I haven’t seen Mallory since the funeral, and we didn’t say a single word to each other. It was awkward, to say the least. Her parents have never minded me staying in their lives, but Mallory has made it clear that she has no use for me. She hasn’t talked to me since that night in the kitchen, the night when she rocked my world.
And now I wonder if I really am doing the right thing.
Maybe I should leave.
Maybe Club Shadows is the one place where she can relax and be herself. Maybe this is her safe haven where people don’t know her past and where they don’t care what she’s been through. Here she can just be a submissive. She doesn’t have to be the girl who lost everything or the girl whose brother died.
Here she can just be herself.
Should I really be taking that from her?
I realize that I’m in the wrong place, and that it’s definitely the wrong time. I turn, preparing to leave the club. I should let this remain what it obviously is for her: a haven.
Only, it’s too late.
It’s too late because Mallory has spotted me, and she looks pissed.
Chapter Five
Mallory
My heart starts pounding in my chest. It’s completely freaking out.
“What is it?” Dax wants to know.
“Oh,” Belinda grins, noticing where I’m looking.
“Tall, dark, and spank-me-Daddy,” Fiona breathes out.
“Hey,” I say, chastising them. “He’s nothing special.”
“What are you looking at?” Fiona asks. “It can’t be that guy.”
“For sure, because that guy,” Belinda jerks her head toward Aaron. “That guy is fucking fine. There’s not anything not-special about that dude. Everything about him is over-the-top special, I’d say.”
I swallow hard, staring at him.
“He’s okay, I guess,” I mutter.
“Just okay?” Dax laughs. “Honey, he’s beautiful.”
“Wait a minute,” Belinda turns to me. “You know him, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I know him.”
He was the first guy I ever kissed.
He was the first guy I ever liked.
He’s the only guy who could possibly know what my life has been like. He’s the only person who knows what it’s like to lose everything.
And I hate that about him.
I hate that invisible power I feel like he’s got over me.
“What is he doing here?” Dax asks.
“More importantly,” Belinda wonders. “Why aren’t you over there like right-fucking-now?” She shakes her head. “Honey, you gotta give us the scoop.”