the opposite direction to avoid him—but he stopped when he spotted us.
“Welcome back, both of you.” His lips twitched slightly in what I thought might constitute a smile. He was in a charcoal sweater, the shirt underneath buttoned all the way to his throat.
We mumbled our thanks.
“It’s been brought to my attention that you’ve withdrawn your applications for some of the colleges you applied to,” he said, looking right at me.
“Uh . . . yea . . . yes, sir.” He was an English teacher and not even my English teacher. He must’ve seen the confusion in my eyes.
“Mrs. Fielding is on leave, and I’ve been asked to step in and assist for a short time.” His lips pressed together slightly—clearly he wasn’t thrilled to be helping with careers counseling. “Please come see me if you’d like to discuss options. You too, Mr. Hawthorn.”
With another tiny smile, he stalked off again, clutching a pile of papers at his side.
Hendrix and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows, then burst into laughter. It was so good to be back—hanging out with my friends, dealing with Mr. Monroe’s moods, getting ready for classes. As much as I’d felt suffocated by some of those same things in the past few months, the familiarity of it all was weirdly bringing me comfort.
The others had already dispersed, so we hurried off to our own lockers. I quickly grabbed my books and rushed over to Hendrix’s side just as he closed his.
Pulling his shoulder down, I leaned in to whisper in his ear. “I’m not wearing any underwear.”
His eyes squeezed shut, and he groaned low, gripping my hip and moving in close. “Why would you tell me that? I really don’t want to spend all day with a semi, Donna.”
There was an edge of annoyance in his voice, but his gaze was pure lust.
“Who said anything about all day?” I whispered against his lips. Then, without kissing him, I started to back away. “Meet me at our spot at lunch.”
He frowned. With a grin, I turned and rushed off to class, fully aware he had to go in the opposite direction or risk being late.
“What spot?” he called after me. “Donna! What spot?”
I rounded the corner and picked up my pace. He’d figure it out once the lust cleared a little and he could think straight. Now I just had to make sure I made it to the little room at the back of the auditorium before he did.
Note from the author
Thank you so much for reading Like You Hurt! I really hope you enjoyed it and you’ll consider leaving a review. As an indie author, reviews make a massive difference when it comes to my book reaching other readers. Even a sentence or two helps!
More Devilbend Dynasty!
Want more of Donna, Harlow, Amaya and Mena and their #FriendshipGoals as they navigate love, pain, and drama? The Devilbend Dynasty series continues in book 3! Like You Should is Harlow’s story and will be coming out soon. To be the first to hear about the release date and more updates, click this link:
And to read Mena’s story - Like You Care - right now, click here: https://bit.ly/2AcceBN
Acknowledgments
A lot goes into putting a book out. The process is long and sometimes painful and there’s no way in hell I could ever do it all on my own. I’d like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, the following people for always having my back, constantly supporting me, and doing all that you do to make my work better at every step along the way: my family and friends, my beta readers, my ARC team, Sam Dove, Christine Estevez from Wildfire, my editor Kirstin Andrews, and all the members of my reader group – The Snow Lodge. To all these people, and to every single reader, thank you! I’m able to live my dream because of you.
I always make sure to thank my husband in the acknowledgements, but this time around I’d like to shower him with a little extra praise. Because, to be honest, if it wasn’t for John, I’m not sure how I would’ve gotten through the past few months at all – let alone finished writing this book and put it out. Between what a frightening and unsettling place the world has been lately, and some of my own personal struggles, it’s been a really rough couple of months. I paused at this very spot for a long time while writing this because I struggle to put into words all that he means to me – all that he is to me. John has been everything I needed and more at every step, every high and every low – and there have been some serious lows lately. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without him.
About the Author
Kaydence Snow has lived all over the world but ended up settled in Melbourne, Australia. She lives near the beach with her husband and a beagle that has about as much attitude as her human.
She draws inspiration from her own overthinking, sometimes frightening imagination, and everything that makes life interesting – complicated relationships, unexpected twists, new experiences and good food and coffee. Life is not worth living without good food and coffee!
She believes sarcasm is the highest form of wit and has the vocabulary of a highly educated, well-read sailor. When she’s not writing, thinking about writing, planning when she can write next, or reading other people’s writing, she loves to travel and learn new things.
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Also by Kaydence Snow
The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy
Variant Lost
Vital Found
Vivid Avowed
Devilbend Dynasty
Like You Care
Like You Hurt
Like You Should (coming soon)
Like You Know (coming soon)
Standalones
Just Be Her
It Started With A Sleigh