Read Online Painfully Ordinary Special Edition by Stephanie Amox - Free Book Online

time for jokes. At that moment, Ryan looked up, caught my gaze and smiled. He was the only person I knew who could
make it look menacing. He gestured back at Tami, and I shuddered.
    Talon gathered me close to his broad chest and whispered,
“I told you. You are mine to protect. I will not allow anyone or anything to
harm you.”
    I rested my head on his chest. “I know. I trust you
completely.”
    Leah reached over, taking my hand with trembling fingers. “Come
on Cay-bear. I think we need a drink.”
    My eyes widened at her reaction. She must
have been more shaken by Jace’s reaction than I had previously thought. She
led me around the far side of the bonfire where they stored the coolers.
    She grabbed a couple bottles of water and handed one to me.
I fidgeted with the label and scanned the crowd until I found Jace and Talon,
who were conversing with their heads together, surveying the circle. They were
obviously assessing anything and everyone. I glanced over and realized Tami was
staring at me with an ominous expression. She spoke to a small, thin man with
shaggy, blonde hair and handed him a small package.
    There was something wrong with him; his features were
almost inhuman. He murmured something over the package and tossed it into the
bonfire. The flame burned a bright blue as the smoke thickened and poured over
the crowd. Suddenly, the strange little man was nowhere to be
seen and startled applause broke out from the rest of the partiers.
    The sulphur smell coming from the smoke was awful, though,
and choked us. Leah and I coughed and waved our hands in front of our faces,
trying to clear the air. Talon’s head snapped up and his eyes detonated into a shocking
blue. He sprinted in our direction. The hair on the back of my neck was
standing on end and nausea washed over me. Leah’s eyes watered and she had a
look of sheer terror, although it didn’t seem to be affecting anyone else as severely.
    “Let’s go back to Jace and Talon. We must be standing
downwind or something,” Leah said, her voice tight and shaky.
    I nodded. “I’m right behind you.”
    We wound our way back through the increasing smoke around
the circle, pushing our way through the people who had begun dancing. Suddenly
a pair of rough hands grabbed me on either side of my waist and yanked me back
away from the fire dragging me toward the tree line.
    I breathed a sigh of relief. Talon had found me. I turned
around feeling very grateful, but found myself face-to-face with Ryan instead. My
face fell in fear.
    “Hi Caiti, where are your new buddies? I thought they kept
you on a pretty short leash. They haven’t left you
alone since transferring here.”
    I started to back away in panic, but he seized my wrist in
an iron grip.
    “Didn’t you tell him about us ? It would really be a shame if something happened to him,
wouldn’t it?”
    “There is no us!” I snapped.
    I shook violently in his grasp. This was exactly the reason
we had always avoided these parties. It was my worst nightmare come true—trapped
alone with Ryan, in the middle of nowhere. I couldn’t see Leah, Talon or Jace anywhere, and Talon should have made it to me by
now. My head throbbed. Was it the smoke or something else?
    Ryan tilted his face to the side. “Wait around for a while,
Caitlin. I have some new friends as well, and they are dying to meet you. Egan should be here in just a few minutes.”
    Wrapping his arm around my waist, he held me tightly. He moved
me closer to the bonfire on the side nearest the creek and nuzzled my neck.
    The bile rose dangerously in my throat. I searched for a
way out.
    Great, my choices of escape were water or the damn fire.
    I struggled, but his grip was merciless. The music silenced
for a moment and everyone began counting down to midnight - when the Goat Man was rumored to appear.
    Could it really be that late? How long had I been here with
Ryan? Surely, Talon didn’t think this was where I wanted to be?
    I reached up to rub my