“You’d be too busy trying to stick your tongue down her throat to teach her anything, anyway,” I wave off, trying to make light of things despite the way the situation turns my stomach.
He stretches, and it’s then that I notice how exhausted he actually looks. There are dark shadows under his eyes, and he seems more subdued than normal. Typically, the man can barely go five minutes before getting restless, and it dawns on me that as annoying as he was popping up in my shower, the actual conversation was relatively… normal.
“Haven’t seen you much the last week,” I toss out there, yanking the door open and gesturing for him to get the hell out.
Kicking him out of my room while I follow, I keep him warily in my line of sight. Even on his best days, he’s too trigger happy. If he’s sleep deprived? Fuck, I wouldn’t put it past the man to snack on my kidney.
We detour to his room where he snatches a bag off of his bed and rejoins me just as quickly. “Been preoccupied,” is all he says, shutting down the conversation before it can start.
By the time we reach Elyse’s room, he looks agitated, strumming his fingers against his thigh. He hesitates before knocking, turning to me like he’s about to ask something. Snapping his mouth shut without a word, he raps his knuckles on her door, plastering a smile on his face that looks fake even to me.
“One second!” Her muffled reply sounds rushed, and a second later, there’s a crash.
“Elyse?” I try the door, but it’s locked.
Just as I’m about to shoulder it open, she appears in the doorway, face flushed. Her hair is dripping, and I follow a few droplets trailing down her collar to the white towel clutched to her chest.
“Oooh, are we interrupting?” Grave purrs. “Pulling an Everett on me, angel?”
She gives him a bemused look before opening the door a few more inches, her confusion morphing into concern. “Are you alright?”
He blinks, going ramrod straight. “Why?”
Her brow furrows as she starts to reach for him before thinking better of it and pulls her hand back. Still, he caught the motion and jerks his arm out to offer her the bag, looking more confident despite the way his lips are pressed into a thin line.
“He got you a present,” I toss out there to smooth over the awkward silence, figuring the two of them can figure their shit out when I’m not standing here like a fuckin’ creep.
She smiles softly as she takes it from him, backing up and inviting us in. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Rather than stride into her room, he steps right in front of her, crowding her against the wall just inside the doorway. “You’ve been avoiding me,” he accuses, suddenly hostile. Her throat bobs as she swallows and I step closer in case I need to intervene.
She stares up at his unrelenting gaze with wide eyes, biting her bottom lip before blurting out, “I kissed Everett.”
He braces a hand against the wall beside her head, refusing to look away. “Me too, but don’t tell him I told you; guy’s a chronic liar.”
“Fuck off, Grave,” I growl, turning away now that it’s clear his normal, annoying self is back since she didn’t give him the cold shoulder. “You’re going to give her the wrong idea.”
He leans closer to her ear, loudly whispering, “See? Me thinks the giant doth protest too much.”
Yet Elysium isn’t as easily distracted. “You’re not upset?”
He gapes at her like she has three heads. “Why on earth would I be mad at you for that?”
Swallowing, she exhales a slow breath before standing straighter, mustering up her courage to face things head on, ignoring the rising color in her cheeks. “I might have been under the delusion you’d been flirting with me, and wasn’t sure how you’d react.”
Taking a strand of her wet hair between his fingers, he squeezes it until water snakes over her collar, following the trail with a gaze more intently focused than heated. Leaning in, he retraces the path with his tongue, ending at her shoulder and nipping at the flesh.
“I sincerely apologize for misleading you,” he states. My frown matches hers, and I’m left confused as fuck attempting to keep up with his train of thought. He doesn’t take his eyes off of her as he declares, “We’ll meet you out front in half an hour.” Then slams the door in my face.
“You promised me a question. Time to pay up, sunshine.”
Elyse cocks her head to the side, more curious than afraid. Even when she was admitting to avoiding me, it’s clear she wasn’tscaredof me, just worried.
They’re always scared, but not her.
“What do you want to know?” she replies easily enough, not shrinking away.
I keep my gaze locked on hers, watching for the telltale flicker of a lie. There are many things I can deal with, but the thought of her lying to my face has my jaw clenching, slowly breathing through my nose.
