Slowly, I glance back. He’s still there. Same distance. Same stance.
Waiting.
We seem to study one another. Him from a distance. Me, shaking in my boots. Fear overrides me as he makes a sudden move.
Sprinting directly toward me.
I scream, ready to fight like my father taught me. Ready to kick and punch, to run, threaten. Rip his eyes out. Anything.
But then a pair of hands yanks me to the side. Aiden. Rescuing me.
Gun drawn high, he aims it at the man. “Take one more step, and you cease to exist,” he snarls.
The figure skids to a halt, then turns and disappears into the dark. Gone. Just like that.
Rain drips down Aiden’s ink-black hair as he spins on me, face thundercloud dark. “Where thefuckdid you go?” His voice lashes like a whip. “Why would you come out here alone?”
“I ran.” Sniffling through tears that match the drops on my cheeks, I whisper, “I ruined it. I ruined everything.”
His chest heaves. Breath loud. Controlled rage flickering behind those frostbitten blue eyes as he studies me. “Are yousorry?”
Am I? For everything I’ve done? For who I am?
My chin shakes until I release a sob and lift my eyes to his. “No. I’m not.”
His hand locks around my throat as he lifts me, forcing my body to wrap around his. He’s so close, I can’t breathe. Adventure. Fireworks. Heat. And…ice.
And all I can do is cry while he shoves his lips against mine in a punishing kiss. Tongue delves out to lick up any spilled tears on my chilled cheeks. He huffs cumulus clouds of air into my mouth, forehead pressing against mine.
“I fucking hate you,” he says, thrusting his hardness where I yearn for him to go. “You hear me? I fucking do.” Another kiss. Another stolen breath. And I whimper a soft cry between each. “So much.”
“So.”Kiss.
“Fucking.”Kiss.
“Much.”
Then he drops me. Lets my feet slam back to earth. But before the shock settles, his hand finds mine, and he leads me back.
Back into the safety of his control.
twenty
Lan chuckles.The sound grates on my teeth like sand in my mouthguard.
“But you’re not into her…”
Fists up. Small jab at his jaw. He slips it. We circle each other, Jake tracking our every move.
“Shut up and fight,” I bite out. “Put that guard back in, or I’m taking out your pretty veneers. Again.” I give him a warning uppercut that grazes his chin.
“Yet you have her sleep next to you?”
I grit down harder on the plastic. “In a dog bed,” I murmur. Or…it started that way.
He pauses long enough for the grin to spread. “And bring her to lunch to sit on your lap every day.”
My side punch catches his ribs. He laughs through the blow, dancing away.