What!? This price was insane. Two thousand for a basic two-piece she would have gotten for $200 at a different store. Faith fought the urge to cry. There goes lunch for the next week or more, she thought.Devlin soon came out in the first outfit she picked. It was a simple, white, oversized cotton shirt and navy blue pants. He struck a pose in front of them like a model.Faith could hear the attendants chittering excitedly behind her. Yup, she thought, I agree. He's gorgeous. He ended up wearing all five outfits because she couldn't decide. He looked good in every single one.She eventually settled on a dark yellow top and silver pants. They weren't colors she would combine naturally but he managed to pull it off.Both now dressed, it was time to pay and leave. Faith reluctantly fished out her card from her purse as they followed Millie to check out.Her hands flew over the keyboard. "Here is the total sir," she turned the screen around for him to see instead of saying the price out
The party was in full swing by the time they entered. Faith was hit in the face with a burst of smoke. She coughed, waiting for her body to adjust.Once she was able to breathe again, she took stock of her surroundings. A man came up to Devlin."Dev, my man!" They clasped hands.Faith peered up into the handsome face. She recognized him from a movie that had been showing recently. It was all the rave."Hello, lady," he said when he noticed her straing.She blushed. "Hello.""Devlin's date, uhn? Sorry but you don't seem like his usual kind.""I'm just his tutor," she said."That's great then. How about we ditch him and get some drinks?"Devlin pushed his friend back lightly. "Find your own woman."Woman? Faith looked up at him, but his eyes were on his friend. Did he just refer to her as his woman?"Alright! Alright! I won't intrude on your turf. Nice to meet you though," he said to her and left them.They moved further into the room, stopping often to exchanges greetings, hugs and che
Michael, unprepared for the punch, reeled back and landed on his a*s. He didn’t say down for long though. He hopped back to his feet and charged at Devlin.“Noooo! Devlin!” Faith ran forward and planted herself between the men, shielding Devlin behind her. At the last moment before another punch landed on her, Devlin pushed her out of the way. She stumbled to the side. The punch landed on Devlin’s cheek instead, causing his head to snap back. Faith screamed, throwing herself between them again. Someone grabbed her from behind, pinning her hands to her side. She fought and trashed but they held on tight.Devlin was prepared for the next attack. He sidestepped quickly causing Michael to lose his footing and fall to the ground again.He was a little slower in getting up this time. Devlin watched him through dark, stormy eyes, waiting for him to rise like a predator playing with its food.By this time, the party had stopped around them and the partygoers formed a ring around them. Sever
Faith froze, unsure what to do. She slowly lifted her hand and placed it on his head. When he didn't shrug it off, she began to stroke his hair.There was no telling exactly how long they stayed that way, but it was Faith who eventually broke the spell."Are you okay?" She whispered.He drew back, effectively breaking the contact. Her hand fell off his hair. She immediately regretted talking."I'm fine." He dragged his hand wearily over his face. "Sit down." He patted the space beside him.She sat. Since she's already broken the spell, she might as well ask what she'd been itching to ask."I have to ask...why did you suddenly start throwing punches at that guy back at the party? We were having fun, just dancing and stuff, until you came."He scoffed. "Having fun with Michael Wall? Honey, Michael is famous for the things he does to ladies--nasty things. I saved your hide tonight.""What kind of nasty things?" She asked, suddenly alarmed."What's the worst thing you can think of?"Reali
"Good night," Devlin called over his shoulder as he left the room.Faith remained standing there for a while, too stunned to move. What just happened? She thought for sure he was coming to her but he'd just whirled around and left.It wasn't fair for him to leave after looking at her with eyes like that. There went her sweet night of rest.Time ticked by. When it became apparent that he was not going to return, Faith put off the lights, crawled into bed and pulled the covers over her head.Due to her severe fatigue, it wasn't long before Faith was asleep. The murky waters pulled her under, stamping out every thought so that her body could recover from the strenuous day.She was completely out of it, oblivious to the slow crawl of time so she couldn't even say how long she slept before the dream started.The tendrils of the dream slowly stretched their way into her mind, wiggling past her mind's rest shield and pushing into her brain. The dream started with Devlin leaning against the
Devlin was starting to think that Faith had really poor spatial sense. She never seemed to notice him walk in on her.He'd come to the kitchen for a drink of water when he walked in on her bent over in front of his fridge in only his shirt.It rode up in that position, giving him a good look at her legs. They weren't long and skinny like those models and actresses he dared, but they were shapely and very, very sexy.He also got a peek at the very bottom of her a*s. His body roared in response.He cleared his throat. She whirled around, wide-eyed."Oh, it's you," she breathed a sigh of relief."Who else would it be?" He asked, slipping into the kitchen but maintaining a good distance from her. The last thing he needed was to do something stupid.He'd barely managed to leave her room without taking her there and then earlier. He couldn't test his control a second time."I don't know...an intruder?""Not likely. This estate is very secure.""Did I wake you? I tried to be as quiet as poss
The next time Faith woke up, the sun was already shining brightly in the sky. She dragged herself off the bed, stretched and yawned.The time on her phone read 2:34. It was already midday! She'd already missed her classes! She panicked, then remembered that it was Saturday.She breathed a sigh of relief. The only thing she'd missed was studying and she could catch up on that later today.She trailed her way to the bathroom and took a shower. After the shower, she realized that she didn't have anything to wear.She'd tossed her clothes from yesterday on the bathroom floor where they lay all night. She couldn't bring herself to wear it again, and neither could she go walking around the mansion in only a T-shirt in the afternoon.Just as she was contemplating what to do, there was a knock on the door. She panicked, thinking it could be Devlin. Maybe if she didn't answer, he would go away.The knock came again. She sighed and wrapped the towel around her naked body. She exited the bathroo
"What is it?" Faith asked with apprehension."The news of the...incident at the party last night broke already. It's all over the news. I'm sure reporters are waiting for us at Greenfield right now. Faith sighed. She'd been expecting as much but it still filled her with fear. She leaned against the car door, head against the glass."You won't be able to get around easily for a few days.""Can't we have Devlin come out to clear the air again?""I don't think that'll help this time. He's the one embroiled in the scandal.""What are they saying about it exactly?""That you and Devlin have been secretly dating all this time and that he flipped out because Micheal Wall was hitting on his girl.""What if Devlin tells them that we're not dating?""I don't think they would even believe him if he says that you aren't dating. All the evidence points to the contrary."Faith groaned. "There's nothing to be done then. I'll have to face it head-on."He smiled. "That's the spirit. Here," he pulled