20

The last chords faded away far too quickly and our dance ended. "Thanks for the dance. I have to go again then," I murmured and broke away from him. It was more of a feeble attempt as I just pulled my hand out of his while he continued to hold his on my waist.

Grayson grabbed my hand, which I pulled back and locked our hands together again. I heard the music play again, but it was quiet between the two of us. It was like there were so many unsaid words between us.

"Where to?" Grayson finally asked. "Where do you have to go?" His words were dry and stubborn. He was like always.

He couldn't know how I felt about him, nor could I say it. I hardly dared to say it myself. My jealousy because he chose to come here with someone else. My feelings that I couldn't tell him. In the end he stayed an Alaiser and I a Stone.

"The dance is over," I murmured.

"Is that so? I think the next one has already started." Without waiting for my answer, he pulled me back to his chest.

His heart was beating at a different rate than the music, but it was the rhythm I was listening to. It was the rhythm my mad heart listened to that was drawn to it.

I knew what my heart was asking for and it felt scary. I was still trying to resist the feeling, but the longer he held me in his arms, the harder it was.

My cheek rested on his chest and he rested his against my forehead. Now and then one of his curls would tickle me as he twirled me to the beat of the music. He didn't let go of me for a moment.

His cheek held my head against his chest and his hands pressed my body to his. It was like he was pulling me closer to him or I was pulling me to him with every turn.

The heat of his body enveloped me like the scent of his aftershave and I wondered again why the three of them were hiding their own.

"I wanted to ask you something, Pebble." Grayson led me to the edge of the dance floor and leaned me against a pillar. One hand still rested on my waist while he leaned the other against the pillar above me.

"Why are you calling me that?" I looked up at him and his lips were right in front of my eyes. The warmth of his breath on my face was intoxicating. He let out a small sigh and the corners of his mouth twisted into a small smile.

"Come to me tomorrow and you will get your answer."

"Your place?" I asked in a trance, watching him bite his bottom lip. I stared at his full lips, his canines and for a moment wanted my tongue to run over them.

I followed the slow movement of his tongue as it slid over her and then his teeth bit down on his lip again. I stood on my tiptoes and felt him hold me. It was as if I was floating slightly off the ground, my mind certainly was.

"What's the matter with her? There's nothing special about her," I suddenly heard someone curse behind Grayson. A look over his shoulder and I saw his date standing behind him angrily.

"Need anything, Boyle?" Grayson's voice sounded annoyed, but he didn't even turn to look at her.

"You're here with me in case you forgot," she hissed.

"I forgot," Grayson replied dryly, putting me back on my feet. He looked at me guiltily. He should, after all, he had arranged to meet her.

"You had your dance. That was the last one, Stone," she snapped at me. I could understand her excitement a little, but not why she made such a scene.

"Not if I have my way," I murmured against Grayson's chest and he stroked my cheek gently while I tugged at his shirt nervously.

"Look, Boyle. You didn't want to come here alone, I did you the favor. We had a deal. I kept my end. You do the same." Grayson still didn't bother to turn to her.

"What's the matter with the Stone? The king is gone and now--" but she didn't even get to finish her sentence. An angry Esme appeared beside her and gave her a resounding slap in the face.

"Shut up Boyle!" Esme answered her unimpressed. Grayson slowly turned around now and pushed me behind his back. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at Annabelle Boyle. He was really scary with his calm and stubborn demeanor and you could literally read it on her face.

"Black, you're going to regret that," she hissed at Esme now.

"I don't think so. Run to Daddy and give him my regards. The next time he wants to beg my family for money, he can save himself the trouble. Saving is something you should start now too." I stared at Esme, who swept her black locks back over her shoulder, completely unperturbed.

"Okay, Boyle, come on," Matthews came up behind Esme and grinned happily at her. He probably noticed everything, like the others who were standing around us.

"We're quits, Esme," he winked at her as he passed. Roughly grabbed the arm of angry Annabelle Boyle who had no idea what was happening. Matthews pulled her into the crowd behind him and eventually I neither heard nor saw her.

"I don't know why you brought her in, Gray," Esme shook her head incredulously. "Here, however, appointments are no longer made without my consent," she said reprovingly in a tone that I only knew from my mother. She turned around, grabbed the arm of a completely bewildered Taylor and sauntered away with him.

As she watched, I saw a crowd of curious faces, but they quickly moved away when there was nothing left to see. One thing, however, stayed and sent a shiver down my spine, that of my professor.

She was standing a few meters away from us and had obviously heard everything. Even when she grinned contentedly, her eyes were hostile and cold.

"Shall we go?" I asked Grayson. Suddenly I didn't feel good anymore.

"Warum?"

"So you can calmly explain to me what just happened?" Grayson looked down at me and then back over my head. His jaw clenched as if he was trying hard to answer me.

Asking him a question was like biting granite or swallowing a handful of sand. Both were painful, burning in the throat and took a few days to recover from.

Grayson rubbed his chin and then put his arms around me again. He put both hands around my waist and pulled me to him. That was better than talking. I laid my head back against his chest and listened to the rhythm of his heart. It beat faster than before. However, it couldn't keep up with mine.

"She was watching us or much more you." He rested his head on mine again and I slumped even more against his chest.

"She claimed she heard you and Caspian in the library. She threatened to tell everyone that you were his Erasthai if I wasn't her companion." It could have been true because that was what happened in the library. I hadn't paid attention to who else was there.

"You didn't look unhappy when she asked you out or at dinner tonight." They had laughed and joked. Nothing made me doubt that he wasn't feeling well. However, I also remembered Matthew's words and how he ended up grinding Boyle away.

"Then I played my part well. That's all. I should have ripped her throat out the moment she threatened you." Something in me knew it wasn't a joke, and not just because his words were completely emotionless.

"I want to talk now, Grayson."

"I want to dance with you," he replied stubbornly. I wanted that, too. All night, no new opportunity would come.

"We have to postpone that."

"On when?" Grayson's hand went up from my waist to my chin and lifted it. He pulled it towards him and looked questioningly into my eyes. I saw myself again in his dark brown eyes. They were so clear, they weren't as cloudy as the last few days.

"Come with me Pebble, I'll refrain from dancing with you all night and then you'll get your answers."