Page 130 of Branded
Into that cool night air.
Gaining an audience here, too.
Great.
Just pile that right onto my embarrassment, make it even more difficult to carry.
A flash of anger. “I know?—”
“You don’t know shit,” I hissed, shoving at his chest before stepping back, gathering my purse and jacket from the ground where they’d fallen due to my squirming, trying to hold them and the cup and not douse myself with the cold liquid. “You don’t know me. You clearly don’t know who I am inside or what I’d do for Pru and Marcel. And you don’t?—”
I’d taken a step, intending to head to my car, to sit in the driver’s seat and make that call.
But then I got dizzy again.
And I wavered.
Turning back, I plowed back into Raph’s hard chest, wrapping my arms around him.
Confusion in his bright blue eyes.
“You don’t get to be a jerk to me,” I whispered, leaning against him.
Silence.
A tense body against mine for just one second. Then his arms wrapped around me.
“You do, however,” I said, still whispering, “get to hold me until my head stops spinning and then I’ll call the doctor.”
Three
Raph
Fucking save me from fucking stubborn ass women.
She was in the passenger’s seat of my car as I drove her to the hospital she’d bitched about me taking her to just ten minutes before.
This being after she’d bickered with me about sitting in the passenger’s seat of my car, even though it was closer than hers.
I’d won that battle.
Likely successful only because I’d swept her up in my arms again—ignoring the soft curves of her body, her belly—and just carried her the fifteen feet, opened the door, and set her in the seat.
Likely that was successful because she was also still dizzy and not at full force.
Plus, she had a phone call to make.
Now she’d made the call, waited on hold, and then when she began to speak, I struck, taking advantage of her distraction, of her having to listen and respond to buckle her in, to close the door, to round the hood.
I’d folded in, hit the button to turn on my car, and then pulled away from the curb.
All before she could protest…or do something stupid like get out of that seat.
On that note, I checked to make sure the locks were engaged.
Beth was a spitfire. I wouldn’t doubt her ability to pull out some ninja skills and leap from the car, completing several full flips before landing on her feet, of course.
Then again, she was dizzy.
