Page 44 of Wild Fury (Fallen Royals 6)

He grimaces. “Then I’m not dropping you off.”

I cross my arms. “Thomas Finley. He’s on the paper with—”

“No.”

My jaw drops. “What?”

“I’m not dropping you off to hang out with a dick named Thomas fucking Finley.”

I narrow my eyes. “You’re being irrational.”

He lets out a growl, and it’s so surprising I jerk away from him. He just… growled. At me. And for a split second, I imagine it’s because I called him irrational. But then he’s hitting the gas and getting us the hell out of this neighborhood, and I realize it’s because of the boy.

“What, you want me to be celibate?” I shake my head. “Ridiculous.”

“I don’t want anyone touching you.”

We pass under streetlights, and the intermittent glow illuminates the sharp angles of his face. His dark hair is a bit longer on top than the sides, and he shoves it back with his free hand. He’s agitated, even if he doesn’t admit it.

“Or what?” The words are out before I can stop them. What will you do, Theo?

My brain thinks he’s finally giving me the attention I’ve been craving. That I’ve paid my dues in watching him from afar, and now he’s noticing me.

My brain is fucking dumb.

“Or else I might just kill them.” He glances at me.

I bite my lip. That might be the most… terrifyingly romantic thing anyone’s ever said to me. And it feels like I’ve found the Clyde to my Bonnie. He wouldn’t shy away from the dark parts of my soul, right?

“That would be like me asking you not to touch another girl,” I mumble. “It’s a bit far-fetched.”

“Why, because I play a sport?”

“Two,” I correct.

He grins. “You’ve been paying attention.”

Ugh. He coasts to a stop in front of my grandparents’ house. The lights are all on downstairs, and I get a sinking feeling in my gut. They’re going to be so pissed at me.

“Well, see you next month,” I say.

He raises an eyebrow. I climb out of the car and attempt to yank my bike out. It must be stuck, though, because it doesn’t move. He has to get out and free it for me, and he stands way too close.

“I’ll be grounded for at least a week,” I say. “For leaving the house. Being gone past sunset. And probably some reasons I don’t even know yet, but I’ll soon find out.”

There aren’t too many rules. My grandparents are pretty chill, as far as most things go. But when I disappear and forget to call them, or even leave a note…

“Night, Lux.”

I stand at the curb until he returns to his vehicle and pulls away. And I realize, as I wheel the broken bike back toward the garage, that my anger at my parents had faded to white noise. No one’s been able to do that for me.

I fixate. It’s what I’m good at. But around Theo, I seem to have glitched.

And I think I like it.

I fixated on Theo in middle school. Watched him at the games and up until a few weeks ago, when he spoke to me. When he noticed me. That’s what comes roaring back now that I’m alone. Thoughts of him.

The door opens, and my grandmother steps onto the porch. She watches me roll the bike to a stop and flip down the kickstand, then steps aside for me to enter. We’re wordless. I can’t imagine she has anything good to say, and I’m still stuck on Theo.

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