Page 96 of I Was Always Yours (RCA: Royal Crown Academy)

Instinctively, I wrap my arms around my body to cover myself.

He drops to one knee without a word, holding my dress just above the ground and opening it for me to step into. When I don’t move, he looks up at me.

“Put your hand on my shoulder if you need it for balance,” he instructs.

That’s not why I haven’t moved. Crouched in front of me like this, with his eyes spearing mine and his hands helping me with my dress, my heart flutters for him.

And I absolutely, one hundred percent cannot have that happen. We made the rules less than half an hour ago and he’s already worming his way through my shoddy defenses to test my resistance.

I step into the dress and grab it, taking it out of his hands and pulling it up myself.

“You can go now.” I say, trying to keep my tone indifferent.

He rises, staring down at me. I don’t look at him, fumbling with the zipper of my dress as I try to tug it up.

“What?”

“I mean that you don’t have to stay and help me get dressed,” I say, getting the zipper about halfway up before it sticks in an area where I have trouble reaching it. “Like we decided, this is just fun. You don’t owe me anything.”

He’s silent for a beat and I desperately want to look into his eyes, but I’m afraid of what I’ll find there.

I don’t know what would hurt more — his typical hatred and disdain or seeing relief on his face at the out I’m offering him.

He decides for me, startling me when his hands twist me around, grab my zipper, and yank it closed with a cold, hard tug.

He releases me as soon as my dress is zipped and when I finally face him, his features are carefully expressionless.

“Noted.” He says, blankly. He turns on his heels, grabs his jacket and walks out without a backwards glance.

My brain fires signals to my legs to go after him but I stop myself after one step.

“Why?”I want to scream at it,“Why can’t you just let him go?”

Chapter 29

Phoenix

When I get home, I slam the door shut behind me. It’s not an easy feat given it’s a twenty-foot wooden double door, but satisfaction licks into my bloodstream when I hear it thunder closed.

I head for the kitchen, needing a glass of water and a large bottle of something much stronger, but come to a surprised halt when I find Rogue and Rhys there.

Rogue is leaning against the counter, arms crossed over his chest, hand holding a glass of whiskey, and head bent dejectedly towards the floor. Rhys is laying on the couch, scrolling through his phone with a sinister look on his face.

There’s a dark energy swirling about the room and neither one acknowledges my arrival.

“What the fuck’s wrong with you two?”

I expected Rogue to be with Bellamy. Those two were already inseparable before they started dating, but since making it official he hasn’t been far from her for more than a couple hours.

As for Rhys, I’m surprised he’s letting Thayer spend the night with her boyfriend without interfering.

“Personally, I’m Googling whether or not I’ll get the death penalty if I kill an American citizen while he’s on Swiss soil.” Rhys mutters darkly.

A smile tugs at the corner of my lips as I sit next to him. That answers that question.

“We’d never let it get that far. You’d spend a couple of days in the slammer, max.”

He looks above his phone at me. “I’m planning on doing some really horrific things to him.”

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