“Are you serious?” Her anger comes back blazing, and she takes back those few steps. “Do you honestly think I would say and do half the things to you, if I thought you were anything like him?”
My body relaxes at her words and the conviction in her voice. It settles some of the rage and I take a deep breath. But the tension still lingers. She is so blinded by her past, stuck in survival mode, she can’t see what I’m offering her.
And I don’t blame her.
How can I?
She’s never had a real father, or anyone to look out for her and keep her safe.
“I think…” I keep my voice calm and look her dead in the eye. “Too many people have given up on you. I’m not one of them. I’ll prove you wrong.”
Stubborn is an understatement. I’m indestructible when I want something. And I want her.
Her eyes narrow, and that seems to piss her off even more. “Why Ren?” Because of the deal? Your family? You don’t know me. Not even a little.”
She can pretend all she wants and not acknowledge what’s between us, but I thought I’ve made it clear.
“I know enough to know, that I want to know more.”
“You want to know more, huh?” Her laugh is bitter, and her voice is painful to hear. “You want to know about the things he did to me? Or the things I did just to get by?”
Fuck.
When her voice cracks at the end, it breaks something inside. Her pain is open to see, her eyes giving it all away. No matter how strong she stands in front of me. She thinks I’m afraid, that I can’t take the darkness.
She’s wrong.
“I want to know everything there is to know about you. The good and the bad. But all you want to do is run away. To what?”
“See!” she yells the word so loud it pierces the air. “And that’s where you’re not getting it. It’s not to what. It’s from who. I will say it crystal clear this time. I’m not running from you. I’m running from him. Because he scares me more than anything in this world. And I can’t get confused and buy into all this. And you. And a life that is for some other girl. Because for me, it’s only a matter of time. He won’t give up.”
Her cheeks are red, her fists are clenched. I watch her storm away. But I can’t let her go.
I spin her around, fisting a handful of her hair, pressing her into me. Our lips crash together as desperation sets us ablaze. She kisses me back, pressing her body against mine, wrapping her arms around my neck, pulling me closer.
She’s in my veins, my blood, my heart. I don’t understand it myself, how my need for her is so strong. She’s everything that I crave and more.
I drag my mouth from hers, trailing along her jaw and down to the base of her neck, kissing and tasting the groove of her collarbone. She moans, the sound sending a jolt to my cock.
Her fingers dig into my shoulders, her head lolls back, giving me full access. I kiss my way to the top of her cleavage, then back up to her lips, catching her moans with my mouth, drowning in her.
But like a flick of a switch, she pushes my chest and sends me stumbling backwards. Her lipstick smeared, hair tousled, and her eyes are filled with fire. She looks wild and sexy, but fucking furious.
“That changes nothing!” She turns and storms out.
But she is wrong.
It changes everything
After our explosive argument and unbelievable kiss, I was surprised to see her waiting at the door to leave for dinner. Although she didn’t look at me and stood with her arms crossed, she was still willing to spend the night with my family.
She needs time and space.
Space I can’t give her, there will be no pushing from me. A lot was said and done, and it needs to settle. As soon as I unlocked the car, she jumped in. And as soon as I started the car, she blasted music through the speakers and turned her head and spent the drive looking out the window and not engaging with me.
My mood is shit, and I need to put everything she told me to the back of my mind. Otherwise, I’d be heading straight to her father’s house and doing what she said all along and take out his kneecaps.
And more.