Glancing back, he wasn’t looking at me anymore. He’d turned toward the trees again, as if I’d been nothing more than a flicker in the corner of his vision.
And after that, he’d done his best to not look at me again
“I think I knew the first time I saw him,” I told her, pulling away so she could lead me into her apartment.
I didn’t want anyone else to hear. I couldn’t afford for him to know I was talking about this. He’d pull away immediately.
Not that he hadn’t already.
“And didhenoticeyou?” she asked, reaching out to take my hand in hers.
Another deep sigh left me.
“For a long time I thought it was one-sided,” I explained, moving us to the sofa so I could sit next to her, leaning my head against the cushioned back. “I thought... He’d never notice me.”
Her head tilted a little, letting me know she was listening.
“But then he did.”
The memories that came this time were ones that I tried to keep buried, but they always popped up at the most inopportune times.
At gatherings, he stayed in the back, eyes down, voice low when he spoke—ifat all. And when he did, it was always with Zara or his clan brothers. He didn’t pay any attention to the other females.
I told myself I didn’t care, that I barely noticed. But Idid. Every time his gaze slid past me, it felt deliberate. Almost careful—like he was making sure he didn’t make the same mistake twice.
Until the night Tasia’s ex-husband found me.
The sound of his boots clomping behind me as I ran still lived in my bones. The slam of my body to the forest floor. The sting of fingers at my throat. I remembered the smell of his sweat and rage, the shock freezing my voice before I could scream. My memories of my kidnapping blurred together into pain and fear.
But then he was there.Savla.
Out of nowhere, he’d appeared. Protecting me. I’d heard gunshots, but I hadn’t been tracking anything.
When I finally looked up, Savla was watching me.Reallywatching me, the way he had that first day—but this time, there was no distance in it. No hesitation. There was only a ferocious heat, anger and fear. Something wild and raw that made my skin prickle.
And in that moment, I knew two things.
He had seen me all along. And nothing between us would ever be the same again.
“And then what happened?” Tabitha asked, her brow furrowed after I relayed the story to her. “Because from where I stand, you two didn’t socialize very much when you first met.”
I flushed at the comment, nodding in agreement.
“I... followed him,” I admitted, cringing a little at the admission, and I didn’t expect the snort of laughter from her. I should have probably been offended, but I was too sheepish forthat.
“Of course you did,” she cackled. “Where did you follow him to?”
I scratched at my arm, shrugging. “We were all at one of the weekly dinners a couple months ago. And he just looked so... uncomfortable. I hated that for him, so when he left, I... well, I left too.” I peeked up at her, to see how she was taking it, but her grin was so wide, it gave me hope that Iwasn’tinsane after all.
“And I found his hideout,” I finished.
Her eyebrows went up, but I wasn’t about to betray his secret—oursecret now.
“And you’ve just been spending time together there?” she asked, her eyebrows almost touching her hairline.
I hid my shy smile. I wasn’t usually that way. Now that I wasn’t constantly being berated by my mother I’d had someseriousgrowth in my self-esteem. I now considered myself to be a pretty confident female. But when it came to thisrelationshipthat wasn’t quite a relationship with Savla, I couldn’t stop the flutter of butterflies in my stomach and the heat in my cheeks.
It’s absolutely juvenile. And Iloveit.
