Page 34 of Obey

“Easy.” His thumb skims my face. “Just breathe and relax. You’re safe.”

My phone rings across the room, and when I jump out of my skin, my head catches his chin.

“Fuck.” He cups his face, muttering cuss words as I scramble to find and answer my phone.

“Shhhh” I’m flapping a hand at him to simmer down. Mama’s name is on the screen, and if she hears a gruff man in the background cussing, she’s going to have questions. “Mama?”

“Did you book a new flight? Harry is here, and he wants to talk to you.”

Turning my back to Jagger doesn’t dull the blazing scorch of his stare on my body.

“No, mama. I’m still snowed in. And I have no intention of talking to Harry. I told you already. Mama. I need you to hear me when I tell you I’m done with him.”

She snorts, like it’s the most absurd thing she’s ever heard. “You’re never done with him, Tali. He’s your one, forever. So stop being childish and talk to the boy. The sooner you figurethis out the sooner we can plan your wedding and get to the fun things.”

She’s not listening. Pinching the bridge of my nose isn’t doing much to help the fact my temples are now pounding. I felt great after the nap. Like, “I could take on the world” great. And now, now I feel like a scolded seven-year-old for taking grammy’s snickerdoodles off the cooling rack.

I heave out a huge sigh. It’s not only that she’s not listening, she doesn’twantto hear. There’s nothing I can say to her that will make her hear my words, or my meaning. It’s going to take actions. Which means not going back to see my parents. If I go back, they’ll assume I consent to being shoved back into a relationship with a man I don’t love, a man who doesn’t respect me, and a man who can’t keep it in his pants.

That’s not happening.

I open my mouth to say something else. I’m not even sure what, but before I can get a word out, Jagger clears his throat.

“Who’s that?” Mama has had bat-like hearing since I was born.

My breath stops in my chest, my brain short circuits, and my heart thump-thumps so loud against my ribs, Mama can probably hear it.

“Hey, Talia. Are you ready for lunch?” His silky smooth voice carries across the small hotel room. My stomach turns to lead, my muscles tense, and before Mama can grill me about the man’s voice in the background, I panic and hang up the phone.

In fact, I go one step further and turn it all-the-way off. I can tell her my battery died. Considering I’m stranded in a public place, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

When I turn to face Jagger, he’s got a casual smirk smeared across his smugly beautiful face. If I was a violent woman, I’d smack him. This isn’t funny. It’s not even smirk-y funny. This is a disaster. My Mama is going to think I’m a floozy. Even frombeing in the company of another man when she’s so desperate for me to fix things with Harry.

She’s going to assume I don’t want to get back together with Harry because I’m with some mysterious man. She’s going to think I’m not on a plane right now because of him, not because of the weather. She’s going to?—

Warm hands cup my face and redirect my spiraling attention. “Breathe.”

He’s not the boss of me. And anyway, I can’t breathe. It’s not that easy. You’d think considering it’s something I’ve done for over twenty years on this earth it would be something that comes easily. In this moment, however, my chest is so tight I’m afraid my head might pop off my body.

“Breathe, Half-Pint. With me.” He sucks in a breath, holds it, and releases it.

It takes, actually I have no idea how long it takes, but after some time I become aware we’re breathing together.

“You don’t understand my parents. Y-you shouldn’t have done that.” Even as I say it I don’t fully believe it. Part of me is glad he did it, but another is really, really mad.

“Is she why masturbation is okay, but sex isn’t?”

Wow. Talk about not pulling any punches. “Strict religious upbringing. My parents drilled it into me from a young age that sex isn’t something you do before you get married.” I shrug. That’s really all there is to it. When you peel back the layers, I don’t have sex because my parents told me not to. But those voices are really freakin’ loud. I’ve never felt empowered like the heroines in my books either.

To his credit, he doesn’t snicker, or mock my upbringing, or my parents. He simply boops my nose. “Your accent is stronger when you talk to your mama.” He mimics my Kentucky. It’s exaggerated, and sounds more like he’s from Georgia than Kentucky but he tried his best.

Bless his heart.

Clearing my throat, I pop my knee again, planting my hands on my hips. This is becoming a habit with this guy. “You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet, big boy.”

His nostrils flicker. It’s the closest I’m getting to him laughing, that is until he chuckles. “Wow. That’s so... southern.” He bops my jaw. “Keep breathing. New Talia, remember? We aren’t entertaining assholes.”

I have a tendency to babble out loud, I must have said something about being New Talia that he could hear because I certainly never said anything to him directly. Wait.

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