by Kant, Komal
“Um, it’s okay.” I stared at him in confusion, not really sure what to say. Being so close to him messed with my train of thought.
“Let’s go dance,” he said, dipping his head towards the dance floor.
He might as well have smacked me across the face; that’s how off keel I was. Loire, dancing? The very idea was difficult to grasp. He put on such a huge act of being all tough and cool that doing something fun seemed out of his league.
Trying to contain my surprise, I turned back to my friends. “Uh, I’ll catch up with you later,” I managed to say.
Anna and Misha simply gaped at me. Their expressions were replicated on everyone’s faces, including Cedee and her friends. Loire was pretty hot, so it made sense why they were all staring at me like that.
As I turned to follow him onto the dance floor, I caught sight of Talon. I had never seen him look so angry before. It filled me with warmth knowing I could still get to him. After hooking up with Cedee, he deserved it.
Putting Talon out of my mind, I focused on the roughness of Loire’s callused hand as he pulled me along. Sometimes he didn’t make sense. He could be such a jerk and say the most insensitive things, but then he went and did something like this and confused the hell out of me. I was still trying to decide how I felt about him.
We stopped amongst a sea of writhing bodies as Loire gingerly placed his hands on my waist like he was afraid to touch me. Since I was wearing heels, he was only a few inches taller than me.
Smiling, I looped my arms around his neck, drawing him closer. “Don’t worry, I’ve had all my shots. I’m not contagious.”
Loire looked down at me and snorted. “I’m more worried that you’ll break my face with that right hook you were about to lay on that demon.”
I wrinkled my nose at him and laid my head against his shoulder, wanting to enjoy myself. Loire tensed against me, but began to relax as we did a weird two-step. We both sucked at the dancing part, but I was glad he had stepped in before I got into a fight with Cedee. I was already in a lot of trouble and didn’t need another strike on my record. An alleged murder was enough.
Anna and Greggy were dancing nearby while half the people in the room ogled them. I couldn’t help but feel bad for them, but I was also glad they were being brave. It couldn’t be easy going out in the open like that. Hopefully, they didn’t get into any trouble. They weren’t acting inappropriately; they were only dancing.
In fact, they didn’t seem very lovey-dovey or hands on. I was really starting to wonder if Misha and I just had overactive imaginations and were thinking too much about what was going on between them. They really did just seem to be friends.
Misha and Sander, on the other hand, were nowhere to be seen. I wondered if the two of them were making out somewhere, or if Misha simply couldn’t bear to see Anna and Greggy together. I really needed to talk some sense into her.
“That girl really has it in for you, doesn’t she?” Loire was asking me, rousing me from my thoughts.
“Huh?” I snapped out of my reverie and raised my head to look at his handsome face. Can you imagine? I was in Loire’s arms and I wasn’t even enjoying the moment. “Oh, Cedee. Yeah, she’s a troll as you saw from yesterday’s encounter.”
“Cedee?” Loire snorted, releasing me so that I could twirl under his arm. He held me close again and I breathed in the scent of his sandalwood cologne. “That passes as a name these days?”
“Well, it’s Cadence,” I explained. “She never looked at me twice until she started dating my ex.”
Loire spun me around again. “That’s interesting considering she tried to proposition me yesterday.”
“No way!” His words surprised me. “But she makes such a show of being with Talon.”
“Hey, can you blame her?” A smile played around his mouth. “I would hit on myself if I could.”
Narrowing my eyes, I punched him hard on the arm. My right hook was pretty good, but Loire barely flinched. Instead, he laughed deeply and pulled me into his muscular arms again. His hand spanned the small of my back, sending tingles running across my skin, before resting on my lower half. I wanted to rub up against him like a purring cat. I resisted the urge because it would be inappropriate and a little weird.
“So, why’d you pretend to be my date, anyway? I thought you would have loved watching my public humiliation.” I looked up at him, waiting for him to tell me how wrong I was.
“I’m not that bad, am I?” There was an intense look in his stormy eyes that made me weak at the knees. He licked his lips before shrugging. “I figured having a guy like me on your arm would do wonders for your reputation.”
I laughed, despite myself, and let him lift me up in a small spin. He swung me around like I was weightless before effortlessly placing me back on my feet. There were a few envious looks from a group of girls who were standing nearby. I wriggled my fingers at them and they quickly averted their gazes.
Maybe Loire was right. Maybe it would improve my reputation being seen with him at prom. It had been such a long time since I had actually blended in with the other students without feeling like a social parasite.
Even as the thought crossed my mind, I realized something else. I didn’t care what anyone thought of me. I didn’t care who they saw me with. The only people who mattered to me were my friends.
Studying Loire from beneath my lashes, I wondered if he was my friend. It certainly felt like we were heading in that direction, but I didn’t really know what he really thought of me.
“No, seriously though,” I pressed. “Why are you pretending to be here with me when you could be, I don’t know, doing whatever it is that SRECON agents do in their free time?”
He seemed uncomfortable with my probing. “You never know when the job will demand posing undercover and dancing.”
“So, you’re doing this for work?” His words were disappointing and not the answer I was looking for.
