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He rubs the back of his neck, missing my dagger-sharp stare. “I don’t know, she’s just a confirmed downer. So focused, no fun.”

“Aw, you’re repulsive,” I say, delivering it like a compliment. For a second he’s smiling, and then he realizes.

“Jesus. Suit yourself.”

“Thanks!”

I knock on Lacie’s door.

“Just a second!” When she opens it, she’s a flutter of pink silk, a little butterfly, delicate and sweet. “Here, it’s just this. I can’t reach the bottom of the zipper.”

She turns her back to me. Bare and pale, a little white lace from the edging of her undies peeking over the seam.

Suddenly, my hunger redirects, heat pooling low inside of me, my words catching hard in my throat.

“Mm—let’s go inside a sec,” I say, my voice hoarse. “The zipper’s stuck.”

“Really?” she asks, twisting to see. “I just took it out of my closet so it should be fine—”

“Yep!” I gently prod her inside, closing the door behind us.

What do I think I’m going to do with her right now? Take her on the floor of her dingy little apartment? She deserves better than that. Better than a monster who can’t tell what appetite they want to feed.

I force myself to smile. “Here, just a second. It’s more that Evan is out there and he was snooping around with his friends.”

“Ah.” Lacie gives me a grateful side smile. “Thanks.”

My fingernails graze her back, then my finger pads. That’s it. That’s all I get. Electricity buzzes up my arm as I zip her dress smoothly. She hesitates and turns.

It’s not the most beautiful dress I’ve ever seen. It’s cut long, the neckline a froth of taffeta. But it’s very her, which makes it alluring instead of dowdy. “Pretty,” I croon, pinching a fold of fabric and tugging it gently. “You look beautiful.”

Lacie’s cheeks pinken. “Should I take off my glasses?”

I tap my chin with my fingertips, considering. But really, it’s an easy question. “No. They’re very much a part of you, aren’t they?”

She preens a little, her blush deepening. “If you’re sure…”

I touch the frames, tucking a piece of errant hair over her ear before I pull away to study her. I take in her freckle-smattered nose, the beginning of smiling lines at the corner of her eyes, the dab of lip gloss at the center of her pout. “Yes, I’m almost always sure of myself.”

She bites her lip prettily, throwing her eyes up to meet mine. I can taste her, this close. Smell the amber scent of her perfume, different from the last one she wore. Below that, the aloe and coconut of her conditioner. She would be a treat, the monster in me croons.

No.

I step back, muscling past the need, need, need threatening to break my ribs like matchsticks. I like to think I’m a little more careful now than I was when I was younger, eager to devour in all ways, but I can’t lie that there’s a pit I can’t seem to fill, one way or another.

To change the subject, I say, “Shall I bring my clothing over here?”

“If you’d like, sure,” Lacie says, feigning disinterest, but her heart thumps audibly, her mouth pursed in a part-secret smile.

What’s horrid is that I can’t tell anymore if my abilities are on, if I’m simply affecting her like I do everyone else. I only know when they’re abruptly gone. Like they were before Arjun, or that following morning while I heaved over my toilet.

“Be back in a moment.”

Before I can think, I’m grabbing dresses willy-nilly, anything red, along with an armful of tights and stilettos. When I return, Lacie’s on one foot as she eases into a silky pump. She bats her mascara-coated lashes. “That was quick.”

If I had breath with which to pant, I would be. “I didn’t want to keep you waiting.”

“No?”