Page 28 of Far From Sherwood Forest

I didn’t sleep last night. At all.

Even though I live on the park grounds, I’m late to work because I didn’t want to get out of bed. I laid there as long as I could, desperately hoping I could get just five fucking minutes of sleep. It never came.

It didn’t help that the image of Robin pinned beneath me kept flashing in my mind, and every time, my dick thought I’d do something about it. It practically begged me to, staying hard most of the fucking night. But I never did.

Now I’m exhaustedandfrustrated when I enter the office to have my morning coffee before my first patrol. Laura glares at me from behind her desk but says nothing. Silent treatment. I’m okay with that. Thrilled, honestly.

Everyone better stay out of my fucking way today.

The second I take a seat in my office, before I can even have my first sip of coffee, my phone rings.

Of fucking course.

When I see it’s Ivy calling, I can’t decide if it makes mymood better or worse. Neutral, I guess. And, right now, she’s the luckiest person in the world for that considering I still blame her a little for how I acted yesterday.

Answering the call, I don’t bother with a greeting. “You sure have been calling me more than usual.”

“Have I?” she asks like she doesn’t know it’s true.

That makes me even more suspicious.

Before I asked her to help me transfer to this park, we hadn’t spoken in months. I know she’s eager to know what’s going on between me and Robin. Maybe she wants vengeance for me as much as I do, but I can’t help feeling there’s more to it.

I grind my teeth together and say her name like a warning. “Ivy.”

“Whaaat?” she whines. “Is it really so bad that I’m invested in this? Besides, I gotta check in and make sure you haven’t landed yourself in jail yet.”

“Well, Robin’s still alive, so…”

“So you must be having a lot of fun playing with him then.”

I sigh and lean back in my chair. “I’m actually not having fun at all.”

The first night, sure. I had fun making him bleed. Since then, he’s gained the upper hand. For fuck’s sake, I couldn’t even sleep last night.

If I was being honest with myself, there were a lot more images in my head than of what actually happened that kept me awake. I’ve never been one to have much of an imagination, but my mind sure was running wild. I’ve also never been attracted to a man or thought about having sex with one, so I have no idea how my brain was able to conjure images like that.

Oh, how far I’ve fallen from prayer to depravity.

Mostly, I hate myself because it’s fuckingRobin Hood. But…

If I was still a religious man, he’d make me want to sin.

And there it is.

The damning of my soul.

“What about these plans you said you have?” Ivy asks, breaking through my spiraling thoughts. “Maybe you should focus on one of those. What’s on the list?”

I run my hand down my face and scratch at my beard just for something to distract myself. One of the things I hate most is how quickly those thoughts about Robin came to me and how they’re refusing to leave me alone. I don’twantto think of him that way, but now that those thoughts are there, they just keep burrowing deeper.

“Come on, Henry,” Ivy says when I haven’t answered. “You’ve opened up to me before. Talk to me now.”

It’s the sincerity in her voice that makes me give in, something only she has the power to do.

“I was going to make him feel as alone as I felt.”

“And how were you going to do that?”