“How do you feel about me?” His hand on her waist slid across to where she was resting her hand. He ran his thumb across her knuckles, soothing her.
Odette finally looked away from his blue orbs, focusing on how his hand caressed her own. It was extremely dark out now, the light from the party spilling out in yellow squares on the ground below. The moon hardly shed any light at all, just enough so it lit up his profile.
She felt compelled to tell him the truth. “Afraid. Nervous. And … sometimes … warm.”
His hand abandoned hers and skimmed across her jawline. “Good.”
In an instant, his lips were flushed with her own. Odette’s breathing stuttered, her eyes widening. Grayson, however, had his eyes closed. His hand cupped her cheek, drawing her in closer. She blushed a horrid shade of red, the heat crawled all the way up to the tips of her ears.
Grayson pulled back just enough, so their lips weren’t touching as much, his eyes still closed. “Just relax, Odette. Give in to it.”
And he kissed her again.
This time, Odette closed her eyes and did as he instructed. She gave in.
XI
“Hey, Det, I have a surprise for you!” Jonah sang from the front door.
Odette laid her book on the couch and then approached the open threshold. “Yeah?”
Pamela giggled over whatever the surprise was. She was right in front of Jonah, blocking Odette’s line of sight of whatever was in his hands. There were small noises that sounded like squeaks coming from her father’s hands. The girl fought the urge to rise up on her toes to see what it was—if she did that, they would hide the thing from her.
“What is it?” Odette asked, glancing between her mom and her dad. She had a suspicion but she didn’t want to get her hopes up.
Pamela finally stepped aside and Odette squinted. At first glance, she saw nothing. That was until nothing moved, making her gasp. A small gray and white kitten that had blended in with her father’s shirt lifted its small head and meowed at her.
Odette threw her hand over her mouth, so her squeal wouldn’t scare the small thing. “Oh my God! Can we keep it?! Are we keeping it?!” She rushed to her father’s side and scooped the fuzz ball from his arms and cradled it to her chest.
“That’s why it’s a surprise,” her dad chuckled. “There was a guy at my work who brought in a box full of them. This little girl was the runt of the litter and I know how much you’ve always wanted one …”
The teenage girl was just barely paying attention to her father as she cooed over the fluffy kitten. It certainly was small even for a kitten. It was a girl and it had big eyes—one blue and one brown, like herself—that stared back at her.
“Since you will be home a lot, this kitten will be your responsibility. Now, your mom and I will help out a little but you have to clean the cat box and feed her. You have to brush her and keep her clean too; we don’t need fleas. I bought some stuff at the store …”
Odette continued to pat and scratch behind her little kitten’s ears. The cat just purred, closing its eyes and relaxing into her hold. In her mind, she was already going through many different names that might suit the little animal.
“Hmmm,” Odette hummed. “I think you’ll be Runt.”
Pamela frowned. “You’re naming the cat ‘Runt’?”
“Why not?” Odette shrugged. “It isn’t set in stone but I like it a lot. She’s so small and she was the runt of the litter. It just makes sense to me.”
Her mother didn’t let up the unhappy face. “Why don’t you think on the name for a while?”
Odette laughed and went back inside, hearing her mother and father bicker about the name choice. She decided to forget about her book and just head straight up to her room with the new kitten. Fur was sticking to her shirt but she didn’t mind at the moment.
“You like the name Runt, don’t you?” she muttered to the cat.
The small animal only blinked at her slowly.
“Hm, I’m going to take that as ‘you’ll think about it.’”
Runt had curled up on Odette’s chest when there was a knock on the door. Odette perked up slightly but didn’t move too much to disturb the animal. The low rumble of voices was all she could pick up on, no distinguishing words, but she still wondered who would be visiting.
Then there were footsteps on the stairs and her heart leaped. Whoever it was, they were coming to see her. And there were only two people she knew who would come over.
Her mother’s caramel hair came into view. “Odette, Grayson’s here to see you.” As if she couldn’t see his towering figure behind her. Pamela winked at her daughter, making her blush even harder.
“Hey,” she greeted.
Her mother stepped aside and allowed the older boy to walk inside.
“Hello.”
Pamela waved to get her daughter’s attention, mouthing at the younger girl to leave the door open. Odette’s eyes widened in horror at her mom even thinking like that, cursing the older woman for making her even more nervous now.
“Oh, uh … look what my dad got me from work! Isn’t she cute?!” Odette exclaimed, scooping the kitten in her hands.
Grayson sat down at her desk, eyeing the animal warily. “Not as cute as you are,” he teased.
The girl snorted, rolling her eyes. “Whatever. How are you? How’s the show?” She sat Runt down on her lap, turning her attention back to her “maybe-boyfriend.”
“I’ve been restless, actually. One of the reasons I came to see you. I need to see you again,” he smirked to himself. “Because I cannot get you out of my head.”
Odette inhaled. “Wow. You’re … honest. And I probably look like a tomato …”
“I like it.” Grayson cocked his head to the side. “I want to take you out on a date.”
Even Runt reacted to his words, popping her head up from her curled up position.
