Chapter 14

• Harry took his turn to spin the bottle next, and the anticipation in the room heightened as it spun, finally coming to a halt, pointing directly at me.
• Gosh, now I am a little happy. Any reservations about how our first kiss should be weren't there to begin with. So, I crawled over, and Harry smiled and sat on his knees, too.
• I smiled, and gave him a little peck on the lips, and smiled right against his lips. He chuckled and whispered, "God Leah. You do have the softest lips."
• There was a loud thud behind me, and Pete's hands were in a fist.
• I was happy that my wolf wasn't talking to me much. I didn't want her to jump out every time I saw Pete with a girl, which would be all the time. I think she is trained from all these years of ignoring it.
• Nobody really noticed it, cheering and laughing, and like anything it did, it drowned.
• But, I noticed. Of course, I did.
• "I will go next." Pete said, and nobody argued with him over that.
• Except I was ready to bolt, but that would mean I would lose. And this would be the most pathetic thing to lose in.
• "Um, sure, Pete." Hannah handed him the bottle.
• The circle was pretty big, it wasn't possible to always go the center of the circle to spin it. So people spun it close to them. Just like Pete. But nobody touched it, nor did they try to stop to get people where they want.
• Unlike Pete.
• He had me exactly where he wanted.
• At the opposite end of the bottle. The direct opposite.
• "Woo!" Several people shouted, that didn't include me or Pete or Fiona. Even Harry looked a little uncomfortable with the intense hatred with which we looked at each other.
• Pete's intense gaze was fixed upon me, his visage as unyielding as a stone carving, revealing no hint of emotion. However, I couldn't be fooled by his stoic exterior; his eyes betrayed the sadistic pleasure he derived from tormenting me, a pleasure so profound that he was prepared to forsake his own humanity if it meant that I would suffer alongside him.
• "Leah, there's no need for you to go through with this," Harry implored, moving a bit closer and gently holding my hand. "If you—"
• "Harry," Pete interrupted, his attention still fixed solely on me, refusing to acknowledge Harry's presence. His eyes bore into mine, brimming with a malevolence and darkness that I couldn't bring myself to articulate.
• "No, no- it's okay. It's just a kiss in a closet."
• I would run away if I could, but that would mean that I lost. And, I didn't want to lose, not again. Maybe I could use this to my advantage, I could tell him he doesn't affect me. Take the instrument away from the player, take it far away and throw it and smash it and never give it to him. Take away his only weapon- his belief that I want him.
• Tell him that I was not afraid anymore.
• "Come on." Hannah pushed me, giggling. "Go on, you both."
• I knew why everyone else was so excited. The bully and the victim. The hot guy and the average girl. The destroyer and the survivor. People often think what such a pairing would result in.
• Only disasters.
• Pete had positioned himself next to the door, and when I approached him, he swiftly ushered me into the closet. Another person, unseen, promptly secured the door from the outside, plunging both of us into an even deeper darkness. A faint, pale blue glow emanated from a corner, providing the only source of illumination, casting an eerie light upon us. In the confined space, the warmth emanating from Pete's body became all the more palpable. His distinctive scent enveloped me, and I struggled to maintain my composure, teetering on the brink of losing control.
• It was clear that this situation was far from straightforward.
• "30 minutes." Someone said from outside. I was pretty sure that there was no time limit. They just made it up. All I wanted was to put some poison into the drinks, so they died like Joffrey Baratheon.
• Yes, I hated them that much currently.
• The space was small, and I could feel his body, touching mine. Hips and chest and shoulders. I was getting dizzy.
• Nope, this wasn't going to be easy at all.
• "Tell them no." I murmured softly. They wouldn't listen to me but they would to him.
• "What?" He traced his fingers form my ears to my collarbone, light as a feather, almost like a dream. I wanted to tell him to not touch me, to go away but even that little contact made me sigh.
• "Thirty minutes is..." I bit my lip as he nuzzled his nose into my neck softly, craving more. "...too much."
• What was happening?
• "Why?" He whispered, dropping kisses on my neck- exactly where his fingers were before. I felt euphoric, my body buzzing with every kiss, every touch. How could he do so much with so little?
• "Because..." A flick of tongue on my skin. I shuddered "Because...I hate you."
• Pete groaned, turning me to him so that we were facing each other. I looked into his eyes, dark with lust. And, I knew mine were the same.
• I didn't know if I was afraid anymore.
• So, when he bent down, I took his lips into mine, and opened my mouth just a little. Our tongues danced, and I groaned. His hips thrust into mine, and stumbling and falling and not giving a damn, he pushed me against the wall.