Page 89 of Bells
“One more thing…” I replied, and all eyes turned to me. “I have a girlfriend now.”
“Who?” Bugs asked.
“Her.” I pointed to Bellatrix, and she jumped across the table and lunged for my face.
“You tried to kill me, asshole!”
I grabbed her wrist and slid her along the top until she was positioned in front of me. My legs pressed between her thighs so that I could feel the heat between 'em. “Correction: I didkillyou. Had to, babe.” I grinned and brushed the hair away from her cheek. “I told you I would, and a good boyfriend always does what he says he’s gonna do.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
BELLATRIX
Ipushed Casper back a step and shoved past him, stomping towards the door. I shook my head and cursed. I could hear the fucker following at my heels.
Actually, I couldn’t hear anything besides the clanking of glasses, hushed voices, and the odd cackle clamoring over all of it—the one rich folks made when they were dishing out insults and calling it humor.
But I could feelhim.
I didn’t stop to check where Gabby and Vee had wondered off to as I weaved my way between drunk partygoers and the sober people serving them. This was meant to be neutral ground, even though this house had been far from neutral over the years, so I was confident they were fine wherever they went. I just needed to get out of here.
“Where you going?” Casper called after me when I made it to the bottom of the stone steps at the front of the house.
I kicked off my shoes and picked them up by their straps as I aimed a glare in his direction. “I’m leaving.”
He grabbed my arm and twisted me around to face him. “Okay, let’s leave. Where do you wanna go, babe?”
I tried to yank my arm free and he held on to it tighter. “Nope. Ut-uh. I’m leaving to get away from you,” I hissed.
“Okay.” He shrugged. “Let’s get away from me together.”
“You don’t get it, do you? None of this is cute. Or funny.” I waved my free hand up and down the length of his body. “I fucking hate you.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Why?” He dropped my arm and tucked his hands into his pockets. He didn’t move back though, forcing me to peer up at him. At the way the moonlight had him looking like he had a halo around his light hair when there should have been a pair of horns sticking out of it.
“Whywhat?” I’d heard him. I just didn’t understand whathewasn’t understanding. It always amazed me how grown-ass men had this way of turning into little boys on the playground who suddenly got their feelings hurt. As if some part of their brains never quite developed once they hit puberty.
“Why do you hate me?”
“Are you fucking kidding me? You crossed the line. Youhurtme, and you have no intention of apologizing about it, do you?”
“I’m not sorry. You want me to lie to you and tell you that I am?” When I didn’t answer him, he grinned. “Pain reminds us we’re alive. Pleasure reminds us we want to be.” He lifted a shoulder before dropping it down again. “Besides, you like hurting me too. It’s kinda our thing, babe.”
“We don’t have a thing, Casper. We willneverhave a thing.”
“You’re wrong.” He took another step closer so that we were standing toe to toe.
I arched my feet on the cold pavement, ready to grab any number of the weapons I had on my person, or make a run for it if I needed to.
He tugged my head back by my ponytail and leaned over me. “You enjoyed yourself. You liked digging that knife into my back, closing your fingers around my throat until you could feel me stop breathing. And you loved how you got to do it over and over again. You loved using me. Admit it.”
I shook my head, and he let go of my hair and squeezed my cheeks. Forcing me to nod with him.
“Yes, you did. You got what you wanted out of me. Just like I got what I wanted out of you. It was an even trade.”
