Page 61 of Darkest Deception

Blaze, the traitor, caws loudly and shoots off me. He circles her, making me see a sight that I felt starved for.

He sits on her shoulder, then pokes her with his beak.

She softly laughs, lips stretching into a wide smile.

And my heart stops.

My taunts pause, and I don’t call Blaze back to me.

The laugh echoes around me, and my feelings reveal themselves. All these weeks of torture are coming to one conclusion. Like the calm ocean right before a storm is about to hit it, like the silence on a sunny morning. Peace that a person like me has never felt.

“Are you happy to see me? I’m happy to see you, too.” Ambrose laughs as Blaze caws excitedly, flying around her once more before swooping all around the office. Ambrose’s laugh trickles out again as he flies back to her.

And I know this is fucked.

My mind is fucked.

My heart is a traitor.

These feelings will break me. They’ll ruin me.

I need Ambrose out of my system.

20

Thunder cracks the sky open.

Thousands of droplets decorate Helia’s glass office walls, London a mere blur beyond. The wind howls outside; the sound weaves around my mind, bringing a sense of calmness over me.

I am sitting in the office, stuck on a deadline with Helia.

Another loud crack of thunder shakes the windows.

How will I get home?

Working with Helia for the past week has been torture. Not because of the tasks he gave me but because of the heightened tension between us. There are these almost-moments where I have to keep myself from touching him after that little breakdown I had in front of him.

I catch him looking at me in the elevator, and I have to look away. To avoid eye contact.

Now I am more aware of his presence and every single small detail about him than ever.

But I don’t hate what he has done. In fact, I am grateful he was able to stop me before I blurted out why I felt trapped in the elevator in the dark. So, in a way, I am grateful for the kiss.

I should have hated it, but I didn’t.

The slow, seductive way he kissed me was breath-taking. My vulnerable state didn’t allow me to think properly, and I pulled him closer to me. Instead of being ashamed, I was more aware of how he felt against my lips. More aware of how his big, strong hands that once wrapped around my neck to threaten me cupped my cheeks gently, so softly I felt myself turning into a puddle. I felt my emotions flare at his touch.

I couldn’t believe it was the same man, and now, deep in my heart, an echo of a voice begs, demands, to kiss him again, and then I find myself watching his lips all over again.

How could I think about my nemesis like that?

After he helped me? The first to ever do so?

He makes sure to monitor my work and makes me sit in his office to do work with him, but he doesn’t realise that lunches have started to feel less lonely for me. No matter if we bicker or argue or I am glaring and he is teasing me, they don’t feel like the same empty lunches anymore.

In fact, I look forward to that part of my day when, instead of work, it’s just me and him and our small arguments.

“Is rain that fascinating? I thought British people are used to it?” Helia’s voice carries across the empty office as he walks in with two folders. His long legs carry him to stand right next to me in just a couple of steps.

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