Binding 13 (Boys of Tommen, #1)

by Chloe Walsh

She was mine and I didn’t want to share. “Uh, okay?” she replied nervously, though it sounded more like a question. “If you want me to?” Jesus, she needed to stop asking me what I wanted her to do. If she kept it up, I might be stupid enough to tell her the truth. And then we were both screwed. Deciding it was safer to not answer that, I simply gestured to the staircase and began to walk, only making it to the third step when I realized she wasn’t following me. When I turned back, I found Shannon standing exactly where I left her, watching me with a nervous expression. She had her arms wrapped protectively around herself, with her long brown hair drenched from the rain and sticking in wet clumps to her face, and in my whole life, I’d never seen anything so beautiful. Jesus. How was I supposed to handle this? How was I supposed to handle her? “Johnny!” I heard Mam call from down the hall. “Did you get Shannon something to change into? The poor girl’s like a drowned rat from the rain.” “I’m okay, Johnny,” Shannon hurried to tell me. “Honestly, I am.” I eyed her with unease. She was shivering like crazy, and there was a small puddle forming around her from the water dripping from her clothes. Christ… “Come on, it’s okay,” I coaxed, retracing my steps. “I’ll look after you.” And then I took her hand in mine and led her up the staircase, knowing this was a terrible fucking idea, but resigned to doing it anyway. I was so completely fucked.