Page 126 of Living Legend

A laugh caught in my throat. “Hi.”

He cleared his throat but didn’t move away from me. His face was starting to return to normal, as if he was mentally willing it to retreat to his normal Nick features. “Can we talk in my room?”

I shrugged and let him pull me towards his bedroom. He turned the knob to open the door, letting me go ahead as he trailed behind me. I walked halfway inside before I turned around, watching him look over his shoulder before he closed the door behind him. He ripped the strap that held his sword over his head and threw it against the wall. He leaned back, resting against the door as he closed his eyes.

“Are you alright?” I asked, lifting my hand to ruffle through my hair.

He opened his eyes towards the carpeted floor and slowly, so slowly, peeked up at me. His chest rose and fell with his breaths, and I noticed his shoulders were tense.

“Nick?” He let a small, almost shy smile form, some of that tension defrosting a bit.

“I…uh…fuck.” He leaned his head back against the door with a thud. I sauntered over to him, getting so close, I crowded him into the door.

He peered down at me, but he kept his hands at his sides, sliding them into his pockets.

“Is everyone okay?” I meant Elise and Reese.

“Yeah, they’re fine.”

“Natalia?”

“She’s fine.”

I hummed. “But you aren’t fine?”

His eyes widened. “Dani, I’m totally fine.” His voice was shaky.

I snorted. “Very convincing.”

“Dani…”

“Did something happen when you were there? You told me you would tell me everything.”

He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. “I know. I know I did.”

“Do I need to give you motivation?” I asked, letting my tongue dart out between my teeth. I moved further into him, letting my hands dip under his shirt to explore his abs and chest.

He let out a soft moan, his eyes starting to get a little hooded. I got up on my toes and let my lips drag along his, feeling him open his mouth in a kiss. My tongue darted out to probe inside his mouth, and he met it with his own. He removed his hands from his pockets and grabbed my waist, letting his fingers touch the exposed skin my crop top allowed. I felt him squeeze me and then I was being pushed away. I teetered on my feet a little but blinked at him, confused.

“What?” I asked, annoyed. “Don’t tell me you are back to “we can’t do this” territory?”

He shook his head. “No. No…that’s not it at all.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “Then what? What has you all—” I waved my hand up and down his body. “Like this all of sudden, huh?”

He opened his mouth to speak, those lips of his moving, but nothing came out. He let out a long groan, placing both his hands to the back of his head and pushing upward, making his hair stick up in the back.

“Dani, you…I…ugh, fuck!” he yelled, but not loud enough for his dad or Daya to hear. I flinched, realizing this was a new side of him I was seeing. Something happened while he was in Oculus, something that caused him to lose his words. I didn’t like this.

“Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad, right? I’ve likely heard worse.”

His face looked pained when I said this, and now, I was more confused than ever. He took one slow step at a time towards me as he crossed one of his arms over his chest, looking more anxious than he had before. His eyes drilled into my own, as if he wanted to pin me to this spot for eternity. He slid his tongue over his lips, letting out an unsteady breath, nervous energy radiating off him.

“I found out something.”

I blinked once, waiting.

He squinted, as if his next words were ones he didn’t want to say. “About you.”

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