“She’s only moping because she’s going through a dry spell,” Nikki said, trying to be helpful. I closed my eyes in dismay. She noticed everything. Heard and saw way too much about a lot of people. Of course she had noticed that.
“I’m sorry?” Pearl asked, pausing the movie everyone had been ignoring. “What are you talking about?”
“Sugar, I don’t think Lily even knows what a dry spell is,” Jack muttered. “She’s got more dick lined up than she knows what to do with.” Crude, but factual.
“I didn’t say she doesn’t have her pick of Shifters,” Nikki countered. “I said she hasn’t been sleeping with them.” She blinked in the quiet following that, and her mouth gradually shut as she ever so slowly recognized that might not have been information I wanted out there. Nervously, she glanced at me, mumbling, “You know, maybe, I…” She nodded. “I’m wrong. I remember that guy…um…” She trailed off, her mouth bobbing noiselessly.
Okay, she was officially worse at lying than Pearl.
I closed my eyes again. This evening had gone from bad to worse.
Silence.
“Perhaps she’s sick,” Gideon whispered. “It’s not like a Shifter to not have sex.” Pearl had never spilled the beans to him about me, but a Vampire had just as much friendliness as a Shifter.
“No. She wanted it an hour ago,” Pearl mumbled, sounding thoughtful.
A rough shake of my head by powerful hands, and I blinked my blue eyes open to stare into green ones that were analyzing me before Ezra asked, “How long’s it been, sweetheart?”
As if I could answer him. Not that I would.
His eyes darted to Nikki.
She mumbled, “The kids at school say the last person she slept with was Felix.” She paused. “There’s lots of talk about it.” Her eyes met mine. She was even starting to look worried. “Did you fall for him?”
Everyone in the room froze, watching me.
All over again, Ezra shook my head, hard, and growled, “Shift.” I stared at him and, slowly, he blinked, before grabbing the edge of my comforter and throwing it over us.
I shifted.
My face buried in my hair and Ezra’s chest, I explained, “I didn’t fall for Felix.” I paused, licking my lips. “But, I’m not someone that sleeps with everyone and their brother.” Another pause. “Although, I did push the extreme when I first started having sex again after Dominic died. And, even though I didn’t fall for Felix, I realized I didn’t want to sleep with someone who fell in love with me after one kiss. Felix reminded me of what it was like to be with someone strong-willed. I don’t want to have a relationship with anyone, but whoever comes to my bed from now on is going to have their own mind and their own thoughts, not beg to know what mine are, so they can conform to them.” I sighed. “Never mind. You guys won’t understand. You’re mated, and the only one that’s not is a man-whore.”
“Hey,” Ezra grumbled instantly, sounding affronted, and grabbed a handful of my hair, lifting my head to stare me in the eyes. “I’m not a man-whore.”
I snorted. “When was the last time you had sex?”
Instant. “Last night.”
“And the time before that?”
“The night before.”
“And, before that?”
“Three days before.”
“And were any of those encounters with the same woman?”
“No.” Black eyebrows were gradually furrowing.
“I rest my case,” I muttered, tugging on my hair, which he didn’t let go of.
His brows finished scrunching with a slam, before lowering deeply.
“I think it makes sense,” Pearl stated. “Even though I’m mated, I remember what it was like to be single.” She paused, and sighed — someone must have been giving her a look, but I couldn’t see anything except Ezra’s glower thanks to his hold. “She wants her lovers to be men in their own right. Not a bunch of pu**y followers.” She made a gagging sound. “Who would want that in their bed, anyway?” A pause. “Other than Ezra. He doesn’t have a preference.”
His scowl intensified, his eyes rocking in her direction, and he grumbled, “You think I’m a man-whore, too?”
Immediate. “No. I don’t.” A short pause, then she whispered, “But, I do think you fill your bed to forget.”
Silence.
His jaw clenched.
Damn, I hadn’t even had the balls to say that.
Gideon cleared his throat loudly. “Who wants to finish watching the movie?”
Quickly, Nikki stated, “Let’s put the other one in. It’s a comedy.” She busied herself doing just that, talking a mile a minute with her soft voice to fill the strained hush.
Ezra turned his head away from the television and shut his eyes, the action so desolate, hiding his face like that.
My heart swelled even further for him, knowing the obvious pain he tried to hide.
His hand had slacked in my hair, and I moved up, placing a gentle kiss against the corner of his mouth. His eyes opened, and I saw his pain there as he stared back. It was deep. So much more profound than he let on, keeping it tucked away much better than I fared.
His lids drooped closed, and he murmured, “Shift. I’ll scratch your ears.”
Shaking my head, I kissed his temple this time, whispering, “No. I think I’ll pet you instead.” I did just that, running my fingers through his spiked hair until he fell asleep.
Chapter Nineteen
Awakening.
If I had thought I was nervous before in the past four weeks, well, that was a joke.
Today, I had actually barfed three times throughout the first half of the day. With my stomach in knots, I had only stared at my pizza at lunch. Now, my friends were, literally, yanking me down the deserted hallways after failing to talk me into moving from the cafeteria bench when lunch was over.
“I’m gonna puke again,” I mumbled, jerking with the tug Pearl gave my left arm.
“Again, huh?” Jack murmured, hands on my hips, shoving me from behind. “I thought she looked pale.”
“Pale?” Ezra snorted, yanking on my right arm. “She looks like shit. The Kings are going to notice.”
“I should run now,” I mumbled, trying to plant my feet, which didn’t work because Jack kicked the back of my knees, making me move forward. “Really. I should just go before I get anyone in trouble.”