Page 88 of The Obedient Lie
She gave the tiniest nod. Just breathed out and whispered, “A little.”
“We’ll fix that, our angel,” Bastion said, brushing her temple with the back of his hand.
My hands moved lower.
I wasn’t rushing.
I could do this forhours.
Because touching her like this wasn’t about sex.
It was aboutreverence. Devotion.
About reminding her we could besoft, too.
That we couldholdher as fiercely as we would fuck her.
And we would.
Every goddamn time.
Chapter Twenty-Four
EMILIA
I folded another T-shirt and pressed it into the corner of my duffle, trying to ignore the way my heart was thudding against my ribs. The room was quiet except for the faint sound of music coming from someone’s dorm down the hall and the occasional zip of a pocket or tug of a strap. I kept my head down.
The moment felt heavy, like something was coming.
Then the door opened.
I didn’t look up.
“You going somewhere?” Bastion’s voice came first—rough, low, laced with something that made the air feel warmer than it should’ve.
I glanced up from my suitcase.
He was standing just inside the room, his brows slightly drawn together like he hadn’t expected this. His hoodie sleeves were pushed up, revealing bruised knuckles and a faint red mark along his wrist. Football. Or maybe something else.
“Yeah,” I said, casual. Dismissive. “The out-of-state game.”
He didn’t answer.
Luca stepped in behind him. His eyes went straight to the suitcase. Then to me. Then back to the suitcase.
That look.
The same one he’d given me last night—when my skin was flushed, when his hand had trailed down my ribs like it was instinct, not decision.
That heat in his stare didn’t mean anything. Couldn’t.
Bastion’s jaw flexed. “You’re flying out tonight?”
I nodded and zipped the main compartment closed. “Leaving in an hour. Griffin’s got the Caplan jet on standby.”
Luca raised a brow. “Griffin?”
I didn’t answer right away.
