Page 40 of Twisted Devotion

Allison laughs softly. “I have a feeling you’ll figure it out. That might involve getting naked with Jackson, but these things have ways of working themselves out.”

I turn my head to look at her. “That’s not at all helpful, but thanks, I guess.”

She sticks her tongue out at me. “Hey, if you’re not going to sleep with Jackson, at least consider Ky—”

“Donot,” I grumble at her. “Kyle isn’t . . . no. I can’t even think about going there with him. Besides, Ijustsaw him for the first time in years. That’s beyond weird.”

She shrugs. “Whatever. Do you think you’ll see him again?”

I smile. “I definitely hope so. He was the light in a lot of darkness in my life as a human. I would love to reconnect and get to know him as an adult.”

“There you go. Focus on that, and push sleeping with Jackson to the back of your mind.”

Finally, some decent advice. “Thanks, Allison,” I tell her, and she blows me a kiss as she gets out of the car and shuts the door.

I wait for her to step into the lobby before I pull away from the curb and start the drive back to Jackson’s.

Taking Allison’s advice, I try to focus on how I feel after seeing Kyle this morning. The run-in with my past threw me off. Out of all the people I could have imagined bumping into, Kyle is near the bottom of that list.

I never found out where he relocated after our foster parents and sister were killed; Seth and Tristan didn’t know if it would be safe at the time, and I refused to put Kyle in potential danger just for my own peace of mind.

I can’t help but wonder if he’s been this close by the entire time, or if he moved here recently. He mentioned grad school, so maybe that’s what brought him back.

Halfway to the house, I change my mind about going home. I’m not ready to face Jackson just yet, so I pull over to text Skylar. Tristan had mentioned over lunch that she was back in town for a few days. I decide to shoot her a message, asking if she wants to get together for a workout. After she responds that she’s headed to the training warehouse not too far from the facility, I message her back and let her know I’m on my way.

We spend the evening on the mats, going through combat drills we perfected during our time training for the fight against The Experiment. After a half-hour warm up on the elliptical, Skylar and I face off, practicing our hand-to-hand skills.

Dancing around each other on the mats gets my mind off everything from today. I focus on her stance, poised and ready to strike. So, when her fist flies toward my face, I’m able to duck out of the way. I immediately go on the offensive, kicking out hard and sweeping her legs out from under her.

Skylar lands with a grunt, but I don’t give her a chance to recover before I advance again, grabbing her ankles and tugging hard so her back hits the mat as my knees press into her hips. I secure her wrists above her head before she can use them to try to out-maneuver me.

Her eyes narrow as she glares up at my grinning face. “Couldn’t even give me a chance, could you?”

I laugh softly, holding her for a few seconds longer before letting her up. “What can I say, they don’t pay me the big bucks to be justokayin combat.”

Skylar rolls her eyes. “Toot, toot,” she remarks dryly.

The next round goes a bit longer. Skylar acts quicker, dodging my advances. Her fist connects with my upper body a few times, and when it grazes my jaw, my head snaps back, making my vision blur for a second before the room comes back into focus.

We go back and forth for almost an hour before we both sink to the floor, breathing hard and drenched with sweat. My muscles ache so deeply, I’m already longing for a scalding shower and my bed.

It’s after ten by the time we’ve both showered, and we head out to the parking lot.

“Are you doing okay?” Skylar asks, tossing her gym bag into the back of her SUV.

I arch a brow at her. “What do you mean?”

“You kicked my ass in there, yeah, but no offense, you look like shit.”

“Thanks,” I deadpan, and she huffs out a sigh. “No, I’m okay. I need to feed, but I’m fine.”

“Things with Jax are okay?”

If that isn’t a loaded question.She wouldn’t know that, and I can’t even begin to explain it to her. At least not tonight.

“Frustrating at times, but generally okay,” I say.

She smirks. “Trust me when I say I understand.”

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