Knight laughed.
Saint peeked up at him. “So it was really okay?”
Knight’s chest constricted. His gaze helplessly softened. “Yes, Saint.” He kissed him again, soft and sweet. “Like I said, it was perfect.”
THIRTEEN
Saint didn’t know how to tell Knight that he wanted him to stay. For at least a little longer. He didn’t know how this shit with the cult was going to play out, but the fact that his mother had come all the way to his house to “warn” him told him they were going to escalate soon. Which meant Knight might be making his final moves, too, and their contracts would end.
It seemed Knight already planned on staying for a bit, since he was searching for his friend. Could Saint offer that Knight could stay with him? At least until he found her? Would Knight even want that? But Saint didn’t want a contract to be the reason they stayed together. He wanted to choose Knight, the same way he wanted Knight to choose him.
It was just past noon, and he was sitting in the little gatehouse while Samuel did his rounds. His right hand held Samuel’s little portable handheld fan to his face, while in his other hand, he held the book he, Knight, and Teresa were reading. They’d progressed enough to get to the first sex scene. The day was blistering hot, and the sexiness of the scene wasnothelping.
Knight’s silence was very suspicious. He wondered if the demon was on the same page he was. A bolt of arousal shot through him at the thought. Was Knight feeling all hot andbothered right now? Was that why he hadn’t yet done his little magic thing to help cool Saint down?
He was just wondering if he should poke his head over the roof, ask for a little kiss while no one was here, when he felt a sharp, brief pain in his head, like his literal brain had been stung by a wasp.
“Ow.” He clutched the side of his head, which was still throbbing.What the fuck?
Knight? Are you all right?
Saint slowly dropped his hand, ignoring the ache, which was slowly fading.
His pulse thundered. Unlike the bonds he and Knight shared thanks to their contracts, Saint had never been able to feel the telepathic link in the same way, possibly why he and Knight often forgot it was even there.
Now, though, he swore he could feel its absence. Apart from the throbbing, his head felt almost too light.
Knight?He tried again, throat bobbing with a swallow.
Silence.
Taking a shaky breath, Saint stood. He dropped the novel on the plastic chair, then left the gatehouse, pretending he needed to stretch. When he was standing at the other end of the gate, he turned to look back.
Knight wasn’t on the roof.
For a moment, Saint just stared.
Knight? Can you hear me? What’s happening? Where did you go?
Nothing.
Okay, Saint thought to himself, trying to force his racing heart to calm down. He slowly walked back to the gatehouse and took his seat, placing the novel in his lap. Okay. All right.
Maybe ... maybe Knight had gotten a warning or something from one of their contracts. Perhaps Knight the Dog was beingattacked right now and he’d had to teleport to his side to make sure he was safe.
Then what happened to the telepathic link?
Knight? Saint tried once more.
Don’t panic,he told himself.I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation. Just cool down and wait until you get home. He might even return before then.
Saint forced himself to open the book, though he couldn’t concentrate on any of it. Samuel eventually returned from patrol, and Saint had an actual conversation with him; he even remembered laughing, but he had no idea what the fuck either of them had said, his thoughts running a mile a minute.
He was too distracted to say his usual goodbyes to his favourite kids and parents. Thank God Mrs. Efezino was early today, which meant the moment the school was closed, Saint could go home.
The thought of walking made him feel like throwing up, so he took a keke. His anxiety seemed to have been manageable all day long but had finally reached its peak. Each time he’d tried to contact Knight through the telepathic link, it was like he was simply talking to himself in his head.
The keke dropped him off at the top of the dirt road, and Saint briskly walked down to his compound.
