Chapter 42
I stared after Trace as he disappeared around the building. Each step of distance physically hurt. But it was more than that. My heart ached for him, the guy who thought he was nothing but bad. I knew that wasn’t true. I’d seen it with my own eyes when he’d stepped in to deal with Damien.
Footsteps pounded on the stone path, and I turned to see Dash hurrying toward me, concern etched into his face. “What happened?”
I shook my head, unsure of how to even explain that exchange. “Just Trace.”
Dash frowned but seemed to instantly understand. He wrapped his arm around me and guided me along the path. “It’s not you. He has demons…”
“We all do.” It was something I’d only truly learned since coming to Emerald Bay. Every person that walked this earth was scarred by something. It was how we dealt with those scars that mattered.
Dash dipped his head and pressed a kiss to the top of mine. “You’re right about that. I just don’t want you to take Trace’s actions personally.”
I rubbed at that spot along my sternum. “It’s a little hard not to.”
Dash’s eyes tracked the movement of my hand. “You okay?”
I instantly dropped my arm. “Fine. Just not entirely looking forward to a day in the gossip mill.”
“They’re morons,” he groused. “They know what a manipulative asshole Damien is. Spreading his lies just reveals them to be the sheep they are. No, lemmings. Did you know that lemmings will blindly follow each other, even over a cliff?”
I grinned up at Dash. “How does your brain hold all that knowledge?”
His cheeks pinked. “I’ve always just had a thing for facts.”
I pressed tighter against him. “I love it. It’s comforting to me that you’ll always have all the answers.”
Dash chuckled, the sound wrapping around me in a caress. “I doubt that.”
He opened the back door and ushered me inside.
As we stepped into the back hallway, I froze.
Damien stood outside a classroom about twenty feet away, talking to his minions, Lucien and Caspian.
His gaze jerked to me instantly, and his eyes darkened.
There was no sign of any of the injuries I knew Trace had to have inflicted.
But maybe my mind had embellished that, too.
But when Damien’s lip curled in a snarl, I knew that wasn’t true.
I slid out of the SUV after Ronan and had to fight not to collapse to the cobblestone drive.
This had been one of those no good, very bad days.
The whispers and lies hadn’t stopped all day.
Girls shot slut and whore at me under their breath.
And I’d lost track of all the lewd comments from the guys.
Ronan had punched one of them in the middle of the hallway, and that had tempered things for a bit, but not long enough.
He took the backpack from my shoulder as he glanced down at me. “You okay?”
“Long day.”
He nodded. “What would help?”
Sleeping for a week? Moving to Antarctica? Then it hit me. “I need to cook.”
Ronan grinned. “That we can do. Want to change first?”
I nodded. I wanted out of this uniform as soon as humanly possible.
I followed the rest of the guys into the house, not missing that Trace immediately disappeared, and hurried to my bedroom. I gave Briar a quick cuddle and then changed into comfy sweats.
Heading downstairs, I pulled up short as Declan walked through the front door. He’d changed out of his uniform, too. He wore low-slung joggers and a white tee that clung to those planes of muscle.
He grinned. “Hey. Missed you.” Bending, he brushed his lips across mine.
It was far too tempting to sink into that kiss, but I managed to pull back. “You’re here?”
I said it more like a question, even though it was clearly a statement.
Declan instantly understood my confusion. “We talked. I’ll be here more now.”
Warmth spread through me at the thought of all of my guys being in one place. Guilt pricked at me as soon as the thought entered my head. They weren’t mine. Even though I wanted every single one of them to be.
I wove my fingers through Declan’s and squeezed. “I’m glad you’re here.”
He kissed the tip of my nose. “Me, too. So, what’s the plan?”
“I’m going to cook.”
Declan’s eyes flared. “Really? I love to cook.”
A smile spread across my face. “I wouldn’t have guessed that.”
Ronan rounded the corner. “Good news, bad news. Baldwin already went to town in the kitchen, so we’re probably set on food for the next decade, but—”
He pulled up short as he caught sight of Declan. The easygoing expression on his face morphed into one of instant guardedness. “Didn’t know you were here already.”
Declan gave his brother a chin lift. “Thanks for letting me come.”
Ronan’s back teeth ground together. “I’d do anything for Leighton.”
Oh, hell. He was making it clear this wasn’t acceptance on his part. Something about that crushed me. I hurried to change the conversation’s direction. “If cooking’s out, what should we do?”
“Swim,” Colt said, striding into the entryway.
My jaw went slack as I took him in. Colt wore low-slung board shorts that exposed that V of muscle, and I had the sudden urge to trace it with my tongue.
He chuckled. “You’re staring, LeeLee.”
I jerked out of my daze as my face flamed. “Isn’t it too cold to swim?”
Colt shook his head. “Pool’s heated, and we’ve got the hot tub, too.”
I worried the corner of my lip. “I don’t have a swimsuit.” But it was more than that.
“Carly sent a bunch. They’re in the pool house with the towels.”
Crap.
Declan’s thumb drew circles on the back of my hand. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m just not sure I’m up for swimming.”
Colt frowned at me. “You love swimming. Your dad would have to bribe you to get out of the water when we were little.”
I swallowed hard. “I guess things change.”
Worry creased Declan’s brow. “Your pulse is going crazy, and your breathing’s fast. It’s more than that.”
Why did these guys have to be so damn astute?
Ronan dipped his head so that he met my gaze. “What’s wrong? You know you can tell us anything.”
Now that they knew something was wrong, they wouldn’t let up.
My gaze dropped to the marble entryway, tracing the gray lines that looked like stormy lightning bolts. “I don’t want you to see my scars.”