Read Online Deviation by Heather Hildenbrand - Free Book Online

hasn’t barged in and blackened my eye, I exhale. The device in my pocket weighs nothing. I weigh nothing.
    I take Obadiah’s wrist again and lead him to my bed. “I can’t see,” he complains.
    “Blink some more,” I tell him. “You’ll adjust.”
    “Why can’t we turn the light on?”
    I throw back my covers and climb into bed. “Because we have to sleep together for this to work.”
    I can hear his unspoken question in the thick silence that follows. Obadiah hovers at the edge of the bed, not following me in, not retreating. “Raven, I …”
    “Ssh, come on. Just shut up and lay here with me,” I whisper, giving him no choice when I tug him down to the mattress.
    “Bossy,” he mutters.
    It makes me almost-smile. I am such a different version of myself with Obadiah. He slides in next to me and I pull the cover above our foreheads. The air is muffled and smells like exotic spices. “What cologne are you wearing?” I ask.
    “It was a gift,” he says quietly. “What are you wearing?” he shoots back. “Was there an annual slut convention I wasn’t aware of?”
    “Your invitation got lost in the mail.” I can feel his grin in the pressing darkness.
    “Speaking of sexy invitations … you ready to explain this?” He gestures to the space around us, or the lack of.
    I feel down to the pocket on my robe and draw out the device I took. I hold it up for Obadiah’s inspection, such as it can be. “This.”
    “And this is …?”
    “Ssh. A scrambler. Or that’s what I’m calling it.” In a hushed and hurried voice, I explain the guard at dinner. Williams. How he’d thought he lost me.
    “How did you get this?” he asks.
    “I stole it.”
    His brow goes up. I don’t have to see it to know. “Does Linc know what you did?”
    “Does your boyfriend know everything you do?” I shoot back.
    “I don’t … shit, Ven.”
    “Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just … I want you to know that I love you.” I wrinkle my nose. Something I find myself doing when the subject matter gets confusing or gray. “Not like that, but like … I don’t care if you like boys, Obadiah.”
    Something more than just his breath exhales. “Thanks,” he says, his voice grave and so solemn I know this must be the first conversation he’s ever had about this. And then with laughter, “I don’t care if you like boys, either.”
    I giggle. “But we have to make this look real,” I say.
    Obadiah snorts. “Please. I’m so real. I’m unforgettable. Although, I still can’t believe you used me as your ruse to steal from Titus.”
    “Ssh.” I consider his words. “I can’t believe I stole,” I say.
    “We’re a couple of ninjas.”
    “I’ll be a ninja when I use it successfully.”
    “Does this mean you’re coming to visit tomorrow? They miss you.”
    “Yes. Maybe. Hopefully.”
    Sometimes, Obadiah’s oppositeness of Ida is a pleasant shock. When I finally told him about Morton and the others, he hadn’t batted an eye. When I’d explained what we were, his only response had been if I knew whether there’d been an Imitation made of Jay Ryan.
    “Who the hell is Jay Ryan?” Linc had asked.
    “Okay, so I know neither one of you watch television but you have to check out this Beauty and the Beast show on the Throwback 2k Channel. It’s like a time capsule for vintage hotties. Jay Ryan plays a Beast with scars on his face and a penchant for rooftop violence in defense of the weak. He’s total military bodyguard. You’d love him, Crawford. And Ven, he’s so your type. I’m telling you. Get some.”
    Linc had stared at him for so long, I’d accidentally giggled out loud. I’d cut it off abruptly when no one else joined in, terrified I’d offend Obadiah. It was the first comment regarding his sexual orientation he’d made aloud and I didn’t want to hurt him with a wrong reaction. What was the right reaction in this case?
    But Obadiah only grinned. From there, all mention of Imitations and