Page 120 of Blood in the Water

“What?” I snapped and looked away. Why did she have such power to mesmerize me? It was dangerous. She was dangerous. “Excuse me, I’m trying to get to the kitchen. You have to take up the whole hallway?”

She cocked her hip and crossed her arms over her chest, pushing her magnificent boobs up even further.Damnthat sports bra. What was I doing?

Yes, food. I tried to step around her, but my eyes snagged on the bandages on her arms where she’d fallen into that glass.

Images from the night before flashed behind my eyes. I’d been prepared to take the bullet for her, but she’d pushed me out of the way instead. She’d put herself at risk so I didn’t, and then she’d hurt herself in the process. It had been replaying all damn night, which was why I couldn’t sleep.

I had paced in my room, in the living room, and everywhere around the house until Willow finally came out of her room and said she was resting. They both were. Only then had I tried to go to sleep, but it took forever and was fucking fitful.

“Cool. Still an asshole,” she scoffed as she pushed past me to walk down the hallway toward her room.

Wait. I didn’t want this. I wanted to talk to her, not piss her off and drive a wedge even further between us. Without thinking, I grabbed her arm to pull her back so we could talk. But my hand clamped down around the bandage, and she hissed in pain.

“What the hell, Ryuji?!”

I instantly let go, guilt slicing through me like a razor blade. “Fuck. I’m sorry. Wait.”

“What do you want?” She glared as her lips tightened. “I need to shower, and then I need to find Ciel to see if he’s up.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

She paused, looking between me and the doorway down the hall.

“Not if you’re just going to tell me to leave. I’m already making plans to handle it so you can save your breath.”

“I’m not—wait, what? You’re leaving?”

She tilted her head to the side. “Relieved?”

“Why would…” I shook my head and frowned. “No. I have something I want to say.”

“So say it, then,” she shrugged. “I’ll be nice and listen, even though you were a total dick when I wanted to talk to you.”

Did she always have to be so insufferable? I rolled my eyes. “Can we talk in my room?” She stared at me blankly, so I forced out, “Please.”

With a sigh, she nodded, and I led her into my room. She looked around slowly, taking in the black-on-black design with my huge plush bed in the center of the east wall. Carefully, hesitantly, she chose to sit on the edge of it. I stared at her as everything I wanted to say suddenly disappeared from my mind like mist.

“So?” She raised her eyebrows. “What do you want to say? Are you alright?”

“Am I alright?” I blinked as I gestured at her arms. “Areyoualright?”

“I’m fine,” she held them up to inspect the bandages. My heart twisted. “My arms still hurt, but I deserve it. I’ll be fine.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I practically growled. She’d saved my life, and then said she deserved the pain? Fuck that.

She looked away and bit her lip. “Never mind. I’ll be fine in a few days.”

“Leona. Look at me.”

The weight of everything curled her shoulders inward. Dark circles shadowed her eyes. Her arms came to wrap around her middle like she was trying to protect herself.

Protect herself from me? Like it smacked me right across the mouth, I realized I didn’t want to be the thing that worried her. I wanted to be the thing that kept her safe.

I took a deep breath. She didn’t deserve what happened to her, but before we got into that, I had to tell her what had been ping-ponging around in my brain since the night before.

I came to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. Our legs barely brushed against one another.

“Thank you,” I whispered.