the signs that I was being dishonest. I wished we could move on and get to the part where we were done.
Diesel leaned away from the wall. "Quin, if you need a minute—"
"I don't need a minute!"
Fuck, his voice was so understanding. Soft and pacifying. It grated on my nerves like old bones grinding without the protection of cartilage. "He didn't rape me. That's the truth. He never even touched me, not once. That first day, he swore he'd wait until I wanted it, and then later, my wraiths protected me, even when I was unconscious. They couldn't keep me from passing out, but they covered my body like a second skin whenever I slept."
Dr. Tiff's face transformed, softening in a way she hadn't before while looking at the wraiths. "They took care of you."
My mouth stretched into a smile. "Yes."
"Well," Dr. Tiff chirped. "This feels like a good place to take a break. There's no reason for us to have to go through the interview all at once, and I don't think it would be a good idea to anyway. I'm due upstairs to check on the girls in a bit. Are you all right if I go, Quinlan? I have no problem canceling if you need company or a chance to talk more. I know these questions can dredge up forgotten emotions."
One of the wraiths unwound from my arm and ghosted over Dr. Tiff's forearm. Goooood. Goooood.
"They like you."
"I…will…spend some time deciding how I feel about that."
I smirked, and the wraiths vibrated, their version of a laugh.
After gathering her things, Dr. Tiff gave us both a long, questioning look, but she never opened her mouth to ask one. Instead, she smiled and headed for the door. "I have more than enough time to walk you back."
I very nearly took her up on her offer. I wasn't afraid of being alone with Diesel but knew this conversation was far from over. Diesel wasn't satisfied with a single word answer; he needed to know everything. My stomach felt like it was ripped out of my body, and I opened my lips to say yes, I'd love to walk with her when Diesel grunted again.
Fucking Neanderthal couldn't use his words, but he didn't need to anyway. I knew what that grunt meant. At least, I used to know.
"No thank you."
Her eyes didn't linger on my face like I might've expected. She seemed the type of person who would go above and beyond to make sure I was really comfortable with a situation. Her attention remained on my wraiths as they slid up and down my arms. She huffed, but her worries must've been satisfied by what she saw in them because she waved over her shoulder.
I looked at the door for as long as was reasonably possible before letting my head drop. There was an interesting crack beneath my left foot shaped like a butt, and I was thankful for it. I could sit and stare at that butt crack for—ha, butt crack.
"Why are you laughing?" Next to the word exasperated was a picture of Diesel.
The wet blanket descending heavily against my chest lifted. As quickly as that, Diesel brought me from the edge. "It's personal."
"Then there's no reason I can't know."
He was a bullheaded, arrogant, smothering, jackass of a man.
He smirked. "Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment."
Only Diesel would hear smothering and think it was a good thing. There had been a time when I'd considered it a good thing. Back when Diesel had been my world and I'd been ignorant to everything else. "That crack is shaped like a butt." I jerked my forehead while pointing my toe at it.
Diesel leaned forward, craning his neck to see that part of the floor.
"Huh. You're right." He pushed off the wall, stepping nearer to get a closer look. He stared at the butt crack for longer than the crack deserved. It wasn't that interesting, but then, Diesel did have a thing for butts.
The heat radiating from his body soaked into my skin like water into a desert on the first day of the rainy season. I refused to close my eyes and let them flutter. Somehow, Diesel always burned hotter than anyone I'd met. It called to me like a tropical beach, waves lapping against the sand, as if gently insisting I jump in and let the heat cover me. I'd been cold for so long; I'd convinced myself it was how I liked it.
There was no lying when the