Cocking back my arm, I planted my fist in his jaw, knocking him flat on his back. “You know what? I’ve got zero fucks to give when it comes to anything you’ve got to say.” Bending down, I grabbed hold of his stupid coat and hauled his ass back up. Blood trickled off his split lip. “If you say one more thing about Kat, do you know what’s going to happen?”
I pulled him in toward me, lifting him onto the tips of his toes. Fear filled his eyes, and the sudden stench of urine hit the air. I glanced down, seeing the wet spot spread along his leg. I smirked. “Yeah, I think you get the message.”
Letting go, I kindly helped his face into the side of his truck, and when he hit the ground for a second time, I waved good-bye with my middle finger.
One problem down.
A shitload more to fix.
Chapter 10
It was weird that with everything happening with Kat, I spent several hours after school on Friday stringing up about a million paper lanterns. Moving the furniture around took Dee and me no time. Flick of the wrist, and the tables were lined up against the wall. She’d spent a small fortune on pumpkin and spice candles, and the house smelled like autumn threw up all over it.
Dee was buzzing around happily, excitement humming through her, and I really hoped for her sake that nothing crazy happened tonight. It wasn’t like we couldn’t control ourselves, but other than Kat and…and Bethany, we didn’t have humans in our home. I really didn’t want a huge bunch of humans in it now, and Lydia or another Elder was probably going to pay us yet another visit after this weekend, but Dee wanted this.
So I wanted it for her.
Adam and a couple others had started to arrive by the time I made it upstairs and took a quick shower. As I pulled on a pair of jeans I’d snagged out of the clothes basket, I could hear the hum of voices and laughter down below.
Tonight was going to be a long night.
Scrubbing a towel through my wet hair, I opened the bathroom door and stepped out. My bedroom was so not like how I’d left it. Mainly the big change was the fact that it wasn’t empty.
Ash was leaning against my headboard, her legs stretched out in front of her, crossed at the ankles. And that was a whole lot of leg. Her dress was really just an oversize shirt. Not that I was complaining. It was a nice view.
But she didn’t belong in my bedroom, on my bed.
Sighing, I tossed the towel over the back of my desk chair. “What are you doing in here, Ash?”
One shoulder rose as her bright blue gaze roamed over my bare chest and then lower. Not like she hadn’t seen any of this before. “I wanted to see if you needed help.”
My lips twitched as I walked over to my closet. “With what?”
“Anything you might need.”
I raised a brow as I pulled an old screen T-shirt off the floor. Looked clean. “There’s nothing I need.” To clarify, nothing that I needed was in this room. “But thanks for the—”
As I turned around, Ash was off that bed and right in front of me. She snatched the shirt from my hand and tossed it over her head. I started to frown, but she planted both hands on my chest and pushed—pushed hard. My back hit the wall.
Ash was strong, damn strong, and if you ever forgot that, you’d probably end up with your ass kicked from here to Maryland.
Or manhandled.
Ha.
“I’ve missed you,” she said, her gaze following the path of her hands, which were getting awful close to the button on my jeans. “Well, I’ve missed certain parts of you, and I was thinking since you’re here and I’m here, we could make this party a bit more…” She bit down on her lower lip as she peered up at me through her lashes. “Interesting.”
“Ash…” I grabbed her wrists, pulling her hands away from me. She resisted, but as strong as she was, I was stronger. Her eyes narrowed as her chin lifted. “As tantalizing as that offer is, and it really is…” I said, and that was truth. I was a male, and Ash was unbelievably hot, and I also knew exactly what this girl had to offer, and it was a lot. “But I’m going to have to pass.”
She leaned in, her legs brushing mine. “Really?”
“Really.” Gently, I guided her back a few feet and then sidestepped her. Bending down, I grabbed my shirt off the floor and tugged it on over my head.
Ash watched me for a moment and then laughed. “Well, shit, I just lost a bet.”
Straightening the hem of my shirt, I frowned at her. “What bet?”
“Andrew is convinced that you have it bad for that girl,” she said, and I could only assume “that girl” was code for “Kat.” “And I told him that you’re not that stupid.”
“Oh really?” I folded my arms.
“So I told him that I could prove that you weren’t caught up in that human girl.”
My brows rose. “You made a bet with your brother about hooking up with me? That’s kind of disturbing on about a hundred different levels.”
Ash ignored that with a roll of her eyes. “Apparently I was wrong.” She plopped down on the end of the bed. “He’s right.”
“And why do you think he’s right?”
She looked down at herself and then pinned me with a befuddled look. “Seriously? You’ll pass this up? You’ve got it bad.”