Odette couldn’t stop the smile. “A date?” So many scenarios flew through her mind about where he would take her, how she would screw it up, and how that would be the last time they would ever speak to each other.
“There is a production of Swan Lake being put on in the city; I thought of you immediately. Something like fate telling me to go on and ask you out.” He reached into the pocket of his dress pants and pulled out a colorful flyer that advertised the ballet.
“I would love to go,” she whispered. “And this is going to sound lame but I have to ask my parents first.” She cringed, looking down so she wouldn’t have to see his reaction.
Grayson chuckled. In a second, he was kneeling in front of her with a finger under her chin, making her look up at him. “What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t ask your parents? I need to know what to do if something happens to you, don’t I?” He ghosted his thumb over her bottom lip. “Besides, your father has to threaten me. How else will he know that I’ll be on my best behavior?”
Odette stopped breathing for a second. She was almost certain that he would kiss her again. He was looking at her like he did at the gala, his eyes peering into her soul and making her feel so exposed. He was so close to her that she could almost feel his lips … until Runt meowed, making them break apart.
She giggled at her cat’s actions, scratching behind her ears. Grayson, however, glared at the gray fluff ball. Runt stared back at him with unblinking eyes, almost challenging him.
“If you want, I can go downstairs with you,” Odette said, looking up from the cat. “I just have to clean myself of the fur.” She blushed, feeling so unkempt next to him. She wasn’t even wearing makeup and she was certain that she not only looked like a slob but smelled like one.
Odette sat Runt on the floor and the cat scampered off to a small pile of old towels that were her temporary bed. The girl dusted herself off, trying to ignore the feeling of his eyes on her the whole time.
“You never did talk about the show?” Odette said, digging around in one of her boxes for a lint roller.
Grayson sat back
down on the vanity chair, leaning back casually. “It’s going. Greer and I have come up with a few new tricks. Grandfather is the one who forces practice every day, even though it is unnecessary.” He eyed the rose that he gave her at one of his shows, his fingers tracing over its petals lightly.
Odette scoffed lightly. “Practice does make perfect but you both are already pretty perfect. It’s unbelievable.” She discreetly sprayed some perfume on, glancing back to make sure he didn’t notice.
The boy hummed lightly, his attention moving to some photos she had in her room. Most of them were old dance photos in her costumes and heavy makeup. “You look so tiny in this picture,” he commented.
Odette turned around completely, running her fingers through her hair. She acknowledged the photo and nodded. “That was … fifth grade, I believe. I was a doll.”
“Yes you are,” he winked at her teasingly.
Odette fought her embarrassment. “Shut up, not like that. It was a group dance and we were the figurines slash dolls in music boxes. I was new to demi-pointe and I kinda sucked.”
“And what is this one?” He gestured to a photo in which she was much older. It was the last dance picture on the wall.
“That’s that Swan Lake solo I had, I was fifteen. The picture was actually taken after the accident on stage because we don’t take dance pictures until much later in the year. You can faintly see the bruise I have in the junction of my arm from the IV.” Odette pointed it out, circling the area.
Grayson examined it again. “You still look beautiful.”
“I never said I didn’t,” Odette joked, sticking her tongue out. “It was so awkward taking that photo. I had been out for a few months by that time and I was having trouble getting into the poses because I hadn’t used those muscles in so long.”
The boy hummed.
Odette became acutely aware of how close they had gotten again. She tilted her head to the side and admired his profile.
“You’re staring,” Grayson said.
“You do it all the time.” She leaned in and pressed a small kiss to the corner of his mouth and moved away with a small smirk. She picked up her phone and knelt down to pat Runt’s head. “I’ll be back.”
Grayson’s hand wrapped around her bicep and pulled her upright. He spun her around so she was facing him, his face blank. She was pinned to the wall, the hand on her arm now holding her wrist up above her head.
“If you’re going to kiss me, do it right,” he warned.
All at once, his entire weight was pressed against her, nearly smothering her in the kiss. His lips connected with hers roughly, her teeth pressing against the inside of her mouth harshly. Her eyes remained wide open but so were his, staring down at her darkly.
Odette thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest. She was, quite literally, trembling but not in fear. It was from how sudden he had approached her and just kissed her. When he finally did pull away, his lips were quirked up in a small smirk. The only sign that he had just been kissed was his reddened lips; he wasn’t even blushing or breathing hard. Odette wondered if this boy was even human.
“You’re such a cute tomato. You might want to calm down, though, as we are still going downstairs to your parents. You wouldn’t want them to get the wrong idea now, would you?” Grayson’s voice was even and full of sarcasm.
Odette gaped. He was impossible but she really didn’t want him any other way. She slid out of his grasp and checked her face in the mirror. The blush had crawled all the way up to her ears. It wasn’t fair that he could affect her like that. There wasn’t much that she could do for herself besides breathe, and she knew that, if she took too long, her mother would wonder why they were so quiet and embarrass her even further.
She examined Grayson from the mirror while he was distracted. He was dressed downish, as much as she had ever seen him be. He sported a white polo shirt and dress pants and, on his dress pants, his amulet was discreetly fashioned.
