Page 59 of Brick

She whimpered softly. Then, with a shuddering breath, she reached up and cupped his jaw. “Have you ever said no?”

His teeth ground together. “Not in a long time.”

“What happened if you did?”

“Nothing I’d want to remember in the light of day, much less here in the dark.” Even the threat of those memories made his stomach churn. He needed to get her out of the building before Tre circled back, not relive the horrors of his life.

Her thumb soothed over his skin. “I know you’ve done bad things, things you regret.” She stepped closer, her vanilla scent chasing away the traces of burned wood. “You can’t convince me you’re a monster, though. Monsters don’t feel regret. They don’t push away women they want. They take what they want. They don’t care who gets hurt. That doesn’t sound like you.”

His muscles tightened as her body drew flush with his. It was clear she was scared, but not afraid of him.

She kept talking. “I know you want me. Still, you try to stay away. You try to keep me safe. The thing is, if you hadn’t been here tonight—if you weren’t in my life—God knows where I would be. You saved me.”

It would be so easy to let himself believe her words. He’d love to be someone’s savior for once, especially Olivia’s.

He dipped his head and allowed himself the luxury of tasting her mouth. Kissing had never consumed him this way before. He wanted to sip from her lips. Worship her tongue. Show her with his mouth she was precious. Beautiful. Everything.

Her lower lip was plump and full. He sucked on it gently before sliding his tongue over the pillowy softness. Liv’s body relaxed in surrender as he entered her mouth. Her hands climbed toward his neck.

No girl like her had ever even looked at him before. Why would she? Olivia was so far above him, he’d never survive the fall. But it would be worth it.

She would be worth it.

He wouldn’t have her in this kind of place, though. The walls crumbling around them. Needles and bugs on the floor. And who knows when a junkie might wander in, looking for an empty space to get his fix?

He pulled back. “You need to get out of here. I’ve got an idea, but I’m going to need you to trust me.”

“I trust you.”

Together, they crept back down to the first floor. From his backpack, he pulled out a folded black tarp.

“What are you going to do with that?”

With a flick of his wrist, he unfurled it across the floor. “Time to play dead.”

She gasped. “There’s got to be another way.”

He hardened his jaw. “It might be the only way you make it out of here alive.”

He was glad he couldn’t see the expression on her face as he guided her onto the plastic and she allowed him to roll her loosely inside.

She stayed quiet, except for a small grunt when he heaved her over his shoulder.

“Keep it together a little longer. This will all be over soon.” Just as he had a dozen times before, he hoisted up a tarp-wrapped body and walked right through the parking lot like he owned it. He could see at least a dozen guys out there now, shooting hoops, drinking, smoking. Yet not one pair of eyes drifted his way. He didn’t walk fast. He moved as he would any other day, any other time—like he would if he wasn’t carrying a body over his shoulder or smuggling a woman away from the guy who probably wanted to fuck her corpse.

He placed her in the bed of his truck and drove away. His apartment could be dangerous, and he didn’t want to risk taking her home, so he navigated to a secluded spot, surrounded by trees. Once he was sure no one had followed them, he helped her get free.

Liv’s hair plastered to her face; her skin was damp and pale. She stumbled from the truck bed, straight into his arms, and burst into tears. He had never comforted anyone before. He was usually the reason they were crying.

“I c-couldn’t move,” she sobbed. “It was like being buried alive. I used to have those nightmares back at the hospital.”

Oh, God.

He held his hands in the air, afraid to touch her.

He’d tried not to wrap her too tightly, but obviously the tarp wasn’t loose enough. Stupid. He had no business trying to be someone’s protector. Liv was lucky he hadn’t killed her by accident.

She should be running away. Instead, she held onto him like a lifeline. Her tears soaked his black t-shirt.

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