Page 57 of Roses and Skulls

He taps his fingers over his heart and then jumps in the cab.

Chapter Thirteen

Elijah

Every time she looks at my cheek she winces. “I’m fine,” I tell her for the hundredth time since we sat down to eat.

The guys left a while ago. A-fucking-mazing that her old man left her with me.

There is no way the dude trusts me and if he does, he shouldn’t.

I tip my head as she glances away from me, her cheeks turning the cutest shade of pink. It’s got me wondering if she’s used to being alone with a man. And when I say man, I mean someone other than her family.

“Do I make you nervous, Billie Rose?” I finally ask, curiosity winning out over my love of seeing her like this.

Her tiny fists wrap around the bottom of her t-shirt, curling it up so I catch a glimpse of the porcelain skin beneath.

It’s adorable how shy she is all of a sudden.

She covers her mouth with her hand, swallowing hard. “No,” she lets her hair fall to the side of her face, shielding herself from me.

I lean over and brush it behind her ear. “Don’t hide from me.”

“I’m not,” she says grumpily, her brows pulling together.

“Come here,” I tell her, patting my leg.

She pulls her head back. “Um, no.”

“What are you so afraid of?”

She looks away. “I’m not sitting on your lap, Elijah.”

I run my hand over my leg, catching her glance towards my lap. She turns herself around in her chair, avoiding me completely.

Oh, Billie Rose. Does she really think that just because she let her emotions get away from her today that I’m going to treat her any differently? Fuck no.

Slowly, I rise to my feet and walk up behind her, wrapping her hair around my fist before she realizes what’s going on. She struggles to turn around, but I hold her still. Her hands fly up to mine. “Owe,” she whines.

I tug her head back, so she’s forced to look up at me.

“What the fuck are you doing? My dad trusted you to stay here with me.” She tries to unwind her hair from my grip, but I just force her head back farther. She grabs the seat of the chair, breathing through her nose at the pain I’m causing.

“Oh, he doesn’t trust me.” I lean over, brushing my nose along hers. “He just had a weak moment.”

Her breath catches in her throat and her legs squeeze together.

“Because he definitely shouldn’t have left me alone with you. I’ll admit, it was a pleasant surprise.”

I pull away a few inches, watching the rise and fall of her chest.

“W-what do you mean?” she pants, trying to sit up but realizing I have her pinned with nowhere to go.

A slow smile spreads across my face. “We’re going to play a little game,” I tell her, noticing how big her pupils get at my suggestion.

She squirms in the chair. “What kind of game?”

My fingers loosen in her hair as I gently massage my fingertips over her scalp. “We are going to play a little game of show and tell.”

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