Page 47 of Runaway Hearts: Seduced by Danger

But my mind is still, undisturbed.

Keep cutting.

With a fresh trim, my fake boyfriend looks gorgeous. I run my fingers into his hair to shape the haircut as I finish. When both my hands are tangled in the strands, Kai’s gaze locks onto mine and his pupils dilate.

He doesn’t blink or break the stare, and I’m trapped. “You’re so much more than meets the eye,” he whispers, his voice cutting through the silence like a knife. Kai gets up, and his hands reach out toward me, his fingers curling slightly to cup my cheek before his thumb slides down my throat.

My body reacts in a flash, stumbling backward at lightning speed, the clipper still clutched in my hand.

“That’s what you get for being such a crazy cunt,” Eric voice snarls in my head, his hands clenching around my throat. “Now get on your knees and open wide.”

“I’m sorry,” I blurt out, but it’s too late. “You startled me.”

Any trace of flirtation disappears from Kai’s eyes, replaced by an icy glare, and a cold sweat forms on my forehead. While my mind disconnects itself, I hear my voice begging.

“I’m sorry, Kai... I’m sorry.”

He shakes his head and pushes the chair to the side. Kai might be around five feet ten inches tall, but right now, his lethal energy is eight feet tall. His posture tenses, and his hand reaches out toward me with fierce determination.

My breath stops.

But his hands cup my cheeks so gently I shudder, and the freezing grip of fear melts away with his thumb, tracing the contour of my face.

I don’t know what to think because his posture screams “predator,” but my soul shouts “protector.”

Kai lets out a powerful sigh and approaches me until I’m pressed to the kitchen wall, and the warmth of our bodies mingle.

Apologize!

“I’m sorry,” I mutter automatically, but Kai only snorts.

He grabs my hands and guides them to his neck, wrapping my fingers around it.

“Squeeze,” he orders.

I gather every particle of courage dispersed within me to squeeze his throat.

But I can’t.

“If you push your thumbs hard enough right here,” he says and guides my thumbs, “you can choke me to death.”

What the fuck is happening?

“Do it!”

My hands shake, fingers clenching, and my mind searches for a way out. I make another attempt.

“I bet Eric loved to choke you,” Kai says like he’s discovering a secret that could destroy the world. My world. That name is poison to my ears, and nausea rises in my stomach.

Shutdown activated.

Kai’s eyes are so intensely locked on mine that I stop breathing, and my body softens in submission. I’m stuck in a parallel dimension, forced to relive the painful memories Eric left behind. Images, scents, and sounds fill my mind. They don’t belong to the present, but they suck me in, nonetheless.

I fight my mind’s isolation as hard as I can, but it’s slowly drowning me. Kai’s expression darkens, absorbing all traces of lightness, and I can tell he understands the disgusting truth now.

Just let him do what he needs to do and sing.

“That’s why you almost throw up whenever you hear his name,” Kai growls. His sunlight eyes search mine for an answer that will never reach the surface. “That’s why he never met your family.” Pain and anger vibrate in his voice, lashing out at my insecurities. “But he didn’t just choke, did he?”

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