Page 150 of Sin Like the Devil

Fucking liar.

“You can want the very thing you hate,” Raine states knowingly. “Sometimes, that makes you want it even more.”

The unspoken question lingers between us. Since the moment we met, I’ve made my intentions clear to Raine. I want his friends dead. For a while, that included him too. Until I saw past his affiliations.

But everything is upside down now.

I’ve lost sight of why this all began.

“So… Xander.” He keeps his voice light. “I guess things are complicated.”

“This is such a mess. But I still need you in my life, Raine. I know I’m asking for a lot. You didn’t sign up for this disaster.”

“Not exactly low maintenance over here either, guava girl.” He raises my hand to his lips so he can kiss my knuckles. “Besides, I quite like your mess.”

“What if it isn’t just my mess?”

He hesitates, nibbling on the inside of his cheek. “Then we figure it out.”

“How?”

“I’m not willing to give this up because you have a psychopathic… Well, whatever Xander is. That’s for him to figure out. But don’t expect it to scare me off.”

“Maybe it should,” I reply jokingly.

“Maybe.” Raine relaxes and sinks into the pillows. “But I clearly have no regard for self-preservation anyway.”

“Clearly.”

Giving a soft cough, I reach into the pocket of my sweats. “Got something for you.”

“A hospital gift, huh? I must’ve been a good patient.”

“Call it a loan.”

Cupping the back of his hand, I place the folded sunglasses into his palm. They’re not the same as his special, blacked-out lenses, but I know he misses the security blanket they provided.

He takes them and begins his inspection, tracing the curved glass lenses and wire arms to map out the shape. I watch him work.

“Sunglasses?” he guesses.

“From my personal collection. Aviators are unisex, right?”

“I’ve always wanted to look like a fighter pilot.”

“Figured it’s my fault your real ones got trashed. Will these do as a temporary fix?”

Unfolding the old sunglasses, he fumbles to slide them into place.

“Thank you.” His blossoming grin is enough to make my heart flip. “They’re perfect.”

“Scoot over, would you?”

Shifting in the hospital bed, he shifts over to make a small sliver of space next to him. I crawl into the gap then burrow into his side, my head resting on his shoulder. Raine’s head slumps to rest on top of mine.

I bathe in his warmth and citrusy, sea salt scent. Just feeling the steady weight of his body pressing into mine helps to alleviate the terror that’s taken root since I found him passed out.

“So what happens now?”

---