His jaw tics; his left eyelid throbs. He releases me so quickly that I stumble back. He shoves my phone into my chest. Before I can reach for it, he’s withdrawn his hand. The device slides down my body; I snatch it up. "Asshole."
He chuckles, "I much prefer, alphahole."
Anger sears my chest and the band around my ribcage tightens. My vision narrows and something inside of me snaps. I hook my leg around his, tug. His gaze widens, then his body arcs back.
23
Saint
"Fuck." My back hits the sidewalk, my head connecting with the concrete.
Stars flash behind my eyes and spots of black crowd my vision. I lay there winded, stare up at the gray London skies. That, at least, is predictable. Shades of darkness envelop this city in wintertime. It’s what I like best about it. Shrouded in mysterious light, it always appears in mourning or about to regret the actions of its past, exactly like my life. I blink and the thought dissipates. Fucking hell, the knock to my head clearly impacted more than my thinking process. It seems to have shaken loose emotions I hadn’t realized I have.
Huge green eyes fill my line of sight, "Saint?"
I scan her gorgeous features—her pale cheeks, the bitten lips that only enhance her fragility. Except she isn’t. It is all an act, this vulnerability that she wears around herself like a cloak, to mask the deviousness that lies inside.
"I know."
Only when I hear the words do I realize that I have spoken aloud.
"Wh…what do you mean?"
"I know why you asked to become my sub."
She purses her lips, adopts an expression of disinterest.
"Don’t you want to know why, Gigi?"
She shakes her head.
"Come on, aren’t you a little bit curious?"
She glances away, "I think you should get up from the ground." She looks around her, "It’s dirty."
"But so are you…"
"What?" She whips her head around.
"Is that why I am attracted to you?" I glare at her.
She trembles. "You…you don’t know what you’re saying."
"Perhaps, for the first time, I do." I hold out my arm.
She stares at my proffered hand, "What…what are you doing?"
"You felled me, you can help me up, hmm?"
She swallows.
"Go on, Gigi, I don’t bite."And I always speak the truth…not."Don’t keep me waiting."
Footsteps approach us.
She flinches.
"Do it before they get here and I’ll forget this happened."