[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Oh what an idiot.
You have two goddamn seconds to remove your hands before I take your fingers and
break each one. Then, when I m done, I ll snap your wrist before moving to your fucking
elbows. And if I feel like being nice, I might leave your arms at that. She. Is. Mine.
I try to remove my foot from his hold, but his fingers clamp tightly around my ankle,
causing me to whimper from the pain. Neither one of them notices, but as the tension
climbs between the two of them, Phil s fingers get tighter and tighter.
Asher s hand is still holding me at the base of my neck, and it feels as if the two are
having some weird tug-of-war minus the tug. I whimper again when Phil s fingers get
even firmer against my skin. I can feel my toes, those damn toes, starting to tingle with
the loss of blood flow, and just when I thought his hold couldn t get any more painful, he
proves me wrong.
The raw cry that escapes my lips shocks even me and has both of the men whipping
their eyes in my direction. Phil takes my cry as one of pleasure, and I can see him puffing
out his chest. Asher comes around, not removing his hold but curling his fingers up the
side of my neck and holding my cheek in his palm. His eyes look into mine for a beat. I
can see the vehement intensity of his anger in those beautiful blue eyes. His gaze travels
down my body until he sees the cause of my pain. When he looks quickly back up at me, I
see the danger in his observation. He never breaks his stare. I see his other hand move in
my peripheral, but I don t dare break the connection to him.
I hear Phil cry out in pain a second before my leg is dropped. Asher doesn t waste a
second. After pulling out his wallet, he throws a few bills down then scoops me up in his
arms and marches out the doors. I duck my head in the crook of his neck, running my
nose along his warm skin and feeling safe.
Safe and protected.
He doesn t say anything. Walking with a steadfast determination to his Jeep, he
unlocks the door with ease then sets me gently down before buckling my belt and jogging
over to his side.
And just like that, we re taking off towards the apartment at a speed that matches the
rapid beats of my heart.
Chapter 12 Asher
I can t stop the rage that has fully consumed my every emotion. I can t even focus
without seeing a red haze clouding my vision. When I walked through those doors and
saw that motherfucker s hands on Chelcie, I believed myself capable of murder. Cold,
hard murder, and I didn t give a fuck that I had witnesses surrounding me. My soul was
demanding that I claim what is mine that I tear that piece of shit to pieces for even
breathing her air.
He s lucky the only thing I did was snap his wrist to get him to remove his hold on
her body. That still didn t satisfy the primal animal that is snarling to be set free. It s the
same feeling I get when I think about what happened to Coop. That need to wrong a right,
to claim what s mine.
Images of Chelcie, her eyes closed and his fingers touching her feet, bombard my
mind again, and I swerve my Jeep over a few lanes. Pulling off onto the shoulder of the
highway, I rip off my seatbelt and jump out of the Jeep before slamming the door with
enough force to rock the whole vehicle.
I m fighting every instinct in my system to turn the car around and kill. I m at war
with myself and I am too out of control to correct it. I need to claim, to mark, and to prove
that she is mine.
I pace back and forth in short successions before stopping in my tracks and whipping
my head around to look back at Chelcie. I was expecting her anger, but when I look back
and see her curled forward with her shoulders shaking violently, I immediately rush back
to the Jeep. This time, I bypass my door and jerk hers open. She shoots up and hiccups a
sob before crumbling again. This time, it isn t herself she is escaping to. No, she lunges
forward, almost falling out of the Jeep, and wraps her arms forcefully around my neck.
Pulling my hips back slightly, I move her body so that her legs are hanging out the
side of the Jeep. I push them lightly apart and step in between her thighs. She
immediately wraps her long legs around my hips and all but crawls inside my body. I
stand there, running my hands down her back, and let her take every ounce of strength I
have in my body. I can feel her trembling against me, her tears soaking my shirt, and her
heaving breath against my neck. I just keep running my hands down her back and press
my lips to her head. The feel of her body and the smell that never fails to make me roll my
eyes in yearning combined with the adrenaline that is still thundering through my body
does nothing to help ease the need I feel to claim.
To make her mine.
Without speaking a word, not trusting myself to even open up my mouth, I reach my
hands up and unwind her body from mine. She looks up at me with confusion before
shock takes over her features and she jerks her body back in the seat.
Don t even think about it, I seethe.
Her eyes flash, but she visibly tries to relax her protective posture.
I take a few steadying breaths before I walk back to the driver s side and pull back
into traffic.
It s time that Chelcie and I have a long, overdue chat. I want to know what the hell
she s hiding, and more importantly, I need to make sure she understands just where the
hell things stand between us.
***
The drive back to the apartments doesn t take long in reality, but with the thick
anticipation of what is to come coating the air around us, it feels like hours. Chelcie
hasn t spoken, not one word.
Her silence is alarming. I m used to her sweet murmurs the snarky bursts of fiery
attitude she normally keeps closed off from others and most importantly, that deep-
rooted desire that is usually blazing in those brown-gold pools.
I hate this closed-off, scared version of her, and I m almost afraid to believe that it
could be me she s afraid of.
We pull up, park, and silently make our way past a smiling Joe and into the elevator.
She goes to press the button for her floor, but I grab her lightly, pulling her flush with my
body.
No, I growl, the primal sound shocking even my own ears.
Please, she pleads, her eyes round with what I can only guess is panic.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]