Page 66 of Wretched Soul
His gaze travels down my body before he meets my eyes again. “For what it’s worth, I know how lonely you feel because I feel it too when I’m away from you.”
My body sways, the need to go over to him all-consuming. As much as I want him to take me in his arms and kiss me, he’s notgoing to whisper his name in my ear. He’s not going to phone his brother back and tell him he’s staying where he is.
“I thought you were in a hurry?” I remind him. It’s my turn to be the cold one.
Shade places my cell on a nearby shelf. “You don’t need to pack everything. I’ll arrange to have your things sent on to you.”
I shrug into my leggings. “Not necessary. I only want what I came with. Keep the rest.”
“We’ll see about that,” he says as I’m pulling a sweatshirt over my head. When I sweep back my hair from my face, the doorway is empty.
Chapter 20
Mace
The journey to the motel is a tense one. I shouldn’t have listened to her voicemail, and the way I broke the news about her dog was fucking brutal. I should apologize, but I have no words to fix this.
No words except two.
I could simply tell Lily my name. It’s not like this game is working for either of us anymore. If we’re still playing it.
My stomach is in knots as we reach the motel. I pull up next to Lily’s Audi in an almost empty parking lot, and check the time. I’m cutting it close, but I have to say something. I drop my hands onto my thighs, but as I turn to Lily, she’s pulling open the door and climbing out. Her purse and overnight bag were stowed at her feet and are already in her hands.
Cursing under my breath, I catch up to her as she’s unlocking her car. “Lily, wait up. We can’t leave things like this.”
She spins on her heels. “Like what?” she demands. Her cheeks are flushed and her eyes are swollen. She’d been sitting in the car next to me silently crying, and I hadn’t noticed. That realization crushes the air from my lungs.
“I’m sorry. OK?”
Lily shakes her head in slow deliberate movements. “It’s not enough. It’s not nearly enough. And right now, I don’t want to hear whatever you have to say, Shade,” she tells me, choking on her words. “I need to process everything that’s happened in the last two days. Just… Go where you have to go. Do whatever you have to do. Leave. Me. Alone.”
My shoulders sag. I don’t know if I can do that. Respecting boundaries isn’t my style. “I’ll try.”
That earns me the ghost of a smile, but it’s the saddest damn smile I’ve ever seen. “Try harder.”
In the distance, I hear the chopping sound of helicopter blades. “I will see you again,” I promise, but I wonder if she’ll interpret it as a threat.
Lily sucks on her lower lip, but when my gaze shifts to her mouth she turns away. No goodbye kiss then. I stay where I am as she throws her overnight bag in the trunk of her car. I’m expecting her to get straight behind the wheel, but she starts walking towards the motel reception.
“Where are you going?” I ask, chasing after her. The approach of a helicopter is more distinct now.
Lily shows me the room key dangling from her finger. “I need to check out of the room I booked yesterday.”
I hold out my hand. “Let me do it. I’ve got to hang around anyway,” I say as casually as I can.
She considers my offer for only a second. She doesn’t want to be around me any longer than she has to. “Fine. It’s all paid for,” she says, tossing the key towards me so we don’t get too close.
It’s a poor throw, but I snatch it from the air with barely a glance.
Her eyes narrow. “Good catch.”
She’s about to pass me when I wrap an arm around her waist. My free hand circles her throat and I tip her chin upwards withmy thumb. “Be warned, Lily. I never let anything slip through my fingers unless I’m willing to let it go.”
Before she can tell me differently, I kiss her. I’m not gentle, and we’re both gasping when I pull away. I turn quickly towards the motel reception before her tear-stained face can snare me.
A breeze picks up, and the sound of an Audi’s engine receding into the distance is drowned out by the heavy thump of helicopter blades cutting through the air. I take cover in the motel as my brothers’ arrival kicks up a dust storm in the parking lot. That was a close call. Lily might not rate her detective skills, but even she would have noticed the griffin logo covering the entire side of the helicopter.
Chapter 21
