Page 52 of Beg Me Angel

“I gave you your answer.” Resting the ax by my feet, I pulled the sleeves up on my shirt, turning to look at her and wiping away the sweat on my forehead.

Gawking, Vera's mouth hung open, her eyes hovering under hooded lids. “You're unbelievable, you know that?” Taking a long step forward, she snatched the ax from my hands, lifting it over her head and letting it fall with precision into the center of the log. “Go on, get another one.”

Placing a hand on my hip, I gripped the top of my head. “What are you doing?”

“I'm helping.”

“No, what are you really doing?” Tilting my head, I watched her closely.

I wasn't stupid, there was no way that she was willingly accepting my refusal to do what she asked me to. She was going to try and rope me into taking her into town some other way, a give and take game that I wasn't about to play.

That was not going to happen, not by my hands. If I did decide to let her go, I wouldn't drive her into the public's eye and let her loose. There was no doubt in my mind that the world was looking for her, that a fixation on her had been swirling from news-stand to news-stand.

She's staying, I already decided that.

“I'm not going to let you do everything yourself, I'm here, so use me.” Grabbing another log herself, she steadied it in the center of the block. “I'll earn my keep, like you said before, I'll repay you for what you've done for me. Then maybe we can talk about what I really need.” Holding the ax high, she let it fall down with gusto, grunting as the metal hit the base.

“I know what you're doing and it's not going to work.”

“And what is it I'm doing?” Tossing the wood onto the pile, she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

“Don't play games with me, I can see right through you.”

“This isn't a game. You've been very kind taking care of me, but I don't want to be your burden, I want to help.”

“You're not a burden.”

She was far from being a burden. In some twisted way I felt like I was righting all the wrongs, I was clearing my conscious and starting over. For all the bad that flowed through my veins, there was still some good.

Having her here made me feel like my life finally had purpose. There was comfort in knowing she needed me, in keeping her safe and protecting her from whatever was out there.

I was actually starting to feel sane again.

Leaning on the handle of the ax, Vera looked me up and down, letting her eyes settle sternly on mine. “What do you want from me, Pax?”

My lids popped open, eyes rattling around inside my skull. How was I going to answer that question?

I wanted everything from her. I wanted to keep her locked away as my own precious treasure that the world could never touch. I wanted her mind, her body, her soul. I found a diamond in the rubble around me, just waiting to be scooped up in my hands.

I want it all.

This angel was mine. Even if she begged me, I was never letting her go.

She looked so beautiful, her face flushed and damp from sweat. The sun burst through the trees behind her, making her body glow, showering her anger filled expression in glittering speckles of yellow rain.

I was turned on instantly, flooded with the need to take her right there. I had walked away from her because I couldn't stand the thought of her leaving. Now, now I couldn't shut down my body, I couldn't stop myself from making sure she knew she was mine.

“I'd rather show you.” Taking a long step forward, I pulled the ax from her hands and dropped it to the ground. Her breath hitched as I swept her off her feet, lifting her by the waist and setting her down on the block of wood.

“Pax—”

Silencing her voice, I kissed her hard, I kissed her with all the feelings that she seemed to bring to life inside me. Feelings I didn't think existed anymore, feelings I thought had been driven away, dissolving into nothing as my mind became crusted in a hardened shell.

But Vera broke that shell, she shattered it to bits, letting everything I had buried flood my body.

Our lips locked, the touch hot and cold as a chilled gust blew between us. The woods went silent, despite the wind and rustling trees around us. I could feel the breeze on my skin, I could see the branches around us moving, but right then, all I could hear was her body.

Her heartbeat picked up as her chest lifted and dropped excitedly. Vera lifted her hands to my arms, curling her fingers around my wrists and rubbing small circles over the back of my palms.

---