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I swallow down the lump in my throat, internally scolding myself for immediately jumping to conclusions, but I can’t help it. My instincts to protect myself kicked in, to push him away before he does the same to me.
“Sunshine,” he murmurs, his lips tilting up into a small smile. “That was the answer I needed.”
Some of the stiffness seems to seep away from his shoulders and he reaches to clasp my hands again. He gently strokes his thumb over the top of my hand, gazing back at me like I haven’t just acted like he was about to run. A crease forms between my brows as I stare back at him in confusion. There’s usually a bit of bite when he calls me sunshine, but this holds so much more fondness than I’m used to from him.
“What?” I blurt, my mind reeling as it tries to catch up. “I don’t think I gave you any sort of answer.”
I eye him skeptically and replay what I’d said before. Nope. No questions, no answers. Nothing.
“You just told me about being mated to a shadow monster,” he says slowly, as though I’m the one not understanding what’s going on here. I mean, I am, but he’s the one speaking in riddles right now. “I was trying to figure out if this was your way of telling me that you didn’t want—”
“No,” I exclaim, my eyes widening in shock as I cut him off. My heart jolts at that and I grip his hands tighter. “That’s not what I want.”
“Oh I know what you want, Hart.” He smirks, tugging me over to him. He wrenches one hand out of the vise-like grip I have on his to turn me so my back is facing him. “I’m in for all the craziness that comes with you, sunshine. Just as long as I’m as much yours, as you are mine.”
He eases me back to lie against his chest, and I sigh in contentment at his warm skin pressing against mine. I relax against him and he wraps his arms around my waist, nestling me into the safety of his chest. My eyes drift closed as exhaustion sweeps back in. Denver leans his head against mine, his breath caressing the side of my neck like a tendril of smoke ...
I immediately stiffen and my eyes fly open as reality comes crashing back in. I can’t go back to sleep now when I have no idea what’s happening to Damon right now.
“I want to stay here, I really do, but I—” I say, about to sit up when Denver cuts me off.
“Need to relax,” he breathes, finishing my sentence with words that were not about to leave my lips. His warm breath skates over the shell of my ear, sending a tendril of pleasure to lick up my spine. “It’s two o’clock in the morning right now. No one’s awake, and we have no idea where to start looking.”
I frown as I look around the room, wishing I had a clock somewhere. I hadn’t bothered to check the time when I woke up. Logic flew out the window in my panicked state. The only person I can even think of who might help is Landon, and sneaking into the Professors’ housing probably isn’t the best idea, especially when I don’t even know which room is his.
My shoulders slump slightly as I relax back against Denver’s chest, allowing myself to soak in his comforting embrace.
“You’re going to help me?” I ask hesitantly. The whole conversation seems so surreal. When we hooked up at my party we were at each other’s throats. Hell, even after that we’d kept our rivalry alive, but now I’m lying here in his arms, actually giving him information he could use against me and he’s willing to help rather than sell me out.
“Yes, Hart. That’s what I said, right?” he huffs out on a breath of amusement and squeezes me a bit tighter. “I always knew you’d have more than one partner. Just as long as I’m one of them, I’ll be by your side. Hell, even if you threw me to the curb right now I don’t think I’d have the willpower to not help you if you asked.”
I sigh in exasperation, but I can’t seem to stop the goofy grin that spreads across my face. Denver chuckles softly in response, clearly peering over my shoulder and glimpsing the smile but I don’t care.
“I’m guessing the elders are out of the question,” he says softly. There’s no accusation in his tone but I need him to know there’s no way they can know.
“Definitely out of the question,” I say sharply and turn to pin him with a pointed look.
“Just making sure we’re on the same page,” he says hurriedly, his lips tugging up into a grin.
I feign annoyance, hating how easy it is for him to make me smile when I used to only want to throttle him when he made smart-ass remarks. They’re my forte after all.
“We can ask Professor Pierce,” I offer, unsure how he’ll react to this when he warned me about being seen with him, but he has to know. “He knows about Damon too and he knows more about monsters than any of us do.”
“I see,” Denver murmurs, understanding lighting in his cobalt-blue eyes. His jaw tightens slightly as he looks out the window, seemingly gathering his thoughts.
My stomach twists as the silence settles in, but I give him the time he needs to process. Denver already knew that there was a possibility, but judging by the glare he gave Landon earlier when we were leaving the classroom, I don’t think Denver’s happy about it.
“Is that a problem?” I ask, chest tightening at the possibility that this might be a deal breaker. I know Denver more than I know Landon, but the pull towards him is inescapable. I’m honestly not sure I’d be able to stay away.
“No.” Some of the stiffness in his arms eases. I hadn’t even registered the tension radiating through him until now. “My warning stands though. He’s a professor, and you both need to be careful. But as long as he doesn’t hurt you, I won’t stand in your way.”
“Neither of us wants to do anything that will jeopardize either of our positions,” I explain, smiling despite the tense conversation. I mean, how can I not grin when he’s being so protective.
“Good,” he breathes, snuggling me closer.
Warmth spreads at the happiness I feel in his arms. There’s been far too many times I’ve wanted to strangle him and now that’s the furthest thing from my mind. I’m sure there’ll be times where he gets under my skin, but that’s just part of Denver Prince’s charm unfortunately.
I idly wonder if I should tell him about everything else, about Kai and my powers, but I don’t want to ruin this moment. There’ll be time for that after we find Damon.
