Page 57 of Ferocious Nightmare

Frowning, she jerked her finger out of my mouth. She stepped back and out of my hold. "And if I go anyway, you going to try and stop me?”

I straightened, growing angry. "Yes."

Her eyes flashed. "You said you would give me my freedom."

"I am, unless you're doing something stupid."

“Unfortunately for you, you didn’t stipulate my stupidity into our contract.” She turned to go and I reached forward, grabbing her arm, my voice a low growl of warning.

"Aster."

She jerked her arm from my hold, swiveling around to point a finger at me. "No, you, Coulter. If you hold me against my will, what makes you any different than Nero?"

"First of all, I fuck my women willingly. Secondly, I don't kill my wives. Third of all, I don't kill my brothers. Fourth, I don't threaten my family and the people I love. Fifth, I actually love and care about people... Would you like me to go on?"

"Yet."

"Yet, what?" I growled out.

"You don't do those things yet. But this is only the beginning. You don't think that Nero had a heart once? That he was born this way?" She folded her arms against her chest. “He didn’t change from one day to the next. It starts out with small things, Coulter. You never held me against my will. You only obeyed your father. But if you stop me now, this will be the first step into turning into the man you hate."

I ground my molars, staring her down, for the first time feeling an ounce of hatred towards her…because what she was saying was the truth.

I was becoming more and more like my father every day. And I hated it.

But what choice did I have?

I had to do those things to protect the people I loved.

She gave me a feral grin. "I'm going. And, as much as I want your support, you can't stop me."

When I didn't answer her, she swiveled on her feet, turned, and walked out the office door.

I counted to ten in my head, knowing it would only be seconds before she would pop back through the doorway.

After four seconds, I felt a rolling, churning in the pit of my stomach. I narrowed my eyes, gripping the edge of the desk. She would come back. She would…

After six, my chest tightened, and it was hard to breathe. What if she didn’t?

Seven…eight…

The woman was stubborn but she was also smart. She knew we had to stay together. It was the only way I could protect her.

Nine…

The doorway remained empty.

My heartbeat thrashed in my ears. Pain seized my chest and lungs.

She wasn’t actually going to him, was she?

Damnit! Fuck!

I bolted from the room, fear making me desperate when I saw that the dark hallway was empty.

The dance floor was packed, and yet, I easily spotted her flaming hair in the crowd. All of the sudden, the music was too loud, the strobing lights too flashy, and the mass of bodies was a wall between me and her. I shoved people aside, my only focus to get to her.

The woman I cared about the most in the world was driving me to insanity.

---