Page 76 of Pretty When She Breaks

It was so fucking hot in here. Everything was too loud, too bright.

Would he die without hearing that apology?

I couldn’t think, couldn’t look away from the screen where teeth rippedthrough flesh?—

“Holy shit, that new one is fire,” Prince said as the camera zoomed in on Ocean’s wild eyes, and it took everything in me not to turn around and knock him to the ground. Him, Dax, Madison, and Thaddeus, they’d fucking regret?—

I felt a gentle touch and breathed in the gentle scent of vanilla and roses as Laurel settled herself in my lap.

She drowned everything else out as my eyes landed on her face. Her cool hand slipped into mine, and her thumb stroked my knuckles.

Even the room seemed to quiet, and the raging anger in me started to ebb away. Her dress tonight barely showed any skin but clung to her every curve. She smelled sweet, almost like vanilla-caramel, and I couldn’t help picturing her shiny dress like a candy wrapper, peeling it back to reveal her milky white skin. She was soft in my lap, and I felt a pulse of arousal ignite in my veins.

“The first time is always quite intense,” she said, and I’d never heard anything as melodic as her voice.

I breathed in, each second coming back to myself, the panic being replaced by anger at Laurel’s unwanted presence. Would she feel my reaction, or were the layers of fabric beneath us enough to disguise it? I desperately wanted to shove her off my lap but didn’t want to make a scene.

“Oh look, he won,” she said louder, clapping as the sound of the crowd’s cheers rose from below us.

Prince looked over at us, and I saw a murderous expression cross his face before he smoothed it away.

“Good pick,” Dax told Laurel, who gave him a lazy smirk. She must have figured out how to mute the bond because the fear and disgust I was getting from her was faint.

I looked back at Ocean, who had craned his neck up. It must be too far to see, but it felt like he was looking right at us.

“Oh,” said Laurel as she noticed.

Ocean’s face hardened, and he stalked back to his opponent. In the next second, he’d heaved the opponent’s body over his head like some sort of offering, staring right at Laurel again. I felt her stiffen against me, followed by a feeling of muted, surprised gratitude.

Seeming satisfied, Ocean returned the body to the ground.

“Does that normally happen?” I asked her. She shook her head, still staring down at him, then thankfully stood up, ending my torture.

She lingered around me for the rest of the evening, making it impossible to ignore her. She smelled divine and looked like sin, and I was having a hard enough time keeping my arousal under control without her little touches.

As soon as I could, I exited the suite, my jaw muscles aching from clenching my teeth so much. I needed fresh air, to get her all-consuming scent out of my nose and some sense into my brain, and it was a relief to step out of the casino into the gardens. Now that my brain felt clearer, I checked in on Kaos in the bond and felt nothing but despair.

Dark emptiness dripping with anguish.

Ocean’s fight must have thrown him right into an episode. He’d been teetering on the edge the past few days, dancing in and out of his mind, but he’d managed to hang on for the most part. How long had he been like that, while I was sitting up in the suite, trying to ignore that cursed omega? He needed help.

Where was Laurel?

Why wasn’t she here yet?

I was waiting on the path that led to the Starlight villa.

It was usually Ocean who stepped up on his bad days, coaxing him back into the present. With Kaos unable toscramble the security cameras, I was stuck in my villa, unable to even try.

Which left her.

Finally, she came shuffling down the path, a large hoodie on. She was glaring at the ground and didn’t notice me, though I wasn’t exactly hiding.

I stepped in front of her, and she jumped, her eyes wide as she looked at me.

“Finch?” she whispered, glancing around. “What are you doing here?” She reached out and grabbed my arm.

I recoiled, yanking my arm away from her with a snarl. “Don’t touch me,” I snapped. “Wasn’t it enough that you were draped over me all evening?”