Page 33 of Oh, Hell No

My eyes were heavy now, but there was no way I was closing them.

We had barely spoken. He’d asked me if he needed to stop to let me get any groceries before taking me home. I had said no, although I doubted there was much there for me to eat. I rarely had a lot of food in my apartment. Not because I couldn’t afford it, but I hated to waste anything. When you grew up without having the means to eat properly, you were careful not to take it for granted. I bought what I knew I would eat each week and nothing more.

He had also asked me what kind of music I liked to listen to. I told him Ariana Grande, Nickelback, Britney Spears, and Taylor Swift were some of my favorites, and his horrified grimace almost made me laugh.

He had replied, “Forget I asked,” then put it on a country station.

Not that I was keeping track, but the last thing that had been said was a little over an hour ago. Okay, it had been sixty-four minutes, but the clock was right there and was hard to miss. He had suggested I get some sleep. That black flag of his might as well have been flying high because—oh, hell no!—I was keeping my eyes open and making sure this vehicle stayed on the path to Madison. My phone was tucked into my pocket, but I hadn’t even checked my emails. When he’d handed it back to me, I’d taken it from him and put it away.

“You’re determined to stay awake,” he said, breaking the silence.

I cut my eyes at him. “Yeah.”

“Any reason why? Your eyes are so fucking heavy; it’s verging on painful.”

Had he been looking at me? I’d not seen him even glance this way.

“I do not trust you,” I told him honestly, turning my attention back to the road in front of us.

“I have no use for you anymore, darlin’. You’ll be in yourapartment soon enough,” he drawled.

Theno use for me anymorecomment stung. I wasn’t sure why. I mean, I didn’t want to be of use to him. I’d had the experience, and I wasn’t a fan. Did not recommend. Thumbs-down. But there was a slight hurt that came from it anyway.

“Fine. Stay awake,” he said with a sigh.

I glanced over at him. His dark hair was slightly messy as he leaned back, relaxing in the seat. Broad shoulders and biceps that stretched the cotton of the short sleeves before the rest of his muscular, tanned arms was exposed as he held the steering wheel with one hand. My eyes dropped to his flat stomach, and I wondered just how rippled his abs were underneath. When my gaze went to the jeans encasing his thick, hard thighs, I swallowed. I bet he looked like an underwear model naked.

“You about done, or do I need to pull over and stand up so you can get a better view?” he asked, sounding amused.

Snapping my eyes to his face, I caught his smug smile. I quickly turned to look out the window before he could see my face turn red, as I felt it heat up from embarrassment.

“What? You were being so bold about it,” he said with the hint of a chuckle.

Dang it. “I was not. I mean, I wasn’t doing what you think I was.”Liar, liar, pants on fire.

“Please, darlin’, tell me what you were doing if you weren’t eye-fucking me.”

I sucked in a breath. “That was not eye-fucking,” I said, still not looking at him.

“Yeah, it was.”

I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes. “Be quiet. I am going to sleep.”

A deep chuckle was the last thing I heard.

Fifteen

Oz

When I stepped into the underground cellar on the Cash property, my thoughts went from the woman I had just tucked into bed while she slept so damn hard that she hadn’t stirred to her younger brother, hanging by his wrists from the ceiling as his feminine-sized feet barely brushed the ground beneath him. Other than one of his eyes being swollen shut, he looked untouched. I wondered briefly what he had done and to who for them to put their fist in his face.

He stared at me through his good eye, and his body trembled. The guy would break easy.

“Do what you want, but don’t kill him,” Linc informed me.

I had known he was here. I’d smelled his favorite cigar the moment I walked down the stairs.

My eyes swung over to where he sat on the stool in the other corner. No one else was down here. I hadn’t expected Bane to behere since he’d had to be away from Halo. After returning from Morrocco, he’d have rushed straight to their bed.

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