Total pages in book: 181
Estimated words: 181613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 908(@200wpm)___ 726(@250wpm)___ 605(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 908(@200wpm)___ 726(@250wpm)___ 605(@300wpm)
She pinches his muscles.
Blinking, I stare.
He throws her onto a giant pile of leaves, roaring like a dragon, while I’m still left dangling from the swing. I slowly let myself down, realizing I will never get her attention.
I sit down on the swing, pinching my arms the way she pinched him.
A smile forms on my face. If that’s what it takes, then I have work to do.
Aspen
Present
I throw another piece of wood onto the bonfire, and the blaze that erupts makes my entire body zing with adrenaline. God, I love watching the flames dance in the sky.
“Having fun?” Grey asks.
I nod and chuck him a block too. “You try it.”
He reluctantly holds it in front of him and then throws it in, stepping back as the flames begin to lick his skin.
“The pain is part of the rush.” I wink.
But when I look through the crowd of people dancing, I spot Levi standing near Apollo and a group of friends from the Phantom Society. Something about the way he’s staring at me makes all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
And I can still hear his warning ringing in my ears. Stay away from him, or else…
Grey is coughing hard, so I grab his arm and drag him away from the fire, back to our little spot in the woods. “Here, drink this.”
I hand him my vodka and Coke. He gulps it down, then breathes out another cough. “Jesus, what did you put in this?”
“Vodka.” I laugh. “You drink alcohol, right?”
“I thought you meant they had beer!”
“They do, but this gives the night a little kick,” I reply.
He shakes his head. “I’m woozy. I need to sit down.”
“But I wanna dance,” I say, trying to drag him out of the seat.
“You go ahead,” he says, smiling. “I’ll watch you.”
I smirk. “Oh … you’ll watch?” I take a few steps backward and point at him. “All right then, you watch me while I dance for you.”
“For me?”
I wink and start dancing my way back to the fire, enjoying myself while I still can.
Because I know, somewhere, a ghost is waiting to come and haunt me.
I swallow back the nerves and focus on the music, trying to block out the thoughts about the stranger, his note, and the murderous consequences of the promise I shouldn’t make.
But with Grey’s piercing blue eyes boring a hole into my body, I’m starting to wonder if I’m not already being haunted.
I twirl around with Ivy and watch Grey’s lips part in anguish. His tongue dips out to lick his lips as he’s getting visibly flustered by my dancing when he adjusts his pants. And I’d be lying if I said it didn’t give me a kick.
I’m slowly wrapping this man around my finger, yet we haven’t even kissed.
I lick my lips and turn around again, showing off what I have, but when I spin around, Levi locks eyes with me.
I stop as abruptly as my breathing.
He narrows his dark eyes and takes a deep drag, blowing out the smoke right at me as if it’s some kind of taunt. I’m immediately reminded of his warning. His threat. And those goddamn calloused fingers that touched me in places I didn’t think he ever would.
I swallow away the lump in my throat as he casts the cigarette aside and stomps on the bud before disappearing in the crowd.
Only when he’s gone does my heart rate return to normal.
That motherfucker … I hate him.
Incensed, I walk away from the fire because it’s only cranking up the heat and taking hold of my body even further.
God, I’m so fucking angry. Just from that one glare he gave me, I’m off my rocker because all I can think of is all the ways I want to make him pay.
Grey is still looking at me, and I can hear him call for me, but I’m far too enraged, and I don’t want him to see me like this. I don’t want him to know what Levi did.
So I just keep walking through the dancing crowd, into the forest, and out of his sight.
There, I spot the wooden stool near The Edge … and the mask lying on top.
That’s the one.
That’s the mask my Ghost was wearing.
The mask wasn’t just put there by accident.
It’s an invitation.
From the woods, I approach The Edge—the steep drop-off on the cliff where this bonfire takes place. This place is said to be haunted by the ghosts who have fallen to their deaths. Barely anyone ever comes here anymore … except to end it all.
I gaze around to see if I can find the guy, but there’s no one here.
No one except me and this note still burning a hole in my pants.
I take it out of my pocket and stare at the words written so carelessly, and I can’t help but wonder what will happen if I accept.