You’re Mine by Penny Brooks

Chapter 13 Easton I'm pissed, hating my reaction to Harper. Thinking of my mystery girl. I've had her twice. Cat woman, whatever you want to call her, and now I can't find her anywhere. All see is Harper. So, I do what anyone else does in extreme sexual frustration I drink. A lot. I'm at least five shots in, plus two beers when I watch Harper collide with Blake. I fully expected Harper to turn in disgust Instead, I watched in mild horror when he leads her into the garage. The same sacred garage I was in earlier, ready to attack an anonymous girl's mouth with every single kiss I have in my arsenal. Before her phone went off, I was ready to strip my mystery girl bare, lay her against the fridge, the floor, really any strong surface was up for grabs. I shove Aisha away after five minutes go by and Blake and Harper still don't reappear and I grab another beer. Aisha was pissed but whatever. Why the hell is Blake with Harper in the garage? And why do I even care? It's Harper. She's Ryan's problem. Not mine. And yet the idea of Blake even touching her fills me with something unfamiliar that I can’t identify Before I know what I'm doing, I'm charging down the hall, thoughts still stuck on cat woman. Harper. They're mixing. Mingling. Maybe I'm hallucinating the entire thing and losing my mind. I mean, does the perfect girl even exist? Adrenaline pumps through me as I charge into the garage to find Blake and Harper laughing and standing close enough that if Ryan caught them, he'd start designing Blake's coffin. The conversation between all of us is fuzzy. A stumbling Sadie soon appeared, followed by Ryan, and he’s talking about Harper being off limits or some such shit. But for the life of mel can't remember what I actually said, only that I craved Harper's anger, not her smiles. Her smiles are dangerous, just like Blake's flirtations. Someone needs to warn her about him. Someone also needs to tell Ryan to watch out for our other friend. More words were said, and Harper tried to walk past me like I didn't exist, which pissed me off. Who the hell does she think she is? I'm ready to threaten her as I grab her by the wrist and push her up against the wall, when something familiar washes over me. I can't decipher if it's her scent or if it's just the way she feels. Soft in all the right places, leaving me hard in all the wrong ones. Horrified, I clench my fists at my sides. She blurs in front of me, and I'm more pissed off than I've been. Pissed off that she’s staring at me like I'm the devil, when I've never bothered her before in my life. I want to hurt her because she’s making me react, not because ! have anything other than annoyance with her. “Remember your place, Harper.” A solitary tear falls from her eye and slides down her cheek, dripping off her jaw and onto the space between us. It's then that I realize how close I'm standing in front of her. How we're almost chest to chest, and how the rest of the world goes suddenly blurry. All I can see are brown eyes. All I can smell is her scent, like coconuts and sunshine-like something forbidden that should be mine. “She's here.” I stumble backward and turn, all thoughts of Harper gone from my head as I eagerly search for cat woman. I can still smell her, so she has to be close. It's like she’s haunting me. Harper shoves me and storms away, but I don't even care at this point. I'm way too horny and drunk to care that I hurt her feelings. At least that's what I tell myself. So why does my chest feel tight? Why does the sight of her walking away make me want to chase after her? I must be really wasted-like obliterated. Ryan waves me over to the keg, while I'm ready to smell every girl's neck to see if she's the one. As creepy as it would sound if I was sober, in my current position I'm ready to apply for a Mensa membership at the brilliant thought. I stumble toward Ryan, ready to ask him if he's still having fun when both Sadie and Harper reappear-right along with that same tropical smell again. What the hell? Confused, I take a step closer, but the scent disappears the moment the girls do. “No way,” I say to myself as chase after them. Sadie? Cat woman is Sadie? If that's the case, Ryan has a fucking war on his hands. Too many drunken people stumble in front of me, blocking my way. The world blurs and tilts around me as the alcohol hits. I slam into a few bodies until I finally reach my own front door. The view of Harper holding Sadie up turns from two girls into six. Twelve. Shit, I don't even know how to count anymore as my stomach churns. The driveway looks like it's coming up to greet me as my feet carry me toward all the cars parked out front. I open my mouth to yell wait and instead I stumble to my knees and instantly curse as I bite my tongue. The taste of blood fills my mouth, and the girls are gone. Frustrated, I'm ready to slam the pavement with my hands and look down. But there, near the side of my right knee, is a black cat woman mask. My own version of a fucked up Cinderella. I grip the black mask in my hand and stare, memories of her mouth assaulting me as I shove the mask in my face and inhale. She's cast a spell. I don't know what to do. So, I keep the mask. I keep it and make a promise to myself to find her even if it kills

1. me. How could it be Sadie though? She's so...thin This girl-my girl-i s all woman. My eyes greedily search the lawn, but I don't see any more hints. Frustrated, I get to my feet, carry the mask in my hand, and return to my own stupid party, ready to crash and dream of the one girl I'm afraid will always slip through my fingers