Page 53 of Wicked Devotions

“I’ve been busy.”

“Clearly.” I wrap an ice pack in a towel and set it on top of the angry joints. “What triggered it? Another nightmare?”

“No. I actually slept really well the night before.” He leans back against the counter and looks at me with something akin to guilt on his face. “I slept in Harper’s room.”

My eyebrows lift. “Just slept?”

“No, but we didn’t have sex.”

“Was she upset about whatever you did the next morning? Did you fight?”

“No, she was asleep. I noticed cigarette burns all over her side.”

It all makes sense now. “I see. Did she explain how she got them?”

“She doesn’t know I saw them. She wouldn’t let me take her shirt off while we were messing around. In the moment I just figured it was a modesty thing since she’s so shy.”

“You think it was her dad?”

“It makes the most sense.”

“Does Declan know?”

“Yeah, he walked in on me going at the bag. Myknuckles would probably be in worse shape had he not walked in when he did.”

“Does he know that you hooked up?”

“Yeah.” He shrugs. “Took it better than I thought he would.”

“Good. Are you going to pursue something with her?”

“Maybe.” He thinks about it for a minute. “Actually, yeah. I’d like to. Is that okay with you?”

“You know I’m open to just about anything as long as everyone is safe, happy, and consenting.”

“I need you to keep that open mind a little bit longer.”

“Fuck.” I scrub a hand over my face knowing whatever he’s about to hit me with won’t be good.

“I have another job from my uncle. It’s in Greece.”

“No.”

“It’s the last one.”

“Bullshit!” I yell. “He says that every time.”

“This is it, truly.” He holds his hands up. “It’ll be around fall break. I think we should all go. We could rent a sailboat and explore some of the smaller islands.”

He knows sailing is my one weakness. The only hobby I have aside from soccer. It’s a dirty play, butone I can’t resist. Especially knowing that I don’t have anything scheduled that week aside from studying. Still, I can’t just give in.

“Maybe. We’ll see what Dec and Harper think. She might want to be close to her mom over the holidays.”

He glances at the clock on the microwave behind my shoulder. “Speaking of, what time are they supposed to be back today?”

“Soon. He texted me when they were on their way.”

“I’m going to take a quick shower in that case.” He tosses the ice pack to me.

---