Ariana flinched as Daniel grabbed Sergei's arm. "Just a second, buddy."

With one quick motion, he lifted Sergei's camera over his head, and started scrolling through the

stored images. Sergei made a swipe for the camera, but Daniel held it out of reach.

"Oh, here's a picture of Ariana, and another and another. Isabella--you're in here too. And that's a

nice one of Natasha. Hmm. No guys in any of these. Interesting. You know, you're lucky I don't call

the cops on you, pervert."

Thomas snickered quietly.

265

"That's enough," Ariana said firmly, her cheeks flushed and heart racing.

Daniel stared at her for a second, his eyes hard, angry, empty. Then his whole body went slack and

he punched Sergei in the shoulder. "Kidding, man. I'm just giving you a hard time."

"So can I have my camera back then?" Sergei looked bewildered.

"A little later," Daniel said with a wink. "I think it's best if I keep i

t for now."

The band switched to a slow song and the air suddenly smelled like hazelnut coffee. Sergei held

out his hand. "You can't just take my camera."

Daniel sat back down and cocked his head to the side. "Dude, you can't just take pictures of my

girlfriend."

Sergei looked torn for a second as he stared longingly at his Nikon, then turned away. In his haste

to leave he nearly knocked over a waitress refilling water glasses at a nearby table. She glared at

him and sopped up the spill with a napkin.

"You shouldn't have done that." Ariana took a sip of champagne, hoping Isabella's message hadn't

reached too many people. Hoping they hadn't noticed that her boyfriend had just senselessly

humiliated the awkward exchange student.

Daniel held his hands up and laughed. "Hey, I was just messing with the guy. Besides, he shouldn't

be taking pictures of you. Not without asking, anyway. Guy has to learn a little respect." His voice

turned serious, and he put his hand on her knee. It felt cold and heavy. Possessive. "You know I'd

do anything for you, Ari. Anything. Don't forget that."

266

Ariana smiled tightly. "I won't."

Tags: Kate Brian Private
Source: readsnovelonline.net