Page 115 of Redeemed

She goes stiff beside me, and I can feel her glare burning into the side of my face. “You can’t just—”

“I can do whatever the hell I want to.” Turning, I grip her chin, ensuring she can’t look away from me. “And trust me, Haven, you’ll like my praise much more than you’ll like my punishments.”

Fear sparks in her eyes, and it’s so pretty that I could revel in it all day. But we have work to do, and there’s a small side of me that wants to soothe it out of her, so I force myself to release her. She immediately puts a few extra inches between us, and I have to hold back a laugh.

When she’s like this, she reminds me of the fawn I discovered in a bush in the backyard of my childhood home. My mom wouldn’t let me pet it—something that disappointed me at the time, although now I understand why. So I spent all day watching it from the kitchen window.

Eventually, an older deer showed up, and they left together. I was bummed, but I saw the fawn a few times over the course of the year. I watched it get bigger and lose its spots until it looked like all the others. No matter how carefully I tried to approach it, though, it would always run off when I got too close.

Typical deer, I know, but I found it at a point in my childhood when I felt completely isolated. I was hiding so much—from Mom, from Rora, from Xander. All I wanted was a friend who I could be completely honest with. For some childish reason, I thought that little fawn could connect with me in a way that would ease the loneliness my father forced onto me.

Stupid, I know.

“Lucas?”

I blink. Haven is staring at me, her brows furrowed. The laptop is still closed, her hands hovering over it, and I realize she’s waiting for me to tell her what to do.

“Open it up.”

She does, only hesitating for a second.

“Power button should be on your side.”

“Oh,” she mutters, leaning over to look for it. “Right, found it.”

While it starts up, Haven slides her fingers across the keyboard. The laptop is sleek, black, and not too heavy—perfect for her purposes.

“What do I do now?” she asks.

“Patience, little fawn. We have to wait.”

“W-what?” She turns to face me, her stare wide-eyed and shocked. “Why did you say that?”

“Say what?”

“The little fawn thing. What does that mean?”

Shrugging, I lean back, watching the spinning circle on the laptop screen as it updates. “I just think it suits you, that’s all.”

“Suits me?” She sounds a little offended. “How?!”

“Well, for starters, you’re pretty jumpy.”

“I am no—”

“Plus, you’re pretty cute. Timid, too.” I lean in closer so my lips are right next to her ear and whisper, “And easy to scare.”

When I pull away, Haven is glaring at me again. This time, I can’t help my chuckle.

“See? Just look at you. You’re fucking adorable when you’re pissed off.”

“You’re an ass,” she says flatly.

“You can hit the arrow button.”

“What?”

I nod to the laptop. “It’s done updating. Hit the next button.”

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