Page 35 of Knight

“Uh,” I hesitate. Is Christian asking me on a date?

Scratching the back of his neck with his free hand, he searches my face for a clue. “C’mon Jo, you gotta eat. And don’t tell me you ate breakfast this morning.”

Looking down at my body, bony knees in my tights and knee-highs. Is it that obvious?

“I can’t skip class,” I say, glancing towards the doors. “And I have to find Damien.”

“Let him wait.” He takes my other hand, a look on his face like a pleading puppy. “I waited. And you don’t have to worry about classes when you’re with me. Trust me.”

The image of Christian in my bed plays in my head as I watch the strained look on his face like I’m breaking his heart. Something is holding me back but I can’t figure out what it is.

Fuck, what’s breakfast? He stayed with Willow all night and for that, I can at least spend the first period with him.

A smile starts on my face before I give him a playful eye roll. “Alright charmer, let’s do breakfast.”

His grin grows, exposing gleaming white teeth that damn-near blinds me. “Yeah?” His hand tightens on mine, encasing it in warmth.

“Ah-huh.” I hope I don’t sound as distracted as I feel. “But, give me a minute.”

“Alright.” He looks down at his shoes, a couple of swooning girls casting their jealous stares. “I’ll be by the car.”

As I climb the stairs, I text Nate and Allie about my plans. When I get inside, Lea, Damien, Isaac and Georgina are sitting around the giant tree in the front foyer. A few of Lea’s minions sit on her left and it’s like nothing changed. Damien looks less fucked up than he did before, but the way he’s twirling that coin, eyes fixed on nothing, makes me wonder if he’s actually sober.

They don’t look at me until I’m in front of them and I ignore the whispers coming from Lea’s Trust Fund Trolls. “Damien, we need to talk.”

Lea scoffs as Damien’s gaze shifts to mine, grey-blue eyes as icy as the arctic. A cackle comes from beside him, “What on earth are you wearing?” Lea asks.

Damien’s eyes wander my body. From my head to my boots, stopping at my chest before he asks, “Is that my uniform, Medusa?” I catch the bite of his lip, a hint of a smirk, but I won’t let it falter me. No matter how sexy that looks. I can’t believe he’s acting like we didn’t spend the night together. But what’s new?

Let’s fix that.

I let the cat out of the bag, raising my voice so everyone around us hears it. “I needed something to wear after spending the night in your bed. Why didn’t you wake me, sweetie?”

His jaw clenches, a hand coming to my arm and I’m starting to wonder why I even care about telling him what I heard. Why do I even try to help him when he can’t decide how he wants to treat me? I try to pull from his hold but his grip tightens, dragging me down the hall before my back hits a wooden locker. He’s in my face. The usual.

“What do you think you’re doing, Medusa?” His breath hits my lips. Peppermint and weed, but there’s no sign of alcohol as I look for any residue around his nose. The heat from his body makes the warmth in mine rise. And when I look into his eyes they seem cold, distant.

Knowing Damien is like heavenly hell. Like being with both Jekyll and Hyde and it looks like his other side has come out to play.

“Believe it or not,” I say. “The only reason I’m talking to you after leaving me last night is to tell you something important.”

“You’re saying a lot of words but I don’t hear an explanation,” he growls, eyes falling to my lips, heat rising to my cheeks. He presses into me and I push back. My body might look tall and athletic but it does nothing against his strong, rigid frame. His cock twitches against me and I know this is as hard for him as it is for me—pun intended.

He still wants me. At least his body does. So I forget the reason why I’m here when the question falls out of my mouth, “Why’d you leave?” Locking in on his steely gaze, the world around us disappears again. I’m not even sure I’m only talking about recently. I want to know why he left me that morning and never came back.

“Why?” Damien breaks our staring contest, eyes dropping to my tits. My nipples pucker under his gaze like they know they’re getting some of the King’s attention. “Were you looking forward to a morning fuck?”

He’s deflecting and I’m fighting hard to ignore his words when I give up and say, “Your aunt’s up to something.” Ignoring how good his body feels against me, my hands come to his chest, ready to leave … whatever this is. “You might not care about me but for some reason I feel obligated to tell you.”

Damien presses back, moving my hands to my side with little effort. Shit, how strong does playing hockey make you? “What do you mean up to something?”

“Her and Cindy have an arrangement? I don’t know, Damien. I heard it this morning when you left me.” The emphasis on “left me” comes out whether I want it to or not.

He cocks a thick dark eyebrow, “You think something’s up?”

“Something’s been up since the day I set foot in this school. But, yeah. Might wanna check it out. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go.” I’m tempted to tell him where I’m going so I can see that jealous rage again. So I can know that it’s not only me feeling these things. Lust. Want. Need.

“How do I know you’re not lying?” he asks, not pressing up at all. “How do I know you didn’t make all this up?”

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