Tainted Butterfly (Tainted Knights 2)

The only ones who knew what had happened that night besides him were me and Alicia, and neither of us would ever tell a soul. Not even Jace knew the truth. It was one of the few things I hadn’t confided in my brother, but not even for him would I betray Gray’s trust.

I scooted him out of the way with a bump of my hip so I could pull the rest of our food from the bag. I felt him stiffen for a second before he took the container of soup from my hand and hugged me. The move surprised me, but I welcomed it nonetheless, and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him back just as tightly as he was hugging me.

“Kassa,” he muttered close to my ear, tension suddenly rolling off him in torrents.

His voice sounded different, almost pained, but I was enjoying our hug too much to pull back and look at his face. “Hmm?”

He inhaled deeply and slowly released me. “I’m starving,” he grumbled as he turned back to the food, but I didn’t miss his clenched hands and his tight jaw. “You want wontons?”

The tension was still in his muscles, and I had this wild thought that he had been about to do something that could have changed everything. But that was crazy. I was just pushing my own feelings off on him, wanting something he would never in a million years want. But, just for a moment, I had thought…

I stood there for a moment, just watching him, waiting, and wondering what had just happened. But then he stuffed a wonton in my mouth, successfully distracting me. I chewed and then stuck my tongue out at him, food and all.

“Gross,” he laughed, as I had hoped he would, breaking the sudden unexplained tension between us. “Give me back my eggroll.” Lowering his head, he ate the last bite from my fingers, his sand-colored eyes bright with amusement.

I wiped my fingers on his shirt, making the smile turn into a glower, and smirked up at him. “So, what are we watching? And if you say A Christmas Story, I’m going to punch you in the dick.”

“You wouldn’t hurt me.”

“If you torture me with that stupid movie, then yeah, I really will.”

“Okay, let’s make this easier. What do you want to watch?”

I scrunched up my nose at him. “I don’t know.”

He shook his head, laughing at me. “Of course, you don’t.”

“You pick?”

“Lord of the Rings.”

“I’m not in the mood for Frodo.” I began scooping a little of everything onto a paper plate so I wouldn’t have to wash dishes later.

“Harry Potter?”

“I just had a marathon of that last weekend, thanks.”

He made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat. “Let’s binge Game of Thrones, then.”

“You know I get sad when we watch Game of Thrones,” I said with a pout. “All my favorite characters die.”

“Then you pick!”

“I don’t know what I want to watch. You pick.”

He grabbed me around the waist and growled. Turning me in his arms, he lifted me until my feet were at least a foot off the floor. “You are so annoying. Just tell me what you want to watch.”

“How about a comedy?”

“Which one?” he grumbled, watching me cautiously.

“Ghostbusters?” I suggested, knowing that it was one of his favorite movies.

“The original?”

“Of course the original. And we can watch the second one, too, if you want to.”

He slowly set me on my feet. “Okay, then. Was that so bad?”