Page 30 of Coerced

Except me. All of his walls come down with me.

We’d known each other for only seven months, and had been dating for the last four. Our first meeting had nearly killed me - and I mean that literally - and hardly a day went by that we didn’t struggle through one of his issues or mine, but I could not imagine what my life would be like without him. I woke up every morning eager to see him and went to bed every night reliving our day together.

He had my whole heart.

I couldn’t tell him that, though. It would only be a burden to him. Decades from now, he might be unscrambled enough to bear the weight of that confession. Or so I hoped. For now, I kept the words buried like a warm and lovely secret.

He glanced down at me, and I met his eyes, even though I knew mine were showing too much.

“Everything okay?” He looped an arm around my shoulders and tucked me close to his side.

“Of course, Lab Rat.”

When he choked in surprise, I laughed.

“Lab Rat again.” Jax’s eyes lit up. “I really wish you’d tell us about these secret experiments you two have been conducting.”

“Keep your nose out of it,Ajax,” he sneered.

“How come you don’t let any of us call you Lab Rat?” John’s deadpan voice could make anyone laugh, and Tara and Maddy did.

“You can if you wanna catch my fists,” Kerry growled, then barked at me, “Look what you started!”

“Children, children.” Clem shook his head and held up his hands. “Play nicely.”

Kerry didn’t understand that the more he blustered, the more we would kid him about it. I wondered how far this could go before he became dangerous.

Good time to find out.

“Hey,yousaid even Lab Rat was better than—”

His cold hand was over my mouth before I could finish and I grinned against his palm. Realization filled his eyes.

“You’re teasing me?” He slowly lowered his hand.

“Only a little, and not to hurt you.” I laid my head on his chest. “It’s just playing.”

“I don’t know how to play,” he bent to whisper in my ear.

“I’m aware.” I hid my smile. “And it’s okay. I’ll teach you.”

7. She. Said. No.

Kerry

We landed at a tiny airstrip that was little more than a worn track in a straight stretch of snow with nothing but a wall of trees on either side of us.

I’d been shocked to see so much open space from the window of the airplane. The mountains and valleys seemed to go on forever. Gemma had warned me to bring my sunglasses because the sun would glare off the snow, and she was right. It blanketed the ground and clung to the Christmas trees. I never saw any place look socleanbefore.

After getting off the plane, I lifted my face and breathed in huge lungfuls of air. It was cold and crisp, and I loved it.

Well, at least until Maddy and Travis started to bicker about something and interrupted my peaceful moment. She stamped away with her backpack. Travis walked up to me with a sigh.

“What was that about, Dragon?”

“We have different views on courtesy, I guess. I just offered to carry her bag for her.”

“What’s going on with you two, anyway?” I looked down at him. “You’re fighting more than you’re not lately.”

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