Page 36 of Wicked Devotions
His expression softens. “We’re not going to do that. It’s just that logistically you having a job makes everything harder schedule wise. Emerson and I have practice and games. Cy has whatever the fuck he has going on. Let’s just table it for now.”
I’ll let him think it’s been tabled for now, but I’m doing this. I give him a brief nod of acquiescence along with a weak smile. I’ve had a lifetime of smiling and nodding, at least I can use that experience to my benefit now.
He leads me out of the buildingand down the paved walkway toward the lecture hall my first class is in today. I haven’t received any more creepy letters, so I decide to try another tactic. It’s worth a shot.
“Have you intercepted any other letters?” I ask as I fall into step beside him.
“No.” He looks over at me. “Why?”
“Do you think it was just a random thing? Some creep with too much time on their hands?”
“Maybe.”
“Can I start going places alone?”
“No.”
“How long do we have to do this?”
“Until we know you’re safe.”
I grab his arm to stop him mid-stride. “Look around.” I throw my arms wide. “No one is jumping out of bushes to grab me. There are no stalkers hiding behind the trees.”
“That you can see. Why take the risk until we know for sure that it was a one off?”
We stand facing each other on the sidewalk, each of us reluctant to let the other win. The urge to stomp my feet and throw a fit simmers beneath the surface. I’ve never given into that desire, and I won’t start now, but I want to.
Everything about Declan makes me want tofight. His arrogance. His attitude. The way that it always has to be his way or the highway, except in my case, there’s just his way.
“Why do you care so much?” I ask.
He flinches at the question. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. I don’t get it.”
His eyes search mine. There’s a brief flash of vulnerability in his eyes before he smothers it with a fake, smug smile. He reaches behind my head and pulls the ribbon free from my hair.
“Guess you’ll have to figure it out, then,” he says with a smirk.
He starts walking again while I smother the urge to scream.
“I really hate when you do that.”
“I know.”
Chapter
Fourteen
BANKS
The best thing about swimming isn’t how cut my muscles get or how healthy it makes me. It’s all the time I have to think, especially during practices focused on long races. While I swim a fifteen-hundred-meter session, it’s just me and the black line at the bottom of the pool.
Harper hasn’t spoken much to me over the past week. It’s understandable, I put a lot out there for her to digest. Especially when she’s been so sheltered most of her life. It was a hard realization for me to come to, and it has to be even harder for her.
I just couldn’t stomach any more of the sadness in her eyes when I’d brush off any physical contact beyond hugs and chaste kisses. I could feel the rejection she felt mirrored back at me in her eyes. She deserves to process this in the way that is best for her.
But fuck, I miss her. Not seeing her face every day is killing me. I miss her laugh and the way she makes everything worth living for.