Page 60 of Her Devil

Nick nods.

Totally having sex in the living room while we all sit right here watching a film.

Skirts for the win.He types back.

Tamsin shuffles again beside me, and I can’t work out whether I’m more surprised they thought nobody would notice or that they’re actually giving it a go, but I don’t say a thing, and neither does Nick. After what we just did in the woods not fifty feet from the house, who am I to say anything?

You don’t fancy it?He types slowly with one hand whilst the other slides beneath the edge of my shirt.The chance of getting caught doesn’t turn you on?His fingers slide along my waist and lower back as a shiver ripples over my body.The treacherous bitch.

“Deny it all you want,” he whispers. “But your body can’t lie.”

I swallow thickly, knowing he’s not wrong.

Standing up, I grab my glass. “I’ve got work to do,” I declare before heading to my room and closing the door behind me.

I’d apologise to Tamsin, but it’s not like she’s using the room anyway, instead choosing to do whatever it is they’re doing right there in the room alongside everyone else. I’m not sure whether it’s brave or stupid, and whether I’m more annoyed she’s doing it and I’m not.

Pulling out a couple of workbooks and a notepad, I make myself as comfortable as I can, doing my best to ignore the aching in my core. It was good.Hewas good. But now I need to forget it, and him.

And eventually, I manage it. Well, enough to get some work done, at least. It won’t be perfect, but it’s better than nothing. Someone knocks quietly on the door, and Wyatt comes in when I reply to say it’s open.

“We’re heading back,” he says from the doorway. “Thought I’d better check on you before we leave.”

“I’m good, don’t worry about me.” I brush him off, dropping the pen on the pad and turning to take in his long strides closing the distance between us. He places a bottle of water on the desk, rubbing his hand comfortingly against my shoulder.

“He can choose you, but you’ve got to choose him back,” he admits. “And you’ve got other options.” He places a kiss on my cheek, gentle but intentional.

“Oh, I’ve got your jacket from the other night,” I say, placing distance between us as I move to the wardrobe and pull it off the hanger.

He’s sweet and kind, he’s been gentle with me this whole time, and then I go and do that with Nick. Not even a dirty little secret that I was trying to hide, because we were more than out in the open. Wyatt should be the one I’m strung out on, but he’s not.

“You could have kept it.” He shrugs. “You never know when you might need something warm and comforting,” he comments with a smile before leaving.

The smile doesn’t meet his eyes, and Nick doesn’t come to say goodbye, neither does Taylor, but the house goes quiet after the commotion of them leaving and I can’t work out my confusion over the whole thing.

On one hand, this is what I wanted, isn’t it? For Nick to leave me alone, to not be in my face and propositioning me every hour of the day. On the other, he didn’t even bother to say goodbye.

Giving up on the work with a disappointed sigh, I head into the bathroom and turn on the hot water, throwing a handful of salts in the bath. I’m still not ready for people, and I guess Tamsin knows it as I close the world out, load up an audiobook, and hide in the bathroom.

NINETEEN

NICK

“Hey,” Jacob says, quietly closing the door behind him. “Missed you at breakfast this morning.” He takes a seat on my bed, grabs a book from the nightstand and flicks through the pages.

“Don’t lose my page,” I clip, finishing up the section I’m working on before turning and giving him my full attention. “If you’re here to get me into shit again, I’m just going to say no now.”

He holds his hands up in surrender, shaking his head.

“How’s the head?”

His fingers automatically go to the strips above his eyebrow, wincing when he catches a sore bit. “It’s fine, no walk-in clinic needed. Olly found these butterfly things in the first aid kit and they did the job just fine.”

“Good.” I nod.

“Are you going to stay pissed at me forever?”

“Are they going to hate me forever?”

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