Page 40 of Deck of Scarlets
“Why? So, you can make me finish what I started?” I hissed. Kal’s face fell. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”
Josh stood straight, his eyes darting back and forth between us. “What’s going on?”
Kal ignored him and took another step toward me, a hand outstretched. “Please, Remi.”
“No. I’m not leaving with you,” I snapped, stepping back.
Josh pivoted so he was now blocking me from Kal. “What did you say to her?”
Kal’s jaw flexed, his nostrils expanding. “For once, Josh, this doesn’t concern you.”
“Actually, it does,” he sniped. His arm extended to secure me behind his back.
“Remi and I…” Kal rolled his neck as if he were trying to hold back from getting physical. I wouldn’t lie and say that didn’t scare the absolute shit out of me. “We had a moment in the janitor’s closet at school, all right?”
Josh peered down at me. “With him?” Disbelief coated his words like he couldn’t believe I let him touch me again.
As much chagrin as that one look gave me, now was not the time to revisit my past mistakes. And I’d be damned if these two clowns distracted me from the true reason I came here in the first place.
“Where’s Heather?”
Kal leaned to the left so his eyes caught mine. “At the ceremony, which we should be going to now.”
Josh crossed his arms, once again obstructing my view of Kal. “Only you, Kal, would find an excuse not to face your terrible actions.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. As much as he pissed me off the other night with the whole campus curfew bullshit, he wasn’t afraid to make a spectacle of Kal’s shitty behavior.
It made me chuckle, which caused both men to turn and give me a look. “As much as I enjoy this banter between you two fools, I need to find my roommate, so if you’ll excuse me—”
Josh stopped me mid-step. “You have no idea where you’re going. Let me guide you.” The emphasis on ‘me’ made it pretty clear that Kal wasn’t allowed to come anywhere near us on our little adventure through the cathedral.
Without taking his eyes off me, Josh signaled for Kal to move along. I’d never seen the man so furious when he breathed a rough sigh and slammed the door behind him, shaking the hinges in his wake. Relief from the absence of him released the tension from my shoulders.
“Remi, promise me something.” My eyes wandered up to those baby blues, dazzling under the ceiling lights. He was too close; way too fucking close. His breath, a delicious peppermint, caused my mouth to water for such forbidden feelings. I desperately wanted something to hold on to, just to keep my wits about me. “Yes?”
“Don’t ever find yourself alone with that man again. I don’t give a shit if he’s a part of the society. I don’t trust him alone with anyone, especially you.”
“I think after what I just witnessed, the likelihood of that happening again is slim to none.”
His eyes lingered a little too long on my lips as he wet his own with that fucking tongue. “Good, because I don’t think I can hold back from crushing his fucking skull.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Violent, aren’t we?”
“For you, yes.”
Chapter Seventeen
Iblinked a few times, trying to register the words that just came from that glorious mouth. “For me?”
“Nickie would kill me herself if I let anything bad happen to you.” His words were a giant slap in the face, enough for me to regain common sense. How stupid was I to entertain the idea of him feeling anything toward me?
I nodded, internally embarrassed by his false declaration. “Right.” Then another thought occurred. “Speaking of Nickie—”
“Not now, we have to get to the ceremony.” Not now? Or not ever? She must know, right?
Josh didn’t waste another second as he led the way. I stepped past the threshold to find myself in a well-lit hallway with a deep, rich-blue carpet and walls made of beige marble.
Josh had me follow him out the door at the end of the hall to reveal a spiral staircase descending to God knows where. I hesitated at the top step, looking over the railing to see others dressed in scarlet capes, some in white. A few males escorted a white-caped lady at the bottom, the identical bows and arrows strapped to their backs.