Page 18 of Sky High Obsession

“I’m going home.On my own,” Bethany quietly interjected.“Keely, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Bethany—” Zach stepped toward her.She turned away sharply.A cab was offloading a couple headed for the club.

The moment the couple alighted, she dived into the back and slammed the door shut.“Go!”she shouted to the driver.

“Shit, wait!”Zach lunged for the door, but the driver was already pulling away.

Her last glimpse of Zach and Keely showed their astonished faces as the cab sped into the night.

She lost track of time as her brain reeled from being bombarded with what had just happened.Zach had colluded with Keely to turn up and see her on her birthday.In that moment, Bethany wasn’t sure whether she was angrier with Zach or Keely.Or whether she could stop her heart from slamming excitedly against her ribs when she recalled Zach’s face.His eyes.God, his hands…

When she stepped out of the cab at her apartment, she found Zach waiting.

Shock held her immobile for several seconds.

How the fuck did he get here so fast?

The cab driver’s impatient prompt pulled her gaze back to him and she refocused as Zach slipped him a handful of bills.

Her breath evaporated from her lungs when Zach turned to face her.“If you do that to me again, I’ll put you over my knee and spank the hell out of that tight ass of yours.”

“You… God, Zach, what will it take for you to get the message?”

“What will it take for you to understand that I’m going nowhere?That I’m not prepared to let one question and one answer stop us from happening?”

His fury hadn’t abated.In fact, if anything, it’d escalated.He reached out and grabbed her arms, jerked her forward until she collided into him.

Heat from his body rushed over her, burning her from the outside in.He lowered his head until his face was one heart-stopping inch from hers.

“You got into a cab, alone, after fuck knows how many drinks.And after you nearly let another guy put his hands on you.Tell me why I shouldn’t be hauling you off somewhere to teach you a lesson?”

“Because you don’t own me,” she yelled.“Because this is my life!Because what you told me is frightening enough for me to want to reassess whether I let you near me ever again.”

He frowned.“Let me near you… What the hell are you saying?That you’re afraid for your life?”He uttered the words with a shocked breath.A shade of color receded from his face, and his eyes widened.“You think I’d ever deliberately hurt you?”

He looked so stunned, a wave of shame rushed through her.But then she shook her head.“I won’t let you guilt me into defending my feelings, Zach.The reality is, I don’t know what to think.You’ve given me nothing, and you expect me to just trust you when you don’t trust me enough to be open with me.I can’t live like that.”

He clawed a hand through his hair.“Why can’t you trust that if it were up to me, you’d know everything by now?”

“Oh, change the tune.I’m over hearing your excuses.As for the cab thing, I’m a big girl, Zach.A whole quarter of a century old as of”—she peered at her phone—“thirty-one minutes ago.As you can see, I’m pretty good at getting myself home in one piece.”

“Be that as it may, you’re drunk and I’m still seeing you upstairs.”

She lurched away from him and walked into her foyer.“Do what you want.It’s not going to get you anywhere.”

“It’s going to give me peace of mind to know you’re safe, Bethany.I told you, taking care of you is now my job.”

She couldn’t stop her heart flipping over as she stabbed the button for the elevator.“If that’s supposed to make me all soft and gooey inside, you’re outta luck.I don’t know if you do it deliberately, or if you’re just so used to getting your own way that you refuse to see or acknowledge anyone else’s, but you don’t stop to think twice before you hurt me.So pardon me if I find it hard to believe every word that falls from your mouth.”

He stared at her for long seconds, his hot angry eyes raking her from head to toe.Then he sighed.“Baby, I warned you that returning to the real world would be difficult for us.You’re not making things easier by showing off that sexy body and letting assholes leer at you.And if you think I’m going to stand by idly and watch that happen, you’re seriously deluded.”

He turned away and watched the floors count down.

Suddenly, she wanted to lash back at him.“What if I liked it, Zach?Other men watching me?”

He stilled, those piercing eyes cutting straight into her.“Are you sure you want to go down that road, Peaches?”he taunted softly.

“Don’t call me that.”

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