“I see.” There’s something weird about his tone and expression tonight. It’s…softer. More human than beast.
And Jeremy is never soft, so this is throwing me off, but I also grab on to it, wanting, no,needing, to get inside his armor somehow. It’s not fair that he’s the only one who gets that privilege.
I touch the cut at the side of his lip, slowly, tentatively. “You should probably treat these.”
He releases an ambiguous sound but otherwise remains silent.
“Earlier.” I clear my throat. “How did you know I was there?”
“I know everything about you, Lisichka”
“But I don’t.”
“You don’t know everything about yourself?”
“I don’t know anything about you, Jeremy.”
“You don’t need to.”
“I want to.”
His expression tightens, but he speaks calmly. “Why?”
“To make it fair.”
“I’m not a fair person.”
“I’m well aware.” I let my fingers linger on his hard jaw. “But I still want to find out.”
“Good luck. Trying is free, succeeding isn’t.”
“Very convenient.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I didn’t thank you.”
“You’re welcome anyway.”
I release a breath and he smiles a little—as much of a smile as Jeremy can offer. And holy shit. Why does he appear tenfold more attractive when he does that? It’s not healthy for my skyrocketing heartbeat.
Little by little, my doubts vanish. Lan couldn’t have told him about my involvement in the fire.
There’s no way Jeremy would remain collected if that were the case. He would’ve drowned me in the lake by now.
I still don’t feel any form of relief.
“Are you disappointed?”
His question catches me completely off guard. “W-what?”
“That I won against your precious Landon and ruined his beautiful looks.”
“Not really. I mean, I would rather you guys didn’t fight, but there needed to be a winner. I’m sure Lan would’ve done the same if he’d been in your position.”
He pauses, observing me with strange intent. “Weren’t you rooting for him?”
“Ava was. She cursed you all night long for the money she lost.”