Page 61 of Made in Malice
“Not going to judge your kink, brother, as long as that’s all it is,” Nox drawls, giving me a veiled warning.
“I hear you,” I respond, because I do. I noticed her recoil too, and I hated it.
NOVA
I’m in a slight state of shock Monday after my second class. Not only have I not seen the Morningstars, but no one has messed with me all day. There have been no snide remarks, no students stalking me down the halls, including Lucian, and no jilted girlfriends warning me away from their man. It’s pretty nice actually, but I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I’m not really sure what to do with myself. I spent most of the day yesterday in bed or in my room, other than an awkward dinner with Rory and Astrid. Going back to the house sounds boring. Maybe I’ll go change and hang out on the beach. The Umbras have their own private oasis on the island, but being so isolated doesn’t sound all that appealing right now. I know from my experience yesterday that I’m just going to dwell on the lady from Hooker’s, and I won’t get any answers about what she meant that way.
I tried to ask Astrid about my mom to see if she would tell me why she left, but she got emotional, and I stopped pushing for details because I felt bad. Rory just eyed me the entire time like he was trying to pry open my head and examine my thoughts. Like I said, awkward.
“What are—” The rest of his words are cut off by my scream when Nox pops his head out from my backseat.
I swat at him and miss several times when he ducks out of the way. “What is wrong with you? How did you even get in here?”
“You left it unlocked. Did I scare you?” He’s trying really hard to frown, but he can’t keep the smile off his lips.
“You are as crazy as your brother.” I lean back against my seat and let my heart rate drop so I don’t have a heart attack.
“I got bored waiting for you. I was going to take a nap.”
“The car is like two hundred degrees. You would die in twenty minutes.” I start the car to crank up the AC.
“So what are we doing?” He leans forward between the seats, ignoring my comment about the heat.
“I don’t know.” I give a half-hearted shrug.
“Lies, I can tell by your answer,” he accuses. Maybe I could use this to my advantage. He probably knows everything Lucian does, so maybe I could get Nox to tell me what he knows about my mom or her family.
“I was thinking about going to the beach,” I offer, turning to see him better.
“Sun, skin, and water.” He says each word slowly while running his eyes over me as if he’s imagining me wet and naked…or maybe I want him to be thinking about me like that, because that’s what I’m thinking about him.
“I’m sure you go all the time, but I really haven’t had the chance, plus the beaches back home are nasty unless you’re up north.”
“I know the perfect spot we can go. Where’s back home?”
“Michigan, are you sure you want to come?” Now I’m nervous about hanging out with him.
“I wouldn’t miss it. Will you let me take you to the best beach in SC?” he challenges.
“Is it far?”
“It’s just a little drive,” he says dismissively.
“Okay.”
“Okay?” he asks as if he’s surprised I agreed, which makes me leery. “You already agreed.” He changes his tone quickly, like he realized I was about to back out.
“Fine, but you better not be trying to trick me.”
“Do you have your suit?”
“Isn’t it too cold to get in the water?” I’m fine in shorts, but I notice lots of people are still wearing pants and even sweaters or light jackets, especially in the evening.
“Not where I’m going to take you.”
“Cryptic.” I mull the idea over for a few seconds. “I was just going to put my feet in, are you going to go in the water?”