Page 29 of I Don't Need Your Protection
She lifts a brow. “Excuse me?”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I hold her gaze. “Did I say something that displeases you?”
“You bet your butt you did. What’s wrong if I talk to boys?”
“You know what’s wrong. They’ll distract you.”
She rolls her eyes. “Oh my gosh. So now you won’t let me talk to boys? Who the heck put you in charge anyway?”
I step closer to her, causing her to back away. I continue moving until she reaches the wall. Her eyes widen as I place my hands on either side of her head, my face only inches from hers.
Before I can stop them, my gaze flicks to her lips. She licks them, which makes me stare even harder. She has really pretty lips, the kind most guys would dream of kissing.
“So now you’re holding me against my will?” she demands, breaking me from my thoughts.
I blink and look into her eyes. “What did I say about testing my patience?”
She raises her head. “What did I say about keeping me prisoner here?”
I bend my head even closer to her, so close that I can heara soft gasp escape her lips. “Do you want to know who put me in charge?” I whisper. “Your grandfather. The person who loves you more than anyone else in the world.”
She snorts, placing her hands on my chest and shoving me back. But she doesn’t succeed in pushing me even a centimeter. “He doesn’t love me.”
“He does.”
She narrows her eyes. “What do you know? You think you can just enter my life and make up all these lies—”
She stops talking when I place my hand on her cheek, pushing some hair away. “You’ve only known him for a few hours. I’ve known him practically all my life. Do you think he’s happy he didn’t have a relationship with you? You think he’s happy he has to keep his distance from you? It kills him.”
She glares at me. “Stop painting him as this perfect person who only wants people to be happy. He’snotthat.”
I study her for a bit, noting the pain in her eyes. She’s probably thinking about her parents. “I know he doesn’t show it,” I tell her. “But he cares about you.”
“Or he just wants an heir. Can you get out of my face now? I still have some homework to do.”
I take a second or two to gaze into her eyes before stepping back. She slides away from me, giving me a look before dropping down at her desk.
Lowering myself on the chair nearby, I keep my attention on her.
“So how does this work?” she asks after a bit. “Do you have homework or do you magically pass all your classes?”
“My homework is already completed.”
“So you’re a genius?”
“No. Efficient.”
She shrugs. “Well, you don’t have to get good grades, right? You just have to pass.”
I nod.
She returns to her studying, and about five minutes pass before she looks up at me. “Are you really just going to sit there watching me all evening?”
“Yes.”
She taps her pencil on her lips. “That’s very annoying.”
“I don’t really care what annoys you, Addilyn.”
