Page 52 of Pen Me

“Ruined.” Her voice cracked. “I was ruined, okay? You can’t– You can’t be with me like that. He gave me–”

“I know.” I cut her off with a shrug.

Her gaze anchored on me, disbelief in her eyes.

“Even if you couldn’t fuck me, I’d still be obsessed with you. I may not even make it across the street with you– but if there is even the smallest chance that I can– I’m taking it.”

“You don’t want–”

“Don’t tell me what I want. Tell me you don’t want me. How about that? Can you say that?”

She blinked, and her lips floundered.

“That’s what I thought.” I smashed a kiss to her lips and swept her right off her feet.

She screeched and flung her arms around my neck even as she flailed. I curled and tightened, jostling her on purpose to settle her down as I flew through the house. I saw her purse and keys shining on the side of it where they were clipped. I snagged it without breaking my stride.

I was already out the front door when she gathered enough balance to shove at me. She slugged me in my shoulder on the front step before she finally relaxed.

“Asshole,” she hissed, “You could have let me get dressed!”

“Not an asshole. I’m carrying you princess-style to your chariot.”

I struggled to get the door open, leaving her scrabbling at my shoulders. Once I did, I flung her to the passenger seat a little rougher than I intended, it was only because I saw the camera on the neighbors’ garage.

I suppose it was better they think of her as an unwilling participant in all of this. It would save her questions later.

I got in and slammed the door, taking the keys off her purse before she could object.

“Just because some fucking tool fails to realize how precious you are, that doesn’t mean you aren’t mine to spoil. Just means I’m the lucky bastard that gets to dust you off and help you shine again, doll.”

I winked at her, unable to stop the laugh that crawled from me when I saw her plastered against the passenger door and staring at me like I was a madman.

“We got a long ride ahead of us, and it’s been a minute since I drove anything with four wheels, so– Buckle up, huh?”

She slowly shifted and did as I advised, and I put the car on the road and pointed us toward Mt. Vernon and the cabin.

She was quiet for a long while.

“Aren’t you afraid of being spotted?” she asked, when dawn finally broke.

“Huh?” I was startled by the sudden sound of her voice.

“You’re driving down the interstate in a goddamn prison jumpsuit.”

I glanced down and laughed. It brewed into a fit of giggles that I couldn’t control.

“Can you grab this a minute?” I asked, tapping the wheel.

She hesitantly sat up and did so while I undid the top and shimmied one arm and then the next out of it. My undershirt was plain and white, nothing out of the ordinary. As long as I stayed in the car, no one would see me from the waist down.

“I don’t know where you intend to go, but– Is it smart to show up like that?” she asked.

I groaned and considered what she was saying. Octavia wasn’t in any position to argue with my circumstances, she’d be afraid I’d call Henny and mess up her plans about spending time with Rumi. Sam was right, though, Octavia probably wouldn’t appreciate me showing up in orange in front of my niece. I didn’t want to upset Rumi, either.

She was a good kid, the less she knew about all of this, the better.

“Shit.”

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