The Boy Who Has No Hope (Soulless #6) - Victoria Quinn Page 0,20

elevator. “Thank you for coming by. I think it made him a lot more comfortable having this conversation in his own home.”

“I don’t mind. Whatever gets the patient to talk.” He hit the button and waited for the elevator to return to our floor. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Are you two romantically involved?”

The question surprised me, and I needed to take a few seconds to digest it. “No. Why?”

He shrugged. “It just seems like the two of you have a deep connection. Based on our conversation, he doesn’t let anyone in, but he’s let you through every single barrier. I assumed that meant something.”

Shrinks were known to analyze everything you did, and that kind of bit me in the ass. “When you work together all day, every day, it’s natural to feel close to someone. When I first started to work for him, he wouldn’t allow me to do anything, and he was always hostile. But in time…I earned his respect.”

“If he’s so distrusting, why did he hire you in the first place?”

“His previous assistant kind of forced it.”

He nodded and turned back to the elevator doors. “I think I can help him. I look forward to seeing him again.” The doors opened, and he stepped inside.

“Thank you, Dr. Collins.” After I said goodbye, I headed back to the penthouse.

Derek was still on the couch, in the exact same position, his cheek against his closed knuckles.

I got him a beer from the fridge and brought it to him.

He eyed the bottle for a moment before bringing it to his lips and taking a drink.

I sat on the couch beside him, sitting closer than I was before. I wasn’t sure if I should just leave and give him space, or if it was better to sit with him so he could relax after the intense conversation he’d had.

He took another drink then stared straight ahead, at the painting of the black horse on the wall.

My hands came together on my lap. “You did great today.”

He set the beer on the end table then turned to me, his dark eyes displaying a look he’d never had before. He wasn’t angry or happy. He was something else entirely. Without blinking, he stared at me.

“I hope you’ll continue to see him.”

There was no verbal response, just a slight nod.

A part of me had been afraid the whole thing would blow up in my face. There was something about Dr. Collins that registered with Derek, maybe his straightforward speech, because Derek was the exact same way. He chose to speak in unequivocal terms rather than emotional ones.

After a quiet breath, Derek continued to stare at me. It was the first time I didn’t know what he wanted, what his thoughts were. That intense look on his face hid all the thoughts underneath. He pivoted his body slightly toward me, his arm moving over the back of the couch.

My pulse started to quicken in my wrists and my neck, because something was different about the intensity of the room, something that put me on edge and made me almost forget to breathe. It was an inexplicable sensation, like I needed to wrap my entire body around him and squeeze him, not to comfort him, but to comfort myself. His heartbreak gave me heartbreak, infectious like a disease.

He stared at me like that all the time, but this time, it felt different.

It gave me a catch in my throat, adrenaline in my veins, a shake in my hands.

When it became too much, I excused myself from the situation altogether. I rose from the couch and walked away, severing eye contact because that was what I needed to keep breathing. “I should get going…” I grabbed my purse from the table and kept my back to him.

He left the couch and came toward me, his hands in his front pockets.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Derek.” I turned to the door.

“Emerson.”

I stilled for a moment before I turned back, my breath a little shaky because he made me uneasy. When he was vulnerable and open, it showed an entirely new side to him that I found so beautiful, like I was a moth and he was the flame. My heart was filled with so much affection, I didn’t know what to do with it. It made me want to run, which was peculiar, because I didn’t run from anything.

I stared at him, one hand gripping the straps of my purse on my shoulder. My heartbeat was loud in my rib