Page 121 of Devil's Bargain

When we step inside his bedroom, he kicks the door shut, then spins us and traps me against it.

“How did you find out?” I whisper as he toys with the strands of my wet hair.

“I figured it out.” He brushes his finger over the scab on my neck. “He has the same cut.”

My eyes drop to his lips and I draw in a shaky breath. “You’ll get into trouble.”

“Stop seeing him!”

I want to.“I can’t!”

He pushes off the door and makes his way over to the wardrobe. “Your clothes are wet.”

“I walked here from Ben’s house.”

His eyebrows hit his hairline. “It’s a long walk.”

I sweep my eyes over his strong arms and broad back while he fishes out a t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts from his drawers.

He hands them to me. “Put them on. I’ll place your clothes in the dryer.”

I pull my damp top off before he’s had a chance to turn around. I don’t know why I do it. Maybe I want his hazel eyes on me?

“April,” he whispers in a tortured voice, scanning his eyes over my black bra with tiny white skulls, the bruises that mark my skin.

I unhook my damp bra. The straps slide down my arms, and my nipples pebble when he groans and turns around. He clasps his hands behind his neck.

“You can look,” I whisper, but he shakes his head.

“No, April. I can’t.”

I dress in his t-shirt, then shimmy out of my wet, ripped jeans and panties. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

He tenses.

I put on the boxer shorts next. “You can turn around now.”

He does, slowly.

“I’m thinking about you all the time, Rick.” I know I shouldn’t admit it out loud, but I need him to know.

His throat bobs as he scans his eyes down my body in his clothes. “Why Jared?”

I sit on his bed. The room smells of him. “It’s complicated.”

His eyes are on my bare legs, heating my skin. “He’s a teacher.”

“You can’t hit him again. You’ll lose your scholarship.”

“I’m going to ruin him!” He sits down next to me.

“I can’t stay, Rick.”

He rubs his hands over his face, elbows on his knees. “Why are you here?”

“I told you. I can’t stop thinking about you.”

He lowers his hands and looks at me. “What am I supposed to do with that, April? You won’t stop seeing him.”

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