Page 377 of Filthy Elites

“No, you won’t. You can’t. You’re not equipped for it.” She shakes her head, that pleading look in her eyes again like she’s just so desperate for me to understand. “If you’re all she has, you’ll lose pieces of her along the way.”

“Then she doesn’t need those pieces,” I state simply.

“Are you honestly this selfish?”

“You can’t really be surprised.”

She shakes her head, looking down for a moment. When her gaze returns to mine, she tries one more time. “Please, Dare. I am literally begging you.”

I touch her chin, keeping her gaze on me. “No.” I move my hand, sliding it to the side of her neck. She stiffens, probably recalling the last time I had my fingers around her throat, but I don’t let her look away. “I’ve laid all the necessary groundwork on Aubrey’s end. I’ve been much clearer with you. Now, all that needs to happen is that you go away and let us live happily ever after.”

“And if I don’t?” she whispers.

My hand closes around her throat. “Then I stop being nice, and this war getsbloody.”

I feel her throat work beneath my palm as she swallows.

“Maybe that’s what you want,” I murmur, my grip tightening.

Her hands fly to my wrist.

“You wanted my attention. Now, you have it.”

I see the flash of fear cross her face. “No. No, I didn’t want your attention, I wanted—”

“Sh, it’s okay. You can admit it. It’s just the two of us.”

I lean closer and I swear she nearly bursts into fucking tears. “Please, stop,” she whispers.

“I don’t think you really want that.” I lean down so my mouth is close enough for her to feel my breath on her lips when I whisper, “Do you have a little crush, Hannah?”

“You’re sick,” she hisses.

I smile, stroking her neck with my thumb while still holding on tight. “I can make you sick, too.”

“Get your hands off me. You don’t want to fuck me, you just want to scare me,” she says, fighting the fear and trying to get back to seeing me clearly. A special talent of hers, and not one I can let her get a firm grip on right now, so I lean close and smell her hair. I hear her shuddering breath, a nearly silent squeak of horror as she listens to me breathe her in, my body pressed close so she can feel my heat.

“Are you sure?” I whisper. “You might think I’m bluffing, but how far are you willing to go to find out? Because, Hannah?” I look down at her. “I don’t blink.”

She looks up at me like I’m breaking her poor little heart again. Maybe I am.

She’s so upset, so angry and wounded knowing there’s not a shot in hell she’ll win a game like this. Tears begin to glisten in her big blue eyes.

“There’s more than one way to lose someone, you know.”

My eyes narrow.

She swallows, still with my hand wrapped around her throat. “Maybe you think you can’t lose her because you won’t let her leave, but you’re wrong. You can make her stop loving you. Maybe you can keep her as a prisoner after that, but you can only force her body to stay. You can’t force her heart.”

We’re in waters murky enough that even Hannah with her unique abilities of perception can’t tell whether or not I’m bluffing. “Maybe that’s enough for me.”

I don’t know what I expect to see in her eyes, but it’s not pity. “Then I feel sad for you.”

I frown, letting go of her throat and taking a step back.

She holds my gaze.

For the first time, I’m tempted to look away from her, but I just swore I wouldn’t, so I don’t. “Your love for Aubrey is touching. Do what conventional wisdom tells you to and love her enough to walk away. I promise that if you don’t, I’ll make you both regret it.”

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