Isaiah didn’t move from Gemma’s door. “Why?”
I scoffed. “Oh, I don’t know. I thought maybe someone else was here to fuck with Gemma. The girl has some bad luck.”
A gruff chuckle left him. “Glad to know she has more than just me as a bodyguard.”
“Rebels protect their own. You know this.”
“That’s a new rule, though,” Isaiah countered. “Neither of us were supposed to have someone.”
Nothing came from my mouth because he was right. We had made the decision to never get wrapped up in someone, because we refused to bring anyone into our less-than-appealing futures, but here we were.
Isaiah must have realized that I wasn’t going to say much of anything, because he opened Gemma’s door and slipped inside without saying another word. I pushed past the leeriness that lingered in the empty hall, glancing at Journey’s closed door once more, and began to step back into my spot when her door opened.
Her pretty face appeared in the crack, and even though I could only see a small sliver of her, I knew she had changed out of her hoodie and into her sleep shirt. Fuck, I know what lies beneath that thin lavender tee.
“You okay?” I asked, keeping my cool even though the hallway suddenly felt stuffy.
Journey’s light hair fell forward, sweeping into her face as she looked at the knife in my hand and the book in the other. She peered behind me and landed on the dark alcove that I would be spending the night in. “Have you been sleeping in there?”
“Sleeping? No.”
“Then, what are you doing standing outside my door with a knife and a book?”
My chin raised, and I walked closer to her, smelling her sweet scent waft into the hall. “Protecting you.”
“I didn’t ask for that, Cade.”
“I don’t care.”
Her face fell momentarily, her head going next. But then, I heard the squeaky hinges of her door as she slowly pulled the heavy oak toward her, allowing me to see those bare legs peeking out from her purple shirt.
I didn’t move a single inch. I wasn’t trying to make it hard on her, but I didn’t want to push. This was a conscious move between us. We weren’t blinded by raw, surging emotion or the desires of our attraction. We couldn’t blame this on being caught up in the moment, fueled by desperation. This was something else entirely.
“Might as well come in here to read if that’s your plan for the night. I’m doing the same.”
I peeled my eyes from her body and looked at her unmade bed. Her night table had several books propped up on top, one already opened, with her lamp on.
“What are you reading?” I asked, unraveling the tightness in my chest.
Journey’s face stayed relaxed as she looked from the book in my hand to my face. But I saw it in her eyes. I saw the glimmer of happiness. “Same as you.”
Then, the door was shut, and she and I were back to us.