Page 42 of Burn With Me

“I will,” I promise, taking her hands and squeezing them tight.

Isaac reaches into his pocket and pulls free a card. “Whenever you’re ready to go back,” he says, holding out the card for her to take, “one of my guys will be more than happy to give you a ride.”

“I already have a ride,” she says, lifting her chin, but she takes the card anyway.

“Just in case,” Isaac says with a grin.

His hand finds my hip and curves around it. “See you later,” I call back as he motions me forward and the two of us exit the dance floor for the second time tonight.

“Be safe!” Selene calls after me. “I’ll close out your tab for you!”

With Isaac’s hand on my side and the hot club air making my hair stick to my nape, I don’t know if safe is anything I can be around him. A part of me argues that I shouldn’t be doing this. I shouldn’t leave with him. I know what it means. Even if we’re drawing a line in the sand, giving in to a truce, there’s more happening tonight than either one of us wants to say aloud.

Safe? With a man like Isaac Icari? It’s almost an oxymoron. But as I step outside ofLabyrinthand feel the California air on my skin for the first time in hours, I have to think that maybe the two of us have been building to this since the day we sat across the table next to our parents. Maybe there was no other way around this. Maybe we were always going to end up here—no matter what either of us has done to the other.

I swallow reflexively as he hands something to the valet and then pulls me closer to his side. I shiver, catching his attention. Isaac looks down. “Are you cold?”

No. If anything, I’m hot. Hotter than I’ve ever been in my life. I shake my head, unable to voice the words inside. His gaze remains locked on mine despite the lack of verbal response until the valet returns, pulling up in front of us in a black Escalade.

Isaac reaches for the passenger door and holds it open for me. I take his hand and step inside, letting him help me into the expensive car. Once the door is shut at my back, I watch him slip money into the valet’s hands and then circle the front of the vehicle.

This is it,I think. Tonight is both the end of our feud and the beginning of something new. I’m not sure which I’m hoping for. All I know, though, is that tonight is a turning point.

20

RORI

Isaac is quiet. It’s the kind of quiet that preludes some serious shit about to go down. My hands clench and unclench in my lap as he drives. The city passes by us in flashes of lights. It’s a classic California Friday night. Tourists are out and about, as are the residents. Drunk girls in body-tight dresses stumble across crosswalks with their friends, laughing and cursing as they try to travel to the next bar or club in their sky-high heels.

I half expect Isaac to get irritated at their antics, but he must be a true Californian boy because he barely spares any of them a glance. The whole of his attention is on the road, and when the light before us turns green, he eases his foot off the brake and speeds up. Cars cruise by with their light-up taxi and independent carpool signs glowing in the dark. A glance at the dashboard tells me it's barely past midnight, but the city is still going hard—most are already past the point of no return.

I glance at the man at my side as he silently stares through the windshield, almost as if he wants to ignore my presence. I wish I’d drunk more. I have a sinking feeling that I’m going to need a little more liquid courage before I can deal with him tonight. But it’s too late now. I’ve agreed to this and I need to see it through. Besides, the truth is that we’ve been circling each other for far too long.

The further we get, the darker the roads get. The fewer people we see. Several minutes pass and the surroundings become unfamiliar after we pass the university and keep going. I sit up straighter and flip around to face Isaac.

“What are you doing?” I demand. “Where are you taking me?”

“I’ll take you home,” he promises. “But after we have a talk.”

I cut a look his way, irritation flourishing in my veins. “I want to know where we’re going,now, Isaac.”

He glances my way once and then returns his attention to the front of the car. He doesn’t offer an excuse or even bother trying to assuage my sudden irritation and panic. That’s it, just a glance. I’m not getting an answer.

Irritation turns to anger in a heartbeat. “What the fuck is your problem?”

“Have patience,” he replies.

Have patience?Oh, I’m freshly out of that, especially when it comes to him. “No.” I’m so fucking sick of him dictating my actions. It’s been a nonstop fight since the second I stepped foot in Hazelwood. “Pull the car over.”

“I’m not pulling the car over, Aurora.” His tone is hard. “Just sit there like a good girl until we get there and then you can pitch your fit.”

Maybe some girls would have just sat back and done as they were told, but not me. I pride myself on not letting my emotions get the best of me, but when I’m done, I’mfucking done. I hit him. Ball my fist up and slam it into his arm hard enough that it jerks his whole body. The Escalade skids sideways—in hindsight, maybe it was a bad idea to hit the driver, but he’s so fucking frustrating, I honestly don’t see how I had any other choice.

“Fuck!” Isaac corrects the front of the car and then flashes a look at me. “Calm the fuck down, Aurora. What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you want me to kill us both?”

“No,” I snap. “I just want to kill you. Pull this fucking car overnow.”

Something dangerous flashes in his eyes and, suddenly, my seatbelt jerks against my front and I’m slammed back into my seat as the SUV comes to an abrupt halt. Isaac directs the vehicle into an empty parking lot and throws the gear shift into park. I don’t waste a second reaching for my belt to unlatch it. My hand finds the handle of the door and I throw it open, bolting as soon as we’ve stopped moving.

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