Forbidden, Tempted Series (Book 1) Read Free

Abel cried, shoulder-bumping her and making her smile with relief.
    “A friendly face.”
    “You happy to see me?” His thick wavy hair slipped into his eye.
    She nodded. “Yes.”
    “Well, come on, I want to introduce you to my gang.”
    Flint followed, laughing. “So does it make you guys cool to be sitting with a senior?”
    He snorted. “No, it makes you cool to be sitting with us.”
    His eyes twinkled and she liked him a little more.
    A petite Asian waved at them. The weird flutters in her stomach started up again. It wasn’t that she was shy, but it was always awkward doing the whole “hi, I’m new” thing. You’d think after three moves, it would get easier. But it never did.
    It wasn’t until Flint dropped into her seat that it dawned on her the table next to theirs was full of Goths. Black-wearing, thickly muscled ones. All of them sporting shades, and at their silent center... sat a very brooding Cain.
    “Rhi couldn’t make it,” the Asian girl said from the corner of her mouth.
    Abel rolled his eyes. “Lemme guess, working on her routine or something?”
    “Or something.”
    Flint swallowed hard, back running thick with goose bumps as she felt the force of Cain’s heated stare penetrate her thin cotton shirt.
    The Asian girl smiled and held out her hand. “Hey, I’m Janet!” she chirped, flashing a deep right dimple. She wore cat’s-eye glasses and was dressed in a colorful blue-jean skirt and cream top. Her bangs were blunt-cut and straight, and her hair was beyond perfect. Beautiful, black, and thick. So the antithesis of Flint’s wild auburn waves.
    Grateful to have something to focus on other than Goth Boy, Flint smiled weakly at Janet.
    “Hey,” she said, shaking hands.
    The tinkling jangle of Janet’s ornately decorated golden wristbands drew her eye. Different from anything Flint had ever seen before, they barely moved, almost seeming to be painted on, and yet they definitely made a chiming noise. Which was weird.
    Flint didn’t much do the jewelry thing, but she might for the slim bracelets. They were gorgeous, looking crafted by a master goldsmith. “Hey, where’d you get those?”
    Janet glanced up and a brief flash of... something... danced through her eyes. As quick as it appeared, it was gone. Flint blinked and shook her head, wondering if she was going crazy. For a second it’d looked like the golden flicker of flame.
    “Oh this.” Janet wiggled her wrist, and deep brown eyes with no trace of whatever Flint’s crazy mind had conjured up smiled back at her. “Mom bought it from some witch doctor in Budapest.” She shrugged and pressed her lips tightly together.
    Budapest. That was awesome, but Janet was giving off strong vibes that the topic was closed.
    Turning toward Abel, Janet nibbled on a french fry and said, “New meat, huh?”
    Abel nodded at her knowing look, a deep scarlet blush staining his cheeks. He muttered something and then took a huge bite out of his tuna-fish sandwich, leaving crumbs on the corners of his lips.
    Flint wiggled in her seat, feeling suddenly strange. Like there was a silent conversation happening between them, something they didn’t want her to know about but that somehow involved her. She frowned, weirded out and wondering if maybe she should go out to the bleachers after all.
    Janet shook her head, wiping away whatever censure she’d turned on Abel and again the mood was back to normal.
    Maybe she was going crazy? Maybe Cain’s stare-down in chem was making her way more prone to seeing things that weren’t there.
    “So where you from?” Janet blinked huge owl eyes at her, tone chirpy and not in the least bit annoyed like it’d seemed to be earlier.
    Flint picked at the gooey cheese on her slice of pizza. “Everywhere.” She grinned. “Though no place as cool as Budapest.”
    Janet snorted. “Really? That sounds cool .”
    But the way she said it made it sound anything but. Janet popped a fry in her mouth.
    Flint pushed her