Devour by Shelly Crane Read Free Book Online Page B

else.
     
    I lay down just like that, my bra on and jeans, face under my silk pillow case and feet hanging off the side of the bed. I closed my eyes and realized my subconscious had been invaded when I was standing back at the school gate. I was leaning my back against it and there was a presence over me. It wasn’t ominous though I felt if it had been seen by someone else they would have thought so. He leaned in, his face shaded and dark like before, his breath overly warm and powerful before my lips. He spoke.
     
    “I’ve waited a very long time for you. Please don’t hate me.”
     
    “Why would I hate you?” I whispered, fearing my voice would no longer work.
     
    “I’m not a good person. I’m an evil thing that has fallen under your spell,” he muttered and ran the back of his hand down my cheek and neck.
     
    “Eli?” I asked, testing my theory.
     
    “Is that who you want it to be?”
     
    “I want you to be who you are.”
     
    He hesitated then the shadow lifted from his face as he inched closer and I was struck by his face. He was unlike anything I’d ever seen. He looked like him, but not. He was so completely breathtaking with his gorgeous ruggedness and imperfections and he was looking at me like I was the only thing he wanted in this whole world.
     
    “What did you mean you’re an evil thing, Eli?” I asked.
     
    “I am...something I can’t describe. I’m not worthy of you in any sense of the word but I must have you. Do you understand? You have ensnared me, bewitched me, and I can no longer exist without you with me.”
     
    “I barely know you,” I whispered.
     
    “But I know you,” he said cryptically against my cheek, kissing my scorching flesh. “Open your eyes, sleeping beauty.”
     
    I gasped, aware on my bed, and felt my cheek where he had laid his soft lips. It was still too warm to be normal. I sat up and looked around. Oh man. My imagination was working overtime. Was I becoming one of those pathetic girls who couldn’t get a boy off her mind to the point of obsession, usually ending in restraining orders and timed served at a mental health facility?
     
    When I lay back down and closed my eyes, I was alone.
     
    The next morning I woke with a start. A quick glance at the clock showed I was borderline running late so I hurried to jump in the shower. The bruise was a little more angry today but still not horrible. I put my hair up in a ponytail and worried over my wardrobe. I’d have to pick something to hide the bruise. I put on my black turtleneck under my school vest and earrings with a necklace so I didn’t look like I was trying to cover anything up.
     
    I was just normal me. The mirror said as much and I grabbed my bag swiftly from the chair and raced downstairs. I kissed all the babies and grabbed an apple as I shoved my way out the door, trailing loud goodbyes in my wake.
     
    Once I reached the street though, I was suddenly overcome with a sense of embarrassment and shame. What had happened last night would no doubt be the talk of the school today. My steps faltered and I looked around at all the faces. There seemed to be a lot of eyes trained on me but then looking away quickly. I straightened my back and slung my bag further up my shoulder.
     
    I was not going to cower for something I didn’t even do.
     
    I walked all the way across the street and saw a few people who normally didn’t talk to me wave at me and smile. I returned it and looked for my friends. I saw Megan and Deidre...with Eli. Deidre had her tacky fake nails on his arm and was pushing her chest against him as she laughed at whatever he was saying.
     
    And just like he could sense me, Eli looked up and directly at me. He watched me watch him and then he craned his neck, his expression changing, and began to come forward but Dee grabbed his arm to stop him. I wondered what was wrong but then I felt it. The warm, gentle hand on my wrist and the eerie quiet of the courtyard as everyone