Page 45 of The Souls We Claim

“I know. I’m not a perfect human being, Arianne.”

I turn to face him. “Then stop trying to pretend you are. Isn’t it the truth that we’re all a little bit Gatsby? A little bit wild and eccentric and lost with a compulsion to be loved?”

I reach for Halo’s hand, and he lets me take it. Somewhere deep inside, I find a drop of courage and tug him to me. He steps between my legs and wraps his arms around me. Even as our good bits line up against each other, it’s the security and safety I feel in his arms that helps the last of my shivers fade.

He wraps my ponytail around his fist then releases it, and for a moment I can let go of some of my worries.

“I’m sorry my club put you in this situation, Arianne. But I promise you, I’m not going to leave you to figure out what to do next alone.”

“Can I ask you a question?” I ask quietly.

Halo steps back a little. “Depends.”

I smile at his reluctance. “Why didn’t you let Penny touch you?”

“Not sure that’s any of your business.”

“Seeing as you’ve been up in my business, I feel like it might be a little bit.”

Halo grabs the end of my ponytail and gives it a little tug. “Watch it, kitten.”

I don’t tell him it makes me feel a little melty when he calls me that.

“Fine.” His eyes search my face, and his hand cups the back of my neck firmly. “There’s a woman I have no right to be thinking of.”

I’m certain it’s me. “Why have you no right to be thinking of her?”

His fingertips stroke my skin, and a shiver runs down my spine. “Because she and I are opposites.”

“In what way?”

Halo watches my lips move. “Because I’m a Dom, Arianne. And the last thing the woman on my mind needs is another man dominating her, even if he makes sure she enjoys it.”

I slip my fingers through the belt loops of his jeans and shimmy closer to the edge of the tool cabinet. Our bodies press closer together. “What if she told him it didn’t feel the same way at all?”

“Ari,” he warns.

“I don’t intend to give myself to a man to control ever again,” I say. “But some fun could be…fun.”

“No.” He rubs his thumb over my lower lip, then shakes his head. “Are we good, Arianne?” His voice is gruff, rumbling, and it makes my insides flutter.

“We could be better.”

He raises an eyebrow.

“Yes. We’re fine.”

Halo releases my neck and lifts me off the tool cabinet. “Good. Let’s go cut Lola’s cake.”

But I don’t miss the fact he holds my hand all the way back into the clubhouse.

15

HALO

Two days later, I realize I’m avoiding Arianne.

Which means I’ve been avoiding my own home because Arianne is in it.