Page 42 of Infernal

There was too much darkness and uncertainty there.

Too much confusion.

Minutes ticked by as the noxious turmoil inside of me slowly melted into the darkness of the room, bringing me at one with it again. Footsteps sounded on the other side of the room, drawing my attention to the wall that separated me from Dominic. My stomach lurched as I realized he was probably in there with Sandy, doing things I really didn’t want to think about. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to think of other things—anything—but instead, my mind immediately segued to the newly acquired memory of Dominic confessing his feelings for me.

I am ruinously in love with you…

His words reverberated in my head like the haunting echoes of a long-forgotten tale. I tried to make sense of it, to understand his words, but there was no sense to be made. Not after what he did tonight. I supposed that deep down, I’d wanted his words to be true, to believe that the devil did in fact care, but it had become painfully obvious that he hadn’t meant a word of it. It was nothing more than a new game to occupy his time with.

But then why did he take the memory away?

And why did I even care?

The more I played back the memory of that night, the more of it I uncovered—like the things I had confessed to him when he compelled me to only speak the truth. I’d been burying my truth for so long that I’d somehow managed to keep it hidden even from myself. What did it all mean? And why was I so afraid to look at it?

Okay, so, I craved our exchanges. Big deal. It didn’t mean anything. It was just the bloodbond. Ithadto be.

But what if it wasn’t...?

A knock sounded at my door, bringing my attention back to the here and now.

Climbing out of bed, I padded across the dark room and felt my tension ease the closer I got to the door. Knowing full well what that meant, I turned the lock and opened the door for him.

Dominic stood on the other side of the threshold, his forearm rested against the doorframe as he gazed down at me. Neither of us said anything as we stared back at each other through the shroud of night.

“Are you going to invite me in?” he asked, breaking the silence first.

Unable to find my voice, I shook my head.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m sleeping, and I need to get back to sleeping.” Apparently, I was as eloquent as I was good at lying.

“We both know you weren’t sleeping, angel. I can feel your anxiety through the walls,” he said bitterly.

“Aw, you poor baby.” Was he looking for pity? Because he wasn’t going to find any here. “I guess you should’ve done your homework on me before hitching your wagon to mine, huh?”

“Oh, I’ve done my homework, love. I’m a very astute student.” His gaze dusted over every inch of my body, and my cheeks flamed in response.

“Don’t you have a date with Cindy to get back to?” I asked, pretending to look over his shoulder for her.

“I sent her home,” he said, not bothering to correct her name.

Relief nestled itself into my stomach, but it only served to further confuse me. Why did I care what he did (or didn’t do) with other women? It’s not like he was mine. It’s not like I wanted to be the one he did things with.

…Did I?

No! I shuck away the thought like a cold, wet raincoat.

“Well, that was fast,” I said instead, putting on my best version of a poker face. “Are you sure you got your fill?”

An easy smile curled his lips. “Are you worried about me going hungry?”

“You could starve for all I care.” I started to close the door, but he kicked his foot out and stopped it.

“Angel…” He titled his head to the side, appraising me. The intensity in his gaze made me feel naked; exposed, like he was sifting through the layers I wore, trying to force his way down to the truth.

“What?!” I barked, fidgeting uncomfortably under his heavy stare.

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