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Twisting her lips, she debates it for a millisecond. “Fine.”
It’s an attempt to secure our new bond, more than actually having faith in my eleventh-hour plan. But it’s something.
Now all I have to do is convince Spencer not to murder me.
33
Spencer
There’s not enough air in this room that’s spinning. I gasp in short heaves, trying to fill my lungs, but my corset has a strict rule against breathing. It’stighttight. Two sizes too small. By some miracle, I was able to get the corset closed, but even the slightest movement and I’ll bust free, ripping priceless couture to shreds. The dress is heavy with all the crystal embellishments, and barely an hour into this evening, even my bones are aching.
I’m in pain. I can’t breathe. I desperately want to go home.Stupid girl.All because I was too embarrassed to tell Nathan my real size. I’ve been hiding in the corner of the room, praying for time to fast-forward.
I feel awful about this entire evening. Nathan has been every woman’s dream. He’s been polite, considerate, sexy, and smooth with every gesture. I, on the other hand, have been a cranky brat. It seems out of my control. My body is in shock, molded into a silhouette that isn’t mine. Every time Nathan’s told me I’m stunning, gorgeous, or he can’t wait to tear this dress from my body, I know he’s seeing what we both want me to be. Not what I really am. Upholding this standard is physically painful. And yet, I desperately want to be what he wants.
Something’s changed between us since he told me about Elise.
He walks, always half a step in front of me, leading me, guarding me. Every time Charlie gets more than five feet away from us, his eyes latch on to her like a watchdog. He entered the ballroom tonight like he was attending with his most prized possessions—his family. Everything in me wants to cross the line with him. But…
There are consequences to falling in love with a claimed man. A man tethered to another woman by a tragically everlasting bond. Is second place good enough for happily ever after? Am I really content to share him with a beautiful ghost for the rest of my life? Is Nathan even thinking about forever? I learned the hard way that men transform into exactly what you want when they want something from you. Clever shifters with a total disregard for the consequences of their actions.
Probably because most of the time, they aren’t the ones paying them.
“You all right?” a voice asks from behind me.
For a moment, I think it’s Nathan, returning from wherever he whisked Charlie off to. Who else would find me in my hiding place?
“You look a little pale.” Casey steps around me to face me. “Need some water?”
“No.” Why is he still haunting me? Didn’t I bury this memory five years ago? Maybe he’s not the ghost I’m running from.
“You look good. Your dress and everything. You look like you’ve lost weight.” Ignorance is truly a peaceful thing. Because the stupid, earnest smile on his face makes it seem like Casey thinks he just complimented me.
“Excuse me,” I grunt out.
With tiny shuffles of my feet, I try to escape, but Casey wraps his mammoth hand around my wrist. “Wait.”
“Let me go,” I bark. But he doesn’t. He tightens his fingers, a look of determination filling his eyes. “You’re hurting me.”
“Nate told me we should work in the meeting rooms downstairs moving forward. He’s basically banished me from his office. Why is that, Spencer? We were cool until he spoke with you. What did you say?”
I successfully rip my arm away, but he only catches my other wrist.
“I need this job. This is my big break.”
“Let. Me. Go.”
“Are you insane? You’re going to try to ruin my life again over a stupid crush? Get over it. It was college and everyone was fucking around. I never liked you like that. I almost didn’t graduate because you were so butthurt over it. It’s pathetic that you’re still holding on to a five-year grudge.”
This is my moment. I should slap him. The blind arrogance. I want to do more. I want to grab the empty glass bottle off the nearest table and strike him across the jaw. I want to hurt him as badly as he hurt me. But I have too much to lose.Charlie.Assault is assault. I can’t do anything except stand here and curse the injustice of the world that my only available weapon is words.
“You’re a monster.”
“No more so than you.”
“How?” I ask indignantly. “What did I ever do to you?”
He finally releases me. I glance down at the red marks around my wrist and know in my soul if these don’t disappear before Nathan returns, Casey is a dead man. “It was just a prank. Freshman hazing. You blew it out of proportion. You ran to the dean and nearly got me kicked off the team which would’ve let the whole school down.”