Page 122 of Show Me How
“Stay here,” he commands, leaving little room for argument.
I make some anyway. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Just a couple of guys downstairs. I don’t want Bryce dealing with them on her own.”
“I’ll come too, then.”
I shove the blankets off my thighs and swing them off?—
“No, you’re staying up here. Get dressed, and I’ll come get you after they’re gone.”
Brow lifting, I pause with my feet on the floor. “Are these guys dangerous or something?”
“No,” he grunts, and I believe him. “I just want you to stay up here.”
Something twists in my stomach, intensifying the lingering burn. There’s a desperation in his voice when he speaks this time that forces me to obey him. At least for right now.
“Please.”
I palm my knees, finding them damp with sweat. “Fine.”
“Thank you,” he blows out on a heavy exhale. “I’ll be fast.”
With a tip of my chin toward the door, I stay glued to the bed. He tenses his jaw for half a second before coming over to me and cupping my nape. My head gets guided back at the same time he kisses me, not holding back in the slightest. I fill my hands with his shirt and pull him close, hating this sick feeling that’s rolling through me like some sort of sign.
His fingers press harder into my neck, keeping me held firmly against him before he releases me, swallowing audibly. When he lets go and steps back, I frown despite my better judgment, letting him see how badly I wish he’d just stay and continue our soft morning.
“Come down when you usually would. Don’t rush,” he mutters, keeping our eyes tangled as he walks backward to the door.
I keep my voice even as I lie, “Alright.”
If he doesn’t buy the lie, he doesn’t show it. In a blink, he’s disappearing into the hallway, leaving me alone, my muscles tightening as I prepare to follow after him. It’s almost comical to think that for even one minute, he’d believe thatI’mgoing to sit and wait for him to take care of this without me.
Especially when I would be a complete fool not to already have an idea of what I’m going to find when I get downstairs. And shit, I’m not ready for it. Not by a long shot.
36
SHADE
I have always hadan unnatural ability to keep my cool.
Egg my place? I’m going to turn away from the mess and count to twenty before cleaning it up. Insult my family? We’re pushing the bounds of my patience, but I can give someone another chance to correct themselves before I get really pissed off.
Out of everything I could have expected to trigger me to the point of experiencing a hot flash and a tinted red gaze, seeing Millie’s father standing on the sidewalk outside of the studio wasn’t it.
Rage like I’ve never known transforms me into a version of myself that I’ve never seen before.
“They’re not leaving,” Bryce says, following after me as I move through the studio.
“They will.”
“Is that Millie’s?—”
I cut her off, my chest heaving like I’m a fucking bull ready to buck my rider off. “If I had to guess, yeah.”
I’d bet everything I own on nobody having ever driven through this town in a Rolls-Royce before right this moment. Someone sane wouldn’t risk bringing it here and having itstolen unless they didn’t plan on staying long enough for that to happen. And the old prick standing against the passenger door, wearing a perfectly tailored suit with cufflinks that shimmer in the sun? He doesn’t appear to be staying longer than he thinks it’ll take to get what he came here for.
My throat tightens to the point of pain. I clench my fists and stare at him through the window, trying desperately to get myself together enough that I can go outside and speak with him without winding up in jail.
