Page 16 of Firestorm
Seward only sighed before leaving the two of us alone.
I quickly dropped to sit on what remained of the planter wall next to the main door, and I raised my legs to sit with them crossed like a child, not even caring that the concrete was still wet from the storm.
Wyatt’s face didn’t change, but the heat from his gaze intensified, as if seeing me sit so comfortably meant something to him.
“Ms. Aria,” he started, and I snorted again, before quickly righting myself.
Wyatt stared at me for a moment, and I noticed the softest clench of his jaw before he spoke again. “Ms. Aria. It’s come to our attention that you’ve demonstrated that you have two affinities. You’ll be attending the closest academy, in this case it’ll be Western Affinity Academy. While you were inside with your boss, I elected to enroll you in a late-presenting scholarship program. You were accepted with a full ride.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded over the scholarship comment, but said nothing in reply. What was there to say?Hey, sorry you did all that work, I’m going to be murdered as soon as they do my testing?
“Now, we know you’re a late-presenting adult, actually older than most starting students at the academy. The new term for fall is beginning in five days, so you’ll be expected in class Monday.”
I swallowed roughly, feeling the sting of tears rising up again. Wyatt’s mood shifted slightly, but I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself to stop noticing. What was it about this man that had me so tied up in knots, anyway? He was hot-as-fuck, but there were plenty of hot-as-fuck men in the world. Or so I’d thought before I met him.
“Wyatt,” I whispered.
“There’s a food plan included with your scholarship, covering three meals a day. If there’s anything else you need, you can approach your counselor for assistance.”
“Wyatt,” I said again, and again he ignored me.
“I understand you’ve never had your testing done to determine your standing within a Chain. This is covered under your scholarship, as well as your affinity testing.”
“No,” I blurted out, then bit my tongue so hard I tasted blood.
There was no way I could go through with affinity testing.
Wyatt raised a dark eyebrow at me, then continued.
“You’ll be entered into classes consistent with your affinities, and you’ll be tested periodically to make sure you’re progressing appropriately, with the opportunity to be moved to more advanced classes if you’re testing higher than average. Do you have any questions for me?”
I sniffled, wiping a stream of tears that had made its way onto my cheek. Wyatt looked horrified, like a crying woman in front of him was the absolute worst thing he could witness. That, mixed with the fact that he’d stood me up?Humiliating.
“I’m sorry,” I gasped as I tried to calm my breathing. “I’m so scared. I don’t want to leave my whole life and go to some school and…” I trailed off before I could continue.
As much as I wanted to believe Wyatt was suspicious…I just couldn’t accept it. I was more comfortable with him than I should have been given the circumstances, but…
I was so tired of being strong all the time. So tired of always fighting and working so hard to have things ripped away from me so easily.
Wyatt’s gaze softened, and he moved toward me. Once again, I’d normally be backing –or in this case, shuffling– away from a man who was advancing on me, but I couldn’t.
Wyatt completely disarmed me, and he wasn’t even trying.
“Come on,” he said softly. He pulled my hand and I stood, following him around the side of the building where it was quieter. There weren’t any authorities watching from where we were now. Out of view from anyone, Wyatt pulled me to his warm, hard chest for the best hug of my life.
I melted into him. I could havepurred, I was so relaxed. The world fell away around us, my focus narrowing down to this one moment. Wyatt carefully ran his hands up and down my back a few times before his pace slowed slightly, and his fingers spread out like he was trying to map out my shape through my hoodie. He slid his hands up my sides and I shivered before he tightened his hold on me and I felt his cheek press against the top of my head.
“I’m so sorry, Skye. I know this is a big change, but why are you so upset? It’s just a school. You’re acting like you’re being sent to prison.”
I should be so lucky to only go to prison.
Wyatt tensed just as the thought crossed my mind, and I gasped, pushing away from him. I quickly built up my mental walls while Wyatt looked at me with an expression of shock and understanding.
This was bad. Really bad.
“That wasn’t me,” he said gently, and fucking hell, I believed him. But why had I projected my thoughts into his mind? I’d never accidentally done that in my life. I’d really dug myself into a hole this time.
“Skye, listen…” He trailed off as I shook my head while glancing toward the opening of the alleyway.
