there—” His jaw clenches. “You were surrounded. I couldn’t even see you with all the students around you.” He huffs out a dark bite of laughter. “It was almost like one of those stupid zombie movies where they all converge on a person to tear them apart. And you… I don’t know if you even know it, but you were yelling when I came in. I could hear something in your voice that I never—”
He shakes his head, then takes my hand, squeezing tightly.
“I never want you to feel like that again. To be… attacked like that again. And I don’t care what the consequences are, I will protect you.” A small smile tilts his lips, although his eyes remain serious. “I know you’re capable of defending yourself, this isn’t about that. I don’t think you’re weak or need a lot of protecting; you’re one of the strongest women I know. But we all have moments where we’re overwhelmed or are hit with more than we can take, and I won’t—I can’t—let that happen to you. And if I do lose my job over it, so be it.”
I blink up at him.
Holy shit.
My eyes are getting hot and wet again, only this time, it’s not from panic but from just being completely overwhelmed. He cares so much, more than I could have ever thought possible. More than I thought someone—anyone—could care about me. Anyone other than Maddy, I mean.
“Don’t cry,” Roman says, half laughing, half reassuring. He kisses my knuckles softly. “It’s going to be okay, love. We’ll find a way to deal with everything.”
I don’t think he even notices the endearment that slips out, but it makes my heart skip a beat.
Shit, I’m so done for. I’m turning into a sap, it’s official.
“I do feel better,” I murmur, breathing in his whiskey and leather scent. “And a lot of that is thanks to you. But… you have to admit, this is pretty damn impulsive for a guy like you.”
He shrugs. “Maybe on the small scale, yes. Taking you back to my room where anyone could find out right after the fight you just had. But on the large scale? No.” He tucks some of my hair behind my ear. “Not at all.”
I can read between the lines here pretty damn easily. Our relationship, this thing between us, is real enough to him that he doesn’t care if everyone knows about it, if everyone’s talking about it, if he gets fired.
Our relationship is real. What we have is real. It’s not going anywhere.
Not even with all the insanity that faces us.
I feel warm all over, safe all over, and I wrap my arms around Roman and hold on tight, and I let him hold me close in a way I never have before. We don’t say anything—but then, we don’t need to. I’ve kept him at arm’s length this whole time. I’m the one who’s been pulling away, and he’s the one who’s been trying to get closer.
Now I let him. I let him hold me, and I hold on too, as tightly as I can, and I pretend that we’ll never have to let go.
Honestly, I always thought it would be like falling off a cliff, but instead, it’s like turning on a light in a dark room, illuminating what’s always been there.
Roman’s in my heart, and it looks like he’ll be staying there.
Chapter 16
You know, I didn’t really have a lot of friends before this whole “magic stealing” thing. My only good friend besides the guys was Raul, and we all saw how that damn debacle went.
But it was different when I was just choosing not to talk to people and we were all still existing peacefully together. People would nod or smile at me in the hallway, and there was no problem if I had to team up with someone in class for a project or sparring.
Now, it’s like there’s a goddamn scarlet A on my chest.
Or maybe a T, for “thief”.
Everyone is shunning me. People avoid meeting my eyes, or their gazes slide right over me like I’m not even there. The former are the people who’re now scared of me, terrified I’ll rip out their magic. The latter types are people like Alyssa who clearly want me to know they’re pissed at me and blame me for all of this but also don’t want to do me the courtesy of acknowledging my existence.
The guys are rallying around me, and I’m absurdly grateful. I’ve always been