Page 39 of Bitten By Desire (Crooked Point #1)

Tuesday

Titan folded his arms across his chest as he stared at me.

God, he was so unnerving.

“You’re okay,” Bennett said. But he didn’t sound super relieved about the fact that I was alive. Probably because of the pure silver candlestick in my hand.

At least…I hoped it was pure silver. Because if not, Zoey and I were screwed.

“What are you doing?” Otto asked as he stared down at Zoey on her knees.

I looked over. She’d unpeeled her banana and was licking the side of it. Jesus.

Zoey laughed. “I always like to sample my fruit. To make sure it’s good quality. You know the most important thing to evaluate when finding the best fruit? I’ll give you a hint…it’s not taste. Although I do like it sweet.”

What. The. Fuck?

“Length?” Huxley offered.

Ace laughed. “Nah, thickness for sure.”

I would have been embarrassed about this whole situation but it kind of seemed to be working…

“Good guesses, boys,” Zoey said. “But the real test? Hitting it across your face a bit.” She hit the banana against her cheek.

Okay. Nope. What the hell was she doing ?

But when I looked back at Bennett and his friends they were all staring at her.

There was a small part of me that just wanted to slowly slip away and leave Zoey to handle this. But it wasn’t like she could properly distract all five of them at once. She didn’t have that many bananas in the house. I stared at the guys. Or that many…holes.

I just needed to talk to Bennett. And clear the air. And hopefully not get mauled to death. “Bennett, can I have a word with you in private?” Zoey could entertain the rest of them. She seemed willing enough.

Bennett tore his gaze off of Zoey’s weird show. “Whatever you want to tell me, you can say it to all of us.”

What? No. I didn’t want to talk to all of them. Why did Bennett keep saying stuff like that? “But it’s…private.”

“Just spill it, doll,” Titan said.

Zoey cleared her throat. “What Emma wants to tell you is that she wants to get on her knees too. Right, Emma?”

“No.” Definitely not. I’d just told her I was in love with Callum! I wasn’t about to seductively lick a banana in front of a bunch of other men.

I glanced at Bennett’s pocket. Did he have the watch on him right now? I really wished I had it. Then I could make Zoey stop being overtly sexual and get Bennett and his friends to leave and not hurt Callum.

But there was no noticeable pocket watch bulge in Bennett’s pants. Although…there was a noticeable bulge pressing against the zipper of his jeans. I didn’t blame him. Everyone loved Zoey. And I wanted to be with Callum. But it still stung a bit .

“I think we have some éclairs in the fridge,” Zoey said. She must have noticed the bulge too. “I have a thing for éclairs.”

Okay, I’d had enough. “Look, guys. It’s cool. I’m not going to tell anyone your secret. And Callum won’t either. So you can just ignore us and we’ll ignore you and everything will be all good.”

“That’s not at all what we want,” Bennett said.

I gripped the candlestick a little tighter as he stepped toward me.

He looked at it and then back at me. “Are you going to throw that at me instead of garlic powder this time?” He smiled.

Why was he smiling? Was it not going to work? “Be careful or you’ll find out.”

“I’m not going to hurt you, Emma.”

“You don’t know that. I saw you…” I started gagging. “You’re a…” I leaned over, choking. “I can’t breathe.” I gasped for air.

He put his hand on my back. His normal human hand. The one that I was used to comforting me. And it was weird, but it still felt comforting. Even though I’d seen his sharp claws.

“Take a deep breath. Slowly.”

I slowly inhaled. And then exhaled. His words were as comforting as his touch.

“And of course we can go talk in private. Zoey can entertain my friends for a bit.”

“Yeah I can,” Zoey said.

Bennett slipped his hand into mine and pulled me toward the kitchen. When we were alone, he didn’t let go of my hand. “I didn’t mean to scare you. ”

“You didn’t mean to scare me when you turned into a huge, ferocious cat?” I pulled my hand out of his.

He smiled. “I had it under control.”

“Did you though?” I glanced down at the front of his shirt. “Didn’t Otto scratch you? Are you hurt?”

“I heal pretty fast when I’m in my other form.”

“So you don’t need stitches or anything?”

He shook his head. “I’ll have a small scar. But nothing serious.”

Nothing serious? All of this was serious! “Bennett…that was the scariest thing I’ve ever witnessed. And I’ve found a severed human hand in a creepy Halloween maze. And almost had my blood drained by a vampire.”

“But there’s nothing to be scared of. Like I said…we have it under control. Mainly because of the watch.”

I shook my head. “It didn’t look like the watch helped very much. You swatted it right out of Titan’s hand.”

“It works. Trust me.”

“Then why did I find a severed hand in that hay maze? You said it wasn’t Callum. Because you knew who it was. It was one of you, wasn’t it?”

“Emma…”

“Just tell me the truth.”

His Adam’s apple rose and fell. “Yes. It was our fault.”

I was glad he didn’t tell me who it was. I didn’t think I could ever look at whoever did it again. “Bennett, if the pocket watch actually worked to control you guys, that never would have happened. ”

“It would have prevented it. But…I had the watch that night. And I was with you.”

I swear my heart stopped beating. Oh my God. “It’s my fault?”

“No.” He grabbed my hand again and squeezed it. “Not at all. This is why I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t want you to put any blame on yourself.”

“How can I not blame myself? Two people are dead!”

He winced. “It was an accident.”

“Accidents are like…sky diving. Or going too fast on a motorcycle. Not walking through a family-friendly hay maze and getting mauled by a werecat.”

“He didn’t mean to.”

