And as I close my eyes and take a deep inhale of his cedar scent, I feel myself drifting off into a snug place where I can be taken care of.
His arm slips around my shoulders.
Pulls me in.
And just like that, I’m warm.
Safe.
Seen.
“Rest now. I’ll protect you, baby girl.”
He made it sound like a promise back then…
Now, he spits the name like a curse.
six
My fist slamsinto the bag as my feet work like lightning. Despite the hangover from last night’s party, my rage keeps my rhythm steady. One. Two. One. Two. Three. Jab. Cross. Hook.
Lan’s loose hand wraps fly behind him as he storms toward me in the corner of our training gym. Face red. Jaw tight as a virgin’s twat. Shiny blue shorts flaring like a flag around his thick thighs.
“You told Hailey Twinston I had agirlfriend?”
We’ve rarely gotten into a physical altercation outside of the ring over the years. He’s won them all, big brute. But today…I’m ready for a rematch.
Stilling my breath, I step back from the bag and tighten the Velcro on my sparring gloves. Not looking at him, I ask the floor, “Did I?”
He scoffs, spit landing on the toe of my boxing shoe. “She said you did. And now none of the girls will talk to me,Aiden.”
I inhale deeply through my nose and shrug, then face him. “Weird. Thought you’d be grateful. Monogamy’s making acomeback.”
We stare down one another. He’s got a few inches on me, but I hold his gaze.
A muscle in his neck twitches. “Whatis yourproblem?”
“From the way you and Ashlyn looked last night…” I smirk. “I assumed it was a done deal. Was it not?”
Blond eyebrows stitch together with confusion...then realization hits his face.
Softer and slower, I lower my voice to a deathly bite. “Don’t put your hands on something that belongs to me, Landon Turner.” My narrowed gaze slices into his face until his throat tightens as he swallows. “Not unless you’re ready to carry the consequences.”
To push me back, he crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Didn’t think she mattered. I had no idea you were even into that. You were too busy letting Hailey hump your leg like a dog—I thought she was your main bitch. How the hell was I supposed to know you gave a fuck?”
Turning away from him, I spit venom into the trash can, then swipe my mouth with the back of a glove. When I get a look at him in the mirror, he balks at me.
“I don’t.” I tap the ends of my fists together, the pounding clapping through the tense air. “But she’smine to hate.Mine to drag through hell. Mine to humiliate and discard when I’m finished.”
Aiming toward the ring, I bump his shoulder and sneer, “Don’t touch what I’m planning todestroy.”
“You two, quit yapping and get up here. You’re first,” my boxing instructor, Jake, snaps at us.
It’s already been a rough Saturday morning after the Hallow’s Eve party—private Krav Maga drills, and now this. Just more ways to keep the fury locked in neat compartments inside my skull. Lan only started martial arts because he has to do everythingIdo. Even gets my leftover pussy…
But not that one.
His shoulders are still up to his ears when he dips under the rope, while I shuffle in place, ready to release everything I’ve got. Stretching my neck from side to side, I keep my eyes focused on his form until Jake saysGo…