Page 119 of Redeemed

That gets him to stop and think. It’s not that he doesn’t—he’s the opposite of the stupid, selfish jock stereotype—but sometimes his past clouds his thoughts.

“Fair point,” he mumbles.

“Now go shower. You shouldn’t be—”

“Can’t.”

I frown. “You can’t shower?”

“Haven is in my room for class. Wanted her to have a place where she wouldn’t be disturbed.”

I sigh. “Fine. But at least stop working out, all right? You’re pushing yourself too hard.”

He rolls his eyes, but he starts unloading the bar, so I count it as a win.

Haven finishes up just in time for Lucas to shower and leave for class. He’ll be back in a couple hours—around the time Xander finishes his classes for the day—and then they’ll both leave for football practice. Xan doesn’t play, but he always sits in on the practices when he can to be closer to Lucas.

I’ve always wanted that kind of bond with someone. Freshman year, I was sure I could build what I had with Haven up to that point, but then she went and fucked everything up. And now…

Now we have her, but we don’t. She’s blocked off certain parts of herself—vitalparts of herself. She’s lying. Keeping secrets. Not only do I not want to give her that much space, but she’s withholding information we need to keep her safe. We need to know who we’re up against.

And, more importantly, I want to know why Haven begged Lucas and Xander not to take things further than blow jobs. That’snotthe agreement we presented her with, and I’d like to know why she thinks she can change the terms.

So the second I hear Lucas ride off on his bike, I corner Haven in the kitchen. She’s looking through the cabinets, and my eyes fall to her mostly bare legs as she rises onto the balls of her feet.

“What are you doing?”

At my voice, Haven spins around. “Jesus! You scared me.”

“What are you doing?” I repeat.

“Looking for a glass. I’m thirsty.”

I move to the cabinet right next to the fridge and pull out a glass. When she reaches for it, I hold it high enough that she can’t.

“Colton, come on. Can’t you give me a break for a second?”

“Why is sex off the table?”

Haven stares at me for a moment, her eyes bright with shock that quickly morphs into annoyance. “I’m allowed to have boundaries.”

“We laid out the deal for you in extremely plain language. Do I need to spell it out in simpler terms?”

“Are you really telling me there’s no room for negotiations?”

“You don’t have a right to them.Youcame tous.We make the rules.”

“I’m not fucking you.”

“Oh, trust me, angel. You won’t be the one doing the fucking.”

“It’s not happening,” she snaps. “Now give me the glass.”

I place it back in the cabinet.

“Seriously? Now you’re withholding water? I doubt Lucas will like that.”

“You can drink from the faucet.” A smirk grows on my face. “Or I could put it in a bowl and you could drink it on the floor, just like your smoothie.”

---