Page 18 of King of Obsession

‘What the fuck?’

Still, she didn’t raise her tone or volume.

She was a fuckin’ mirror of calm.

‘I have a man,’ I told her, my face brutal, ‘he’s watching her; in fact, he’s got a straight line to her door at Our Lady of Mercy Aged Care facility.’

My intonation was distinct, and she got the message loud and clear.

Her face blanched, and she glared at me for a lengthy time. ‘You bastard.’

Her whisper coiled around my heart.

‘You total fuckin’ bastard.’

‘Some have called me that,’ I growled, a muscle in my jaw ticking.

She sucked her teeth at me, glowering all the while.

‘Save your anger,’ I rasped. ‘You’ll have plenty of time to unleash it on me after we’re far from here.’

I tamped back the desire to reach out and stroke her face, tothumb the pulse at her nape.

‘I’m not going anywhere with you,’ she shot back. ‘What do you want anyway?’

‘Fuzzy alpaca slippers, a ‘flippy’ garden gnome, and a freak in the sheets tee. Pick any of the above.’

‘Fuck you.’

I raised my Sig and made a play for the trigger. ‘In due time, Cleo.’

She jolted at my intimation, and my lips curled.

‘What do I want? For you to take me to your home, woman.’

Her jade eyes flashed. ‘If I refuse?’

‘You want to fuck around and find out?’ I growled.

She studied me, eyes raking the stark planes of my face, brought to sharper relief by my pain. ‘Fine,’ she clipped. ‘We’ll do it your way, for now.’

Still a spitfire, I thought.

I jerked my chin. ‘Get your ass and mine in the car, woman.’

The harsh brutishness was necessary to get my way with her; it was the best way to keep her moving and on her toes.

She helped me recline on the back seat, her touch scorching as she adjusted a safety belt over me. Regardless of my suffering, every brush of her fingers against my skin sent sparks dancing along my nerve endings.

Fuckin’ keep it together,I chided myself.

But I couldn’t deny the effect she had on me. Despite being battered and bruised, with my defenses stripped away, I was freakin’ aware of her allure.

Cleo hovered for a beat, like she wanted to say something more, her eyes seething, jaw clenching and unclenching.

My breath hitched, waiting.

After a long moment, she jerked her chin to me, steppedback, stored her weapon away, and closed the door before sliding into the driver’s seat.

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