Page 66 of Tell Me Why
For a split second, I got too comfortable, let my guard down, and revealed too much. Now he’s definitely suspicious. And if he wasn’t watching my every move before, he will be now.
We pull into the long driveway, and Christian kills the engine. His arm is slung over the steering wheel, head down, until finally he looks over at me. “You’ll sleep with me from now on.”
I had a feeling he’d insist on that.
“Um, yeah, about that,” I say, my voice loud in the tight interior. “If the person who tried to kill me is a jealous ex or something, then maybe it’s better I sleep alone…”
He leans back with a heavy sigh. “No.”
Fuck, here we go.
I point to the house through the windshield. “Someone inside that housejusttried to kill me,” I say. “Someone who obviously sees me as some kind of threat.”
“I’m handling it.”
Breath held, I ask, “So you found out who it was…?”
His jaw tightens, and he shakes his head. “You’re sleeping with me, Eve. I can keep you safe. That’s the end of it.” His tone is defiant, daring me to challenge him.
“That’s not your choice.”
“The fuck it isn’t.” He leans toward me, crowding me in the small space. “Eve, the second you stepped over the threshold intomyworld, I owned you.”
His roughly spoken words remind me of the CW carved into my skin, and something trickles down my spine. I wish it were disgust. It isn’t. Heat blooms beneath my skin, unwanted, yet undeniable. Still, I’m not about to give up my autonomy simply to entertain him until he gets tired of me. If that’s what he wants, then he can go back to Sara.
“So, what, I’m a prisoner now?”
Those pale eyes narrow, and I practically feel the heat coming off him. “Do you really think you’d be safer on your own? We have no fucking clue who tried to hurt you. What if they try to come at you again while everyone is sleeping?” He shakes his head. “Like it or not, you’re safer with me.”
“I was inyourbedroom when it happened, which just proves my point. Even you can’t protect me 24/7.”
His beautiful face hardens. “Someone is about to learn exactly what happens when they threaten you.”
Leaning back against the door, I release a breath. This shit with Christian is confusing, and toxic, and onegiantred flag, and yet…I’m constantly being pulled to him. Like a moth drawn to a flame, I can’t resist his hypnotic pull. This crazy magnetic attraction keeps luring me back into his orbit. And I can’t help but wonder if surrendering to the force that is Christian West is worth the risk of getting burned...
Pushing a breath out, I glance through the windshield at the bright morning sky. It’s funny how even on the worst days, something like that can still take your breath away for a second. Like the universe throwing you a bone, saying, “Hey, it’s notallbad.”
“I have class in an hour,” I say flatly.
“You should go upstairs and get some rest. I’ll have someone sit in on the lecture and record it for you.”
How tempting. Iamexhausted. I was up all night chatting with Lowe. Not that I would have slept anyway. After the initial wave of adrenaline wore off at the hospital, I drifted off for a couple of hours out a sheer exhaustion…but after that, sleep wasn’t happening.
“No, I need to go,” I say with a sigh. “School is a good distraction.”
He nods silently, then pushes out a breath like he doesn’t agree, but he’ll go along with it anyway. “I have a meeting this morning, so I’ll have one of the security guys take you.”
“A meeting…?” I repeat, prompting him to offer more details.
Spoiler alert, he doesn’t, which shouldn’t surprise me. I’ve noticed Christian doesn’t give anything away unless he absolutely needs to. He holds everything so close to the chest, I wonder how he doesn’t suffocate under the stress of it all. Sometimes I catch little glimpses when his guard slips—like he’s actual flesh and blood under all that armor. Makes me curious what he’d be like if he ever felt safe enough to just...breathe.
The house is quiet when we walk in, which is strange, but only because this place is usually a hive of activity. At some point during the night, Jackson usually rounds everyone up and kicks them out. Then there’s a brief window of silence, a few hours, before people start showing up again. It’s an endless cycle.
As I mount the back stairs, Christian says, “Hold up.”
Pausing, I turn around. With me on the step and him on the ground, we’re nearly the same height. Grabbing the banister post, he pulls himself forward, his face so close to mine, I can feel his warm breath on my mouth.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” he whispers, his gaze drifting down to my lips. “I protect what’s mine.”
