Page 94 of In Darkness We Claim

We don’t say anything as we climb out of the shower, and I’m a little relieved about that. I was right in saying kissing is intimate, and it’s made me feel things I’ve never experienced before. Quite frankly, I’m a little shaken, and I’m unsure what the hell I’m going to do now.

I think I’ve just handed Harper a piece of my heart, and without her in my life, I suspect I’ll never be whole again. But the more I think about it, the more I realise I never want to live in a world that she’s not a part of, and that’s fucking scary, because the clock on our time together has already started counting down.

We are living on borrowed time, and soon, new obligations will force us in different directions. That’s never bothered me before… I’ve always known I’ll have an arranged marriage to someone I don’t give a shit about, and I’ve never questioned my fate. But as I feel the ghost of Harper’s lips against mine, I suddenly want to rebel against the only future I’ve ever known.

I don’t want anyone else in my life, only her, but keeping her means breaking all the rules, and possibly losing everything I’ve spent my life working towards.

Fuck, I knew kissing her would be the death of me.

As my eyes flutter open, my body feeling oddly relaxed, almost as if I’m acting on instinct alone, I reach out to grab hold of Harper, needing to pull her curvy body against mine. When the soft, plush weight of the duvet is the only thing I feel, a slow dawning spreads through my mind. The silence of the room, usually filled with her gentle breathing, is unnerving. And the strange absence of her familiar warmth pressed against me sends a prickle of unease through me.

Since the Gifting Ceremony, we’ve rarely been apart, and I’ve grown accustomed to the comforting warmth of her body pressed against mine as I sleep. Waking up to fucking mind-blowing morning sex is just a lucky bonus.

After I crossed the final line with her last night, kissing her for the first time, it’s like the walls I erected around my stone-cold heart are crumbling, and she’s worming her way inside, no matter how hard I try to push her back.

I roll over and catch sight of a piece of paper on her pillow, my eyes narrowing as I reach out and grab it.

Lawson,

I didn’t want to miss any more school, so I’ve gone to class.

Please, don’t be mad. I’ll see you this afternoon.

Harper xx

I screw up the piece of paper in my hand, letting out a groan as my dick twitches in commiseration, since I’m definitely not getting laid this morning.

I know I shouldn’t be mad that she’s going to class, or that she didn’t wake me before she left, but that doesn’t mean I’m not. I’m aware it’s illogical, but Harper Westmore seems to bring out my crazy side, which is how I find myself standing outside her classroom door, getting ready to barge into her lesson.

While showering, dressing, and eating breakfast with Bram, I had ample opportunities to talk myself out of this. Hell, Bram put forward several very convincing arguments…yet here I am, having listened to none of them.

I’ve been watching her long enough to know her schedule by heart, and Business Studies is her least favourite class. She only signed up for it to keep her father happy—a theme I’ve noticed runs through most of Harper’s life.

To steel my nerves, I pull in a sharp breath as I adjust my backwards baseball cap, making sure I’m projecting the air of confidence and arrogance I’ve spent many years perfecting. Wearing my usual dark jeans, biker boots, tight T-shirt, and leather jacket, I look just like any other university student, but the dangerous edge I exude reminds people to keep their distance—a reputation I’ve worked hard to maintain.

I push the classroom door open hard, not caring when it slams against the wall from the force, and all eyes turn to me as I stride in, my head held high. I scan the room, my gaze landing on the pretty girl with strawberry-blonde curls, who is gawking at me with her mouth open.

“What the… Who are you?” the old man standing at the front of the lecture theatre splutters, glaring at me as I pointedly ignore him.

I make my way down the stairs, heading straight for Harper. She’s sitting about six rows from the back, but her chair is five from the aisle. There’s a geeky-looking guy sitting in the aisle seat, and as soon as I stop beside him, towering over him, he looks up at me in fear.

“Move,” I snap, glaring at him when he doesn’t respond straight away.

“Who are you? I will call security!” the teacher shouts, but I ignore him as though he didn’t say a word.

“Find a different seat,” I tell the thin guy with thick-rimmed glasses, who is staring at me with his mouth wide open.

He blinks a few times, almost as if he can’t quite believe what’s happening, and frustration bubbles within me as I battle with the urge to pick him up and move him myself.

“T-this i-is my s-seat,” he stutters in a high-pitched whisper, grabbing hold of the seat to emphasise his point.

I squat down so I’m level with him, making sure he can see the barely contained rage that’s simmering just beneath the surface. I nod my head towards Harper, who is staring wide-eyed, silently watching everything unfold.

“I don’t care that this is your seat. She is mine, and I want to sit with her. I also don’t want anyone near her,” I snap, as Harper lets out a frustrated groan.

“B-but…I-I’m not…next to her.” He points to the three seats that are separating them, like that’s enough for me to be satisfied—it’s fucking not!

I narrow my gaze on him as I curl my hands into fists, dropping my voice low and threatening, so only he can hear. “If you don’t move now, I’ll staple your eyelids closed so you can never look at her, or anyone else, ever again.”