Page 39 of Devoted

“I’m not,” Nate protested, holding his hands up placatingly. “You just…you look different. That’s all.”

I glared at Nate, and suddenly he laughed. Then he clapped his hand over his mouth to try and contain it. “Sorry. Just realised what it was.”

“What?” I was starting to wonder if what I wanted from Nate was worth all this bullshit.

“You weren’t frowning.” Nate dropped back into his chair, turning his attention back to his screen. As our resident tech guy, he was kept busy hacking into all the cameras in our vicinity to erase any supe action that had been caught. He did a lot of other shit too, but I’d never really paid much attention if I was being honest. Before Sam, I hadn’t spent longer than a few minutesusing any technology if I could help it. “Guess I’m not used to seeing you without one on your face.”

“I don’t frown all the time.”

He didn’t look back as he replied. “Dude, you’re literally frowning right now.”

I flicked my gaze to the mirror to see he was right. Running my fingers over the grooves in my brow, I wondered if this was how I always looked. Maybe it was, but I’d never cared before.

Why did I suddenly care now?

“Anyway, did you need something? Some CCTV you need me to clean up?”

“No.” I dropped my hand from my face and turned away from my reflection. “Um, I was wondering if you have any headphones I can borrow.”

“What kind?”

“There are different kinds?”

Nate muttered something about me being a grandad under his breath. It didn’t bother me. He was right; I was more stuck in my ways than the rest of them. “Wired or wireless? Over-ear or earbuds? Noise cancelling or not?”

I thought hard. Mainly, I wanted to be able to have my hands free and for none of my housemates to ‘accidentally’ hear Sam over the speaker. “Um, wireless, noise cancelling earbuds.”

“Top shelf, third box from the left,” Nate said, returning to his typing. “They won’t cancel noise for you entirely; our hearing is too sensitive for that. But it’ll help dull out the loudest ones.”

“Thanks.” I grabbed the box in question. The headphones looked brand new, the cellophane packaging intact. “Want me to give them back after?”

“Fuck no.” Nate shuddered. “That’s unhygienic, for a start.”

My lips twitched. “We’re angels, Nate. It’s not like germs affect us.”

“S’not the point,” he said with a sniff. “Keep them. I’ll order another pair.”

“Thanks.” I clapped him on the shoulder. He turned his head to stare down at my hand in confusion. Had I really been that awful to all of them that something as simple as this was considered unusual?

Apparently so, based on how Nate was now eyeing me. “Dunno what’s going on with you, man, but whatever it is, I like it.”

I thought of Sam and my heart flipped in my chest. “I like it too.”

Afew hours later, I was in my room. I’d made sure to lock the outer door to my wing, along with the two inner ones that led to my bedroom. As well as using the deadbolts, I’d also warded each entryway.

It wouldn’t stop a single one of my housemates, but it’d slow them down. I didn’t usually bother with this, not even during the many phone calls I’d now had with Sam. Nor did the other Seraphim usually barge into my space uninvited, but that didn’t mean itneverhappened.

And with what I had planned for Sam, it was sod’s law that they’d choose tonight. I didn’t want any of them interfering or learning about what was going on.

Not that any of them would care, but they’d certainly have questions, Micah especially. After what he’d been through in the past, he was understandably against any of us becoming romantically involved with anyone other than our mates. Itwasn’t forbidden or anything like that, but he didn’t want us suffering.

Like he had for centuries…until he met Nox.

Ever since the pub, Rami had been looking at me differently, staring like he was wondering where my head was at and why I hadn’t tracked Sam down to answer the question I was avoiding.

Unlike me, he didn’t get it. He didn’t understand that sometimes it was better to live in denial than suffer the agony of the truth.

Tonight, I was taking a step I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help myself. If Sam wasn’t my mate, I was going to have to let him go eventually.

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