“Well, I did. Pretty easily, actually, the front gates were open, they really should lock those,” he tells me, and I pinch my brow in frustration, what isn’t he understanding?
I go to tell him he needs to leave when he speaks again. “Have you eaten?” he asks, and instead of me answering, my stomach does.
“Good, neither have I. Let’s go,” he tells me, grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door before I can even protest. Incredible, I’m supposed to be dumping him, the man I’m not even dating. Instead, I’m being dragged off to dinner with him. Dragged may be an overexaggeration; I’m blaming it on being hungry.
My father is going to lose his damn mind if he hears about this. “I can’t believe this!” I snap at him as he drags me out the door.
“Believe what?” he questions.
“You. You started a war with my father, and now you’re expecting me to have dinner with you?”
I can’t believe he’s doing this, just casually taking me out for dinner like nothing has happened between us.
I try to pull my hand away from him. “What are you doing, Zayn?” I demand, trying to keep my voice steady.
“I told you, taking you to dinner.” I huff, that is not what I mean, and he knows it.
Zayn glances down at me, a look of frustration crossing his face. “Look, I didn’t start this war. Your father did, and I’m just trying to protect my own interests.”
I roll my eyes. “Interests? Like what?”
“Like you! Why else, Cleo? Besides, Alpha Dane never should have put his fucking hands on you!” he tells me.
“You can’t just go starting fights. It’s none of your business anyway, and I never should have told you, I… Just don’t worry about it. It’s already done. Now I gotta deal with the consequences.” He leads me farther down the corridor toward the open courtyard. Zayn growls.
Zayn leads me through the corridors while I nervously glance around, praying no one spots us. As we make our way through the dimly lit corridors, Zayn’s grip on my hand tightens as I try to shake off the sire bond’s influence.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask nervously, and he drapes his arm across my shoulders.
“Nowhere public. I know you’re worried about your father catching you,” he answers when I hear voices coming toward us, and I stop; my heart skips a beat. This is the last thing I need, just great!
“What is it?” he asks, stopping when he feels me stop. I glance down the corridor, and Zayn growls, his aura rushing out abruptly.
“Your father has been in your ear already, hasn’t he?” he states, “What did he say?” Zayn demands, however my eyes are down the corridor, hearing whoever it is getting closer. His growl is angry, and if his aura doesn’t drop soon, they’ll feel it long before they spot us. Zayn realizing this shoves me into the courtyard quadrangle, pinning me behind the pillar. Their voices draw nearer.
“Your aura,” I squeak out in panic.
“Bit hard for me to rein that in right now; tell me what your father said to you. Did he threaten you?”
“What? No… he um,” My heart hammers in my chest when I hear their footsteps on the stairs and the bats in the fruit trees in the small courtyard area take off, picking up on his energy.
“Cleo?” Zayn asks, his aura pressing down on me. “If he threatened you, tell me, I will sort it out.”
“Like you did earlier with Alpha Dane,” I retort, my own minimal aura slipping out and challenging his. The voices draw closer, and I glance around in panic, knowing my own barely there aura challenging him; he definitely felt it, even if it was a nudge.
Panicking, Zayn presses closer, his eyes holding mine when I hear the voices halt abruptly recognizing a threat near, I stand on my tippy toes and kiss him. He freezes, shocked, but his aura drops instantly as my actions take him by surprise.
Zayn’s eyes widen as my lips press against his. I can feel his surprise and hesitation. I’m too desperate to think about the consequences right now. All I know is that we need to play it cool until whoever is approaching leaves.
I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss.
For a moment, everything else fades away, and I forget about the danger we’re in.
My tongue sweeps across his lips, and I vaguely hear their voices again over the purring sound he makes in the back of his throat as he kisses me back. The voices grow fainter, and relief floods me. This was a terrible idea. I pull away abruptly, having avoided detection when I hear them leave.
“They’re gone,” I tell him, peering over his arm in the direction they went. My shoulders drop, and I lean against the pillar and let out a breath of relief only to find Zayn has a silly smirk on his face.
“You kissed me,” he tells me like I don’t know that.
