Page 24 of 'Til You Choke
It doesn’t matter whether I did it to seek attention or it was the truth. He knew bringing it up would fluster me. Anyone would feel the same.
I snap my head back toward him, narrowing my eyes to insist on showing him I won’t roll over for him.
“So, you asked as some kind of power play?”
A brow lifts above his unblinking eyes. “Grasping at straws won’t do you any favors here, Lilith.”
One of the servers interrupts us with a bottle of champagne in hand. He doesn’t say a word, going about his task of filling two flutes three-quarters full. He’s gone as quickly as he came, but my desire to fight Colter on a subject that still haunts me walks away with him.
“We’re not doing this.” I shift my attention to Mom and Mr. Crawford on the other side of the table. They look happy.
Never thought I’d feel it tonight, but I’m jealous.
“No,” he repeats in the same cadence as before. “I don’t suppose we will.”
Colter raises the glass to his lips, pondering his next line while savoring his drink.
“There’s something about you, Lilith. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I reach for the glass but refuse to drink from it. Look at what drinking in an unknown environment did last time…
“You intrigue me.” His eyes sink down my body and the sharp point of his tongue slithers along his lower lip.
“What?” Heat crawls up my neck and settles in my cheeks. My heart starts pounding against my ribcage as unsteady breaths catch in my throat.
His response, a wicked smile that sits uncomfortably on his face.
I shove my chair back, and it scrapes loudly against the floor. Noticing it, Mom jumps to her feet.
“Lilith? Is everything alright?” she asks, rushing over to our side of the table.
“I’ll be right back,” I say, putting as much distance between me and him as possible.
I get directions to the bathroom from one of the staff, and rush down the hall on wobbly legs that are threatening to collapse. Nothing about what Colter said should’ve caused this reaction. And yet, my body sensed there was more to it than simple words. It felt the need to run, the way it should have all those years ago.
This time, I’m going to listen. To find my footing and run before I get caught in something I can’t escape.
Because I can already tell, Colter Crawford is trouble.
And I’ve got a feeling he’s about to show me what kind.
Chapter Eleven
Colter
The moment the women disappear behind the door, I finally exhale. Lilith has sprinted off as if her life depends on it, and Maybelle is chasing behind in motherly concern.
Still, I’m left staring at the empty space she left behind. I’m fighting off some unfathomable sensation that’s gnawing in my chest. Distrust? No, I understand that. It sharpens my mind and heightens my senses. Whatever spell Lilith has cast on me, it cuts throughmy defenses.
I struggle to think straight. I’m itching to press her with questions she won’t have the answers to.
And somehow, in this smoldering wreck of an evening, I see clearly what has been right in front of me the entire time. The Head doesn’t need Lilith for what comes next. Sparing her life was done in the service of this marriage.
“And?” the Head asks.
I look over at him. I’d much rather be looking at her. “I did as you asked. This was her reaction.”
Out of all the terrible things this night brought, the Head’s ploy to see how Lilith would react to mentioning the past must be the worst. Thrusting her back into the traumatic event, just to see how she would take it.
