Saint (Angelview Academy #1) - E.M. Snow Page 0,41
pass by, the scent of his cologne filling my senses. They don’t try to touch me as they continue on their way, but I don’t let go of Saint.
We stand in total silence until his low voice rumbles, “They’re gone.”
Exhaling, I immediately release him, like I’ve been burned, and take a step back. He slowly turns to face me, his eyebrow raised and full lips quirked.
“Didn’t take you for the clingy type.”
“I didn’t take you for the hero type,” I murmur, gazing up at him, feeling oddly shy.
He scowls. “I’m not your fucking hero. Like I said, I don’t like others playing with my toys. They needed to be made aware that if they touch you, I’ll kill them.”
He sounds so serious, a shiver races through me.
“What are you even doing here?” I ask, massaging my fingertips over the spot that Jon Eric had gripped. Is he following me now?
His nostrils flare in irritation, and he turns his gaze away. “Liam asked me to come down and tell you he wasn’t going to make it. Something came up.”
He would have surprised me less if he’d said he wanted to dress me up like slave-girl Princess Leia, with the chain and everything. Passing on a message for his friend just seems so … normal. Nothing about Saint ever seems normal and I wasn’t even aware that word existed in his world.
“Okay, well … I guess I’ll go back to my room, then.” I don’t know what else to say, and I’m not about to admit I’m scared shitless to walk outside in the dark by myself now. What if Jon Eric and Finnegan are out there waiting for me? Fear grips my insides, and before I can stop myself, a tremor vibrates through me.
Saint lets out a heavy sigh. “Fuck. Do you want me to walk you back?”
The irony of this situation isn’t lost on me. Saint, the person I should fear most, is offering to escort me to my dorm to protect me from people even more terrible than him.
Better the devil you know, I guess.
After a beat, I nod, then glance away from him. “That’d be really … really nice of you.”
I look at him again in time to witness the roll of his stunning eyes, as if he finds the very notion that he could be nice revolting. “Don’t get the wrong idea. This doesn’t change anything between us.”
“Of course not,” I immediately agree out loud, even if I have my doubts.
“Let’s go, I don’t have all night.” His tone is gruff and impatient, but he doesn’t hurry ahead of me as we begin making our way out of the library. He keeps pace with me, and stays close, though not so close that he’s touching me. It’s comforting without being overwhelming.
When we step out into the night air, I stumble slightly as my trembling increases. For a moment, I’m not sure I can keep going. What if they’re out there? What if they’re hiding, waiting?
“Stop doing that.” Saint’s large hand falls on my shoulder. The weight grounds me and I feel my fear dissipate enough that I can think straight again. I glance up at him, and he’s looking down at me. He doesn’t seem concerned, necessarily, but he doesn’t appear annoyed either.
I suppose that’s positive.
“Get your shit together, Ellis. I’m not going to carry your ass.”
I almost laugh, because it’s such a Saint thing to say.
We walk for some time in silence, and it almost seems as if we’ve come to a kind of truce, but I’m not dumb enough to believe it’s that simple.
“You must be a fucking moron to try and face down those two dipshits,” he scoffs at last, ending the hush between us. “I probably should’ve let them do what they wanted. Maybe it’d have taught you to keep your nose out of things that aren’t your business.”
I jab my tongue in my cheek, processing what he just said. “You would have let them rape me?” I rasp after a long pause. His jaw clenches, and out of my peripherals, I see his fists tighten too. Instead of telling him that I know he’s full of shit, I continue in a low voice, “They were going to hurt someone. Badly. I couldn’t just stand by and let them do what I think they were going to do. What I … think they did to Nick Reynolds last year.”
He stops walking just so he can stare me down with wide eyes that gradually