Dusk (Young Adult Paranormal Romance) Read Online Free

maybe his name.
    Halfway to my locker, I caught sight of him. With Nikki Hughes. And Courtney Powell. Nikki was clearly on the prowl, judging by the way she slid her hand down his arm. Gag me.
    Looking the other way, I pushed my way through the crowded hall and reached my locker. Naturally, Nikki’s voice rose louder as I got closer.
    “There’s a party at Chad Blevins’s place tonight,” she said. “All the important people will be there.”
    Like Nikki, Chad’s parents had money, and didn’t mind spending it on their son, to the point that Chad was as spoiled as Nikki, with just as big a sense of entitlement. I was quite sure there would be plenty of alcohol at Chad’s get-together, and probably other stuff I didn’t want to think about.
    How had I ever thought I wanted any part of that craziness? Then I remembered the numbness I’d been looking for. The empty nothingness that had seemed to help me escape the awful mix of emotions I’d had after my father left. Then died.
    Thank goodness I’d realized how insane an idea that had been before I screwed up any worse.
    “I can swing by and pick you up.” Nikki’s voice screeched above the noise of slamming lockers and teenage chatter. “Or we could take your bike.”
    For a split second I considered asking her what was going on with the drunk driving charges, but I really didn’t want to stoop to her level.
    “No thanks,” came an unfamiliar voice. And what a nice voice it was. Deep and rich, and different from any voice I’d ever heard. “But it was nice to meet you.”
    I hung my backpack in my locker and looked around for Viv, while Nikki continued to call after biker-guy. I rolled my eyes. He’d been polite, but pretty clear. He wasn’t interested. Yet she persisted.
    Desperation was not an attractive quality in a female.
    Looking to my left, I saw Viv making her way down the hall. And then he stepped into my vision, blocking out Viv and the rest of the chaos in the hallway.
    Umm, wow. He was even better up close. The ability to speak left me.
    “Hey,” he said, and considering he was standing so close, I knew he was talking to me.
    I looked up. Way up. He had to be over six feet tall. And looked straight into the most gorgeous set of baby blues I’d ever seen. The deep green shirt he wore today accentuated the color of his irises.
    Black hair and blue eyes were totally hot together.
    “I saw you yesterday,” he continued, unaffected by my stunned silence. “I’m Adrian.”
    Adrian. It suited him. His name was just as beautiful he was.
    I should talk. Say something. Introduce myself. Wipe the drool from my chin.
    “Zoe,” I squeaked, cringing at how stupid I sounded. “Zoe Gray.”
    “Adrian Shaw.” He stuck his hand out, waiting for me to shake it.
    I stared at his hand. He wanted me to put my hand in his, and even as I told myself it was just a simple greeting, the thought of feeling his skin against mine left me frozen.
    Snap out of it! Act like you have a brain, not just raging hormones!
    I gripped his hand. His fingers closed around mine, and everything inside me went still, calm… right . The noise around me stopped. The bustle of the kids in the hall faded away. And I found myself lost in the feeling of my hand in his, drowning in the way his eyes searched mine.
    “I’m living with my aunt, Maggie Turner.” His voice snapped me out of my trance, and at the same time anchored me to him even more. “She lives down the road from you, I guess.”
    “Yes.” I nodded, pulling my hand from his with a healthy amount of regret. “I know her. She bakes cakes, right?”
    “Right.” He leaned a shoulder against the locker next to mine, as if settling in for a long conversation. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other, since we live so close.”
    “I guess,” I said, turning to look at my locker, in an attempt to not stare at him. Besides, I needed to grab my Pre-Calculus book for second period. I didn’t want to have to make a