“I’m not moving to Elite Hall,” I whisper, then I force myself to face him. His eyes are so soft it disarms me for a moment. Then, I pull in a deep breath and channel my anger. My determination.Don’t let him get under your skin.
“You don’t have to,” he says, eyes still searching my face with quiet awe. I look over his shoulder just to stop examining every inch of his ridiculously beautiful face.
“Are they even going to believe it?” I ask quickly. “I get the reasoning. I need to get into Elite Hall, and this will give me access to… probably everything. But is it necessary? The first spot? Will people even believe it? Why would you or anyone else add me—a human, one that’s not even that pretty—to their inner circle?”
Jarron frowns. “One, you are beautiful. And two, there are many reasons to add someone to an inner circle. Power and prestige are not the only reasons.”
Sure, I’m decent by human standards, but by theirs? Fat chance. “What do I have that you’d want?”
One of Jarron’s brows flicks up, and his lips curve into a grin. “You’d be surprised.”
I roll my eyes but turn away to hide my reddening cheeks. I’m certainly not used to Jarron flirting with me. Not like this anyway. He was fairly shy when we were friends.
He’s obviously changed quite a bit.
Jarron rolls his shoulders. “No one will question you being in my inner circle… if we’re dating.” His tone is so calm, his words so matter of fact, for a moment they do not compute in my mind.
My blood turns cold as the reality of what he’d suggested finally settles. “Dating,” I repeat flatly, barely hearing the word.
“You do know the meaning of the word, yes?”
I whip my attention back to him, anger settling my mind. “Don’t be a jerk.”
His smile grows. “That, I cannot promise.”
“You’re going to pretend to date me so I can investigate my sister’s death?”
“Yes.” He puts his hands in his pockets casually. Hell, he looks good in his dress clothes. He’s wearing black slacks and a white button up shirt under a grey vest. His sleeves are rolled up casually—why are guys’ forearms so attractive?
He wears an expression so damn smug it’s giving me a stomachache.
I bite the inside of my cheek. This is not at all what I’d expected, and I’m not sure what to think about it. On the one hand, it’ll work. I’ll have the chance to get all kinds of close with my potential suspects, including Jarron. And being part of the in-crowd could even draw the killer to me. But is that a good thing? Yes and no. I’m going to have to be prepared at all times.
And it will be extremely awkward to pretend to date someone I’mnotinterested in.Someone I can’t get close to.
I’ll have to keep two secrets from Jarron, all while pretending to date him.
First, that he’s my number one suspect in my sister’s murder.
Second, that I’m utterly terrified of him.
“Why?” I ask. “Why would you do that?”
That’s how my sister’s murderer got to her, isn’t it? Wooed her and promised to make her powerful.
“Many reasons. But most of all, I want to help you. If someone in this school killed a person I care about, I will destroy them.”
Careabout. He hasn’t seen my sister in three years. “You cared about Elizabeth?” I ask dubiously. Unless he has seen her recently.
For the first time, Jarron’s smile slips. He pauses this time, watching me with haunted eyes as dark as the Under World. “You really do think I’m a monster, don’t you?”
My lips part, but Jarron leaves without waiting for a response. He walks from the room quietly. We both know the answer to that question.
11
Dating a Demon was Not Part of the Plan
“Oh my God!”A tiny body and fluttering wings slam into my chest. “Is it true? I haven’t gone to look myself. Are you part of Jarron’s inner circle?” Lola asks frantically.
