I wait until his shadow emerges before me, then I step out, blocking his exit.
It takes a second for his eyes to lift from the floor, and when they do, they’re filled with shock.
Until it morphs into something much more terrifying.
Anger. Undiluted, red-hot anger.
His hand lifts, his fingers wrapping around my throat as he forces me back into the shadows.
My back slams against the wall, my bag falling from my shoulder and crashing to the floor.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he snarls, leaning in so close his nose almost touches mine and his scent floods my senses.
“I-I—” I stutter, unable to get my brain to function enough to formulate an answer.
“Did you follow me?”
“Uh…” I hesitate, because yes, in a way I did. But only out of concern, and I found him by accident.
“Why? To laugh at me? To find something you could use against me?”
“What?” I ask, finally finding my voice. “No. Never. I wouldn’t do that.”
“Then why are you fucking here?”
His dark and deadly grey eyes burn into mine, his fingers tightening on my throat as my entire body trembles, adrenaline shooting through my veins.
“I-I…” Swallowing, I give myself a second to get a grip. “I was worried, so I left the restaurant to see if I could find you. I didn’t. But this is where I come to…”
“Come to what?” he growls harshly.
“Hide,” I whisper.
“What the fuck have you got to hide from?”
“Aside from you, obviously?” I quip, earning myself another scowl. “I didn’t sit here listening to your session. I put my AirPods in. But that doesn’t mean I’m not concerned.”
“I don’t need your fucking concern, Angel.”
“No, you just want me covered in your blood and full of your cock. Nothing else matters, right?” I throw back. Hurt twists up my insides, but I refuse to allow it to the surface.
His jaw tics, his teeth probably grinding to dust behind his pursed lips.
“What’s going to happen if you don’t pass these exams, Daemon?”
He stares at me for so long that I don’t think he’s going to answer me, but then his lips part. But I don’t get anything like the kind of response I want.
“None of your business.”
I shake my head at him, not willing to play this game with him while he’s got his walls built up so high.
“Fine,” I hiss. “Keep your fucking secrets and deal with your issues alone.”
“It’s what I’m used to.”
“I remember a time when it wasn’t,” I shoot back, thinking back to when we were six and I found him in the den he and Alex had made at the bottom of their garden after he’d had an argument with Stefanos.
“That was a long time ago,” he says, pain flickering through his eyes at the memory.