Page 41 of Burning Bridges

I follow her, getting my body in the way, stopping her from closing the door. This conversation is not over. “Piper, don’t you dare start the car until we have talked about this,” I growl out. She’s angry right now. It’s not safe for her to be driving. She also needs to know why I hid that device in her car.

She stands, getting in my space, poking me in the chest with a long, sharp, manicured nail. “What is there to talk about? The fact that you are keeping tabs on my every fucking movement? How the hell did you get out here so quickly, were you outside of my house again?” She pokes me again. When I don’t answer her, she throws her hands up in the air, exasperated. “This is ludicrous, Leo. You know that, right? Only crazy people or detectives put tracking devices in people's cars.”

I capture her hands in mine. “I never said I was sane, but this is more about the fact that you can’t be trusted. I know you’re up to something, you’re working with someone. And until you come clean about who it is and why you’re helping them, I will have to continue my ways of keeping tabs on you.”

She shakes her head. “You make me feel like a caged animal,” she says sadly, the cocky façade she has been trying to keep up slipping. She's hurting, I can see it. She looks torn, like she is fighting an internal battle. Why won’t she let me help her? I’m sure I could take away all her pain if she let me. If she is working for the Kings because she's scared or needs money, I can help her. She doesn’t need to be working for anyone else. I can and will give her everything she needs.

“Maybe that's a good idea. I could lock you up so I know you're safe and you can’t hurt yourself or anyone else.” My grip on her hands tightens, like I’m testing out the thought, my little princess, all locked up and mine.

Furious eyes flick back to me, and she tries to pull free with no luck. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Keep on testing me and see how far I’m willing to go,” I say, liking the way that idea sounds more and more by the second. This current back-and-forth is getting us nowhere fast. Maybe I do need to try a new approach.

“To control me,” she cries, trying to pull her arms free again.

I move my hands up her arms to rest on her shoulders, forcing her to look at me. I don’t like the way she says I’m trying to control her, but she gives me no choice. She’s so stubborn, trying to do it all on her own. She doesn’t even realize how bad this situation is getting. “To keep you safe. You have no idea what we’re dealing with, and until you come clean with me about who you’re working for, you will always be in danger.”

“I fucking hate you,” she whispers, her eyes locked deep with mine as she tries to spit out her venom. And I know she doesn’t mean it. This girl hasn’t ever had anyone care about her the way I do. She also hasn’t taken her eyes off me. She looks at me like she wants to screw me more than she wants to kill me. And right now, I’ll take that as a win.

I move my hands into her hair, lacing my fingers through the silky strands so she is forced onto her toes, looking up at me. Her lips beg me to kiss them. “Fuck me like you do then.”

With a snarl like a feral animal, she closes the gap, her lips meeting mine, with her nails digging into my shoulders. She might hate me, but she wants me too. And as much as she protests me stalking her, I know deep down she fucking loves me watching over her because she knows I will always keep her safe. I have to, because without her around, I feel like I can’t breathe in this city's toxic air anymore. Somehow, through all the chaos, she has become my lifeline.

As I kiss her, I lift her body so she's pressed into her car. Her legs wrap around me instinctively, like our bodies are made to fit together. Our kiss is aggressive, all teeth and tongue, with her panting wildly. I pull away, nipping down her neck, needing to get closer to her. Grabbing at the fabric of her top and pulling it down so her breasts peek over the top, I palm them, turning her nipples hard with my rough touch.

She kisses my neck, sucking and biting her way down as her fingers pull at my hair.

I suck one of her nipples into my mouth, grazing my teeth along the sensitive flesh before I release it with a pop. This isn’t like last time we were together; this time we're both out to inflict a little pain along with the pleasure.

Like she can read my mind, she runs her hands through my hair, her long nails scratching at my scalp.

“Tell me who you’re working for?” I demand.

“Not a chance in hell.” She chuckles like a crazy person as she sucks harder on my neck.

She’s fucking impossible to help. So stubborn. And even though I’m pissed with her tonight, I need to know I can keep her safe. That she isn’t going to do something stupid to get herself killed. “Promise me it’s not the Kings,” I plead with her, and I know I’m showing her my desperation, but I need to know it’s not them. They will use her and discard her in the most awful way when they're done with her.

She pulls back to look me in the eyes, and for a second, we stop the damage we're trying to inflict on each other and just stare. She’s panting out of control, but her eyes soften, and I can see the truth written all over her face. “I swear on my life it’s not,” she whispers. “I wouldn’t lie about this. I hate them more than you do.”

And I know she is telling me the truth. “I need you to promise me if you’re in trouble, you will come to me. I can’t help you if you don’t.”

“Will you back off on the stalking shit if I do?”

I glare at her, not wanting to give up that much control but knowing I need to give her a little space if this is ever going to be anything more than a game. “If you swear to call me at the first sign of trouble, even if it’s something stupid.”

“I swear.”

“Then I’ll back off.” I see the relief in her features, and she softens in my grip, bringing her face forward to kiss my lips. My lips are back on hers just as quickly. She tugs at my fly, showing me what she wants. Releasing my erection, she palms it, pumping her hand back and forth. I push her panties aside, and in one move, fill her with my cock. A sense of peace washes over me instantly. This is how we should always be joined together. She lets out a small gasp, but it doesn’t take long before she is rocking her hips, wanting me to move with her.

I lean her into the car so I can get a better position to hold her, and her eyes come back to mine. They stare deep into my soul like she is trying to tell me all her secrets. I don’t look away this time. This time I want to see her like this, raw and real. This is the Piper I fell for all those years ago, and I want her to see me, the man who is so in love with her I can’t think straight. She has taken over my life, and I don’t want to fight it anymore. I move with her, showing her how I feel about her because I know I can’t ever admit it out loud.

She clings onto me like she feels the same. “Leo, what are you doing to me? One minute I want to scratch your eyes out, and now all I can think is that I don’t ever want you to let go of me.”

“The same thing you’re doing to me, Princess,” I admit. Never in my life have I been as vulnerable as I am right now. She brings me undone.

Our bodies move together slowly. I find her clit, circling over her sensitive nub the way I know she likes. This should be a dirty fuck on the side of the dusty highway, but it’s so much more. For the first time in my life, I understand what it truly feels like to show someone you love them. I find her lips, kissing her as I tip her over the edge, and we climax together, her body shuddering as she clings to me for dear life.

I’m in so much trouble. I will never be able to walk away from her.

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