Opening the bag, he showed her the contents. “We'd like to buy some jewelry to match this dress. What would you suggest?”
Clasping her hands, she waggled her eyebrows at me. I didn't appreciate that. “Oh! I think I can find something to fit. Should I show you some of our more special items?”
“Yes,” Jacob said.
“No.” I spoke over him, our answers blurring together.
The clerk stared at us, inching towards the glass case. “Ah. Well, let me grab a few things.”
Turning, I leaned up on tip-toe and hissed into Jacob's ear. “We don't need anything 'special' for this! I don't need jewelry at all!”
Tilting towards me, his breath tickled me and made me shiver. “We do, and you do.” Straightening, he grinned at the tray the woman held towards him. “These look wonderful.”
Putting the box on the counter, she stepped back and waved us forward. I didn't move an inch, but Jacob scooped up something shiny. The necklace looked heavy, weighted with green gems and silver filigree. It was beautiful.
It wasn't meant for me.
It couldn't be.
His shadow cloaked my face, lips tilting up in a smile. “Lift your hair,” he instructed.
Breathing in tiny, tight bursts, I curled my hair up and exposed my neck. The backs of my eyeballs throbbed, his presence becoming more encompassing.
This vibe of his was crushing me. By the time he'd swooped the necklace around, his fingers skimming the nape of my neck, my bones were dust. How was I still standing?
“Look up,” he whispered against my temple.
I did, spotting us in the mirror. Jacob hovered behind me, his fingers holding the clasp of the necklace. I was a queen. And Jacob was my warrior.
No, I reminded myself. He's more villain than warrior. I have to remember that.
His razor smile and piercing blue eyes made that a challenge.
I was staring into another world. A place where Jacob was allowed to be this close to me, and it was okay if I wore expensive things. A universe that only existed in a mirror.
“It's beautiful,” I hushed, my own voice strange to me.
“Yes,” he said softly. “It is.” Jacob didn't tear his attention from me the entire time. Was he even talking about the necklace?
The clerk said something. I don't know what, but it shattered the moment. Jacob pulled away, handing the emerald necklace back. “Could we get matching earrings, please? We'll be taking this set.”
The transaction was a blur. I saw the money exchanged, watched Jacob add the box to the dress bag. Then he was moving, taking my wrist to encourage me from the store. It was a possessive grip. He held me like that until we reached the evening air.
In the parking lot, I found my resolve and tugged away. I think he frowned, but that was all.
What do I do about this? How did I even explain what 'this' was? Jacob was digging into my mind, my heart, and carving a space for himself. I'd barely had room for Kite in there, and he had broken through my defenses like a grenade.
Jacob had taken his time, worming bit by bit.
Now, his spikes were flexed and I feared ripping him out would kill me.
This was going to end in someone—maybe all of us—getting hurt. Which was funny, when I mulled it over.
I should have been scared of them murdering me.
I was more terrified of exposing my emotions.
“Jacob,” I said, the instant we were shut inside the car.
He set the bags behind him, glancing at me in mid movement. “Yes?”
“We need to... talk.” Speaking was hard, I struggled to stay a step ahead of my rolling mind. “I think there's been some misunderstanding between us.”
His attention narrowed in. He didn't blink. “In what way?”
“Whatever you're doing, or trying to do with me, it's a mistake.”
Fuck, that smirk he wore had my blood raging. “I don't make mistakes.”
The edges of my eyes hurt from straining. Jacob touched his keys, the doors locking around us like a thunderclap. “Jacob, you and I—if you're trying to make something out of us, it can't happen.”
He barely shifted, but it was as if he'd climbed on top of me. His hands rested in his lap. I imagined his nails on my neck, where he'd closed the necklace earlier.
The memory was vivid.
“I'm wondering why you think that,” he whispered.
Hanging my head, I fought to keep my voice steady. Denying Jacob was taking everything I had. My heart was slicing away, fragment by fragment, as I went through the motions.
I did want something to happen between us.
But I couldn't.
So I latched onto the one good reason I could come up with. “Because I don't want you and Kite to fight. He's already made it clear he likes me, Jacob. I refuse to come between you two.”
Jacob chuckled, and I felt like an ass. My mind tumbled with a million paranoid questions.
Had I made a mistake? Did he not want to get involved with me?
Was Jacob flirting for fun, never intending to take it further?
Did he now think I was stupid, or full of myself for assuming what I had?