Page 52 of Wretched Soul
I go to check her location on my phone, but I can’t connect to her cell. She’s switched it off. Clever girl. The tracker on her car is working fine, however, so I slide out of the booth, pay the bill and resume the chase. I’m ignoring Lily’s ruling – it’s not null and void. If she thought that, she’d be heading straight back to Chicago, but my little slayer is traveling towards the next town over. It’s like she’s waiting to be caught.
I screech to a stop outside a rundown motel. The lights are on in reception and I laugh when I see her. My arrival wasn’t quiet, and deliberately so. It’s made the receptionist turn her head, but my girl keeps her back to me as she raises an arm and gives me the finger.
Climbing out of my SUV, I round the car and lean against the passenger door, arms folded as I wait for her. She comes out armed with a key and a glare that burns hot enough to ignite every wicked thought I’ve been harboring since leaving the diner.
“You stole my overnight bag from my car,” she says, coming to a stop in front of me.
I’d taken it while she was distracted with the ambulance. “I thought it would save time.”
“I want it back.”
I stay where I am, leaning against the SUV. “Are you mad at me, Slayer?” I ask as if the thought had only just struck me.
Her face creases in fury. “Am I mad at you?” she seethes, taking a step closer. “Yes, Shade, I’m fucking furious.”
She thumps her fist against the side of my arm. I think it hurts her hand more than it hurts me.
“Feeling better?”
Her scowl suggests not. “Give me back my bag. Now!”
“No,” I say simply. “You’re not staying here. It’s a dump, and it’s not safe.”
She takes a step back. “And I’d be safer with you, I suppose?”
I straighten up and close the distance fast. Lily has no time to retreat, but she whips her head to the side. I grab her ponytail and position her head so she’s forced to meet my gaze. “You’re always safer with me.”
She’s too angry to agree, but there’s a hesitation that’s close enough. Her hands go to her hips. “Let go of my ponytail.”
“I will if you get in my car.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Then we’ll just have to agree to disagree.”
Letting go of her ponytail, I keep one arm around Lily’s waist as I turn to open the passenger door. When she tries to escape, I lift her off her feet, her back pressed to my chest.
She fights the arms of steel binding her to me. “Put me down!”
“Sorry, Lily, but you’re not going to win this one,” I warn. “I’ve always respected your right to choose, but if you say no to me this time, I might just have to ignore you, so don’t test me. You wanted a night together, so this is your chance. Just not in this fucking dive.” I wait a beat, then two. Lily stops beating her fists against my forearms, and digs her fingers into my shirt sleeve instead.
Her shoulders relax in submission. “You can’t just take me, Shade.”
I rest my chin on her shoulder. “If, by that, you mean I can’t fuck you whenever I want, then yes, you’re right. I wouldn’t dare to presume,” I promise. “But neither should you presume that I’ll fuck you whenever you want, even when I have you begging for it.”
“Huh, you’ll be waiting a long time to hear me begging after the stunt you pulled today.”
My laugh rumbles up through my chest. “Challenge accepted.”
There’s a dusting of snow on the road that grows deeper as we drive further up the mountain.
“Shit, I hope this place has electricity,” I say, peering to where the headlights pick up snow drifts.
Lily’s head snaps towards me, but she simply glares. She hasn’t spoken since I bundled her into the car, and I’ve made do with a one-sided conversation interspersed with her huffs and sighs.
“Don’t worry,” I continue. “I think there’s a spare blanket in the back. I like to carry emergency supplies in case I ever get stranded somewhere. It does happen. I got stuck in the desert once. At least here we can melt snow if there’s no running water.”
Lily slams her head against the headrest and released a frustrated sigh.
