Page 103 of Undeniably Enemies

Wren was attacked. Attacked and nearly killed. Every time those words pop into my head, red-hot fury like I’ve never known blasts through me like a bomb explosion. I wish he wasn’t dead. I wish he was in jail so I could pay some big, burly lifer to attack him the way he attacked Wren so he’d know that kind of fear and then cut him up into small pieces and send me his heart so I could set it on fire. That’s how fucking crazy and enraged the thought makes me.

No one hurts my girl, and the motherfucker is lucky he’s dead.

I think about her panic attack earlier today, and all I want todo is wrap my arms around her and never let go. But in typical Wren fashion, she’s trying to make that difficult for me.

She throws me a look like I’m crazy. “Um, how about all the reasons we already talked about when we decided wewouldn’tdo this?”

I sigh. “It’s complicated. I know it’s complicated. But I want this with you.”

She walks over to me and drags her hands up my chest until they’re twined behind my neck. “I want this with you too. I think. Maybe.” She smirks. “It feels wild to say that because I’ve programmed myself not to want this, but yeah, I do. That said, I don’t think we should throw caution to the wind and burn down our lives just yet.”

I squint at her. “What are you suggesting then?”

She shrugs. “I’m suggesting we do this but don’t broadcast it. At least not yet. Let’s try it and see if we fit. They’re announcing the chief position in two weeks or so, and I won’t interview for an internship until after the new year. That gives us a few months to date and be together and come up with a plan that works for both of us.”

As much as I hate to admit it, she’s not wrong with that. If I come out to the board and say,oh hey, I’m now romantically involved with my former student who’s trying to match here, I won’t get chief. And they might not believe me that our relationship started on the last day of her rotation because why would they?

Plus, other than the last couple of weeks we don’t have the best track record for getting along. She’s so young and legitimately hated me until very recently, so she likely does need time without broadcasting our relationship to the world. As much as I don’t want to hide her, for now, maybe that’s the best course.

“You want to be my dirty little secret?”

She tilts her head. “Sounds kind of hot to me.”

“It does, but what about your brother? And my sister, for that matter.”

She blows out a heavy breath. “I don’t know. My family isn’t just Owen. It’s?—”

“All ten thousand of your cousins and friends.”

She leans up and lands a kiss on the corner of my lips. “Exactly.”

Uneasiness settles over me. “You want to keep us a secret.”

It’s not a question, but she nods all the same. “Just for a bit, Jack. Just so we can have this without having to explain or defend or risk everything to everyone a million times over. I’m not suggesting we do this forever. I’m just saying we didn’t like each other for a very long time. What if we don’t work out?”

I don’t think that’s a possibility for me, but I understand her thoughts on it, and truth be told, what she’s saying isn’t unappealing. It’ll give us time to get used to being together in a healthy, positive way. Something we haven’t done much of. We’ll date and hang out, and it’ll be just us, which sounds pretty nice. I’m not seeking revenge on Owen for not telling me about him and Estlin, and I do want him to know sooner than later, but maybe Wren’s right on this.

Especially with the work stuff.

There’s a strong possibility I won’t make chief anyway, and if I’m simply an attending with no decision-making power in her becoming an intern, I have plenty of time to divulge our relationship to the higher-ups before she starts working there next summer.

“Okay,” I agree. “We’ll give it some time, but I’d like to readdress this sooner than later.”

“Works for me.” She jumps up into my arms, and my towel falls to the floor in a wet heap. I laugh as I catch her and walk her to the bed not too far behind her. Her hands run up through my wet hair. “I want you, Jack, but I’m scared too.”

I set her on the bed and crawl in between her legs so we’renose-to-nose. “Ditto. We haven’t done a good job with each other in the past. Promise you’ll talk to me. We’ll communicate.”

“I promise.” She smiles against my lips. “You really love me?”

“I really love you. Probably a bit too much.”

“No such thing. It’s always the best when the guy loves you more than you love him.”

A chuckle slips past my lips, and I pinch her side until she yelps. My lips descend to hers, and I swallow it down, already hard and wanting her. I kiss her mouth but don’t linger as I take advantage of her pretty neck.

“It’s not just this, you know.”

“Not just what?” she asks breathily.

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