Page 34 of Riot

My heart stops as I stare into his dark eyes. This man sees and knows too much, and it terrifies me.

“Next question?” he asks innocently, completely oblivious to my internal turmoil.

“Favorite color?”

“Blue,” he responds, and I know I asked before, but I was checking if he was telling the truth.

“Why are you so obsessed with me?” I ask after a pause.

“You aren’t ready for that yet,” he answers. “You’re looking for an excuse to run, and I’m not giving you one. Besides, beautiful, you can try to run from me, but I’ll just find you. You forget, I know everything about you.”

“Bullshit, you can’t know everything about me,” I scoff.

“Favorite color is gray, and you tell everyone your favorite book is Women Don’t Owe You Pretty, but it’s actually Pride and Prejudice. You can’t drink and eat at the same time. You hate the taste of beer but love cheap pizza. You love roller coasters but hate going underwater. You love shopping and watching movies, but you don’t like to go alone. You collect vintage art, and you love pottery. In an interview in 2013, you admitted you liked being spoiled by the person you are dating. Shall I go on?”

My eyes widened while he spoke, and I swear they are bugging out of my head. “How?” I blurt, stuttering over the words.

“You are the only thing in this world that interests me, Fallon, so I spent my time knowing every single thing there is to know about you. Good and bad, I want it all.” He leans closer. “But I want all those dark, little secrets I see floating around in your head, the ones you are ashamed to share, and I’ll have them.” He leans back. “But for now, what else do you want to know about me?”

“I’m done asking,” I snap, feeling way too vulnerable and exposed.

“Okay, beautiful, how about you get some sleep?” he suggests as I stand, needing to put some space between us.

Does he really know all that?

Just how long has Kage been stalking me? It sends a shiver through me, and not necessarily a bad one.

“I can never sleep on planes,” I tell him. “I just don’t get warm or comfortable enough.”

“Here.” He rips off his hoodie, revealing a tight, short-sleeved shirt underneath as he offers it to me. “To keep you warm and cozy,” he explains as I stare.

“I don’t wear hoodies,” I mutter, glaring at the offending article of clothing.

“Sure you do, when they are mine. It’s comfy as hell, here.” He drags my arms up, and before I can protest, he slides the hoodie over my head, careful of my makeup and hair, and settles it into place. The material is big and baggy, almost reaching my knees, but it’s super soft and warm and smells like him. Realizing I’m sniffing it, I drop the material.

“You don’t listen to anything I say,” I mutter in annoyance.

“I do, sweetheart, just not when I know you’re wrong.” He takes my hand, leading me to the door at the back. He opens it and pushes me in and then shuts it behind him. “Now lie down and rest.”

“Nobody bosses me around,” I warn.

“I’m not bossing, sweetheart. I’m asking.” He backs me up to the bed until I fall backward, and then his arms go down around my head. “Either you sleep, sweetheart, or we are going to do something very different in this bed. Your choice.”

My eyes meet his. The bedroom is small, and there isn’t much except a bed, but as I lie on the silk sheets, I know that if I let Kage fuck me, it will change something. He’ll have gotten what he wanted, and he’ll get bored, just like everyone else, and part of me doesn’t want that. I like his attention, for now at least.

I slide backwards, crawling up the bed and slipping between the sheets. His chuckle follows me, but he doesn’t seem disappointed. He does, however, climb in next to me, and before I can move away, he wraps me up in his arms, dragging me closer so I’m pressed against his chest. “Before you tell me off, it won’t work, now sleep.” He kisses my head softly. “You can go back to keeping your distance and pretending you don’t want this tomorrow. Tonight, just give in and let me hold you while you sleep—not for you, but for me.”

“Fine, for you, and because I’m tired,” I mutter as I relax into his embrace.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” I hear the smile in his voice, but I ignore it and close my eyes.

I don’t expect to be able to sleep, but I must because I jerk awake sometime later, my nightmares chasing me into consciousness.

“Shh, baby, I’m here. You’re okay. It was just a dream.” Kage strokes my face, his body wrapped around mine in the dark, and I remember we are on the plane.

Blinking, I bring his face into focus while my mind tries to catch up to what’s happening. “It wasn’t,” I croak, my voice hoarse. Was I screaming again? I’m sweating and my legs are weak, which is typical after one of my night terrors. “It was a memory.”

He frowns, watching me. “What kind of memory made you that scared? You were crying in your sleep.”

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