Page 56 of Sweethearts and Savages
Enit
Ilazed on the banks of the pond, ignoring the expectant looks of the ducks standing near us, staring. The sun beat down on us, and my head was in Stacey’s lap, mostly so she could nudge me whenever I stopped reading.
“He kissed me until the stars left the sky and spread across the back of my eyelids…”
My mouth didn’t stumble over the words anymore. It was smooth and modulated, even if I did still have to concentrate on the way my tongue moved. My hand didn’t shake where I held the book, and I was almost back to normal. Except for the ache that seemed to be permanently in my gut.
Frost was lying on his stomach, his head pillowed on his folded arms. “I’d bang Dallas Hellson six ways to Sunday and twice on Thursdays,” he murmured lazily and I laughed. Stacey just shook her head at him and he grinned up at us both. “You guys look so sweet together, you know? As sweet as any romance novel anyway.”
I flushed, and although Stacey tensed slightly under my cheek, she didn’t stop stroking my hair. It was at a weird length right now, and I kind of looked like an early 90s heartthrob. Or at least that was what my mom had said. I didn’t know who the hell Devon Sawa was, but she got all dreamy when she talked about him.
Bohdie was at Alpha Studies, and they’d arranged for his Omega friend to start tutoring me next year. My freshman year at the Academy had passed so fast, but it had been a crazy nine months. My second year at the Academy would be better.
It really couldn’t be fucking worse.
I guess some good things had come out of it, though. I looked up at Stacey, lifting my head for a kiss. She briefly touched her lips to mine, still not a huge fan of public displays, and I grinned at her. She huffed, tugging my hair lightly. “Read.”
I continued on, but my mind was wandering. That was another milestone, though it wasn’t quite as visible. The ability to read without consciously thinking how to move my lips to form words.
Frost rolled onto his back and I took a moment to study his sharp jawline. He was really very handsome, and funny. Months ago, when I’d petitioned Alexander for clemency, he’d given it to me, because I’d had that big dragon wrapped around my little finger since I was five. But there were strict guidelines. He was constantly watched, even when it didn’t seem like it. Even now, although he probably wouldn’t realize it with his human senses, there was a wolf in the woods with their eyes on us. He wasn’t allowed around any technology more sophisticated than the elevator. He wasn’t allowed to leave the grounds until everyone—and I meant everyone, including the Eden Board of Directors, my parents, Alexander, maybe even Sergei the janitor—was convinced he wasn’t a threat.
He was a prisoner at the Academy, but he didn’t seem to mind. He said he didn’t have any family. Nothing was waiting for him back home except his laptop. Not even a goldfish. It made me incredibly sad for this vivacious man. Honestly, he wooed as easily as he breathed. He just had this way of making you feel like you were his whole world in that moment. Even Stacey liked him, and she hated everyone.
“We should go get some lunch,” Stacey said softly. I wasn’t hungry, but I rolled to my feet, standing to brush the grass off my butt. Stacey was looking up at me, her brows drawn together. “You’re losing weight.”
It wasn’t a question, at least not one that I could refute. My clothes had begun to hang off my frame, my hip bones a little more prominent.
“Stress,” I said softly. “From exams. We’re going home for the summer, and I promise that Beatrice will take it as a personal affront and make it her duty to fatten me back up.”
Stacey didn’t laugh like I thought she would, still looking at me pensively. “I’d like you to come down to the clinic so I can do a few tests. I’m worried that I’ve missed something.”
I pulled her to her feet and stepped into her arms. “I promise I’m okay, but if it will make you feel better, I’ll come down and let you stick me with whatever you want.”
Frost snorted. “That’s what she said.” When I stepped back from Stacey, Frost wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Come on, I’m starving.”
A group of Nîso shifters walked past us, lowering their heads at me respectfully. Frost shook his head in exasperation. “You know, once upon a time I thought I was attractive, but this place is ridiculous. Why is everyone so beautiful? Is there some kind of secret pool somewhere that makes you physically appealing? Because I’m ready for my bath.”
Stacey rolled her eyes, but I giggled, leaning into his warmth. He tightened his arm around my shoulders and squeezed me affectionately.
“You’re very handsome and you know it, Frost.”
“You think I'm pretty?” he gasped, and heat flooded my cheeks. He was beyond pretty really. It wasn’t just the outer package either, though that was very appealing with his sharp jaw and the grin that lit up his entire face. Not to mention the lean muscle of his body. He raised an eyebrow at my blatant appraisal and I flushed a little.
“You know you’re pretty, butthead.”
He laughed and kissed my temple. No, it wasn’t just the outside of Frost that was pretty. His inside was pretty great too. He was funny and generous, as well as smart enough to keep up with Stacey, most of the time anyway. Sometimes, he knew when to let me be lost in my silence, something that Stacey and Bohdie struggled with. They remembered the Enit of before. We just all had to come to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t ever be the same, even after I healed.
People waved to us, even to Frost, who had seemed to make himself at home here. The girls especially loved him, his humanness something exotic in this institute. I ignored the stab of jealousy that speared my chest at the thought. I had enough on my plate. I didn’t need to feel possessive about a man whose heart belonged to someone else. Though sometimes I caught him looking at me in a way that wasn’t just friendly. No, it was definitely something hotter than that. But it had only been three months, and I didn’t think that Frost was going to get over his heartache quite so quickly.
Three months since I’d been rescued.
Three months since I’d seen—
No. I shut the thought down. I didn’t need to dredge that shit up today. It plagued me enough when I slept. Lucius and Nico had returned, but they refused to tell me if they found Kell. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to know, but somewhere deep down, I knew he wasn’t dead. It might have been wishful thinking on my behalf, something to help me sleep easier.
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After my afternoon lectures,I found myself in Stacey’s clinic getting vial after vial of blood drawn.
