Page 22 of Tied to You
I roll my eyes. “Flower,I hate it.”
He huffs incredulously. “Right. I see what’s really going on here.”
“I beg your pardon?”
He stands off the bed. “You and that… that oaf from the biker place. I saw the way you two stood-off against each other. Got the hots for him have you, flower—sorry,Mollie?”
The way he mockingly speaks my name has me standing off the bed. “Fuck you,” I snap at him.
“No, fuck you!” He spins facing me, and I recoil, having never seen him so angry. “You used me tonight, just because you couldn’t have him.”
“That’s not true!”
“Isn’t it?”
I step back, the backs of my legs hitting the edge of the soft bed. “No!”Not entirely.“He annoys the shit out of me, but I have no choice to have to see him because he’s the nephew of the man I work for.”
Henry runs a hand through his hair, shaking his head. “Whatever, fl—” He cuts himself off.
After a short, uncomfortable silence, I carry on pulling on my clothes, struggling to do so.
He sighs. “Stop.”
I look at him.
His eyes soften, seeing my struggle. “Let me wash them. I have a tumble dryer; we can use that.”
“No, it’s fine.” I pull up my tights, the end tearing when I pull them with too much force. I rip them off as quickly as I tried to put them on, throwing them to the floor as hard as I can. The fact they make no noise when they hit the carpet, riles me further. “Bollocks!”
“Alright, alright,” Henry says, trying to settle me. “Sit down.”
I deflate, doing as he says, letting his soft hands guide me. I place my headin my hands, wishing I could forget our argument. “I’m sorry.”
He doesn’t reply immediately. All he does is subtly dip his chin. Eventually, he looks at me. “What’s going on with you?” he asks.
I want to cry out, to tell him I don’t ever want to go home. “I need to find out who I really am. I can’t do that under my dad’s hold.”
He smiles. “But you could have everything and anything with him. You’d have money, endless amounts of money and wealth—”
“—that’s not what I want!” My gasp comes out as more of a sob.
“Hey.” His soft voice is calming as he places his arm around me.
“I need to know whatI’mcapable of, not what other people tell me I’m capable of.” I shake my head. “Does that make any sense?”
“Yes… but,” he stalls, taking a breath before he speaks again, “your father’s right. You’d make a damn good lawyer one day. Plus, you haven’t worked as hard as you have to just throw it all away in some backstreet, hell bent for leather, joint.”
I can’t help but laugh at his words. “Hell bent for leather?”
“Yeah, you know. All those guys strutting around as though the leather makes them strong and mighty.”
I purse my lips, thinking back to how my stomach flipped when I saw Travis put his on. He’s not wrong.
“All I’m saying is, please don’t throw it all away just to spite your father. He only wants what’s best for you. We all do.”
When I look at Henry, his eyes reflect a kindness I yearn for. “Is that what you want, Hen?” I ask him, hearing the way my voice suddenly sounds needy.
“Of course, it’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
