Captivate Me (Book One: The Captivated Series) by S.J. Pierce Read Free Book Online

looking for dresses,” I
added.
    He instantly perked. “Oh! For the
dance?”
    “Yep.”
    “I guess I should have asked you,
huh?” he said, kissing my head again, “In case you weren’t clear
that I wouldn’t want to go with anyone else.”
    I chuckled. “I already made that
assumption.”
    “Dude…” Ronnie
interrupted. “You didn’t ask her?”
    “I didn’t have to!” he
argued.
    “Do I have to show you
how everything’s done?” He grabbed Anna’s hand and kneeled, laying his
football on the ground beside him. Her eyes widened, her face
flushing with embarrassment and joy. “Anna-Grace?” he said
theatrically, almost too melodramatic to sound genuine. Everyone in
the courtyard paused to observe, and my own face flushed
pink.
    “Y-yes?” she managed.
    “Will you do me the sublime honor of
accompanying me to the dance?”
    “Of course,” she said, and I could
tell she tried with every fiber of her being not to squeal and jump
up and down.
    Ronnie kissed her hand and
slid a glance at Levi. “Now that’s how it’s done.”
    Levi rolled his eyes as if to say,
“oh, brother.”
    Everyone in the courtyard clapped
enthusiastically, and as Ronnie stood to give Anna a hug, I turned
to Levi to make sure Ronnie hadn’t completely humiliated him. He
looked like someone had taken away his favorite toy. “Hey,” I said,
nudging him. “You didn’t have to ask me.”
    He shrugged and averted his eyes. “But
maybe I should have.” Yep, he was embarrassed.
    I took his face in my hands, making
sure his eyes met mine and clung. “Hey,” I insisted. “I didn’t need
you to ask me. I know how you feel.” I hated the look on his
handsome face – sad and frustrated with himself. I fought the urge
to kiss him right then and there.
    “Good. But I’ll ask you formally if
you want me to.”
    I smiled, holding his gaze until he
smiled back. “You’re plenty romantic as it is,” I said, thinking of
the flower. I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Thank you for the
flower last night.”
    Surprised, his head jerked from my
grip. “Flower?” he replied, his smile wavering.
    “Yeah…” I searched his eyes, confused.
Did he have amnesia? “The one you put on my pillow last
night?”
    He blanched. “I…” Humiliation seeped
back into his face. “I didn’t leave you a flower, Kat.”
    The revelation stopped my
heart for a beat, and my hands dropped to my sides. He didn’t? Well
who did?
    “Did they leave a note?”
    I shook my head, numb. Who
the hell would sneak into my room in the middle of the night?
Hoping to conjure a face or an explanation, I scoured my memories
of classes and everyone I’d talked to the past week. Nothing stuck
out. I focused back on his face, hardened with jealousy. So much
for making him feel better. I pressed my hand over his heart. “I
don’t care about the flower,” I said confidently, although my
elusive visitor both intrigued and horrified me. Had they watched
me sleep? And quite frankly, I did care, but I wouldn’t let him know that it made me
feel anything at all. “If it wasn’t from you, I don’t want
it.”
    He ran his hand through his hair, his
eyes portraying his internal struggle to grasp it all. This
bothered him more than being shown up by Ronnie, and he wouldn’t be
able to shake it as easily, either. Maybe I should kiss him now;
that would be the only thing that could turn this disaster of a
morning around. Why couldn’t anything go smoothly for
us?
    Honk! Honk!
    We all turned to see Sarah
and Ivy waving us to come on. Jeez! I held up my finger to say “hold on.” We were
well past our agreed upon leave-time, but the dresses would still
be there if we didn’t leave for five more friggin’ minutes. I
wanted to make sure Levi was okay. “Have fun,” he said, giving me a
quick hug and heading for the courtyard. I pulled on his arm.
“Levi,” I said, desperate to make him feel better. He turned to me
with an unreadable expression. It killed me.