Page 28 of Layne Closure Ahead

Instead of giving in to the temptation of physically demolishing Eric’s face and devolving into a blind rage, Joey gave a dark smile in amusement. “I don’t give a fuck what you think you’re entitled to. Touch her again, and I’ll kill you. I won’t just kill you, but I will make sure that you suffer an unfathomable level of pain before you beg for me to end your life.”

Roughly, he shoved Eric’s hand away and left to follow Layne.

When he managed to get eyes on her, she was already at the front doors pushing against several people coming back inside from having a smoke.

“Layne!” He called for her hoping to get her to at least wait for him.

She never heard him through the roaring of her inner monologue that was screaming inside of her head. Her thoughts told her how much she had to do this for survival while simultaneously berating herself for being so damn stupid in agreeing to be at a man’s mercy.

When Joey caught up to her, he didn’t immediately say a word. Instead, his hand dropped down to take hers and guide her to where his Challenger was parked in an empty church parking lot. Layne let him guide her to the lot across the street. The plan had always been for him to drop her off at home after the party, just that the night had ended much sooner than either of them planned for.

He opened the passenger door for her to get safely settled. Joey pulled his suit jacket off, balling it up and forcefully tossing it into the backseat before he got into the driver’s seat. He slammed his door shut with a force that rattled components inside the dash.

Layne wasn’t sure what to say to him or where to even begin to explain what she was doing if he even cared. Her emerald eyes watched him as he backed out of the parking space and the tires squealed against the pavement as he left the lot.

His hands yanked at his tie, loosening it around his neck enough to unbutton the top couple of buttons of his shirt. Joey’s breathing was heavy and ragged as he replayed what he had just witnessed at the party. It wasn’t just what he saw, but the reading of how her lips moved to speak words to Eric he would never understand the reasoning for.

“Joey—”

He cut off her words. “What the fuck are you thinking?! Do you even know what type of monster Eric Ellis is?” His eyes parted from the road for a second to shoot a glance at her.

Trying to keep her voice calm enough for the both of them, she spoke quietly. “You don’t understand, my hands are tied here. It’s the only option I have. I can’t sit around and wait for a miracle that is never coming.”

His hand squeezed onto the top of the steering wheel. “You’re not doing this.”

She reached over and put her hand on top of his while he held onto the gear shifter. “I am doing this. I have to. I don’t know why the hell you’re so bent out of shape about it. You came back for your one favor, which by the way, you’re welcome.”

His eyes looked down at her hand that was touching his, covering up the sprawling tattoos etched into his flesh. Joey made a sharp turn and pulled into an empty parking garage. He accelerated up the ramp of each floor until they reached the top level on the roof.

“What are you doing?” She stared at him questioningly as he pulled into the cement structure.

He parked the car diagonally across several spaces and got out. Layne flung open her door and met him in front of the Challenger, the headlights left on and cutting through the darkness of the night.

Now she was beginning to slip as her anger started to rear its head. “What is your problem, Joey?!” Her hands shoved his chest, only for him to stay solidly planted on his feet as his eyes were locked on her. The rage she had seen in his eyes earlier now had melted into a softer burn.

“It’s you. It’s always been you.” His statement was calm but the words had a storm brewing behind them. When she tried to shove him again, he wrapped his hands around her wrists. “He doesn’t deserve you.”

She knew better than to struggle against his grasp. “And you do?”

He took another step closer to her, still restraining her wrists in front of her. “I’ve made some mistakes, but I’m not going to let you fall further down this spiral.”

Layne rolled her eyes that he thought she was having any sort of spiraling crisis in her life that she couldn’t handle on her own without his help.

“Roll your eyes again at me and see what happens, Layney.” A soft growl rolled over his words. A growl that prompted several goosebumps to flitter across her skin.

Her teeth scraped over her bottom lip as his taunt had her body reacting with a heavy sense of arousal between her thighs. No matter how long it had been, he had always managed to get her body to respond with the slightest of actions or words.

She rolled her eyes at him.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Unsure what caused her to instigate him, Layne didn’t have long before he reacted. Joey’s hands dropped their hold on her wrists and pulled her face to his. His lips crashed against her mouth with a blazing kiss filled with pent-up emotions.

As she released a small gasp, his tongue took advantage and slid into her mouth to devour her taste. The electricity between them felt incredibly familiar, but now there was an edge of something else in how he touched her, tasted her, and held her.

She couldn’t tell who was breathing the air out of whose lungs as they stood there on the roof of the empty parking garage.

Each movement he made prompted a chain reaction of sensations throughout her body. His hands roamed down over the front of her dress making a momentary stop as they settled over her breasts. The palms of his hands aggressively kneaded each of the supple swells on her chest. She leaned her body into him, encouraging him to continue.

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