Page 56 of Swallow Your Sorries

I don’t know why I expected anything at all.

As the sound of scraping shovels fills the air, and I bank around the hall to head towards Maple House, I’m hit with a bigger dilemma than a possible detention.

Hale Perriot.

He’s blocking the pathway… with a cricket bat.

Unreasonable…

Sons of bitches…

I trip over an invisible pebble at the sight of him, a pit forming in my stomach despite his easy smile and seemingly innocent blue eyes that sparkle in the sunlight. He just needs to lift the bat onto his shoulders, clench his sharp jaw and gaze off into the distance to land himself in a black-and-white cologne ad. Bonus points if it’s shot at a low angle.

“Sorry. This pathway is closed.”

I eye the bat and swallow as he twirls it around in his palm effortlessly.

“I thought you did ballroom.” I don’t know what convinced me to say it, but it comes out sassily like I’m not afraid of him swinging that slab of wood against my head. But I am. Gant showed me he’s moralless. His friends can’t be any better.

Hale doesn’t look affronted. “I doa lotof things. Cricket is one of them.”

“Congratulations.” More sass and I have no idea where it’s coming from. Maybe it’s sinking into my pores from all the food crusting over me like a shell.

“I lost my Kookaburra though.”

I lift a brow. “Your bird?”

Why am I asking?

Go!

“My balls.” His smile broadens as my stomach drops.

“You could stay and help me find them,” he says, stalking closer and casting a shadow over me.

He’s tall, taller than I’d thought and instinctively I step back, stumbling off the pathway and into the beautifully manicured lawn where I fall on my ass. My skirt rides up, and his eyes fly between my legs. Suddenly, they’re the darkest shade of blue.

“Or you could take a different pathway. Your choice.”

For once, that little voice that’s been willing me to not run, to stay and stand my ground doesn’t whisper in my ear.

My body works of its own accord as I scramble to my feet.

“You’re disgusting.”

Once again, Hale only smiles, eyeing me from head to toe. “And you’refilthy.”

I turn on my heel and force myself not to run, as I head for the long route to Maple House. But as soon as the dining hall shields me again, I can’t help it. I run because suddenly the lewdness of Hale’s words, the utter disregard of the kitchen staff, and the smelly food in the blazing sun that’s tightening my skin as it dries down feels unbearable. I need to shower. I need to scorch away the jumble of feelings that are about to overwhelm me and send me free-falling.

But I do fall.

Hard.

My belly burns from the impact, my wrists throbbing from catching the majority of my weight. But all that pain fades into the recesses of my mind as I lift my scraped chin from the pavement and peer up into the honey-golden eyes of a …wolf?

It’s massive, with a long multicoloured coat and white underbelly.

Terror has me in a chokehold as we stare at each other, frozen in time.

---