Page 59 of Backfire
In hindsight, I should’ve seen that coming, but I was too focused on clutching at his arm to alleviate the pain tearing its way across my scalp to hear what he said. And if I thought that was bad, having my hands and knees smack down on the tiled ground of my shower was worse. My palms scraped against the floor as a sharp stab shot up my legs, making my thighs convulse.
“What the—”
A sudden shot of water blasted me.
And it wasn’t warm water, because that would have been too nice for a prick like Devlin. It was a sharp, piercing, icy chill that sucker-punched me in the gut and stole my breath.
“Not so adorable now, are you?” Devlin growled from behind me.
I’d show him adorable.
I’d never shot up so fast in my life. By the way, sudden movements were not a good idea when one was standing on a slippery surface. My feet slid one way as my body prepared to leap away from the wetness raining down on me.
How I managed to stay standing, I had no clue, but it didn’t seem that important. Not when my palms smacked against Devlin’s chest. Know what did seem important?
The force of my momentum; because the large form I was shoving actually stumbled back a bit. If I could speed going, I could push his broad shoulders out the shower door. There was only one problem with that…
I couldn’t pull my hands off his chest. Mainly because the fabric covering it had become translucent. So I could not only feel the hard ridges under my fingers, but I could see them. Wet Devlin suddenly didn’t seem so funny anymore.
“You’re wearing white,” I whispered as my eyes roamed over the black lines of the tattoos under my fingertips.
“So are you.”
I was?
I glanced down at my own chest and silently cursed myself for putting on a white bra. This was all Reese’s fault. If he hadn’t stolen my underwear, I could’ve put on jeans and a black shirt instead of having to find something to go with pink.
I was gonna need a bigger book to hit him with… I would find one right after I got out of here. In order to do that, I had to take my hands off the asshole in my way.
Yet I didn’t move. I just stood there, heavily panting, while Devlin tipped his head.
Wow, he was firm. The potential power behind those muscles tingled up my arms and pooled in a needy clench deep in my belly. Did someone turn on the hot water, because it was getting steamy in here?
I could still hear droplets ticking around me, but I couldn’t feel its icy sting anymore. I couldn’t feel anything beyond the rumble vibrating through Devlin’s ribcage.
Did he just growl, and why the hell was I still touching him?
A better question was why hadn’t I covered myself up yet? I couldn’t tell which one of us was shaking more. My arms were visibly trembling, but so were Devlin’s. I saw the quake in his shoulders every time his forearms flexed. Fear, uncertainty, and something else was what caused my shivering. But Devlin…
I tipped my gaze down his arm, where his fist was curled up in a tight ball. Almost as if he was getting ready to jump in a fight. My stomach dropped out from under me. Was he going to hit me? Devlin was an asshole, but he wouldn’t do that. Would he?
It was when I lifted my chin back up that I realized the only person Devlin was trying to fight was himself.
Lines etched in his brow, while his thick lips screwed up in a tight scowl. “Stop fucking staring at me.”
“Stop staring at me,” I shot back.
Neither one of us did. We stayed where we were with our eyes locked on the other. I wanted to step back. My calf twitched with the need to get away. But there was something pulling on me.
A tug in my gut that was trying to draw me in closer to him. And the longer I stood there, the stronger that feeling got, until I had to stop myself from involuntarily leaning forward.
“You should leave.” One of us needed to, and I didn’t know how much longer I could fight this.
“Don’t fucking talk.” Every inch of Devlin’s body tensed as he closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. “I can feel your voice.”
Normally, a statement like that would make me cock a confused brow, but I got it. I felt the same way. Every deep, rumbling word that came out of his mouth seeped into my bones.
“What is happening?”
