Devil's Desire [h.s.]

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Harry had that look on him that he sometimes got. The one where he wasn't seeing or realizing anything beyond what was directly in front of him. It unnerved me but I stepped forward and braced a hand on his chest, letting it drift up to his neck. Harry wasn't looking at me. He was looking past me. At her.

"What is she doing here?" he ground out, finally glancing between Morgan and I. "Get her out of here."

Before either of us could say anything, another noise sounded out and I whirled around. Harry's hand jerked forward to wrap around my upper arm, working swiftly in my singular moment of distraction, to yank me toward him. My back landed against his chest as Louis came bursting through the door, dragging a suitcase, looking rightly dishevelled.

"Christ, rich girl," he muttered, glancing at Olivia. The suitcase landed on the ground a few steps into the foyer with a thud. "The hell have you got in here?"

"Give me that," Olivia hissed and reached for her suitcase. "You gave me about five fucking minutes to pack—"

"How do you even have all of this to begin with?" Louis asked, wide-eyed, looking amused. "When we kidnapped you—"

"Don't say kidnapped," Olivia cut in.

"—you had a total of five things."

"I shopped."

"Oh, you shopped?" Louis grinned, raising a brow. "Daddy's money. Even across the globe, huh?"

"Okay, enough," Harry interjected. His hand tightened on my arm. He dragged a thumb beneath my sleeve, against the skin of my inner arm in a possessive and grounding nature. "What the fuck is happening? Somebody explain." Nobody said anything at first, so he raised his voice an octave and barked, "Now."

He was holding me tightly against his chest. Enough that the warmth of him bled into me. Every breath he took, I could feel his body press further against mine. He leaned down and pressed a swift kiss to the top of my head, breathing heavily into my hair, inhaling shakily.

"Louis is here to watch Olivia," Morgan said with a shrug. She drifted over, giving my cheek a swift kiss in greeting, before heading to Zayn. Harry's chest vibrated against my back with a low, unamused noise as she added, "Because she can't be trusted."

"Um, rude," muttered Olivia. "I'm right here?" Then, after a beat, she said, "But sure. Yeah. I get it."

"You know that isn't who I was talking about," Harry said, not even acknowledging her. I watched Louis grin and come to stand at Olivia's side, who scoffed in distaste and took a step away from him, forcing distance between them. She crossed her arms over her chest, shooting a glare in his direction. His grin only deepened.

"Look," said Olivia. She stepped forward and Harry all but growled. Literally growled as he yanked me further backwards, stepping in front of me. "Jesus, what do you think I'm gonna do?" She was staring daggers at him. "I'm not happy about this current situation either but the least you could do is let me say hello to my best friend who, last I'd seen, didn't have a bullet wound in her."

"Shit," Louis breathed. "Forgot about that. How ya been, Riv? You look good, sweetheart." He was grinning as he stepped forward, trying to peek at me over Harry's shoulder. "Healing well?"

"I'm healing well, yes," I said, tamping down an inward laugh, and wiggled out from behind Harry, who let his annoyance be known in the sharp huff of breath he exhaled through his nose.

Olivia and I finally locked eyes and for a moment I was worried my knees were going to buckle. I let out a small noise and launched forward, throwing my arms around her neck. She hugged me back tightly, burying her face in the crook of my neck. The sense of normalcy that washed over me in her embrace was blinding. Enough to make my ears ring.