Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
“Listen here, pretty boy, you and I are going to have a real fucking problem if you’re tracking me. I’m warning you, and I am not fucking around. I consider that a threat, and do you know what I do to things that threaten me? I’m pretty sure that you do.”
I take a deep breath. I need to get myself in check. If I push too hard, Killian could simply take off. “The girl, she makes me do shit that—” I trail off before I can give him or anyone details about my life. “Never mind, you wouldn’t understand.” I shake my head and make a quick deal to pull Killian back in. “Get me what I want, and I’ll tell you how I do it and give you the tech to stop even me.”
I shouldn’t. It’s extremely confidential, but I’ll break more than laws to keep my Lily close. Even if she wants to murder me. He’s quiet for a beat before he finally responds.
“Fine, but you better knock that shit off. I’ll be in contact.” The call drops. I head back toward the doors to my office that are empty, but she could be outside them listening. She’s not.
I head back toward her room. She left easier than she should have. Normally she would have lingered or barged into my office and called me a few more names.
I pause when I hear her voice softly whispering. Before I know what I’m doing, I’m through the door; it hits the wall with a crack, and the echo rings through her room. Lily stands frozen, eyes wide, at the foot of her bed, the TV glowing behind her, the controller still clutched in white-knuckled fingers. Discord fills the screen, a chat window open, someone’s avatar still showing as online.
I don’t lose my temper, but she’s now pushed me over the edge. I know what my anger is; it’s fear. I feel her slipping through my fingers, and she has someone helping her do it. To get away from me.
I cross the room in three strides and rip the whole gaming system from its stand. The screen goes black. The console crashes to the floor, plastic cracking against the wood.
“What the hell?” Her voice rises, sharp and bright. “You can’t just—”
“Can’t I?” My own voice sounds foreign, scraped raw. “I own this room. I own every fucking thing in it, including you.”
“You’re insane.” She steps back, but there’s nowhere to go. The bed blocks her retreat. “You don’t own me. You never did.”
That’s where she is very wrong.
I reach for the controller still in her hand. She jerks away, arm swinging wide, and I lunge. We collide, tumbling backward in a tangle together. My hip hits the duvet. Her elbow digs into my ribs. I grapple for the controller; she holds it above her head like a trophy.
“Give it to me.”
“Make me.”
We roll. She ends up beneath me, pinned, her wrists trapped in one of my hands while the other reaches for the controller she still grips like salvation. I should be her salvation. The thought is fucked up, but right now I don’t give a flying fuck.
Lily breathes fast, making her chest press against mine. Her hair fans across the pillows, gold against white. Her eyes are wide, pupils blown, and her mouth… God, her mouth.
I glance at it.
The little brat licks her lips, a quick dart of pink, and I feel it everywhere. My grip loosens. The controller falls, forgotten. I lean closer, close enough to feel her breath, warm and fast, against my cheek.
This is wrong. This is everything I’ve been punishing myself for wanting.
I yank back like she’s burned me. The bed creaks as I shove off it, stumble to my feet, and put distance between us before I do something we’ll both regret. She stays sprawled where I left her, hair wild, lips parted, confusion and something darker warring in her expression.
I don’t look back. I can’t.
The door slams behind me hard enough to rattle the frame. I stride to my own room, lock the door, and head straight for the closet. The darkness swallows me. My fist hits the wall before I can stop it, drywall giving way with a satisfying crunch. Pain radiates up my knuckles. I hit it again. Again.
Control. I need control. I need—
I don’t know what I need anymore.
Chapter Eight
LILY
My sheets are tangled around me, and I haven’t moved. I’ve been up for a few minutes now, staring at the ceiling. The dream I had lingers, and I know last night fueled it.
Now I know what it’s like to be pinned under Tristan. His weight on me, the hard press of him against my hip, his mouth so close I felt his breath. He had my hands pinned to the bed. There was nowhere to go. I press my thighs together, willing the ache away. This is ridiculous. He’s ridiculous.