My mouth was dry with lust. “I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m trying to get through to you.”
“It’s not working. So stop trying.”
Ethan walked away, like he always did. When he abandoned me in that hallway… it was probably the worst thing I ever felt. Emptiness like never before covered me like a grave. Tears rose to my eyes and threatened to spill over.
I’d promised myself Ethan Nowak would never make me feel this way again, and yet I let him do it over and over. Why did I keep falling for him?
I wiped the tears away and threw my head back high. Fuck Ethan Nowak, and everything he stood for. I came here tonight to have a good time, and by the gods, I was going to party my ass off even if I broke my own heart doing it.
I returned to the party— thank the gods, Ethan was nowhere in sight. I took two drinks in my hands from the table and downed both of them in moments. My brother, who recognized I was upset, put a hand on my arm. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s just my stupid mate. Or ex-mate, or whatever the hell he is.” More tears came, but I pushed them back.Fun times, I reminded myself, and I reached for another wine cooler.
Arthur frowned. “Is Ethan being a jerk? I can give him a piece of my mind, if you want.”
The thought of my scrawny brother trying to beat up Ethan, the beefcake of the century, was comical as hell. I laughed, and it broke some of the bitterness in my chest. “Don’t mind him. Let’s have some fun.”
“All right…” Arthur frowned as I picked up another cooler. I wasn’t supposed to have alcohol in the first place, due to being severely immunocompromised, but I had a glass or two every once in a while. I certainly wasn’t supposed to get drunk, but tonight, I decided to throw all that out the window. Getting sick or landing another infection couldn’t be as bad as the wound inside my heart.
All the stress I was going through collided with my feelings. The big competition coming up… finding the stones in time… my mom lying to me... possibly losing my healthcare... losing Ethan… it was too much to deal with.
All of it I tried to drown with alcohol.
I drifted throughout the party, looking for the girls and chugging drinks. I found Kiara and Odette sitting on a couch in the living room. Ozzie, who’d taken a fond liking to Odette, was sitting on her lap.
“Where are Stefan and Delmare?” I asked. My voice was already slurred.
“They went upstairs to find a room,” Kiara said. “You won’t be seeing her for a while.”
Trust my wing girl to get laid right when I needed her. Ozzie’s eyebrows furrowed when he saw me. “Emma, are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay.”
“What are you talking about, Ozzie? I’m great!” My drink sloshed everywhere as I raised my cup.
Kiara made a face. “Emma, you’re drunk.”
“I am perfectly sober.” My eyes scanned the crowded room for an opportunity. I saw that Finlay was standing on top of a coffee table, drinking beer to chants ofchug, chug, chug.
An idea popped into my head. It was so tempting I grasped it immediately. It was time to show Ethan Nowak he didn’t own me. I might’ve had one too many drinks tonight, but I wanted— no—neededto let go and act crazy.
If Ethan was so upset about medancing with some other shifter in my underwear, I’d fix the problem by not wearing any at all.
Finlay had tossed his cup down to the floor by the time I climbed onto the coffee table beside him. When he turned around, I grabbed both sides of his face and kissed him as hard as I could muster.
Finlay’s body stiffened. I hoped I wasn’t crossing a line, before his arms relaxed and wrapped around me. He kissed me back softly, and I opened his mouth to let in his tongue as we made out for the entire party to see.
Finlay’s kisses were warm and open. There was a kindness to his movements that was easy to fall into. His strong body felt like a temple as his lips caressed my own. Kissing Finlay was easy… friendly. It was something I could get used to.
But he didn’t taste like Ethan. The passion wasn’t there. And because of that, it wasn’t enough.
I swear I heard several phone cameras go off as I kissed Finlay— knew the pictures would be in the paper tomorrow— but I didn’t care. My head swam and buzzed with the effects of the alcohol, and I decided to take it a step further. As I pulled away from Finlay, my hands went to the back of my dress, and I unclipped my bra. There were cheers from the crowd— especially the guys— as I gave a cry and tossed it to the room. It fell into a group of shifters, and the guys started fighting over who would get it.
My gaze roamed over the people in the room. Arthur had covered his eyes. Vara was laughing up a storm. Odette, Kiara and Ozzie all looked equally shocked.
But the best part of all was Ethan. He’d gone so white-faced at my actions he appeared to be a ghost.
But I didn’t stop there. Carefully, I slid a hand up my dress, and took off my panties in a slow way so I didn’t accidentally expose myself to the entire crowd. People gasped when they saw the lacy thong in my hand. I twirled it over my head, letting out awoobefore tossing it into the air.
It sailed across the room and hit Ethan right in the face.