He shrugged again, looking off into the crowd, and didn’t say anything for several minutes. When he finally glanced back at me, he didn’t seem as happy as he’d been earlier on and I couldn’t help thinking that it had to do with my question.
I distracted myself by inspecting the room for any sign of my friends. Anna and Greggy were nowhere to be seen and I hadn’t noticed Misha or Sander coming back into the hall either.
Great, my friends had deserted me.
“I think I’m gonna get out of here,” I said with a sigh.
Loire raised an eyebrow. “You’ve barely been here for an hour. What’s wrong?”
“My friends are gone and I’m not sticking around with this crowd.” I noticed Cedee and Talon sucking each other’s faces off in a corner, and cringed.
Loire followed my gaze. “In that case, let me follow the proper date protocol and walk you to your room.”
I rolled my eyes at him, but didn’t turn down his offer. I wondered if proper date protocol required him to kiss me on my door step. The very thought sent tingles shooting through my stomach.
We weaved through the crowd and people openly stared as we passed them by. I tried my best to ignore them all and focused on Loire who was a few steps in front of me. Even from the back he still looked good. Dayum.
Tyrone caught my eye and flashed me a huge grin from where he stood beside Veritas. I rolled my eyes at him in response.
To him this was probably more evidence that Loire had a thing for me, but I hadn’t really seen anything to prove that theory.
Once we made it outside, the night air had become cold, and goose bumps popped up all over my bare arms and legs. As I rubbed myself to keep warm, Loire glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.
In one quick motion, he removed his jacket and slung it over my shivering frame. I protested and tried to take it off, but he clamped his hands down firmly on each shoulder to keep it in place.
“You need it more than I do, considering you’re barely wearing anything tonight.” His gaze wandered over me before he b
egan walking ahead of me so I couldn’t return it.
I broke into a jog until I caught up with him. “Thanks,” I said, as a hot flush crept up my neck. It was a really sweet gesture—he had been full of sweet gestures lately.
We didn’t say anything as we continued back towards the dorms. The silence wasn’t awkward though—it was comfortable. I darted a glance at Loire and saw he had that faraway look he always got when something was on his mind. He only had it when he was around me.
Maybe he thought I was a big pain in the ass and he couldn’t wait to be rid of me. Or maybe he just thought I was immature all the time and couldn’t take me seriously. Once again, I wished I could read minds like Veritas did.
When we reached my dorm room, I cleared my throat and he looked at me, startled. “What were you thinking about?” I asked.
A smile lurked on the corner of his mouth. “How a girl like you can be so much trouble.”
I put my hands on my hips in indignation. “I am not trouble, I’m just-”
“You’re just what?” he asked, leaning towards me in a teasing manner. “Since the moment I met you, you have threatened my Triad with angel hair, been assaulted by eggs, been assaulted by rocks, gone to an unauthorized party in some loser’s room, wanted to break a girl’s nose numerous times, and somehow still managed to squeeze in prom.”
“Okay, okay, I get the point,” I said, holding my hands up defensively. “You have a great memory for someone so old.”
He laughed and playfully grabbed for my wrists. There was a glint in his eyes that made my breath catch in my throat. When his skin pressed against me, it was like we were both on fire. A sensation spread through my body as I imagined caressing his smooth face and feeling his lips against mine.
I leaned forward just as he bowed his head towards me. Our foreheads pressed together and he looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time. Really seeing me. His stormy eyes, inches away from mine, seemed to penetrate my soul.
Loire’s breathing was shallow and I didn’t move in fear of ruining the moment. I desperately wanted to lean in and kiss him, but I wanted him to do it first. I wanted to know that he wanted me, not the other way around.
I didn’t think it was possible to have these intense feelings again, not after what had happened with Talon. Yet here I was, inches away from a guy that I wanted so desperately.
“What am I doing?” he whispered to himself.
I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want to influence him either way. A big part of me wanted him to kiss me, but a smaller, more annoying part was telling me to back away from the gorgeous guy.
“I have to go,” he said curtly, pulling away from me.
Hurt flooded through me as he turned and almost sprinted down the corridor. Dumbstruck, I could only watch as he disappeared. I couldn’t even bring myself to move, like he had cast a spell that had immobilized me.
What the hell had just happened?
Chapter Sixteen
The morning after prom, I was called into Delware’s office again.
Loire was a no-show, so I headed down to the office alone. When I got there I was surprised to find Tyrone already engaged in a conversation with the headmaster.
As their conversation ceased, Tyrone wriggled his fingers at me in a wave as I sat down, trying not to smile at the gesture. This dude was my own, personal stalker.
“Good morning, Katerina,” Delware greeted me.
“What’s up?” I asked, reclining back in the chair.
“I wanted to talk to you about the conditions of your return to school,” he said with a warm smile.
Ugh. Great. Had Parlum insisted that more severe action be taken against me?
“Yes?” I prompted, not trusting Delware’s smile. He was always in a good mood, so the smile could be misleading.
