Page 51 of Feel Free to Scream

Markus smirks knowingly, leaning in. “I knew you had a little beast in you, too. What’s it like to leave the moral high ground and join the rest of us?”

I don’t know what it’s about, but he’s baiting Keller.

The man at my left smiles. “A hell of a lot of fun.”

Somehow, I’m flushing. Nothing they’ve said indicates that they’re in any way referring to me, but the word “fun” on Keller’s lips calls to mind everything he did to me.

Fuck. I need to stay the hell away from him. But it doesn’t look like he intends to stay away fromme.

“I guess I need an actual snack, since you’ve all had a piece of my pie,” I say, pouting at the empty plate in front of me.

Markus snorts, smugly eating the rest of his without offering anyone a bite.

“I got it.” Keller’s already on his feet. “What would you like?”

“Oh, don’t worry. I need to tell Dez how wonderful the pie was. I’ll get my own lunch.”

His eyes do the thing where they’re too intensely focused on mine. It’s hard to tell, as his expression doesn’t give much away, but it feels like a warning of sorts.

I ignore it, making my way to the counter again. There are only a couple of people waiting.

I tense as Keller falls into step next to me.

It’s one thing to speak to him with other people around, but when it’s just the two of us, it feels different.

Intimate?

Dangerous.

“How’s your grandma?” he asks me.

I blink. “Oh. I…” Biting my lower lip, I wonder how to voice the fact that I’ve actively avoided any calls or texts over the last thirty hours or so.

Because of him.

I clear my throat. “I haven’t had a chance to chat with her yet.”

“I’m sure she'd love to hear from you. She booked her surgery; it’s next Friday.”

So, he did keep his word.

“Thank you.”

“No thanks necessary. You paid for that, with interest, if I recall.”

Great, I’m vividly remembering how. With those lips and those fingers and?—

Jesus, what happened to me in the course of a single weekend?

Him. Darius Keller is what happened to me. And he’s still right next to me for some reason, like there’s nothing more natural in the world.

“You will also hear from my sister, Lisa. She’s hoping to get you to babysit Octavia some evenings, so she can extend her working hours. I gave her your number.”

He had it already?

A gentleman asks.

But if asking isn't getting me what I need, I'm fine with taking.

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