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He does what I say in record time.
When I turn to face Poppy and Orna, they both have very different expressions. Poppy has a sheet clutched to her chest, eyes wide and slacked jawed, whereas Orna is scowling her signature scowl, hands on her hips and lips pursed. “Are you trying to give us a heart attack?” she barks at me.
“I’ll give you more than a goddamn heart attack,” I snap back, joining them at the patio. I grab the sheet from Poppy’s quivering hands and toss it back in the basket. “Why is she out here doing your fucking job for you?”
Orna rolls her eyes. “Because otherwise, she’ll blow her brains out from the boredom of staring at your musty antiques twenty-four-seven.”
A laugh from the other side of me. I turn to see Poppy’s dazzling grin. I grit my teeth to keep my level of anger at its peak, but I can’t help how my heart softens and my blood melts from a boil to a simmer. “You think that’s funny?”
She lowers her lashes but is unable to hide her smile. “No.”
“That’s what I thought,” I grunt. “Now stop folding fucking sheets.”
She pouts. “And do what? Stare at those musty antiques?”
Now it’s Orna’s turn to laugh.
“I’ll lock you both in there if you aren’t careful.”
Poppy cups a hand to her forehead and looks up at me. “Sounds like a great idea. At least I’ll have some good company.” Then, she leans over and picks a bit of lint off my suit, flicking it into the wind.
I can’t concentrate on her sassy remarks or think of the right punishment to deal with them. My shoulder burns from her touch and my mind races with the ease at which she did it. Like I wasn’t her captor and she wasn’t my keepsake.
Like I wasn’t even the Devil at all.
I swallow the swell in my throat and turn away without another word.
This is a slippery slope, and I make a vow right then and there that I’m not going to fall down it.
My armor goes back up.
And my heart—my stupid fucking heart—needs to turn back to stone.
Poppy
I push the remaining stray peas around my plate, enjoying the sun beating down on my back.
“All done?” Orna asks, refilling my iced tea and picking up my plate.
“Uh-huh,” I say, leaning back and closing my eyes. “Who knew fish and chips could be so good?”
She grins. “I’ll pass the compliments on to my sister.”
I watch Orna amble towards the main house with the remnants of lunch balancing in her arms.
It’s nice out here. The soft breeze in my hair, the blades of grass between my toes. It sure beats being locked in the Museum.
But that contentment swirling in my stomach, it’s poisoned by the constant reminder thatthisis it. The grounds may be sprawling and Orna might be fun to talk to, but just because the Devil has given me an inch of freedom, it doesn’t mean that I’mfree.
You’re still here against your will, Poppy,the niggling voice rattles around my head.
Don’t forget about your escape plan.
I squeeze my eyes shut and transport back to the rose garden a few days ago. When my heart felt as heavy as the iron bench I was sitting on and I decided on what I had to do.
Once I have no use for you, I will discard you.
Despite the sun, my blood runs cold. There’s no denying that my body wants it. In fact, itachesfor it every time I’m in the Devil’s company. But I know, I justknow,that I’m simply swept up in this new, warped reality. That when,if,I’m allowed back to my real life, I’ll regret letting him take what belongs to me. He took everything else from me—my childhood, my freedom, my father. He can’t have the last bit of me too.
