That should be enough for Devyn to forgive my temporary insanity.
Right?
I START TALKING ASsoon as the door to our chambers closes behind us.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened, I just—they were saying those things and I couldn't—and Mrs. Lyme told me all those stories and I—the puppy thing just came out and—"
Devyn is walking toward me.
Not walking. Stalking. Slow, deliberate steps that eat up the distance between us while I babble and back away.
"—and I know I shouldn't have said anything but they were looking at you like you were a monster and you're not, you're really not, even though you're very scary sometimes, and if you think about it, I never said anything that’s not true. Even your smile—”
My back hits the wall.
Oh no. Too late. I'm dead.
His hands land on my shoulders. Not hard. But firm. Pinning me in place.
I squeeze my eyes shut.
"No one," he says quietly, "has ever defended me before."
My eyes fly open.
He's close. So close I can see the gold flecks in his irises, the tension in his jaw, the way his chest rises and falls just slightly faster than normal. His expression is still controlled—still stone—but something underneath is cracking.
"What?" I breathe.
"Stood up for me. Put themselves at risk for me." His thumbs press into my shoulders, not painful but grounding. "No one. Ever."
Oh.
Oh,this man.
"Why did you do it?" His voice is rough. "You could have stayed silent. It would have been safer."
"Because they don't see you." The words come out soft. "Not like we do. Not like the people at home who know what you're really like." I swallow. "I just wanted them to see what I see. That you're not a monster. That you're actually..."
Don't say it.
Don't say it, Bailey.
"...the most caring, protective..."
Stop talking. Stop talking right now.
"...sweetest..."
I stop speaking when I see the color staining his cheekbones.
Don't say it don't say it don't say it—
"You're blush—"
He kisses me.
And yes, I know he’s doing it to shut me up, but...it doesn’t matter.
