Page 7 of Wicked Devotions

I slide the uneaten portion of my breakfast back into the bag for later. As soon as my feet hit thestone of the patio, I lift my coverup over my head and jump into the pool. When I come back up to the surface, he’s grinning at me while he pulls his burrito out and sits on the end of a lounge chair.

“This pool’s big enough to race in.” He takes a bite.

“It is nice, isn’t it?” I roll onto my back, looking up at brilliant blue occasionally contrasted against fluffy looking white clouds. The pool is a basic rectangle shaped pool twice as long as it is wide. There’s even a black line tiled along one side for lap swimming.

I float around for a few minutes lost in my own thoughts when the sound of Banks jumping into the water makes me shriek in delighted surprise. I feel his hands grip me from below as he launches me up into the air and towards the other end of the pool. We spend the rest of the morning fooling around like our world isn’t going to drastically change yet again in a few days. Denial is our armor.

“May I?”I look down at the ground at Banks’s feet.

“Of course. You don’t have to ask.” He widens hislegs to make room for me to sit at his feet and grabs my hand to help me down.

I can’t explain why I feel so safe and at peace sitting like this, but I do and always have. One night we were watching a movie with friends, and there was nowhere else to sit, so I sat at his feet and rested my head on his lap. The feel of his fingers running through my hair put me at such peace that I fell asleep.

His skin, dusted with blond hair, is warm from the sun as I rest my head on his knee. I sigh in contentment as he drags his fingers lightly over my scalp. All the tension I hold in my body melts away as I sit here with him listening to the waves breaking and birds chirping.

“How are you feeling about all this?” he asks quietly, his fingers never stopping.

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific. Us? The Ambroses? Mom? Dad being in prison?”

“All of it.”

“I don’t want you to be so far away, so that sucks. Cillian seems kind.” Not that appearances matter, I mean look at my own father for an example of how he was a pious man in public and a monster in private. “Declan makes me uneasy.”

“How so?”

“He’s so intense all the time. It feels like he can look into my soul and see all my secrets. Knowing that I have to live with him and his friends is freaking me out.”

“I wish I could be there when you move in.” He frowns and looks down at me, his brows furrowed. “It sucks that you have to go to school with him and can’t come with me.”

“I know.” I press my lips to his knee.

I had actually thought about asking about going to school with Banks. Ultimately, though, I decided it wasn’t my place to ask for that. Cillian has done so much for Mom and me that I wouldn’t want to add any more to the burden.

Just as I’m about to open up about Dad, I feel a shadow fall over me. Three of them to be exact. I look up, and my eyes fall on Declan, flanked by his two best friends and my future roommates. Cyrus Antoniou is rumored to be an heir to the Greek mafia. He’s covered in tattoos and has his jet-black hair piled on top of his head in a bun. Cyrus is intimidating and everything you’d expect based on the stories swirling around him.

In opposition to him is Emerson Sullivan, likely on his way to a medical degree like everyone in his family over the past century. Intelligence andwarmth shines from behind his dark blue eyes. He must be the calm between the two storms of Cyrus and Declan.

“You know there are a dozen chairs to sit in around the pool deck?” Declan sneers down at me as he gestures around at the available seating.

Banks stands and pulls me to my feet at the same time. “I don’t think I got an opportunity to meet your friends last night.” His arm wraps around my shoulder, pulling me close. “I’m Banks, Harper’s boyfriend.”

Declan’s jaw clenches as he stares at Banks’s hand on my skin. I shrink beneath his penetrating gaze. If I could hide behind Banks, I would. But he holds me steady, knowing me well enough to anticipate my natural inclination. He lessens the tension between all of us by engaging in small talk with Emerson.

I lift my eyes, grateful they’re hidden behind oversize sunglasses, to find Cyrus staring at my body. It doesn’t feel like he’s leering, more like he’s trying to figure out a puzzle. Finally, he looks up at my face.

“That color looks incredible on you.”

The unexpected compliment stuns me into momentary silence.

“Thank you,” I finally say. My chest flushes under his attention, a blush working its way up my body at the kind compliment. I’m not used to comments from men about my appearance that aren’t either creepy or mean.

Dad was always on me to lose weight, insisting that I must battle gluttony in order to serve God. It didn’t help that Mom is naturally thin and doesn’t do much to maintain her size two body. She would always find me after the weigh-ins Dad would force me to do and tell me it would all be alright. That I was perfect how I was and not to worry about what he said.

Banks’s phone rings with his mother’s name on the screen. He takes it and steps to the side, leaving me facing my new stepbrother with his friends flanking him.

“You okay if we take a swim?” Declan pulls his shirt over his head, drawing my attention momentarily to his abs.

“Of course, it’s your house.” I step out of the way to turn back to Banks, but Declan wraps his hand around my wrist, stopping me.

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