Something Bolder (Book Two)

LXVII. Competition

Someone rapped on my window, causing me to lurch from my muddled thoughts.

I was glad that I'd cleared the air with Demetri, but instead of walking away from the conversation with a sense of resolution, I felt arguably more uncertain than before.

I was taken aback by his admission about seeing me for the first time back in August. Why had he never mentioned it? Why did seeing me change his behavior? Did it? Or was it just a coincidence?

Perhaps I was reading too far into it.

Either way, I was too afraid to ask.

"Let's go," Jane said as she ducked her head into the driver's side door to pull the key from the ignition.

I reluctantly climbed out of the car; I was both thankful and disheartened about drawing my moment with Demetri in the car to a close. The whole situation was beginning to seriously overwhelm me.

A strong gust of wind blasted by as I climbed out of the car and almost knocked me down. Alec, of all people, caught me by the waist and helped me stand, holding me against his chest for an unnecessary amount of time.

"Thanks," I muttered toward the snowy forest floor as I smoothed out my dress and readjusted my cloak over my shoulders.

"Don't think anything of it," he said as he reached out and pulled my hood up over my head. He looked down at me with gentle eyes as he brushed my bangs out of my face with a light touch.

Jane wordlessly stalked off into the woods; Felix followed closely behind her.

"Do you need...?" Alec began to ask as another gust of howling wind sent me staggering sideways.

He reached out quickly to grab me, but before he could touch me again Demetri caught me and pulled me into his arms, protecting me from the wind with his strong embrace.

I was so distracted by almost falling that I didn't see it coming when Demetri dipped his head down and kissed me.

The initial surprise and subsequent embarrassment of the sudden public display of affection melted away quickly as I breathed in the kiss and relaxed in his arms.

Instead of ending the kiss, Demetri drew it out, reaching up to cup my face as he kissed me again and again, each one blending into the next.

My heart raced and my cheeks burned as I instinctually joined in, returning his affection with an unexpected amount of enthusiasm.

Based on the look Alec was giving us when we finally broke our kiss, the only reason why Demetri didn't get assaulted was because I was standing in between them.

Seeing this, Demetri scooped me up into his arms and briskly followed Jane into the thicket before Alec could react.

Unfortunately, that meant I would have to sit on pins and needles until Alec inevitably lashed out in the future, but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment so I let it go.

I closed my eyes and nestled my face in the crook of his neck as I clung onto him before he broke out into a sprint.

We ran for much longer than I would've liked, but at least there was a chance that Demetri would chalk up my trembling to the fear of rocketing through the woods rather than to a physical response to the incredibly convincing way he gave me that spite kiss.

Eventually, we slowed down to a stop and Demetri set me down on my feet. He let me go and looked towards Jane for instruction, leaving me to my own devices for a fraction of a second.

As soon as he let go of me, my legs gave out on me and I fell backward and toppled over. I dropped to the ground and fully busted my ass on the hard, frozen earth.

For a brief, mortifying moment, my companions stared at me blankly before Demetri scooped me back up and set me on my feet again, that time keeping his arm interlocked with mine.

The group then fell silently into formation; Jane was with the front, who was flanked loosely by Alec and Felix, with Demetri and me standing in the back.

I shot Demetri a nervous look - I would've been lying through my teeth if I said I wasn't absolutely terrified by the prospect of confronting another coven. Everything about that situation was nightmare fuel.

Demetri returned my look with an eager grin. It was not only obvious that he loved his job, but that he was thoroughly enjoying the thrill of the moment, unlike me.

I took a deep breath and focused on remaining as quiet as possible, with hopes that my gift would kick in, and turned my attention to Jane, the anchor of our group.

Without any more delay, we began our march forward, moving smoothly in formation, farther into the depths of the icy woods and into the lion's den.