Amanda pursed her glossy lips just as a large hand landed on her shoulder. She tipped her neck up and smiled up at Matt, who stood a full head and a halftaller.
He extended one large paw. “Don’t know if you rememberme—”
“I do.” I stared at his hand a long while before shakingit.
He didn’t crush my fingers like I imagined hewould.
As though the contact with Matt’s hand had thawed the invisible ice encasing me, others approached. Introduced themselves,reintroducedthemselves. Six years changed teenage faces, yet I recognized most…rememberedmost.
A smile crooked Lucas’s lips. “We shouldbond.”
My spit went down the wrong hole, and I coughed. “Excuseme?”
“We should do a bonding exercise.” He tucked Taryn into his side, his hand almost on her breast.Classy.
His words combined with his sly smile had caused my mind to form indecent images full of leather fetters and iron chains. Why in the world was I thinking aboutbondage?
“Paintball,” a young boy with shoulder-length copper hairsaid.
“Exactly what I was thinking, little J. We should totally go paintballing tomorrow.” Lucas was still simpering at me. “Ever paintballed,doll?”
“Don’t call medoll.”
Lucas’s white scar writhed at myreproof.
“Andno, I neverpaintballed.”
Amanda stroked Matt’s thick fingers, while Taryn whispered in Lucas’s ear. I looked for Sienna, found her speaking quietly with August. Unlike the other two couples, they weren’t touchy-feely. If anything, their rigid body language told me they werearguing.
There were other girls on the terrace, but they were chatting away, either oblivious or uninterested in participating in the conversation going on around me. I wondered if Liam’s girlfriend was among them. I assumed he had a girlfriend, considering the number of girls who’d come to the packevent.
I returned my gaze to Lucas. “Iseveryonegoing?”
Lucas’s smile snuck back over his lips. “Just the pack andyou. Feeling intimidated by so much testosterone,Clark?”
What I felt was hot. Probably from the wall of massive bodies encasing me. Or from the blood loss. I lifted the reddened napkin and noted the cut was shallower, the skin less puckered. The wound was closing. That was a goodsign.
I retied the tissue, then pressed my palm against the nape of my neck, but my clammy hand did little to cool me down. “Not much intimidates me, Lucas. But thanks for yourconcern.”
That seemed to make Liam smile, or at least I thought amusement had contorted his lips, but I must’ve imaginedit.
Man, it was hot. I needed air. And space. I backed up, bumping into a chest. Brackish sweat and floral perfumes assailed mysenses.
I concentrated on breathing through my mouth. “You all have yourselves a goodnight.”
My stomach swished harder, and my head… My head felt as though my brain were being kicked around withcleats.
“Excuse me.” When no one moved, I elbowed my way through the throng ofbodies.
My sneaker caught on a big foot, and I stumbled, knocking into Liam. His drink sloshed from the glass and spilled over his black t-shirt.
“S-sorry.”
He wrapped a hand around my arm to steadyme.
Had someone slipped something into my coffee? I bristled and yanked my arm out of Liam’s grasp, then traipsed across the deck like a drunk. I made it into the living room without vomiting, and then I bolted to my room on legs that felt detached from mybody.
What was going on withme?
