Page 6 of Ravage
Vera frowns and drops my hands. She looks back to Gordon for support, but he just looks at her like he’s expecting her to make the decisions on this. It should be a good sign that he’s not trying to control what happens with this, right?
My gut tightens in disagreement anyway.
“A week. Give me a week to figure out how and when to tell him,” she finally replies, though, she doesn’t sound happy about it.
Tough luck, because it will be hard enough for me to keep a secret from Dane for a whole week when it’s about his sister doing who-knows-what with one of the people keeping us here. Hopefully, she rips off the Band-Aid and does it tomorrow.
“A week,” I confirm.
“And just Dane. His friends don’t need to be in my business either. He’s the only one who can know right now. And he doesn’t even need to know that you know either.”
I don’t understand why she’s making such a big deal out of this if she planned to tell him once she turned eighteen in a few weeks anyway. But I drop it. If she’s happy and her brother knows about what’s going on, then it isn’t my business to get involved any further.
I nod reluctantly and then glance back at the fallen furniture. She follows my gaze and then rolls her eyes. “You’ll learn when you get older. Now, are we good here? If you don’t mind, I’d like to pick up where Gordon and I left off before you poked your nose in.”
My nose scrunches before I can help it, and she glares at me. Well, gross.
Gordon unlocks the door and opens it so I have to duck under his arm to leave.
“No snacks on the way back,” he tells me just as I’m between him and the door. “Straight back to your room.”
I scurry out and almost forget to watch my steps on the stairs until a faint creak snaps me out of my head. I re-focus on where my feet land on the stairs until I’m back on the second floor. I debate returning to my own room to avoid seeing Dane or the others. I haven’t even seen them yet and I already feel the burning need to tell them what just happened.
But if I don’t show up, they’ll come looking for me anyway to make sure I didn’t get caught.
I push and pull at my cheeks, smushing my own face around to remove any sign of whatever expression that whole encounter left me with.
Okay. I can do this. Just act normal and not like I have a huge secret that belongs to one of their sisters that they should definitely know about.
I swallow and turn the door handle slow enough to keep from making any noise. I step into the room and turn to softly close it.
“Where are the snacks?” Dane asks, peering over my shoulder.
I jump on reflex and fall forward into the door with a thud that’s loud enough to send me into a panic.
“Woah, what’s wrong?” He grips my shoulders and guides me to face him. His golden blond curls fall in a messy tangle across his forehead and at his temples, but his original brown color is coming back in at the roots. He’ll likely be dyeing it again within the week to match his sister’s natural golden blonde.
There’s concern in his amber gaze as he looks me over. He doesn’t drop his hand from my shoulder, which would be comforting if he wasn’t the exact person I’m trying not to spill the beans to.
I duck my head and skirt around him further into the room before my face can betray me until I get a handle on it. “Nothing. I’m fine.”
Kellan drops from the bar Aiden mounted in the middle of the ceiling and lands in front of me. He wipes his face with the bottom of his shirt so I get a clear view of his naturally tanned and sculpted abs.
I swallow.
I mean, I’m pretty sure his body and metabolism already gifted him with what would make any girl fan herself. Why he continues to work out and make it even more droolworthy is a continuous point of concern between me and my hormones.
Then he’s covered again, and I blink back to reality. His blue-green eyes twinkle under dark brows while he smirks knowingly at me. “She seems good to me,” he drawls.
I shove playfully at him, but he grabs and yanks me in for a hug. My body instantly sinks into his warmth and the safety behind his arms. Not only is he tall and broad, but he’s impervious to my terrifying gift.
I’m safe in his arms because I could never truly hurt him with it.
“She looked spooked when she first came in.” Dane’s voice is still laced with worry.
I try to wriggle my way out, but Kellan tightens his arms and refuses to let me go. “Did someone catch you trying to get the snacks, beautiful?”
My fingers tickle along his inner elbow, right where I know he’s sensitive. He jolts at the contact, and I slip out of his reach. “Something like that,” I tease back with a grin. It’s not that far off base, really.
