Page 45 of Free to Run
“I think it’s time we establish some boundaries, Alison.” His face is pure fury; his voice is ice. “If we’re in the middle of an argument, you don’t walk away from me.” He rounds the trunk of the car, stalking toward me.
“We weren’t in the middle of anything. We’re just a brother and sister having a little spat. Don’t worry. You’ll get the hang of them again. We have them with Phil all the fucking time.” My voice, already loud, rises further. My hands are clenching and releasing at my sides.
“And you know that’s a fucking lie.”
“Yeah, I could tell when we—” I can’t finish my sentence because Keene has backed me up against my car, his hands fisted in my damp hair. Without warning, he slams his lips down on mine.
My senses are overwhelmed when his tongue passes my lips. My nose is filled with the scent of the rain mixed with his cologne. My arms immediately wrap around his sinewy muscles, trying to pull him closer.
This kiss is like no other Keene and I have ever shared. It’s a declaration, a statement, a demand. I’m no longer the warrior forced to hold a shield and sword; I’m a woman in the arms of a man. His arms make me feel like this spot is where I should have been all along.
This kiss obliterates every hurt, every pain, everything from my mind, except for one thing.
Him.
Keene.
For the rest of my life, I’ll never forget this kiss.
Long moments later, it’s the glare of headlights shining directly in Keene’s eyes that have him lifting his head. Muttering under his breath, he curses the offending vehicle.
A choked sound escapes me as my head crashes into his chest.
Tipping my head back, Keene brushes his thumb under my jaw. “I was prepared to apologize until you called me a coward. Now, I figure we’re even.” His face hasn’t changed, but I look closer. The ticking in his jaw. The arm banded around my waist. The darkening of green eyes to almost a midnight-green hue. And suddenly, it dawns on me. Keene’s not angry, he’s hurt.
I try to push him away.
“Keene, you emotionally walked out on me in the middle of dinner because I didn’t agree with you. All I tried to say was this is new and I’m not ready to take a week off and jump into the deep end. I’ll also have you note,counselor, I didn’t say no. I just said I needed more time to adjust. You were the one who already had a backup plan in the event we didn’t work out,” I throw at him accusingly.
Keene rocks back about six inches before he’s right back in my space, his face slightly menacing. “You mean to tell me after you were sweet all day,counselor, I’m back to you being a viper because I perhaps misspoke at dinner?”
Wow, that stings. “You don’t misspeak, Keene. This conversation proves that.”
How many times had I laid in bed wishing he had misspoken when he walked out of the room at the Plaza?
“Wrong, Alison. I do. I just don’t always have the luxury of correcting myself,” he counters, scrubbing a hand down his face.
“You had the chance tonight and you chose not to. Again.” I turn in his embrace and move to open my car door, but it’s slammed closed from behind. Keene steps against my back, his arms tightening. I smile sadly to myself before I pull his arms away.
I open the door again and slide into my seat. He immediately leans down.
“Don’t go, Alison.”
Without looking at him, I say, “I need to sleep in my bed, wake up, and go for a run. And I’m doing that alone. I’m telling you this so you won’t harass me tonight.”
He flinches.
“You see, this is what I mean when I say I need to ease into this. You’ve admitted it yourself; you view things in black and white, but you also treat people that way. Did you know that? Since we met, it’s been nothing but dark with a few moments of bright pure white—light so blinding, I forget what it’s like to be in the dark. The things you said this morning? I felt like I’d never know darkness again.” His body relaxes slightly before I continue. “Then I’m plunged in the dark again. By you. By comments like you made outside the trattoria.” I shake my head. “Why don’tyoutake the rest ofyourweek to figure out what you really want. I’m driving home.”
Still crouched beside my car, he says, “This wasn’t how I planned for the night to end.”
Turning my head toward him, I respond with, “I’m sure you didn’t, but then again, I’m just yoursisternow, right?” His unguarded wince still doesn’t cause me to blink. “Thank you for a lovely day, Keene. Thank you for trying to defend me tomybrother and sisters. I just wish, I truly wish, the dark didn’t have to come.”
I roll up the window as I hear him call my name, but I need my space.
Alone.
I back up the car, this time without interruption. Somehow, I make it out of the city. It isn’t until I turn off I-684 that the first tear falls.
