Page 27 of Wicked Devotions

He shrugs but stays put as I begin to dab at the dried blood on his face. “I guess that’s why you took all your piercings out?”

“Most of them.” The corner of his lips tilts up before he sticks out his tongue and runs the barbell of his piercing over them. “Except the hidden ones.”

I don’t respond to that as I focus on putting a butterfly bandage over the cut near his eye. He runs his thumb over his lip, and I notice his knuckles are bruised and bloody, too. I grab his fingersand lift his hands for closer inspection, surprised by how calloused they are beneath my own. For some reason I didn’t expect that.

“Why would you risk your hands like this?” I ask quietly.

“Are you going to tell me why Banks is sleeping on the couch instead of in your room?” He dodges the question with one of his own.

I sigh before meeting his eyes. “He made a confession to me tonight that changed things.”

“He’s gay,” he says it like a statement, not a question.

“No.” I drop his hands. “Why would you think that?”

“Just a guess. He doesn’t seem to be into you on a physical level is all.” He holds his hands up. “I don’t mean that in a negative way or anything. Just an observation.”

I focus on cleaning up everything, trying to figure out how much is okay to share with him. He’s the closest thing I have to a friend, though. I have to talk about it with someone.

“Promise not to tell anyone? Even Declan and Emerson?”

“Promise,” he replies with no hesitation.

“He told me he’s asexual.” I wait for any kind ofreaction, but Cy just looks at me with understanding, waiting for me to continue. “I didn’t even know that was a thing. I’ve been up reading about it all night. Trying to understand, but the more I read, the more questions I have.”

He takes my hands. “That’s big. He’s lucky to have someone so empathetic that instead of becoming angry, which could be a very valid reaction to that news, looks to understand first.”

I blink away tears and look over his shoulder. His kind words only add to the guilt because I’ve definitely spent a good bit of time wondering what all this means for me. I mean, I know Banks said he’d be fine with me exploring my sexuality with other people, but it’s hard for me to even understand how that could work.

“Do you want a hug?” he asks.

I nod and walk into his open arms. He smells like gasoline and sweat, but I don’t care because he feels like the safest place for me at this moment. With him wrapped around me, I feel cocooned from the realities of my life right now. He stands there for me steadily, never rushing me to let go.

“Thank you,” I whisper against his chest.

“Don’t thank me. I’m already plotting ways to get you into my bed.”

His joke does as intended, making me giggle because as if he would want to waste his time on me. I’m completely inexperienced, and he probably has wild sex. I couldn’t keep up. I expect to see him laughing with me when I release him from the hug, but he’s not.

“Do you need anything before I go upstairs?”

“No, I feel better now having talked to someone about it. Maybe I’ll actually be able to sleep now.”

He follows me out of the bathroom and into my bedroom, lingering at the door while I crawl back in bed.

“Goodnight, Angel.” He flips the light off and closes the door behind him.

Banksand I tiptoed around each other all morning. His confession hangs heavy between us while we made breakfast and ate quietly on the patio. We shared a few hours of polite small talk and conversation about our classes before he packed up his things and left.

After a lingering hug and I love yous were exchanged, I went inside to do what I do best when I’m working through something hard. Clean.Starting in the kitchen I work my way from wiping surfaces to mopping the floor. Once that’s done, I move on to all the other rooms on the main level of the house. I’m in the half bath cleaning the baseboards when I feel a presence lingering over me.

“We have a cleaner that comes every two weeks. You don’t need to clean like that,” Declan says.

I sit back on my heels and use my forearm to brush a stray lock of hair out of my eyes. “I don’t mind. Cleaning helps me think things through.”

“What’s wrong?” He tilts his head to the side as he looks down at me.

“Nothing.” I already told Cy what was going on, I don’t want to break Banks’s confidence even more. “I’m fine.”

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