Savage Love (Ash and Innocence 2)

I grinned, even though her words had sent a slight chill down my back. “I don’t think it’s all that dramatic. He thinks he can ‘ruin my life.’ But what’s really left to ruin?”

“Charli…” Zoe reached out and squeezed my hand. “Don’t talk like that.”

“Sorry.” I laughed softly. “I wasn’t trying to sound depressing. I mean, I’m okay with it. It’s just that he acts like I’ve got this perfect picture of happiness he wants to shatter. But the fire already did his job for him. He’s just walking through a bunch of ruins and trying to find a way to tear them down.”

“Now who’s being dramatic?” Marne was watching me with a raised eyebrow. “My life is ruins,” she said in a playful, but mocking tone. “Can’t kick things down that have already fallen. My soul is a dark, bottomless pit of despair and a—”

I snorted, waving my hand to shut her up. “I’m almost eighteen. Aren’t I allowed to be a little melodramatic sometimes?”

Zoe nodded seriously. “You’ve been through a lot, Charli. You can be as dramatic as you want.”

“She doesn’t speak for all of us,” noted Marne. “I prefer practicality over emotionality.”

My eyes were drawn to the second floor of the school. An outdoor corridor ran above the entire courtyard, and I saw a pretty girl with long, silky black hair waiting by a classroom door. When the door opened, Cassian stepped out and started striding somewhere with purpose. She gripped his wrist and stopped him long enough for him to turn around and plant a kiss on her neck as he squeezed a generous handful of her ass. Then the two of them disappeared inside, probably to screw around in one of the bathrooms.

Zoe followed my eyes. “Weird, isn’t it?”

“What?” I felt blotchy patches of red staining my neck and cheeks, as if she could see the jealous strings of thought coursing through my head.

“How hate and desire aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Marne gave a wiggle of her eyebrows. “Deep.”

It was. And it was true. No matter how illogical, I couldn’t deny the way my body reacted to him. Clint and I still hadn’t labeled the flirtations between us, but it was clearly to the point that I deserved to feel all the guilt and shame I could manage, too. I shouldn’t have been attracted to Cassian. My body should’ve been smart. Smart enough to realize being drawn to him in any capacity was like a bug floating toward the pale, blazing light of a bug zapper or a sailor being drawn to sea by a siren’s song.

“Just think about Clint, though.” Zoe gave a little shrug. “I’ve known him since middle school. He’s a really good guy.”

“Yeah.” My eyes were still trained on the door Cassian had disappeared into. “He is.”19CassianForks and knives clinked against plates. Walter had some cringeworthy ass dad music playing over the house’s sound system. He occasionally bunched his eyebrows together and did a little headbang between bites of his steak.

I sat across from Charli, who hadn’t looked my direction since sitting down.

She looked like a porcelain princess sitting there with the patio windows framing her and the lake glistening behind her. Like some pretty little thing that had been mistreated and marred. She’d tried to swoop her bangs to the side to cover her scar, but I could still see the puckered skin peeking out from beneath it.

She took a measured bite of potatoes, chewing quietly while staring at her plate.

My mom cleared her throat. “So, I took the liberty of figuring out your community service projects.”

That got me and Charli to look her way.

“Community service?” Charli asked.

“I keep forgetting you’ve been gone. Yes. Parker High students need ten hours of community service before they can graduate. Cassian has been dragging his feet on it, so I arranged something for both of you. A charity is building a house for a family in need. It’s in town, so you could stop by after school a couple days a week.”

My mood went from annoyed to amused when I saw the look of horror on Charli’s face.

I took a cheerful bite of steak, then slid my eyes to Charli. “Want to invite any friends? Maybe any guys you’ve got a thing for from school? I’m sure mom could make room for another volunteer.”

I expected her to glare openly at me, but she seemed to have complete control over her expression. She smiled easily, then shook her head. “No one I can think of.”

Interesting. I’d warned her about the shit she was pulling with Clint, and it appeared Charli Rhodes was smarter than I’d given her credit for.

“Oh,” I snapped my fingers, as if just remembering something. “There’s someone I want to invite. Sophie.”

This time, Charli’s features tightened, but she smoothed them out quickly enough.

I grinned to myself as I focused back on my plate and finished my meal. Charli might be defiant as hell and she might even have a decent backbone. But she wasn’t immune to me.