Page 41 of Hush, Hush

He slides his fingertips along my cheekbone. “Because I was just thinking how much I enjoyed last night.” He gives me a small smile, and there’s just something in his blue eyes that’s akin to an apology. “You were well worth the wait.”

“I know,” I tell him, smirking. I press a smacking kiss to his cheek and start to get up. He grabs my arm, yanking me back down to the bed where he hovers over me.

“Is that so?”

I giggle like my middle school crush is picking on me. In a way, he is. Keegan has always been my crush, even through the difficult times. As we got older, the feelings only intensified. “I don’t blame you for running away from me,” I tell him. He cocks his head to the side, the smile slipping from his face. “You and I are a lot to take in.”

“I never stopped caring about you though.”

“I know that.”

He leans down, pressing his lips to my neck in a slow caress. I arch, giving him plenty of room to explore.

A knock sounds on the door, and I freeze momentarily before trying to flee the bed. He holds me in place before calling out, “Yes?”

“Refreshments, Sir.”

“Come in,” he beckons.

“Keegan,” I growl, looking at the sheets wrapped around me in panic. We’re definitely in a compromising position.

“It’s the waitstaff,” he assures me. “They won’t even blink an eye.”

“I know that,” I mumble as the door opens. There’s such a thing called modesty though. I don’t want to be on display, but it’s too late. The older gentleman enters the room without a glance toward the bed. He keeps his gaze either on the tray or straight ahead.

Placing the tray on the bedside table, he announces, “Tea and a few bakery items for you, Sir.”

“Thank you,” Keegan tells him, sitting up. The white sheets fall to his lap, and my stomach flips. Keegan, however, doesn’t even look down to make sure he’s covered.

The staff member leaves the room without another word, and the tension in the air leaves with him. I check the clock in the room and sigh. I have to meet the models at the dock in just over an hour.

“Eat something before you run off to put the rest of us Fledglings to shame,” he taunts, handing me a muffin.

I sniff the browned top, the banana aroma tickling my senses. “Mmm,” I murmur. It smells like heaven. “I’m about to take it to go, so I can show all of you up.” I place it on the table closest to me and throw on my clothes from last night. Before I pick up my banana muffin, I kneel on the bed and lean over to kiss Keegan who’s propped up on the bed like he’s a king. He wraps his free hand around my neck, pulling me closer. “Love you, Dee. See you later?”

“Later,” I promise.

No one is in the hallway to perform the walk of shame for, so I easily slip into my room unnoticed to find the same tray of goodies on my bedside table. I wonder what the waitstaff member thought when I wasn’t in my own room, but in Keegan’s. Oh well. My father always told me that what other people think of me is none of my business.

I take a shower and prep for the day, being painstakingly careful in applying my makeup to hide the shadows under my eyes. I dress in a plain, navy-blue dress that swings around my knees. It’s not the beautiful dress I’ll wear tonight, but it has just the right amount of fun and business flavor to get through this morning with.

Taking a few bites out of the muffin, I set it back down only to find a note on my breakfast tray. I pull it out, opening it to find a personal request for a meeting. The note says Knight A...maybe? It could be a J, a B. Really, the signature is hard to decipher. I check my watch, deciding I have just enough time to get the models settled in before attending the meeting. The elder Knights will already be on the island by the time the meeting takes place. Why this Knight would want to meet with me before the party, I have no idea.

My veins turn cold. Unless someone complained about me again? Cameron, because I won’t have sex with him?

For a brief moment, my mind tells me Keegan, but I flick that nasty thought away. We’re much better now. There’s no way he’s trying to get me in trouble with the Knights again. He understands why it’s so important to me now.

I’ll just have to wait to find out what the meeting is about. Like I need another thing to worry over today.

I hurry down to the dock just as the boat carrying the models pulls in. The same captain we had yesterday is at the helm, however, he looks like he’s in a much better mood. He’s all smiles, lending the girls a hand as they step off the boat and onto the wood dock. I wave at them from the winding walk that leads to the castle, and a few of them wave back. Honestly, we did a great job choosing the models. They’re all going to kill it in their angel costumes in a few hours.

They form a semi-circle around me, their chins tipped toward the sky, no doubt looking at the massive building at my back. It’s a sight to see, for sure. Some of their mouths hang open while others squeal in awe at the place. I only hope they feel that way when they have to kowtow to the guests later. Their gift bags are already assembled in the basement room I acquired as their dressing room.

I’m about to start addressing them when another figure gets off the boat. I do a double take at the familiar form. I’m aware of every name on the guest list, and Tim’s certainly not on it.

I push past some of the girls to ward him off, calling for the captain to wait as he starts to untie his tethering ropes from the dock. “What are you doing here?” I whisper yell as I approach Tim.

He glares at me. “You never met me the other day.”

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