Simon spun around and took off, stumbling and limping over bushes. A white glow burned around him. He was traced. I didn’t give a shit. Dead silence fell between us. Even the music seemed to have disappeared. I took a few precious seconds to calm myself down. It wasn’t working. I started walking, a couple of feet between us because my fury was too close to the surface. I knew my eyes were glowing at this point, and I knew there was a good chance Simon had seen that briefly.
Something shimmery on the ground caught my attention.
Kat’s shawl.
Snatching it off the ground, I turned around and headed back to where Kat still stood. It was the first time I was getting a good look at her. Curls had slipped free, falling around her face. Her eyes were bright, even in the darkness. My gaze dropped. The front of her red dress was torn.
I was going to kill Simon.
Cursing under my breath, I handed the shawl to her. She took it with shaking hands.
“I know,” she whispered, pressing the shawl to the front of her ruined dress. “Please don’t say it.”
“Say what? That I told you so?” Disgust dripped from my tone. “Even I’m not that much of an ass. Are you okay?”
She nodded and drew in a deep breath. “Thank you.”
I watched her shiver. The shawl hid nothing, covered nothing. Shrugging off the tux jacket, I stepped around her and draped it over her shoulders. “Here.” My voice was rough. “Put this on. It will…cover up everything.”
Kat looked down at herself, and her shoulders tensed. She shoved her arms into my jacket and then tugged the edges together. Pressing her lips together, she fiddled with it, not looking at me, not looking at anything.
I was so going to kill Simon.
Besides murdering him very slowly, I also wanted to…I wanted to gather Kat close. I wanted to hold her, and the urge was intense and entirely unfamiliar to me. I wasn’t even sure she’d want my comfort. I wasn’t even sure I could give it.
But I hated seeing her like this.
Placing the tips of my fingers against her cheek, I smoothed back some of the wild strands of hair. Her gaze lifted. Those beautiful gray eyes were full of tears.
“Come on,” I whispered. “I’m taking you home.”
Her gaze searched mine, and then she nodded. She took one step before she said, “Wait.”
Was she really going to argue with me now? “Kat.”
“Won’t Simon have a trace on him, like me?”
“He does.”
“But—”
“It’s not my problem right now.” I took her hand, steering her down the worn path. Truth was, the trace on Simon was strong enough to attract the attention of an Arum, and I knew it made me terrible, but I didn’t care. Not right now.
We reached my car, and I opened the passenger door for her. She peeked over at me and then climbed in. I closed the door and headed around the front of the SUV while I pulled out my phone. I texted Dee, letting her know I was taking Kat home. I didn’t mention what happened. That was up to Kat if she wanted to go into detail.
Once inside, I passed a short look in Kat’s direction. “I let Dee know I was taking you home. When I got here, she said she saw you but couldn’t find you.”
She nodded as she yanked on the seat belt. The jerky motion caused the belt to get stuck. Frustration poured out of her. “Dammit!”
Leaning over the center console, I gently pried her icy fingers off the strap and tilted my head as I pulled on it. My jaw grazed her cheek and then my lips, and I liked to think that last part was accidental. But I wasn’t sure. I locked down those thoughts, ignoring the rush of sensations the brief touches conjured. The seat belt was twisted, and I set about straightening it. As I flipped the strap over, the back of my knuckles brushed across her chest. The jacket I’d given her had gaped open, probably while she struggled with the restraint, and there was nothing between the back of my hand and the swell of her chest.
That hadn’t been on purpose.
I jerked my hand back as I lifted my gaze to hers.
Holy shit, when did we get this close?
There was maybe an inch between our mouths, and her sweet breath danced over my lips. The back of my damn hand tingled like I’d shoved it into an electric socket—a really soft electric socket. As if compelled, my gaze lowered to her parted lips. I wanted…
What I wanted was wrong, way wrong. Kat had almost been assaulted, for Christ’s sake.
I clicked her seat belt in and then returned to my side of the SUV, turning the key. Reaching over, I kicked on the heat, then I clutched the steering wheel, damn near cracking it as I navigated my way out of the field strewn with cars.
We didn’t talk.
Thick, strained silence filled the inside of the car. I glanced over at Kat several times during the drive. Her head was resting back against the seat and her eyes were closed. I didn’t think she was asleep. Not when her hands were so tightly balled in her lap.
I had no idea what she was thinking, but if she was thinking half of what was going through my head, she had to be going crazy over there. Because I was still thinking about killing Simon. I was thinking about how Kat looked standing there, her eyes filling with tears. I thought about the front of her dress torn and how close…how close she came to something horrific happening. And I wanted to kill Simon more. I was also thinking about those moments when we first got in the car and how close our mouths had been.
I was thinking about the fact that I wanted to kiss her.
And I shouldn’t want that. I couldn’t want that.
Halfway to the house, I decided I needed to hear her voice, to know that she was okay over there. “Kat?” She didn’t respond. Her eyes remained closed, and I figured she was ignoring me. For some reason, I sensed that—