Page 18 of You Were Always Mine
‘Put me down!’ she shrieks, kicking hard, her heel clipping my thigh. ‘You can’t?—’
‘I can,’ I growl, my voice cutting through her fury, ‘and I will.’
I stalk across the car park, gravel crunching under my boots, the cold air slicing across my sweat-soaked skin. Scarlett twists hard, shoving at my back, but my arm only tightens around her thighs, locking her in place. She bucks once, twice, but I don’t stumble. I don’t even slow.
‘Let me go!’ she spits, her voice breaking now — desperate, furious.
I slap the car door open with one hand, bend, and lower her just enough to grab her wrists. She jerks free for half a second, trying to bolt, but I catch her by the waist, slam her back against the car, and pin her there with my body.
Her chest heaves, her eyes blaze blue fire, her hair wild around her face. She shoves at me, kicks, but I’m stronger — and she knows it. My hand closes around both her wrists, forcing them above her head against the metal, the other pressed to her hip to keep her still.
‘You’re not running from me, Scarlett,’ I rasp, breath hot, voice raw. ‘Not here. Not ever.’
Her mouth parts, her body trembling against mine, but she still spits the words like venom. ‘I hate you.’
I lean closer, my lips a breath from hers, my eyes burning into her. ‘Good. Hate me all you want. Just do it in my car.’
She thrashes, kicks, spits every curse she can find, but I don’t loosen my grip. I wrench the door open, shove her inside, and when she tries to lunge back out, I catch her jaw in one hand, push her back against the seat, and yank the belt across her chest.
The click of it locking in place is final. Binding.
Scarlett jerks against it, eyes wild, chest heaving, butthe strap holds her tight. I slam the door so hard the whole car rocks, her furious face flashing at me through the glass. My hands are shaking, my pulse brutal, and I press my palms flat against the roof just to feel something solid under me.
Fuck.
The weight of her body still burns against mine — the way her thighs locked over my shoulder, the way her fists beat against me, the way she twisted and bucked like she’d rather die than let me carry her. And still — still — every second felt right. She fit there. It seemed she was made for it.
For me.
I drag a hand over my mouth, taste sweat and blood, and the thought of any other man laying hands on her makes my vision blur again. That arsehole in the bar touching her neck, putting his hands where mine belong — I should’ve finished him. I should’ve left him broken in the gutter.
My reflection stares back at me in the window — eyes too wild, jaw tight, a monster barely holding the leash.
Scarlett’s mine.
She can fight, she can spit, she can hate me until her throat bleeds — but her body told the truth the second I had her draped across me, and now she’s strapped in, locked down, going nowhere.
Exactly where she belongs.
I wrench the door open and drop into the driver’s seat, slamming it shut hard enough that the frame rattles. My hands grip the wheel until the leather creaks, my knuckles split and raw, blood smeared across them like proof of what I just did.
Scarlett’s breathing fast beside me, the seat belt holdingher tight, her chest rising and falling under that black dress. Her eyes are wide, her lips parted, hair wild around her face. She looks like sin. She looks like mine — and I’m fucking furious.
Furious at her for walking intoHell.
Furious at him for touching her.
Furious with myself for not killing him where he stood.
The air inside the car is suffocating, heat rolling off both of us. My pulse hammers in my throat, rage burning so hot it tastes like metal on my tongue.
I drag a hand down my face, forcing my voice out through clenched teeth. ‘Do you have a death wish?’
She snaps back instantly, sharp, venomous. ‘Do you?’
Her defiance only feeds the fire. I slam my fist against the steering wheel, the horn blaring once before cutting off, and she flinches, pressing back into the seat — but her glare doesn’t waver.
I lean toward her, my jaw tight, every word a growl. ‘You think you can walk into a place like that dressed like this and not get eaten alive? You think I’ll just sit back while some bastard puts his hands on you?’
