, shaking my hips to pull it down. It fit perfectly, damn him.
I think you’re fucking hot and I wanted to swim with you.Quinn’s words sent a wave of heat flaring along my spine.
“—but I was going to ask you anyway.” Quinn leaned back, the muscles along his forearms bulging. I was such a sucker for thick forearms. When Dante played basketball, my eyes stayed fixed on the corded muscles that flexed as he moved. I shook my head as my fingers sought the burn on my wrist. As if on cue, the matching burn on my leg flared with fire.I don’t have Dante anymore, and Quinn… he’s…
“But not because you have some deep connection to me. You don’t even know me. You just like pissing people off.” I sighed, sticking out my hip. “You can look now.”
Quinn’s eyes widened when he saw me. He licked his lower lip, and a fresh wave of heat sizzled up my back. “Damn, Hazy. You’re going to break hearts tonight.”
“Good.” I took his arm. “Let’s go.”
We descended the steps together. I tried to ignore the flaring pain of the burn on my leg. Pain was good – it meant I was still alive. At the bottom, Andre and Greg were standing with Nancy and Paul and the other monarchs. They clapped as Quinn and I stepped into the pleasure garden.
“A round of drinks for the triumphant spelunkers!” Quinn cried, pulling the bottles and a cocktail shaker from out of his toga. “I’ve been honing my cocktails. Who wants to try a ‘Quinn Fizz’?”
The group moved over to the bar area, where the school’s silent staff were still setting out glasses and filling punch bowls. They scattered when Quinn took over. More students crowded around to watch him fling bottles in the air and juggle spoons like he was in some fancy nightclub. Greg had disappeared but I noticed Andre at the other end of the bar, making a series of hand gestures to one of the maintenance staff.What’s going on there? Why isn’t he using his pad?I tried to push my way toward Andre, but Ayaz stepped in front of me.
“Do you want to dance or something?” Ayaz asked.
My heart thudded in my chest for reasons that almost definitely had to do with the opium and incense scent that filled the air around him. “I didn’t know you were the dancing type.”
“I’m full of surprises.” Ayaz held out his hand. I stared at it for a moment, then took it.
A group of kids jumped around to the band, who were playing the same outdated 90s playlist they’d cranked out last time. I scanned the crowd for Courtney or Tillie or any of their friends, but they were nowhere to be seen.
“If you’re looking for Courtney, you won’t see her tonight,” Ayaz said in his silky voice. “Word is it she’s just pulled a huge chunk of hair out trying to get the ears off. I bet you’re secretly disappointed.”
Pulling her hair out? That gives me an idea…
“Good guess. I’m absolutely bereft without her.” Ayaz and I walked into the middle of the dance floor. People shuffled away from us as we turned in slow circles around each other, like two animals locked in a battle of wits. Tension crackled between us as our bodies drew closer – predator closing in on prey. The throbbing pain of the burn – still covered in the dressing but visible to everyone in the short dress – only made it worse. Not even the lurching visions of the god could quench the flames dancing inside me. My heart beat in time with the frantic drums, and a rush of liquid magma surged through my veins.
Right now,Iwas the predator, claws out, ready to pounce.
The song worked itself up with a furious, frenzied pitch. Bass pounded in my ears. Ayaz’s skin brushed mine as we leapt and sparred and spun around each other. Every touch singed my skin with unspoken promises. Something nagged at me, some urgent thing I needed to tell him, but the thought was lost in the corners of his black diamond eyes…
Oh, shit, that’s right.
“I met someone in the tunnels,” I pressed my lips to Ayaz’s ear, talking as loud as I dared so he could hear me over the music. “She helped me escape the trap Courtney set for me.”
“Trap?” Ayaz’s eyes darkened.
“Yeah. There was a creature that slithered out of the water and came after me. Apparently, it had been called up by Courtney specifically to go after me. But this girl jumped in and saved my ass.” I decided not to tell him about the fire just now. “And the funny thing is, she looked like you.”
Ayaz froze.
Someone bumped into me from behind. I stumbled forward, my chest pressing against his. Through the thin fabric, I could feel every curve of his muscles and the heat that rolled off his skin.
“She had your eyes, Ayaz,” I said, staring into those dark orbs – a shroud that hid the man beneath. “And this amazing long hair, like a waterfall of darkness. Your sister is one badass demon slayer.”