“You have shown excellent progress with your school work, and SRECON has been satisfied with your obedience. You will have an eight hour fixed guard as you sleep. I feel it is important to keep you protected, considering the recent attack on you. Otherwise, the SRECON agents are free to guard you as they please.”
“What?” Relief filled me, even though I was a little baffled. “Really?”
It wasn’t hard to figure out who would be guarding me at night. Did that mean that Tyrone and Loire had reported my good behavior and Veritas had disagreed with them? Considering, I was asleep most of the time she guarded me, I wondered what she could possibly complain about. Maybe I’d been snoring too loudly for her delicate sensibilities.
“Really,” Delware confirmed with a nod. “Mr. Warbeck is here to remove your ira bands as a reward for your good behavior.”
This was turning out to be an early Christmas for me. I was freaking ecstatic.
Tyrone bounded forward and gave me a wink. I knew what that wink meant—we both knew I hadn’t exactly been on my best behavior.
“Ah, it pains me to do this,” Tyrone said dramatically, waving his hand over my wrists. “My link to you is broken, but our bond will never die.”
As he moved his hand away, the ira bands disappeared into thin air. In amazement, I turned my wrists over, hardly believing that the ira bands were gone. I’d actually started getting used to them.
“What will you do now that your perve radar is gone?” I asked Tyrone as he stepped back.
“I guess I will have to occupy myself with other pastimes, like braiding my chest hair.” He feigned a deep sigh.
Delware cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him. “This does not mean that you digress back to your former behavior. I want to see you maintain the same standard that you have been achieving since your return. Do not disappoint me, Katerina. I am not the only one counting on you.”
I nodded, understanding the meaning behind his words—my parents were counting on me to behave myself, too.
Since I was already here, I decided now was a time as good as any to ask him about something that was weighing heavily on my mind. “How is the investigation into Mel-Headmistress Melkane’s death going?”
“It’s going,” he said simply.
Yeah, that wasn’t vague at all. “What does that mean?”
“It means that Parlum is taking their time investigating her death.” There was a look of exhaustion on his face as he spoke. He actually looked a lot older now than he usually did. I guess this whole thing with Parlum was getting to him too.
Leaning back in the chair, I studied the fancy hourglass on the desk. “That’s good for me, right?”
“For now,” Delware said with a frown. “As long as you don’t do anything that puts negative attention on you, we can keep you from going to trial before the Headmistress’ death is properly investigated. This is our goal and it should be yours, too.”
With nothing else to say, I left the office. Tyrone walked me to first period before leaving to go and do whatever it was that he did when he didn’t have to babysit me.
The days following prom and my meeting in Delware’s office, I didn’t see Loire at all. Tyrone came to hang out with me on several occasions, while Veritas still abided by her eight hour schedule. Loire, on the other hand, didn’t come to see me at all since the moment we’d shared on the night of the prom.
There were so many times I had wanted to track him down and demand to know if he was avoiding me, but I took Delware’s warning to heart. I was going to stay under the radar. At least for now.
“Kat, are you alright?” Anna’s voice broke into my thoughts and I looked up to find her staring down at me in concern.
We were hanging out in the library as usual; Anna pored over books, while I lost myself in my messy thoughts. It was a comforting ritual.
“Yeah, I’m good,” I said, despite having a hundred things on my mind.
“I have Angel Philosophy now,” she said with a small smile. “What about you?”
“Did the bell ring? I didn’t hear it.” My thoughts were distracting me so much; I co
uldn’t believe I hadn’t even heard the bell. “Um, I have Martial Arts.”
“I’ll see you at dinner then,” Anna said, slinging her bag over her shoulder.
“Yeah, see you then,” I echoed, slowly gathering up my things as she left.
By the time I left the library, Anna was long gone. Anna and Misha still weren’t talking to each other, and Anna taking Greggy as her date to the prom hadn’t helped their relationship at all. I had to figure out a way for those two to start talking again.
I hadn’t had much of a chance to get Misha alone though. She was always with Sander now, and I couldn’t stand being around him, so I made sure to avoid them when they were together. Sander had this way of looking at me that made me feel like I was stark naked.
I headed out of the school building and made my way across the grounds towards the gym. There were no students hurrying to their classes or standing around talking to their friends, which wasn’t good news for me. It meant I was late to another one of Professor Martin’s classes.
So much for keeping my promise to Delware.
As I pushed open the gym door, I was hoping to sneak in without Martin noticing me. Maybe class had already begun and we were doing group work. I could just join a group without Martin noticing that I was close to ten minutes late.
“Late again, Miss Lyrille?”
I froze at the sound of my name and stared around the gym.
Damn. Professor Martin was standing in front of the class and, once again, he wasn’t alone. Loire stood beside him, dressed in grey sweatpants and a black tank top which showed off his huge arms again.
Great. Not only was I late, but I also had to go through another lesson with Loire and his distracting body.
I placed my bag against the wall and joined the rest of the class, bowing my head a little so I looked apologetic. “I lost track of time in the library, Sir.”
Professor Martin made a ‘tsk’ sound and glanced at Loire. “That certainly won’t do will it, Loire? What do you think we should do about Miss Lyrille’s tardiness?”