Behind her, something catches my eye, and my mouth goes dry. “Yeah, well, that might be a problem.” I barely manage to get the words out past my suddenly tight throat.
“And why is that exactly?”
“Because I’m not going anywhere.” Jaxon’s low, amused voice cuts through my cousin’s umbrage, has her eyes going wide and her skin draining of color. “And neither is Grace.”
18
How Many
Hot Guys Does it
Take to Win a
Snowball Fight?
Macy squeaks—she actually squeaks—but Jaxon just raises his brows at me. The look on his face is a little amused and a lot wicked and my heart starts beating like a metronome on high.
At least until Macy hisses, “Seriously? You couldn’t tell me he was there?”
“I didn’t—”
“She didn’t know.” He looks me over from top to bottom, and for a second, just a second, a smile touches the depths of those obsidian eyes of his. “Braving the snow twice in one day? I’ve got to admit I’m impressed.”
“Don’t be too impressed. I still have to make it through the snowball fight in one piece.”
The smile drops—from his face and his eyes—as quickly as it came. “You’re playing Flint’s game?”
It sounds more like an accusation than a question, though I don’t know why. “Isn’t that why you’re here?”
“For a snowball fight?” He shakes his head, makes a dismissive sound deep in his throat. “I don’t think so.”
“Oh, well…” That got awkward fast. “Um. We should probably…”
“Get going,” Macy finishes.
Jaxon ignores her as he braces a hand on the wall behind me. Then he leans in and, in a voice so low I have to strain to hear him, murmurs, “You’re determined not to listen to me, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I whisper back, but I can’t look him in the face as I say it. Not when I’m lying—I know exactly what he’s talking about—and not when his breath is so warm and soft against my ear that I can feel it everywhere, even deep inside.
“It really is for your own good,” he tells me, still standing way too close. Heat slams through me—at his words and his proximity and the orange and dark-water scent of him currently wrapping itself around me.
“What—” My voice breaks, my throat so tight and dry, I can barely force the words through it when I try again. “What is?”
“You shouldn’t go to that snowball fight with Flint.” He pulls back, his gaze catching and holding mine. “And you sure as hell shouldn’t be wandering around the school grounds on your own. You’re not safe here.”
It’s not the first time he’s implied that Katmere is dangerous for me. And I get it. I do. Alaska is no picnic for the uninitiated. But I’m with Macy, on school grounds. No way is she going to let anything happen to me.
“I’ll be fine.” It’s easier to breathe now that Jaxon’s mouth isn’t a scant inch from my ear, but finding words is still harder than it should be under his watchful gaze. “I’m not planning on wandering off tonight. I’ll be with the group the whole time.”
“Yeah.” He doesn’t sound impressed. “That’s what I’m worried about.”
“What do you mean?” I clarify. “I thought you’d be relieved I’m not planning on tackling any wild animals with my bare hands.”
“It’s not the wild animals I’m concerned about.”
Before I can ask him what that means, Macy interjects again. “We should get going. We don’t want to be late.”
“Well, whatever you’re concerned about, you shouldn’t be,” I tell him, refusing to be pulled away before I’m ready. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. But if you want, you can join us.”
“Join you.” His tone implies I just suggested that we fly to Mars under our own power.
But I refuse to be dissuaded. Not when Jaxon is standing so close to me instead of pulling his usual disappearing act. “It’ll be fun. And I’m sure Flint won’t mind.”
“You’re sure he won’t mind.” He repeats my words, and again it isn’t a question. He’s back to seeming amused, though—at least if you don’t look too closely at his eyes. They’re flat now, completely empty in a way I haven’t seen since he looked through me at the party. “Because I’ve got to tell you, I’m pretty sure he will.”