Free Damage Me (Crystal Gulf Book 2) by Shana Vanterpool Page A

here. Why?”
    I didn’t want to move from the door. He hadn’t. I wouldn’t either. “It’s not my idea of fun.”
    “What is?”
    Why was he pretending to want to know me? “I don’t know. What’s yours?” Maybe if he talked about himself he’d be more willing to end this awkward exchange. Move! I wanted out of this room, into my car, and out of this house. Jona was right. I should’ve left.
    “This,” he said, tone low, eyes lower. “Let’s sit down.” He took my arm again and led us deeper into the room. There were beanbag chairs on the floor. He pulled both close and pointed. “Pink or purple?”
    On the edge of my thoughts the unpleasant feeling chasing me around began to intensify. I sat slowly, watching him settle into the purple beanbag chair. He crossed his legs and then folded his hands in his lap. Not once had his eyes strayed from me.
    “You’re not drinking your beer.”
    I refrained from rolling my eyes and took a long swig. One, so I could look elsewhere, and two, so he could get off my back. If I finished it, we could leave to get another, and then I could finally be free. I closed my eyes and drank the beer down, swallowing the gritty chalkiness at the bottom. “There.” I set the empty bottle down on the floor. “Beer’s gone.” When I looked at him, he was grinning.
    His grin made my blood chill. It wasn’t happy. It was pleased, the way Mr. Pinchman is when his dog obeys. I looked down and pulled my skirt, trying to cover my thighs. Why did I agree to wear this?
    His foot began to tap. I stared at his white sneaker, watching the heel rapidly hit the ground.
    “You’re so damn hot, Hillary.”
    My eyes shot to his face. “Umm …” How was I was supposed to respond to that? “Not a compliment I get every day. Thanks?” My question hung there, dangling from his unsettling smile.
    “Aren’t you attracted to me?” He licked his lips.
    I shifted in my beanbag chair. I felt pinned down to this one spot, as if his presence was imprisoning me. My thoughts felt slightly off balance. “Zane.”
    “Yes or no?” His tone darkened. “It’s a simple question. You either want me, or you don’t? Not that it matters,” he continued quietly. He glanced down at the black watch on his wrist, and then returned his eyes to my face. “Answer me.”
    Piper found this attractive? What’s so attractive about this ? “I don’t want you,” I admitted as nicely as I could. My head began to feel heavy. I shook it and found that my limbs had grown heavier. I felt a part of the beanbag chair. “I’m not like all your other girls.”
    “I know. That’s why I want you.”
    My stomach turned. I attempted to clutch at it, but when I tried to bring my hand up it took me a second to comprehend the motion. “I don’t feel good.”
    “You shouldn’t.” He leaned forward. “You just swallowed Rohypnol. Enough for four people actually. You really shouldn’t leave your opened drinks around people you don’t know, sweetheart. There’s some bad people out there.”
    My head snapped up, but when I tried to focus I couldn’t. My blood pumped quicker, making it hard to think. Rohypnol? In my confusion the word felt bad, rude, this frightening entity in the room waiting to get me. Fear exploded on the edge of my brain. Date-rape drug. I didn’t even think about it. I tried to bolt to my feet. But the action was sloppy, and my legs felt weak. I made it one step before my knees hit the ground. This consuming fear, a level I had never experienced before, shot through my body. It sped up my blood, intensified the poison in my body.
    “No!” I shouted, when his arms came around my waist. But my words were gibberish.
    “Oh shut up,” Zane snapped, picking me up easily. I tried to claw at his face. He knocked my hands away. When my teeth sought his flesh he threw me on the bed and followed his weight with my body. “You can’t come to a party dressed like that, look like this, and then expect