Page 85 of Ink Deep Devotion

He flashes me his famous smile, which doesn’t reach his eyes.“Are you ready?” he gently asks, his eyes searching my face.

He knows what Dash and I did!

“Hey,” Titan reaches out and pinches my cheek, “We’re all adults, you don’t have to be embarrassed about anything.”

Kill me! What’s worst than Titan knowing I let Dash fuck me in the classroom is Titan trying to comfort me about it.

I swallow and look down.“Where’s Dash?”

Titan tips my chin up, forcing our eyes to meet.“I love you like a sister; you know that, right?”

“If you were my brother, what would you tell me to do, Titan?”

“Practice safe sex.” He smirks, eyes hopeful that I’ll laugh at his attempt to lighten the mood. But I can’t laugh because this isn’t a show, it’s my life.

His shoulders drop as he reaches for my art bag.“I want what is best for you, and deep down, I know that’s Dash. But I also want to kill him.” He mutters.

The night wraps around my skin, making the marks Dash left feel more like burn marks.“Where is he?”

“He asked me to come get you.” Titan swings an arm around me, tucking me into his side in a brotherly gesture.

“Can you bring me back to your house tonight?”

His index finger taps against my shoulder.“Dash isn’t home.”

Where is he?

“That’s okay. I’d rather sleep there tonight. I’m getting a new roommate, and I’m not in the mood to meet anyone new.”

“You’re what?”

We turn, heading towards the parking lot instead of my dorm.“I’m getting a new roommate. The admissions told me this morning. My dad approved it.”

“Hmm,” Titan huffs as if he’s not sure he agrees with that.

“Is…Is Damian with Dash? I don’t want him to be alone.”

“No, but Cillian is. Dash flew to New York for a couple of days.”

It feels like a clamp snapped around my kneecaps. I know what the guys do when they go to New York to visit Cillian. They fight, bloody and hard, more violently than their fight club in the nearest town.

Cillian owns a gym where he trains the most ruthless fighters, but I think the men there don’t just box. I think Cillian is training an army for himself.

???

Saturday night.

I pack a bag and plan to spend the entire week in the art studio. It’s normal—the huge supply rooms have plenty of sofas that students always crash on. Apparently, Dash doesn’t like it because I get a string of texts throughout the weekend.

It’s so easy to be brave when texting. No one hears my hesitation when I pause before pressing send.

Dash: Get your ass back to your dorm or my house. Now!

Mila: Make me. Oh wait, you can’t because you’re in New York.

Dash: Don’t test me.

Mila: I’m a straight-A student. Try me.

---