Page 43 of Better Run
“Fuck you, fuck you,” I chant. “Let me go.”
We get through the front door, and I launch myself at his eyes.
“Jesus.” He jerks his head back and wraps his arms around me. One of my arms is pinned up by his head and I grab at anything I can get. Hair, skin. Everything in me tells me to get away from him. That I won’t survive if I stay with him. That he’ll suck the soul out of me and make me smile while he does it.
“Let me go!”
Jayden wrestles us to the couch where he drops us down, him on top of me. He tucks his head into my arm so that I no longer have any space to swing at him. I grunt and struggle, but he’s heavy. He’s touching all over me and weighing me down.
I keep fighting but he just lays there, holding me. Soon I’m winded and I still my movement, panting. My heart races, trying to catch up with my fight. With my need to run. Gradually, it slows. I stop sucking air.
Above me, Jayden starts to relax. His heartbeat is steady against my chest.
“Get off me,” I growl. But there’s no bite to it.
“No.” His fingers start to run through my hair. He’s gentle and methodical. He untangles every snarl one by one. I close my eyes so I don’t have to look at him.
His weight is a warm pressure that makes my body want to fall asleep. I shake my head to rouse myself. I can’t believe I want to fall asleep after what I just saw. He doesn’t move, just keeps combing his fingers down my scalp.
I want to stop feeling what he’s making me feel, but I can’t move. I fight him and myself for a long time. Soon there are longer and longer periods where I close my eyes, sleep heavy in my limbs.
The last time I startle awake I glance over the top of the couch to the hallway. I blink once then open them again, sleep making my vision blurry. I think I see Cole standing there, watching us. But then I sleep.
***
I wake feeling strangely relaxed and rested. I blink and see sunlight streaming into the living room. There’s a warmth at my back.
I stiffen. Jayden is lying next to me. We slept here all night. I look around without moving too much. We’re still alone.
Fuck. Jayden’s breathing is even and soft. He’s spooning me with his arm around my middle. I try to lift it off me so I can slip away.
“Lay still, kitten.”
I jump. Fuck, he’s awake. At first, I’m embarrassed that I fell asleep, but then I get mad. I try to get up again, but he pulls me back into him, tighter than before. Then I feel how hard he is behind me. And how big.
“Stop. Moving,” he growls.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” I hiss. His arm is a weight against my waist. He nestles his nose into the back of my neck.
“In a minute.” He lays there, just breathing me in. Why is this man so comfortable? So dangerous and comfortable at the same time.
Dangerous to more than me. I stiffen.
With a sigh, he finally lets me go. I get up and go to the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face for a long time. I hear Cole’s voice, and the two men go back and forth.
When I come back out, I’ve steeled myself. They’re both cooking breakfast; bacon and eggs and…pancakes? My mouth waters.
“You gonna give any of that to Sage?” I cross my arms right outside the kitchen.
“No.” Jayden doesn’t even look at me. “Scrambled or over easy?”
“I’m not eating shit until you let her eat.”
Cole flicks up an eyebrow. He’s in a white shirt that makes him look even more tan. He strolls over to me and brushes a hair behind my ear. “Spicy this morning, hmmm, little one? I’ll fuck the attitude out of you if you want.”
I shove him back. Or, I try. His massive frame doesn’t move. “Don’t touch me.”
He smiles, then grabs the back of my neck. He squeezes hard enough it hurts and leans into me. “Jay asked you a question.”
