Born Wicked

XLV

I step out of the dancing throng and the first pair of eyes I meet are clear blue. He stares at me, his face a mask of shock and awe. Desire lights his eyes with blue fire. Ethan is equally mesmerized, freezing in place. Tristan turns his head, spots me, and drops his cup of punch on the floor. It splashes up on his shoes and pants and he doesn't seem to care. Mike stands closest to Georgia with his mouth hanging open.

I offer a small smile and a wave and head over to the banquet table. I pull a cup from the stack and spoon punch into it. After taking a sip, my mouth and throat having gone completely dry, I head over to the group of still-gaping boys.

Once among them, I stoop before Tristan, the collective set of eyes following my every move. I retrieve his cup from the floor and gracefully toss it into a nearby trash can.

Over the cacophony of music I hear Georgia laugh loudly. I grin wickedly and ask, "Are you having fun?" to everyone and no one.

Mike is the first to speak. "Yeah, uh, Jayme. Wow. That's, uh, that's a nice dress."

I smile at him brightly. "Thank you. You don't think it's too much?" My brows knit together in mock concern.

"I think it's not enough," Julian says roughly, the fire in his eyes a mix of desire and anger.

Ethan smirks. "Oh, I dunno, Julian. I think it's perfect."

"I have fucking punch in my shoes, bro," Tristan mutters.

Still smiling widely, I swing my back to them and stare out into the dancing crowd. Inside, I quake with nerves.

Still riding the wave of brashness that has overcome me, I hand my cup to Tristan and say, "Here, since you dropped yours."

He gapes at me, blushes, and takes the cup mumbling thanks. I move away from him and grab Julian's arm. I tug him onto the dance floor purring, "Dance with me."

He swaggers behind me, gripping my hand and when we get to the floor, a small section of students evaporate, giving us a wide berth. I am aware that there are a good, twenty pairs of eyes on us. Before I have a chance to move, Julian spins me toward him knocking me off balance. I fall into his broad chest, his arms snaking around me, his hands catching my waist.

My hands pressed to his pectoral muscles beneath his black dress shirt, I feel his heart thundering in his chest.

"You look nice," I say softly. He does. He's got black dress pants on, that are perfectly tailored and ride low on his narrow hips. His shirt is perfectly cut, just tight enough to make my mouth water. With his fair hair and light eyes, he looks sleek and dangerous.

His lips thin disapprovingly. "Thanks," he says tersely. "So, is this the dress you bought for Ethan?"

I frown. "This is the dress I bought for me," I correct him. "It's my first dance, Julian. Why? Don't you like it?" I ask, doubt creeping in the edges of my mind.

He glares at me and bends down so he can whisper in the soft shell of my ear, "You look beautiful. Stunning. Gorgeous. I just... there isn't much to it."

I flush scarlet. He has me pressed flush against him, moving me slowly, which isn't necessarily a problem, except it's a thumping, fast paced song moving the crowd. I stare up into his face while he watches the dance floor, a muscle ticking furiously along his jaw.

"What is it?" I murmur.

He swings his gaze to mine. "What do you mean?"

"What's wrong?" I ask. "You're upset."

He sighs. "I'm just feeling overprotective, I guess. The auras of the guys in here aren't making me comfortable. I really wish you had picked a different dress."

I stop moving my feet, hurt snaking through my chest. "Really? Wow. I see." I swallow past the lump that has suddenly clogged my throat, disappointment causing my eyes to mist a little.

He frowns. "No," he says roughly. "You don't. Not everyone is as oblivious to you as you think, Jayme. On a good day, when you're in jeans and a tee shirt, I have to resist the urge to choke the shit out of some asshole who thinks things about you he shouldn't. Tonight? In this dress? Six people have thought about doing things that would scare the shit out of you. With or without your consent."

I stare at him in horrified shock. "Are you serious?"

He nods. "Just do me a favor and keep screening, okay? Don't read any minds tonight."

I shiver. "Should I be worried?"

He shakes his head, the smile he offers me absolutely feral. "Not with me here."

I relax a little against him and mutter, "I'm sorry."

He shrugs. "You didn't know. Don't be sorry."

We dance in silence for a few moments before he adds, "You really are beautiful. Ethan is a lucky guy."

His heart beats frantically against my palm lying flat on his chest. We sway there on the dance floor through an innumerous amount of songs, neither one of us paying any attention. We stare at each other in silence for a long time.

"I am curious," he says after a while. "Why did I get the first dance?"

I offer him a small smile. "I don't know. I kind of just went with who I saw first."

His fair brows raise in question. "Oh? Who, me?" he asks, pointing at his chest, a sly smile curving his mouth.

"Hm, so it would seem," I murmur silkily.

He drops his hand back to my waist and then fits it into the gentle curve at the small of my back.

"So," he prompts me, "You got your first dance. Does that mean you turn into a pumpkin, now?"

I laugh. "No," I shake my head at him, then bite my lip. "I guess I didn't really think that far ahead."

He comes to a standstill. "What do you mean?"

I pause, then shrug a slim shoulder. "I didn't really have a plan, Julian."

He shakes his head. "You're killing me, you know that?"

"I am?" I ask him meekly.

He groans softly. "Kill-ing me. It's like you have no idea the effect you have on people. On me. This," he swallows hard, "this dress... I just. Fuck. I can't help but wonder if you're doing it on purpose. If you just want to make me miserable. You know how badly I want you, don't you?"

I gasp. It's involuntary really, but when a beautiful boy says he wants you and you're pressed against him in a see-through dress, it's kind of hard not to feel something.

He stares at me for a moment... a pause... a breath... Heat surges between us and then he presses me to him until the space between us disappears.

His mouth is on mine before I can form a cogent thought. Now there are none. It's me and it's him. The crowd fades. The music fades. The restraint... fades.

There's nothing left. I have nothing. He's taken it all. I'm weightless as I cling to him. He's the only thing keeping me here. The only thing grounding me to the here and now. In this moment, he's the only thing that matters.

He kisses me wildly. He kisses me hungrily. He kisses me possessively. And all hell breaks loose.

Before I can understand what's happening, Ethan has him by the collar, hauling him away from me. He hits him before Julian can properly turn around and there's nothing but ensuing madness. I'm jostled about by the surging crowd, some in, some out. In the fracas, I lose sight of them and then someone has me scooped up and I'm thrown over a beefy shoulder. Over the music and fighting, screaming crowd, no one hears me scream.