Free Wanted by Annika James Page B

He looked at her, eyes wide and innocent. “The dude likes her. It’s no big now.” He pointed his fork at Conor and me.
    “Months?” Conor murmured next to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him grin.
    “Shut it,” I cut off his ego boost. His grin stayed. I turned my focus on Matt. “So you didn’t think to run any of this by me first?”
    He shrugged again. Damn his cool collectedness. “I didn’t see you all morning. Word was spreading. We had to do something fast. Dudes were saying some seriously inappropriate things. Me or Conor, or both, were going to be fighting.”
    “Fighting?” I raised my eyebrows.
    “Yeah. You know, to defend your honor and shit,” Steven piped in with a smile.
    I rolled my eyes. “My saviors. Thank you so much.” I hoped my sarcasm was evident.
    Matt wasn’t affected. “I just told a couple people you guys got together at Conor’s party. I didn’t know you guys had an actual date last night.”
    “It wasn’t really a date,” I put in, not looking for Conor’s reaction. “We just talked.”
    He looked me in the eye, almost sad. “And had pizza.”
    “I missed dinner,” I put in lamely.
    Matt looked away, clenching his jaw. His actions were evidence of why I couldn’t be Matt’s familiar. Our bond as familiar would be so much closer than it was now. I’d never be able to have a romantic relationship without hurting him.
    I changed the subject. “And apparently, I’m going to a party Friday night?”
    He cleared his throat. “Ah, yeah. It’s a Council event. They’ve…uh…requested your presence.”
    I nodded, a bubble of anger formed in the pit of my stomach, churning outward. “Is this how it’s going to be all the time when I’m a familiar?” I looked between Matt and Conor, glaring. “Will you guys make all my decisions for me?” I turned to Cora with a sigh. “I’m starting to think the running away option is sounding good.”
    Her eyes widened in alarm and focused over my shoulder at Conor. He grabbed my hand, forcing me to turn my attention to him.
    “Ash, you can’t think of leaving. Really.” His eyes bore into me, almost imploring.
    Matt had the same look, mouth drawn into a tight line, eyebrows so furrowed, his eyes almost disappeared beneath the ridge of his brow. “Ash, you’ll get hurt. Don’t run. We’ll…” He looked to Conor, who still had my hand, and then back to me, eyes pleading. “We’ll do better, okay? Talk to you first about everything. Just…don’t run.” He looked back at Conor, who was nodding gravely. Jeez, what was with the funeral faces?
    I sighed, the bubble of anger dissipating slowly. “I’m not going anywhere, Matt. I just…” I shook my head, taking my hand back from Conor. “I didn’t want any of this. I don’t want all these random guys hitting on me. And I don’t want you two making decisions for me. I can…I can pretend to date Conor this week, fine, until I decide…whatever. But my life is my own, my decisions are mine to make.”
    Conor nodded in agreement. “Okay. Promise we’ll talk to you about any major decisions.”
    “Told you she’d get mad.” Matt pointed a finger at Conor.
    Conor arched an eyebrow. “Yes. You know her better than I do, something I hope to reconcile soon.” He turned to me, eyes warm.
    I blushed, butterflies taking off in my stomach. He was freaking gorgeous and I was pretend dating him. “Do people actually believe we’re dating?” I asked, incredulity apparent in my voice.
    Conor’s brows drew together. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t they?”
    My hands fluttered. “You know. I mean, Friday night you were dating Victoria and today you’re suddenly with me. Not very logical.”
    Matt made a sound. “It is if he bit you Saturday and decided he liked you. And please don’t get me started on comparing you and Victoria because you would so lose that argument.”
    I chose to ignore Matt’s innuendo about my appeal. I swallowed a nervous giggle, cheeks