My skin heats and I think I’m hyperventilating. No, I’m sure I am.
The savage weight of his stare stabs me as he waits with growing impatience to hear my reply.
“I didn’t think—”
“You obviously didn’t think. Do you even do that?”
“Don’t insult me.” I breathe harshly. “I wouldn’t have put on the loud music if you weren’t following me like a creep.”
I pause.
Damn it.Damnit.
It was an unspoken rule to not admit I was aware he was stalking me, but I went ahead and divulged that I knew all along.
I expect anger, maybe a lash of his freezing coldness, but a slight smirk lifts his lips. “Like a creep, huh?”
“I didn’t mean…”
“You didn’t mean what? The creep part?”
“I’m… I’m going home.”
“No, you’re not.” He clutches my elbow. “Since I’m already a creep, might as well act on it.”
8
CECILY
I’m stunned into long, thick silence.
And Jeremy uses the chance to drag me behind him. He doesn’t do it gently, doesn’t wait for any cues from me. He just digs his fingers into my elbow and pulls me along.
I’m wearing a long-sleeved T-shirt, but my skin tingles and burns where he’s gripping it.
The sudden, nonnegotiable motion might as well be an ambush that strips away all my defenses.
I’m not used to being treated this way—stalked, manhandled, grabbed with brutal strength.
I gradually snap out of my shocked state and try to wrench my arm free.
His powerful, much bigger hand engulfs my elbow in a merciless hold, fingers digging further in the skin until I can feel a bruise forming there.
“Where are you taking me? Let me go.” I hate the tremor in my voice, the helplessness in it.
I’ve always prided myself on being confident and having the ability to conquer anything in my path, but this is a lot different from anything I’ve experienced.
Jeremy Volkov isn’t a person who I can stand up to and hope to come out of the encounter unscathed. He’s not an entity that can be dealt with logically and hope for favorable results.
The more I see him, the deeper I’m trapped in his night-like aura. Ruthless, heartless, boundless.
“J-Jeremy…” I purse my lips at the stutter and my skin heats. It starts where he’s touching me and spreads through the rest of my body.
He doesn’t answer me, doesn’t acknowledge my existence as his sharp strides cut the distance through the night. The muscles in his back are rigid, rippling beneath his black leather jacket.
It’s a fact that Jeremy is a big man, probably the biggest I’ve seen, aside from Nikolai. But right now, he’s like a giant animal.
No, not an animal.