Odette frowned. “Do you always wear that?”
His eyebrows jumped high. “Wear what?”
“That blue jewel. I’ve never seen you without it. Not even your sister takes hers off.” Odette smiled softly. “Funny.”
Grayson shrugged and pulled his lips into a pout. “I think that I would look weird without it on, don’t you?”
“I guess.” She finally turned around.
“Are you ready?”
“Yeah.”
Grayson took her by the hand and kissed it gently, his eyes sparkling with mischief. Odette didn’t bother to reprimand him. If she did, she would only be fooling herself. His affection was something she wanted, Odette could admit that to herself now.
XII
“You’re going on a date with my brother,” Greer said as soon as Odette picked up the phone. “What did I tell you?”
Odette laughed. She threw another dress onto her bed, adding to the small mound that was already there. “You were right.”
“Did he kiss you?”
She stayed quiet. A grin threatened to spread on her lips, so she bit down hard; but, unfortunately, it seemed that her silence was an answer in itself.
“He did!” Greer insisted. “Was this the first one?”
“Well …”
Greer shifted across the line. “When?”
Odette leaned against her bedroom wall, looking out the window. “You’re his sister, isn’t this weird to talk about?”
Greer groaned, “Just tell me, Det.”
That was all the coaxing she needed. “Okay. It was at the gala. Before I left, he took me up to the roof and we started talking …”
“And …”
“And what do you think? We kissed … twice.”
“No!”
“Yes,” Odette giggled.
Greer sighed. “That’s too perfect, darling. I couldn’t be more happy …. What are you doing now?”
“I am picking out my dress for this evening,” Odette grunted and dug deeper into her closet. She balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder, half holding her breath. The phone was dangerously close to slipping.
“Do you need help?”
“No, actually, I think I’m good. Unlike a gala, I’ve actually been to a ballet before. The only thing I’m worried about is … the date part.” Odette’s heart plummeted just thinking about it.
“Why?”
Odette sighed. “Because I’ve never been on one. I’m afraid that I’ll do something embarrassing or say something stupid. You and Grayson are the only people I really know here and, if I mess this up, then it will be a disaster.” She rubbed her forehead with her free hand, easing a worry-induced headache.
“I wouldn’t worry your pretty little head on it. Everyone’s nervous when they go on their first date. Grayson isn’t an exception. Nothing will go wrong. Grayson will do everything in his power to make the night … magical.”
Odette smiled, though she knew her friend couldn’t see it. She stopped her rifling for a moment and leaned against her closet doors. It was hard to imagine Grayson Mages getting nervous over anything, but he was only human.
“Thanks, Greer. You’re the best.”
Grayson arrived at the Sinclair’s at five thirty, spending a few minutes downstairs talking with Jonah and Pamela while Odette finished getting dressed. Her nerves got the better of her, making her hands shake no matter how hard she squeezed them. She just hoped he wouldn’t notice.
Odette gave herself a once-over in the mirror, approving of the dress and the shoes. Her jewelry? A pair of pearl earrings and her silver heart monitor.
She was halfway down the stairs when she got a good look at Grayson for the first time. He had dressed up; his blue amulet glinted on the lapel of his jacket.
He met her half way. “You look beautiful.”
She smiled. “So do you.”
Pamela and Jonah didn’t linger any longer than necessary after giving them both some instructions, what they could and couldn’t do as well as
the curfew. Odette did catch her mother drag her father off by his collar, saying something along the lines of “she’ll be fine.”
Grayson opened the front door for her and her eyes landed on his car. It was a sleek midnight blue sports car that looked like a similar model of his sister’s. She wasn’t all that surprised.
He opened the passenger door for her and helped her in before getting inside himself. Anxiety crackled within her. It was really happening and she had no backup, no one to rescue her if she said or did the wrong thing. She could totally screw herself over with this guy and lose him and her only friend—who also happened to be her neighbors. Odette was beginning to regret her decision.
The silence between them was killing her but Grayson didn’t seem perturbed. In fact, he seemed happy.
She blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Have you seen Swan Lake before?”
Grayson smiled. “I have, actually, but it’s been a while. I liked it; the ending is my favorite.”
Odette laughed incredulously. “You liked it when they committed suicide?”
“I thought that it was poetic. They loved each other so much and they knew that they couldn’t be together, so they jump off a cliff. It foils Von Rothbart’s plans and ties everything together.” He glanced at her every few seconds while he spoke, gauging her reaction.
Odette couldn’t stop shaking her head. “It’s tragic, that’s what it is. And slightly flawed. Yes, the idea of love at first sight is romantic but the prince fell in love with a swan. I question his sanity.”
He clicked his tongue but he didn’t disagree. “Then what is your favorite ballet, Miss Sinclair?”
“I never said this wasn’t my favorite, but it would probably be Romeo and Juliet.”
Grayson snorted, startling Odette. She’d never heard him make that noise before. “Oh right, the other ballet where the love interests kill themselves? That’s totally different.”
“I like Tchaikovsky. I have to like Swan Lake or else I would be a traitor to my name,” she explained, resting her hand beside his.
Violent Delights Page 11
