Painful Reminders

Chapter Seventeen: Sober Avoidance

Amya continued to vehemently deny any memory of the morning and was currently doing whatever she could to keep her distance. I watched her from behind my desk as she flipped aimlessly through the book in her hands. It was clear she wasn't truly reading it as every few seconds, her gaze flickered up toward me and then the door as if deciding whether or not to run. I'd let her run away earlier, but she wouldn't be able to keep running for long. Now that we'd crossed that line, I was finding it hard to keep my hands off of her.

"Andrea has agreed to let me room with her," she announced, finally looking up to meet my eyes. "So you can have your room back."

Fixing all of my attention on her, I leaned back in my chair and met her gaze with a steely one of my own. "You'll remain with me."

She frowned, shifting in her seat to set her feet firmly on the ground. "You told me I could room with her if I wanted."

"I changed my mind."

"I don't feel comfortable."

"I don't care."

Pursing her lips, she narrowed her eyes at me. "You are incredibly difficult to get along with."

"Getting along with people isn't something I'm interested in," I replied evenly. "I prefer that they know their place."

"What a coincidence," she tossed back, her temper outweighing her previous caution, "so do I."

A knock on the door disrupted any reply I may have had as Zeke stepped into my office. "Hey, I just wanted to give an update on—"

"Is it an emergency?" I snapped out, keeping my focus on Amya who appeared just as on edge as me.

"Well no, but you—"

"Then get out."

Seeming to suddenly sense danger again, Amya's expression turned from angry to alarmed and she shot from her seat, reaching out to grab Zeke's arm. "No, stay!" she insisted. "I'll just wait outside and give you two some privacy."

"Amya," I ground out, getting to my feet. "Sit back down."

Zeke's gaze swept from one of us to the other, picking up on the tension. "I just remembered that Godfrey needed my help with something."

"Zeke!" Amya cried, lunging for him when he pulled out of her grasp and shot for the door. She whirled back around to face me as I came around my desk, holding an arm out as if to maintain distance. "You've had a weird vibe since I woke up, and I don't know what's crawled up your ass, but just stay on your side of the room, okay?"

"You expect me to believe you don't remember having sex?"

Her face contorted, "We did not have sex, you left and—" Her mouth snapped shut in horror.

I offered her a predatory smile, "So you do remember."

She moved away from the sofa, edging toward the door, but never taking her eyes off me. "No."

"Would you like me to remind you?"

"Absolutely not."

***

He looked like he wanted to swallow me whole. "I'm the enemy, remember?" I tried, taking my eyes off Cassian briefly to gauge the distance between myself and the door. "You're not looking at me like an enemy right now. You want me dead."