AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Does that mean he plans to keep me close?
“Didn’t tell you it’s one of his top ten major allergies, did he?” He rolls his head to the side, appraising me again.
“That makes sense.” I take back the locket, our fingers briefly touching. I shiver. “He’s part fae.”
His eyes widen. “How do you know that?”
“There’s a lot you get to know about someone when you’re left alone together.” Gathering a bit of courage, I touch his shirt with my fingertips. “What secrets are you holding?”
He doesn’t reward me for my bravado, instead moving me to the side so he can stand. “Better change into your work clothes. They’ll expect you before the sun sets and, like I said, I don’t want them snooping around here.”
My shoulders slump. I thought I’d broken through to him, but the grumpy side of Bastian has resurfaced. The thought of facing the guards at the cave into the city and my boorish boss again has me reeling. “Can’t we hide my anklet? If I stay here, I can repair your fighting gear.”
“They’ll find out.” He clomps to the doorway, removes his cloak, and throws it over his shoulders. “They always do.”
“Sounds like you have experience,” I grumble, disliking the idea of giving up on the fight.
“I said, get your work clothes.” He tosses a rope, an apple, and a book into a sack. Strange combination. “I don’t want to get home too late.”
We trek through the forest in silence as I chew on my inner lip and wonder what my punishment will be for missing work the past couple of days. Probably an extra hour here and there. Maybe putting me on public bathroom duty for a day or two. Bastian will make up an excuse for me.
To my surprise, he walks beside me as opposed to our usual commander-and-subservient position. In the silence, every nerve in my body picks up on the occasional brush of his sleeve against mine, noting how he quickly moves away.
A cool breeze rustles the tops of the trees. It masks the usual noises in the woods that have me on edge. Bastian’s presence also has me much more at ease in a place that haunts my nightmares. Even the glow of the luminescent forest doesn’t calm me in the same way. He can single-handedly relax and ravage me in the same breath without knowing his effect.
When we reach the top of the hill, he removes a dagger from beneath his cloak and holds it in his left hand. With his right, he takes mine, surprising me. “If the guards think we’re together, they’re more likely to leave you alone. Bunch of dirty lowlifes.”
I don’t argue. If I never have to encounter Grayson’s school friends again, I’ll die a happy woman. Besides, I enjoy having his hand in mine again. With my free hand, I lift the hood of my cloak. The less attention I draw, the better.
“Will you come to collect me?” The others are gone, so it is an obvious answer, but the silence is deafening.
“Be ready when the moon is at its highest in the sky.” The lump in his throat bobs as he stares at the line of guards at the entrance. “I’ll wait by that tree.” He nods at a tall fir to the left of the soldiers.
My fingers grip his tighter. “I still don’t see why I can’t stay with you. We can hide the anklet far away from the cabin. They’ll never find me.”
With a quick tug, he has my shoulders in his hands, his eyes drilling into mine. “You don’t know how to take no for an answer, do you? I’ve already said I can’t be alone with you.”
I study the lines of his face, trying to decipher every crease and angle. Desperation makes me want to touch the scar on his lip, but I tremble with the thought. “I’m still not sure why the tough commander can face a vampire or an army of Miscretes but he’s afraid of me. I can’t hit a tree with an arrow ninety percent of the time.”
When I don’t move away, he closes his eyes, his chest rising and falling. He massages my shoulders with his gentle touch. “I feel things toward you I shouldn’t. There’s a magnetic pull I’m desperately trying to fight, but whenever I think I’m gaining ground, I slip backward.” He drops his hands, breaking the connection I crave whenever he touches me. “We’ll continue training, but only in the Grove with the others around.” He rakes his hand through his hair. “I can’t believe Gray and Evie left me alone with you.”
“They know?” I’m already reeling from his admission. No wonder he acts like such an asshole around me. Has he talked about his desires with them? Pinpricks of embarrassment prickle my skin. This is only a crush—one I can keep to myself in the privacy of my dreams.
He clears his throat, staring over my shoulder at the guards by the entrance. “I mentioned it to Gray. Thought he’d know a way to snap the connection, because I haven’t found a way to break it myself.”
My gut twists with nausea. “Sorry to inconvenience you.” I whip around and march toward the guards, done with this conversation. He has a girlfriend. I get it. But he doesn’t have to make me feel like I’m a wart on his thumb.
“If it isn’t Grayson’s little sister.” The taller guard who gave me a hard time the other night walks up to me, appraising my outfit. He glances around and smirks. “Doesn’t look like you have your bodyguard tonight.” His smirk widens as he reaches out and touches my hair.
I smack his hand away, the uncomfortable twist in my gut transforming into bubbling anger. “Don’t touch me.”
He circles me, his eyes raking over my chest. Why did I wear Evie’s blouse that clings a little too tightly to my breasts? Because I was thinking about spending time with Bastian, not coming to work in Avren.
“You haven’t shown up for work the past two nights,” he states, taking the clipboard from the metal box. “Supervisor moved you. Can’t have workers not showing up for mission-critical positions.”
“The Sweet Street Bakery is a mission-critical position?” I suppose if children aren’t getting their sweets, there could be anarchy in the pristine streets.
“For some it is.” Without warning, he swats me on the bottom with the clipboard. “But with a little persuasion on your part, I could move you back to your cushy job. Give me fifteen minutes behind the trees over there.”
