But Rick caught my arm in mid-flight before I could slap him, his eyes filling with fire. “You want to fire us?” he growled, his lip lifting in a sneer. “Fine. Then I’ve got one last duty to carry out for you.”
“What?” I asked, a new kind of fear lacing through my body. I’d known Rick for a long time and despite his being older, had always thought he was pretty cool. Nothing ruffled his feathers. He always had a gentle demeanor with me. Firm, but gentle.
The eyes I was looking into right now, though, were neither kind nor gentle. They were burning with anger, and if I wasn’t wrong, a little bit of hurt, too.
I quivered, my tears getting closer to the surface. What had I done?
“I’m going to give you an important lesson in consequences,” he said.
Before I could wonder what the hell that meant, his powerful left hand cupped the back of my neck, and he pulled me in, bending down and capturing my mouth in a hard, demanding kiss.
* * *