Page 13 of Falling in Reverse

I’m not flattered.

However, I can only spin this lie of not being Bay Astor so much. Torin caught me, fair and square, and technically, if he knows I’m close to Levi, that might work in my favor.

“What do you want, Torin?”

His smile is victorious and wide, lighting up those golden embers in his eyes as if he just hit the jackpot. “What I’ve always wanted, Wildfire…you.”

Wildfire.

His little pet name for me back in the day.

“Are you saying that you’re pathetic enough to actually still have a crush on me, Wildes?” I tsk my unimpressed feelings toward that idea to make sure my point is made. “Get off me.”

“Or what?”

“Well, there’s this knife that’s going to make a hole in one of your arteries. Or I’ll forget this meeting took place and not tell Levi that you touched me.”

Torin doesn't lose the self-assurance of who he is and the upper hand that he kinda has now. “Sweetheart, when have you ever known me to be scared of Wallace?”

Never.

Nonetheless, it’s the only card I have to play.

“You really want to lose a hand?” I solicit with a perked brow. “C’mon…you’ll need it later for when you jack off to thoughts of how you could have me.” I knit my face into a scowl. “But you didn’t. And I’m not amused nor honored by you putting your grubby-ass hands on me.”

“But you’d allow Matteo De Leon?”

I’m. Going. To. Cut. Off. His. Entire. Dick. One. Day.

The mere mention of my ex-boyfriend makes my skin uncontrollably crawl. It still has an underlining sliver of fear racking through my body. I’ve never been treated nor had a man possess me the way Matteo did.

And it wasn’t in the pleasurably, toe-curling kind of way.

“I did,” I profess, because it’s not a lie and Torin knows all about it. Not only was it public knowledge, but Matteo made sure that everyone was made aware not to touch what was his. “And I bet that kills you, doesn’t it?”

Torin’s hard body presses firmer into mine, and my next exhale is a little jumpy—damn the thing all to hell. He smells like melon and cedar, and I like it. Shouldn’t, and it’s a stupid-ass thing to realize now, but I do. “Matteo De Leon isn’t here to protect you anymore, baby. And I’m thrilled that he dumped you on your ass like the little South Shore slut you are.”

“Slut?” His opinion of me doesn’t hit anywhere that he wants it to because he’d have to matter for that to take effect. “Why don’t you run along home before your daddy wonders where you are? I’m surprised he doesn’t keep his precious son locked up so no one can take out one of his heirs.”

“As you can see, I’m grown as fuck now.” His gold eyes narrow with irritation and maybe awareness that he can’t really do what he wished to do in the first place. I hope. “And we’re both not in the same places we used to be.”

No.

I’m in a much safer and stronger one with Levi now.

“You’re right,” I agree. “Which you’d do best to remember where I currently reside.”

“You fuckin’ Wallace now?” I hold his gold eyes with confidence, which I believe is causing doubt in his brain because he scowls. “How high you’ve come.”

“I wish I could say the same about you, but I wasn’t handed anything.”

“No, you just fucked your way to the top.”

I lift my shoulders a tad so that he doesn’t accidentally pull on the trigger of his gun. “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”

He leans closer, and I immediately tense against his warmth and the way his eyes feel like they’re burning into my soul. “You might as well come clean, Wildfire. I don’t like to wait.”

“About what?”

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