She laughed like she was joking but pointed down at my phone. “Tell him.” I realized she was serious.
"Fine… but don't make him wait. I'm already nervous as it is and I think the thought of him waiting for me will make the butterflies worse."
It didn't take long for the knock at the door, and I was wrong. The butterflies could get worse. I felt like throwing up. I pulled the hem of the dress as if it would magically cover more of my thighs. Vicki turned to me and nodded with a wicked grin.
"You look hot as sin, stop fidgeting."
She took a few steps to the door, looked back at me, and winked.
"Come on in, Frankie," she called out loudly. I clenched my hands into fists and bit my tongue so I wouldn't tell her to stop. I wasn't ready…
Frankie walked in and my knees went weak. I had seen him every day this week and, even now, he was dressed in jeans with a tight black tee, his tattoos on full display for all to see. Honestly, he got better every time I saw him. I watched as his eyes roamed up and down my body, finally meeting mine, and the look in his face had me blushing.
"Clare, wow. You look amazing."
He kept staring at me, and I fidgeted under his gaze… I think maybe he wanted to kiss me tonight. And that made me even more aware of how inexperienced I really was.
A throat cleared and we both turned. Vicki came to stand closer to me, looking Frankie over. Her arms crossed as her mouth parted slightly like she was about to say something but then thought better of it. Maybe she wasn't expecting a guy covered in tattoos and a sexy deep voice. But he was perfect to me, I didn't care what others thought of him. All that mattered was how he made me feel.
But when I looked up at Frankie, he had the same expression Vicki had on his face. My heart sank.
They knew each other…
Chapter9
Frankie
Witch.
My panther rose in my chest on alert. How did I not sense that she was a witch the moment I walked into the room? Because I was distracted by Clare. God, she was gorgeous. She was beautiful every day, but this reminded me more of the first time we met. Her legs were so long and silky and I wanted nothing more than to run my hands up them to see if they felt the same as they looked.
But when her roommate made herself known, I froze. I had only seen one witch before at a distance, I had felt her power. It had put the fear in me to stay away. Most of the panthers in my Shadow felt the same way. Hell, even at the Reapers meeting they didn't have witches or mages. They were powerful, so much more than the rest of us that we avoided them.
There was one here… at college. I was shocked. From the look on her face, she knew who, or at least what, I was. Witches didn't have the same sense of smell as shifters, but she would be able to sense I was supernatural. But what confused me was how young and alone she was.
This wasn't how witches normally were. They liked to stick to themselves, not mingle with the humans, preferring to stay in their covens. Especially away from vampires. Fuck, Seamus… he must be here for her. I could feel her power rise in the room, the hairs on my arms standing on end.
She was one powerful witch and was letting me know.Fuck.
I scented the change of emotions in Clare at my reaction to her roommate.
"You know him?" she asked the witch.
"What? No, I just… He wasn't what I expected at all." The blonde witch shook her head. I knew what she meant. She didn't expect to have a shifter show up here. I was just as equally surprised as she was.
I knew this witch to be Vicki from what Clare had told me, but Clare wouldn't have known her roommate was a witch. She didn't know I was a shifter or that it was vampires that tried to attack her the other weekend.
"I’ve never met her before, Clare. I promise." She didn't seem to settle at my words. She sensed something was up but didn't understand the reaction we had to each other. Hell, we couldn't explain it either. Not now, at least.
"No, I’ve never met him. I just didn't think you went for guys with tattoos. I was shocked. But you did good…" Vicki added a wink to Clare and I felt her relax beside me. She sighed. Good cover up story. I nodded slightly in thanks so only Vicki could see.
"I'm sorry, I guess the way you looked at each other, I thought maybe… It doesn't matter. Let's go to the party."
I silently agreed and took Clare's small hand in mine. She was stunning and I wasn't sure if I would be able to keep my eyes off her tonight. Her long dark hair was in waves, she wore red lipstick that just made her mouth all that more kissable, and I wanted to kiss her for days. My panther happily purred in my chest. I had been able to keep him low so Clare couldn't hear him, but he was getting louder the more I held her hand.
I bit my lip, my hands itching to run over her hips and pull her tight to my body. Show her how much she turned me on right now.Mark her as mine. It was hard, hell, every time I saw this girl I was willing my cock to stay down. But tonight, God help me. She was special and I didn't want to fuck this up.
I walked with both girls. My small talk game wasn't great, but I could sense Clare was still wary of what had happened. She was a smart girl. I knew this would be brought up again, I just hoped not tonight.
