Free Black Magic (Howl #4) by Jody Morse, Jayme Morse

this?
    Luke glared at her. “Then maybe you should have put on something a little less revealing.”
    Samara’s jaw dropped open. “What’s with you? You’ve never acted like this before, and I’m not sure if I like it, to be completely honest.”
    Other guys are staring at you , Luke said. Brad is probably thinking about how he wants to do you right now.
    Samara knew right away that she was listening to his thoughts. She could hear his voice, but his lips weren’t moving. His voice also sounded louder and clearer than it did over the noisy people laughing in the restaurant and the music that blared from the radio speakers.
    “You’re so ridiculous,” she replied out loud. “It doesn’t matter what he thinks.”
    Conveniently, at that moment, Brad came back over to the table. Keeping his eyes locked on Samara, he asked, “Can I take your orders now, or are you going to need a few more minutes?”
    “Actually, I think we’re done here. This is for your time,” Luke said, slapping a few dollars down on the table in front of him. Turning to Samara, he said, “Come on, let’s go home.”
    With her jaw still hanging open, she muttered an apology to Brad and, reluctantly pulling on her coat, followed Luke out of the restaurant.
    Once they were out in the cold night, Luke turned to her and smiled. “Do you want to go back to your house? We could watch a movie or—”
     
    “Or nothing!” Samara snapped at him. “You just humiliated me in there. I can’t believe you acted like that. I’ve given you no reason to not trust me.”
    Luke’s jaw tightened. “I see.”
    “So, to answer your question, yes I do want to go back to my house. You can drop me off at home,” she said, darting her eyes away from him.
    Once they both climbed into the car, Samara crossed her arms in front of her. They didn’t speak to each other the whole way back to her house.

 
     
     
    Chapter 8
     
    Samara laid in her bed, wiping away the tears as they slid down her cheeks. How could Luke act this way to her? It didn’t seem fair. She had worn the shirt for him and only him—not for Brad or anyone else who might have been staring at her tonight at the restaurant.
    Sam, please listen to me , Luke pleaded.
    She groaned. No, Luke. Leave me alone. I need time to myself to think right now. Deciding that she didn’t want to deal with him right now, she thought about how she didn’t want him to be able to access her thoughts. Immediately, she could feel a barrier in her mind go up, blocking Luke out like the Great Wall of China.
    There was a knock at her door. “Sam?” her mom called. “Is everything okay, sweetie?”
    “I’m fine.” Even as she said the words, Samara knew that they weren’t convincing, so it didn’t surprise her when her mom opened the door and came into the room anyway.
    “Samara, why are you crying?” her mom asked, sitting down on the bed next to her and running a hand through her hair.
    “I-I don’t know,” she replied in between tears. “Just a little argument with Luke. It’s no big deal.”
    She wasn’t going to tell her mom too much about her fight with him because it didn’t really matter how upset she was over it, she was going to have to forgive him eventually. It wasn’t like she could break up with him or something. They were mates; they were in this for the long haul. Saying too much would make her mom start to question her relationship with Luke, and she really didn’t want that.
    “Oh, Samara, you’re fifteen years old, honey. It’s only natural for you and your boyfriend to get into fights occasionally,” Mrs. McKinley murmured. “I’m sure everything will work out in the end.”
    “I know it will,” Samara replied. “I mean, it has to. He’s my mate.”
    Her mom hesitated. “Sweetie, are you sure he’s your mate?”
    “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be sure?”
    Mrs. McKinley shook her head. “No reason. It’s just hard for me to understand . . . as a human and as a parent