Page 61 of Stolen Seconds

Her hand slipped from mine, breaking the trance. “I’m not like you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t chase dead ends!” Her face hardened as she glowered at me. Long gone was the warmth I saw in her moments ago. “I don’t want you, okay? So juststop. Stop cornering me. Stop this fixation you have for me. Stop pretending you care. Just stop. It’s. . . it’s embarrassing.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, noticing the slight trembling of her chin, and I couldn’t help but laugh humorlessly. “Are you finished?”

If she thought her ill intended words were enough to get me to leave her alone, she was in for a surprise.

Grabbing the covers, I put it over her, confusion washing over her features. She opened her mouth, and I could feel the impending vice of her viperous tongue.

“Don’t continue giving me more of your empty words, Irina,” I warned. “Shut up and go to sleep.”

“You know I can’t stay here. If Roman finds out-”

“If he finds outwhat? Weren’t you the one who threatenedto tell him about us?” I hovered above her, my hands resting on either side of her head. “What happened,piccola ribelle?Are you all bark and no bite?”

“There’s nous.”

I wrapped my hand around her throat. “No one can stop me from having you, Irina. Not even you.”

Her pulse beat beneath my thumb as I leaned down until we were mere inches apart. “Not even you,” I whispered before placing a kiss at the corner of her mouth—right where the cut was—and pulled back, watching the blue in her eyes darken.

Unsaid words danced in every breath she took, and I intended to steal each one until we were interlinked. Until she couldn’t erase me from herself.

I stood up and walked to the other side of the bed before sitting down, my back to her.

The silence settled heavily around us, and I knew she was wary of sleeping in unknown territory. It was evident that she was always on edge with how she carried a knife everywhere she went.

“You’re safe with me.”

I waited for movement or a retort but when I turned my head, Irina’s eyes were closed, exhaustion lining her face.

My lips twitched at the sight of her snoozing form.

She could lie to herself, lie tome, but her body betrayed her. She trusted me.

I didn’t know how much time had passed as I watched her sleep before the first incoherent sound slipped from her lips.

Leaning up, I moved forward, her face twisting as if she were in pain.

She thrashed against the bed; her head tipped up as she whimpered.

I kneeled beside her and touched her face, her skin ice cold.

“Irina.”

Her body convulsed; her mouth shut as her face slowly turned into a sickening blue.

Fuck.She was choking.

I grasped her jaw, forcing it open and pushing two fingers to the back of her throat. “Come on, sweetheart.Breathe.”

Her throat was tight, and she kept sputtering, choking on nothing.

That same helpless panic arose in me, my body tense as her lips lost color.

With my free hand, I squeezed her throat and stuck my fingers further down her throat. “Come on, Irina.”

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