Page 33 of Stay for Me

“This is Diana,” she answered.

All business, even on a fucking holiday.

She wrapped her arms around herself as the freezing air surrounded her, rubbing her free hand up and down her arm to chase away the cold. My palm itched to spank her plump ass for not putting on her fucking coat before coming out here.

She fucking knew better than that.

“W-what do you want?”

My spine straightened at her tone, my body on alert as I watched her stiffen, her shoulders snapping back almost as quickly as her spine straightened.

She was scared.

I was half a second away from moving to her, to do anything in my power to help her, to figure out why, instead of sweetness, there was fear laced throughout her voice. My eyes focused on the back of her head as I heard her stop breathing altogether. I lifted my boot—

“Lucas,” she pushed out on a breath, hissing at the end of it. “You can’t just call me like this out of the blue.”

Lucas?

Who the fuck was Lucas?

My brows snapped together, my eyes on her shoulders, noting how rigid they were. Her body was on alert—a trauma response. “No, I—” A low muffled sound came from her phone then, cutting her off. She let out a defeated sigh, her fingers running through her honey golden locks. “You still loving me isn’t my problem.”

My jaw jumped.

The muffled voice grew louder, and before I could stop it, I was moving. The sound of my boots thudded against the wood of the porch, and Diana’s neck twisted, her wide hazel eyes meeting mine. As I drew closer, the man’s voice booming from her phone became more distinct.

He was yelling at her, verbally abusing her.

Fury boiled inside me.

In a flash, I had her phone in my hand and to my ear.

“You’re such a fucking bitch, Dian—”

“—talk to her that way again, I’ll cut out your tongue,” I cut the bastard off, my voice sharp.

Diana turned her body to face me, her hand going to her mouth, stifling the sound of shock. I looked down at her, holding her eyes as the man started cussing at me. I ignored his threats.

“Who is he?” I asked, my voice low and vibrating with malice. It had been years since I’d craved this level of violence. Nowadays, killing was swift. Clean. Easy. Three bullets and no more. I didn’t want to kill Lucas swiftly, and three bullets wouldn’t be enough. Hell, an entire clip wouldn’t be enough. I wanted his body in pieces, his screams ringing through the night.

No one talked to my Diana like that.

Ever.

Her hand slowly fell away from her mouth, drawing my attention to her red-painted lips. “Mr. Mags, you don’t—”

Here we go again with the Mr. Mags bullshit.

My nostrils flared as I leaned in, her sweet scent surrounding me now. “Firefly, who the fuck is he to you?”

“Put Diana back on the phone now!” the man bellowed on the other end of the line.

“Mr. Mags,” she whispered. She shook her head, her hazel eyes drifting to her phone. “I—I can—”

“It’s just Mags and you fucking know it,” I growled. “Answer my damn question. Who is he to you?”

Those beautiful eyes met mine again as she answered, “He’s my ex.”

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