Page 18 of Bedding Rose
“Out there! Try in here!” Her hand is on the door handle, ready to pull it open as soon as I slow.
“Don’t you dare!” God, does she have no sense at all? I’m about to lose my shit. I shove down even harder on the gas, cranking the wheel, and tightening our loops.
“Are you trying to kill Lily? Stop! Right fucking now!” she screeches pointing out the windshield.
My gaze follows her finger and I realize that another girl is leaping off the sidewalk and running toward us like a lunatic, waving her arms. One of Rose’s little friends, the one I talked to on campus.
When the hell did she get here? God, I knew it would be horrendously easy for people to hide in this damn park. Point proven.
My eyes scan the park and I see a third girl charging up the sidewalk, arms full of coats. Okay, good. Rose’s friend isn’t alone. She'll be safe.
Time to deal with the girl who refuses to tell me the truth, no matter what I do to wring it from her.
I brake hard and reverse out of the parking lot, ignoring the effect Rose’s squeal has on me or how my jeans have suddenly become uncomfortably tight in response to that high-pitched, breathy little noise. My dick is an inappropriate bastard who deserves the cold shoulder I give him.
I focus on getting her out of here. She’s still shivering hard enough between curses that her teeth are chattering.
Coffee. She needs to drink something warm after stupidly wandering around in the dark.
“Put your seatbelt on. And the jacket,” I demand, as I make a left to exit the neighborhood.
“Where the fuck is Quique?”
“Passed out drunk in his room,” I reply as I check the rearview mirror and switch lanes.
“We’re going the wrong way. Did you forget where my house is? Probably so. You probably have amnesia or some kinda brain parasite—maybe that explains why you’ve lost your goddamned mind recently!” Rose grits out through her teeth. I can feel her anger pulsing through the air, just as hot as the vents I have directed toward her.
That’s fine. She can be as pissed at me as she wants. What she can’t be is unsafe.
I breathe deeply, ignoring her outburst, focused on driving for the moment. Maybe if I wait long enough, she’ll calm down.
But my silence only seems to amp her up further.
“So, you’re adding kidnapping to your list of crimes? Blackmailing wasn’t enough?” Her snark makes my fingers clench the wheel even tighter. I’m surprised the metal doesn’t warp underneath my grip.
“It’s not kidnapping.”
“You sure? Because I don’t want to be here. You wouldn’t let me get out.”
“And it’s not blackmail—” That’s a lie.
“It sure as fuck is blackmailing when you threaten to release a video of my mother and a married donor screwing if I don’t tell you what you want to know!”
I snap. Even though I know I’m not in the right, the need to know what happened to her still overpowers common sense. “I was trying to make sure you were safe!"
"You hadno rightto set that camera up."
"It wouldn’t have fucking happened if you’d just told me what the hell was going on!” I growl and I swear, there's an earthquake brewing underneath my skin when I glance over and see that defiance on her face.
Her cheeks become a mottled red as she scoots toward the door, as far from me as she can get. She still hasn’t put on her seatbelt. The urge to pull the car over, shove her into place, and buckle it myself comes on so strong I can practically taste it. The air between us grows thin and it becomes hard to breathe as we stare at one another until a bend in the road forces me to pull my eyes away.
The second eye contact is broken, she finds her voice—the shrill version of it. “I. DON’T. OWE. YOU. ANY—”
“Yes, you sure as fuck do!” I yell, rationality flying out the window as I yank the wheel to the side and stop at the curb. Some feral part of me takes over and I have to spend a minute breathing deeply, fighting it back because her words made me see red.
She must sense the lava bubbling just beneath my skin because the girl is smart enough not to make me blow my lid. She presses her lips together, eyes narrowing, but keeps her mouth shut while I get myself under control.
Part of me wonders if she’s right.
