Page 37 of Bound by Vengeance
I slowly lift my head. His chin is down, eyes smoldering hot with lust, looking down on me.
The air around us turns static, passing between the two of us. My chest compresses as the world stops and all I can do is take him in. His beautiful face that I’ve loved for so long. The scruff of his beard, the tattoos on his neck, his dark eyes eating me alive. The entire powerful package that is Ryker right here, in this moment. Nothing else matters. Just him and I.
He dips his head down and finds my lips with his.
I’m lost. My chest plastered against his, squishing my breasts in the most delectable way. Our lips entangled. His hand sifting through my hair. His length growing along my thigh. He tastes so good, and as our tongues collide, the passion escalates.
It’s like we can’t get enough of each other. We can’t. I can’t.
My brain kicks in, and I yank myself away, shaking my head. “No, we can’t do this.” I try to back away, but he holds me in place.
Heaving in a breath, he counters, “We can absolutely do this, Austyn.”
Pulling out of his hold, the loss of his touch is instant. “You don’t understand. If you understood, you’d know.” Shaking my head, I dart into my room and lock the door.
He pounds on the outside of it, begging me to let him in. I can’t.
Some secrets are meant to be kept.
Some doors are meant to remain closed. Even if they tear you up inside more than you already are.
C H A P T E R T H I R T E E N
She’s been in that damn room all day, and every time I ask to come in, she shuts me out. I saw it, though. That spark. She still loves me. Yes, loves me. I’ve known for many years, but it wasn’t the right time. Now is the right time, if she would just let me in. She’s locking herself up inside, and it’s frustrating as hell.
Head in my hands, elbows resting on my knees, I unseeingly look down at the carpet in front of me, trying to figure out what my next step is going to be with her. What’s bothering her is deeper than I thought, and going slow is probably my only saving grace. If I would have rushed it like I wanted and taken what I wanted, she wouldn’t have responded. At least I feel better about that decision. Green was right.
Fuck, though, I need to get in there.
The door to the apartment swings open and Emery steps in. “What’s wrong?”
I lean back into the couch. “Ya know, death, destruction, famine—all of it.” The joke doesn’t come off well, and Emery picks up on it instantly.
She drops her things onto the chair, then sits at the other end of the couch, knee cocked up on it, facing me. “Talk to me.”
I think I’ve done enough talking these past few days with telling Austyn my entire life story. “It’s all good. No worries.”
“Liar. Austyn turned you down, didn’t she?”
Damn woman knows Austyn well.
When I say nothing, she continues. “She’s changed. She doesn’t want me to see it and tries to cover it up, but she can’t, not from me. There’s this darkness, like she’s almost given up on a lot of things in life. I know what JK did to her was terrible, but she has too much spark, and to watch it fizzle and burn out is killing me.”
My chest aches, just as my anger rises.
Emery pats me on the leg. “Know you don’t want my advice, but I’m giving it, anyway. She loves you … has for years. I know you’re giving her time because of what happened, and that’s cool of you and all, but you’re going to need to dig harder.
She’s erected walls around her that need to come down. Get the sledgehammer out.”
Her last bit makes me laugh as I lie back on the couch. “Ya know she’s gonna be pissed you talked to me, right?”
She shrugs. “If it pulls her out of whatever the hell this is, I don’t give a shit. It’ll be worth it in the end.”
Emery gets up, and I hear the distinct click of her door.
Fuck this.
At Austyn’s door, I hear her crying, which tears a deep part of me to shreds. Checking the lock, I go to my truck and get my kit. Within seconds, the door swings open.
