burning. “Hi.”
Her smile faltered a bit as she glanced at Zayne. “We were just talking about you, actually. Zayne was telling me you were thinking of applying to Columbia?”
I thought about the half-completed college application. “It was a stupid idea.”
Zayne frowned. “I thought you said you were going to do it.”
I shrugged. “What’s the point? I already have a job.”
“Layla, there’s still a point. You don’t have—”
“It’s nothing we need to talk about. Sorry for interrupting.” I cut Zayne off. “I’ll see you guys later.”
I hurried away before I made an even bigger fool out of myself, blinking back hot, humiliating tears. My skin was starting to crawl by the time I made it to the fridge. I shouldn’t have gone looking for them, because I’d known what I’d find. But apparently I was into torturing myself.
Pulling out the carton of OJ, I also grabbed the roll of sugar-cookie dough. The first gulp of juice was the best. I loved the acidic burn. Sugar helped when the cravings to take a soul hit hard. It was a mortifying need, reminding me of drug addicts.
“Layla.”
Closing my eyes, I set the carton on the counter. “Zayne?”
“She’s only going to be here a couple of weeks. You could at least try to be nice to her.”
I twisted around, focusing on his shoulder. “I was being nice to her.”
He laughed. “You sounded like you wanted to bite her head off.”
Or take her soul. “Whatever.” I grabbed a chunk of dough and popped it in my mouth. “You shouldn’t keep her waiting.”
Zayne reached over, taking the dough from my hands. “She went to help Jasmine with the twins.”
“Oh.” I turned away, grabbing a glass out of the cupboard, filling it to the top.
“Layla-bug.” His breath stirred my hair. “Please don’t act like this.”
I sucked in air, wanting to lean back into him, but knowing I never could. “I’m not acting like anything. You should go hang out with Danika.”
Sighing, he placed a hand on my shoulder, turning me back around. His eyes dropped to the glass I held. “Rough day at school, huh?”
I backed up, hitting the counter. The image of Roth cornering me in the bathroom immediately came to mind. “N-no different than any other day.”
Zayne stepped forward, dropping the roll of dough on the counter. “Anything interesting happen?”
Did he know? No, there was no way. He always asked about school. “Um...some girl called me a gargoyle whore.”
“What?”
I shrugged. “It happens. Not a big deal.”
His gaze sharpened. “Who said that to you?”
“It doesn’t matter....” I stopped as he took my glass and watched the muscles of his throat work. He drained half the glass before he handed it back to me. “It’s just something stupid they say.”
“You’re right. It doesn’t matter as long as you don’t let it bother you.”
I shivered, hopelessly drawn into his pale eyes. “I know.”
“Cold?” he murmured. “Somebody turned the air on while we slept.”
“It’s September. It’s not hot enough to run the air.”
Zayne chuckled as he brushed my hair back over my shoulder. “Layla, our body temperatures run differently than yours. Seventy degrees is steamy to us.”
“Mmm. That’s why I like you. You’re warm.”
He took my glass again, but this time he placed it on the counter. Then he grabbed my hand, pulling me toward him. “That’s why you like me? Because I’m warm?”
“I guess so.”
“I thought for sure there were other reasons,” he teased.
My earlier irritation faded. I found myself smiling at him. Zayne always had that effect on me. “Well, you do help me with my homework.”
His brows shot up. “Is that all?”
“Hmm.” I pretended to think about it. “You’re pretty to look at. Does that make you feel better?”
Zayne gaped. “I’m pretty to look at?”
I giggled. “Yeah. Stacey also said you’re the awesome sauce with an extra side of sauce.”
“Really?” He pulled me into his side and draped his arm over my shoulder. It was like being in a headlock, except my body tingled all over. “Do you think I’m the awesome sauce?”
“Sure,” I gasped.
“How about with extra sauce?”
My cheeks flushed. So did other parts of my body. “I...guess so.”
“You guess so?” He leaned back, putting maybe two inches between us. “I think you do.”
To my relief, my face didn’t feel like it was on fire.
He laughed softly, pulling my hand off my face. “You’re done tagging already?”
I blinked slowly. What was he talking about?
The door to the kitchen opened behind us. Zayne dropped my hand as he looked over his shoulder, but his arm remained. He grinned. “Hey, old man.”
I twisted around. Abbot stood in the doorway, eyeing his son blandly. He always reminded me of a lion. His hair was lighter than Zayne’s, but just as long. I imagined he shared a lot of the same features as his son, but half his face was always covered by a thick beard.
If I looked up the definition of intimidating, it would show a picture of Abbot. As the clan leader, he had to be fierce, stern and, at times, deadly. He represented the clan, was the one who met with human officials, and if any of the Wardens messed up, it was Abbot who took the fall. A lot of weight rested on his shoulders, but his back never bowed under the pressure.
Abbot’s gaze slid to me. His normally warm eyes were like chips of pale blue ice. “Layla, the school called here this afternoon.”
I pursed my lips. “Uh...”
“I was able to get in touch with a Mrs. Cleo before she left for the evening.” He folded thick arms across his chest. “She claimed that you ran out of class during an exam. Care to explain why?”
My brain emptied.
Zayne’s
