Lessons in Sin

“I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“I’m not. You’re beautiful. Prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. A little pushy and independent, but I can fix that once we’re married.”

“Excuse me?” Heat boiled in my cheeks.

“Oh my God!” Someone made a strangled sound behind me.

“Ew!”

“Is that what I think it is?”

“It’s everywhere!”

Voices and horrified gasps erupted on all sides. Tucker released me as if he’d been burned. He stumbled back, his eyes wide and fixed on my feet.

That was when I felt it. The hot, wet drops on my ankles. More on my toes in the strappy heels.

The commotion around me intensified, and ringing thrashed in my ears as I looked down.

Blood.

It ran down my legs. Stained the gold organza around my thighs. Dripped over my shoes. Pooled on the floor between my feet.

Oh God, it was heavy.

Heavy menstruation.

Heavy emotion.

Too great to lift or carry or move.

I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

CHAPTER 23

TINSLEY

Mortification sank into my muscles and feasted upon my backbone. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t react. The sounds in my ears pulsed like muffled gunfire.

My gaze lifted and found Tucker staring back.

His friends clung to his arms, seemingly holding him upright as they pointed at me and laughed, spewing jokes about shark week. Tucker didn’t laugh. He didn’t shove them off. He just looked at me with wide-eyed horror. And embarrassment.

I humiliated him. Totally cramped his style. I bet he was regretting that Kensington-Constantine merger right about now.

Fuck him.

With his teeth bared, he whirled, flinging away his friends, and stormed off.

He fucking left.

“Let’s go, Tins.” Daisy gripped my hand.

Frozen in shock, I kept my feet planted. If I moved, I would leave a trail of shame so gruesome it would turn the gymnasium into a crime scene.

“Really gross, Keaton’s sister.” Nevada jutted her hip.

“Gross?” Daisy spun toward her. “Because you don’t get periods? Is that what you’re confessing to everyone here?”

“No one bleeds like that.” She scrunched up her face. “Unless they’re dead or dying.”

Daisy tensed as if she were about to physically attack her. I tightened my grip on her hand, silently telling her not to leave my side.

My period was a week early, probably due to stress. But it was always heavy. Most months, it flowed so excessively I had to change my tampon every hour. The red puddle between my feet looked enormous, but it was normal.

What wasn’t normal was bleeding all over the floor during a dance.

What would my mother do in this situation?

She wouldn’t do anything. She had people. A personal assistant to fetch her a tampon. A maid to scrub the floor. A PR team to erase the embarrassment. And a devoted henchman to kill anyone who talked about it.

I had Daisy, who was having a great time dancing with a boy until I ruined her night.

And I had Magnus.

As if conjured by my thoughts, he appeared in the crowd, shouldering his way through the growing number of spectators. He carried a stack of party napkins and roughly shoved students out of his path, his eyes fixed only on me.

And here I thought the most embarrassing moment of my life was when I’d pissed on the floor in front of him.

“I want to die,” I whispered when he reached me.

“No, you don’t. You’d much rather live to annoy the hell out of me every day.”

He lowered to a crouch and placed a few napkins over the crimson puddle. I wanted to reach out and run my hand through his tousled brown hair. What would it feel like? Was it as thick and soft as I imagined?

I was so glad he was here.

“Careful, Father,” one of the St. John’s linebackers shouted from the crush of students. “If she sneezes, you’re gonna get splattered.”

The muscles in Magnus’s shoulders went dangerously tense beneath the confines of his black shirt. He rose slowly, each inch of height a visceral reminder that this man was not someone to piss off.

Too late for the linebacker.

Magnus prowled into the suddenly silent crowd and grabbed the kid by the throat. This went beyond a warning squeeze. The guy couldn’t breathe, his hands pawing at his airway as he worked his jaw like a dying fish.

“You’re out of here!” Magnus hurled him away.

He landed on his butt, skidding backward along the floor in his tux. Then he leaped to his feet and ran out the door.

I needed to go, too, but a glance down confirmed I was still dripping. I felt a pool of wetness collecting in the crotch of my panties. One slight movement and it would all flow over.

“I need more napkins,” I whispered to Daisy.

She raced off.

Magnus charged back toward me, his eyes blazing, ratcheting my pulse.

One of the boys made a face after Magnus swept past.

He slammed to a stop. The room stilled as he swung around and stood toe to toe with the kid.