Page 35 of Savage Desire

“Are you listening to me? Did. You. Do. That. To. Him?”

Fuck.

She’s harder to distract than I expected.

I inch closer and closer, and it’s only when I’m a few feet away that she realizes I’ve got her in my sights and she starts to shuffle backwards. Step after step, she retreats. I follow, until her back hits the trunk of a large oak tree.

Her eyes widen, panic setting in as I eliminate the remaining space between us. Crowding her, I place a hand on either side of her head, leaning closer until we’re face to face.

“You’re not listening to me,” I breathe, and she pinches the bridge of her nose. Her eyelids fall closed, like my proximity isn’t driving her insane, like my body isn’t alive from her closeness. As if sensing the turmoil roaring inside of me, she drops her hand, leaning back so her head is against the bark of the tree as she meets my gaze.

“Go back to the girls you had draped all over you, Lincoln. I can’t do this with you right now.” Her tone is dejected. Like she’s done with me. Me? We’re done when I fucking say we are.

“Can’t do what?” I rasp, inching closer instead of giving her the space she’s asking for.

She sighs at me, exasperated as she waves a hand between us. “Whateverthisis.”

“This?” I repeat, moving closer until we’re hip to hip, chest to chest, nose to nose. She’s all I can feel, all I can see, and all I can smell. I’m on the brink of feral, and reining it in is harder than I anticipate. “It’s nothing.We’renothing,” I snarl, the bark of the tree biting into my palms as my nostrils flare.

She doesn’t falter under my thundering words and deathly stare, and I’ve seen grown-ass wolves cower at less. If anything, she stands taller, her eyes drilling into mine.

“Then leave.”

She says the words effortlessly, like I’m here by choice.

If I had a choice, I wouldn’t be anywhere near her.

Her eyes are wide, determination thick in her gaze as she waits for me to make the next move, but I’m frozen in place, torn between what I do and don’t want.

I knew I shouldn’t have fucked a virgin, but here I am, dealing with the consequences, they’re just nothing like I anticipated.

She’s not vying for my attention, it’s the other way around.

As if thinking it only cements the truth in my heart, I skim my nose against hers, edging closer until we’re staring deep into each other’s eyes, my mouth a wisp away from hers.

“I can’t.” My truth is a whisper. A secret. Even to myself. Her eyes search mine, desperate to reveal the lie intertwined in them, but it’s not possible, because there’s no fabrication. Not one.

She runs her tongue over her bottom lip as the weight of my words settles in, but now that I’ve admitted it, not just to myself, but to her, there’s no stopping me.

“I don’t want to think about you, but you’re in my mind at all fucking times.” Her tongue catches the corner of my lip as she sweeps it across her lips once more, and my hands ball into fists against the tree. “I don’t want to know you exist, then a murmur of someone else wanting what’s mine leaves me with busted knuckles and a ball of rage that still hasn’t quelled,” I admit, mynostrils flaring as the anger rears its ugly head to the surface. “But worst of all,” I murmur, dropping a hand to her chin to tilt her face back so I can hover over her, feeling the dominance I so desperately need. “I don’t want to remember what you felt like, but when another person touches me I can’t stand it.”

My heart races with every word, my truth bare for her to see. Her gaze searches mine once again, but she comes up as empty as she did the first time. I’m not lying. I wish my words were fiction, but they’re far from it and I can’t stand it.

“That didn’t look like you were struggling to me,” she says, finally breaking her silence, and I blink at her.

That’s all she has to say?

Fuck.

“I hate you,” I breathe, wanting to hurt her as much as she hurts me.

“Why?” Her eyes penetrate mine, curiosity swirling in her pupils. I can sense her heart rate thundering in her chest, but it’s not with fear. Is it…? Fuck if I know.

“I don’t need to explain myself to you,” I grunt, my chest heaving with every breath.

“Then leave.” She echoes the same words again, and I feel my emotions well to the surface, prickling under my skin as I struggle to contain the rage boiling inside of me. It’s not aimed at her, though. No. The burning hatred I feel coursing through every fiber of my being is targeted at myself.

“I’ll leave when I’m ready to leave,” I bite, my grip on her chin tightening, but she doesn’t flinch.

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