Page 74 of Rejected Hollow

Only then did he turn around.

He looked at me, and even without my glasses I knew immediately what was on his face. His expression had gone utterly still, and there was something in the way he held himself that told me how angry he was.

Then he crossed the space between us and wrapped both arms around me.

He pulled me against his bare chest and simply held on. I held him back just as tightly, soaking him with water while I shook against him, my face pressed into the hollow of his throat.

After a long moment, he spoke into my hair.

"Right. There are two ways back. The rear stair comes out behind the kitchens, so nobody will see you. The front way goes through the gallery."

"Back way," I said immediately.

"Back way it is."

There was no hesitation and no argument. He took my hand and turned toward the narrow passage behind the pools.

Then he stopped.

"For what it's worth, reina, hiding isn't the only thing you can do."

I looked toward him. "What does that mean?"

"It means those girls expect you to stay down here until everyone is asleep. They want you sneaking back to your tower like you're the one who did something wrong." His thumb moved once across my knuckles. "If you wanted to take the front way, I'd walk beside you. I'd make sure anyone who stared understood exactly what they were looking at. But you don't owe anybody that. We can take the back stairs, and nobody has to see you."

"I can't just walk through the gallery like this."

"Then we don't."

He turned toward the rear passage again.

I stared at the entrance. It was narrow and dark, half-hidden behind the steam. It was safe, private, and exactly where Delphine expected me to go.

"Wait." Jax stopped immediately. My heart was pounding. "What would you do if we went through the front?"

His expression changed. Something sharp and pleased appeared in it.

"I'd tell every staring idiot on this island exactly how beautiful you are."

"Loudly?"

"Very loudly."

The thought was horrifying. It was also ridiculous, and somehow it was the first version of the next ten minutes in which Delphine didn't get to decide where I was allowed to exist.

"Let's say I might want that. What if I change my mind halfway?"

"Then we turn around."

I looked back at the dark passage for another second before holding out my hand.

"Fuck it. Front way," I said, although my voice shook. "But don't let me go. I can only do this with you."

Something in his face softened.

"Don't worry. I'll follow every command."

He laced his fingers through mine, and together we started up toward the gallery.