Page 79 of Bake the Town Red

Tears soak her cheeks. Eyes red. One of her bedside lamps is shattered below the only window in the room.

“I won’t.” I reach for the button of my jeans. “I’m sorry.”

Dahlia throws a pillow at me.

Typical.

It hits me in the face. I don’t feel it. I just want her to be better. I want to be better, dammit.

“Don’t come back until I say you can come back.” She gets out of bed, getting in my face. Shoves my chest. “I can’t look at you right now, Tyler. You’re not the only one who needs time to be with his feelings. And guess what? Mine are truly fucking hurt right now. I’ll call you when I’m better. Leave.”

“Will not.” I grab her cheeks, pressing my forehead to hers as she growls at me. “I made a mistake. I wanted to give you the better version of myself tomorrow, but it was a huge mistake. I see that now. I’m sorry. Let me stay.”

“If you’re doing it for me, you’re wasting your time.” Her cheeks are wet in my palms. Her voice sharp. She’s brave. So brave. “I don’t need you here. I’m fine. I’ve been fine by myself for years. I’ve respected your wishes. Now, do me a fucking favor and respect mine. You upset me, and I need you gone so I can stop being so angry.”

“Dahlia.”

Her hands rise to my throat, choking me. She doesn’t stop there, pushing me back across the apartment toward the door.

I don’t mind the physical pain. She knees me in the balls when I try to push her back into the bedroom and that doesn’t bother me, either.

My heart tears into a million pieces. That’s what I feel. That’s the sheer torture coursing through my veins.

My anxiety and overprotectiveness have hurt her this much. Hours of stalking, and I never once saw this.

This damage I caused her. Me.

“Dahlia, don’t.”

“Shut up.”

My back slams against the wall.

“Go. I need my space.” She’s still crying. Angry tears roll down her flushed cheeks, one after the other. “You owe me that much. A night. A few days. I’ll let you know when to come back. Me.”

I don’t have anything to say to that. She’s right. I owe her. I owe her this.

A few days. That’s it. That’s all I’m willing to give her.

“I’m never far, little savage.”

“I know.” It’s a half-sigh, half-sob. “Go away. Please.”

She rips herself from me, her blue eyes as pained as my heart feels. She points at the door, anyway.

A few days. No more than three.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Dahlia

Losing my virginity three nights ago was better than…

Better than finding the best egg supplier in town. Better than that time I pulled a man’s tooth out and stuck it in his eye and coated it in liquid dark chocolate. You know, like chocolate chip cookies?

That shit was wild.

Tyler taking my virginity surpassed that.Farsurpassed it. I can’t even begin to compare anything to the blood between my thighs. The blood I left on Tyler’s cock.

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