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THEO
Jordan was lost for words, and I relished it. Seeing his beautiful eyes widening, his mouth struggling to form coherent sentences while I had him pinned against the edge of the pool, was so satisfying.
His tongue slid across his lips. “I—I don’t know what’s happening.”
That made two of us, but the way he was so fucking pliant and at my mercy was addictive, in a completely different way to the sleeping pills.
“Are you interested in men?”
He immediately shook his head. “No. Nooo. Never have been. Are you?”
That was a question with a complicated answer. Jordan Emery was the kind of person that lit up a room the minute he walked into it. People couldn’t help but notice him. Lately,I’dnoticed him. And he was undeniably beautiful. So beautiful, in a way that made my heart race, as much as I wished it didn’t.
It had been easy to keep my distance when we were at each other’s throats. Easy to ignore all those things when all I had to do was hate him. Easy when I could keep him in a box—that shallow, cocky boy that had stolen my place and had been my hated rival for years. But here, well out of both of our comfort zones, forced together and with nothing and no one else to provide a distraction, it was getting harder and harder to deny the effect he had on me.
But going down that road would lead to nothing but trouble. Serious trouble.
“I’m not interested,” I lied, forcing myself to move back, creating a sliver of space between us.
“Wait.” His eyes widened as soon as the word fell from his throat. Dragging a hand through his hair, he lowered his lashes, hiding his gaze from me. “Are…uh…yeah. Never mind. It’s getting late, isn’t it? I’m, uh, gonna shower. Then go to bed. Goodnight, Theo.”
“Goodnight.” I watched him leave, the perfect globes of his ass flexing as he ascended the steps, and when he turned towards the bathroom, I caught a glimpse of the heavy weight of his erection, the outdoor lights giving me a hint of what he was packing.
Submerging myself in the pool, I held my breath for as long as I could, allowing my own erection to subside. Then I swam laps until my muscles screamed for mercy, and as I dragged my exhausted, aching body out of the pool and into the shower, I just hoped it was enough to finally silence my mind and allow me to sleep.
* * *
“Theodore. Stop that racket this instant!”
I lifted my tear-stained face from my pillow, blinking at my father, who stood silhouetted in the doorway, the light from the corridor spilling into the darkness of my bedroom.
“I h—had a bad—a bad d—dream,” I stuttered out between sobs. “Th—the monster was c—coming to get me, and—and—and I couldn’t move!”
“Nonsense. There is no such thing as monsters. I’m going to have a word with Angela in the morning. Has she been allowing you to read those books again?”
“They—they’re only fairy tales,” I sniffed. My nanny read to me in the afternoons, and I loved story time. It was an escape into magical worlds, with heroes and villains, and if I could, I would have spent all day listening to her fantastical tales.
“Regardless of their definition, your ridiculous screaming is keeping your mother awake. She needs her sleep, Theodore. I have an important meeting tomorrow, and I must be well-rested, too. I don’t want to hear any more noise from you. This is the third time I’ve warned you this week, and you’re walking a very thin line. If you don’t stop this nonsense, I’ll be forced to take action.”
No. Not the attic bedroom. My father had been threatening me with it for weeks, ever since my nightmares had begun. I didn’t want to go up there, in that cold, draughty room, where spiders made a home and the creaks and groans of the weathered wood sounded like all my nightmares were coming true.
I couldn’t be moved up there.
“S—sorry. I promise I won’t make any more noise.”
“See that you don’t.” Without another word, he closed the door, leaving me to be swallowed by the darkness.
As soon as he was gone, the stifling terror returned. Curling myself into a ball, making myself as small as possible, I pulled my bedcovers over my shaking body and covered my mouth with my hand so no one would hear my cries.
My pillow soon became wet with tears, but my sobs were silent. I refused to let myself fall asleep again because if I did, the nightmares might come again, and no one would come to comfort me. Only to threaten me with retribution.
“Theo! Theo!”
Gasping, I shot up in bed, my eyes flying open. Illuminated by the light coming from the now-open door, Jordan stared down at me, concern written all over his face.
“Are you, uh, okay?” He bit down on his lower lip. “Uh, sorry to wake you, but you were, um, making noises, and, and, kind of thrashing around.”
Fuck. I wiped my hand over my face, and it came away wet with tears.
