Then I burst out laughing, I can’t hold it in. The shock on Ray’s face is priceless.
Sebastian stands frozen, his mouth hanging open as flour clings to his lashes and dusts his hair white.
Ray is completely still.Deadly still.Sebastian blinks up at him.
“You better run,” Ray says quietly.
Sebastian gasps. Then he lets out a squeal of laughter, grabs my arm, and bolts.
“Quick, Wynter, run!”
I’m laughing too hard to do anything, but I let him drag me with him as we race out of the kitchen, Ray’s footsteps thundering behind us.
We tear down the hallway, Sebastian shrieking, me half-stumbling as my socks slip against the flooring, and just as we reach his room, he lets go of me, dives inside, and slams the door.
The lock clicks.
I stare at it, my hands pressed against the hardwood.
“Sebastian, you traitor!”
Arms close around my waist, and I gasp. Ray spins me lightly, and suddenly I’m pinned between him and the bedroom door, both of us breathless, both of us laughing.
Until we realise exactly how close we are.
The laughter dies, but his hands are still on my waist. My palms flatten against his chest without me even realising I’ve put them there.
For one suspended second, neither of us moves.
His eyes drop to my mouth. My breath catches. The whole world seems to go painfully, deafeningly still.
Then, like he’s just remembered himself, Ray lets go. He steps back so fast it’s almost jarring.
Heat rushes into my face. I turn to the door and bang on it, mostly so I’ve got something to do.
“Thanks a lot,” I call out. “Every man for himself, apparently.”
From the other side of the door, Sebastian’s giggles ring out.
I can’t get Ray out of my head. The feel of his hands on my waist. The way he looked at me, like he wanted something he had no business wanting.
It keeps replaying, over and over, until I’m half convinced I imagined it. I’ve never been so drawn to a man in my life, even though he still scares the hell out of me.
“Earth to Wynter,” Anika says.
“Huh?” I blink, dragging myself back to the room.
She’s watching me with far too much amusement. “I said it’s nice hearing laughter in this place again,” she says. “It’s been a while.”
“Oh. Right.”
Her mouth twitches. “You and Ray called a truce?”
I nod. “Catherine basically forced us to sit down and clear the air.”
“And?”
“And it’s . . . better,” I admit. “He still terrifies me, but it’s better.”
