Devil's Due [h.s.]

Chapter 60

TW // Graphic violence.

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Chapter 60

"Ready?" Harry looked at me from across the front foyer of Devil's Due, one hand on the doorknob and his other extended in my direction. I glanced down at it, confused momentarily, before stepping forward and slipping my hand in his. He looped our fingers together.

We'd spent the better part of an hour cleaning the studio, or rather, he'd cleaned the studio while I went to the bathroom and cleaned myself up. He seemed weirdly upbeat considering everything due to happen tomorrow, almost giddy, and no part of me wanted to equate that happiness to myself but I was also glad that I'd been able to provide as some sort of a distraction for him. Whenever I thought too hard about the event, about him having to go, my heart felt all too tight and that same feeling of nausea overwhelmed me.

"Ready," I gave his hand a squeeze, trying to hide my grin.

Harry swung the door open and braced a hand above my head in order to let me walk beneath him outside. The street was busier than usual, probably thanks to it being Saturday, and the two of us fell in step behind the people sauntering up the sidewalk, sights set on the alley leading to the parking lot a few hundred feet away.

"So, when are you letting me tattoo you again?" Harry asked, glancing down at me. He ran his thumb up and down the back of my hand.

"Hm," I angled my head to the side and swung myself in front of him, walking backwards in order to meet his eye. Harry's mouth spread into a lopsided grin and he gave my hand a squeeze before I went on, "Well, what exactly did you have in mind to give me?"

Harry sucked in a breath through his teeth and threw his head to the sky briefly before bringing his gaze back down to mine and saying, "I had a few ideas." A small pause in which he looked my face up and down. "And if I remember correctly–" his free hand shot out, closing around my chin and he dragged a thumb over my bottom lip, "–you hadn't been too opposed to letting me put ink on this, yeah?"

I was still walking backwards, slowly now, and couldn't help the grin that appeared on my face. The pad of his thumb was warm against my skin. "Give me a couple of options, then." I purposely cocked my head to the side, fitting my cheek in the curve of his palm. "A word that you'd want put there. That's why you want it, right?" My tone was teasing now. "So, it's something only you can see?"

Harry was silent for a moment, expression unreadable, as he gently angled me in the direction of the alley. Once everyone from the sidewalk and their slightly overwhelming chatter disappeared, leaving just the two of us in the budding evening light between buildings, he suddenly backed me against the brick wall a few steps away and slid his hands up to grip my shoulders.

"I want you to stay with me," he blurted, catching me completely off guard. His expression had sobered, morphed into one that could only be described as discomfort. Vulnerability, I realized. Or rather, fear of the vulnerability he was currently allowing me to bear witness to. "And not just... because I want to keep you safe," he blinked a few times, bracing one hand on the wall beside my head and letting his other drift down to grip my upper arm, where he gave a small squeeze. "But because I want you there. I like having you there with me."

"Wow," I breathed, flattening my mouth into a line.

"What?" he immediately looked concerned, a crease between his brows forming. "You don't have to. I was–" he shook his head, sucking in a sharp breath and glanced to the sky, his jaw set. "Stupid idea. It was a stupid fuckin' idea–"

"Hey," I was grinning again now. Reaching up, I placed either of my hands on his cheeks and brought him down to look at me. "All I was gonna say is that that's a lot to get tattooed on a single lip."