Chapter 11 Speaking Tongues

Chapter 11 Speaking Tongues

ARDEN

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“Who does he think he is?” I muttered as I washed my hands in the bsink/b. I caught my reflection and grimaced at how red my cheeks looked. Did I look like this when I spoke to Cade, too?

I shook my bhead/bb, /bflicking water off my fingers like I could shake off the frustration with it. “Just because he’s smart and btall/b, good–looking, andpetent…

“bThat /bdoesn’t sound right, I whispered, annoyed with myself. “There’s no reason for him to treat me in such a way when I didn’t even do anything to bhim/b.”

With ba /bbreathless sigh, I grabbed a paper towel to dry my hands, willing my heart to calm down. I looked in the mirror and forced a smile. “Let’s just eat,” I muttered. “Food will make things better like it always does.”

I pushed open the restroom door–only to freeze in ce.

There was a shadowy nook near the stairwell, dimly lit and often ignored. But now, it held something or someone–I shouldn’t have seen. I had seen werewolves mid–rut on campus before, and no one batted an eye. That wasn’t what stunned ollime. /li/ol

It was him

Cade.

He had a girl pinned against the wall.

The shadows cloaked most of her, just a glimpse of long blonde bhair /band hands fisting his shirt, trying to keep him close. But he was all I could see. His lean body towered bover /bhers, not quite aggressive, butmanding. He wasn’t holding onto her desperately–no, he was too calm for that. One hand was bcasually /bshoved into his pocket. The other was nted on the wall

beside her head.

His mouth moved over hers with burning intensity. Meanwhile, she kept trying to speed up the kiss, but Cade didn’t let her. His lips parted hers slowly. His tongue slipped inside and the girl bmoaned /bbsoftly /binto him, a sound bthat /bmade my knees go weak.

My breath hitched.

His hand slid from her waist to her bhipbone/b, fingers curling bin/b, gripping tight and leaving a mark on her exposed skin.

His jaw tensed, that bsharp /bangle flexing beneath flushed skin. His brows furrowed deeper. His shoulders blocked most of her from view, but I could see how her chest was rising band /bfalling too quickly, like she was on the edge of something.

And so was 1.

I shouldn’t be watching.

But I couldn’t blook /baway.

There was no mistaking the hunger in the way he devoured her mouth, taking his time to kiss her deeper, hotter. He leaned an more, his body brushing hers, pressing her tighter against the wall. bHer /bblegs /bshifted–were they trembling?

My throat went dry. I tried to swallow, but I was too focused on the way Cade kissed her

I bit bdown /bon my lip

It bwasn’t /bfair. bKisses /bweren’t supposed to look blike /bthat.

I thought back to mine. My first kiss with Jaxon had been bsweet /bbbut /bclumsy. Our bkisses /bbwere /bpolite and short–lived. Even when they stretched longer, there had been no heat. I knew it was partially my fault because I was always unprepared for himb. /b

10:42 AM

Chapter 11 Speaking Tongues

I shifted ever so slightly, just to breathe, but bthe /bwater boule slipped from my hand, ttering to the floor.

The sound echoed in bthe /bhallway like a gunshot.

Both heads snapped in my direction.

s

Cade’s eyesnded on me first. His lips were swollen and slick with saliva. The girl’s were too, her head spinning as she turned her face from his chest. It appeared like bshe /bhad gotten the greatest pleasure of her life only with a kiss.

Ibent to grab my bottle, cheeks ming. I was about to bolt when bhis /bvoice made me freeze.

“Hey, Flub

I blinked Flub?

I turned around, confusion betraying my better judgment. Big mistake. He was already walking toward me

He stopped right in front of me. He was too close. Close enough for me to smell the warm scent of spice on his breath.

His expression didn’t soften. “Were you observing us?” he asked, tilting his head.

“I–Of course not!” I stammered, mortified. “I was just leaving the bbathroom /band–you were there! It’s not my fault you were making out in such an open area!”

“You could’ve looked away,” he said tly. “But you didn’t. You watched for quite a while.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. My checks burned. How did he even notice? His eyes had been shut!

bWhy/b?” he asked, stepping closer. His voice dipped an octave lower, rough and suggestive. “Did you want it to be you instead?

I bpursed /bmy lips.

“No,” I blurted, stepping back. “It was… it was an appalling sight. I couldn’t look away because I was disgusted.”

His lips twitched like he was holding back augh. “Sure, Flub. Keep telling yourself bthat/b.”

“bFlub/b? What even is that?” I snapped, trying to shove down the bailing embarrassment.

He ignored bme/b, gaze sweeping me slowly. “If I were you,” he said, “I’d just walk away. Things like that happen a blot /bin Elite. Unless. He smirked. …you want to be bon /bthe receiving bend/b.”

I scoffed, folding my arms. “I will never kiss you.”

“Good,” he murmured with a smirk, but it didn’t feel like I’d won. Not when my body was still betraying

He walked back to the girl, bwho /bimmediately clung to bhis /bside again.

I clenched my fists, not out of anger–but something far more bdangerous/b. Curiosity

The bum from earlier bhadn’t /bleft me

I exhaled slowly, willing myself to calm down. Then, I bturned /bbaround/bb, /bbready /bto head bback /bto ss–only to be stopped once

Fate luted bme /btoday.

didn’t turn around.

“bGosh/b, it really is you. I thought I was hallucinating for a moment.”

10:42 AM c

Chapter 11 Speaking Tongues

b+5 /bFree Coins

I knew that voice.

Sienna.”