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me?"
    I cupped her face, forcing her eyes to meet mine. "Of course I do, Vix. But I—" I wasn't sure how to tell her that I knew how to touch a girl. Kelly at the end of the street was a junior, but the two-year difference was irrelevant when our bodies met.
    Victoria wanted more than the physical, but I was all thumbs. Me and Victoria had the mental down, the attraction. My throat got itchy when I tried to talk to her, impress her. My stomach knotted and twisted when she was near. But if we did this, it would change everything. I wanted to be sure.
    I didn't want to ruin her.
    So that's what I said.
    Her eyes softened and she nuzzled my hand. "You won't ruin me, Jace. You're the best thing that ever happened to me." She put my hand back where it belonged, on her soft, warm skin. Standing on her blanket in the woods, I held her gaze as I drew up her thighs, hand curving toward her warmth and hitching a breath when I hit her sex, finding no barrier.
    The wildness in her eyes undid me, as she bit her lip and whispered two words: I'm yours.
    I slid into her wetness, her silky juices coating my fingers and her moans wrapping around my heart.
    *
    I chugged the rest of the beer and crushed the can and the memory. It was tangled metal; an indistinguishable mess. That's what I did to her heart. But she'd looked at me tonight like no time had passed at all. Like an explanation would have erased all of my sins.
    The things I'd done, the people I'd hurt—that she couldn't forgive. How could she take me as I was when I couldn't even stand to look at myself in the mirror?
    Uncle Tommy was waiting for my response, dark eyes studying me intently. He’d asked me a question. About my run-in with Mark Benton.
    "He got the message loud and clear."
    Uncle Tommy finished his beer and gave me a nod of approval. "You did good."
    I ran my thumb over my knuckles, remembering the crunch of bone and the wet lick of blood. "I'm heading to bed."
    I went to my room and climbed right in, barely kicking off my boots before I pulled the cover to my chin. I closed my eyes and prayed for dreams of Victoria.

Chapter Seven: Victoria
    M y mother was waiting for me.
    That was weird for two reasons. One: I'd never given my parents cause to wait up. I think I've missed curfew once in my life. Five minutes past midnight...and I called as soon as I knew that not even speeding would get me home on time, throwing myself at the mercy of the court. Two: Even if I were the type to keep a parent up worrying, I wouldn't have expected that the parent that flipped on the light, glowering in my direction, would be my mother.
    I dropped my keys on the table in the entryway, glowering right back. "What's up?"
    She jerked her blond bangs behind her ear, aqua eyes scolding me from a distance. "You tell me."
    I pulled out my cell, the time flashing up at me. It was thirty minutes past twelve. "It's just half an—" I stopped mid sentence and straightened my spine. "I'm eighteen, Mom. Nineteen in three more months. 12:30am is a perfectly acceptable time for me to come home." I kicked off my flats. "It's not like I have class in the morning."
    "I don't know how things worked on campus—"
    "I think you do," I said, heat singeing my tone. "You went to the same school I did. Studied until your eyes bled and—" And watched your friends and classmates dress up and party even harder while you stayed in and studied even more? That was my story. I could count on one hand the number of times I'd been out. It was the reason for my deep-seated hatred of beer and frat boys. My friends on campus called me an old lady, and I pretended their words didn't hurt.
    I eyed my mother. Her eyes said everything. She was imagining all my wild nights. Thinking the worst, as usual. I wouldn't correct her. If she still neglected to see the real me, I'd just be the girl she thought I was.
    "I partied," I lied. "Hard."
    She flinched, like I'd hit her. "Be that as it may, you're not on campus." She sniffed,