I hesitated before shaking his hand, but when I did, I wished I hadn’t. A strange wave of energy tingled through me, and it wasn’t warm. God, it was empty. As if a bolt of cold vibration shot through me then vanished. “Umm, nice to meet you. And thank you for the help.”
He nodded. “My pleasure. I was informing Delara that—”
“That he was leaving. Weren’t you?” Delara placed her hand on Waleron’s arm and both of them tensed. Was that from her touch or because she interrupted him?
He turned to Delara and she let his arm go. Then he stepped in to her. She dropped the pile of clothes on the floor, her eyes widening. His hand settled on her waist and the other cupped the back of her head, fingers bunching in her hair.
Delara gasped, one palm pushing at his chest. “Waler—”
His mouth slammed down on hers, sealing off any protest she may have had.
Holy shit. What was going on with them?
It was hot, intense, and over within seconds. But it had meaning, a hell of a lot of meaning, as if he was staking a claim on her.
He released her and Delara stood frozen, eyes wide and shocked.
A soft ringing sounded and he moved to the right of her, took his cell from his side cargo pant pocket, briefly glanced at the number, and then said to Delara, “Buy the dress, babe.” He turned to me. “Nice to finally meet you, Rayne.”
Then he answered his phone with an abrupt ‘Yes’ while he walked from the dressing room.
“Wow,” I said.
Delara muttered something unintelligible and picked up her clothes she’d dropped.
“Is Waleron your boyfriend?” I didn’t think Delara had a boyfriend.
Delara huffed. “Ha. Not his style. He just saves your life, has sex with you, and then tells you not to call.”
“Oh.” Okay, I was getting the vibe that he was a bitter subject. Delara obviously had a history with this guy, and it wasn’t a good history. Or was it? Damn, that kiss was more than just a kiss; it was magnetic.
Delara sighed. “He’s a good guy. I mean, he can be when he wants, and he’d protect you with his life. He’s just indifferent to love. He’ll do everything and anything to protect the Scars.”
No man kissed a woman like that and wouldn’t do anything for her.
I still had the dress I was going to try in my hand, so I hung it up in the empty stall next to Delara. “So, do you like him?”
“I loved him. Notice the past tense,” Delara said. “Like rip your heart out and put it on a silver platter kind of love. He ate it and then spat it back in my face.”
I didn’t know much about love. I hadn’t loved anyone, except maybe my parents and Serafina. “I’m sorry. That must…” ‘Say what you mean,’ Rebecca’s voice echoed. “That’s horrible! What an asshole.”
Delara burst out laughing. “Wow, Rayne. I didn’t see that coming. I like this new you emerging. I liked the old one, too, but I had a feeling you were holding back.”
I smiled. It felt good to say what I wanted without worrying about the consequences.
She eyed the emerald dress I’d picked out and nodded to it. “Oh, my God, that will look stunning on you. Try it on. And tonight, we’re having a girls’ slumber party.”
I didn’t know what a slumber party was, but it sounded fun, and I needed fun. No, I wanted fun in my life.
The dress was perfect according to Delara. I thought it was too tight and the color was overly dramatic. I’d always walked in the shadows, and drawing attention to myself wasn’t my thing.
But I bought the dress, because it made my eyes stand out and my skin glow and I liked that. Delara bought the sexy silver dress, and then we walked back to the gallery.
Delara called Anstice and Danni to invite them to the slumber party, but Anstice couldn’t come as she and Keir were going out for dinner. But Danni could and she brought four bottles of Balen’s prized red wine.
We lounged in our pajamas on the living room floor watching movies while the red wine flowed freely as did the giggling.
“Thor has the hottest ass,” Delara said, pointing at the screen.
“Oh, my God, yeah,” Danni said. “It was Balen’s eyes that captured me, but his ass is what kept me.”
Delara hooted with laughter. “Oh, please. Nothing can compare to Tac’s.” She turned to me. “Nickname for Waleron. I swear that guy must work out twenty hours a day.”
I blurted out, “Kilter’s is nice.”
Delara choked on her wine and it sprayed from her mouth. “Kilter? Haven’t really looked at his ass, considering I’m always watching for his fists coming my way.”
Danni giggled then proceeded to refill her wineglass. “Off-Kilter threw me in the shower with my pajamas on to get me to snap out of a bad funk. I was so pissed, but he helped me through a really rough time. He’s just a little—overwhelming.”
“A little?” Delara snorted. “The guy is a runaway train. And he doesn’t trust anyone.”
“He saved my life, and well, he was nice to me,” I said. Both women had their eyes on me. “We got along in an odd sort of way. I don’t know. I trusted him. Kind of. He just helped, I guess.” God, I was babbling and stumbling over my words. Maybe because every time I thought of him my emotions were all screwed up.
Danni raised her glass. “Cheers to hot asses.”
We clinked glasses. No one mentioned what I’d tried to say about Kilter, which was a good thing.