Page 105 of Blackwood

Okay. Now I’m jealous of my own fucking boyfriend.

She turns back to the crowd. “Haley gets Heartthrob and I get this bullshit?” Another groan. Full of drama. Full of fire.

Knox shrugs. “When you quit acting like one, I’ll quit calling you one.”

The crowd laughs. She stomps. Clearly the response they were looking for. It’s all a perfectly scripted show and the Titans and Wolves are eating it up. The Revenants should really be taking notes. Somebody get Maddie Rae a damn notepad and pen.

“Problem Child?” he repeats.

“Yes, Satan’s spawn?”

Roars.

“Bella,” he sighs, “What are you wearing? Where is your Trifecta gear?”

She looks at her chests and shrugs. “Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

She looks at the other girls, turns to me and winks before she rips her tank off. Underneath? A bright cherry-red skimpy-ass top withProperty of Lex Barinov stitched across the front in black rhinestones.

The Pit has never been this loud. Screaming, cheering, and a few dramatic shrieks from Maddie and her minions echo off the concrete like music.

I think I’m having a goddamn heart attack, and I’m seriously rethinking my decision to wear these thinner shorts.

Knox’s jaw drops. “There we go. Was that so hard?”

Something’s hard.

Bella rolls her eyes. “Just play the track, Knox?”

Knox coughs. “Uh, well, bad news. Considering this was kinda last minute, I don’t have all of our shit with me.”

“Knox!” she screams. “What do you expect us to dance to?”

Knox leans into the mic, voice lazy and amused. “Calm down, Problem Child. Don’t cause a scene. Frown lines, remember?” He points to his forehead. “It’ll be fine. Just wing it, girls. You seriously can’t be worse than what this place already had to endure tonight.”

This guy’s officially my new bestie.

She spins to the girls. “Fine. Hit it.”

Disco. Fucking. Inferno. The same damn song Maddie Rae and her plastic bitches botched earlier.

Nice move, baby. Goddamn.

The redhead and little Whitmore are solid, yeah. Sexy as hell.

But Bella? Fucking Bella.

She’s front and center and I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s not just performing, she’s taunting me. Feeding off every beat, every snap of her hips. And she can’t take her eyes off me either. Not for one goddamn second.

On the count of one-two-three, they rotate, switching places with precision that should not be legal in shorts and leather pants that tight. Bella drops low, ass to the floor, rolls her body up like a fucking wave, and pops her hip with a smile that could start wars.

Every goddamn person is on their feet and for good reason. I feel it in my chest. In my throat. In my dick. Bella’s not just dancing to the song. She’s dancing to me. She knows exactly what she’s doing. And she’s doing it in front of the whole damn world.

Right when I didn’t think it could get any better… Belladoes the un-fucking-thinkable. She spins on those sharp little black boots and sits. Right on my lap.

Ok, Little Lex. Be cool.

Her body’s pressed against mine, a perfect fit. And for a few bars, she rides me to the beat. Her hips shifting slow, steel eyes pinned to mine like she’s got me by the throat.