Now what am I supposed to do?
CHAPTER 17
Specter
My phoneloudly buzzing on my nightstand wakes me from a deep sleep. Goddammit. This better be good.
I swipe my screen to wake it up, squinting as my eyes adjust to the sudden brightness.
Wraith: Exotic bird has flown the coop.
My brow furrows. The fuck does that mean?
Me: Dude. What?
Wraith: Your bird.
I immediately look to my side to see the empty spot beside me and haul ass out of bed.
Me: Where is he?
Wraith: Veranda, but looks ready to bolt.
Me: Don’t let him. I’ll be right down.
I grab a pair of sweatpants and throw them on, notbothering with anything else, then I charge down the stairs to the back part of the house. Cashmere is sitting in the dark at one of the garden benches, visibly shivering as snow lightly falls, dotting his dark hair.
I open the French doors and step outside. “Cashmere.”
His shoulders stiffen as he turns to look at me. His cheeks and nose are red from the cold, but it’s his eyes that make me stumble. For the first time, I’m seeing real, unguarded emotion in them.
“What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head, trapping his bottom lip between his teeth and clutching his phone. “Go inside, Specter.”
“I’ll go inside when you come with me.”
He blows out a shaky breath, creating a white cloud before him. “I just need a little space. That’s all.”
Space? I don’t understand. Didn’t we have an amazing time tonight?
“I don’t get it.”
“I think I should go.” Cashmere gets to his feet. “I can stay with another dancer or maybe Rudy has room. It’s probably safe to go back to my apartment, even.”
I stomp across the space, ignoring how my bare flesh burns in the bitter cold. “If you think I’m letting you out of my sight, you’re dead wrong.”
“You don’t own me.” He shoves his hands against my chest, not moving me at all. “I can leave if I want to.”
“And go where? Your apartment? Have you considered that he’s probably chilling out right now to give you a false sense of security?”
“Then I’ll go somewhere else. I’ll get a hotel room.”
I rub my forehead. “Can you tell me what happened, ’cause I’m fucking confused.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything. I can leave if I want to.”
“No, you actually can’t.”
