Page 54 of Break Me
Sixteen
When we landat Toronto’s airport, I’m amazed that we have to wait exactly two minutes before we can undo our seatbelts and deboard the plane. Which is at least ten times faster than getting off a commercial plane.
Our pilot, a man with white hair and a wide smile, half-bows to us as we make our way down the steps. We go through the border in record time through a small entrance that not even those with Nexus can use, and then Riley is waving goodbye to us as Caden literally scoops her up in his arms with a nod in our direction and carries her away through the busy airport. He and Benji didn’t speak on the flight here, but I’m sure they’ll get over themselves.
“Are they always so nauseating?” I ask Benji, who is at my side. The sun is just now rising and yet Benji, as always, looks so damn good it’s almost hard to look at him. He’s got his dark shades pushed up on his head, he’s wearing a dark blue, zip-up jacket with a black, collared shirt underneath, and dark jeans. He didn’t even bring a bag.
I’ve got my purse over my shoulder, and I’m wearing a black skirt with tights—he warned me it was going to be cold, considering it’s October, and he wasn’t wrong—and a silver sweater.
Benji’s lips pull into a smile and he glances at me, the flecks of emerald in his eyes shining. “Yep,” he answers. “Except when they’re fighting.” He gestures toward the exit across from us and we start walking. “Then they’re worse. You thought what you saw this morning was bad?” He laughs, shaking his head. “It was nothing.”
Although, I’d argue, this morning they weren’t really fighting. It was more like Caden wanted to kill Benji, but I don’t bring it up again since it was basically my fault.
He holds open the door and we walk across the busy entrance to the airport, into the parking lot.
“Do they fight a lot?” I ask him, wrapping my arms around myself. It’s more than cold. It’s fucking freezing compared to North Carolina’s fall.
“Yep,” he says again. We walk for a while, then take an elevator to the top floor of the parking deck, until finally he pulls out his keys and unlocks a white Range Rover across from us.
He opens my door, nodding for me to get in.
“So chivalrous,” I tease him.
He looks at me a second then his hand wraps around my throat and he pulls me close to him, his brow against mine. My breath catches as his eyes stare into mine.
“Not quite, Princess,” he answers, and then his tongue enters my mouth, parting my lips. After a second, I kiss him back, leaning in closer, wanting more of him.
But he tears away, winking at me and shutting the door.
Bastard.
“Where are we going?” I ask when he hops in the driver’s side. I put my purse on the floor between my feet.
He carefully drives down the ramp then merges onto the highway. I’m shocked to see bumper-to-bumper traffic so early in the morning, but he doesn’t seem fazed. He still hasn’t answered my question and I reach over the console, putting my hand on his.
I feel him stiffen under me and a blush comes to my cheeks. Maybe that was…stupid? Sure, we might be hooking up and yeah, he flew me to Toronto for the day, but that doesn’t really mean anything. He hasn’t asked to meet my parents once, he hasn’t told me what he does for work, and I know next to nothing about him, aside from the fact he has a substance problem.
He seems to have relaxed on this idea that some dude is trying to hurt Riley, but he hasn’t let her on campus alone, so maybe not. And he refused to leave me alone, which somehow makes me feel…good?
I start to pull my hand away, feeling embarrassed, but then his fingers wrap around mine, and something loosens in my chest, but I keep staring straight ahead.
“I’ve got to take care of something,” he finally says, his tone guarded.
“What?”
“Business.”
I groan. “You just told me fuck all,” I protest.
He squeezes my fingers gently. “I know.” He sounds almost as if he regrets that. “When I’m done, we’ll go eat.” He glances over at me. “You ever been to Toronto?”
I shake my head, letting his cryptic answer go for now. He’s taking me with him after all, I’ll see for myself what he has to take care of.
He smiles. “It’s like NYC. But better.”
I like the sound of that.