I was glad Bennett hadn’t done it. But I couldn’t get over this. I knew Callum had killed people too. But he’d changed. He was trying to be better. The hay maze massacre just happened this weekend. “Why didn’t the pen burn you?”

“Because I wasn’t in my cat form. It would have burned me if I was. But I don’t do anything bad in my human form.” He pointed to his chest. “You know me, Emma. I’m a good guy.”

Was he? Because he basically just confessed that he did bad things as a cat. The pen didn’t burn Callum at all. Not anymore, at least. Because he was doing his best. The pen would still burn Bennett whenever he transformed.

“I can’t do this,” I said.

“What do you mean?”

I set the candlestick down. “I can’t be with you.”

“I have it under control. I swear to you. The watch… ”

“Didn’t help!”

He took a deep breath. “It does. It helps more than you can possibly know. A few years ago, if I’d transformed in front of you I would have killed you. But that didn’t happen.”

None of that was reassuring to me.

“We wouldn’t let anything happen to you,” he said.

“But what about when it’s just the two of us alone? Your friends can’t help then.” I shook my head. “None of that matters.” I took a deep breath. “I’m in love with Callum.”

He raised his eyebrows at me. “I’m sorry…what?”

“I love him.”

“He’s a vampire. I don’t know why you don’t believe me…”

“I do. He even confessed it to me himself.”

Bennett stared at me like I was insane. “But you just said you don’t want to be with me because I’ll hurt you. The same applies to him. I can’t help what I am. He can fucking help what he does.”

“He doesn’t hurt anyone anymore.”

“Emma. You can’t be that blind. Yes, I morph into a werecat when I’m angry. And I lose control. I barely even remember what happened when I come to again. But he remembers every second of ending a life. He likes it.”

“He doesn’t…”

“And you’ll be next.”

I slapped him.

He looked surprised by my reaction.

And for a second I stood completely still. Waiting for him to transform. But nothing happened .

“See?” he said. “I can control it. To some extent. I try my best. And when I can’t, that’s what the watch is for.”

“Callum can control himself too.”

Bennett shook his head. “Even if he can sometimes…that doesn’t guarantee that he always can. And no, I can’t always control when I change either. I don’t have control over what happens when I do change. But Callum does. So who’s the monster?”

I swallowed hard as I stared at him. “I don’t think you’re a monster, Bennett.

” I believed that he tried not to change.

The only thing that made him morph in the bank was because he got angry at the thought of Otto hurting me.

And Otto changed because he was jealous or something?

This was all so fucked up. But I knew Bennett was trying his hardest not to hurt anyone.

“Then we’re on the same page.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think you’re a monster. But I also don’t think Callum is.”

“Emma.”

I stared back at him. “Bennett.”

“What other proof do you need to realize that he’s the villain here?”

“He’s not. He’s not a monster. And he’s not a villain.”

“Then why does he want the pocket watch back? He wants it for himself. Probably to control you.”

I shook my head. “That’s not it.”

“Then why?”

“I think maybe this whole things is a big misunderstanding. If you honestly think it helps you guys…”

“It does. ”

“Then I’ll tell him that. I’ll ask him to let you keep it. He’ll listen to me.”

“I don’t want you to ask him to let me keep the pocket watch.

I just want to keep you.” He looked so sincere when he said it.

Like maybe he thought this was love. But it wasn’t.

It didn’t feel the same as when I was with Callum.

And I was sure there was someone out there for him. Hell, maybe Zoey was his perfect fit.

“I’m sorry, Bennett.”

He shook his head. “He’s going to hurt you. And I’m not going to be there to save you next time.”

If I couldn’t be with Callum, I didn’t even want to be saved. I knew I had more questions for him. A thousand of them. But I’d been in love with the man for ten years. And he’d been in love with me too. We’d figure out all the rest together. We would.

“He’s not going to hurt me,” I said. “I gave him the opportunity to at the train station, and he didn’t.”

“The bite mark on your neck says otherwise.”

“I wanted it.”

“Jesus, Emma. He has you under a spell or something. Who knows what else he has at his house to control you.”

I shook my head. I didn’t believe that for one second. “I’m choosing to be with him. It’s my own free will. He’s not even here and I’m telling you what I want.”

“My friends and I have a plan to end his life. I really think…”

“You can’t, Bennett. Please.”

“I think it’s for the best. ”

How was killing the love of my life for the best? “I swear to God, I’ll never forgive you. Please. Please don’t do this.”

“He’s a monster, Emma…”

“If he’s a monster then so are you! You’re not so different from each other. And I have no idea why you all hate each other so much. But it ends tonight. I’ll convince him to let you keep your pocket watch. And you’ll agree to not hurt him.”

“If I kill him I don’t need his permission to keep the watch.”

Bennett had lost his damned mind. Or maybe he had half a cat brain.

“Bennett, I’m sorry. About everything. But I’m in love with Callum.”

“I wouldn’t just be protecting you. I’d be protecting everyone he ever comes in contact with…”

“He only drinks animal blood.”

“Then why did he bite your neck, Emma?”

I sighed. “Because I made him do it. I wanted proof that he could taste my blood and control himself. And I’m fucking standing here alive. So I have all the proof I need.”

He pressed his lips together as he stared at me.

“You’re not going to change my mind about him. And maybe I can’t change your mind about him either. But please, can’t you do this for me? I searched for Callum for ten years. And I finally have him back.”

“He took advantage of you ten years ago and he’s taking advantage of you now.”

Titan walked into the kitchen. “It’s now or never, Bennett. Are we all clear?”

“Yeah,” Bennett said. “It’s time to end him.”

What the fuck?!