Page 136 of Stone Cold Touch

His eyes met mine and something shifted in his gaze. My chest rose and fell in ragged breaths. Roth didn’t look angry as he held me down and my emotions were too much of a storm to pick up anything from him, but when his gaze dropped to my lips, the shadows that formed across his face made him look...hungry.

In spite of the billion reasons why this was wrong, the familiar wave of awareness rose between us, a connection that threaded us together.

“Please,” I whispered.

He popped off me and was on the other side of the elevator in a blink. His eyes were glowing as he straightened.

Pushing to my feet and panting, I hit the emergency button again and the elevator kicked into gear. He took a step forward and I shook my head.

Roth closed his hands. “Layla...”

“Did I mean anything to you?” I knew I’d asked him that before, but now...now it meant so much more. And when he didn’t answer again, I nodded, finally getting it. I cleared my throat, but it ached when I spoke. “I don’t want you coming near me.”

His jaw worked. “That’s not possible.”

“I don’t care what you think is possible. You come near me and I will hurt you,” I warned. And then it struck me.Bambi.It suddenly made sense why he’d ordered the snake to stay with me. After all, it was like having a GPS chip installed in the form of a demonic tattoo. “Bambi, off.”

Roth’s eyes widened. “Layla, that’s not smart. Don’t do it. Bambi is as much a part of you as she is me.”

“I don’t want anything that is a part of you.” I called the snake again and she spilled into the air, forming between us. “Go to him,” I said, voice thick and shaky.

Bambi cocked her head to the side, studying me. As the elevator stopped and the door slid open, she turned to Roth.

“No,” he said. “Layla, you need me. You need—”

“Stay away from me.” I backed out of the elevator as I reached up, snapping the chain off my neck. I tossed the necklace at his feet. “Just stay away from me.”

The elevator door slid shut on Roth and Bambi as I turned and ran out of the small lobby, into the cold night.

Zayne was waiting, leaning against the Impala. He pushed off the car when he saw me. “Whoa. You okay?”

“Yeah.” I slowed down, glancing over my shoulder. Roth hadn’t followed me out. “We need to go.”

Instead of asking a dozen questions, he opened the passenger door for me and then jogged around to his side. But the moment the door closed and the engine roared to life, the reprieve was over. “What happened?”

I shook my head, not sure where to start. “I need a minute.” Leaning forward, I pressed my hands against my face.

Zayne reached over with one hand, wrapping it around my knee as he hit the roads. “I’m here.”

Nodding, I closed my eyes. Those were the only two words spoken the entire ride back to the compound. Whatever Zayne sensed, he knew it wasn’t the time to push. And that was good because I didn’t know what to say.

For the most part, I was numb. Or maybe some part of me had already accepted the truth, gotten all up and friendly with the idea when I started putting two and two together earlier, but Roth’s betrayal cut deep.

He’d known this whole entire time, since he’d come back. Every time he’d spoken with me, he could’ve told me, especially when I’d gone to him last time. He could’ve told me. But why would he? I’d trusted him. As stupid as that was, I’d trusted him and if he’d found proof beyond a doubt that I had been responsible, it would’ve been easy to get to me.

God, all those times I’d been alone with him. The day I’d been in the bottom of the Palisades with him, in his loft... I shuddered. He could’ve “taken care” of me any of those times. And that hurt because, damn, it was honesty time. Even though he’d rejected me like I was faulty brakes and there was Zayne and every wonderful thing I felt for him, I still—deep down, nestled in a part of me I held close—cared for Roth and those feelings were stitched inside me.

There was really nothing left to do but go rock in the corner somewhere. Okay. There was a lot to do. Like for starters, what next? Another shudder rocked me as I curled my fingers into the hair at my scalp.

“Layla?”

At the sound of Zayne’s voice, I lifted my head and realized we were sitting in the garage at the compound. The car was off. I had no idea how long we’d be in here, but chilly air had seeped into the interior.

I looked at him and he was pale, but his gaze was steady. “Let’s get inside,” he said. “And we’ll talk. All right?”

The house was silent as we headed in, passing Morris in the foyer. He was carrying a pot of poinsettias into one of the living rooms. Upstairs, Zayne closed the door behind us.

I turned just as he crossed the room and his arms circled my shoulders. He didn’t say anything as he drew me against his chest. For a few peaceful moments, I leaned into him, closing my eyes. When I was with him, when he held me like this, I felt like I had before all of this began. But I really couldn’t live in the past.

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